This week I’m reading an amazing book that I think every mother should get her hands on. It’s called Cleaning House: A Mom’s 12 Month Experiment to Rid Her Home of Youth Entitlement.
There are so many good points to this book (especially the fact that giving kids meaningful work is the best gift you can give them).
But it made me aware of the fact that I might not be teaching my own kids enough about money.
Not just how to be responsible with it…but how to use it.
How to swipe the card at the gas station.
Comparing prices at the grocery store.
Having the courage to actually speak to a cashier while they make a purchase.
Our oldest is 15 and a half now…it won’t be long before he has to do all of these things when he’s driving around. I want him to be equipped to know how to do it right!
The book doesn’t cost much on Amazon, and it’s even cheaper on Ebay!
Now let’s get on with…
The 5 Ways We’ve Saved Money This Week
Books Galore!
Speaking of books, I learned about another book and just had to read it.
Of course I couldn’t find it at our library. (sigh) It wasn’t even available to borrow through my e-reader.
So I decided to look on Half.com (which is part of Ebay).
Not only was I able to find a copy for just $7…but Ebay gave me $5 just for using their app! I got the book shipped for only $2!
(If you’re curious, the book is called A Mother’s Rule of Life: How to Bring Order to Your Home and Peace to Your Soul.)
Hanging Out
Our middle child (I guess he’s still a middle child now that we have 6?) had a day camp this week that was 45 minutes away from home.
It only lasted for a few hours in the morning each day.
So it just didn’t make sense to drive all the way home in between.
The baby and I found several places to hang out without spending money! We took a walk in a park, hung out at the library, and ran some errands.
Packed Lunch
Camp ended right around lunch time, and we still had a 45 minute drive ahead of us each day.
The temptation to hit a fast food joint was strong. But we resisted.
(Here are some of our favorite ways to break the fast food habit if you struggle with it, too.)
Instead, I dutifully packed a lunch and several waters each day to make it easy to eat on the go.
School Supplies
I’m one of those weird Moms who love summer. I’m just as sad as the kids (and teachers) when I see school supplies go on sale at the stores.
But I’ve learned my lesson on procrastination.
If you don’t hit those early sales, stores run out of supplies or stop running low, low deals.
I made sure to grab what I still needed after following these tips for saving on school supplies.
FYI, right now I found Target to have some of the best deals (lots of 50 cent deals on things we needed the most!). Which was kind of awesome since it meant I could use my Red Card and get even more savings!
Gasp! Promoting a credit card on Medium Sized Family?!
No, silly. 🙂
You can get a Target debit card linked right to your account that allows you to save the same amount on every purchase you make at Target without going into debt or worrying about paying off a card each month.
I’ve been using mine for years now and have never had a problem with it.
Crock Pot
It’s just too darned hot to cook! I’m thankful for my crock pot.
Especially because chicken thighs were on sale for just 88 cents per pound this week. And I found this yummy recipe to try.
Not everyone in our house is a dark meat fan, but they’re going to eat it when I find it at such a good price. 😉 I’m hoping this recipe is yummy enough that they’ll ask for it again anyway.
I’m surprised at how often that happens if I put food on the table without making apologies or fanfare about it.
The Big Summer Savings Goal
We set a big goal for ourselves to save $2400 this summer.
How’s it going this week, you ask?
Well….if I’m honest….not good.
We haven’t saved any money at all in a couple of weeks.
Instead, I’ve watched while our car broke down with a very expensive repair bill.
Then our dryer followed. (Hubby thinks he can fix it with an Ebay part, but even that was over $100.)
We wanted to sell eggs to save up some cash…but a weasel got to most of our flock of chickens.
So instead of saving, I’ve spent a good week or two doing this…
Will I get back up and save again? Time will tell!
(Ok, I guess I’d better get back to saving soon. Summer will be ending before we know it. Cue another pout….)
Those are the 5 ways we’ve saved money this week!
Grabbing fast food when life is crazy is one of my bigger weaknesses. But every time I succumb to it, I realize what a big money suck it is.
And that inspires me to at least try to do better.
We don’t get a vacation this summer, either. So we’re finding other fun things to do instead. Here are some of our favorites things to do when you can’t afford a vacation.
How did you save this week?
I'm Jamie, and I want to help you afford a beautiful life with your family. 
