Category: Frugal Living

Here is a list of the things we did this week to maintain our frugal way of life.

1. Father’s Day was spent at home.  We grilled out and had a family dinner loaded with laughter and conversation.
2. The kids and I pooled our money and bought Eric a Father’s Day gift he wanted, instead of buying 4 so so gifts.
3. Did you know that Head and Shoulders shampoo is the perfect home remedy for some skin rashes?  Instead of buying cream at the store, I used the shampoo we had on hand and it worked like a charm.  NOTE talk to your doctor about using Head and Shoulders before applying it to a rash.  My doctor was the one who told me this a couple years ago, but everyone is different.
4. I had to drive to Green Bay unexpectedly over the weekend.  Like always, I used our teeny tiny Toyota Yaris for the drive.  The car gets 30 miles to the gallon, making it an economical way to travel long distances.
5. I have been doing some “redecorating” of the kids rooms as they move on, move out, move back and grow up. I made some changes to my son’s room and used furniture, bedding and decorations we already had.  I have to constantly remind myself to use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.
6. Here is an extra which relates to my daughter, not me.  On her way to work on Monday morning, she filled up her tank and the pump had some kind of problem.  She got $40 worth of gas for free.  The gas station attendant told her that there was nothing she could about it and she could call corporate.  Corporate told her to talk to the gas station.  She made a genuine effort to pay for the gas.

Another week has passed which means it’s time to review my list of ways we saved money.

1. I did not buy alcohol for myself at the Paul McCartney concert.  It was $12.25 for a 4 oz glass of terrible wine.  I did buy my son a can of beer though.
2. Now that summer is here, we have started to line dry our laundry outside.  Nothing smells better than sheets that have been dried in the sun.
3. This one is for my daughter.  She went to Six Flags in Gurnee IL on Thursday with her boyfriend.  He has a season pass and it was bring a friend for free day.  Researching free days for museums and amusements parks is always the way to go.
4. For the first summer in probably 18 years, I did not need to pay for a camp, a class or other summer entertainment for my kids.  I have reached that stage in parenting where those things are no longer a part of our budget.  It is actually shocking how much those experiences add up to when you tally them up every summer.
5. My son is going to a wedding this summer and needs a pair of dress pants.  The pair he has now are too big.  Instead of buying a pair, my mother in law is doing alterations for free.

What did you do this week to save money?

This is not an economical glass of wine.

Milwaukee Art Museum

Another week has passed and it’s another week of saving some cash.  Here is a run down of what we did this week to save money.

1. I have an unruly set of eyebrows.  Without proper maintenance, they turn into a unibrow.  I used to pay someone every 3 weeks to wax them, now I do it myself with a pair of tweezers and a lot of patience.  I did that this week.
2. The first Thursday of every month is free day at the Milwaukee Art Museum.  After going to an appointment with my daughter on Thursday, I decided to visit the museum for a couple of hours.
3. We ordered pizza last weekend, which we don’t do very often.  Dominoes had a $7.99 3 topping large pizza special.  We ordered 2 and my daughter picked them up, so no delivery fee or tip.  This provided dinner for 4 and lunch for 2 the next day.
4. I brown bagged it to work everyday.  Thankfully, my restaurant options are limited near my employer, so anything I can put together at home is the better option.
5. I carefully menu planned and stayed below my weekly grocery budget.  Not buying meat helps that cause.

What did you do to save a few dollars this week?

We spent another week saving our pennies.  It’s amazing how much stuff each of us actually has and never use.  I don’t know about other countries but Americans really do know how to over consume.  We need to all take a step back and ask ourselves if we need everything we are spending our hard earned money on.

1. I enter a lot of Instagram contests.  You know the ones; like the page, tag a friend and say something you love about the place.  I won a contest in December for a $50 dinner at a local restaurant.  We went last weekend.  The downside though, I got a $60 parking ticket.  The night cancelled itself out.  But, we rarely go out and this forced us to enjoy a night downtown.
2. I won another contest, this one on Facebook.  We won a year of free nail trims for one of our dogs.  Last week we went in for their quarterly nail trim.  I had acquired enough points on the vets app to get the other dogs nails trimmed for free as well.
3. We had a nice, wood coffee table.  One of our dogs decided that it would make a really awesome chew toy.  Buying a new one seemed like a risk I wasn’t willing to take given the damage done to the one we had.  A friend is moving and getting rid of all of her stuff.  She gave us her glass and metal table for free.  I have challenged the dogs to destroy that one.
4. My daughter got a job at Starbucks.  One of the perks of being a Starbucks employee is one free pound of coffee, per week!
5. We officially turned the heat off for the year.  Mornings have been a little crisp in the house, but it’s May, so off with the heat.

What have you done recently to save some cash?

Luna pretending like she is innocent regarding the coffee table