Frugal Friday 509

 Happy Frugal Friday!

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

- Last Friday night was our first night home in about a month! It was wonderful to have dinner together, do some outdoor chores, and then to take a walk as a family.

- Saturday we enjoyed lunch and outdoor play with most of the Indy Rileys. The kids love playing with their cousins and wanted to stay all day. 

- Sunday after church, Annabeth and I dropped our items at the HWGA Fall Kids' Sale. I am back to Express Tagging and we set nearly 700 items. We plan to use this money towards "fun" activities on an upcoming trip.

- I had mentioned that we were doing a Low-Spend-August and that was in preparation for September's big expenses. We prepaid the kids' dance classes for the year - saving 5%. 

- We also booked plane tickets for a trip in 2024. I was hoping to wait, to see if they go on sale, but the trip ends on a holiday weekend and prices were beginning to already creep up and some flights were selling out. We really wanted non-stop flights and certain times as to maximize our time away with fewer hotel nights. We ended up going ahead and buying the tickets thankful that we did have a LUV voucher from Southwest. Saved: $100.

- We booked a hotel for later this fall. It's just one night and we're going to be so busy that we'll truly just be sleeping there. Since we weren't worried too much about a pool or activities, we searched multiple sites and found a deal with great cashback and we were able to cash in some rewards for it as well. Saved: $90 

- We cancelled two of our streaming services. We are so busy that we really don't watch much TV and Mark got a new phone which needs paid for over time. We "got back" $25 in the monthly budget by cancelling the streaming services which covers the addition of the phone to the phone bill. This was a great way to update what we needed without creating new costs in the monthly budget.

- Sunday night was Owen's last night of Fall Ball. He's had a great season in Shelbyville and we really appreciated the positive atmosphere, great coaching, and nice facilities. His Spring Ball is only about 5 minutes from the house so it was a bit of a gamble to drive 30 minutes each way, both in the sense of time and gas money, but we felt like it was well worth it. He already can't wait for next season! 

We've had a GORGEOUS Fall Ball Season - look at that sunshine!

- Wednesday we shopped the HWGA Kids Sale. We went in with a list and stuck to it. We found an Indiana State History Workbook $1, Baseball Helmet $10, and then the kids each chose a toy for $5 total. I do not buy toys at stores or garage sales/kids sales so the kids each took along their own money. Owen spent $3 on some cars and Annabeth spent $2 on a Barbie Dream Closet. We paid $17 with tax for retail value of $130 in items! The kids' sale runs through tomorrow, which is 50% off day, at the Johnson County Fairgrounds - go find some deals!

- Now that the mornings and evenings are fairly cool, we've lengthened our daily walks. Monday night was our longest about 4.5 miles on a trail through town. The kids were at dance class and Mark and I enjoyed the time to just walk and talk. 

- We had a VERY busy week with some extra classes for the kids. Stayed true to our goal of cooking at home and/or packing in dinners. We did have more "dinner" type meals for lunches and then packed out leftovers or sandwiches for dinners.

- I worked both of my businesses this week as fall selling season is here. PaperPie released our MidSeason Titles a week early which was a surprise even to us Brand Partners. Walt Disney World also put out deals of up to 30% off for January 9 through the end of March! Message me about your winter WDW trips today! :) 

- Yesterday we enjoyed some free fun with a park date with friends. They are friends we usually see in a big group so it was great to connect one-on-one and the weather was a perfect 70!

- My Thursday evening Bible class was cancelled last night due to a power outage in town. This worked well as Mark ended up having to work for the Coroner's Office.  

We are looking forward to a busy weekend with the beginning of birthday fun for Annabeth and some camping for the boys.

Happy Savings to All!