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Each week, I like to share the 5 Ways We’ve Saved Money This Week.  This is a popular series, because I share a variety of ways a family can save money (beyond not buying Starbucks).

If you’d like to see other posts in the series, you can find them here.

We are really focusing on saving money and adding income so we can knock out our BHAG.  Read more about that and why we spent the year saying #yearofno right here.

But for now, let’s dig in to

The 5 Ways We’ve Saved Money This Week

5 Ways We've Saved Money This Week 26:  A whole series of ways that one family manages to save money each week so they can pay off debt.

Yard Sale

I set up a yard sale, gathering up a bunch of items that I had been collecting for a while in many fits of decluttering.  I got everything organized, priced, and made signs (with some help from my brother!).

Well, it wasn’t the most successful yard sale ever.  Most people in my area aren’t expecting a yard sale in March (but our weather lately has been beautiful!).  But I did manage to make a few bucks.

And now I have everything organized and ready for another try when the local villages have their official yard sale days.

Small payment

Inspired by the $2 debt payment that I’d read about recently, I decided to send my yard sale earnings to the credit card right away.  I know that money lying around tends to disappear pretty quickly with no evidence of what happened to it.

Not only does that help us get closer to our BHAG, it also means just a little less interest I’ll have to pay over time.

Dollar Shave Club

Hubby has been using the Dollar Shave Club for a while now.  The price of the razors is $1 for 5 replacement heads, but they also add on $2 for shipping (and also tax).  So our total for the month is more like $3.07.

Hubby’s true and honest opinion (and this is one of the areas that he is pretty picky about) is that these blades are comparable to the expensive blades I used to get him at triple the cost.

This has saved us a ton of money over the past year, plus we never have to run to the store because “someone” forgot to buy razors.

From time to time, the company has thrown in small bonuses like a shaving butter (which was a great treat!).  Plus they always throw in a small booklet called the Bathroom Minutes with short stories and jokes that hubby always gets a big kick out of.

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Put on An Apron

I like to eat pie, but I avoid making it.  Not because it isn’t yummy, but because it’s so time consuming.  Usually I buy the “cheater” crusts and just do a homemade filling or topping.

Well this year, the kids were wound up about Pi day, and I knew I was going to have to do something special for it.  Since I’m no math fan, I decided to stick with what I know…baking.

Of course, since this was an impulse food, I didn’t have any cheater crust on hand.  But I did have plenty of ingredients!  So I decided to make a homemade crust, homemade filling, and homemade meringue.  It took a long time, but it sure was yummy!

Took a Time Out

Hubby loves his sports.  One year (when we were first married) he won a city wide March Madness bracket challenge and we got free pizza for a year!  It was great.  (Except that around that same time I got pregnant and the smell of the pizza made me sick.  Sad face!)

Anyhow, each year he enters a few bracket challenges for fun.  Some of them involve putting up cash and the winner gets the jackpot.

But this year he decided that it was best to file this one under #yearofno and sit out of the ones that require money.  Every penny matters!

 

So those are our money saving ways this week! What short term sacrifices have you made so you can reach your goals?

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