How I will have an actively frugal weekend

It’s easy to bleed money during the weekends; after all you’ve been working hard all week and you deserve a chance to relax and have some fun. However,  those brunches and movies all add up and can leave you stressed and broke come Monday morning.

This weekend, I’ve decided to do things that will not only keep money in my pocket, but help me to save money in the week ahead. Here’s what I have planned:

1. Write a menu plan and organize a grocery list. Since I’ve started freelancing, I’m afraid that planning meals and grocery shopping with a list has gone out the window. This means sky high grocery bills and many desperate trips to the store at 4.30 with whiny children to get something quick and easy (and usually expensive) for dinner. This weekend, I’m going to get back on track.
2. Cook and freeze a few meals and home-baked snacks for later in the week. This will not only save money but help my stress levels. The hour before dinner time is the most stressful time of day in our house and having a meal that just needs to be popped in the oven would be a lifesaver.
3. Go through the clothing my youngest son has outgrown and make an itemized list before donating to Goodwill. I’ve never bothered with getting a receipt for charitable donations before but this year the deduction will come in handy so I will make the time to make a list. I might sell some of the name brand clothes that are in excellent shape on eBay if I have enough to make an appealing lot.
4. On Saturday we will be attending a special event at the Children’s Museum that is free with our membership. I will make sure that everyone is well fed before we leave and that we have something easy for lunch when we return to eliminate the temptation have lunch at a restaurant.
5. On Sunday we will stay home, which will save gas and money. There is no law that says you have to leave the house every day! My sons can get their exercise helping their father doing yard work so that I can  have some peace and quiet to do my projects. It’s good for kids to get the message that you don’t have to go on outings every day and that in a family we all pitch in.
6. Spend time together as a family during the evenings watching family films from Netflix and playing board games. I find low-key, at home entertainment is often far more bonding and rewarding that going out to the movies or someplace like Chuck-E Cheese.

If you tend to spend excessive amounts of money during the weekend, it could an eye-opening experience to have a no-spend weekend. Keep yourself busy doing things at home to make the coming week less stressful. You might find that you don’t miss going out and spending money and enjoy how much smoother your life runs when you use your weekends to plan meals, get organized and relax at home.

Tracy O’Connor is the mother of 5 boys and a ghostwriter who also writes a personal humor blog.

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photo credit: ©istock/matka_Wariatka