Saving Families Money Since 2007
We stopped by Kroger on Tuesday night and found some great markdowns:
You can watch my quick video here where I share more about these deals and what I plan to use them for.
A few weeks ago, we drove to Ohio for an ice-skating competition that Kaitlynn was competing in. Jesse had asked me if we could drive down a day early because he’d heard about this museum in Dayton called the National Museum of the US Air Force that he wanted to check out.
I told Jesse that would work for us to go a day early but I didn’t know whether I’d be able to go since I might be so backlogged on work and projects that I’d need to stay at the hotel. {My full-time assistant was completely offline that week on a hiking trip and one of my other part-time assistants had a baby. So I was in over my head trying to do my normal tasks and projects, blog, and take care of a multitude of extra responsibilities.}
I didn’t want to have to miss out on the museum and time with the family but the reality of having your own business is that there are many blessings and a lot of flexibility, but there are the occasional drawbacks — like weeks when you have to pull double shifts!
Jesse was very understanding as we’d known this very, very busy two week period was coming and I was already having to shift a lot of things around in order to be completely present for Kaitlynn at her competition.
Because I didn’t even think I’d probably get to go to the museum, I didn’t research it at all. In all honesty, what Jesse had told me (“It’s a museum about the USAF and there are a lot of planes.”) didn’t sound all that exciting or interesting. I’m not much of a museum person if it’s just planes or old historical artifacts, so I doubted I would miss much.
However, I really, really wanted to get to go to the museum just to have that fun memory with the kids and Jesse — even if the museum was going to be really boring to me. So I worked late in the evening the night before and was able to get everything done so I could take the afternoon and evening off.
I had asked Jesse that morning, “So how long do you think we’ll be there?” He responded, “I can’t imagine much more than a few hours.” We decided to get to the museum around 1 p.m. since it closed at 5 p.m. and that would give us four hours there. We figured that should be ample time.
Then we pulled up to the museum and realized it was more like a MUSEUM COMPLEX than a museum. In fact, there were four huge buildings and lots and lots of cars and people.
Oops. Apparently it wasn’t the little plane hangar we had envisioned!
We found a parking spot, trekked inside, and went to buy our tickets to the museum. With how big and nice it looked, I was now concerned that the price of admission was going to be much more than we were expecting. My guess was something like $20-$30 per person. And I was kicking myself that we were only going to be there for four hours if we were going to pay that kind of money to get in.
Imagine our surprise when the guy at the information desk said, “Oh, there’s no admission price. It’s FREE!”
FREE??!! Jesse and I looked at each other and realized that things were off to a good start!
Then, we looked at the map and saw more about what the museum was about. Yes, there were lots and lots and lots of plane, but I was so surprised to see that they had a whole, huge section dedicated to World War II.
If you don’t know, I’m a huge World War II buff. I’ve read countless books and am fascinated by anything to do with that period in history.
FREE + World War II? You better believe I was happy that I came!!
Note: There is a charge for the Air Force Museum Theatre and flight simulators, if you want to do those. Otherwise, everything else is entirely free!
Early Years Gallery — The museum started with a history of flight and how planes used in wars in the early days. It was really interesting to see how quickly technology had advanced in such a short amount of time. It was also hard to imagine how scary it must have been to fly some of the early models of planes — especially during the wars.
Korean War Gallery, Southeast Asia War Gallery, Cold War Gallery — We ended up having to skip these exhibits because we didn’t have enough time, but we would have LOVED to have go through these. The little that we saw of them looked amazing and we all agreed wholeheartedly that we wished we had had two days to explore all the exhibits!
World War II Gallery — We all absolutely loved this exhibit. It was incredibly interesting, very well done, and very informative. And even though I’ve studied and read so much about World War II, I still learned a lot.
We found the section about downed pilots who escaped enemy territory without being caught to be riveting. They showed different methods and means that these pilots used to travel through enemy territory to safety. There were also lots of intriguing facts about prisoners of war and prisoners who escaped.
There was a traveling exhibit dedicated to the Holocaust that was really touching — especially for our kids. For them to see photos and footage of what happened during the Holocaust impacted them in a pretty powerful way.
Missile Gallery — This was pretty amazing! To see a sort of real-life Missile Silo and to be standing next to the missiles felt surreal.
Space Gallery — We loved getting to walk inside a full-size representation of a NASA space shuttle payload bay and look inside the CCT-1 cockpit and mid-deck areas. We were shocked at how small the area was for the crew. I can’t fathom being holed up in such a small area for a week or so on a mission with multiple other people!
Presidential Gallery — Even though we loved the World War II gallery and the other galleries, our excitement was through the roof when we got to the Presidential Gallery. Why? Because we got to walk inside and tour the presidential planes used by Presidents Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower as well as the Boeing VC-137C 26000, which was used by eight presidents — Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and Clinton!
It was kind of overwhelming to be in the plane that carried John F. Kennedy’s body after he was shot and to think of how we were walking in planes that had carried such high-ranking people who have impacted our country so profoundly. We were pretty much all in awe — even though it was the end of the day and we’d done a lot of walking!
FREE Daily Tours
While I think there’s so much you can learn just by going through the museum yourself, you can learn even more with their numerous tour options. And did I mention all of these are FREE?
Daily Guided Tours — The museum offers free guided tours of the museum daily. These last approximately one hour and 30 minutes. Advance registration is not necessary. Find out more here.
Self-Guided Tours — You can explore U.S. Air Force history by listening to these podcasts on your computer, in your car, or while walking around the museum galleries! The self-guided audio tours feature specific topics in U.S. Air Force history as they are highlighted throughout the museum’s exhibits. You can download the podcasts before visiting the museum. Find out more here.
