10 Ideas for Date Night at Home

September 14, 2018 sweetfrugallife2 Comments

Date nights are so important to all relationships. I’ve been married 14 years and life has HAPPENED. Right now the majority of our time is spent taking care of our three kids, working our jobs, and maintaining our home (with our slightly to big yard!).

It’s been so easy to get consumed with all of these “to dos” and leave less time for my spouse. We have learned that we MUST make date night a priority, or else it probably won’t happen.

I get it! Dating can be expensive! Just dinner and a movie could easily cost you a quick $50. PLUS, when you have to hire a babysitter….those dates can add up fast. I have BEEN there!

One thing my husband and I have learned to do is to have date night at home. This saves us the added cost of hiring a babysitter and is almost ALWAYS cheaper than the dates we have outside of the home. We plan a night each week, put the kids to bed, turn off the TV, put away all phones and other distractions and we spend time TOGETHER. It has done wonders for our relationship!

I’ve made a list of a few of our favorite at home date night ideas. Hopefully this will help you brainstorm a few that you and your significant other can enjoy. For EVEN more FREE date night ideas check out my post, 20 FREE Valentine Date Ideas.

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Here are 10 of our Favorite At Home Date Night Ideas

1. Candlelight Dinner

There’s no rule that says you have to go out to a fancy restaurant in order to enjoy a romantic dinner. Cook a special dinner, put the kids to bed and enjoy a quiet dinner for two. Set the mood by lighting some candles, dimming the lights, and adding a pretty tablecloth.

2. Put Together a Puzzle

I am not usually a huge fan of puzzles (I lack patience!), however, my husband really enjoys them. Through him I have learned to better appreciate puzzles. Often when we do a puzzle together it has turned into sweet moments where we are able to just talk and laugh. It’s fun to have a project/goal we can work towards together. I have surprised myself by saying I enjoy puzzles…..as long as they are done with my husband! 😉

3. Would you Rather

Ask each other “would you rather” questions to get to know each other a little better. It’s such a fun way to learn more about each other. You can ask serious questions, or be a little more lighthearted and fun. I’m still surprised at all the random idiosyncrasies I keep learning about my husband!

4. Food Tasting

Try some new foods together with a food tasting. Look for new food at the grocery store that you normally wouldn’t buy. Perhaps, some fancy cheeses and unique fruits. You might even find a few new favorites!

5. Personality Quizzes

I’m a bit of a nerd in the fact that I seriously love personality quizzes. I’m betting there isn’t a personality quiz out there that I haven’t taken. For a fun date night you could both take a personality quiz and then read each others results. It’s such much easier to understand why someone is the way they are if you understand their personality better.

6. Dream Board

Dream up your future together! Set goals and put together a dream board of what the two of you hope to accomplish within the next 5, 10, 20 years. The best way to achieve a dream, is to have a dream!

7. Outdoor Picnic

If it’s warm outside, set up a little outdoor picnic. Lay out a blanket to sit on, pack all your favorite finger foods, and enjoy time together in your own backyard. Try to schedule it right before the sunset so you can enjoy dinner and a show. Be sure to bring an extra blanket for snuggling.

8. Ice Cream Sundaes

Who says ice cream is just for kids???? My husband and I have a serious deep love for ice cream. It’s fairly common for one of us to buy a pint of ice cream as a sweet gesture to the other. How about making gourmet ice cream sundaes, WITHOUT the kids around? Pile it high with all your favorite toppings, finish it off with a cherry on top (of course!), and enjoy talking and spending time together while you eat your ice cream sundae!

9. Play Name That Tune

Test each others music knowledge with a friendly game of name that tune. Travel back in time and play some of the hits from when you were kids. Turn it into a friendly competition with a small wager (maybe loser has to make the bed the next morning????).

10. Learn a New Skill

Watch some youtube videos about a new skill you have both been wanting to learn. These could be a few weeks worth of dates, as you continue to learn and improve your new skill. Perhaps you will want to learn about photography, cooking, art, or a foreign language? The options are endless! Maybe you could each pick a new skill you would personally like to learn and you can take turns supporting and learning the others chosen skill together.

