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Our family has been taking advantage of the beautiful summer weather while we still can. Summertime is my favorite!

Mainly that means getting outside as much as possible, whether that’s doing fun stuff like swimming or jumping on the trampoline, or finally tackling long overdue barn chores.

One thing’s for sure…right now I’m a peach shake girl in a pumpkin spice world. haha

This week, I have definitely noticed one summer thing that I need to do better, as far as saving money goes.

I need to stop underestimating the amount of water we drink when we are out in the heat. We pack drinks, but it never fails that someone needs more water when we pile back into the car.

That said, we did find ways to save this week (beyond taking water with us wherever we go!). So here are…

The 5 Ways We’ve Saved Money This Week

Homeschool Co-op

The takeaway from this one is the same whether you homeschool or not…if you are looking for a service like this at a great price, don’t settle and don’t stop looking.

It took a lot of asking around to find this co-op, which ended up being the perfect fit for our family.

After a few years of just doing whatever we want homeschool, I decided this might be a good year to try a co-op.

There were a lot of reasons that I wanted to try a co-op. BUT, I also didn’t want to give up my entire week.

And, of course, I didn’t want to spend much money.

By a miracle, I finally found a co-op that meets one day per week, and only costs a couple hundred bucks for 2 kids for the entire year!

Plus I’ll be dusting off my very old music education degree to try to help fill that role for the co-op. That should be a good brain exercise. haha

Everyone at the co-op has been extremely kind and welcoming, so we can’t wait to get started with the school year.

Mom Night

What the world needs now is more people willing to open their homes to share quality time with one another.

That’s why, even though I’m trying to raise 6 kids (wait, 5 kids and an adult kid?? I’m new to this…) and am just as busy as the next gal, I decided to start a weekly book club.

So far we have read 0 books. I don’t know if we’ll start reading books or not. This is not the point.

haha!

You know those fancy charcuterie boards everyone talks about? Well I don’t even know how to pronounce that word, and I am the least fancy person you have ever met, but I learned that this is definitely the way to go when you’re entertaining!

You can literally put anything you want on the board. So if you have a bunch of random things in your pantry and fridge, you can pull it off!

Even better…when you invite moms, you get a great resource of generous problem solvers. They suggested that we choose a food theme and each person can bring a little something to add to the board to make a pretty and delicious snack.

Inner Library Loan

Gosh, I love the library.

We’ve been using it for homeschooling, of course. But I also checked out some books to help me remember how to teach music.

Our local library has a new app that makes it easier than ever to check the entire state of Ohio for books that our local library doesn’t carry.

I keep a Goodreads list of books I’d like to read, and some of them have just sat on the list for years, because our local library simply doesn’t have them (and I don’t buy books unless I find them for a dollar at the thrift store!). Now I have the chance to check out so many more books!

Yeah, I probably could have done that before, but it never occurred to me until the new app made it so easy.

So find out what your library offers!

Make Ahead Lunches

My teen boys are back to public school, and this year, back to packing lunches.

None of them are thrilled at the idea of packing lunches.

We try to make it easier by making things for them at home. My 12 year old daughter loves to bake, so she’s been happy to help!

This week we made sausage, egg, and cheese burritos. (They have access to a microwave, but I think they’d eat these cold if they had to.)

Also, we made corn dog muffins. Make your favorite cornbread recipe (Jiffy has a great recipe! haha), pour it into muffin tins, push1/3rd of a hot dog gently into each muffin cup, and bake as usual.

The Simple Things

My brother came and showed my son how to use a chain saw…oh, and they also cleaned up a bunch of trees that were creating problems in our goat pen.

We spent the day cleaning up the sticks and logs and got to enjoy a small campfire. (Supper of hot dogs and marshmallows!)

It made me appreciate this quiet part of our property that I just don’t spend enough time enjoying.

I think it’s so easy to overlook the things that we have in the constant quest to have more, more, more. Lately I remember that when we bought this property, it was because I was in search of a more simple life.

I’d like to get back to that. Hopefully I can do some blogging on it!

Those are the 5 ways we saved money this week!

If the cost of groceries makes your eyes bulge out every time you walk into a store, be sure to check out these grocery saving tips.

How did you save this week?