Yes, I did use the words "fun" and "frugal" in the same sentence. It is true. I also believe the old saying "It's all in the attitude" is true as well. I thought I'd share some things I've learned since beginning my spending freeze.

• Being Frugal Doesn't Mean No Fun. The kids and I have had fun finding alternate ways to make things rather than purchasing them. One thing we made was apple butter. I must tell you that I am not a big fan of apple butter, never have been. However, I have found a recipe that is to die for! If you're interested in the recipe just leave a comment and I'll post it later in the weekend. Below is a slide show of the homemade peanut butter / apple butter dip we made for our homemade baked bat tortilla chips! (We are studying bats right now.)
  
  
• Family Meetings. Before the kids and I tackled town Thursday with a full afternoon of errands, we had a family meeting and reviewed what the afternoon would look like. We discussed where we would be going (this concept is nothing new to our family) and what we would be purchasing (this part is new though). Reviewing what we would be purchasing did two things: (1) It let the kids know what I had planned to buy and if there was anything they needed this was the time to add it to the list . (2) It helped keep me accountable to sticking to the list!
• The List. Going into a store requires a shopping list with all items to be purchased written on the list. If it's not on the list, then it's not getting bought. Period. Although, I will admit that I did have to purchase one thing that wasn't on my list, however it was an item that we discussed during our family meeting that I needed to buy. The kids even helped me to remember to buy this item!  
• Curing the "Can I Have's". During our family meeting I announced to the children that I would not tolerate any "can I have's" while in the store. After all, we must control our wants and work on being disciplined. The consequence to my kids for asking "can I have?" was a 15 minute dock on their bedtime. Each "can I have?" would cost them 15 minutes. For example, Della's bedtime is 9:00 pm. If she asked "can I have?" two times, she would end up with a bedtime of 8:30 pm that night. Would you know that not one "can I have?" came out of the mouth of my four babes! TJ did test the waters by announcing "I want one of those." I did not penalize him for this since he was simply stating a fact and not nagging me. After all, I sometimes will say the same thing when roaming the store.
• Rethinking purchases. This spending freeze has done one big thing for me, it has me rethinking some of my purchases! For example, I know it's a small dollar item, but a dollar is a dollar. I researched whether it would be more economical for me to make homemade apple butter for our above dip or to go ahead and purchase a jar of it at the store. I am finding that not only am I rethinking in the way of whether to make or buy an item, but I am also simply rethinking if I really need or want this item! In today's society it is way too easy to buy impulsively. A spending freeze will certainly make you realize how many impulsive buys you make. Trust me, it's probably more than you realize.

The joys we are finding in this spending freeze is definitely unexpected. The benefits are blessing us in unexpected ways as well. If you haven't joined in on the spending freeze yet then I challenge you to give it a try...if even for a week.