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The 5 Ways We’ve Saved Money This Week series is getting a little face lift!  What do you think of the new photo?  Design is definitely not my strong suit, but I’m trying to make my graphics easier to read.  So let me know what you think of this and other pictures you’re seeing around the blog.

I’m doing all of this for you guys, after all.  If you can’t read it or don’t like it, I will change it all!  🙂

Every Friday I celebrate the small wins that have led us closer to our big hairy goal of paying off thousands in credit card debt.  We’ve been working on this goal for 19 months now.  We have times that it’s easier, and times when it’s just plain hard.

I’m not too proud to admit that the just plain hard moments are getting more frequent as time goes on.  I guess that’s to be expected as fatigue rolls in.  For us, if we allow a small splurge here and there it seems easier to get back on track.  But this Friday series is my reminder not to let a splurge here and there derail our entire plan!

So let’s get into the details of the latest…

5 Ways We’ve Saved Money This Week

Find tons of money saving tips here.  We’re on week 86, so by reading back through the series, you can sort through hundreds of ideas!  Surely some of them will work for your family.

More money saving ideas from a family of 7 that's paying off thousands in credit card debt!

Camping

This week we got a little camping in.  We managed to pick two of the chillier nights we’ll find this July, so we didn’t even need the a/c in the camper!  That was sheer luck (or Someone was keeping His eye on us).

Like last year, we saved a bundle on this 2 day trip.  I got a 50% off coupon at the library when we joined the summer reading program.  If we booked on a Sunday through Thursday night we could get half off the price.  As a bonus…no one camps on Sunday and Monday night.  We practically had the place to ourselves!

We borrowed Dad’s camper (free) and stuck to a hot dog/marshmallow diet.  We did some fishing (ok, that cost a fishing license, but it will be used again for some frugal fun), hiking, played games, and sat around the campfire.

hiking and camping

Chair

A couple of our folding chairs broke after we’d had them for years.  Time to replace meant that I had to wrestle with my frugal vs. cheap methods.

Sometimes you want to invest in a better quality item so you can get more years from it (this is living frugally).  But when you don’t have the money to invest (and you need it now), you just want to grab the best item in your price range (this is living on the cheap).

I found a chair that was good quality.  It was close to a sales tag, so I assumed it was 25% off.  This nicer chair cost 3 of the cheaper folding chairs (decent quality, but won’t last us for years and years).  Still, I wasn’t sure I should spend that much money in our #yearofno.

The cashier decided for me when she told me it wasn’t part of the sale.  Now it cost 4 1/2 times what a cheaper folding chair cost.  We chose a nice red folding chair and left.

Deck Plants

I enjoy gardening, but raising little ones along with dogs that dig and goats that eat everything makes it hard work that usually ends in disaster.  While I miss my plants, I can’t stand putting in work only to have it destroyed.

But when the cucumber plant I found in the mulch pile began to flourish, I decided to add a few more plants to my deck garden.  Planting seeds in July seems a little silly.  But because I had seeds in the freezer and soil in the garage, I knew I could try it for free.

So we planted a few more things.  I’m excited about having some plants that (hopefully) will grow without being eaten by goats!

potted deck plants

Cheap Corn

I always get excited when the “sweet corn” signs go up around our small town.  I can stop and buy a dozen ears direct from the farmer.  This year he apologized for raising the price to $3.50.  But then he gave me 4 extra ears of corn.  We ate 2 meals from that sack of corn!

If you happen on a great deal, be sure to check out my recipe for freezing sweet corn.  Have you ever tried that method for making the silks come off more easily?

Banana Cake

We took a bunch of bananas on our camping trip, but no one ate them.  In all the moving around, the tops broke off of several bananas.

So banana cake (with cream cheese frosting!  Yum!) was in order!

When life hands you broken bananas, make banana cake! #cake #whynot #summerdessert

A post shared by Jamie Jeffers (@mediumsizedfamily) on

 

Those are the 5 Ways We Saved Money This Week!

Some weeks we don’t do much more than army crawling, but we’re still making progress on our debt!  We’re starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Want more money saving ideas?  Medium Sized Family subscribers get extra money saving tips each week PLUS access to free printables and other resources!

Tell us how you managed to save money this week!