Behind-the-Scenes Tours — Behind the Scenes Tours are regularly scheduled, free guided tours of the museum’s restoration area. Participants are shuttled to the restoration hangars, located about one mile from the main museum complex. Tours are offered every Friday (some exceptions) at 12:15 p.m. Advance registration is required. Find out more here.
Pack a picnic lunch — You cannot bring outside food or drink inside the museum. You also cannot eat or drink except in designated areas in the museum — such as in the restaurant areas. From what we saw, they were quite strict with these rules.
However, you could definitely pack snacks, drinks, and a picnic lunch and go out to your car to eat it. I didn’t see any picnic tables, but there was a lot of space outside where you could spread out a blanket and have a picnic.
Note: The food at the restaurants was quite expensive from what I saw (you can see some of the prices here). I kind of felt like they had it priced like they did to help cover some of the museum costs. 🙂
Bring a stroller — If you have younger kids, bring a stroller. Even if your youngest is 5 or 6, they will likely tire from all of the walking and it would be easier to push them around so their legs could rest for awhile. Almost the entire museum is stroller-friendly.
Be prepared for lots of walking — Like I alluded to, it’s a HUGE museum with four separate buildings. Wear comfortable shoes and plan to do lots and lots of walking. There are some places where you can sit down and watch various movies about an exhibit, but there weren’t a lot of comfortable places to sit and rest your legs that I saw.
If you needed to take a break, though, you could go sit in the cafe area. You wouldn’t need to purchase anything to sit there and when we were there, it was pretty deserted (however, we were also in there around 3:30 p.m. — so we probably missed the lunch crowds).
Bring your camera — There are no restrictions on taking pictures and, believe me, you will want to take lots of pictures. Or at least I sure did! 🙂
Spend some time researching the museum’s website — I wish I had done this! The museum’s website is very comprehensive and detailed and will give you lots of helpful advice to make the most of your visit. I’d also recommend deciding ahead of time which areas you want to spend the most time at. You can’t do it all, so going into it knowing your priority areas will help make sure you actually make time to hit those!
Plan to stay the whole day — We wish we had planned to stay the whole day! There is so much to see and do and we want to go back! If we did it again, we’d plan to go through two buildings, then go back to the car and get some lunch and have a picnic, then come back in and go through the next two buildings.
I think it would take a good 6-8 hours to go through all of the exhibits at a non-rushed pace. This wouldn’t allow us to stop at read all the signs, by any means, but I think 6-8 hours would be enough time to make it through everything and spend some extra time in those areas where your family is most interested.
The museum is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week. The museum is closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day.
Have any Frugal Road Trip Ideas for our family to explore next?
I’d love to hear! I’m hoping to share more detailed review posts like this of attractions and museums that I think you all might be interested in so leave a comment or shoot me an email if you have a suggestion for other great frugal attractions or museums you think our family should visit!
I finished three books last week. Notice I said finished. That’s the key word. 🙂 I didn’t start and finish all three of these last week.
In fact, it took me about 3 months to read If. Because it was one of those books you didn’t want to rush through. Instead, you wanted to read slowly and savor and digest every chapter.
3 Books I Finished Last Week
Stone Fox — I read this book aloud to the kids at breakfast. Even though it’s a very sad story, it’s engaging and packed with lessons on courage, bravery, respect, strong work ethic, and much more. It’s a short book and a quick read, but we all enjoyed it — including me!
Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear — I’d had this book on my bookshelf for quite some time and kept picking it up and trying to start it and then I’d set it back down resolving to read it later. When I discovered the amazing-ness that is OverDrive and OneClickDigital (our library’s free audiobook apps — I can’t believe I just now checked these out!), the first audiobook I downloaded was Big Magic and I loved it.
While I strongly disagree with much of the author’s worldview and some of her insights, her book really challenged me as a creative. I especially loved her thoughts on fear. This post was completely inspired by reading Big Magic. {Note: This book contains quite a few expletives.}
If: Trading Your If Only Regrets for God’s What If Possibilities — I love Mark Batterson and this book was another book that challenged, convicted, and messed with me in a powerful way. I underlined and dog-eared many of the pages, sent photos of pages in the book to friends who I knew would appreciate some of the quotes. Here’s one of the quotes that I just had to share.
Related: My Periscope Video on These 3 Books
The girls had seen the trailer to the Miracles From Heaven movie and asked if we could watch it. I didn’t really know anything about it, but it looked decent from the reviews so I said we could watch it together.
It’s based on a true story and it’s a pretty amazing story, at that. I wasn’t familiar with the story and didn’t know how it ended, so that made it more enjoyable. Supposedly, the trailer ruins the story, so if you don’t like to know the ending before you watch a movie, don’t watch the trailer to this one.
I thought Jennifer Garner did an excellent job portraying the anguish that a mom would have felt in this situation and not sugar-coating what would have been incredible traumatic and frustrating.
I thought some of the acting was cheesy and it felt like a low-budget film throughout, but overall, it was uplifting and very family-friendly. (Note: Parts of the movie include some medical drama and trauma… so be advised of that if you’re planning to have your kids watch it. It could frighten younger kids.)
People are always asking me how on earth I find time to read as much as I do. I written some about How I Find Time to Read before, but I thought I’d share my three methods that are working well for me right now:
1. Read a Little Bit Every Morning
One thing that’s been very effective for me for a long time is to include reading as part of my morning routine. After I read my daily Bible reading, I open up whatever spiritually encouraging book I’m currently reading and read a few pages from it.
A few pages might not feel like much, but it adds up over time. And some days, I’ll have time to read a full chapter. Which means that I can usually get through at least one inspirational book like this every 1-2 months, depending on the length of the book.
