Despite my lack of blogging, we kept up with keeping our spending to a minimum. Well, everyone but Joseph. :/
Here's some of the frugal things we've done around here
Use up leftovers. If it doesn't like they will be at within 2-3 days, I freeze for later.
Make on chicken and vegetable stocks. Now if I could do beef, I'd be set.
Purchased food containers to reuse in lunches, instead of using bags all the time.
Purchased SDC and White Water passes again, they saved us a ton of money last year and the kids enjoyed going
Decluttered like mad and had a yardsale. I'm not sure to appalled or impressed at the number of things that left the house. Sold over 100 items and made over $200 at our yardsale. All the baby stuff is gone :((minus the bassinet I'm keeping and Baby Girl's current bed)
Redoing the house ourselves(look for a series on this :))
Watched Craigslist and FB yardsale groups for items we need. Got a twin over full bunk bed for Thing 1 and Baby Girl for $50!(no mattresses, but awesome price)
Told my mil what items we were looking for and she found us a kitchen table for the best price ever, free!
Continue selling on FB and Craigslist. Made around $400 since the beginning of the year and got rid of a lot of unused items(including a big, in the way air hockey table)
I've got several items free just belonging to Bzzagent(if you are interested in joining, send me an email and I'll send you the info!) and writing reviews!(look for a giveaway coming up!)
We ditched satellite(close to $100 a month!!) and now just deal with Netflix(DVDs and streaming) and Hulu Plus, all for under $30(plus occasionally Redbox)
We were going to switch internet providers but I gave our current a call and they they doubled our speed for the same price(6 months). Then it only increases by $5.
Baby Girl went to summer school. It was only 16 days but it gave her something to do for half a day(and helped me have free mornings to make it through the yardsale!)
We planted a garden. Although we aren't having luck with some things(anyone know a good brand of lettuce seeds, we've tried 3 different kinds!), others look like they are well on their way(including corn, yum) Baby Girl loves doing this!
Joseph found a plant on the side of the road in a busted pot. It was all scraggly but had a good smell. Turned out it was sage. It's filling out and smells amazing by my front door.
Thing 1 continue to look for a job. I feel so bad for the girl(although I know her pain, after a year of looking I haven't found anything either). She does has a regular babysitting gig that gets her $25 a week, enough to take care of some her needs.
I got a smartphone for free. My current provider(Boost) was switching something around and my old dinosaur of a phone wouldn't have worked anymore on their signal. They offered a promotion I could get a free phone and one was a smartphone. Now, it's not an Iphone or anything(it's just a real basic smartphone) but I can call, text, and surf the net.
Thing 1 decided not to do cheer next year so she would have time for other things, so we got $42.50 refund on her uniform. (used that to buy her some shorts and me some jeans at the the thrift store, and had enough left over for drinks and $1 menu sandwich at McD's )
We are coming to the end of bill on Thing 2's braces! Not sure what I'll do with an extra $156 a month.
Baby Girl wanted to play baseball so I shopped around for the best league. I found one that was $10(versus $35 for others)
Continue menu planning
These are just a few things we've been doing around here to save(and make!) some cash!
We started a date night with the kids. One will stay home, the other 2 go to their grandmother's or a friends, then we take the remaining one out. It's def a cheaper way to eat out, and each kid gets to spend some time with us.
