TGI 5 Ways We’ve Saved Money This Week Friday!
I’m so happy you feel the same way.
So let’s get down to discussing the 5 ways our family was able to save money this week!
Reuse. Usually when we get done with a big school project, I toss the poster board because a) I don’t want to take up space storing it. And b) the kid has usually glued down their information and it seems like it wouldn’t come off well for the next project.
But somehow I found a corner of the house to hide two posters from the end of last school year. And they came in really handy when we needed them for a last minute school project this week! The boys were able to remove the old stuff without causing too much damage, and strategically placed the new info on there. So it still looked nice and neat.
Reuse again. (Was that redundant… you know, where you say the same thing twice?) The same 
school project required the kids to dress as their important person.
You really can’t dress up as Isaac Newton without addressing the hair. Wow, that hair! Pinterest to the rescue, and it’s a good thing we use a lot of TP in our house. Here’s the pin that inspired our hair.
Firewood. We were able to cut up an old tree that had fallen on our property. It gave us a ton of firewood that should help us make it most of the way through the winter. Much cheaper than propane, and a lot warmer, too! Firewood is the job that warms you twice.
Got into the habit of saying no to fast food. I’ll admit that it’s been a problem!
Paid attention to library due dates. I don’t know about your local library, but ours has really raised their late fee fines over the past year or two! Forgetting to renew or return books on time has become a seriously pricey venture. I’ve started making it a habit to check once per week, and it’s so easy to renew books online that there really isn’t a reason to have to pay those fines anyway.
Some weeks this series really challenges me, but it’s comforting to know that I am finding small ways that add up to making a difference in our dollars here. I hope you find this series encouraging, too.
I'm Jamie, and I want to help you afford a beautiful life with your family. 
Oh I wish firewood warmed you twice! I had to go woodcutting with my parents in high school, because we had a wood stove, and my parents always thought it was a great idea to head out to go up the mountains by 8 in the morning…and we lived near the coast, so even when it was “nice” out, it would never be about 65 degrees up there…and multiple times it was much, much colder. They had nice flannel jackets and boots. I had tennis shoes and a regular jacket. Hated it so much xD
I also saved poster boards from projects for school. Was messy pulling all the stuff off for the next project, but you end up covering it all up anyway with the new project. Our school also had large colored paper on a roll that you could use to cover up the boards you had, so that helped as well.
That’s a great idea with the paper. I was going to use contact paper to cover problem areas if I had to, but it turned out to be unnecessary. (Which my frugal side appreciated!)
We are also working on ditching the fast food habit. It is a hard one to lose but it has a definite effect on our bottom line. With 5 kids we can rarely escape a fast food place for under $40! RIDICULOUS a little more diligent planning on my side and we should again be able to successfully avoid the fast food trap. Love these posts they are so motivating!
Visiting from Frugal Friday…btw finding your blog has been one of the big benefits of starting FF! Have a great weekend.
Blessings,
Kyle
You are too sweet! I agree, I hate spending that kind of money on food. There are so many better ways that money could be spent.
I love your money-saving efforts. I plan meticulously for meals but still find we stop in at fast-food places much more than I’m happy with. I’m also working on that…
~Taylor-Made Homestead~
Texas
Thanks! I used to spend one day per week making easy to take along foods like muffins, breakfast bars, etc. I need to get back to doing that.
We are also working hard on the fast food issue. It has been so easy to fall into a pattern of stopping for “a few french fries” and other items, but we cannot do that right now. The kids still want to. I still want to. Habits are hard to change. I know we can change these expectations, though, because it’s not been too many years ago that we never did these stops–we were in a habit of never stopping for fast food. I must say it’s easier to change a habit to make things easier than to plan ahead, say no to complaining in the back of the car, and the other measures we are taking now! I figure that this is another life lesson for them, though, to learn that some things are simply wants, and not needs.
Really enjoy reading your frugal posts. I do have a problem reading all of the comments as the photos of the senders cover up a bit of the written posts. Can this be corrected?
Hmm, I will have to look into that. Thanks for letting me know.