Date night has truly become a night I look forward to ALL week! Sometimes us moms just need a little adult interaction, amiright?!?!?!

What are some of your favorite at home date night ideas??? Let me know in the comments! The more ideas we share, the better for all of us!!

How to Make the Perfect Zoodles

August 29, 2018August 29, 2018 sweetfrugallife2 Comments

Sweet Frugal Life is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. As an amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

My zucchini plants have been generous this year, and I have loved cooking with this delicious vegetable! Zucchini is one of my favorite veggies because, it’s the vegetable that just keeeeeps on giving, and it is also so versatile! We have been enjoying zucchini in bread, cookies, on the grill, fried, etc.

One of my very favorite ways to cook zucchini is to turn it into zoodles! Zoodles is a great, healthier alternative to noodles. (and if you pick the zucchini from your garden….it’s also FREE!) I will usually serve it under marinara or alfredo sauce, but any of your fave pasta sauces will work great! If cooked correctly, the zoodles are really not a lot different from regular noodles. They are also much more filling, with much less calories! Sometimes my kids don’t even realize what they are eating……emphasis on the sometimes.

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Homemade Zoodles Tutorial

A vegetable spiralizer is my best friend when it comes to homemade zoodles. I couldn’t find the exact one that I use, but this spiralizer on Amazon is very similar in price and design. It is also only $15.99, great deal!

First things first, if your zucchini is long, you will want to cut it down into smaller chunks.

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Next, you will need to prep your vegetable spiralizer. I use the Thin Spiral for my zoodles. Put your thin spiral attachment in the spiralizer and then stick one of the zuchinni chunks into the middle, in between the handle and the blade.

Now, all you need to do is twist! This part is so simple (and…kindof fun….really!). The zucchini will spiral through the blade, be sure to have a plate to catch all the spirals!

You can eat the zoodles raw or cook them over the stove. I prefer cooking them for a few minutes (don’t worry it is quick!).

Heat up 1 or 2 tablespoons of oil in a sauce pan. Once the oil is hot, add the zoodles.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss in oil. Continue to gently toss the zoodles while they cook. Cook for 2-5 minutes. I like them to be soft, but also slightly firm.

Serve with your favorite pasta sauce. ENJOY!!!

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What I Learned From the July Pantry Challenge

August 1, 2018August 1, 2018 sweetfrugallife2 Comments

I am a member of online affiliate programs. I may receive compensation for purchases made through links in this post. All opinions are my own and I only recommend things I truly use and love!

I just finished my month long pantry challenge!! If you’re not aware of the term, a pantry challenge is meant to encourage you to use up items you already have in your home, (pantry, fridge, freezer, shelves, etc.), instead of spending money at the store on groceries.

My goal was to save a little extra money during the month by spending less on groceries. To do this I decided to cut my regular grocery budget of $400 a month in half. This would mean I could only spend $200 for our family of five. This was no easy task and I was incredibly intimidated from the beginning, but I was determined to make it work.

The pantry challenge is now officially over (thank goodness) and I am proud of how the challenge went. I would LOVE to say that I was able to only spend $200 on groceries….but I didn’t quite accomplish that. I went over budget by $1.98. I spent $201.98 on groceries for our family of five….and you know what I am so PROUD of MYSELF!!!

I wanted to share all about how I was able to make it work and what I learned during the process.

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Make a Plan

The ONLY way I could be successful with this pantry challenge was to plan ahead. I’ve always been a meal planner, but I learned quickly I needed to be much more detailed about planning every snack and meal.

At the beginning of each week I looked through my pantry, made an inventory of all our food. I wrote down the meals and snacks we could make with what we ALREADY had in the house.

I was able to eat out of the pantry exclusively about 50% of the time. The other 50% of the meals I tried to only plan really frugal meals with only a few cheap ingredients I would need to buy. This meal planner that I use is available as a Free Printable in my Free Frugal Living Challenge.

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Successful Meal Plans

I listed out a few of the meals and snacks I found to be the most helpful in keeping the grocery costs low. A few of these recipes (starred) are also available for free in my Frugal Living Challenge.

