An all-over-the-place Q&A

I asked my Instagram followers to send me some questions for a Q&A post, and so today, we’ve got a pretty random collection of questions! 

Who paid for driving expenses (gas, insurance, etc.) when your kids were licensed?

We split gas with them for the first six months after they got their licenses (Random, I know!).

For insurance, the deal is that we will split it with them 50/50 while they are in high school/college. After that, they’ll be responsible for 100% of it.

And you didn’t ask, but…we paid for driving school for them.

Are you continuing homeschooling even though most states have closed for the rest of the year?

Yep! We are finishing up the school year as planned.

I haven’t seen any reason to disrupt Sonia and Zoe’s schooling, and honestly, I think it’s been good for them to have something to occupy their time.

I anticipate too much free time being a challenge once school is finished, and I am already thinking about ways to face this upcoming problem.

How is your church continuing during quarantine?

Services are broadcast online; it’s not at all the same, of course, but it’s better than nothing.

One great thing is that Zoe’s youth group has had a weekly all-girls Zoom meeting and also a weekly girls-and-guys youth group Zoom meeting. This has been really awesome for her!

What’s your favorite activity during quarantine?

Hmm. I like watching The Crown with Sonia, catching up on some work inside and outside the house, and also making fires in our fire pit.

Do you still make your own yogurt (plain or vanilla?) and bread? 

We eat less yogurt than we used to now that we know Sonia doesn’t handle dairy well, but yes, I do still usually have some homemade jars in the fridge, and usually they’re vanilla.

I need to try making some non-dairy yogurt for Miss Sonia.

Here’s how I make homemade yogurt without a machine or InstantPot.

I do still keep up with some baking, but not quite as much as I used to when my kids were little.

Like most people, I’ve been doing more baking since the lockdown started.  Thank goodness I snagged a 50 pound bag of flour!

What are your older two kids up to? How are they handling the quarantine?

Well, college classes are all online now, and their jobs are paused for right now (either due to closures or because full-time employees are getting the limited hours available), so we are navigating unemployment filing for the first time.

I think people in entry-level jobs are really suffering now because so many of those jobs cannot be done remotely.

Fortunately, Lisey was already planning to do summer classes at college, so she will still have something to keep her busy even if her job does not call her back this summer.

How has your parenting changed through the years?

I’m not sure exactly how much has changed because of me or because of my kids getting older.

I mean, I am more hands-off now than I was when they were younger (they are more independent and don’t need me as much!), and I do a lot more talking/listening and less “Here’s what I want you to do.”

But I think that’s really more due to them being older than to some change in me. You don’t generally parent teenagers the same way you parent preschoolers!

What are some really fast, few-ingredient meals?

Check out the comments on this post; readers shared all their best fallback meal ideas…basically, what they make for dinner when plans have gone awry and they’re trying too avoid takeout.

I listed a few of my own fallback meals at the end of this post.

A few other ideas:

–Korean lettuce wraps

-any kind of sandwich. Elevate a sandwich by buttering the bread/rolls and browning the buttered side in a skillet.  Instant fancy! 🙂 Or do some kind of grilled sandwich or panini. Hot and melty feels more like dinner. Keep croissants in the freezer; they’re fancier and feel more like a meal than sandwich bread. 

-greens topped with quick cooking protein* + some kind of dressing + whatever veggies/salad toppings are in your house.

*shrimp, chicken breasts, bacon, sliced chicken sausages (hard-boiled eggs if you think ahead a bit)

-snacky dinner. Crackers, cheese, fruit, popcorn, raw veggies, dip, a frozen hors d’oeuvres; whatever snacky things you can find!

Are your children embracing your frugality?

That depends from kid to kid. Also, I think it’s a little bit early to tell, because the way you feel about frugal habits can certainly change once you pay all your own bills!

What once seemed like a ridiculous frugal activity could start to seem quite sensible when it’s your money at stake.

Lisey is probably my most frugal kid; she has worked hard and currently has enough saved to pay cash for her two remaining years of college. She does a lot of smart things with her money, but she does also spend on fun things, like traveling.

(Even when she travels, though, she is really smart about keeping the costs down.)

I know that I can teach frugal habits and model good money management, but ultimately, money management will be up to my kids once they are on their own. They’ll have the knowledge they need, and that’s all I can do as a parent. 

And of course, I will love them the same regardless of whether they are as frugal as me or not.

(Odds are good that they will not be QUITE as frugal as me. Ha.)

So. I’ve already asked my Instagram followers, but do you have questions for me, blog readers?

If you do, leave your question in the comments, or you can email me (kristen@thefrugalgirl.com), and I’ll do another Q&A post once I’ve got enough questions.