Is there something you do every morning (or every day) that could be your “trigger reminder” to read a few pages from a book. Maybe when you sit down to breakfast or sit down at your desk at work or during your baby’s nap or while you’re waiting in the school pickup lane during the school year? Making it a habit — almost like brushing your teeth — means that it’s much more likely to happen without you really even having to think about it after awhile.
2. Read To Your Kids at Meal Times
Some people don’t think you can count the books you read to your kids as Books Read This Year. I wholeheartedly disagree. In fact, if that’s the only way you can get any reading in, it’s a fantastic way to do so!
We like to read together at breakfast. I usually just read one chapter of whatever read aloud we’re currently going through. It’s simple, it usually only takes about 10-15 minutes, and it’s the stuff that memories are made of!
To this day, one of my fondest memories growing up is all sitting at the table eating lunch while my mom read. We read biographies of famous people and missionaries most often, and I learned so much from those books and the stories contained in them. Many of the lessons are things I carry with me to this day.
By the way, reading during a meal means that there’s a much better chance your kids will be quieter and it makes it much easier to get through an entire chapter with a lot fewer interruptions!
3. Listen to Audiobooks
I don’t know why it took me so long to get on the audiobook bandwagon. I guess maybe I just was making it too hard or I was thinking that since I’m a visual learner, listening to books wouldn’t work well for me.
Inspired by my Facebook Live viewers, though, I looked into our library’s free audiobook programs and I’m thrilled that I did. Because not only does our library offer an amazing collection of audiobooks on their app, they are all FREE!
They don’t offer every single book in existence, but the collection on our library’s two apps (OneClickDigital and OverDrive) is quite extensive — enough to keep me supplied with good audiobooks for a long, long time!
I’ve found that the best audiobooks for me to listen to are ones where the audiobook reader is very engaging and where the book is not a book where I’d want to underline and catch every single word. I’m also finding that it’s a great way to get through long books that might feel overwhelming or intimidating to read (for instance, I put off reading Unbroken for forever, but I’m over halfway through listening to it — and I just started it about a week ago!).
I’ve been listening to audiobooks while cooking, cleaning, and while doing my evening routine before bed. I’ve found that I have at least an hour to two hours every day when my hands are busy but my mind is free that I can turn on an audiobook and enjoy it while doing activities I’d already be doing anyway.
Get a FREE 3-Month Subscription to Audible!
By the way, if you’re interested, not only do I recommend checking out your local library to see if they offer free audiobooks (the most highly recommended apps are the OverDrive app and the Hoopla app), but Audible is also offering a free 3-month subscription right now. Just be sure to put on your calendar to cancel it before the 3 months are up!
Related: My Periscope Video on How I’m Finding Time to Read
What are YOU reading? Any great recommendations for me?
Jamerrill has a great post up sharing her $620 once-a-month grocery shopping haul for a family of 9, plus her 4-week meal plan. If you have a large family, I think you’ll be inspired by her post.
For 15 days, we’re exploring the topic of making our health and well-being a priority as part of the 15 Days to a Healthier You series. You can read Day 1 here, Day 2 here, Day 3 here, Day 4 here, Day 5 here, and Day 6 here.
Paper clutter, an overloaded email inbox, and lots of stuff in your house that you don’t love and use, can drain you, bog you down, and zap your energy and creativity.
But it’s not just physical clutter and excess stuff that can bog us down; calendar clutter is a huge cause of exhaustion and burnout. It’s not only a joy-killer and a creativity-killer; it could also be hurting your overall health.
I get it.
There’s so much we want to do. There’s so much we need to do. And there’s so much that seems like a good idea to do.
If you’re a driven person like me, you constantly have so many ideas and brainstorms and dreams and hopes and goals for what you want to do with your life, what you want to do with your year, what you want to do with each week.
And it’s great to dream about all these amazing things you want to accomplish, but the reality is that overextending yourself and packing your schedule so full with “good stuff” doesn’t make for a great life at all… it makes for an overwhelming life.
So, what’s the solution? Well, we have to get ruthless with our calendar clutter.
It can sound simple on the surface, but just like it’s sometimes challenging to keep physical clutter at bay and to know what to hang onto and what to get rid of, so it can be hard to figure out how to eliminate the calendar clutter, too.
Not sure how to do that? Here’s some step-by-step help to get you started:
There are many good things in life that you can invest your life in, but you can’t come close to trying to do them all. Figure out what the best things are for YOU and wrap your life, time, and energy around those things. Again, this goes back to knowing what your most important priorities are for the season of life you’re in.
When you know what is important for you, it’s much easier to determine what’s NOT important for you to do.
For me, that’s my marriage, my kids, my health and well-being, and the blog. I say “no” to a lot of other things because they are the best things for me to invest my time in at this season of life.
Related: Stop Trying to Be Awesome & Instead Be Wise
I love this quote from Breaking Busy by Alli Worthington:
“Our lives have gotten so cluttered with things we think we should do, that we can’t figure out what we were meant to do. Let your life be about what you were meant to do, not full of what you think you should do. This starts with your daily decisions about how you spend your time.”
Alli then goes on in her book to encourage you to create what she calls a “Stop Doing List” — a list of items you intentionally decide to not do so that you can focus your time and energy on your greatest priorities.
She says the best way to identify what you need to stop doing is by asking yourself these two questions: What is sucking the life right out of me? Does this activity get me closer to reaching my goals?
Related: How to Create a Realistic To-Do List
You might be able to juggle a lot of things and do a good job of it, but you aren’t nor will you ever be superwoman. You need to set aside buffer time in your schedule — to recharge, to refuel, and to prevent burn-out.
Some practical ideas for more breathing room in your life:
Stay Home More — I love staying home and we aim to stay home all day at least 1-2 days per week. When we are running, running, running, and going, going, going, it makes us all feel tired and cranky.
