Frugal folks, unite!
And if you’ve decided that it’s high time you became a frugal folk, welcome to the club!
This is a favorite series I like to share on Fridays about the different ways my family has been able to save money this week.
So let’s dive in.
The 5 Ways We’ve Saved Money This Week
Homemade Magnetic Chalkboard
Somehow, a link to this chalkboard made its way across my phone, and dang it, I wanted it!
Buuut I did not want anything to do with the price.
So, I figured out how to make it on my own. Which is a little surprising, because DIY is not always my strong suit.
But I’m really pleased with the way it turned out!
First, I grabbed a piece of sheet metal from the hardware store (look near the ductwork) for about $15.
Then, I picked up some chalkboard spray paint (which I found cheapest at Walmart).
You can probably figure out that I sprayed the paint on the sheet metal. 😉
(You’ll see that I first tried to make my own chalkboard paint using stuff I already had on hand. It didn’t work out so great.)
The boards we already had here. I used some stain on them (also already on hand).
Then I attached the frame with short metal screws (about $2.50).
And completely cheaped out on the hangers, which I’m happy to say have continued to hold the thing up for many weeks now.
And if you’re good at DIY, yours will turn out much prettier than mine!
ACE Ohio Program
If you live in Ohio, you can apply for the ACE program. With this program, you’ll be reimbursed for “field trips”, lessons, and even books (if you homeschool) for each of your children ages 6-17 up to $1,000.
This has saved me hundreds of dollars this year.
It looks like applications are closed now, which makes me wish I had mentioned this earlier. But with the government, there’s always a chance it will reopen.
So if you live in Ohio, you can check here.
Pirate Ship
I needed to ship something recently, so I decided to use Pirate Ship instead of buying postage from my local post office.
The price difference wasn’t all that much, but I’m a fan of “every little bit counts”. Plus, if I’m gonna print a label at home, I might as well do it for cheaper.
Learned How To Make Fried Chicken
Mainly, I’m adding this just to show off the picture I took of my delicious fried chicken. haha!
I have been making fried chicken for years. But I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily been the best fried chicken.
Finally, I was smart enough to do a little searching before I cooked, and I discovered the magic trick!
My son (with a culinary background) has this handy dandy thermometer, so I “borrowed it” for the magic trick.
Really, if you’re frying chicken in your favorite cast iron skillet, all you have to do is keep the oil at a fairly constant 350 degrees.
The thing is, this digital thermometer makes all the difference. Because while you’re waiting for the old dial thermometer to register, your oil is probably already the wrong temperature.
This makes the whole process sound complicated, but really it’s not.
Especially when it means you can make delicious chicken for cheaper than buying it at your favorite cow covered fast food joint.
Didn’t Order Pizza
My family does a yearly camp out weekend. Since we are not camping type of people, this leaves me coming home on Sunday exhausted and uninterested in cooking.
Usually, we end up ordering pizza on that day.
This year, however, it turned out that I had made waaaay too much soup on Saturday.
So, we just had that same meal as leftovers on Sunday.
There was a time when eating the exact same meal two days in a row would have been impossible for my Hubby and I to even consider. Now, we like saving money a lot more than we did in our early days. 😉
That’s how we saved money this week!
If you love money saving tips, I have the perfect Facebook group for you!
I'm Jamie, and I want to help you afford a beautiful life with your family. 
