The Frugal Free Gal

During a no spend challenge, it can be tempting to spend money!

When we go so long swiping our cards here and there without much thought, it can be challenging to refrain from spending money.

We have to stop before each purchase and ask ourselves whether or not the item is something we need and can afford and whether or not we have the time to take care of that item once it’s in our homes.

FREE No Spend Tracker Printable

You’d be surprised at how many things we “think” that we need only end up being “wants” instead.

Weekends can be tricky during no spend challenges.

If you have kids at home, it can be challenging to constantly entertain them and provide activities that are always free.

Weekends are also the time when many people travel. During these weekends, we spend more money on gas to get to and from, convenient store purchases for sodas and snacks, and money on activities once we get to our destination.

If it’s not a day trip, we spend money on hotel rooms for a cozy place to lay our heads at night. Over a weekend, purchases can add up!

And of course, weekends are often times saved for shopping. Avoid heading out to your favorite local retailers, thrift stores, or even shopping online during a no spend challenge month.

That’s why I’m here to provide you with a list of activities and things to do during a no spend month that do not cost a thing.

With enough planning and preparation, you can create a schedule for each weekend to help you avoid spending during a no spend month.

By doing this, you will be less tempted to spend a lot of money on weekend outings that are costly.

FREE Activities to Take Advantage of During a No Spend Challenge

1. Visit your local library and check out books and other library freebies offered.
2. Sign up for freebies.
3. Research parks in your area and visit a new park.
4. Plan a picnic out at a park.
5. Feed ducks at a park.
6. Find a catch and release pond and catch fish.
7. Go for a bike ride around the neighborhood with the family.
8. Go on a nature walk.
9. Complete a scavenger hunt.
10. Take the kids to a neighborhood pool.
11. Plan a family movie night at home and stream free movies.
12. Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial (We stream free movies and TV through Prime).
13. Play board games, cards, or dominoes.
14. Declutter your home.
15. Write in your journal.
16. Read the Bible.
17. Start a gratitude journal.
18. Download and play free apps.
19. Download free Kindle Books.
20. Play with your kids in the backyard.
21. Build a fire (if you have a fire pit) and sit around it and talk.
22. Visit a neighbor.
23. Look up new recipes.
24. Work in your garden.
25. Go for a run.
26. Print coupons.
27. Paint a picture.
28. Take pictures.
29. Start meal planning.
30. Take a nap.
31. Write thank you cards.
32. Call a friend or family member.
33. Write down your goals.
34. Plan a budget.
35. Go through old photos, baby books, and memory boxes.
36. Rearrange your furniture.
37. Enjoy a beverage on your front porch or back yard.
38. Put some music on and clean your house.
39. Clean out your car.
40. Visit Pinterest and make a craft with items you already have.
41. Dance around to music.
42. Try Amazon Music Unlimited 30-Day Free Trial.
43. Take a bubble bath.
44. Give yourself a pedicure.
45. Walk your dog.
46. Have a yard sale.
47. Find and attend a good church.
48. Attend a weekly Bible study.
49. Workout at home.
50. Take advantage of free Educational Websites for Kids.
51. Relax and meditate.

While some of these ideas sound a bit more entertaining than others, the key here is to find something to do to fill your time instead of going out somewhere and spending money.

It takes a little bit of time to get used to managing our time and replacing the costly activities with activities that are completely free, but it can be done!

Use these examples above and plan out the remaining weekends during this no spend challenge. If you have any free activities that you’d like to add to the list, feel free to leave them in a comment below.

What free activities would you add to this list?

Doing load after load of your family’s laundry doesn’t just take a lot of time; it can also end up costing you more than you realize financially as well. In fact, it is estimated that American families spend anywhere from $80 to $600 per year on laundry alone! Just imagine the savings you could have if you didn’t have to do laundry all of the time!

While you probably can’t stop doing laundry altogether, it is possible to save big on this common household chore. This post will show you how.

1. Wear Things More Than Once

Just because you’ve worn something once doesn’t automatically mean it’s dirty, especially if you only wore it for a short period of time. Sweaters that don’t even touch your body, the pajamas you can barely keep on your toddler and the shirt your son only wore to church for an hour are all prime candidates to go right back in the drawer. Towels can be used more than once as well.

Similarly, make sure your children are only putting clothes in the wash that are actually dirty as well. If your daughter develops a bad habit of deciding what to wear by throwing everything on the floor or your son throws everything in the hamper to avoid folding it and putting it away, that’s a lot of extra laundry you don’t need to be doing. Find a variety of affordable laundry hampers at Amazon.

