Well, last weekend was a bit crazy so I did not post these! Ack! So I will give you more of a two week update and hope my memory is that great. Hopefully, these will give you ideas or inspiration to be frugal in your household.

– I canned four jars of squash pickles, four jars of fresh pack dill pickles, and 11 half-pint jars of pizza sauce from produce that was given to me.

– I bought several items like books and a movie for Dane, one thing for Paige, and two things for Jordan to give for birthday gifts from the garage sale site on Facebook and one of the local thrift shops. Unbelievably, these things were all new! And I paid less than 10% of the retail price for all of it!

– I also purchased some items for Shali for college next year in anticipation of her needs. I got a set of extra long twin sheets and a bunk buddy for only $33. These things together normally retail almost $100. Also, buying a little bit now will save money later and hit the pocketbook less at one time.

– I cut my own bangs and Paige’s bangs this last week. This cost us $5 each time so doing our own helps.

– We took a family day trip last Sunday. We went to West Bend to see the Grotto of the Redemption and to Rutland to see the dam and walk up and down the river. Both are free and the kids as well as I enjoyed seeing the sites. They had not been to either place so it was also new to them. All it cost me was gas money and an early supper out as a family. Not bad!

– I resisted all urges to go out to eat this last week since it would have been really easy and I only had 1-2 children home all week. That was very difficult for me!

– We also tried to keep the driving to a minimum and keep the gas usage down. Sometimes this is not always possible, but this week we made strides. It also helps that Shali was at camp all this week and only drove up there and back! I still have to drive back and forth to work, but I try hard for no extra trips to town!

– I sold some items on eBay. That is always a good feeling and nice to make a little extra money!

– I also scored 4-1/2 dozen pint jars and some rings on the garage sale site for $22. Considering I was out, this was an awesome deal!

– We got some much needed rain over the last week so I only needed to water my garden once. Yeah!

– I made my own taco seasoning which turned out great! If you read down in the comments on the link I provided you, she mentions using tomato sauce instead of water. This idea is pure genius! We loved the tacos with this addition!

– I made another batch of laundry detergent using a slightly different recipe. I will let you all know if it does well!

– I also got back to making our own goodies like granola bars, muffins, and bread. Yum….

– And, of course, we continue to make use of our local library and swimming pool. Yeah for local!

Thanks for reading! Have a great night!

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