Frugal Friday 551

 Happy Frugal Friday!

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

- Our internet was out last Friday. It was curious to see just how much we use our computer during the school day. Annabeth was thrilled to have the day off Algebra and she made a full list of things to research further once it came back on. It was great to have an "old fashioned" day. 

- As I am teaching Owen Indiana History (he's in 4th grade), we have made a plan to visit all 92 Indiana Counties. Saturday we made a big loop and hit Rush, Decatur, Union, Fayette, and Wayne Counties. We saw neat courthouses, a waterfall, a bird sanctuary, and some statues. Other than gas we planned it as a free outing. Mark did surprise us with a stop for lunch at Firehouse BBQ and Blues in Richmond. We are going to have a lot of fun traveling the state and I hope to find, and share, many free and low cost activities as we go. 

- Sunday we volunteered after church at our "Sea You Summer" back to school event. I serve on our Children's/Family Ministry Team and we put on the event. We served a simple lunch, had games, and overall lots of fun fellowship. Annabeth enjoyed helping with crafts and decorating. I really enjoy how much the kids enjoy serving others! May we all seek to do His will at all times. 

- We FINALLY had summer weather here this week with highs in the 90s and the heat index much higher.  used the mornings for outdoor time with Oscar and then did school later in the heat of the day. We tried to be very careful about having lights and other electronics turned on since we knew the AC was working overtime. 

- Tuesday evening while the boys were out, Annabeth requested a Girls' Night. She asked for a girlie movie and cookie dough. We watched A Walk to Remember and she made homemade edible cookie dough. I wasn't much of a baker before allergies and they have forced me to really learn. We both loved this safe cookie dough - peanut, tree-nut, and egg free. 

- Wednesday morning I had a little date with Owen. We went to the library and then used a Buy One, Get One Free coupon for drinks at the new Biggby Coffee. Once activities ramp up and we get really busy, Mark and I really try to each have at least an hour of one-on-one time with each child, each week. 

Coffee Date with my favorite guy

- I tagged our final Express Tagger's items for the kids' sale and our family did our last clean-out to add more to our items for the sale. The kids get to keep any money that comes in from their toys, games, and books and I keep the clothing and shoes money. The kids are saving theirs for vacation and Mark and I use the rest to pay towards vacations or kids' activities. 

- Wednesday night we had a special dinner chosen by the kids. We made chicken and dumplings and apple dumplings from scratch. This was a huge, three hour start to finish process and I wanted to be sure we got it in before we get busy with evening activities again. We had game night afterwards and after many nights of Yahtzee tournaments we switch to Scattergories. 

2,024 in 2024 Check-In: I mentioned last month that July was our slowest decluttering month but we picked up steam in August for sure! We are now at 1920 items out of the house! A big push this month was garage items leaving and the kids' cleaning out ahead of the Fall Kids' Sale. We have just over 100 items left to hit our goal by the end of the year. The kids set the goal of finishing it by the end of September! I love their excitement for making our home a calm place where we love to be! 

Frugal Fail: While the special dumping dinner was a hit, I made a mistake. I let the soup simmer like it said but, obviously, did not smell it beginning to burn. By the time I took it off the heat, I had accidentally scorched the bottom of my stock pot. We tried many hacks from the internet to save it but none of them worked. Mark kindly bought another for me but this was an unplanned cost. I did this not too long ago while cooking for the holidays as well. I did remind the kids that if they smell smoke or burning that they have to tell me because I have no idea it's happening until I see it. 

We are looking forward to the holiday weekend. We are so thankful for all those that labor! 

Happy Labor Day Savings to All! 

Frugal Friday 550

 Happy Frugal Friday!

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

- Friday and Saturday Annabeth attended her first confirmation classes. Each family was asked to bring along some food to help with meals. She took some Made Good bars for snack and/or breakfast and also made Birthday Cookies. They were a big hit! I love how much she loves baking. Please continue praying for Annabeth and her five confirmation classmates as they work through this year. 

