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Here’s a list of things that are more fun than car shopping for the third time in two years:

*A good punch in the nose.

*Watching golf on TV.

*A long drive with all 6 kids in the car.

Doing this much car shopping was never in my plans.  But I don’t get to choose how the world moves.

And luckily, we’ve been getting better at car shopping!  (I mean, after a while you kind of have to, right?)

It’s part of the…

5 Ways We’ve Saved Money This Week

Since I went and spoiled the biggest money spender…uh, I mean savings…let’s start with that one!

New To Us Car

You know that we didn’t go out and get a brand new car, right?  Of course not!

We also didn’t get the 15 passenger full sized van that several large family moms suggested.

(Ohhhh I wanted to!  But I hate spending money on cars.  So no.)

Here’s how we kept costs down:

By researching the best, affordable, used 8 seater minivan with a good reputation for reliability.  (Probably no surprise that the Honda Odyssey won that debate.)

We drove one that I really wanted, but it was just a bit north of the price we wanted. So we said no.

We bargained on final price (not payments), ready to walk away if we couldn’t reach an agreement. 

And we were sure to bring a down payment. (The finance guy thought my “not round number” payment was odd but it’s what we needed to lower the price yet keep money in our savings account.) ?

Please pray with me that we don’t have to shop for another family car for years to come!

Baby Food

I used to be that Mom that was excited about feeding the baby her first real food.

But by baby #6, the excitement has worn off.  I mean, once you start feeding a kid you can never stop!  haha

Well, she’s 5 and a half months old now, so it’s time.  I sadly had passed the baby food grinder I had inherited from my mom on.  And when I checked Amazon, the ones they make now don’t have good reviews.

Then I found this baby food grinder.  It’s like a plastic mortar and pestle for babies!  

It’s also super cheap.  So far I’ve had success grinding up bananas, sweet potatoes, and avocado.

We haven’t had a lot of success with her eating more than she spits out, but that’s a whole ‘nother story.  

Pepper Plant

I’m sad at how little gardening I’ve been able to do for the past couple of years.  But that’s just part of our life cycle.  These have been busy years!

I saw a big potted pepper plant at our local feed mill.  After counting how many peppers were already growing, I decided it was worth grabbing!

It’s been producing right on our back porch.  The kids love watering it and I love getting fresh produce!

Checks

My husband is convinced that no one needs checks anymore.  But I know better.

Sometimes you need that paper trail.  And there are still plenty of instances when you find yourself out and about with no cash…and they won’t take a card.

Since Ebates has become Ratuken, I jumped on there to see who would give me the most cash back.  I tried one company that gave me the runaround on price.  

If you’re going to give me a coupon code, it should work the way you say it will!  I don’t like doing business with sneaky companies.

The winner this time was Checks Unlimited.  I was able to get 4 boxes shipped for around $20.  Not too shabby!

If you aren’t with Rakuten, it’s a great way to get cash back whenever you shop online.  Right now, they’ll give you $10 the first time you use them!  And it’s completely free (they pay YOU)!

Entertainment

In the last days before school started, I offered to take the kids to do something fun.

They didn’t want to go do anything.  They simply asked to have friends over.

Well that was easy enough!  And bonus…I got a clean house out of it.  😉  (Kids are much more capable when they get a reward for cleaning up.)

That’s how we saved money this week!

If you have to do any car shopping soon, don’t miss these tips for saving the most money if you have to finance.

The Quick Trick to Get the Best Car in Your Price Range

Be sure to leave a comment here or in our closed Facebook group telling us how you saved!