2. Wash Only Full Loads

Rather than doing laundry after a specific amount of time as passed (such as every morning or every evening), wait to do a load of laundry until you have a full load. Not only will you spend less time doing laundry, but you can save big on your water bill as well.

Alternately, if you need to do your laundry on a schedule to make sure that it gets done, try lengthening the amount of time between loads. For example, instead of doing laundry every day, you could do laundry every other day or every three days, depending on the amount of clothing your family owns.

3. Use Less Laundry Detergent

When adding detergent to the laundry, do you usually just throw some in without bothering to measure? If so, you may be using way more than you need. While a little extra laundry detergent won’t break the bank right away, all of that wasted detergent can really add up over time. Not only will you need to buy extra detergent, which can be expensive, but you may shorten the lifespan of your clothes or washer as well. I buy my laundry detergent at Amazon on a regular basis when it’s on sale.

4. Invest in an Energy Efficient Washing Machine

Consider replacing your old or run-down washing machine with an energy efficient washing machine. My sister has an energy efficient washing machine and she absolutely loves it. Our washing machine is about 10 years old and still working, so when that time comes that it decides to give out, we will be replacing ours with energy efficient machines.

5. Switch to Cold Water

Unless your clothes are exceptionally dirty, chances are that hot water isn’t really necessary. Make the switch to cold water for the majority of your laundry loads and save the hot water for the towels and undergarments only. This will ensure that the germs on these sensitive items are well taken care of without needlessly wasting money with every load.

6. Skip the Fabric Softener

What if I told you that you really didn’t need fabric softener to get your clothes nice and soft? It’s true. Skip the expensive fabric softener and use 1/4 to a 1/2 cup of vinegar instead. Vinegar not only helps soften your clothes, it also helps prevent fading, keeps your washing machine cleaner and helps remove excess detergent from your clothes. Just be careful not to mix it with bleach, as this can result in a toxic gas.

7. Don’t Forget the Laundry!

Have you ever thrown in a load of laundry, only to completely forget about it until several hours later or even the next day? Having to rewash a load more than once isn’t just frustrating, it’s also an expensive and time-consuming habit to get into. Set a timer if you need to or make the laundry part of your daily routine, but don’t forget to flip it!

Related: 5 Tips to Keep Up With Laundry

If you are looking for additional ways to save money that don’t take a lot of time and effort, saving money on the laundry is one easy and excellent way to do just that! Try it out for a few weeks. You may be surprised at what a big difference just a few easy changes can make.

How do you save on laundry?

Are you looking for ways to earn extra cash? Read these tips below to help you earn!

Whether you have back to school supplies, birthday presents, or unexpected medical expenses to pay for, chances are you will need some quick, easy cash at some point in your life. Use one or a few of these five great ways to earn some quick cash instead.

Ways to Earn Extra Cash

Sell Your Photos

Do you love taking photos? Turn your photos into cash! Start an online photography portfolio at Shutterstock and start earning! I have earned a few hundred extra dollars by placing a few photos in my portfolio. Tip: Upload photos regularly for more exposure!

Join Ibotta and Checkout 51

I check Ibotta on a weekly basis to see what we can earn back on our grocery purchases! I’ve earned about $300+ lifetime earnings with Ibotta. If you like Ibotta, chances are, you’ll like Checkout 51, too!

Join Fetch Rewards

***Use code 4Y6FF when you join to get a possible credit depending on the current promotions.*** Fetch Rewards – Turn your points into great rewards!

“Easy savings at any grocery store, every time. We work directly with popular brands to bring you savings on thousands of products every day, no matter where you get your groceries. Just scan your receipts and let us do all the work.”

Take Online Surveys

Take online surveys for cash and rewards from the comfort of your own home. I like using my rewards from surveys for birthday and Christmas presents.

Earn Swagbucks

I’ve been a member of Swagbucks for several years now and have a lifetime earnings of 105,451 Swagbucks! I use Swagbucks to earn Amazon Gift Cards to pay for a lot of things we need including household supplies and more!

Earn Cash Back on Your Online Purchases

If you like to shop online at your favorite retailers, check out Rakuten (formerly Ebates) and earn cash back on your purchases!

Bonus Tips:

Start a Blog

Sell Your Unused or Gently Used Belongings

Do you have extra furniture, clothes, toys, collectibles or other home items lying around your home that you don’t want or need anymore? Sell them in a garage sale, to a consignment shop, or on Ebay. Not only will you declutter your home and help someone who needs those items, but you’ll make some quick, easy money too!

Sell on Ebay

Babysit, Pet Sit or House Sit

Babysitting, pet sitting and house sitting are all great ways to make some quick, easy money without too much work. Depending on the arrangement, you could work from your home or theirs, full time or part time, once in a while or on a consistent schedule. This option is especially great for stay-at-home moms who are home all day anyway.

