Frugal Friday

Dan and I were headed out to our district's family camp for a vacation/work time.  However, circumstances beyond our control happened so that we are not going to be able to stay there.  I could whine and carry on, or I can have a good attitude and look at the positive side (which I'm doing). I was pleased that my initial response was actually laughter at the humor of the situation.  The camp is exactly an hour away so we are still going to get to go a couple of days and enjoy the fellowship and speakers during the day.  I get to sleep in my nice cozy bed and not pack a ton of stuff (which I hate doing). 

What does this have to do with being frugal? Being frugal is more than just pinching pennies, making do or doing without.  It's also about your attitude while you do it.   I can do the best job of saving my money and yet, have a rotten attitude the whole time.  I can have the attitude, "Why do I always have to do without!"  "Why is this so hard?" and on and on. 

I could really carry on about wanting a "real vacation" and not always having staycations, or I can make the best of the situation and find some fun things to do which don't cost a lot.  I'm not always successful at having the right attitude.  I generally get there but am working on making my first response be the right one.  Instead of eating sour lemons and whining, I'm working on making sweet lemonade out of the sour parts of life.

Some ways I've saved the past few weeks:

$ Bartered with my hairdresser.  I usually do some sewing for her but this time, I will be doing some cooking lessons for her teens.

$ My neighbor gave me 4 quarts of strawberries.  Some I turned into jam and the rest I put in the freezer for later.

$ Emily and I found a consignment store in the mall that carries beautiful dresses.  She got her name-brand, graduation dress for under $20.

$ Making homemade cookies, breads, and treats still manages to be much less expensive.

$ Someone gave us some money for our anniversary so with that we were able to enjoy the afternoon, and eat out a fancy restaurant using only $14 of our own money.

$  I make my own granola which is far cheaper than purchasing it in the store.

$ Hiking at different locations that cost $0.

So there are my frugal offerings!  Having a good attitude while saving; priceless!