What a crazy week it has been! The kids were off on Monday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (of course). Then off again on Wednesday due to snow. And they spent the entire week talking about a ton of snow hitting today, so who knows how the week will end for us?
Also, it’s hubby’s birthday today. So we will be spending our day celebrating him.
Here are the 5 Ways We’ve Saved Money This Week.
If you are new, the idea is for me to come up with 5 different ways each week that we’ve saved money. Hopefully without repeating myself. (I’m not perfect!) If you’d like to catch up on the rest of the series, check it out here.
As for this week…
Frozen Leftovers Mmmmm….frozen leftovers. Our Saturdays are pretty busy during basketball season (although baseball season is much crazier!). This week I decided that Saturday was the perfect day to defrost some of the turkey soup I had made a huge batch of a few weeks ago. It actually tasted pretty great after coming in from the cold.
When I can make a huge batch of a meal (sometimes that’s tough since I’m already doubling or quadrupling recipes to feed all of us), I try to freeze whatever I can for a quick meal on another night.
Grocery Clearance Does your grocery store clearance out items? Luckily mine does. And it’s everywhere. They have a special rack in a remote corner of the store that I seek out. But I’ve also found clearanced items right on the shelves. Many times it is because they are changing out packaging or because (for instance) pumpkin spice isn’t “in” right now. The items are still far from their expiration date and nearly always taste great to us! (Beware the clearanced items that are for funky flavors that no one seemed to like.)
Don’t forget to check the specialty areas that you might not normally shop in. I found fancy croutons being clearanced at half the price of the generics I typically buy!
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Exercise. We’ve been having a pretty mild winter. I didn’t miss the cold and snow too much! Now that it has finally arrived, I am hauling water to the barn pretty regularly. My parents got me a nice warm coat and gloves for Christmas, so this chore has been much more “pleasant” this year than it was in the past. And as I’m hauling those big buckets of water, I try to remind myself that I’m getting a free workout from the job. Right?
Knowledge. There is such a wealth of information on the world wide web if you look for it. There’s no reason to stop learning about anything and everything you’ve wanted to know. Want to learn a foreign language? Try Duolingo. There are a ton of fascinating Ted Talks. I’ve been participating in a Blog Makeover Challenge from Blogging on Your Own Terms, and hopefully you’ll notice some positive changes in the look and feel of Medium Sized Family! (None of these links are affiliates, fyi.)
Avoid getting nickel and dimed. Hubby has a lot of really great perks from his job. However, their cafeteria recently started charging for forks and plastic ware. He decided he was better off keeping a set at his desk that he could just clean in the office sink. (Read more about making your pennies powerful! Small change adds up quickly.)
Those are our latest 5 ways that we’ve saved money this week! Hope you have a wonderful weekend.
Don’t forget to leave us your own money saving tips or frugal ways. Drop a link in the comments if you blogged about it!
I'm Jamie, and I want to help you afford a beautiful life with your family. 
Happy birthday to your Hubby!
I’ve been using Duolingo (okay, was using, and have been slacking on it!). Another great app for language learning is Memrise (and it also has more languages to learn!).
The clearance racks in Fred Meyer stores tend to be stuck hidden away in weird places, but I know the exist! There’s also normally a rack with older bakery items that I always forget to go look at – I’m an in-and-out kind of grocery shopper (or else I’d spend more than I should) but ought to at least try and find out where the racks are in the new store (still can’t get my way around this one with my eyes closed like I could our old one!).
I think in and out shopping is awesome. Probably a better way to save than clearance racks! The trouble there is to make sure that you are only looking for items you’d be buying anyway rather than “Wow, what a deal! I’ll take all of them. Surely I can use fake snow spray on my windows year round…”
This week has been crazy because my daughter’s birthday party is tomorrow, but I managed a few financial saves!
1) I baked 4 loaves of bread and froze 3. It really helps cut down on the time I have to bake and it saves money (and it tastes way better).
2) I have been trying to get my baking done and frozen recently because its been so cold. The oven helps warm the house and helps keep our gas bill a little lower.
3) I made a few decorations for my daughter’s party out of supplies I already had. Frugal and cute!
I love the clearance rack at the grocery store! Especially when there are things that can be frozen in there. Saving money any way possible is great, and it’s always great to get new tips!
Oh absolutely! Freezing the clearance rack items is totally double dipping on the savings. I love it! I do that with garlic bread (for instance) all the time and it turns out great.
Charging for silverware? That’s a little crazy! 🙂 Glad your hubby is smart enough to bring his own. When I worked full time I kept a coffee mug, silverware, a plate and a bowl at my desk. Always prepared! 🙂
I know, right?? When he told me that, I said, “Uh, is the hospital not doing well?” He thinks they are just trying to be more green. (I guess…)
Back in my working days, I did that, too. Have to have a soup bowl and of course a couple of coffee mugs on hand! 🙂
I write down what the kids and the hubby need and keep my eyes peeled for sales. I am not to brand worried and will go off brand for a cheaper food product. That said the hubs has said never buy anything other than Kraft Mac and cheese… I make my own and they like that better anyways 🙂
I agree, most generics taste about as good as name brands. Most of my family loves homemade mac & cheese… except for my daughter who only will eat “the straight kind’ (Kraft). haha! Thanks for visiting.
Being nickel and dimed can really add up. We’ve started carrying water bottles. Filling them up instead of buying a bottled water makes a big difference. I check magazines out of the library. And movies, too! I even make my own coffee and bring it with me out of the house.
I rarely leave home in the mornings without my trusty travel mug of coffee! I haven’t checked out magazines, I should look in that section on my next library trip. Thanks for the tip!
Love your free workout! I do like looking at the clearance aisle, though I hate finding stuff I really like there, since that means the store won’t be carrying the item any time soon (if at all). At least i get a feel for which of my favorite products won’t be around anymore.
That’s a good point. Sometimes I stock up on beloved items there because I worry about the same thing. But you’re right, at least you have a heads up about it!
My biggest saving this week was probably taking lunch everyday. Since it’s been so cold, my lunch has been soup – which is super easy because I have my favorite canned one, and I make a pot of soup on Sundays.
Soup is such a great idea. I’ve been eating a lot of that in this cold weather, too.
I love your free workouts! Talk about finding a silver lining! Crazy that they charge for plasticware, but so smart of your hubby to bring his own. Thanks for sharing on the Small Victories Sunday Linkup!
That’s right, I’m all about the silver linings! Thanks for hosting the link up!
Hi Jamie, how to save money is always a winner. I quite enjoy rooting round for bargains in the supermarket, it puts me on a bit of a high and the food always seems to taste better, okay, so that’s probably my imagination because I know it was cheap.
And simple things like taking cutlery to work instead of buying plastic is a perfect way to save a few pennies. And who wants to eat off plastic cutlery?
Great tips.
#WAYWOW
Bargain food and food someone else prepares definitely tastes better to me! 😉 Thanks for visiting!
Jamie, this is a great idea, I love to try and save money in small ways it all adds up. Each week I try to menu plan and use the leftovers to create a whole meal entree. This not only saves on money but time, and my work level. We’ve been having a mild winter too and that’s really helped. In more ways than one!!
I am loving the mild weather this winter! Using up leftovers is such a great way to save money. I hate it when something escapes my notice and has to be tossed. Thanks for visiting and for hosting the Way Wow blog hop each week!