Frugal Friday

Aren’t they just the cutest?

January has been a great month for us as far as saving money is concerned.  I have been mindful of needs vs. wants.   We all know that Americans are constantly told that that we need more more more to be happy.  But, the cost of more stuff is so high. To our planet, our checkbooks and family life.  I know I prefer to spend time with a movie at home as opposed to an expensive night out, if it means my husband can have a job he loves, as opposed to a higher paid job with a lot of stress.  I think it’s true, as we get older, things become clearer on what’s really important.  Family.

Here is a list of things we did this week to continue to save money:

1.  My husband used Amazon gift cards to purchase textbooks for our son.  He also had a couple textbooks that Alec needs for the semester.  That is the advantage to our son majoring in the same thing his dad does for a living, we happen to have things on hand.  Alec has one more semester of college after this.  There is a light at the end of his academic tunnel!
2. I picked up a bunch of extra hours at work.  I have a coworker who is out on medical leave.  I am taking advantage of the extra hours while I can.  Not only is the extra money nice, but I love my job and don’t mind being there longer.
3. I used a 40% off coupon code at Walgreens for a box of party invitations I ordered.  The savings was nice, given I needed 40 invites.
4. We continue to use the library for so much.  I cannot stress this enough, if you want to save lots of money, use your library.  This week alone, we watched a couple blockbuster movies, just released on DVD, for free.  We don’t have HBO, but love the show Big Little Lies.  I was the first to check out season 2.  We were able to watch it, without a cable subscription.  Our library even has WIFI hotspots for checkout.  Families who cannot afford internet are able to check these out for home use.  I tried to find a few textbooks for my daughter at the library, but they don’t have everything.
5. Continued with my shop the pantry and freezer first policy this month.  I had to give in yesterday and go to the grocery store for a lot of items.  BUT, I spent a lot less than I normally would and went with a meal plan in mind.  I think I am going to need to extend the freezer first for one more month.  I really, really need to defrost it.

What did you do to save money this week?