Breakfasts

*Fluffy Eggs

Pancakes

Eggs and Toast

Oatmeal

*Breakfast Potato Casserole

*Slow Cooker Oatmeal

Lunch

Muffin Tin Lunch

Sandwiches

Salad from Garden

Leftovers

Dinner

*Freezer Burritos

Layered Zuchinni

Spaghetti

*Taco Soup

*Balsamic Chicken

Pasta Bake

*Taco Tortilla Soup

Grilled Chicken

*Korean Beef

*Baked Island Chicken

Snacks

Pretzels

Homemade Cookies

Energy Bites

Popcorn

Canned Fruit

Bananas

Homemade Pudding

Homemade Bread

Grocery Shopping

I am a little obsessed with grocery shopping using Walmart Grocery Pickup (hello, shopping in my PJs and groceries loaded in the car FOR ME! Sign me up!).

With my $200 monthly grocery budget, I was only allowed $50 a week. One of my favorite things about Walmart Grocery Pickup is the ability to watch my cart total while I’m shopping. (I know I COULD use a calculator at the store, but I’m just not great at it….) Being able to see how much I’m spending WHILE I’m shopping was crucial for me during this challenge.

If my cart ever went over the $50 amount I knew I needed to go back through the cart and delete a few items. This was MUCH harder to do than I had anticipated! My family all had to sacrifice a few items we were use to having regularly in order to make the month work.

Getting the Family Involved

I would LOVE to tell you that my family was totally on board and excited about my little July Pantry Challenge Experiment……but, they didn’t really love the idea. When they saw the amount of food I was bringing home with each grocery trip they started complaining about the lack of food.

I tried to get my kids excited about the goal and had them help me make a lot of our homemade snacks. They liked being able to help and were somewhat excited at the thought of having a challenge.

Unfortunately, this only lasted a couple of weeks. As the month went on they began to get a really tired of the challenge. The biggest problem was the snacks. They are use to having snacks in the pantry, and we just couldn’t have those this month. I decided to make a list of snacks we did have available and I hung it on the fridge. This helped them a lot! I think they had gotten so use to those convenience snacks (not awesome parenting, I know) that they had forgotten about all the other great options we had.

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Even though my family didn’t necessarily ENJOY the pantry challenge, I am really glad they were able to go through it with me. It was such a good life lesson for my kids to learn about stretching dollars and how much food really costs.

What I learned

My biggest takeaway from the July Pantry Challenge is that I CAN live on less than I usually do. Yes, it took A LOT more effort, (preparing a lot more food from scratch and a lot of time planning), but I CAN do it! We survived.

Moving forward I have a new sense of motivation to stay in budget, shop my pantry, and really spend with a purpose. I’ve always told myself the lie that I HAVE to spend money on this food because we NEED it……but, we don’t! We were just fine having less food around. I am excited to take this new knowledge and adjust my grocery shopping from here on out.

What’s Next

My pantry challenge is over! Does this mean I get to spend a lot of money next month restocking my shelves????? Absolutely NOT!

I will be going back to my regular grocery budget of $400 a month. I will slowly try to restock my pantry, but I will always stay within that $400 budget.

I honestly was terrified for this challenge! I really didn’t know if I would be able to meet my goal, $400 a month is usually a little bit of a challenge. But I did it, and I’m so glad I was willing to try! If you are wanting to find a way to save a little extra cash, try having your own personal Pantry Challenge. Be sure to come back and let me know if you did it and how it went!!

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10 Items In Your House You Can Sell Quickly To Make Money

July 30, 2018July 27, 2018 sweetfrugallifeLeave a comment

Did you see my post 5 Places Online To Sell Your Clutter and Earn Cash? I am a HUGE fan of selling ALLLL of my house hold clutter (because let’s be honest, there’s a lot of clutter) and making some quick and easy money. I make the goal to sell a few items every month. It’s not a huge money maker for me, but it gives me a little extra spending money!

I’ve had a few people comment to me that they just have “nothing to sell.” I truly believe EVERYONE can find SOMETHING (probably even a few things) to sell. The more desperate you are to earn some money the more likely you’ll find something.

