Frugal Friday 432

 Happy Frugal Friday!

Here's how we saved money/spent money wisely/made extra money this week:

- Last Friday we drove down to Charlestown to spend the day with our best friends. We had not been able to get together since before Christmas so we had a great time celebrating three birthdays, sharing lunch and ice cream sundaes, and talking/playing for hours. Thank you Rose and family for the wonderful time together!

- Mark took his Boy Scout Troop to Winter Camp. They were gone Friday evening to Sunday evening and had a great, safe weekend of camping together.

- The kids danced at Celebration Talent on Saturday. Since Mark was out of town, we spent the night at home (vs a hotel in Zionsville) for Oscar and left before 6 AM to be at dance. I woke up at 3:30 to pack breakfasts, make coffee, and to pack lunches. With careful preperation we didn't eat out any meals or snacks on Saturday. My parents came up around noon to let Oscar out and were kind enough to have dinner ready for us when we got home after 5. That was a HUGE blessing after a long day!

This was before the sun was even up!

They were such great sports about the early wake-up call and hour drive.

Owen really enjoyed his first competition.

He did a great job despite being VERY nervous beforehand.

Annabeth was very pleased with her performaces.

Two of her three groups placed first and her solo was First Overall in the Junior Protostar category. 

- Sunday, after church, my parents treated us to lunch out and a shopping trip to Costco. Thank you all! 

- Monday morning Owen and I had a Starbucks date. Owen earned this through our Behavior Rewards System at home. I was able to get it for free thanks to a giftcard from my friend Nicole.

- I contacted my friend Rebecca about purchasing some prayer themed gifts for some friends battling cancer. Rebecca was able to help me find the perfect gifts from her Mary & Martha site* and has also added these friends to her own prayer list. It is such a joy to support a friend in business and in sharing the Good News. 

- Monday, for President's Day the HSDLA had 40% off Government Books. I chose two books that we've had on our list for a while. This was a great savings for the next couple of school years.

- Monday evening I met with a group of homeschool moms.We were each asked to bring a snack to share. I took a cheeseball, made by my Mama's ladies church group, and crackers. 

- We bought 1/2 a pig in 2020 and went through the meat in about 7 months so last year we bought a full pig. We have sourced some great deals on local beef and chicken as well this year so the pork has held through longer. As we approach the one year mark, I wanted to make sure that we were using all that we have so I shared about 15 lbs of meat on our homeschool co-op page. 

- We did a huge cleanout of our reading corner and school room. We spread it out over two days but completely removed every item, deep cleaned, and then only returned the things we love. We have a big tote to share with friends, donated a big box, and recycled a big tote of paper/workbooks as well. This was a huge project and I am very thankful to have it done.

We are looking forward to a busy weekend with class for Mark, dance for Annabeth, and the start of baseball season for Owen.

Happy Savings to All! 

*I do not receive any kind of compensation for sharing her site nor did she ask me to. I share because I truly love the beautiful products that I have purchased in the past and am always happy to share a friend's business.