Our first real Frugal outing...

[Southernmama]

Yesterday the kids and dh and I were planning on visiting some family that came outta town..They mentioned meeting up and the first thing I thought was I can't afford a lunch out. I mentioned that we'd just pack a lunch for us and they were ok with that..so I cut up fresh fruits and veggies, cheese and hardboiled some eggs. Made up some lil bottles of gatorade and water. I was ready to go to the nearby gas station and buy ice and realized that was impulse...REALLY bad impulse so my gut instinct kicked in and I grabbed the 2 bags of frozen peas that hadn't been touched in a few months and threw those in the lil cooler and one tray of ice was put into a sealed bag and placed on the drinks. And we were off. The items were kept cold and we didn't put out anymore money. Instead of taking napkins and plates, I packed 4 flour sack towels and they were used for our plates, napkins and washcloths in one

It was really full filling to know we didn't output any money. I do feel guilty about ONE thing...It was 98 out and by the time we left the park our drinks were hot and we were all sunburnt and sweating so we stopped at Sonic and bought 4 slushes. I had the cash and we used it all getthing those. That was the last cash until next payday (My choice) and I'm ok with that..I just feel guilty we had to spend money yesterday. DH has no problem though haha!

[ubumartin]

WTG! It does feel good to save money like that. You were very resourceful. I think you had a great time and it showed your children that you can have fun without having to spend lots of money! Good for you!

[PrairieRose]

Sounds like you had a great, frugal day. This sort of thing gets easier as you go....

[Michelle68]

Way to be frugal!


--Michelle

[baxjul]

Way to go!

[Its_Donna]

WTG. Sounds like a great frugal day!

[emily_hope]

Well, there ya go. Pat yourself on the back. You did a wonderful job of being frugal. And the slushes? Everyone deserves a little treat now and then.

[Lori Biever-Launder]

Hey, four slushes are waaay cheaper than lunch out! WTG. Keep up the good work!

[Amanda W]

Don'y feel bad about the slushes! You did great!

[miss_thrifty]

excellent. wtg!!!! you deffently had a frugal idea.

[SewCrafty]

For your 1st time you did great!

Now for the next time, just take an empty milk jug or carton, rinse it out, fill it 3/4 full of water and put in the freezer. It will be ready for the next picnic outing.

[zakity]

I buy 24-packs of water bottles to keep around in case of an emergency. I use last years batch this year (so it will be rotated). We run them through the dishwasher after we use them and reuse them a few times. We fill them 3/4 of the way full and throw them in the freezer. We fill them up the rest of the way right before we throw them in the cooler. This way, you can refill your water bottle with ice cold water as the bottles melt.

We have reuseable water bottles that we always take with us. It saves us from having to stop and get expensive drinks if we are out. We use the disposable bottles when we need ice water.

Also, fingernail polish (bought at the dollar store) is great to mark bottles. We use a dot system (so I don't have to attempt to paint letters on) and it uses less polish.

I also throw some of those water bottles in the trunk of the car. It has saved my butt a few times when things like the hosey thing comes off your radiator or when your husband does a repair and forgets to tighten one of the clampy things. They have also been nice when we were out and ran out of water because it was a really hot day or we were with a friend who forgot her water bottle when we went to a park.

[writevalerie]

Congratulations! I love the way frugality encourages us to be creative -- like thinking of the frozen peas! Don't feel bad about the slushies, you still did great.