The rain was pouring down and the kids joked about going outside to play. They could hardly believe it when I said, “Sure. Why not?”
There’s a creek that runs right through our backyard. Usually in a downpour like this, it swells and takes over much of our playing space. Or it rushes so quickly that I can’t risk the kids being near it. Too many horrible stories on the news makes that not worth the risk. (shiver)
It’s just another reminder that the simple things in life bring a lot of joy. Me? I’m not going to run in the rain, but I’ll take this moment to appreciate a quiet cup of coffee.
Are you new to Medium Sized Family? Then you’ll want to check out the whole series of ways we’ve saved money and paid off thousands in debt.
Ready for a new 5 ways? Let’s dig in!
The 5 Ways We’ve Saved Money This Week
I Won!
You know I’m a fan of giveaways. So when I saw that Daily Momtivity was hosting a giveaway for a $25 Kroger gift card, I had to try. And I won! I used to be one of those people that said, “I never win anything.” But I can’t claim that anymore. I’ve won several things over the past two years.
It’s funny how you can win if you actually enter! (That reminds me of a lottery commercial…but I only enter free contests.) 🙂
(By the way, this inspired an interesting post idea, so stay tuned for that!)
Festive Clothing
We love to celebrate Independence Day. Seeing a parade and catching some fireworks (not literally) makes the day feel special.
I couldn’t help but admire all the little girls in their beautiful red white and blue outfits. We, on the other hand, grabbed either a red or blue t-shirt and called it good enough. Some day I might look for an adorable outfit for at least the kids young enough to enjoy it. But not this year.
Cash Back
Way back in January, I rented our van for vacation through Hertz. (Read my Hertz review and whether we’d use them again.) Before I shopped, I started the way I always do: a quick stop at Ebates.com. You’ll get cash back on tons of stuff when you start there.
I wasn’t sure if I’d see the rebate money from Hertz, but sure enough it was posted to my account. I should be seeing an extra $13 back soon! I love getting that kind of money just for making a couple of extra clicks on the computer.
More Than Just Making It
I’m a fan of The Humbled Homemaker (in fact, you can read my recent guest post on her blog here!), so I was excited to join the launch team for her brand new book, More Than Just Making It. The UPS man showed up unexpectedly, and there was my copy of the book!
I’ve already been reading, and it’s just so good. Her story is not only interesting, but it really makes you think about how you spend and where your priorities lie. You can preorder the book now (you get bonus goodies!).
Rescue Plants
I’m always inspired by The Prudent Homemaker. Her attention to detail helps her family save a ton of money and live more beautifully than many people with a much higher income.
So when I noticed some “volunteer” plants coming up in our mulch pile (not a compost pile, because I don’t pay it that much attention) I decided to plant them and see what happens. I’m hoping we get some cucumbers from this!
Those are the 5 Ways We’ve Saved Money This Week!
Whenever it’s raining I think of the old Nitty Gritty Dirt Band song…”If we’re ever gonna see a rainbow, we’ve got to stand a little rain.” Have a weekend of rainbows!
But before you go, check out this post and grab your $5 in totally FREE stock! (My Hubby’s Under Armour has already gone up!)
How did you save this week?
Awesome! Congrats on winning the gift card, that’s sweet! I’ve been one to win things like that but I did win a Nike gift card one time just for walking in the store…#BestDayOfMyLife HAHA
haha! That’s the best kind of winning…zero effort! Love it.
Pretty cool. I’ve been entering a bunch of Amazon Smile giveaways, so who knows. Maybe I’ll get a camera tripod or something.
and I’m all about looking through the closet for most holiday wear. We didn’t even buy new Easter duds this year. Little Bit and I just donned our red t-shirts and jean shorts for the 4th (when we weren’t wearing wet bathing suits.)
I still get my daughter a new Easter dress every year, but she doesn’t get hand me downs and has already outgrown her spring dresses by then. Hey, maybe next year her dress will still fit!!
That’s cool you let your kids play out in the rain a little! I feel like those random moments as a kid when I asked to do something that was definitely going to be a no but turned out to be a yes are some of the ones I remember the most – and a lot of them didn’t cost anything.
It often strikes me how many of my favorite memories are like that, too. Fun times that didn’t cost money.
I feel the same way about holiday clothing. We often luck out with hand-me-down’s or our annual trip to the big consignment sale, but if not, then we go without. The kids have a lot of Irish in their blood, but I don’t think they’ve ever had anything special to wear for St. Patrick’s Day.
How did we save money this week? We’re fixing up an old school bus to use as a family vehicle now that we have five kids. There was an issue with a cable(?). Mr. Smith did his research and found out you can use these special caps instead of replacing it – saving a couple hundred dollars!
Wow, that’s a great idea! We’ve joked about driving a bus, but it would be nice to have some extra space.
Congrats on your win! My wife enters a ton of free giveaways and contests. She’s won a little (an Amazon gift card, $50 cash), but not nearly enough for the time she spends on it. But she must be due for a win soon the way I see it.
That book More Than Just Making It sounds interesting. I’ll have to check it out!
I love the rescue plants savings. There is so much waste of food, materials, and money by so many people that I really like when we can reuse items!