Happy Friday Readers! I don’t know where this week went, but it flew by. My oldest turned 17 and we had many things that made frugal choices rough.

We did an escape room with the five of us, and ate at an A&W nearby. We did share some food and didn’t have some crazy ordering spree. Then on the actual birthday we had a family dinner, plus cake and ice cream. I had to give my daughter and two nieces their birthday $100 into their 529 accounts. I did save over $200 booking the hotel for my brother’s wedding in May by using the website Super. Even the cheap Hilton properties I like to stay at wouldn’t price match the deal they offered.

I also had to pay for summer camp because that was due, and home owners insurance was also due this week. Now, the frugal thing to do is sleep in my van for the wedding and spend several weekends camping with my kids instead of sending them to camp. Unfortunately what is frugal isn’t always a choice when you have kids and the wife to consider, but frugality is also the mindset. Intentionally ordering water, splitting meals, find a deal for a hotel, or looking into local scholarships or grant programs for summer kids activities.

While I would have loved to save the money as a whole, I do feel confident that the $1,200 I saved using local programs for camp, and shopping around travel websites, was the frugal way of doing those things.

~~Miniwing~~
Parent, Investor, Stoic