10 Week Challenge--Weekend 4

Okay, I know it's only Saturday and I usually update on Sunday night, but tomorrow we're literally just staying home all day grooming the dog ourselves, doing laundry, and cleaning house.  So, today I wanted to share our fun, free weekend activity. 

After being sick last weekend, I really wanted to get out and get some fresh air.  The weather was perfect.  It's been in the 80s all week, but it was only 65 degrees outside at noon today.  So, we decided it would definitely be a great day to visit the Conejo Botanical Gardens in Thousand Oaks, California.  Admission is free and there are a few hiking paths, a connected park for the kids to play at, and plenty of beautiful views.  Parking is also free.  There is a lot which had space for about 30 cars.  I suppose you could also park on the side of the road and walk in, but it's a bit of a walk from the roadside to where the parking and park gates are located.

This is one of those places I have seen the sign for on the side of the road for years, but I've never bothered to stop.  It's in a residential community and seems deceptively small from the outside.  Without this challenge to find free weekend activities, I may never have gone.  But, it's beautiful and there's plenty to look at.  Honestly, my children were more interested in the rocks (they found some very interesting igneous and sedimentary rocks on our walk), but the plants were pretty, too. 

One fair warning to families of young children or anyone with orthopedic or health issues.  The gardens are built on a rather large hill.  Almost everything is an uphill walk and the main nature hike, which we didn't get a chance to do as we still lack the stamina after recovering from being ill last week, is considered a moderate hike.  Also, there are rattlesnakes.  We did not see any, but there were signs of snake holes in various areas.

Here are some pictures from the 2 hours we spent there this afternoon:

10 Week Challenge--Weekend 3

Well, this weekend it was easy to only do free activities.  Everyone came down with the flu except my oldest, so we all have been in bed or on the couch for the past week.  It's miserable.  Normally, with the flu shot, none of us have gotten it.  It's been about 10 years since my last bout of the flu.  But, some years, the vaccine just isn't as effective.  So, here we are. 

The nice thing about being sick is that it was a great excuse to watch a lot of movies and tv shows.  We are spending Sunday binge watching the Super Mario Bros. Super Show on Netflix.  The kids have been watching a lot of shows from the 80s and 90s.  When I was in bed away from them, I found Beverley Hills 90210 on Hulu.  I also saw a great movie called What If on Amazon Prime Video.  It stars Daniel Radcliffe and Adam Driver.  It's not kid friendly, but it is a cute love story.  The best part of all these services is that they are, combined, cheaper than regular cable is.  So, one way to save money?  Get yourself streaming services and cut the cord on cable and satellite.

My oldest did build a birdhouse this weekend.  He got the kit for Christmas from one of his many relatives.  It was a bit of work, but it was a great way for him to spend his weekend while the rest of us were sick.

Next weekend, I'm hoping to have more exciting free activities to share.  The plan is to check out a local botanical garden.  Here's hoping we're all healthy.

10 Week Challenge, Weekend 2

This weekend, I really tried to embrace the challenge and sought a free activity in our local community.  For the past few years, the last Sunday in January has offered free admission to many museums in the Los Angeles area.  My 7-year-old has been begging to see dinosaur fossils, so we packed up the car and ventured to Exposition Park to visit the Natural History Museum.

I will note that admission was free, but we still had to pay for parking ($12 per car, cash only).  Still, for the 6 of us that went, $12 was a small price to pay compared to the approximately $100 admission would normally cost for our large group.  You can bring your own picnic and eat it outside, or you can eat at the on site restaurant.  The restaurant had typical museum priced food ranging from around $5 to $15 per item with fountain drinks coming in at $3.  Again, it's easy to do it all for free if you bring your own, but if you don't, be prepared for the cost of food.

In addition to having the free Sunday admission, we got to speak with a representative from LADWP about ways to reduce water, electricity, and gas consumption.  While we do not live in Los Angeles and don't use their department of water and power, it was very informative.  If you live in the city, check out programs to reduce your bills.  I was a member of the low income program when I lived in North Hollywood years ago and it saved me a lot of money.

Here are some pictures from our wonderful day.  All of my kids had a great time and my husband, who has never seen dinosaur bones up close, was equally pleased with the day.

10 Week Challenge, Weekend 1

This was my first full weekend of trying to not spend any money outside of groceries.  I will start by saying this goal is lofty when you have kids who need things.  My son's backpack broke, so I had to spend a bit of money to replace it in time for school on Monday.  But, outside of that, the weekend was fairly successful.

Saturday started with cuddling while watching cartoons with my little ones while my older child was at sparring class with his father.  When they got back, we made sandwiches and popcorn and had a Harry Potter movie marathon.  We managed the first 3 movies this weekend, so that means at least 2 more weekends of Harry Potter fun are in line for us.  Between movies, we went in the backyard and played.  My husband pulled the weeds and I played soccer with my oldest.  The two younger kids played on the swing set.  For dinner, we made breakfast.  We had chocolate chip pancakes, bacon, and sausage.

Sunday, I took my oldest to his grandmother's house to help her with chores.  Back at home, my little ones and I watched some cartoons and played with toys.  My son came back with grandma and pizza in tow, which I suppose wasn't technically free, but my mom paid for it, so it counts, right?  Then, my mom took my younger son.  I spent my time while he was gone alternating playing legos with my oldest son and trying to teach my daughter how to use her scooter outside.  For dinner, I made "Disneyland pasta," which is my version of the Pizza Port Chicken Fusilli.  Now, we're reading books and looking at pictures of animals.

So, it's been hard not buying whatever I feel like on a whim, but I normally spend about $100 on an average weekend and I only spent $20, so I think that's pretty good.

10 Week Challenge (Or How to Save Money for that Trip)

 I'm trying something new on this blog.  For the past couple of years, I've mostly focused on trip reviews, but the main idea was to help families figure out how to travel and what to see on their journeys.  So, I will be showing you some of the behind the scenes things we do in my family so we can afford our trips.  We're a solid middle class family and we don't travel out of the country, or really much out of the state of California, but we manage quite well within our borders.  I'm sort of excited for this new journey to see if we can save even more money than before.

Taking trips can be costly, especially when you have a larger family.  Even a trip to your local amusement park can seem daunting when the cost of tickets for 1 day exceeds $500.  I have never been particularly good at saving money, but I find that this year, my trips are a bit more expensive than normal.  For the 3 trips I will be taking, I will need to save about $6000 (parts have been paid for on credit card or with savings, but I need to replenish my emergency funds, too).  So, in the spirit of demonstrating how you (and I) can save money, I am attempting 10 free (or nearly free) weekends in a row.  I will still grocery shop every weekend as we don't typically have time during the week.  But otherwise, I am going to do my best to explore free, or nearly free (since there's always the cost of gas for the van) activities in the area.  The idea came to me after reading an article on The Simple Dollar about a family attempting to live more frugally through money-free weekends.  They have a whole list of ideas on how to do this.  Some will work for us and others I think we will probably pass on.

I unofficially started today by organizing my 7-year-old's dresser.  He and I cut pieces of cardboard to make dresser dividers so that he has sections for his socks, underwear, pajamas, swimwear, long sleeve shirts, solid shirts, shirts with pictures, jeans/cargo pants, sweatpants, and shorts.  We had a great time and I didn't spend money.  I am hoping the next 10 weekends go as well as today!