Friday, April 4, 2025

Frugal Friday 566

 Happy Frugal Friday!

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

- Friday after school and work we headed south for the weekend. My parents treated us to sushi dinner. On Saturday, we spent the day in Owensboro. Mama, Lu, and I stayed later than the rest visiting with Lance and Momaw and howling with laughter at old stories. It was the most perfect day!

Annabeth won't be confirmed until Easter but Momaw will not be 
traveling for the service so she gave her gift last weekend.
Fun fact: Momaw was my very first Methodist Sunday School teacher!
I still remember the joy of helping climbing on the chairs to open the big cabinet
and helping her lay out all of the booklets. 

- Sunday we opted to leave by 9:30 in the morning as there were huge storms projected. In the end, we had a mild thunderstorm late in the evening. I was disheartened as I felt like we should have just stayed longer but in the end we knew we had made the safest decision with the information we had.

- My sister sent us home with a bag of clothes to trade. I kept the ones that worked and took the extras along to our co-op's free table. We also took a long some books, CDs, and home decor to the table. As always, I picked up the extra items afterwards and took them to be donated to little free libraries around town. 

- We had a very rainy week here. Our treadmill got a LOT of use this week as we just didn't have enough sunshine to be out walking much. I am so thankful for the gift that piece of equipment for all of us to stay active even when the weather isn't ideal. 

- I have been very busy with work as many clients are on Spring Break and others are making plans to travel soon. Can I help plan your next adventure? Send me an e-mail a.riley@magicalvacationplanner.com 

- We did a small $53 grocery trip and have been using up foods that we already had on hand. Our dinners were: tacos + Mexican rice, chicken Alfredo, tomato soup + sandwiches, and pork loin + stuffing + veggies. Nothing fancy this week but it got the job done! Owen has already asked to pull out cookbooks to make the menu for next week.

- I cashed out some of my Ibotta Cash and used it to get pick-up pizza last night. I never want to cook on Thursdays when I am tired from the week so I love to treat myself once a month to not cooking. I also used a buy one, get one free deal + $6 Papa John's cash. Start saving with Ibotta Here

- I also cashed out some of our Fetch Rewards for an Amazon Giftcard. Mark used it to order Annabeth's facewash which isn't sold anywhere in town. Use my code to get 2,000 points when you join Fetch: YK4JN

As much of the state has endured big storms and flooding this week, we are very thankful to have had very little of it at home. We pray for those who have had water or wind damage. 

Also, shout-out to Mark who was the MVP this week! It was an emotional visit home, my first since January and I was so sad to have it cut so short. We're also in our last weeks of school, wrapping up middle school with Annabeth, looking ahead to next year, and I am in my final week on our co-op's board. I am tired, maybe even exhausted would be fair, and I am running on fumes. Last night, after working a 10 hour day and then going out to work a community event, Mark came home and surprised me with an ice cream. It had a candle in it. Without even asking, he somehow knew I just needed something special, extra. I am thankful that he loves me so well and so often sees my breaking point before I do. 

Happy Savings to All!