Today I am sharing a few household items that will usually sell quickly. I am hoping these ideas will inspire a few people and help you brainstorm what YOU have in YOUR house to sell.

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10 Household Items You Can Sell Easily

1. Children’s Clothes

Children’s clothes are ALWAYS a hot item to sell online. Clothes will need to be in good condition (no stains or rips) in order to have a good chance of selling. Brand names (think Gymboree, Gap, etc.) will sell best.

2. Furniture

Used furniture is a GREAT sell. There is always someone wanting to buy. The great thing about selling furniture is that it doesn’t matter if the furniture is older or newer, you will most likely be able to sell it. There is a different market for all types of furniture. The older items will usually be bought by someone looking for a DIY project and the newer by someone looking for a good deal.

3. Electronics

Do you have an old phone or ipad laying around? Or maybe a computer that doesn’t work anymore? Electronics is a popular item to buy/sell used. Phones are so expensive to buy new which makes for a lot of people jumping on the opportunity to buy a cheaper used phone. Try selling your non working electronics as well! There are a lot of people out there who will buy something that doesn’t work so they can use the parts out of it.

4. Baby Items

Baby items are some of my FAVORITE things to sell. High chairs, strollers, bumbo seats, cribs, bouncers, etc. These are all hot items to buy used. Use a magic eraser and washcloth to clean them up for an easier sell.

5. Kids Toys

If your kids are anything like mine, you probably have toys laying around that never get used. Clean those toys up and sell them! Popular items include plastic play toys (such as play kitchens and slides), barbies, hot wheels tracks, etc.

6. Tools

Do you have a garage full of tools like I do? Look through all those tools (or ask your husband to do this) and find a few that haven’t been used in months (or maybe years???). We have been able to sell MOST of the tools we have tried, but not all.

7. Decorations

Search your house and try to find a few household decorations you could part with. Maybe your style has changed or you just want to scale back a little bit on the decor. Either way, there is always someone looking to update their home and will love getting a good deal on used decor!

8. Clothing

Look through your closet (or your husbands closet) and find a few items that haven’t been worn for weeks. Sell them! If you’re not wearing something regularly, there’s no reason to save it in your closet. I’ve sold shirts, pants, shoes, etc. If the price is right, it will most likely sell. Be sure to get out all stains before trying to sell any clothing.

9. Holiday Decorations

I have WAY to many boxes of holiday decorations. I have found that all I really need are a few favorite pieces and the rest of the holiday decorations are just not necessary. List these items for sale about 3-5 weeks before the actual holiday. This will increase your chances of being able to make a sale.

10. Outdoor/Yard Items

Do you have a swing set that rarely gets used? Maybe a hose that just seems to sit around. I have always been successful in selling outdoor items. Things like bikes, slides, lawn mowers, sports equipment, etc. all sell really well. Look through all of your yard/outdoor items and if you find anything that seems to take up more space than necessary, sell it! Try doing this during the late spring months when everyone is anxious to get outside.

What did I miss? What are some of the items you sell that are always bought quickly? Share below in the comments so we have even more ideas!

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5 Places Online To Sell Your Clutter and Earn Cash

July 9, 2018July 30, 2018 sweetfrugallife2 Comments

I am a member of online affiliate programs. I may receive compensation for purchases made through links on this post.

I try to sell a few things online every month. I don’t make a lot of money doing this, but I do make a little bit, and I am a firm believer that EVERY little cent matters. I’m sure if I spent more time doing it I could easily make even more money.

I’m convinced EVERYONE can find at least a few items to sell. Clean out your closets, look under the bed, search through your garage. Try to find something that hasn’t been used in years (or even months?). There is no use in hoarding something if it’s not getting much use.

I love clearing and the clutter AND getting to make a little extra cash on the side. Being able to do it ALL online makes it EVEN better (hello, not leaving your house and getting to stay in PJs!)!!!

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Here are a few of my favorite places to sell online:

Sell on Facebook Marketplace

Facebook Marketplace is my very VERY favorite place to sell. If I price my items right, they will sell immediately! I love to post large items on Facebook Marketplace; such as furniture, baby items, lawn care, etc. I have the most success with these.

