Frugal Friday 560

 Happy Frugal Friday!

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

- Saturday and Sunday the boys camped in Brown County. This was to make-up for the camping trip they missed earlier this fall due to the hurricane. They tagged along with some friends this weekend and chipped in for food. The group also needed firewood so Mark took our pile from the backyard. We cut down a tree earlier this year and just saved the wood - now we know why! It was great to chip in without having to spend any money!

- On the way home from camping, the boys picked up Monroe County for our count as they had lunch at Mother Bear's Pizza just off IU's campus. Owen loved the pizza, cheesebread, and writing on their walls!

Pizza!

- While the boys were gone, Annabeth and I had a Twilight movie marathon weekend. In the middle of watching the movies, we cleaned house, did the final lawn mow of the season, went to a meeting for church, and went to Sunday School/Church. 

- Owen has stopped taking a medicine that he has taken for several years. While it was only $10/month, we are excited to have that $120 a year back in our medical budget! We've had a very, very expensive medical year with more bills coming so I am thankful for every penny we can save towards those bills. 

- Mark had the holiday off on Monday and so he did a long needed project of replacing our water heater. He has been limping it along with little, inexpensive fixes since 2018 but it was finally time. Mark purchased the water heater and then had a friend help him install it. We saved hundreds vs having a plumber do all of the work. 

- Mark dragged the old water heater down to the street with the hope that someone would pick it up in a day or two for scrap. Someone did the next day! Since we didn't have to pay the transfer station fee we saved: $50

- We had another big expense this week as our main car needed new tires. We have known since the summer that it was coming so we have been saving. We ended up missing some good rebate deals over Labor Day Weekend and mistakingly thought they would reappear at Columbus or Veteran's Day. They did not so we went ahead with the purchase this week as it was absolutely time! We did save 10% thanks to a First Responder Discount. 

- My friend Cat told me how she and her kids shop for groceries "based on their vibes." I have been thinking about it since she told me and we did it on Tuesday. We stopped at Aldi, which we never shop at, and Owen was thrilled to learn about the quarter system. We roamed the aisles, made up a menu as we went along, and the kids thought it was great fun! We did spend $90 which is $15 more than usual but they had crab cakes that we couldn't resist. I did another small grocery trip at Kroger to pick up what Aldi didn't have safely for Annabeth. Our budget can't stand to do this often but it was a fun on a week when I had zero motivation to meal plan or prep.

- We cleaned out our winter wear tote. The kids had several sock hats and mittens that were too small. I washed them and we took over to a Little Free Pantry. 

- My friend Alisha and her boys brought a whole trashbag of clothing over for us. THANK YOU all!! Both kids ended up with new clothes that fit now and some to grow into. Some items were too small or passed over by Owen (who doesn't realize how cool Michael Jordan and Nike are) so we are taking them next month to friends who have three boys. 

- I booked a hotel stay for one of the kids' dance competitions next year. The last two times we've been in that town we've splurged on a condo with two bedrooms and a kitchen as we were there many days. This year the schedule should be a quick in-and-out with most of our time being spent dancing. We're saving $1000 off what we paid last year by doing a hotel vs condo! 

- Last night was our co-op's Friendsgiving. We had the most beautiful night of fellowship with great food and a Christmas ornament craft from the Mom's Christmas Party  Committee. I am SO SO SO thankful for friends who believe what we believe about education and that we can encourage and build each other up.

Tomorrow is our first Family Day since August!! The kids and Mark have been so incredibly busy that we've been many combinations of all of this fall but no days with ALL four of us together. I've planned a fun Indiana County surprise for everyone and I cannot wait to just be together!

Happy Savings to All!