Frugal Five: #38

 The Frugal Five: #38

With inflation on the rise and our salaries not being able to keep up, it seems like we have taken a pay cut and must be more careful with our money.   The Frugal Five is a series where we celebrate our daily or weekly activities that help us live a frugal life.    

With the New Year upon us, it is time to set goals for how we will be spending our money.    This can look like shopping carefully, DIY projects, wasting less or just doing without.     Let’s see how we can save our pennies this year.   

1-  Use Free Tickets

We received free tickets to a home expo in our local area.   Since our son was off to a swim meet, we took advantage of this opportunity.   A home expo has a variety of different companies who do home improvement work such as general contractors, basement repair, painting, and gutter work.   Since we purchased our home this year and knew it needed some work, we took this opportunity to learn what is available in our area.   As a bonus, they were giving out various discounts at this expo.         

2- Menu Planning 

Our lives are very busy, but I still need to get dinner on the table.    I have turned to simple meals for M-F and meal helpers such as kielbasa, and using my crock pot.  This has pulled in our tendency to order out this week. 

3- Dressing in Layers

This week we were in and out of our home a lot, so we kept the temperature on the lower side.   So, when we were at home, we layered up- sweaters, robes, and blankets.       

4- Volunteering

    

When my son has an away swim meet the entry fee is $10 per person.  However, if you volunteer to help, you get in free.  I took advantage of a volunteer spot this week and since my son is required to stay for the entire meet, there wasn’t a downside to this situation.   The job is easy and they even provide you with a drink for help.   

5-  Professional Group Membership

   

Although the membership is a little bit expensive, it was in my best interest professionally for me to join my local group.  However, as part of this group, I was able to sign up for life insurance and receive a pull jacket as part of my membership.  I consider these items as a bonus because that wasn’t the reason I joined.   

 

Do you want to see what we did last week?   

Just click on the picture for the link. 

Please leave a comment below with your ways of saving money this week.