Do you have a game closet full of board games like me?! Well, this makes for no-cost entertainment perfect for the weekend.

We do family game night once a week. Here’s what we do:

First, we wrote down all the board games we owned on pieces of paper. Then put them all in a hat. Each Saturday morning we pick which game we will play that evening. We decided to pick in the mornings to know how much time to set aside for later. I also check ibotta to grab a snack or treat with a rebate to eat during our game!

Also Read: Money Savings Tip: Use Leftovers For One Dinner A Week

Eat at Home Meal Plans takes care of all the “thinking” part of dinner by giving you the meals, recipes, grocery list and more! Say yes to making dinner easy (and save 30% with code Easy through September 22!). With the new norm being virtual school or homeschooling for most families. It is more difficult than ever to make dinner happen. Eat At Home is a resource I have been using for over a year now. It makes everything food a piece of cake.

With this sale it will cost you under $5.00 a month for a year plan! That comes out to less than the cost of a value meal from the drive thru. This service is a worth its weight in gold. If you aren’t sure if its for you. I challenge you to try it for one month. If after the month you see no value in it, cancel and go back to doing things the way you did before.

Cook dinner with leftovers in mind, and use leftovers to create a new meal. Meaning, use up leftovers or extra ingredients in tomorrow’s dinner. Save big on your food budget by revamping leftovers or using up ingredients you have on hand.

Pizzas are one of my favorite use up whatever we have dinners. Recently we had homemade pizzas, one was half cheese and half tomato (from our garden). The other consisted of cooked Hamburg leftover, extra mushroom slices we had on hand and pepperoni that was just hanging out in our fridge.

Even one dinner a week using up leftovers will make for a savings!

Also Read: Buy In Bulk & Create Your Own 1lb Hamburg Packages

Junk mail sometimes turns into hidden cash! We have told you before to open up ALL your junk mail all the time because you just never know what you will find.  Just like with this little gem! I have never had this happen before. One day I was merrily opening up the massive amount of junk mail I get in daily. When I get to this small manila envelope. I open it and find this!

A month or so ago I bought a milk frother. I am really enjoying it! You an read my review here.

This weeks money savings tip are things I STOPPED buying. Learn these 7 things I stopped buying to save money now. Did you give up anything creative to save money?

1. Small Portions – Save big by buying things you use often in bulk or larger packages. Then, split into portion sizes yourself. I gave an example of this with Ground Beef and splitting into my own 1lb packages.

2. Individual Packaging – For kids snacks, you can save big by making your own snack packs.

3. Magazines – Magazine subscriptions are fun, however not something I spend money on. Luckily, I found 3 ways to score FREE Magazine subscriptions so I do not have to go without.

4. Shipping – Like many I have been doing more online shopping than ever. However one thing I refuse to pay for is shipping charges! Many retailers offer a low minimum. Others you can simply sign up for a free account and score free shipping. Plus, try this secret online shopping hack is none of those have worked.

5. Expensive Cleaners – I ditched many pricey household cleaners and saved big by switching to Dawn. The Original Blue Dawn is great as a window cleaner and less expensive than Windex. I also use it to give our dogs a bath, saving on overpriced dog shampoo! Learn more helpful uses for Dawn.

6. Books – I  love new books, however it does make financial sense to instead utilize the FREE library. I have gotten better about this one to save money.

7. Napkins – We only buy napkins for special occasions (1-2 times a year). Instead we only buy paper towels. For cleaning, we use microfiber towels to cut down on paper product use and save money.

Also Read: Money Saving Tip: DIY Décor & Furniture

Cold brew with whatever flavored foam is my new obsession! It is divine with chocolate milk. The cold brew has an amazing smooth delicious taste. The taste is elevated to a whole new level of deliciousness by adding flavored cold foam. The only problem is a Venti (my preferred size) runs about $4.00 – $5.00. That adds up real quick! I was going to Starbucks twice a week to indulge myself. That cost me a whopping $8.00 or $32.00 a month…ouch! My copycat version only costs $0.93 each.

I knew I could do better and still have my favorite drink. That lead my down a rabbit hole of milk frothers. I wanted something that could do both hot and cold foam. In the fall I will be making my own latte’s. I also wanted the option of using it daily for my morning coffee. I  enjoy warmed frothed milk in coffee. It is such a nice treat. After reading many reviews. I settled on the Miroco Electric Milk Steamer Automatic Soft Foam Maker for $39.99. The price was right plus the reviews are spectacular with a 5 star rating out of 3,668 reviews.

I have been buying the Starbucks Cold Brew or local cold brew brands at my grocery store. At my store for Starbucks Cold Brew it is $7.48 for 32 oz. That makes 8 servings. I use syrups for coffee that I already have. To make a Cold Brew Cold Foam, I add ice half way up a glass, add the cold brew concentrate to a little over half way, add a 1/4 of the way with water, and top with my cold foam. To make the cold foam I add about 3 tablespoons of half and half, (you can use any kind of milk or milk substitute) it will double in size, and 3 tablespoons of whichever syrup I want. Press the cold foam button and like magic my cold foam is made. Above is chocolate milk made into cold foam!

In a month I will have saved enough from not going to buy the Cold Brew Cold Foam drinks to cover the cost of the frother. After the cost of the frother each copycat Cold Brew costs me around $0.93. That is a savings of at least $3.32 per drink!

