It’s a whole new week around here! Happy Frugal Friday. I hope you’ve had some successes in your spending (or more importantly, your saving!) this week.
Last week I had to admit that we’d had a rough, expensive week. We gradually fell off the wagon throughout June, and by last week I didn’t have much to celebrate in the way of savings.
The good news is that we recognized what was going on, and were able to make changes to get back on track with our #yearofno. We spent this week making sure we weren’t wasting hard earned money that had a job to do.
If you want to read the archives, you can find the entire 5 Ways We’ve Saved Money This Week series here.
If you’re here for the new ideas, read on!
The 5 Ways We’ve Saved Money This Week.
Clearance cleats. If your family is into baseball, it’s time to go shopping for equipment now. If you’ve got a good guess about what size feet your child will have, you can find cleats at a great clearance price. For two or three years in a row I was able to find them for just $9. This year I found a size 8 men’s pair at Gabriel Brothers. If you don’t have one of those stores near you, check any discount store chains that sell footwear. Or look at your local sporting goods store.
Watch fireworks rather than buying. I recently overheard people talking about how much money their family spent on a private fireworks display and was astonished. There’s nothing wrong with spending a lot of money on fireworks if you have the budget for it and it’s important and enjoyable to you. But for me, I’d much rather spend that money on other things!
We were able to see a nice display from my brother’s backyard, so we watched from there and went home without fighting traffic afterwards.
Elegant Themes lifetime membership. Blogging has so many aspects that you can choose to pay for…or not to pay for. I chose to purchase a theme. Since my blog is approaching being a year old, it was time to decide if I wanted to pay for another year of using this theme, or if I should pay a bit more and get the lifetime membership. Not only does this save money, it also saves the hassle of keeping up with it year after year.
I figured that since I’m still hard at blogging a year later, it’s probably worth it. Seems like I’m in this for the long haul now! And happily, this blog has made enough money to pay for its own upkeep. That’s definitely a start.
Garden Produce. I’d love to have the time to put in my own garden, but it’s just not possible right now. Luckily, my parents have a large garden and don’t mind sharing extra produce when they have it.
I was able to bring home several large zucchinis (I’m considering making a zucchini relish with them) as well as a pepper. Love the fresh produce…and the savings!
Golf balls. Hubby is part of a mailing list for Taylor Made golf company. They sent him some of their new golf balls to try out. There can be some great benefits to joining the mailing list for your favorite companies. Often they will send their fans special coupons or other savings.
Except that now he has to find the time to golf.
Those are some of the ways we’ve saved money this week!
Speaking of mailing list…are you on mine? My subscribers get access to extra money saving tips. Sign up here!
Sometimes I forget about coupons, but there are still great deals to be had. Check out the new coupon page I’ve set up here.
Share your latest money saving ways in the comments!
I'm Jamie, and I want to help you afford a beautiful life with your family. 
So true on the fireworks! It’s easy to spend hundreds of dollars on just a few minutes of fireworks if you buy your own, but so many places have terrific firework shows you can watch for free. We went to my dad’s lake house and watched the show from his pier. (which is pretty spectacular) and then got to watch fireworks going off on other piers for another hour.
That’s really nice when you find a spot to see more than one display! We were able to see bits and pieces of other displays, too.
I’ve made zucchini relish before & it’s really good! Zucchini “apple” pie is also interesting.
I’m not looking forward to paying for my blogging theme either! It’s coming up soon.
We have a garden and always plant zucchini and squash. I always end up battling squash bugs. So I think this year is my last year planting squash and zucchini. I don’t want to use pesticides and Diatomaceous Earth just doesn’t cut it when it comes to squash bugs.
I’m currently using a free theme because my blog is less than a month old. I did however bite the bullet and purchase a self hosted word press site. I want to see how things go before I purchase a theme.
It’s smart to take it slow. I wonder sometimes if I should have bought a theme so quickly, but I didn’t want to have to make a bunch of changes later. If I’d been controlling my spending better at the time, I’m not sure I would have done that!
I like the idea of joining a mailing list. This sounds more exciting then staying updated via email and the extra savings are an added perk.
“Old fashioned” mail would be fun to have in the midst of all the junk mail.
Oh, I might have to get hubby and my grandpa set up with the golf ball trial thing! 🙂 Thanks for the heads up!
Cool! I’m glad Hubby told me about that one, or I wouldn’t have known about it either.
Nice! Sometimes you just have to spend a little money, but it’s good to be frugal when you can. I’ll have to look into the golf balls, great idea!
Good for you! It takes some serious willpower to realize you are off track and get back to where you want to be. Money is addictive at times, especially when it makes life easier!
I love the fireworks tip. Our neighbors buy thousands of dollars worth, now instead of driving through the traffic and walking in the crowds we sit in our own yard, with our own refreshments and have a 360 degree show! Instead of having to pay for our own we get to enjoy them in comfort! BEST thing ever!
Yay garden produce! And watching other people’s fireworks! And cheap cleats! ;P It sounds like y’all got back on track in some smart ways. 🙂 Thank you for sharing at #FridayFrivolity!