Freebie Friday: Gifts
Half terms are always going to be a struggle with doing 'no spend'. Weeks cooped up in a house with not much to do, I imagine I'll quickly become a pro at finding free activities and days out! This week, however, we've been able to enjoy some gifts that have made the Easter holidays run surprisingly smoothly!
When Lee left his old job he was given a family day pass to Conkers which is a Derbyshire based outdoor activity centre. We took a packed lunch, rallied the kids and off we went! What a day! There is so much to do there and it was absolutely fascinating (even for Lee and I). I would highly recommend and would totally pay the normal entrance fee - though of course after our 6 months of no spend! We spent the entire day there and the kids were pooped afterwards!
I hold my hands up to something naughty. I bought a coffee whilst we were there. I could justify it by saying it technically wasn't out of budget because I didn't spend our full grocery shopping money this week, or that we were caught in a storm and I was a little grumpy and cold and just NEEDED it, but in reality I could have gone without it and it classes as an 'additional spend'. £1.80 of unnecessary frivolity. My bad.
Something really cool happened this week! We took a picnic (I see us having quite a few of these over the next 6 months!) to our local park. There happened to be a fairground there that the kids were desperate to walk around. All sorts of dread filled me. I was not ready to deal with a tantrum over not being able to take part in any games, buy any sweets or go on any of the rides. We calmly explained that we didn't have any money but that we could pray for God to provide. Annie prayed, "Please God bring some money". 20 minutes later, after walking around the park, Lee found a pound coin at the bottom of a bush. Annie bought some sweets to share with the family and we even had 10p left (10%!) that we're 'giving back to God' on Sunday at church. A small, yet absolutely beautiful way for God to show up.
The rest of the week has absolutely flown by. Lee began his first shift pattern so we were in the house for most of the week getting on with household tasks, playing in the garden and generally having multiple Pyjama Fridays in a row. I know it's not feasible for every weekend or holiday, but it was pretty nice for this one.
As this month draws to a close, we can honestly say we have felt so supported and blessed by those around us. This week our good friends, Bryan and Claire gifted us two tickets to see Endgame. I'd like to point out that we technically had cinema tickets (a silent auction prize from March), but upon discovering that our cinema wasn't showing End Game for a while, they decided it was simply too long to not give us spoilers and bought us tickets to see it in the same week as them. A totally unnecessary but totally appreciated gift. I love those guys a lot.
We started this journey after discovering that our predictions of Lee's probationary wage would leave us with £7 a month after all our bills were paid. This next week Lee gets his first pay cheque and we'll have a greater understanding of what specifically we're going to have. Regardless of what happens, we are going to stick with this. Even if we end up with more than we expected, we're going to save it all and hopefully get to do some of the things we've planned in faith this summer. If anything, it will teach us discipline in frugality which we could definitely do with!
Until next time...
When Lee left his old job he was given a family day pass to Conkers which is a Derbyshire based outdoor activity centre. We took a packed lunch, rallied the kids and off we went! What a day! There is so much to do there and it was absolutely fascinating (even for Lee and I). I would highly recommend and would totally pay the normal entrance fee - though of course after our 6 months of no spend! We spent the entire day there and the kids were pooped afterwards!
I hold my hands up to something naughty. I bought a coffee whilst we were there. I could justify it by saying it technically wasn't out of budget because I didn't spend our full grocery shopping money this week, or that we were caught in a storm and I was a little grumpy and cold and just NEEDED it, but in reality I could have gone without it and it classes as an 'additional spend'. £1.80 of unnecessary frivolity. My bad.
Something really cool happened this week! We took a picnic (I see us having quite a few of these over the next 6 months!) to our local park. There happened to be a fairground there that the kids were desperate to walk around. All sorts of dread filled me. I was not ready to deal with a tantrum over not being able to take part in any games, buy any sweets or go on any of the rides. We calmly explained that we didn't have any money but that we could pray for God to provide. Annie prayed, "Please God bring some money". 20 minutes later, after walking around the park, Lee found a pound coin at the bottom of a bush. Annie bought some sweets to share with the family and we even had 10p left (10%!) that we're 'giving back to God' on Sunday at church. A small, yet absolutely beautiful way for God to show up.
The rest of the week has absolutely flown by. Lee began his first shift pattern so we were in the house for most of the week getting on with household tasks, playing in the garden and generally having multiple Pyjama Fridays in a row. I know it's not feasible for every weekend or holiday, but it was pretty nice for this one.
As this month draws to a close, we can honestly say we have felt so supported and blessed by those around us. This week our good friends, Bryan and Claire gifted us two tickets to see Endgame. I'd like to point out that we technically had cinema tickets (a silent auction prize from March), but upon discovering that our cinema wasn't showing End Game for a while, they decided it was simply too long to not give us spoilers and bought us tickets to see it in the same week as them. A totally unnecessary but totally appreciated gift. I love those guys a lot.
We started this journey after discovering that our predictions of Lee's probationary wage would leave us with £7 a month after all our bills were paid. This next week Lee gets his first pay cheque and we'll have a greater understanding of what specifically we're going to have. Regardless of what happens, we are going to stick with this. Even if we end up with more than we expected, we're going to save it all and hopefully get to do some of the things we've planned in faith this summer. If anything, it will teach us discipline in frugality which we could definitely do with!
Until next time...
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