Allow Two Hours of Margin — A lot of our feelings of busyness come from trying to pack 32 hours’ worth of projects and to-do’s into a 24-hour day. No wonder we feel so overwhelmed and worn out! I use a time-blocked to-do list and I try to always include at least 2 hours of margin every day so that I have some wiggle room for the inevitable interruptions. Expect the unexpected, plan for the interruptions, and it will alleviate a lot of stress in your day!
Take One Day Off — Setting aside Sundays as our “off” day has been one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. In fact, I would say it is almost the number one key to my productivity and efficiency. I look forward to Sundays as the weekly 24-hour period to rest, refresh, and recharge. You’ll quickly wear out of you just charge through life and never take time to refuel. Sundays are the day when my spirit breathes and my creativity tank is refilled for the week ahead.
When considering the multitude of opportunities that constantly present themselves for activities, ministries, service projects, and more, I try to first ask myself, “Will this matter in 25 years from now?” This helps me weed through a lot of things that just aren’t the best things for me to be devoting time and energy to right now.
After paring down my list based upon that question, I then try to focus on quality versus quantity. I’d rather do a few things really well, than a hundred things pretty poorly.
You’ve got to set your foot down, create boundaries, and say no. This doesn’t mean you always say no to everything and it doesn’t always mean that you say no every time. But it does mean that you realize that you are the one calling the shots. If an opportunity or idea is going to put extra strain on your home and family, you are the boss and you have the final say.
It’s easy to forget this and start feeling obligated to people and projects, so I encourage you to ask yourself a few hard questions before committing to something:
By carefully considering commitments before saying yes to them, I’m able to really, really give my best to those few things I’m saying yes to. I’m able to focus on them, pour into them, and give my all to them instead of giving my leftovers or what little tiny capacity I could muster up because I was stretched so thin and exhausted by all the demands of the other things I’ve committed to.
Related: The 10-10-10 Analysis & How It’s Changing My Life
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Guest post from Katie of Saving You Everything
I am a social worker by training, and every time I see a homeless person in my city, I try to decide on the best way to help them.
Should I give them money? Should I try to tell them where a shelter is? Is this a scam? Are they just faking?
Whatever the case, I feel compelled to — and NOT just because I’m a social worker. I want to help them because I’m human and so are they… and they are asking for help.
I decided to use my “coupon super powers” to make what my hubby and I call our Mobile Homeless Outreach Bags. Now, when we see someone asking for money or food, we simply reach into the backseat of our car and hand them a bag with toiletries and food!
Most of the people are stunned. One guy started to tear up and asked if we wanted our bag back!
Most of our bags usually cost less than $3 to make, and sometimes they are totally free. Here’s what we put inside (along with an estimated cost breakdown).
The total is right around $1.88 per bag
That’s just $1.88 to help someone out, even if it’s just for a few days-to let them know that they are loved by someone.
I think this could be a great summertime project for kids.
If you don’t feel comfortable handing these out yourself, call around to local shelters to see if you can donate the bags to their efforts. Also, each year, local Girl Scout troops collect hygiene items for their April Showers campaign. Consider saving items for their collection.
Katie lives in St Louis, MO, and blogs over at Saving You Everything. She started blogging in an effort to show others how easy it is to save time, money, and even sometimes the Earth. By using what she has on hand and ‘making do’ she’s able to save money and help others in the process. She has been radically inspired by Crystal at Money Saving Mom to save money, be kind to others (including herself!), and to be a good steward of all the resources she’s been given.
Guest post from Jen of Working At Homeschool
Recently, our family was invited to dinner with a friend from out of town. He had invited several other families as well, and we thought it was important to go.
Our “eating out” budget was completely gone for the month, but we decided it was worth it to move some budget categories around to spend time with someone we care about.
At the dinner, we were seated with a bigger family we’d never met before, along with our friend from out of town. We had a wonderful time and I felt we had made the right decision in terms of finding the money for this special dinner.
When we were ready to leave, we asked for the bill and started getting our 5 young kids ready to go. The other family with teenaged kids was out the door in a flash (no diaper bags or sippy cups to gather up). We said our goodbye, wished them well, and waited for our bill.
Then the bill for our table came.
Immediately, we realized that we were not only going to have to pay for our family, but also for the new family we had just met… the new family with teenagers who had ordered and eaten A LOT of food!
Although I was sure they didn’t stick us with the bill on purpose, I was frantically trying to figure out where the money would come from while simultaneously trying to act gracious in front of the other guests. I say “trying to act gracious” because that was all it was – an act. I couldn’t believe that we were stuck with this bill and I couldn’t believe we were going to be out so much more money than we had planned!
My husband, who is much more laid-back than my ISTJ personality type, smiled (somewhat grimly), shrugged, and seemed ready to move on. But not me! I couldn’t stop thinking about it.
On the way home, I kept asking questions like, “Do you think they just forgot? Did one spouse think the other already paid? Did they think we are rich?” That last one made us both laugh out loud.
I kept stewing on this (thinking about how many hours of work went into paying for that meal) when I went to bed that night… and when I woke up the next morning… and beyond.
Then finally, a little voice (not in my head, it was the real voice of one of my kids) said, “Mom, I thought you said we can always afford to be generous?”
Cue the mom guilt. Or maybe “conviction” is a better word.
While my budget is important, and saving money in these leaner times is important, aren’t people more important?
By focusing on how I felt “forced” to pay for dinner, then dwelling on it for so long, I had been teaching my kids that money was my top priority. My daughter’s reminder hit me hard — people are always more important than my budget — and if blessing someone else put us in a more difficult financial place for the remaining week of the month, was that really such a big deal?
