I tried to have a frugal weekend, did you? Did you spend or save this weekend? Share your experiences at the end of this post!
As usual, we tried to be very frugal this past weekend. Weekends are usually the tough days for frugality for my family. We are out running around doing errands, and the temptation to spend money can lead to some very non frugal choices. In fact, it is pretty easy to spend, spend, spend.
But here are some of the spending opportunities that we experience along with out solutions.
Some of the temptations on the weekend include:
Temptation: Eating lunch or dinner out because it is far easier to do that when you are out and about and the kids are hungry.
Frugal Solution: Plan a crockpot meal. This past weekend we went to the mall for one very specific reason. I have to tell you that this mall is one of the largest in the country and is filled with numerous restaurants and at least two or three food courts. By putting some simple ingredients in the crockpot, we could resist temptation knowing that dinner was ready at home. And we brought some homemade snacks to curb hunger and avoid all of the overpriced ice cream. pretzles and other convenience snacks.
Temptation: Going shopping for recreation. The malls and stores are packed with people who shop for fun on the weekend.
Frugal Solution: Try visiting a free activity instead. The newspaper and the Internet are full of notices for free entertainment on the weekends, especially in the summer. But if you definitely have a shopping itch, why not hit a thrift store or garage sale to relieve it. You’ll spend less and get some good deals. For us, we visited a bakery thrift store and stocked up. Or better yet, spend some time de-cluttering all of that extra stuff that was bought for fun and never used. It just might give you a new perspective on shopping for fun.
Mary Ann Romans also writes for the Computing Blog here at Families.com where she shares everything from the latest news on technology to cool downloads and fun websites.
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