- Saturday evening the boys went to an Indianapolis Indians Game. Mark had originally bought the tickets back in May for a Cub Scout event but that game was rained out. They finally cashed in their rain out tickets this weekend and enjoyed a special super hero game night. 

Rowdie and O

O even got a ball from one of the coaches!

The boys had a great night. 

- Last spring, the boys pulled up the wooden boards around the kids' former play area. We put the wooden boards and mulch down our first full spring here (2014) and added different yard toys as we were gifted them. A few years ago, we passed along our slide, playhouse, and everything else to cousins and friends and so it's just been a mulch-pit. Once the boards were pulled up, we debated what to do. Pouring a patio was going to be expensive and not really worth it as we already have a large patio. I suggested a fire pit area but our neighbors have very large trees that hang over our yard and Mark worried it might be a fire risk. We discussed a yard barn but for the price we just don't have enough need for it. As we debated, grass grew in and now it looks pretty much just like it's part of our yard! It does sit a bit lower than the area around it BUT for our family, for now it works! We were so relieved we had been patient and hadn't jumped into spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on it. 

- As always, we are trying to not eat out in the months of August and September. We usually do this in January and again in August but we haven't held to it 100% this month so we're going to go for it in September too. We don't eat out super often but the kids always be sure to comment when we don't at all. This year, we've been doing some different cooking challenges (new pizza recipe each week, different slider recepes all summer, etc) so this week I had them pull out recipe books and they made our meal plan for the week. They were SO excited and enjoyed making many of the items all on their own. This was a win-win-win, no one complained about meals, I had help, AND they got in lots of practice! 

- Tuesday we enjoyed Conner Prairie for FREE. Thank you to our sweet friends the Henninger Family for inviting us to join them for the day. It was one of the homeschool days so we bumped into no fewer than a dozen homeschool families we know! The kids had a great four hours playing and learning with friends. Thank you Sarah for the invite and for sharing your pass! Saved: $63

- Wednesday morning Annabeth started back to work assisting in dance classes. She really enjoys teaching and I am so thankful for the opportunity for her to develop this skill. 

- Wednesday afternoon we met our friends Amanda and Logan at the park. We met through Little League several years ago and the boys have the best friendship! I always love seeing them. This week, Amanda invited us to join a park play event with a homeschool group they meet with. We made some new friends and reconnected with friends we haven't seen for a while. We packed along a lunch and skipped the group ice cream outing afterwards.

- Wednesday night, I mowed our lawn and the neighbor's. The family closes on the house this weekend so it was my last time mowing for them. As I did, I prayed over the children and grandchildren of our neighbor. I am so thankful that we truly have the best neighbors and while we miss Mrs. W every day, it's been such an honor to care for her children in this small way each week. 

- Last night was Back to School Night for our co-op. Since we've been in school since early July, it's a little hard to think about back to school but it's a whole new level of fun when we get to do school alongside friends! We are praying for a wonderful year ahead!

If you follow me on Facebook, you know that as I teach 4th Grade History this year we have purposed to visit all 92 Indiana Counties. We have six done, thanks to Conner Prairie for checking off Hamilton Co this week. We are looking forward to sharing what we see and learn in the months to come!

Happy Savings to All! 

Frugal Friday 549

Happy Frugal Friday!

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

- Friday afternoon we picked up fresh sweet corn. After dinner, we proccessed 3 dozen ears of corn for the freezer. Last year we did two dozen which lasted about 6 months so we got more this year. Once we were on a roll, Mark checked an app and found a deal on peppers in Greenwood. He ran up and grabbed all they had. We were up until midnight and put up seven dozen bell peppers. Total Spent: $50 

- Saturday and Sunday Annabeth was at the dance studio for a convention. For the past several years, convention has been out of town requiring a hotel stay, gas money, dog sitting fees, Owen's class fees, and eat out food. We're saving over $1000 this season by having it in town! Our budget was thrilled! 

- Each year at the out-of-town convention, we got pizza and visited with friends. Even though we were in town, we still all got pizza together. Mark got the pizza, they brought dessert, and we had a great afternoon together. The dads and sons had fun with baseball practice out back and I got to spend the afternoon catching up with Melissa. 

