Frugal Things I Did Last Week: Vacation Edition

Eli & Eva at the birthplace of President Woodrow Wilson. 

If you follow me on instagram you might have noticed that we were blessed to take a trip to Washington D.C. last week.  After a lot of debate we opted to drive so that we could stop and visit Thomas Jefferson's Monticello along the way.  Here are a few of the frugal things we did last week!  

While I firmly believe that vacation is a marvelous time to splurge there were a few things that we did to save money last week.

While on vacation we tried to choose wisely which items to splurge on and which to pass on.  We chose to splurge on tickets to see Monticello even though we could only stay a few hours.  (It was well worth it.)  On the way home we stopped by the birthplace of President Woodrow Wilson and were unimpressed by the appearance of the museum so we opted not to spend the $50 it would have cost to actually go inside.  We strolled the grounds, admired the old automobile, and snapped a few pictures.

We used our KY Farm Bureau Discount to save 20% off the cost of a hotel the first night.  Choice Hotels appear to be the best fit for our family since they are usually clean, contain nice amenities, and also provide breakfast the next morning.

I was careful to cancel all of Evangeline's therapy for the week in order not to incur any additional charges or inconvenience anyone.

I also wrote an actual letter to our insurance company requesting that they respond in writing concerning the number of therapy visits they will cover.  I want to avoid any unpleasant surprises in the mail in the coming months.  :)

I packed a lot of food to take with us which saved us lots of money.  We actually invested in an additional cooler for this trip and it definitely paid for itself.  We enjoyed sandwiches in the car for lunch for the first meal.  I took an entire case of water which we drank through before the end of our trip.  Knowing that we would not be staying close to a large grocery store I also packed lots Eva's Pediasure and other specialty food items.  Each morning we would pack a soft sided cooler which conveniently fit in the bottom of our stroller before heading out to explore the city.  I included healthy snacks and at least 6 bottled waters and even milk for the kiddos.  (It was incredibly hot while we were in DC.)

We ate breakfast in our room at the hotel when we were staying at a hotel that did not serve breakfast. I was successful making both tea and oatmeal with the coffee maker!

We picked up books at the library to use for schoolwork this week.

I picked green peppers from a plant we have growing in a pot on the porch to use in our chili.  

The kids and I stopped by Hancock Fabrics during their sale to pick up fabric for a project I am making for my niece.  I usually have a tendency to overspend at fabric stores so I was pleasantly surprised to leave the store for around $10.

The happy hubby was able to attend a conference at a local church. He was able to here Paul David Tripp teach and was so blessed.  It was nominally priced and we were so thankful not to have to pay for a hotel.

I made our monthly grocery trip to Aldi to load up on groceries.

We stopped by Goodwill on 1/2 price clothing day and came home with three bags of clothes and a cute pair of shoes for Eva.  This was great because all of a sudden Eli just outgrew all of his shorts and we are headed to Florida next week!  Thankfully I found three pairs in the next size.

What did you do to save money last week?