All of these ideas are super easy to do, and there is no wait time to find a job or get paid.

What ways do you like to earn extra cash? 

Do you want to learn how to manage your money better? Read these essential tips to manage your money the right way!

Many of us didn’t learn how to manage money during childhood. Perhaps your parents kept the finances under a tight lock and key, so you weren’t able to learn how to manage money.

Many parents in the old days tended to keep finances a secret. This may be right and it may be wrong, but either way, it’s part of the reason many of us need some major help with money management.

Today I’m sharing some tips to help you get your money under control so that you can have financial freedom for the long haul of life.

Tips to Manage Your Money

Create a Budget

A household budget is necessary if you’re going to start managing your money. It’s important to know where your money will go at the end of each pay period. This budget is something that may be adjusted, but for the most part, it’s a stable set of “rules” for how to manage your money.

How to Budget When You Have Low Income

Evaluate Expenses

Part of creating a budget to manage your money the right way is to start evaluating your expenses. Figure out where you’re losing money, where you’re spending it and how you can reduce some of your household expenses to free up some of your hard-earned money.

Know Your Income

While you may know how much money you bring in monthly, you may not know how much you spend monthly. Part of managing your money the right way is knowing what you have for income and expenses so that you can immediately know what you’ll have for “extra” funds.

Consolidate your Debt

Debt is a key playing for people who find themselves poorly managing their money. Find a way to consolidate your debt into one comfortable monthly payment. If you cant use a debt consolidation program to do this, then do it on your own and be firm with putting your funds towards paying off debt.

Remove Unnecessary Expenses

There are many things we all waste money on. Maybe you get a coffee at the cafe every day or perhaps you dine out once a week. These options fall into the unnecessary spending category and need to be removed or at least tremendously reduce from your expenses column.

Save for Retirement

When creating your budget to manage your money the right way, be sure to plan for retirement savings. A good rule of thumb is to save 10 to 15 percent of your monthly income towards retirement. This percent will fluctuate depending on your income and where you wish to retire.

Essential Tips for Retirement Savings

These tips to help you manage your money the right way will ensure you’re better able to live comfortably with a lower risk of having too many financial instability moments.

Are you thinking about saving for retirement? Read these essential tips for retirement saving.

This topic is a sensitive one for so many families living paycheck to paycheck. It may not seem possible that you can save any money, nevermind save money for retirement.

I’m here to tell you some exciting news, you can save for retirement!

I’m going to share some tips that will help you plan this tedious necessity without stressing or neglecting your current financial responsibilities.

Essential Tips for Retirement Saving

Grab the Company Match

If you’re employed and your company offers a 401(k) or 403(b) try to take advantage of the company match. Many employers will match their employee’s contribution up to a specific monetary amount.

This is an easy way to start boosting the retirement savings without adding more of your own funds into the pot.

Automate Your Savings

Some bank accounts will allow you to automatically transfer a specific dollar amount from one account into another.

Try to set yourself up with retirement savings by setting your checking account to automatically transfer a set dollar amount every week into your savings account.

This savings account must be one that you’re designating for retirement savings so that you never dip into it.

Know Your Retirement Needs

Take your time figuring out how much money you want to have by the time you retire. You may have special circumstances that require you save more than the recommended amount.

Take into consideration everything that you’ll need to deal with financially during retirement and set yourself up with a minimum contribution set aside into your retirement plan every week or month to meet this need.

Slow Down Spending

Many families are spending more money than they truly need to. Sit down and create a budget to help slow down your spending habits.

When you stop buying that extra coffee at the coffee shop, put the money into your retirement savings account.

Getting a handle on your current finances and spending habits now will help you better save towards your future without stress.

Stash Extra Funds

Do you get a bonus check at work? Perhaps you’re a freelancer and have this new client who spent a little extra on your services.

Take those extra funds and put them aside. While it’s tempting to spend that extra bonus or monetary compensation, you’ll thank yourself later if you start to apply those extra funds towards your retirement savings.

7 Ways to Build An Emergency Fund – How to Save for a Rainy Day

Invest your Money

Speak with a financial advisor who can help you determine the best way to invest your money. This could be investing in stocks or putting a specific amount of funds into a high interest yielding savings account.

These are great options to get your money invested into something that can pay you back more later on in life. Most high interest yielding savings accounts or CD’s have a term limit for keeping the funds in exchange for earning a higher interest level.

These are both great options to seek when you’re trying to plan for retirement.

These are just some of the essential tips for retirement savings. If you want to retire comfortably, it’s important that you start thinking about this topic sooner rather than later.

There’s no time like now to start investing in your future comfort during retirement.