I love reading blogs like Frugally Blonde which share practical ways that their family has saved money. A few months ago I decided to write my own post each month on how we save, and it has quickly become one of the most popular features here on The Orthodox Mama.
5 Ways I Saved in May
The theme of this month’s post is “frugal vacation.” In late May our family took a very rare family vacation up to Boston to visit friends and attend a wedding. We had a fantastic time! Since we are on a tight budget, though, we found as many ways as we could in which to save along the way.
Here are a few:
1. Kids Eat Free at Restaurants
On the drive, we stopped for dinner one night at Denny’s. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that they offered a “Kids Eat Free” deal when an adult entree is purchased (on week days). Since we’re super frugal, my husband and I split an entree. Our waitress was generous, though, and gave us both kids’ entrees for free (the three kids shared two entrees)! That means that we all ate for $12.50. Woohoo! We will definitely be looking into more “Kids Eat Free” restaurants for our big trip to Texas later in the summer.
Estimated Savings: $10
2. Cash Back on a Wedding Present
I had a moment of panic last week when I realized that I hadn’t bought a wedding present yet. However, I quickly went online and purchased a gift card for the store the couple registered at. To make things even better, I used Ebates when I bought it, so I received cash back. Score! Ebates is a website that will give you cash back for any online purchase made–you just have to go through their website first. So, I went to Ebates, typed “Bed, Bath, and Beyond” into their search bar, and then clicked on the link. Then I received cash back for the purchase I was going to make anyway. So easy!
(And, right now if you sign up for Ebates HERE, you’ll receive $10 cash back just for creating an account and making your first purchase. If you do any online shopping at all, Ebates is the way to go. I’ve earned over $250 in the past year.)
Estimated Savings: $5
3. Stayed with Friends and Family
We were gone for four nights but didn’t pay for a hotel. We were so excited to get to stay with dear friends in Providence and in Boston. Not only did this save us money, it also gave us ample opportunity to catch up and spend precious time together. I know that it isn’t always possible to stay with friends when traveling, but it can certainly save money!
Estimated Savings: $400 (a conservative estimate at $100 per night–a steal in both cities!)
4. Free Entertainment
We also didn’t spend money on entertainment during our vacation. Instead we enjoyed the many free sites that both cities offered. The kids had a blast playing in a park in Providence, visiting the Boston Gardens and seeing the ducks and swans, throwing tea into the Boston Harbor, playing at the Frog Pond park, walking through the city, and eating their first cannoli. (Ok, the cannoli cost a few dollars. The rest was free, though!)
The grown ups played games at night– Settlers of Catan, a board game of strategy, being the game of choice. If you enjoy games like Risk or Ticket to Ride, be sure to try out Settlers of Catan!
Estimated Savings: $100 (we easily could have spent $25 per day on entertainment for a family of five)
5. My Husband Fixed the Lawnmower
Finally, this doesn’t tie in to a frugal vacation, but I just had to brag on my husband. 🙂 Our lawnmower was acting up–dying in the middle of mowing the lawn. We thought we might need to purchase a new one, which was an expense we really didn’t want to have right now. However, after watching a few YouTube tutorials (according to my husband you can learn to do anything from YouTube!), he was able to fix our lawnmower absolutely for free! Yippee!
Estimated Savings: $100 (for an inexpensive lawnmower)
Total Savings: $615
Don’t forget that the little things add up! Frugal living is a marathon sport!
How did you save this month?
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