Give up one thing a month to help save for Disney!

One man’s junk is another’s treasure! I am sure you have seen wooden pallets thrown by dumpsters before. These pallets are used to hold massive amounts of supplies, boxes, or heavy things during transport. After the goods arrive there is no longer a use for the pallet. Often times they end up being discarded. These wooden pallets have lots of life left in them. While the wood isn’t lumber yard quality often times. It will still serve a purpose.

My husband has used pallets to create a fence along a garden to keep animals out. He has made dog houses, chicken coops, and used the scrapes of wood for small projects. I have seen furniture made out of wood from a pallets. Recently a new trending ice cream shop opened in my town. They used wood from pallets to create a half wall barrier. It is super cute!

Every piece of wood used from the pallet has saved us from having to go buy new lumber at the lumber yard. Over the years I am sure we have saved thousands of dollars. All by the simple step of stopping when we see a pallet by a dumpster and picking it up. Plus you are helping the environment by reusing the wood.

Being handy, or having a husband who is, and being crafty are great money savings strategies. Pictured above are 2 DIY ideas to save money – make your own Holiday décor & furniture!

My husband is a carpenter by trade and built our TV Stand with leftover wood scraps. Also, I had him cut down wood pieces for me to paint and turn into Halloween décor!

Have you ever made furniture?!

Also Read: Money Saving Tip: Get Paid To Recycle Your Ink

Arts and crafts are fun! Plus they are a great way for children to express themselves. However, they can easily become very expensive and messy. With a little pre-planning and work setting everything up you can solve both of those problems.  These three tips will help set you up for success and save money!

1. The best way to combat mess from glue, glitter, markers, and so much more is with contractor paper. For about ten dollars at your local home improvement store you can buy a roll that will last you years. Roll it out before craft time, tape it in place, and afterwards roll it up and trash it. The contractor paper can also double as paper to doodle or draw on. My kids love rolling it out on the floor and creating masterpieces together.

2. Buy a craft supply kit. These kits include an assortment of the most popular craft items such as googly eyes, pipe cleaners, feathers, pom poms, and so much more. This will give you an idea of what your children lean towards. As things run out you can stock up on larger packages of those items at bulk pricing.

3. Buy a multi pack of primary colored tempera paint. Tempera paint is washable. These packages often come in larger bottles. Save yogurt cups or egg cartons to use as your paint tray. You can add the colors needed for each project to the empty yogurt containers or egg cartons. After the project is over just throw away the paint tray. You can mix the colors together to create the colors you don’t have.

Piggy banks.  They are adorable, but what do you do when they are full?   You could take it to CoinStar, where you’ll pay an 11.9% service fee (fees may vary by location).  OUCH!  Losing 12 cents off every dollar?  That’s more than my penny pinching heart can bear!   You can use CoinStar for no fee gift cards….but they don’t have Disney cards!  Besides, what if you need the cash?  A gift card isn’t helpful then.

Instead, roll your own change!  Yes, it takes some time- but it’s also fun to see those little coin pyramids piled up in the floor or on the table.  You can get free paper coin rollers from most banks.

Also, check to see if your bank has a coin machine.  Most of the time these are free for bank members- meaning you get the CoinStar experience, without the huge fees.  Be sure to check your bank’s rules before you dump those coins though, I do know Citibank charges fees in some states!

Keep your pillows feeling and looking fresh by washing them! Many do not realize you can actually wash your bed pillows. Before we get into how to wash your pillows, let’s discuss the WHY.

Pillows are with us every evening, they spend many hours with us! However, that also means pillows absorb buildup such as sweat, saliva etc. This is why it is frugal and healthy to wash your pillows, recommended twice a year.

First, double check that your pillow is not marked, “dry clean only”. Then wash on warm water and delicate. You can wash 2 bed pillows at a time in most washers. Then sufficiently dry your pillow on moderate heat, you do not want the pillow to be damp at all when it hits your bed again. Prevent filling clumping by using a dryer ball (or tennis ball).

This will keep your old pillows lasting longer and staying fresh!

Also read, Money Saving Tip: Teach Your Kids Thrifting Is Cool

I used to think those big bulk bags of pantry staples where a big hassle and not worth the time or effort! Then came my friend Carmen. She has 6 kids and swears buying those big bags are worth it. One day she came over right after I had gotten back from the grocery store. She saw my 3 bags of popcorn kernels, and my 2 bags of flour, and asked me why I didn’t buy those things in bulk. I said,”Good question!” She then went on to explain to me how cheap it was per pound if you buy in bulk. At that moment a light bulb went off in my head.

Here are just a few examples of things I buy in bulk vs regular size packages.

Regular Size & Price           Bulk Size & Price        Savings

Popcorn $1.19 per lb.           50 lbs. $24.98          $34.52
Flour $1.93 per 5 lbs.          25 lbs. $7.76              $1.89
Sugar $2.34 per 4 lbs.         10 lbs. $4.76              $1.09
Rice $1.41 per 2 lbs.             25 lbs. $9.48             $8.41

In order to buy in bulk you do need to be prepared with airtight sealing containers to put the bulk items in. I mix and match by adding the items in there original bags. I have 2 air tight containers that I use. They sit on the floor in my pantry. I just take out what I need and add it to a smaller container in my pantry as needed. You do want to shop around warehouse stores don’t always have the best prices. Flour is cheaper at Walmart than anywhere else for me locally.