- Last week, Annabeth and I found some HUGE savings on dancewear. We ordered everything she liked (7 items for $40 which is a steal in dance wear!) When everything arrived, the most expensive item didn't work. I quickly sold them to a friend and made back what I paid. 

- Mark ran over to Meijer Saturday night to get the tail end of a giftcard deal. This weekend it was $75 cash back on $500 giftcards. We each grocery shop seperately so we have two mPerks accounts. He bought giftcards on each mPerks account, totaling $150 in Meijer Cashback, and we paid off an upcoming trip with the gift-cards. 

- We typically grocery shop at WalMart as it's consistently the most affordable for what we need. Since we had $150 to spend at Meijer we went there instead. We got our usual groceries, found some fun sale items (like buy one, get one free flavored waters), purchased some items to make desserts for upcoming events we are attending, and we purchased juice to donate to the church. We each still have remaining Meijer credit that we will use in the weeks to come.

- We made several items from scratch this week - chocolate zucchini cake to take to a family lunch, butter biscuits, and birthday cookies. I did use our extra giftcard money to splurge on Sweet Loren's cookie dough for a ladies' event last night. Sweet Loren's is Top 14 free and our hostess has Celiac Disease. I do not keep dedicated gluten free equipment in our kitchen so I felt prebought dough would be the best way to keep her safe. 

- The kids and I enjoyed the PBS Series Victorian Slum House. Annabeth had a bit in her history book about the London Slums and I immediately thought of this series as Mark I watched it a few years ago. We borrowed it from the library and the kids were fascinated! It's so well done and since it has real people, including real kids, they found it to be incredible. I LOVE finding so much of what we read for school and pleasure for free at the library! 

We had a great week all back together for the first time since early July. It was great to have everyone home at once! Oscar was especially happy!

The cutest pup around!

This weekend Annabeth begins her Confirmation journey. We covet your prayers that she may grow in knowledge of Truth, in love with Jesus, and confident in her faith. 

Happy Savings to All! 

Frugal Friday 548

 Happy Frugal Friday!

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

- Saturday-Monday the kids and I enjoyed our first group trip to Evansville/Owensboro since Derby! We were so glad to be home. We used some coupons for free books at a book sale, visited the library, visited Momaw, helped with some projects at her house, and just enjoyed being home!

- Saturday night the girls went to Trivia Night at church. Annabeth and I had ever played, my family LOVES it though, and we had so much fun! I didn't realize it involved door prizes and gift baskets (some of my favorite things). Annabeth won a $10 giftcard and a free hair appointment. I won a free pizza and breadsticks and also some beautiful cloth napkins. Our team WON and we all received $10 as our prize. 

- Monday Annabeth and I drove home. Owen stayed through the week to enjoy his special week with the grandparents. Annabeth pointed out that it is the first time since Owen was born that she had a week with just Mark and me. Mark planned a fun Monday dinner and dessert night out. We had a great time just the three of us. 

- My mama and sister have been helping a friend clear out her condo. She had many, many books and my sister had collected those she wanted to donate. The place she had hoped to donate them wouldn't take them so we brought them back to Franklin. We sorted a few to use for Indiana History this year at school, gave many to homeschool friends, and donated the rest to our local library's book sale. They were very happy to have them. 

- Tuesday Annabeth and I had a special afternoon after school. She got her haircut by our friend Christy Stearns who always makes hair magic happen! We went and spent $15 in Claire's coupons for some free items, used a $3 coupon and giftcard for free-to-us Starbucks, and then enjoyed a movie night at home. Annabeth declared it a "perfect" girls' day and we spent very little out-of-pocket!

Girls' Day with my Favorite Girl 

- Wednesday after school, Annabeth had a friend over to hang out. I try to give each of the kids a few "play-dates" each year with friends when the other is out of the house. It keeps everything more even keeled and I think everyone has more fun. The girls made chicken Ceasar salad for lunch.

