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Home > I got paid and skipped going out.

I got paid and skipped going out.

February 10th, 2011 at 04:14 am

So, my working out of home business is slow, but I got a check for $30 and $10/cash! I'll have to deposit this, but that feels great. I did want to do the usual take the kiddos and me to lunch after I picked up kiddo 1 from school. I made a lunch and we ate it in the cafe area of her school after I got her instead. It was really hard after getting in the car though. It sounds silly, but I drove by the restaurant we usually go to, actually circled it twice thinking if we should go or not...I drove us to the library instead. However, I did make purchases today, just not on a big lunch like usual.
-$2.99 milk
-$ 4.99 food coloring (to make play dough)
-$ 4.59 cream of tartar (to make play dough)
-$1.55 coffee/cafe at kiddos school

So, I am only hoping that the food coloring and cream of tartar will pay off for making play dough since buying play dough at target is usually 5 or up and lasts about a week before my kiddo leaves it or hides it with her kitchen/play food.
Anyway,I checked out 2 books about money from the library:
"The Cheapskate Next Door"
"The Busy families Guide to Money"

Also, we spend $20/per month on Netflix. We don't have cable so this was originally why we got it. should we cancel this and do library check outs only instead?

Posted in Personal Finance, Saving Money | 6 Comments »

6 Responses to “I got paid and skipped going out.”

  1. My English Castle Says:
    February 10th, 2011 at 05:06 am 1297314383
    1297314383

    Can you get a cheaper Netflix option? Ours is $6.99, I think. But we went for years with just the library DVDs.

  2. CampFrugal Says:
    February 10th, 2011 at 01:31 pm 1297344685
    1297344685

    Everything we need is at our library. From books, to movies, games for PS3, Wii, X-box, magazines, puppets, books on tapes, CD's, etc. We really utilize our library. My kids always loved coming home with a bag of goodies; and looked forward to going back to the library to return and get another bag of goodies. The best Free fun around.

  3. CampFrugal Says:
    February 10th, 2011 at 01:41 pm 1297345263
    1297345263

    I also keep a small notebook/calendar of ideas that would come up of free or really cheap fun stuff to do with my kids. Say picnic at the beach; or a state park we would like to check out. Festivals that the State I lived in would have. Free days for fishing, or when our museums offer their free day, etc. And, then I would plan around them, by packing really fun lunches so I wasn't spending a bundle, but we didn't feel deprived. If it was a long day, we would choose to eat dinner out at a restaurant I could find a coupon for. Check around on the internet, lots of great deals.

    I don't know what State you live in, but in Michigan our State park pass is only $24.00/year and can be used at any of our state parks.

    Also, we love fireworks, and our state has a firework website. http://michiganfireworks.com/ Usually fireworks are attached to some type of festival.

    Look around and collect coupons for your favorite restaurants. You can usually sign up on the web and get coupon discounts in your inbox. Maybe that special resturant that you drove around the parking lot in has a website for coupons. Most give out great coupons for your birthdays.

    Just a couple suggestions for keeping the fun in your life while not spending much. I hope this helps. And, making playdough sounds fun. I miss those days. My kids are much older.

  4. CB in the City Says:
    February 10th, 2011 at 01:59 pm 1297346346
    1297346346

    It depends on how good your library is. Some have pretty dismal collections of videos. I pay 8.99 to Netflix for one movie at a time and for streaming videos. I find lots of things I want to see in the second category, so it works well for me.

    As for circling the restaurant, don't worry. You are changing habits and at first it will seem weird, but your new habits will seem natural before you it.

  5. mamas debt time out Says:
    February 10th, 2011 at 10:43 pm 1297377795
    1297377795

    Thanks, this is all wonderful advice!!! Also, @ CAMPFRUGAL, wow, I had no idea about the state park pass, I looked it up, it is $35 in MA and we spent more than that last year! I am going to get this too.

  6. mamas debt time out Says:
    February 10th, 2011 at 10:46 pm 1297377972
    1297377972

    @ CB, it was really weird not going to the restaurant, but I am trying to make things "New Habits" like you said. This past week has been the toughest too.

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