No Spend Challenge Day 8 - Theme Park Day

So I'm a little behind on my posts but I have them all jotted down on post-its ready to upload - who doesn't love post-its?!?! "I invented post-its!!!" (name that movie...)
Ok anyway, so we had a trip to 6 Flags last Saturday and whatever it was to motivate me to cash in my coins I am thankful for!!! Why is everything so expensive there!!! So here are a few tips I want to share that made our trip less expensive and will make our next trip less expensive (live and learn right...)

1. Pack some snacks people.
Now I don't mean wheel in an ice chest with a full on picnic, because they do say you cannot bring outside food and drink.  BUT, if you have kids it's worth it.  And like I said we had snacks in our diaper bag and a small lunchbox with milk/ bottle inside to stay cool and no one said a word!!! Some snacks I would recommend; nothing that can melt!!! We brought crackers with cheese in the middle (ie; Ritz, Late July, etc), squeezable applesauces - you know the ones they look like baby food pouches, pretzel sticks, trail mix.  That's all we brought, nothing fancy, but enough to snack between lunch and keep our blood sugar up.

What I will do next time is bring some snacks for my husband and I.  I was so worried about the kids, I didn't bring anything for us! We starved!!

2. Bring Water.
One tiny bottle of Dasani water was $3.29 - enough said. And pack milk if you need it for babies/toddlers.  We brought some for the baby, but my 3 year old wanted some and we had a VERY hard time finding it.  Also it wasn't cheap - and he only drank half of it.

3. If you are going to eat a meal in the park - split it.
Ok so I was assuming it would be pricy for lunch.  $15.00 for a corndog & fries I was not expecting.   A lunch plate large enough for my husband to eat during superbowl - also not expecting.  Split a lunch plate (yes they all come as meals there - no a la carte) for 2 kids, especially little ones! And honestly my husband and I could've split his BBQ plate as well....especially if we had brought some snacks for ourselves...sigh

4. Carpool
Parking is $20 a car - enough said

So those are my tips, hope you have fun if you make a trip out there!

Trip to 6 Flags - $0 (Complements of my in-laws for tickets & parking)

No Spend Challenge - Day 7/ save those pennies!

So we save our change.  When we do pay in cash the change just gets thrown in our car console or to the bottom of the diaper bag, so we started collecting it into a container and we go cash it in at a coinstar now and then and reap the benefits. 
It usually works out to be a good amount of change!!
So we have a family day planned tomorrow to go to 6 Flags, which my in-laws have generously planned and purchased the tickets for us (seriously how nice is that - those suckers are expensive!) So I knew we would need some food, drink (hell yes they sell alcohol in the park there!!!!) whoops - sorry lost my train of thought, and snacks, etc. so I went to coinstar today and cashed in...$60 in 6 weeks. point!...double point.
So we will take that (minus $2.60 cause I promised the kids a redbox movie night) to use at the park tomorrow.  nice!!! AAAAAnnnnnddddddd, my husband's best client/partner said he wants to take us to Tahoe for the weekend on him!!!! WHAT! An actual perk of owning your own business! I must be dreaming!
SOLD!
Can't complain here :)
Hopefully I have some theme park tips to share after tomorrow's extravaganza. Oh plus a dress refashion.....lots of saving going on here!!!

Cashed in coin - +$60
work from home
cleaned the car
way too much laundry
Total Spent - $0

No Spend Challenge Day 6

I did good today :)
I can actually say that!! Woo-hoo! I did get a little bored and ended up finally doing a little project of turning a cheap ikea table into an ottoman, which I already had all the materials for - so awesome!!! Point!! (Tutorial to come later)
All in all, I think I can do this.  I think I just need to keep myself busy with other things (like the 10 million projects I have sitting waiting to be done) and I'll be good.

I got this.
Piece of cake.

Ottoman revamp
work from home
Total spent - $0

Bringing Cocktail Hour Back

So in attempts to save some $$, I've decided to bring cocktail hour back. Case in point: pink lemonade martini

Super easy and delicious,

Pour one part vodka into shaker filled with ice

Add 3 parts pink lemonade

Shake

Pour into martini glass

So pink and summery!

No spend Challenge Day 5 - The $150 accident

So in terms of not spending any extra money today I did great! Under budget for my weeks worth of groceries ($93) point!!! Dodged variouys Victorias Sectret emails claiming 65% off swimwear (enter sad puppydog face here) and even bypassed the Old Navy stuff a bag sale (40% of everything - even clearance).

Until...

iPhone drops.  iPhone shatters.

Yep $150 replacement fee. 

...but...good news! I only had to pay to replace the back glass! Only $30! Woo-hoo!!!

Groceries, phone disaster, work from home

Total spent: $30 outside of grocery budget

No Spend Challenge Day 4 - Epic Fail

So yesterday (day 4) ended up being a little more unorganized than originally planned.  I had to hand over keys to a new buyers (ggod part) but by the time I got the kids and on my way home it ended up being way later than I thought it would be and were not even close to our house by 7:30pm (bad news) And since my kids usually eat at 6:30 pm all hell had broken loose.  Quick dinner pick up (ah-hem) this is when planning on my part would have been useful - even if it was PB&J. Boo!