Sell on ThredUP

Thredup is where I sell a lot of my clothes and my kids clothes. All you do is request a free bag to be sent to you, fill it full of clothes, and send it back. Thredup will do all the sorting, picture taking, selling and shipping your items for you. I really like selling with them because it requires VERY little effort on my part. I have found that they are a little picky about what they accept (which is really nice as a buyer). But, if you have clothes in good condition that you want to get rid of anyway, send them to thredup! You can sign up through this link for a free $10 credit to shop. It’s a great way to get a feel of the website before you start selling.

Sell on Poshmark

Poshmark is very similar to thredup. It’s a great place to sell and buy used clothing. I have found they aren’t quite as picky as thredup, making it easier to sell through them. I am still a little new to poshmark and learning the tricks, but so far I have been very pleased. Poshmark will give you a $5 shopping credit if you use my code sweetfrugallife when you sign up.

Sell on Ebay

I have had quite a bit of success selling on ebay. I don’t sell with them as much as I use to (thredup and poshmark are just MUCH less work), but they are a great resource. I’ve sold clothes and little trinkets and electronics stuff on ebay. Sometimes it takes a little adjusting with the price to find the right fit, but more often than not I have been able to make a sell. If you want to have a little more control over how your items are sold and for what price, ebay is a really good option for you.

Sell on Amazon

I have never personally tried selling anything on Amazon , but I do know others who have. The fees are a little more than ebay’s fees, but EVERYONE shops amazon now, so I’m betting it is a really great market. You will need to set up a free business account to start selling, but it is fairly straightforward from there.

Remember NOT to give up if an item doesn’t sell immediately. Usually that means you will need to make some changes; such as adjust the price, take different pictures or try a new selling website. Try a few different changes BEFORE giving up. Different websites tap into different markets. Be patient with it. Selling items online is a learning process. The more you do it however, the easier it becomes.

Where have you had success selling household items? Share in the comments your favorite place to sell!

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How to Make an Easy Nature Bookmark Tutorial

July 2, 2018August 3, 2018 sweetfrugallife1 Comment

I spent a wonderful week with my sister in the mountains. We took walks, watched movies, played games, and enjoyed getting out of our daily routines.

My sister planned such a fun simple nature craft for the kids to do. I loved it so much and felt like it would be perfect for camping or a nature study.

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Easy Nature Bookmark Tutorial Craft

First, you will need to collect flowers, leaves, and any other thing that catches your eye. this made for a really fun nature walk.

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Once you gather your flowers you will need to press them. We laid our flowers on a paper towel and put books on top to help press them. We kept them under the books for about 6-7 hours. I found that this wasn’t enough time for the flowers to dry fully. I would recommend at least 24 hours.

Once your leaves and flowers are dried it’s time to start designing your bookmark. My sister used Self Laminating Pouches to give the bookmarks a nice strong seal.

You will lay your flowers down on the non sticky part of the pouch. This is the fun part! The kids loved spending time getting their bookmarks to look just right! We were able to get 2 bookmarks out of one pouch.

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Once you have your flowers laid you will put the sticky part of the pouch on top. This part was tricky! It is hard to redo any mistakes, so you will want to take your time and be exact. Slowly peel off the backing as you place the sticky side on top of the flowers. Be sure to press and seal as you are peeling it off.

Once you have it all laminated and sealed just right you can cut your bookmarks in half, punch a hole through the top and thread some ribbon through for a nice top.

We learned a lot doing this craft and I am excited to try it again seeing if we can fix some of our mistakes. My kids have been so proud of these and excited to use them.

I hope that you and your littles will enjoy spending a little bit of time preserving nature.

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Peanut Butter Play Dough Recipe

June 20, 2018 sweetfrugallifeLeave a comment

My kids LOVE making play dough, and it is something we do often. But, when we make Peanut Butter Play Dough they REALLY REALLY love it.

Peanut Butter Play Dough is such a great sensory activity for kids. They can touch, see, smell, and even taste it. That is my kids favorite part! They love that they actually get to EAT the play dough.

It is so so easy to make peanut butter play dough. It only takes three ingredients and a few minutes of your time.

