We began our month on vacation to Washington D.C. To our surprise this was probably our least expensive vacation ever. For starters, we priced out different room accommodations and found that a suite that sleeps 8 and had a kitchen along with free breakfast was cheaper than getting two adjoining rooms in another hotel. The suite we got had two bathrooms and three televisions as well; more than enough to keep us happy. Because it had a kitchen we ate all our dinners after our daily adventures back in our suite which kept costs way down. And we made lunches to take with us for the day as well as for roadside picnics. The only day we ate at McDonalds was at the Smithsonian. They do not allow food to be brought into museums and they do a bag search at every entrance as well. So we planned for that expense and found it to be a treat. Our parking was reserved on-line at a discount which was way cheaper for our numbers than paying for the subway with either a day pass or the individual ride; a savings of about $30 per day.
We used homegrown green peppers in soup, enchiladas and it made the pizza HEAVENLY! (Even the kids agree with that statement).
We picked raspberries at $20 a flat. While out in a different area the owners told us about a dairy nearby with great ice cream which we decided we had to check out. The cows that give the cream are literally right out the back door. While in line my husband noticed a sign that said you got a discount if you told a joke and so he did! “How do you get an idiot out of a tree? You wave.” They loved it = $ off!!!
We made 4 kinds of jam from our berry picking. 25 pints of golden raspberry, red raspberry, blackberry and triple berry utilizing some of the strawberries in my freezer from June that I hadn’t gotten to yet. That jam with the raspberries is the best!!!
I bought a $25 gift card for $20 and used it at Old Navy for some back to school shopping where my oldest daughter got some desperately needed new clothes. I combined that with some coupons I had and paid very little for 2 new pairs of jeans and 3 new shirts for her.
Haley and I paid a visit to Plato’s Closet for the rest of her back to school shopping and got some nice blouses and a sweater with “previous experience”. They work well for school, church, dances and even a job interview!!! They are things that she didn’t have anything like before and they make a nice addition to her wardrobe for not a ton of money.
I made homemade laundry detergent, dishwasher detergent and disinfectant.
We bought a “new” (used) laptop computer that is comparable to our desktop with a settlement voucher paying only $15 dollars for it.
We sold our 18 year old car to a salvage yard for $300. We purchased a 13 year old car with only 88,000 miles for $50. We had to get it out of the driveway before we were really ready to take it which meant that we spent extra on insurance and temporary registration and tags but the price of the car and its condition was too good to let pass. Not the most fuel efficient car on the road is the Camry so our gas costs are up now a bit but it buys us time to save for another second car now. With our children’s schooling situation and the distance involved we need two cars to function unfortunately.
I’m not sure if this qualifies as frugal but I have a real “thing” for canning jars. I went to a “junk” antique shop during what just happened to be a 50% off day. I found a 1976 Liberty Bell pint sized Mason jar and got it at 50% off. It was the only one there and is now clean and filled with raspberry jam that I will enjoy cracking into sometime this coming year. I also bought a framed print there of an old picture that I have loved for many years… again at 50% off.
My daughter, Haley, and I went out for our parent child time. She had come across two coupons for free entrée’s at a restaurant I’d never been to. So we brought a little spending money to pay for a drink and enjoyed a really inexpensive lunch together. We shopped at… Walmart (gasp) and she purchased a pair of black dress pants and black nonslip shoes for her new job at McDonalds which she starts this week. She is excited to be employed and making a little of her own money to save for college and a mission mostly.
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