- Wednesday evening I took care of my mending stack. I had been putting off for weeks and in the end it took around 10 minutes to mend everything. Take a moment today to finish a project you've been putting off - it might surprise you how quickly it is to get it ticked off your list.

- Annabeth and I organized our sale totes. I entered everything that I for sure wanted to take to the sale. I also listed a couple dozen items on Facebook and sold most of them within a few hours. I make more money this way and it saves me time/energy as I do sale prep later in the fall. 

- Mark worked a lot of overtime this week. He worked Saturday and Sunday on call outs, National Night Out, had bomb squad training, and taught a class at the library last night. Just last week he mentioned not having had over-time income for a while so here it came!

- Owen had a great week in Evasnville with the grandparents. They shopped at flea markets, went bowling, used coupons to do mini-golf and other activities at Walther's, spent the nights at the lake, and so much more. We pick him up later today and I can't wait to see him!

And lest you think I am always frugal, yesterday I splurged on manicures. This was my first manicure in nearly 10 years and I think Annabeth's first ever! Thank you to Liz at Onyx Studios for gorgeous nails and for reading labels to keep Annabeth safe. It was such a treat! 

We are looking forward to our first dance weekend of the year and kicking off youth group as well.

Happy Savings to All!

Frugal Friday 547

 Happy Frugal Friday!

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

- Friday morning I picked up groceries for the week. With everyone having been gone, and company over the weekend, I stocked back up on things and spent more than usual ($115) for the week BUT had only spent $50 the week before so we came out about even for the month. 

The boys had the BEST week at camp last week.

I was worried O might never come home.

They are already counting down to their next time in the woods. 

- Saturday evening with had one of Annabeth's best friends over for dinner. She moved away but we love getting the girls together anytime she's in town visiting family. We made chicken fajitas, mexican rice, and a Mexican corn salad for dinner.

- Sunday after church the kids had Day 2 of dance auditions. They were there at the same time so Mark and I snuck in a quick date. We browsed Madison Street Salvage and then got a few little candies next door at Hoosier Candy Cupboard. It was really raining so we skipped our plan to walk downtown and took a little country drive. Mark especially has always loved this and I love that we talk without interruptions. We did a lot of this even when the kids were little, they would fall asleep and we could talk without TV/phones/etc. 

- Sunday evening we had the Rileys over for dinner. Due to the rain we scratched our plan to smoke chicken and potatoes and just used the crockpot instead. We had chicken, mashed potatoes, two kinds of gravy, and green beans. Luke brought chips and dip and Kristi brought dessert so we had plenty for all! I so love time with the nieces and nephews - loving them is so much fun!

- Monday after school the kids and I sorted their grow-into-totes for fall/winter and pulled anything that wasn't going to fit. Some went right to a donate pile (old VBS shirts, sweats, etc) with nicer items held back for the fall kids' sale. 

- Monday night I had dinner out with camp friends. We hadn't all three been together for about 15 years. We met at Cheesecake Factory. I combined a giftcard with 1/2 off cheesecake coupon and paid just $10 OOP for dinner and tip. 

- Tuesday and Thursday the kids worked to get school done early so they could watch Olympics coverage. Gymnastics and swimming have been the big favorites here. Annabeth watched while wearing my Magnificent Seven shirt from 1996. I LOVED watching them win gold in Atlanta and that year for Christmas my parents took us to their show. I told my mama it was probably the longest lasting souvenier we own! 

Crafting while watching Suni and the Golden Girls

Is a shirt from 1996 now considered vintage?

- I worked on planning some free and low cost activities, classes, and field trips for first semester. We are looking forward to frugal fun while learning!

2,024 in 2024 Update:

This was by far our slowest month of getting rid of items. The kids were out of town two full weeks and inbetween we were plenty busy packing, unpacking, packing, and unpacking again. Also, I think when we are gone our stuff tends to be out-of-sight-out-of-mind. We did manage to part with over 100 items and our new total is: 1610 items gone in 2024! 

Happy Savings to All!