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Peanut Butter Play Dough Recipe

2 cups powdered sugar

1 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup honey

Mix all ingredients in bowl. Stir well and knead until smooth.

That’s it! So easy! Let your kids play and enjoy! We get out cookie cutters and knives and forks. My kids can spend hours playing.

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Show Me the Money: 4 Ways to Earn CASHBACK on Purchases

June 18, 2018June 25, 2018 sweetfrugallife2 Comments

I am a member of online affiliate programs. I will receive compensation from clicks on my links. All opinions are my own. I guarantee to never share anything I haven’t already been using for years.

Who likes free money??? I LOVE free money! And I’m betting you like free money too!

This post is all about how to earn cashback, just by shopping like you regularly shop!!

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Cashback with Discover Card

My FAVORITE way to earn cashback is by shopping with my Discover Card. I talked in detail about why I love my Discover Card in my post The one idea I disagree with Dave Ramsey on. In short, when I shop with my Discover Card I automatically earn cashback on all purchases. They give you 1% cashback on EVERYTHING and 5% on different categories that are rotated monthly. (Currently, I am receiving 5% on groceries). You don’t have to do anything, just use your card and your cashback will grow. I earn around $500 cashback with Discover a YEAR, and all I do is shop like normal!

Cashback with Ibotta

I love shopping with ibotta. This is the very first app I check after completing my grocery shopping. All you have to do is shop, check the app for rebates, scan your receipt, and the money is instantly put in your ibotta account. Easy. Peasy. They have a wide selection of rebates, common items are milk, apples, pantry items, broccoli, beauty and household. I can almost always find at LEAST one or two items to receive a rebate for. If you don’t currently have an ibotta account you can get a FREE $10 just for signing up for one through my link. (FREE money people!) Once you have $20 in your account you can redeem your money as cash or a gift card. I have earned over $100 by using ibotta!

Cashback with Checkout 51

Checkout 51 is very similar to ibotta. It works as a rebate program. You shop, scan your receipt and qualified purchases and you will get the rebated money instantly in your account. Once you reach $20 in your account you can request your money, same as ibotta. It only takes a few minutes to check for rebates and one minute to scan your receipt. I have made over $50 cashback using Checkout 51!

Cashback with Ebates

It is so easy to earn cashback with Ebates. If you like to shop online, you need to shop through the Ebates app. If you shop through the ebates link you will earn cashback for every purchase. They have a large variety of stores available to earn money with. Everything from Kohls, Ebay, Zulily, Justice, Aerie, Lowes, Gap, Ulta, and so so many more. Before I make ANY online purchase, I always check Ebates first to see if they offer cashback for that store. All you do is click on the store link in the app, you will be taken to the store website, you do your shopping, and instantly earn money back. SO SO easy!

If you are going to be shopping ANYWAYS, you might as well be earning a little cashback along the way, right??? RIGHT!

A quick word of caution however. It can become easy to want to buy a product JUST because you see you can get a rebate for it through ibotta or Checkout 51. Be careful to NOT to fall into this temptation.

I have found the best way for me is to do my shopping FIRST and then check the rebate apps to see if I bought anything eligible for a rebate. (Except for with Ebates, you must check Ebates FIRST!) This has helped me immensely to not buy things I really didn’t need in the first place.

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What cashback secret did I miss??? How do you like to earn cashback? Share your successes in the comments! I would love to hear all about them.

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50 FREE activities to do with your kids over the Summer Break

May 21, 2018May 18, 2018 sweetfrugallifeLeave a comment

Summer break is just around the corner. I have been looking forward to summer for weeks! I love having my school aged kids home with me and I always look forward to a more relaxed schedule full of fun family activities. I talked a little more about summer in my post: Our Summer Plans: Keeping the kids Entertained and Mom Sane, this post includes how I plan on managing screen time and a couple of our favorite traditions.

Today I am sharing 50 ideas for a FREE and fun summer with your kids. There are so many free activities to take part of during the summer months. I love taking advantage of all of them!