I do frequently remind my children that they can always afford to be generous. Of course, when I’m telling them to be generous I’m talking about the three dollars in their piggy banks or their toys. I didn’t imagine that those words would come back to haunt me about my money!
I couldn’t change the fact that we had gotten stuck with the bill. I couldn’t go back in time and choose a do-over (one in which I stall the family while the waiter brings the bill), but I COULD choose gratitude that we’d had a chance to bless someone else, to be selfless and generous. I could choose thankfulness for the opportunity to teach my kids about what’s truly important in life (I sure messed that one up).
I know my family has been blessed by others who have treated us to a meal out – why couldn’t I joyfully do the same for someone else?
I chose to change my attitude. I chose to model love for people that we didn’t really know. I know that we aren’t in a financial position to volunteer to give financially to other families all the time, but this experience has taught me that I should be on the lookout for opportunities to bless others in other ways as much as possible.
And the next time I’m in a position to love people more than my budget, I am going to choose people.
Jen is a work-at-home homeschooling mom who works part-time on her website, part-time for a non-profit ministry, and full-time wrangling her 5 young kids. Jen writes passionately about Bible-based homeschooling, organization, healthy gluten-free food, and meal planning. Her website, WorkingAtHomeschool.com, was featured in the best-selling Trim Healthy Mama Plan book as a meal-planning resource.
Aldi
1 bag Red Grapes – $1.58
1 pkg Roma Tomatoes – $0.99, used $0.25 Checkout 51 rebate – $0.74 after rebate
2 pkg Flour Tortillas – $0.99 each
1 lb Butter – $2.99
1 loaf Bread – $0.99
2 dozen Large Eggs – $1.09 each
1 Frosted Flakes – $1.29
1 pkg Jumbo Franks – $0.99
1 gallon Milk – $1.89
1 can diced Tomatoes – $0.55
1 jar Pasta Sauce – $0.99
1 pkg Crackers – $1.59
1 Cantaloupe – $0.99
Total after rebate: $18.75
Dillons
1 bag Kroger Tortilla Chips – $1, used $0.25/1 e-coupon – $0.75 after coupon
2 Vans Waffles – $2.50 each, used 2 $1.25/1 printable AND $1/1 Ibotta rebate – $0.75 each after coupon and rebate
1 bag Frozen Chicken – $6.99, used $1.45/1 e-coupon – $5.54 after coupon
1 Farmland Bacon – $3.99, used $1/1 printable AND $0.10 Mobisave rebate – $2.89 after coupon and rebate
4 canned Kroger Green Beans – $0.33 each
1 lb Ground Beef – $3.99
1.38 lb Bananas – $0.81, used $0.25 Ibotta rebate – $0.56 after rebate
2 Dannon Greek Yogurt – Marked down to $0.49 each
1 Kroger Greek Yogurt – Marked down to $0.39
2 Liberte Yogurts – Marked down to $0.59 each, used $0.30/1 SavingStar.com rebate – $0.44 each after rebate
1 Frozen Orange Juice – $1
1 Romaine Lettuce – $0.99
1 bag Apples – Marked down to $0.99, used $0.10/1 Mobisave rebate – $0.89 after rebate
2 Annie’s Mac & Cheese – $1 each
0.99 lbs Peaches – $0.98
Total after coupons and rebates: $24.66
Total for all grocery items: $43.41
Cereal x 2
Waffles & Eggs x 4
Oatmeal and Fruit
Tuna Sandwiches, Grapes
Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches, Cantaloupe
Cheese Quesadillas, Veggies
Baked Potatoes
Mac & Cheese, Applesauce, Grapes
Leftovers x 2
Chicken & Rice, Cantaloupe
Tossed Salad Bar
French Toast, Bacon, Eggs, Orange Juice
Chili, Chips, Fruit Salad
Spaghetti, Biscuits, Tossed Salad
Italian Chicken, Green Beans, Mashed Potatoes, Tossed Salad
Out to eat
Guest post by Jennifer of The Intentional Mom
When my husband and I started our frugal journey more than 20 years ago, we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into.
We didn’t realize what a commitment to frugal living would really take and we had no idea everything it would encompass. But at the same time, we had no idea that living a frugal life would benefit us in ways that extended far beyond our finances.
As we reach the point where we are almost completely debt free, I think we are both so amazed at how much we have benefited from the skills we have learned. In fact, I would even say that our frugal lifestyle blessed our marriage!
It’s true… and it can bless yours as well.
Here’s how our frugal lifestyle benefits our marriage far beyond our family budget:
We were newly married when we took Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University class. We were still learning what it meant to be married at the time, but embarking on our frugal journey forced us to become teammates who were working toward winning at a common goal.
After 20 years and eight kids, we have been called to be teammates in so many ways, even if it’s just getting through dinner!
The skills we learned being frugal teammates were an excellent foundation upon which to build.
Maintaining a frugal lifestyle all these years hasn’t always been easy.
It’s amazing to me that when one of us it tempted to spend, the other one is often able to step up and be the strong one! When my husband struggled with a certain aspect of being frugal, it provided the opportunity for me to carry the burden in that area until he was through his own personal challenge with it. He has done the same for me at times as well.
When you learn to tackle hard things in one area of life, it gives you confidence to take on hard things in another area. The hard stuff is never fun to go through, but it is much easier when you are going through the hard stuff together.
Being like-minded with your spouse in any area only enhances your marriage, and our commitment to how we did and didn’t spend our money paints a beautiful picture of unity for our kids.
We don’t agree on everything, and there are times that we are anything but a united front, but being on the same page in our frugal journey is an excellent way to show our kids how a marriage is truly designed to be.
Because we already had numerous frugal skills in place, times of financial hardship didn’t scare us and they didn’t break us. We knew we had what it took to survive.
