Happy Frugal Friday!
Here's how we saved money/spent money wisely/made extra money this week:
- Instead of having a big New Year's Resolution this year I am doing a Monthly Challenge each month. In January I did a low-spend month buying only groceries and a few neccessities for the kids. In February, I spent an extra 10 minutes in the morning and another 10 minutes in the afternoon working on little house projects. Overall, this really didn't impact my days too much but made a BIG difference over the course of the month. By the end of the month, I could really see that our home is more organized and that it's taking less and less time to pick up/maintain.
- Saturday we had a cooking/baking day. Annabeth made a Dutch Apple Pie and Owen made lasagna. We had Mark's mom over for dinner.
- Mark took a course for his work at the Coroner's Office on Saturday. He was compensated for his time and lunch was provided.
- I booked two hotel stays for this spring. I like the ease of using Booking.com. I had forgotten to sign in though and realized when my e-mail confirmation came through that I had missed my 10% Geniuis discount. I canceled the original reservation, logged in, and made a new one to save my 10%. I also shopped through Rakuten for 4% cashback.
- Monday morning we kept our neighbor's kids. The kids LOVED a morning of games/play and I just did a quick lunch of freezer pizza, fruit, veggies, and Girl Scout cookies. Quick to make, easy clean-up, and zero complaints. We also had some co-op friends over in the afternoon. It felt good to have people in and out of the house again!
- We had GORGEOUS weather on Tuesday and Wednesday. We spent 6+ hours outside over the two days which was wonderful. I really struggle through the winter, especially during long, dark days. To have a couple of warmer days with real sunshine made me weep with joy! I feel like I can do anything on a nice day.
- Wednesday we finished school early so we could play at a park. We were happy to see some school friends there and the kids loved hours of play. Owen and I also walked a mile+ while Annabeth was at dance class.
- Wednesday evening Mark and I went out to dinner. We chose to eat at Big Woods so we could eat out on the porch overlooking the golf course. It was such a great, sunshiney refresh to our week.
- I avoided shopping for Easter clothing that I really wanted but that none of us needed. Often the best way to be mindful of our money is to simply say "no" and to say it often. While we do have the money, and I could have easily paid for what we wanted, both kids have plenty of items for the spring and this would truly have been a want vs need purchase.
- Yesterday was Mark's 34th Birthday. Annabeth found an adorable bison cake in a Duff Goldman cookbook and we modified it to be a buffalo cake for Mark. (Buffalo was his Wood Badge Animal and I LOVED that Annabeth knew that and wanted him to have something that was meaningful to him) I did the frosting but the kids baked the cake and did all of the fondant work. It was adorable!
We are looking forward to a fun weekend.
Happy Savings to All!
No comments:
Post a Comment