Frugal Friday: My little moments

I've decided to start journaling our family's frugal moments on a weekly basis. As we are now beginning our third month of unemployment, and were denied unemployment assistance by the state, we are having to buckle down even more. By journaling my moments, I feel like I can take more ownership of our family's situation.

Frugal accomplishments this week:

1. I took my son shopping. More specifically, Christmas shopping. Each of my children had received a Toys R Us gift card as a thank you for their participation in a project. My son's first reaction was "I wish it was more" - a typical 7 year old reaction, but one that made me cringe. After some thought and prayer, we approached each kid with the idea they could use the gift card - to buy a Christmas gift for their sibling. He was not allowed to spend over (other than tax, which I would cover), and it was a great way for him to learn about budgeting and decision-making. It was a treat to take my son shopping (before the mad holiday rush) to let him casually, determinedly discover his best gift idea for his sister.
   
2. I sent my brother to space. Yep, the little boy who went to space camp and dreamed of being an astronaut has now grown up to be a computer geek...who visits NASA for fun on summer vacation. So what do I get the brother who has everything? His name on a mission to Mars. (And you can too, but NASA's cutoff is Sept. 8!) So for Christmas, he's getting a framed boarding pass, hopefully with a space camp photo from his childhood.
   
3. I came clean. Birthday parties seem like they are every week in September, and they can quickly become budget-busters. I sent a message to each of the moms, explaining our situation and asking what ideas they have for smaller things we could get. All have been gracious.
   
4. I asked for prayer. We cannot live in this world on our own, and I'll admit this week has been difficult on a number of levels. When I hit my lowest, I reached out on social media, asking for prayers and support. Reaching out does your heart and soul good.
   

What frugal accomplishments did you have this week?