Last year, we headed to Leavenworth for Oktoberfest, which was a total blast. This year, though, we decided to stay local. We’ve had a ton of trips happen this summer and more planned for the fall, so staying home this year made sense. Plus, Leavenworth has continued to get more expensive this year, and our neighbors also thought doing a local event would be both fun and a ton cheaper.

A number of our neighbors had to drop out last minute due to sickness and family emergencies, so we invited a few friends as well. I cooked pork schnitzel and German red cabbage for the first time, we grilled up some sausages, and ate a bunch of sauerkraut and drank a bunch of German beer.

We set up our larger folding table along side our dining table and all ate and chatted together. It was a lovely evening and got us talking about more neighborhood events we want to have this fall, including a cookie exchange and wine tasting night. Again, I’m reminded how lucky we are to live where we do.

Friday’s Frugal Five (2019 – Week 42)

1. My friend Josh had a long layover in Seattle on Sunday, so Purple and I met up with him downtown. The weather wasn’t great, so we decided to go over to the downtown Seattle Library. It turns out, I hadn’t ever been further than the first few floors, so I had as much (okay, more) fun than they did checking the place out. The view from the eleventh floor was pretty great, and the spiral walk up around the stacks had my book nerd heart singing. Plus, it was a totally free way to spend the afternoon.

We then headed to a restaurant for happy hour, and we witnessed Josh eating tacos for the very first time in his thirty-six years of life. I then hopped on the bus and headed home – after I had crunched my bus pass in my pocket. It is cracked and completely not working now, so I’ve been reduced to paying with cash since then until I go about replacing it. The card was free when the Orca card system first came out a decade ago, but now I’ll have to pay $5 to get it replaced. Frugal fail for sure.

2. I took my car in for service and walked both ways to the shop from work instead of taking the bus. That saved me $5.50, and I got a decent amount of walking in because of it. The weather wasn’t great, and I was a little soggy by the time I picked up my car, but it was worth it.

While we might be able to save a couple dollars doing oil changes at our house, we choose to take our vehicles in for standard service. Our local mechanic will do an oil change for just thirty dollars, and they do a full check of the car at the same time. I’ve been taking my cars there for the past nine years, and I trust them to treat me honestly. And really, there are other ways I would rather spend my time and find other small savings than take my limited hours to change my oil. You can’t optimize to the last dollar and hang on to your sanity, and this is one of mine.

3. I met up with a former member of the board I’m on for lunch, and he suggested that we brown bag it instead of going to a restaurant  this time. He reads this blog of mine sometimes, which is why he brought up the option. The point of the lunch is to spend time with each other, not go out to a restaurant, so I happily said yes and ate my standard oatmeal while we chatted. Thanks friend, I appreciate the meal and the conversation very much.

I miss seeing him twice monthly for our meetings, and I very much appreciate being able to sit down with him semi regularly to catch up. Saving some money is definitely a bonus, and I don’t feel like the time was any less good for eating grocery store food.

4. I managed to have another car free commute this week, though I’m back to taking the bus in the mornings for the time being while the days are short and dark. While I’m glad to manage once a week without my car, I’m starting to think about ways to make it happen during the other days. Until the kiddo is in school and he goes to the same place every morning, this might be hard to do. Once he is, though, I expect I should be able to bump up my weekly non-car commutes to most of my days.

5. I’ve managed to average at least two gym trips a month since May. While I would love to have this number even higher, at a cost of $17.84 a month, even getting there that often seems well worth it. As the weather gets less nice outside, I expect to get there at least that often through the fall and winter.

Depending on the stage of projects my husband is working on, he can leave work early enough to pick up the kiddo a couple days a week, which is when I’m able to get to the gym. I miss going five and six days a week like I did pre-kid, but I sure appreciate the days I go now even more. It’s a small, simple gym, but I have no plans on cancelling that recurring cost.

Exercise Update

Sunday was a hike through the woods with the husband and kiddo before heading to Seattle to walk around some more, which meant my day ended at 20,000 steps. Monday was the walk to and from the auto shop. Tuesday was walking to and from the bus and then running and lifting at the gym, finishing the day at 23,000 steps. Wednesday was a cold, but pretty, morning run along the lake.

What are some frugal wins you had this week? Share them here! I love to hear all about them.