Frugal Things I Did The Last Two Weeks and A Look Into Our Week

On Monday Elijah started taking swim lessons at a local high school.  They are actually much cheaper than taking lessons through our gym where we have a membership.  I like the fact that they are everyday for two weeks instead of once a week for two months.  They are also an hour long instead of a half-hour.  I am interested to see if Eli will progress more quickly by swimming every day.  So far Eli is doing great and having a blast!  My youngest sister is also taking advanced swim lessons so my mom and I are taking turns taking the kids to their lessons. 

On Tuesday we enjoyed a fun Emerson Family tradition where we dressed like a cow for Chick-Fil-A Day.  If you’ve never participated in the past then you need to mark your calendars now for next year because it seriously is an absolute blast.  Each person who is dressed in full cow attire is rewarded with a value meal or kid’s meal of their choice.  Not only did we enjoy the free food but we also played in the play place and had our faces painted (mine included). 

On Wednesday we played at our local park with some friends for ours who live out of town.  I am hoping we can squeeze in a few more play dates before they return home.  

On Thursday we completed our de-cluttering project in the basement.  It feels amazing!  We gave away many items to friends and family and also donated about 6 bags to charity.  I love passing along hand-me-downs to other people who can use them! 

On Friday we dropped off all of our bags to our local St. Vincent DePaul after swim lessons.  Since we were already there we stopped in and came home with: 12 cloth napkins, a 3 hole punch, size 6 slim khackis for Eli’s ahead box, and a pair of Keen sandals for Elijah.  My sister Bekah went with us which made our day even more fun.  

This weekend we had a blast visiting with a sweet college friend of mine and her family who came to visit us.  We love, love having guests in our home! 

The kids have had the best time this week splashing in their splash pool.   We always pull their slide up so that they can slide right into it.  

                                  

One of my proudest accomplishments over the past two weeks is the fact that I successfully fixed our dryer!  I figured out which part that I thought was broken (the timer).  Then I did a little research and learned that replacing a timer was fairly simple.  I ordered the part from repairclinic.com and installed the part in less than fifteen minutes.  This saved us lots of money and it also saved me the time and hassle of having a repairman come to our home. 

When I had the oil changed in my car I was quoted $39.95 to change the cabin air filter in my car.  I thought that had to be a ridiculous price and I was right!  I ordered one for $12 on amazon and had it shipped to my house.  I installed it in a matter of minutes and saved almost $30.  

What about you?  What did you do this week to save money and build fun memories with your family?