1. We stopped at Aldi for road trip snacks.
We loaded up at our home Aldi for the trip out there, and then before we headed back home, we stopped at the Aldi in Ohio.
So convenient to have an Aldi in both places. 😉
And snacks and drinks at Aldi are so much cheaper than snacks and drinks at gas station shops on the highway.
2. I filled up my tires with air before we left.
Properly inflated tires mean better gas mileage, of course.
Bonus points because I got air at a gas station which doesn’t charge for it. And I stopped there when I was already nearby, so no extra gas necessary.
3. We barely ate out while driving.
Aside from our Aldi snacks, we spent $8 on food during our drives.
4. Mia and I went out for appetizers and desserts.
We ate dinner at her house with our kids, and then went out after her son went to bed.
No babysitter necessary (Sonia’s old enough to babysit, and since Mia’s son was asleep in bed, all Sonia had to do was watch a movie with the Zoes, which wasn’t a job at all!), and chips and salsa plus brownies make for a cheap night out.
And really, the point of the two of us going out was to have time to hang out, not to eat a fancy meal. The company is what made it so good!
5. We spent money on experiences.
Fair food, ride bracelets, and pool admission aren’t technically frugal (though hey, that pool was only $9/person, which is way cheaper that it would be here at home for slides and splash pad and lazy river!), but those experiences make for great memories and shared fun times with friends.
Totally worth it.
Marianne
Thursday 16th of August 2018
Another vacation edition here too.
Stopped at son and dils house in Ohio for dinner rather than eating out on the way to Virginia.
We had planned on staying the night with them but their dog was sick and other guests were staying but my niece sent me a $25 off Booking.com coupon so we found a cheap hotel. This at least cut our second day drive down considerably.
There was an Aldi right next to the hotel. Filled the cooler up, spent $75 for groceries. I packed a lot of non perishable food items from home so only bought meat, veggies and fruit at Aldi.
We rented a Air BNB for the week for 5 people in the middle of the mountains. It was pretty reasonable because we had the whole house and cooked 99% of meals there. We only ate out once as a birthday celebration.
I brought snacks and mini meals for the car ride there and back so not much spent on fast food.
While we spent a chunk of change for caverns, golf and the Natural Bridge we got exercise and we did some fun things together. Still stayed under budget for the 10 days we were there.
On the Blue Ridge Parkway we ran into a couple from the Netherlands who flew into Boston and are traveling the east coast to Miami. Then flying to LA and traveling up the west coast. What a trip!
Elizabeth
Thursday 16th of August 2018
1. Received a $2 Catalina at Kroger for buying $10 worth of Kroger brand items...will definitely do this deal again! 2. Used my husband's leftover per diem money from a business trip to add to my daughter's college fund 3. Reusing books we bought years ago to inspire my son's love of reading 4. Using Rocket languages for free, thanks to our library membership 5. Found a $2 shirt for my daughter and a $3 study guide that covers all of the Chronicles of Narnia books (very excited about that find!)
Julia
Thursday 16th of August 2018
Last week was a great week for frugal things. 1. I responded to a free ad on a neighborhood app and got 3 very large planters (with dirt) and three small planters with dirt and plants for free! 2. We were treated to free suite seats (through my husbands work) to our local minor league baseball team, complete with food. There were also fireworks after the game and since we were the only ones that stayed till the end of the fireworks we got to take the leftover food home! 3. My son’s 4-H club provided rabbits for a petting zoo at the Governor’s mansion for their community day. We all got coupons to eat for free at the food trucks. 4. There is an Italian restaurant on our block. My husband helped the owner move a freezer into his basement last week. Mr Alvaro, the owner, invited our son in for free homemade gelato. 5. Bought a Fandango gift card at the grocery store when they had a spend $25 on the Fandango card get $5 off your grocery bill.
Deidre
Thursday 16th of August 2018
Well done on the self-catering travel & going out for entrée & dessert. I love FFT I find it so inspiring, lots of great ideas & makes me stop & think how I am going. My F5: 1. Subscribing to this blog - even when I don't have time to read seeing a frugal girl notification in my inbox regularly reminds me to be frugal focused & has helped me make it a habit - rather than something I come across when cleaning & think 'Oh yeah, I mean't to do that...6 month ago..." 2. Electrician bill was waaaaay cheaper than expected - yay! 3. Trained my hair to cope well with 2nd - 3rd daily washes & using less product each wash 4. Sister cooked me a lovely roast dinner last night & we watched a dvd & some comedy on utube 5. Found a bakery near me that is cheaper & resisted the urge to buy delicious snacks & stuck to my essentials
Suzan
Wednesday 15th of August 2018
Thank you for all the inspiration.
I have two children and a grand baby moving out of Friday/Saturday. I live on very little money and am looking forward to not having to feed five adults most nights and four during the day. I will miss them though. It is time so I am going to look on the bright side.
I cancelled a craft lesson because my arms keep going numb. That saved $35.
I shopped to my list and only bought five things extra. They were on good sale and will be used.
My wonderful doctor has organised appointments to see a doctor about the continuing numbness etc. He found be a doctor who bulk bills through medicare Australia. So I won't have to pay for that and these specialist doctors cost an absolute bomb.
I have done extraordinarily well at sticking my food plan. There are few left overs. Many things were used up instead fo wasted.
Bonus...the lady across the street has bought five chickens. I am happily giving her scraps for them. She gave me a carton of eggs this week.
Kristen
Thursday 16th of August 2018
I hope your doctor is able to help you figure out what's going on!