Frugal Friday

Okay, let's see all of the frugal things I did this week.

First, we made it until June 1st before we turned on the AC! Actually, I broke down on the evening of May 31, because it was super hot and Ben was gone for the night and I did not want to have the windows open at night while I was home alone. However, we actually ended up turning it off just two days later and have not turned it on since. I got my bill in the mail and it was not nearly as low as I would like, but I was forgetting that we are running the pool, hot tub, and aquarium along with everything else.

For the last three weeks, I have made all of our meals from the pantry and freezer. Usually when I do my menu plans, I find recipes that I have 3/4 of the ingredients and shop for the rest. These last 3 weeks, I did not shop at all; I just made the recipes work with what I had on hand. Sometimes simply staying out of the store saves money. And to be honest, I have a tiny kitchen that was bursting at the seams with my stockpile and we really need to get some of the stuff used up.

Tomorrow, I am having a last minute garage sale in an attempt to raise some more money to help with our bills. I have had boxes of stuff to take to Goodwill and the pregnancy centers, but my plans kept falling through and I did not want to hold on to it all for my mom's garage sale in July. I have never had a garage sale by myself (without my mom) and I will also have both kids by myself for the last half of the afternoon, so wish me luck! I actually got Ben to get rid of some of his junk, so that's a huge plus!!

Well, I am off to get some sleep before the big garage sale! If you are in Tulsa and want to come by, email me for my address!

Frugal Friday *Updated*

One of the most frugal things I have been doing lately is not using my air conditioner in the house. That's right, we have not once turned our air on. There have really only been one or two days that I was really tempted. Every year, we try to wait as long as possible, but we usually only make it about half way through May. This year, thanks to the weird weather we have had, I think we will make it all the way. As soon as we wake up, we open the windows and let the cooler air come in. We use a box fan in one of the windows of the main rooms to help, and every ceiling fan is on. I am excited to get my electric bill!

In the last two weeks, thanks to Kraft and Coupons, I have done some major couponing at Homeland. For those of you who don't know, Homeland doubles coupons up to $1, which means they double $1 coupons, for a total of $2 savings. They only double the first in a series, so you have to do more than one transaction to get the full benefits, which is a pain, but worth it! So, here is a picture of what I got in two transactions this week. I went back and did 2 more, but I didn't take pictures of those. *I forgot to tell you the total for all of these items! $15.00!!! Can you believe it?
Frugally, it has been a good two weeks. What are your frugal friday tips?

Frugal Friday

Today's Frugal Friday post is regarding clothes. The Princess was accepted into a magnet elementary school that requires that the students wear uniforms, with the logo of the school embroidered on the clothing. I will admit that I was kinda excited about this, because I never had to wear uniforms and I think its super cute, as well as easy to put together outfits! However, I knew they are very expensive. Her new school had a Uniform Resale this week, selling gently used uniforms from other students/parents. My main goal at this sale was to get jumpers, because Cadence loves to wear dresses and when you add leggings, she can wear jumpers year round. I left that sale with the biggest smile on my face, I cleaned up! I had $60 to spend and was hoping to get a decent amount of items and then pick up the rest at some resale shops that might have them, and possibly only have a few items to by new and pay to get embroidered. But, I did so well, that I won't have to buy anything, except some shirts to wear under her jumpers. For $60, I got:
6 jumpers
7 polo shirts (long & short sleeve)
2 skirts
1 pair of khakis
*I did have a picture of everything, but the computer is being dumb.
And with one exception, everything I got is already embroidered! I am unbelievably excited. I save more money than I can even imagine. Hopefully most of this will last the whole Kindergarten year, and then I can sell them in the resale next year.

For the past couple of weeks, I have been cleaning stuff out of the house more often, especially clothes thanks to nicer weather. Most of my kids' clothes are in pretty good condition. I very easily could have consigned them, or sold them in the JBF sale, like I have before. However, I decided to give all of their things to friends with children who could use them. Honestly, most stuff going out of my house goes to Goodwill, or a Pregnancy Resource Center, but usually the nice items I sale in a garage sale. For some reason, I just did not feel like holding on to the stuff, and it was really weighing on my heart to give to others, instead of making money from it. So, last week I have a bunch of stuff to a friend who is pregnant with a boy (and already have another 3 sacks for her!) and have been getting stuff ready for another friend with a 3 year old daughter. And guess what? This week, I was gifted with a huge box full of clothes for Henry, and just today my neighbor (who buys only name brands!) gave me 2 trash bags full of almost brand new clothes for Cadence! I was super excited and incredibly grateful and was further reminded that what you give, you get back!