Drive Thru at In & Out
Total Spent - $18.90

Better luck next time :(

Pinned it, Tried it....Kale Chips

So part of my pinterest board I have a section where I post the items I've actually tried, bought, etc.  Yes people actually do stuff that they pin!! Since I needed kale for a recipe last week - but not the whole bunch, I took the rest and decided to try kale chips.  OMG, so good, so easy!!! Here's what you do:

 

preheat oven to 225

wash and dry kale, and remove stems from inside of leaves.  Not all of them (duh) just the main large one in the middle.  And rip leaves to desired size.  Mine were about 1 to 1 1/2 inches. 

Toss in a bowl with just enough olive oil to coat and desired seasonings - I just did kosher salt and pepper.  mix well so all leaves are coated and spread on a baking sheet so that the leaves aren't touching. 

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until crispy. 

Let cool & enjoy!! Yummm!! I'm obsessed with them :)

*Bonus: I already had all the ingredients = free snack. Point!!

No Spend Challenge Day 3/ Easy Summer Pasta

Day 3, and it took everything I had not to stop at Starbucks for a latte.  This is hard :( But I didn't, and I survived and have an extra $3 still in my wallet as a bonus. Only 27 more days to go.

On the upside of my non caffeinated afternoon, I helped some buyers sign escrow papers for their new house which means....commission. coming. soon. woot woot!!

So back to saving money.  As you know I like to keep my grocery budget tight, which means in the summer I can make this delicious, low cost pasta and it keeps bellies full and budget in tact. point!

Summer Pasta (Based off Barefoot Contessa's recipe)

Ingredients:
pasta (I like angel hair)
garlic
olive oil
cherry tomatoes
basil
parmesan cheese
mozzarella cheese
salt & pepper

First make some garlic oil; on low pour about 1/4 c olive oil into a  small saucepan with about 3-4 cloves of garlic finely minced.  Let cook until fragrant, but don't let it burn - it will stink up your kitchen fast.  and linger - ewww.  Set aside.

Meanwhile cook the pasta according to package

While that's cooking chop your cherry tomatoes in half, and julienne the basil. (the hummus is a snack. I get hungry when I cook)

I like to add mozzarella so cut up small cubes of mozzarella, I'd say about a cup. Also pour yourself a glass of wine, you deserve it :)

When the pasta is cooked, drain and pour into a large mixing bowl.  Add the garlic oil and toss.  Add in the tomatoes, mozzarella, basil and salt and pepper to taste.  Mix, mix, mix.  Sprinkle parmesan on top and you're done. 

 

Delicious.  Cheap.  vegetarian.  healthy.  love it <3

Day 3
Client Appts/ Kids to Grandmas
Total Spent: $0

 

No Spend Challenge -Day 2/ what to do with: Peaches

So today was day 2. I spent $15 - BUT here's why; another goal on top of spending less includes getting in shape so the hubs and I decided to actually use the gym membership we pay for yearly. They have a kids club and its $5 a kid, therefore with 3 little monsters dropped for an hour ($15) we got in some quality workout time :)

But I will share a money saving tip today and a new skill: canning. Yes, old school, mason jar, grandma does it, wear an apron canning. Wasting less goes along swimmingly with saving money and when my extended mother in law gave me a ton of organic grown peaches from her tree I was stoked!! But how many peaches can you really eat before they get "too ripe". So I looked online and found some canning tutorials and went ahead and tried it. I will say it made me feel quite domesticated. Very June Cleaver :)

 

 Here's what I did:

Washed and dried all the peaches, then with a paring knife made a tiny X at the bottom of each peach. 

Then I put the peaches (in batches) into a small pot of boiling water for a few minutes.

 

Meanwhile make up some simple syrup.  I don't like mine super sugary so I use 1 cup of sugar to 3 cups water.  Boil until sugar is completely dissolved - set aside :)

Once the peaches have been in the boiling water for a few, transfer them to an "ice bath" (bowl of water with ice cubes) for another few minutes. Then transfer to a towel to dry.

Once all peaches have been boiled, iced, dried - then peel.  The skin should peel right off, just pull gently from that "X" mark you made.  Easy peasy. Then cut into desired size (I did halves) and put into clean jars.  Don't stuff, but I try to get as many in as will fit comfortably :)

 

Seal up tightly with lids and place in a pot of hot water for 25 minutes.  Dry off and you're done. 

 

All ready for peach pie, cobblers, or just for a snack!! Magical. Cost - $0



A successful day I must say :)
Gym workout, canning trial (success), relaxing Sunday
Total spent: $15

No Spend Month Challenge

So I have been a bad blogger :( but life's gotten busy, business is booming and a whole bunch of other BS excuses. So I'm back and back to saving some $$$$!!! I've seen a few money saving challenges on other blogs and Pinterest so I thought I would give it a go. Can't hurt to try, and I've been spending a little more than I should've the last couple months...oops. So here it is 30 days, starting today, no extra spending.  I'm motivated, but already have the urge to online shop. I can do this, I can do this. 

Day 1

2 client showings 

1 remodel appt

Dinner/snacks/coffee brought from home

Total spent = $0

Yessss! Great start :)