Happy Frugal Friday!
Here's how we saved money/spent money wisely/made extra money this week:
- Mark has been working his new Marked by Riley business and created some truly awesome custom designs this week. Be sure to follow along on Instagram to see what's new each week.
- Last weekend the kids were at Dancemakers Inc (DMI) dance convention in downtown Indianapolis. Saturday morning we did splurge on brunch out with friends but packed our lunches, snacks, and Sunday breakfast. I used a Starbucks giftcard to pick up coffee on Sunday morning. I received GREAT service and made sure to e-mail the store manager to let him know.
- Parking in downtown Indianapolis is extremely expensive. I typically book with Spot Hero but couldn't decide on which garage I wanted to use as they ran $20-$50/day on the app. I was glad I hadn't used a cheaper garage as it was snowing/very cold Saturday morning. I used the closest garage (BIG mistake as in person it was $55/day) I dropped Annabeth off, paid $10 for my 30 minutes of parking, and moved the car to a street location. I paid the meter all day and spent an additional $15 on top of my ten from the morning. Thankfully street parking is free on Sundays so we drove down very early and secured a free spot. Thankful to have paid just $25 for both days.
- Owen earned a National Scholarship from DMI. We are very thankful that they noticed his hard work and great attitude. We will not be using the scholarship as it would mean a trip right before our dance nationals. While his classes would be free, we would have to cover Annabeth's class fees as well as travel, hotel, etc. Owen, at 6, is happy just to have earned the award.
- Monday we did a big stock up at both Mejier and Costco. We don't need to shop, other than for fresh fruit/veggies, for several weeks now. We did use coupons and sales and saved nearly $25 on everything.
- Tuesday evening Mark and his scout troop had a big field trip. Unfortunately, the venue did not deliver the tour as promised. The tour guide cut the tour short and skipped two whole sections, one of them being the main reason they went. Mark messaged to let the venue know how unhappy they were. Thankfully, the venue reached out to us several times and has refunded the tour fee AND is giving our boys family passes so they can return for a full experience. I will not name the venue as I have been before and had an excellent tour so I really believe that the boys' experience was not the norm. That being said, always be sure to let places know directly if you are satisfied or dissatisfied. In a social media world, it feels so "easy" to just blast a person or place but often just calm, collected response will garner the results you would like.
- Since we did a big grocery stock up, the kids and Mark gave me one of my birthday gifts early. They gifted me the baking set of OXO containers. Mark also took the gift a step further, and speaking my love language acts of service, filled all of them and organized them for me. Thank you all!
- Yesterday, Annabeth and I took advantage of a free class from FARE - Food Allergy Research & Education. (Did you know that every 3 minutes a person in the United States is admitted to an Emergency Room due to an allergic reaction?) This particular class was excellent - "Freedom to Eat Eating Normally When Eating Isn't Normal." I am thankful for all of the free resources that FARE offers.
We are looking forward to a fun weekend celebrating a very special birthday and visiting with family.
Happy Savings to All!
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