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Outside

Picnic at Park
Play Frisbee
Run through the Sprinkler
“Paint” with Water
Go on a Walk
Picnic in Backyard
Play hopscotch/Sidewalk Chalk
Draw on Sidewalk with ice cubes
Go on a Bike ride
Nature Scavenger Hunt
Go on a hike
Plant a garden
Jump on the Trampoline with water balloons
Play Catch
Blow Bubbles
Go Geocaching
Play night games with flashlights
Catch bugs
Go Stargazing
Make a Fairy Garden
Wash the Car
Learn to jump rope
Make an obstacle course
Set up a Lemonade Stand
Make a Nature Journal

Indoors

Make Play dough
Do a science experiment
Bake cookies
Make up a play
Build a fort
Make a dream catcher
Make Slime
Play Hide-and-Seek or Sardines
Paint Rocks
Write letters to friends or family
Play board games or card games
Make a summer scrapbook
Play charades
Make an indoor treasure hunt
Go to the library
Sing Karaoke (find free songs on you tube)
Fold Origami
Put on a puppet show
Play Dress-Up
Have a dance party
Put together a puzzle
Make homemade ice cream
Dress Fancy and have a DIY photo shoot
Learn a few magic tricks and put on a show
Make paper airplanes

What are some of your favorite free activities for summer time with your kids?

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What we cut from our budget to save over $2500 a year

April 18, 2018May 5, 2018 sweetfrugallife30 Comments

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I am not naturally a frugal person. I was raised by two frugal parents, but I lean more towards wanting to shop and buy things. It has been a huge learning process for me to become more frugal and to learn the value and beauty in cutting back and saving money. This learning process has been over the course of years, and quite honestly, I’m still learning and trying to better myself. Today though I started thinking about all the things we have cut from our lifestyle over the years, and they have all been slowly cut out, and I was blown away with the amount of money we are saving ourselves just by making a few different lifestyle choices!

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Pack that Lunch: $1000

Packing a lunch for work, instead of eating out with coworkers, has been our biggest money saver. Every night I pack a lunch for my husband to take to work. The lunch mostly consists of some leftovers from dinner, occasionally he will bring a sandwich. I was so surprised to find out this simple habit is saving us over $1000 a year!

Change your own oil: $210

My husband taught himself how to change the oil in our two vehicles, all it took was watching a few you tube videos. It takes him less than an hour to do and he claims it’s super easy. He uses this oil drum to drain the oil. You can deposit the oil for free at most auto parts stores. This is not some natural talent he has, he had to get out of his comfort zone to learn this skill, however this simple task saves us $210 a year.

Cut the Cable: $480

A few years ago we decided to get rid of our cable TV. We were actually already on a fairly cheap rate, but we decided we could do without it. We have saved $480 a year by doing this! There are so many great options for cheap TV. We use Netflix. But I have friends who use Hulu, Roku, or Amazon Prime.

At Home Haircuts: $200

I bought clippers 14 years ago for $20. You can find a similar pair to ours here: Wahl Complete Hair Cutting Kit. I have been cutting my husbands and sons hair ever since. This is a $200 annual savings. If you know me, you know that hair is really NOT a talent of mine. I have watched a few you tube tutorial videos and both my husband and son get very basic cuts. I have made my some a few mistakes on both of them, but I keep learning and trying. And luckily boys hair grows out fairly fast! 😉

Workout at Home: $840

We have never had a gym membership and this decision saves us $70 a month. We have learned to get a good workout in at home. We go for a run or bike ride during the summer and find great you tube videos to follow during the winter. I buy cheap weights and exercise equipment to use from the thrift store. My favorite you tube channels to follow are fitness blender and yoga with Adrienne.

The Results: $2730

Just by making these 5 adjustments to our lifestyle we save $2730 a year! So in five years we have saved $13,650! Ten years it will be $27,300! Those little expenses don’t seem like a big deal, but over time they add up to be a very very BIG deal.

It really has not been hard to cut any of these things from our budget. We have been living this way for years and honestly never seem to miss a gym membership or cable TV. It has just become our way of life, and it’s a great life! It can be hard to form new habits, but once you do those habits become your way of life and you often never really look back!

Take a look at your budget and lifestyle. Can you find a few things that you could change in order to save money? I promise the pay off is so worth it!

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