1. Homeschool Banquet
Every year our homeschool co-op offers a high school banquet for its members. It is always beautifully decorated and makes a very special night for our children. I originally gave my daughter a budget of what she could spend for her dress and accessories, but she quickly let me know that she had a better idea. A local church runs a program called Cinderella’s Closet each year which basically allows local girls to borrow a dress and accessories for their event and then simply return it for another girl to enjoy the next year. Besides being extremely frugal, it also cuts down on the clothing waste that our country generates each year. I do not know anyone who reuses the same dress after their prom, so they either have to try and sell the dress (which can be a pain) or store it (which is a waste).
Emma found a beautiful dress, necklace, and earrings at the event, so we set out looking for shoes. We came up empty everywhere we looked, but luckily her grandmother had a pair in her closet that worked out perfectly. Overall, I was very pleased that Emma decided to go the ultra cheap route, not only because I am cheap (I know I am), but that I think this speaks for the kind of financial decisions she will be making in the future. And that my friends makes me ecstatic!
**Our co-op has a very modest dress code, so we did have to buy some tulle to cover up a few indecent spots on the dress, but it turned out wonderfully in the end. Altogether we ended up spending only $2 on her entire outfit and $5 to dry clean the dress before we returned it.
2. Plant cuttings
My pothos plants were starting to get a little leggy so I took some cuttings, set them into a jar of water, and….poof…we have two more plants to add to our collection. **If you are looking for the easiest plant on the planet to grow, buy a pothos plant. You cannot kill it at all…I have forgotten to water it for an entire month and it still lived.
3. Bacon
A local grocery store had a deal on bacon for just $13.99 for a 10lb box. The only catch was that it was all lumped together and froze in one big container. I simply let it sit on my counter for a few hours and then divided the semi-defrosted bacon into smaller packages.
4. Library
I renewed our library books before we left town to avoid late fees one week. The next week, I picked up a selection of Native American story books to read with my son for a new unit we started in homeschool.
5. Crafts
I picked out a couple of Native American crafts to do for homeschool on Pinterest based on what I already had at home to complete the crafts. **Ben was very pleased with how his bean/raisin sun mosaic turned out.
The Thrifty Educator 