Frugal Friday & Frugal Staycation - Day #5

I love this sign! Every now and then I'll feel a twinge of jealousy when I hear about someone's fancy vacation.  I wish we could afford to go on a cruise or travel or fly to a resort.  But we can't.

The reason is that we decided a long time ago that we were going to live within our means and we weren't going to go into massive debt.  Many people I know get to do these things by using their credit cards and then spending years trying to pay them off.  We live on one income for a number of reasons and it is a choice we made.  And it's a sacrifice but one we are willing to do.

We are not perfect.  We do have some credit card debt that we are working hard to eliminate.  It's not easy at all so I certainly don't want to keep racking them up.  So when I saw this meme this morning it struck a chord.  "Act your wage!"  If you make $25,000 a year, don't spend like you make $50,000!

Was our vacation exciting this week?  Not at all.  Were there some days when I wished we could be at a beach resort or some place like that?  Yep.  But this is the vacation we could afford this year so it's what we did.   And because I decided to do it with a good attitude, it's been a pretty good week.

Here are some other ways I saved money this week:

$ I've picked 8 quarts of blackberries from our bushes since Sunday.  They are amazing this year!

$ My neighbor gave me another quart of blueberries and some cucumbers that will be turned into relish.

$ Made my own tortillas (.75 for 25 soft, delicious tortillas as opposed to $3.00 for 8 cardboard ones).

$ Found 6 bananas on the discount shelf at the local farmer's market.  They were going brown so they were marked down to $.75.  I turned them into two loaves of banana bread.

$ Also found a basket of 8 large plum tomatoes for $1.50 that were very ripe.  Picked them up and used them in dinner one night.

 

$ Enjoyed nature in our backyard. 

Today is day #5 of our frugal staycation.  It's going to be a day at home.  I have a number of things I need to get done around the house which includes turning berries into jam.  My cousin and her daughter are coming for a visit this afternoon so I do want to straighten up a bit here.  Dan is going to get Stephen tonight from the camp where he is working.  Slow, easy and $0 is on the schedule!

Why do I do these Frugal Friday posts?  Because it may inspire someone to cut back.  It may help someone to see that there is a way to make due on one income.  It is possible to live within your means and act your wage!