I know this post wasn't really full of tips, but I firmly believe that if you give, you will get back, so let that be my tip! And buy uniforms used!

Frugal Friday

I need to lose some weight and tone up, desperately. I am going to be in a wedding this summer that I would like to look good (better than I do now) and I would like to feel better. So here is my new, frugal plan for weight lose.

Pedometer: I found a pedometer I got a couple of years ago for free. I did some research online and found that "sedentary" people walk 2,000 to 3,000 steps per day. Walking 6,000 steps per day will keep you healthy and reduce your health risks and walking 8,000 to 10,000 steps per day will help you lose weight. Last night in about 4 hours, which included working in the front yard and having a race with Cadence, I walked close over 4,000 steps. Today I have been wearing it all day, and am so far at 4,000 steps. Today Ben took Cadence to and from school for me, so I definitely lost some steps right there. My goal over the next couple of days is to see how many steps I average per day so that I can increase them. I will have to add activity of some sort to get to 10,000 steps.

DVDs: I have 5 work out dvds that I have collected over the years. My goal is to do something every single day, and hopefully to work these dvds into my routine. I think for right now I am going to have to do them in the evening, because I just can't seem to get up early enough to do them. Maybe once I start doing them and realize how much better I feel, then I will be able/willing to get up earlier.

Watching what I eat: I think this will also help me alot. I am switching fruits and 100 calorie snacks for chocolate and otherwise fattening snacks. I am going to try to eat more slowly and not get "lost" in my food and not pay attention.

The only thing I will have to buy is a new sports bra. My old ones are from high school, enough said.

I am also planning on using this blog to post what I have done to motivate me. So you see, you can work out and lose weight without spending any money! Wish me luck!

Frugal Friday

A couple of the blogs I read do a Frugal Friday post, and since being Frugal is a part of my daily life, I thought I would add one to my blog and see how it goes. Basically I will the Frugal Friday post to talk about ways I save money each week, or new ideas I have read. Here goes nothing!
This week was a very frugal week for me, not just out of habit, but also out of necessity. Even Mr. Wright was frugal this week! Here are some ways I saved money this week:

• In the mail this week, I recieved quite a few of the free magazine subscriptions I had signed up for, including Martha Stewart!
• I also received a free sample of popcorn and lots of coupons from offers I had signed up for this week in the mail.
• My sister and I went to Gardner's used books and bought well over $100 worth of books for $30. I finally got Twilight and have started it!
• My mom, sister, the prince and princess and I took advantage of the Salvation Army's 50% off all clothing on Wednesdays. I love thrift store shopping, as does my mom. We got to spend time together, have fun, and left with 4 bags of clothes for all of us and books! My mom got especially lucky with clothes for her, which was great because she really needed some clothes. When I find really, super-great deals, I will even get bigger sizes for the kids and put them away for upcoming seasons. That way they always have clothes to grow into and I don't have to run out and spend full price on anything.
• I am trying to be more aware of using only half of the recommended amount for most household items (Shampoo, dish detergent, clothes detergent, etc.) I usually try to do this, but I have not been as aware of what I am using lately. Most items like these you can get by with using a much smaller amount than most of us use.
• All of our Spring Break entertainment has been free. We went to the park at the River one day, had a friend over, played at the neighbor's house, etc.
• I am trying to make sure paper has been thoroughly used up before it is recycled. I use both sides to print on, cut used paper into scraps, and write on both sides of the paper I use for my to do list. This is not only frugal, but good for the environment, as alot of frugal doings are!
• I am being more diligent about lights. Both Mr. Wright and the Princess have a tendency to leave lights on when they leave a room. I am trying to double check for them and turn them off.
• On the hottest day this week, we left the windows open and fans on until right before bed to cool down the house. We also only used the heat for a teeny bit this morning, other than that it has been off all week.
  
• When the trash bag in the can is full, I take it out of the can, and continue to use it. There is so much more room left in the bag!
  

I would love to hear anything frugal tips you have, or your frugal doings for this past week. Hope you learned something from mine! Can't wait to hear some of yours, be sure and post some tips! Now, I am off to read more of Twilight. I think I may finish the book tomorrow. Yes, its THAT good!