Life has been so busy, and while I try to keep up with blogging as much as possible, it just didn’t get off that pesky back burner this week. But don’t worry! Medium Sized Family is here for the long haul, and I’ll be back to writing new content for you very soon.
On a related note, if you have any amazing advice for a beginning PTO group, be sure to leave a comment!
On Fridays I think of all the ways I saved money for the week. Then I write about them on the blog. So if you like money saving tips, you’ll love the archives of the 5 Ways We’ve Saved Money This Week series!
The 5 Ways We’ve Saved Money This Week 91
Trumpet
For the third year in a row, we have a child joining the band! I’m so happy the school made adjustments to let younger students join the program. But it’s been an expense for sure!
Thankfully I buy used instruments. I can’t imagine affording rental fees for three instruments at once! Learn more about how I get my best deal on used instruments here.
This time I got my best deal ever, because the pawn shop was running a back to school special. Woohoo!
Comparing Prices in a New Way
I’ve been using grocery pick up services more than ever. It’s been a life saver when life has been too busy for things like grocery shopping!
The prices on the grocery website aren’t always precise, but you can get a good idea of what they charge for things. So when I added a faucet filter to our list (you can read about our unusual water situation that makes a filter a requirement for us), I got curious. Was this item cheaper at the grocery store or on Amazon?
Sure enough, I found it much cheaper from Amazon! It’s a new way to compare prices from your home. Gotta love that.
Family Pass
Our oldest has entered the world of marching band…which means our family has entered it, too! We learned that our school districts a family pass so the whole family can watch any school sporting event for the year. So when he asks me to join pep band during basketball season, we’ll already be covered!
If your school district doesn’t offer a family pass, why not ask if they’ll create one? If your children are athletic or you have a large family, it could save you a ton of money.
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Granola Bars
They’re my go to choice for keeping snacks in the car. This helps me avoid a stop at the drive thru or convenience store when I’m running errands and realize I forgot to eat breakfast…again. (I really should be much skinnier!)
Raspberries
Our raspberry bushes are heavy with berries again. I love them, because they are super low fuss and my kids can pick their snack fresh from the vine. It was so worth the small investment years ago! I highly recommend Nourse Farms, because they are affordable and they give you step by step guidelines to get the most from your plants. And no, they did not pay me to say that!
Those are the 5 ways we saved money this week!
Tune in next week when I hope to get up an extra post or two. I do so much better with our debt goals when I’m blogging! You guys keep me going.
In the meantime, why not sign up for the Medium Sized Family newsletter? I only write you on Mondays and I try to keep it quick and helpful, with extra money saving tips just for my newslettees. (That’s the right word, right?)
How have you saved this week? OR! Do you have a PTO tip for me??
I am 100% with you on granola bars. Filling and affordable and very, very packable. Day in and day out, they’re my go-to snack.
Have a good long weekend!
They’re also so easy, because they don’t melt (unless you get chocolate ones!) and they don’t freeze. I can keep them in my car and it’s an easy snack on the go.
Your comment about forgetting to eat breakfast cracked me up. I don’t think I’ve forgotten to eat a meal once in my 42 years!! (I’m doing Weight Watchers now to pay for it…)
haha! Breakfast was always my favorite meal, but once I became a mom making sure my own kids ate and were ready to get out the door, I just stopped making time to do it. And a few hours later I’d notice how starving I was and wonder why??
With the PTO: First, define the goals of the organization. Are you there to co-ordinate volunteers? Raise money? Provide socialization for the parents/kids? Provide education for parents? Provide interaction with teachers? If you don’t know where you are going, then you won’t know how to get there or even if you are on the right road.
Second, accept that most of the work will be done by a relatively small board, whose job it will be to provide a program for others.
I’d define my goals and then meet with the principal about the nuts and bolts–what are the rules in your district, how do you go about collecting and spending money, what communication tools are at your disposal?
Next, I’d gather a core group to serve as the first board. You’ll want at least four people and probably no more than about ten. Find positions everyone can “run” for if you want to hold elections; chances are you won’t be challanged. Most people’ favorite candidates in those elections are “not me”.
The core group will need to meet regularly to plan events and keep things on track; however, I personally would limit general membership business meetings to one or two a year. If your goal is educational, and you are brining in speakers, that’s a different thing altogether, but don’t make everyone listen to a long list of committee reports and upcoming events–just introduce the speaker and get on with it. If the goal is social, then have social events that fun, not meetings with snacks.
At the open house, have sheets out for people to volunteer to participate in particular events. If you have lots of volunteers for the Halloween Carnvial, it’s a good indication that people are interested. If no one wants to volunteer to campus clean-up then maybe it isn’t the event for you.
If you are starting from scratch, I’d start with a limited number of events–you want those you do to succeed, so put the necessary work into them.
Thank you! You sound like the voice of experience. We’ve been doing the organizing and setting up since March and I just filed our 501c3 paperwork. I like your tips for keeping parents interested. People seem excited about it, and I feel like my whole job is to keep them excited for the long haul.
Granola bars (along with fruit/nut bars, fiber bars, and protein bars) are a great snack on the go, but I’ve found that many of them are full of sugar. It’s definitely worth a few extra minutes to compare nutritional labels when you’re shopping.
Aw, pep band was the most fun band! And yay for another little trumpet player in the world. I’ve found, in a totally biased and unscientific way, that the best stage managers are all former trumpet players. It’s a great instrument choice.
That’s super interesting! I always got a kick out of picking on the trumpet players in my band days. I was a flautist myself. (I kinda hope my daughter will want to play the flute, too!)
Great job on finding used instruments! Sometimes our school would have the unusual instruments already available for me, like the bassoon. They were desperate and wanted kids to take interest in the instruments that are forgotten.
So glad you on the board. I know you will work hard to make it a good school year.
From a fellow trumpet player: it is worth it! Music in general and trumpet specifically has brought me so much happiness, so many friendships, and so many cool opportunities over the years. Playing into college meant that I made enough money in scholarships and cash that I more than paid for all of the instruments I bought over my lifetime.