We had perfected the skills we needed to put into practice when we had no choice but to be frugal.
There really is nothing better than blessing the lives of those around us. Thanks to the money we save, we are able to bless others in ways both great and small — and we’re able to do it together!
Being frugal and saving money is beneficial in so many ways, but it has been amazing to reflect back and see just how greatly it has enriched our marriage as well.
Are you looking to enhance your marriage in a creative way? Try embracing a frugal lifestyle and see your commitment to one another blossom!
Jennifer is a busy, homeschooling mom of eight who enjoys keeping a home, living an active lifestyle, and loving the little and not so little people in her life. Her mission is helping other moms find contentment in living intentionally every day over at her blog, The Intentional Mom.
Check out this list of 8 Ways to Drink More Water Every Day. There is also a free printable tracker you can download.
For 15 days, we’re exploring the topic of making our health and well-being a priority as part of the 15 Days to a Healthier You series. You can read Day 1 here, Day 2 here, Day 3 here, Day 4 here, and Day 5 here.
I believe one of the biggest reasons people don’t get where they hope to go — or don’t really get anywhere in life! — is because they don’t set goals. Goals bridge the gap between dreams and reality.
It’s fairly easy to brainstorm. It’s very easy to day dream. It’s hard to get on your work clothes and get busy. But if you don’t know where you’re going in the first place, it’s almost guaranteed you’re never going to make it there.
If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten. You have to change something if you want to see change.
Yesterday, we took some time to talk about three Do’s and Don’t’s that I believe are imperative to lay the foundation for successful goal-setting. Now that we’ve laid that foundation, I want to walk you through some simple steps to successful goal-setting:
Over the course of the next 24 hours, start jotting down every goal idea that pops into your head that you’d really like to tackle soon. Whether it’s a project you want to work on, a skill you want to learn, a fitness goal, a weight-loss goal, a desire to change your eating, the fact that you want to get more sleep, a financial milestone you want to hit, something you’d like to accomplish… there are no wrong answers!
If you’re anything like me, your list of ideas will probably be very long. This is completely okay! Don’t let it freak you out or make you hyperventilate. You’re just brainstorming to help you narrow down and prioritize your goals list.
The more ideas you have, the more you have to work with and streamline. So don’t hold back; write everything down that comes to mind!
Once you’ve come up with (probably) an extensive list, go over it carefully and thoughtfully considering which items on the list are really going to make a specific and near-immediate impact upon your every day life. Always keep in mind first what your priorities are for the season of life that you’re in.
Think specifically through each area of priority in your life and see what items on your list match up with those priorities and which can be instantly discarded. As you contemplate your list of ideas in light of your priorities, it might also cause you to come up with other ideas you need to add to your list. If that happens, then go ahead and add those items and go back to prioritizing your list.
After you’ve prioritized the list, pare that list down to the top two or three. If this is a struggle for you, step back and try to think of how each goal will directly your life.
Thinking things through to the direct effects over the course of the next few months usually is all it takes for me to prioritize and decide upon the most important priorities.
For instance, learning to make Artisan Bread is something I really, really want to do someday (along with about 50039 other things!), and it would be a fun idea to pursue at some time, but it’s not in line with my current priorities so I would pare it immediately off the list.
But making time to exercise is something that is high on my list of goals because it directly and positively impacts all four of my main priorities in life right now — it helps me stay healthier (priority: myself), it gives me more energy to be a better mom (priority: motherhood), it helps me be more creative and focused as a business owner (priority: MoneySavingMom.com), and it’s something I love getting to do with my husband every day (priority: marriage).
Not all items on your list need to positively impact all your priorities, but you had better be able to make a really strong case for how an item is going to majorly impact at least one of your priorities for it to stay on your list. I encourage you to pare down your list to 2-4 items that you feel will make the greatest overall impact on your priorities in the season of life you’re in.
Free Printable Goal-Setting Worksheets
To help you out, here are two printable and customizable Goal Planning Forms you can download, type into, save, and print. Or, you can just print them and hand write your goals in.
Once you have your list of the top 2-4 items you want to focus on, then it’s time to create specific, detailed, actionable goals for that focus area.
For instance, if you want to focus on getting in a better financial position, maybe you decide you want to set a goal to save a specific amount of money, or have a goal to set up your retirement accounts this year, or to read books at least 5 books on improving your financial situation, or to go through Financial Peace University, or to start a frugal friends group.
Each of these is a specific, detailed, actionable goal with a start and end date. You will know when you have accomplished the goal. That’s what makes it a goal in the first place. If your is not detailed and actionable enough to know when it is accomplished, then you need to go back to the drawing board and refine it until you get there.
After you’ve defined your goal, then create a specific plan for how it’s actually going to happen. Otherwise, it will just be a good idea that never goes anywhere!
For instance, if you want to read 5 books on getting handle on your finances, you need to choose the five books, figure out when you’ll fit in reading into your schedule, and then set a goal for how much you’ll read every week.
As I just did there, I highly recommend that you break your goals down into bite-sized pieces. A big goal can seem overwhelming and daunting as a whole, but when broken down into small pieces, it becomes much more doable.
If one of the save up a specific amount of money, break it down into monthly and then weekly savings goals. Look at your budget and decide where you’re going to come up with the extra money. Will you lower your grocery bill by $10 per week and then put that money toward your savings goal? Will you work an extra few hours and save that money toward your goal?
When you break your goal down to a weekly bite-sized piece, you are better able to know exactly what you need to do to stay on track. If you want to read 24 books next year, you know you’ll need to read two books per month, or half a book each week. That boils down to around a chapter per day, give or take. That’s much more concrete and doable than a big audacious goal of reading 24 books in a year.
Want to guarantee you have more success in following through with your goals? You need some accountability!
In our Make Over Your Year course, we recommend that you to set up 3 different forms of accountability:
Setting up multiple forms of accountability, gives you more motivation and it sets up a variety of checks and balances — which will hopefully help you stay on task when you want to quit or get distracted.
We’re all in different seasons and stages of life. We all have different challenges and struggles. Think about your own unique challenges.
Some of you are in school full-time. Some of you work full-time. Some of you have lots of little children. Some of you have a brand-new baby (or twins!). Some of you have health issues.
Some of you are caring for elderly parents or grandparents. Some of you are in the middle of moving cross country. Some of you are dealing with a death of someone you love. Some of you are pregnant or in the middle of adopting. Some of you have children with special needs. Some of you are going through heart-breaking circumstances that many of us can’t even begin to imagine.
No matter your age or stage of life, you have your own set of difficulties and things to juggle. If it’s not something you can change, accept it realizing that what you’re able to accomplish will not be what someone else who is in a different season of life is able to accomplish. And that’s perfectly okay!
I love Teddy Roosevelt’s motto: “Do what you can with what you’ve got where you are.” All we can do is all we can do.
Spending time wishing we were in someone else’s shoes doesn’t change or improve our situation. If you’re in a really busy season of life, you may only be able to devote an extra 10 minutes five times per week to tackling your goals. Don’t be discouraged.
Do what you can do and don’t worry about what you can’t do! Because doing something is almost always better than doing nothing.
If you don’t have any specific goals in your life right now, take some time over the next 24 hours to go through the steps outlined above and determine a few simple goals, break them down into bite-sized pieces, and set up some accountability.
If you already have some specific goals, go through the steps above and make sure your goals are in line with your priority, are doable, and that you have a specific plan of action and some accountability in place.
If you are willing, I’d love to hear what a few of your goals are. Share them with us in the comments!
Want Step-By-Step Goal-Setting Help?
Need some encouragement to create realistic goals and follow through with them? Go check out our 4-Week Make Over Your Year Course.
This 4-week course includes a comprehensive downloadable workbook, printable worksheets to walk you step-by-step through the goal-setting process we’ll teach you, additional resources and links for each week, and 4 one-hour-long pre-recorded Group Coaching Sessions taught by my husband and me.
It’s just the gentle kick-in-the-behind you need to actually be successful in goal-setting!
Get Make Over Your Year for just $29 here today!
Last week, I saw that Amazon had this 53-piece Children’s Art & Drawing Set super inexpensive, so I scooped one up as a surprise for my kids using gift cards I’d earned through Swagbucks.
I was really, really impressed with the set when it came in! This set includes: 12 Washable Color Marker Pens, 12 Color Pencils, 12 Oil Pastels, 8 Color Changers Markers, 4 Highlighters, 1 Ruler, 1 Eraser, 1 Sharpener, 1 Mechanical Pencil and 1 Pencil Lead Pack.
My kids were SO excited about the set, too. In fact, I wanted to show it on my Facebook Live video and take pictures of it for this post and I could barely keep them from keeping their hands off it it until I got both of those things done! They’ve had fun using it to draw and create with!
This would not only make a fun gift for your kids, but would also make a great gift to buy and put in your birthday gift stash for upcoming birthdays your kids might be invited to!
It’s just $4.96 on Amazon right now. I’m not sure how long the price will be that low so if you’re interested in this deal, I’d recommend going ahead and buying it now.
For 15 days, we’re exploring the topic of making our health and well-being a priority as part of the 15 Days to a Healthier You series. You can read Day 1 here, Day 2 here, Day 3 here, and Day 4 here.
My husband is a world class goal-setter (well, in my book, at least!). He has goals for everything pretty much — from what he eats, to what he reads, to his personal fitness, to investing in the lives of our marriage and family, to our businesses, to giving to others, to making an impact on the world… and on and on it goes.
He has detailed checklists in Evernote to track his goals and he meticulously checks his goal lists weekly to see where he’s at and how much progress he’s making.
I was born with a very task-driven, to-do-list oriented personality, so goal-setting is something that I’ve always aspired to and been attracted to. However, for years, I struggled to actually set realistic, attainable goals.
Not only does my over-achieving personality have the tendency to set huge, impossible goals, but I also have a very-easily-distracted personality.
You see, while my husband is a world-class goal-setter; I’m a world-class starter. He’s very detailed and methodical. I’m the get-‘er-done sort of girl.
So when I see something that should be done or I think should be started or I think I should do or I think is a great idea, my tendency is to just jump out and start. My motto tends to be something like: Stop waiting around researching and weighing your options and just jump in and do something.
This motto is fantastic in many ways. I do get a lot done. I don’t waste a lot of time thinking through all the options and ramifications. And I don’t spend a lot of energy stressing over which choice I should make.
I just pick something and dive right in. The only problem is that while I’m really great at diving in, I’m not so great at actually swimming all the way to the finish line.
Oh, trust me, I have incredible intentions. But then there’s shiny thing after shiny thing after shiny thing that distracts me from staying focused on my original plans and goals.
So pretty soon, I see another pool or another lane that looks like it’s a better option, so I go dive right into that and start swimming. I plan to make it to the other side of that pool or finish that swim in that lane but then I see another, better pool or lane, so I then dive into that one. And on and on it goes.
Over the past 13 1/2 years that I’ve been married, as I’ve observed my husband’s goal-setting, read books on goal-setting, and experimented with goal-setting in my own life, I’ve come to realize how life-transforming goal-setting can be — when done the right way.
I learned that I had to stop setting these huge goals, stop being overwhelmed by all the possibilities, and start getting really honed in on what was realistic for me in the season of life I was in… and then I had to create an action plan with tiny baby steps that would take me exactly where I wanted to go.
Here are my top 3 tips to be successful with goal setting…
You probably have heard many people tout the importance of goal-setting by now, but you feel like you just can’t seem to get it. Like everyone else has mastered this goal-setting thing… except you.
Well, trust me, you’re not alone. I hear from readers every single week who feel overwhelmed by goal-setting or who feel hopelessly stuck in a rut or who feel like they just can’t figure out how to get started with goal-setting.
Maybe you feel like you have so many things you want to do with your life that the thought of even knowing where to start is mind-boggling. Maybe you have set goals in the past only to fall short so you feel defeated when it comes to goal-setting. Maybe you just don’t even know where it is you want to go and or what it is you want to aim for.
Don’t be intimidated! I know exactly how you feel because I was there twelve years ago!
I wanted so badly to figure out how to follow through with all of my big dreams and plans and ideas, but I just couldn’t seem to get any traction. Oh, I had lots and lots of big dreams. But when it actually came down to going anywhere with them, most of them just fizzled out and lost steam because I didn’t know how to break those big dreams down into tiny step-by-step pieces.
It’s so easy when you start considering goal-setting to become overwhelmed by all the areas in your life you feel are in desperate need of change.
From being a better wife and mom, to becoming more organized, to losing weight, to getting your finances in order, to starting a business or blog, to writing a book, to learning a new skill, to starting a new ministry or being involved in one that’s already existing, to eating more healthfully, to learning to cook from scratch, to cutting your grocery bill, to experimenting with do-it-yourself ideas, to remodeling part of the house or redecorating a room, to being more involved in your church or community… and on and on the list goes.
We women have so many responsibilities on our plates and we have dreams, ideas, and all sorts of things we’d love to do if we could ever find an extra ten hours in our day. But the reality is that those extra ten hours probably aren’t going to be falling from the sky any time in the near future. So we must work with what we have — and do the best we can with that.
Think about what your priorities in life are. What are those things that you want to wrap your time and energy around? Where do you want to be in six months from now?
Think of a few areas that will have the biggest impact on your life. If you’re not sure what to start with, consider which areas are the greatest stress-inducers right now. Is it your weight? Is it your lack of organization? Is it your finances? Do you want to get more organized? Or get on a better schedule? Or increase your income? Or make time for fitness?
I have 4 areas that I’m really focusing on this year: my marriage, my mothering, myself, and MoneySavingMom.com. I’m aiming to wrap my life, my time, and my energy around those priorities. If an opportunity arises, if it doesn’t fall in line with those priorities, then I’m more than likely going to say no to it.
To be honest, I have a lot of other areas in my life that could use improvement. I can either focus on all the things I want to do and all the improvements I want to make and all the areas I feel like I’m failing in, or I can choose to say: I only have time and space in my life to focus on a few things so I’m going to make those a priority and let a lot of other things slide.
None of us can do it all and we can’t do everything in every season. When you know your priorities, it allows you to create goals that are realistic.
It’s amazing how much of a difference goals can make in your life when you don’t just set them, but then you also actually follow all the way through with them! I’ve been amazed at how much more productive and intentional I’ve been in my own life.
Instead of being really busy but having little to show for it, goal-setting has helped me to be much more purposeful in how I spend each and every day. In addition to accomplishing many more things that actually matter, I’m living a much more fulfilled life.
Tomorrow, we’ll talk very practically on how to set realistic goals and create a plan of action to help you follow through with them. You can do this! I’m cheering for you!
Target Shopping Trip
2 Black Forest Organic Gummies – $1.79 each
Used 30% off Cartwheel coupon
And used 2 $0.75/1 printable1 KidFresh Frozen Meal – $2.99
Used 15% off Cartwheel coupon
And used $1/1 printable
And used $1/1 Ibotta rebate4 Friskies Cat Concoctions Wet Cat Food – $0.49 each
Used 2 Buy One Get One Free printable (took off $0.60 each)2 All Laundry Detergent (53 loads) – $5.09 each
Used 30% off Cartwheel coupon
And used 2 $1/1 printableTotal before coupons and rebate: $18.71
Total after coupons and rebate: $7.78
Two weeks ago, on Saturday night, we told the kids that we had a special surprise planned and we would reveal it as soon as the house was all clean.
You better believe that was a motivation for them to help us get everything whipped into shape around here in no time at all!! They kept guessing and guessing and we kept saying, “We’re not giving you any hints!”
The only hints we told them were that it was at our house, it was with our family only, and it was probably something they’d never guess. That just made them more intrigued! 🙂
When the house was spic and span and the laundry was done, we had them all sit at the table in the backyard and cover their eyes.
Then, we handed them the packages of Bunch of Balloons and told them they could open their eyes. They were SO excited when they realized we were going to have a family water fight and that Mom and Dad were getting in on the fun, too.
This was the first time we’d used these balloons and we will never go back to filling water balloons individually again. These are the BEST ever!
They are a little bit pricier than a bag of balloons at the Dollar Store, but for the time and effort saved they were SO worth it. It literally took us 5 minutes to fill 200+ balloons!
I seemed to have a huge target on my back the entire fight and the kids (and Jesse!) had a BLAST chasing me down and pelting me with water balloons!!
Overall, we had a blast and got in some great cardio, too (some from chasing each other around and trying to dodge balloons and some from laughing so hard that it hurt!)
We topped off the evening with roasting s’mores around the fire pit. And it was an evening we’ll remember for a long time!
And look what I found at Kroger yesterday?? $5 for a fun and unforgettable family night? I’d call that a deal!
What are your favorite Frugal Family Fun ideas? Tell us in the comments!
P.S. Need some more encouragement to be a Fun Mom? Watch this Periscope video I did earlier this week.
