Frugal Friday - Frugal Decorating

Last week or so I asked for some ideas and/or advice on cheap decorating. Sometimes I just get sick of the way things look and am itching for a change. On of the comments came from my flesh and blood (as opposed to Internet :)) friend Elisa. She said:

Some designer on Oprah said to go "shopping" in your house. Go from room to room and browse the pieces in your house and pick up the ones you like. Then take the pieces and put them in other rooms or move them from the shelf that they've been on for 10 years

That is exactly what I did...well sort of. I needed somewhere to put these pieces. I purchased an unfinished shelf from Michael's for $7.49, painted it, then added the pieces from around my house.

The funny thing is, these things were all in different places and/or in storage, but they totally match on this shelf! I love it!

I guess the point is that if you purchased something at one point, you probably still like it. Switching, changing, and rearranging could be just the thing you need for a "new" look!

Frugal Friday is hosted each week on Life as Mom - go check it out for some more frugal ideas!

Frugal Friday - Putting the Word Out 2.0

A concept I learned from Amy Dacyczyn from the Tightwad Gazette (see my side bar if you don't own this book - it is worth EVERY PENNY!) was the concept of putting the word out. I have a lot of success with this (read some previous posts HERE).


I recently realized/discovered/thought about another great way to put the word out. Through the internet, especially Facebook, Twitter, and Blogging!


I have around 100 friends on Facebook - imagine the possibilities. I share a need with 100 people through my status update, one person (or some of the people they know) is bound to be able to fill that need! This is an exchange between me and my Aunt Judy about a need that she posted this morning.
Think of the time that she saved by not calling everyone she knows to try and find a high chair. I'm sure also that she wouldn't have thought of asking me because my baby that age where she could go either way - high chair or booster.

Try it - put the word out (digitally) and see what you end up with!

Check out more Frugal Friday ideas on Life as Mom!

-Michelle

Frugal Friday - How I Save Money On Meat

I will admit, I love meat. When I think about what to make for dinner, I usually automatically think MEAT - VEGETABLE - PASTA or POTATO. I think that is the standard. Meat, however, is the most expensive part of the budget. I have found a few tricks that have helped me still enjoy meat in meals while still staying within my budget.

++Eat more chicken and ground beef. My target price for both of these is $1.99 per lb. When I see it for less than this, I stock up. There are many, many great meals that can be made with this type of meat. For a casserole, a little bit goes a long way. Check out my ideas HERE and HERE for uses for chicken and HERE for ground beef.

++Look for markdowns! The two stores I shop the most here in Boise, ID are Fred Meyer and Albertson's. Both of these stores mark down meat at certain times. I have found ground beef for $1.69/lb at Albertson's late at night. Usually on Saturday nights Fred Meyer has a ton of marked down meat. I have found some amazing deals this way. Figure out which stores in your area do markdowns and check them out!

++Shop the sales - then stock up! Watch for sales on other types of meat. I recently purchased pork roasts at Winco (a local grocery store) for $1.48/lb! Shop the sales and stock up!

++Shoot for a meatless meal once or twice per week. If you aren't eating meat, you aren't spending money on it! Read my article on going meatless HERE.

I'm sure there are other ways to save on meat - like buying a whole cow or something, but I don't have the room for that!

How about you? How do you save on meat?

Check out more Frugal Friday posts on Life as Mom!

-Michelle

Frugal Friday - Save on your Backyard BBQ's

I love summer for many reasons, but most of all I love a great backyard BBQ! I love to eat, chat, and just enjoy the weather. If you are the host of a backyard BBQ, it can get rather expensive! Before I started really budgeting and couponing, I would spend over $100 on meat! Ugh!

Now I know that it is the company and atmosphere that make a BBQ great - not expensive cuts of meat!


Here are some tips for a fun FRUGAL backyard BBQ:

1. Make it a potluck! Don't take on all the work (or expense) yourself! Ask your guests to bring a dish to share. I have attended many "bring your own meat bbq's" that were fun and very successful! Just ask people to bring raw meat and you can grill it for them!
2. Plan your menu based on what you already have. I currently have a freezer full of cheap or FREE hotdogs. Our next BBQ will be hot dogs and hamburgers! I also scan my stockpile for ideas for jello salads, pasta salads, and desserts.
3. Plan your menu based on the sales. If you find a great deal on chicken, stock up for your BBQ!
4. Plan fun FREE activities. For our 4th of July BBQ a few years ago we spent a lot of money just to get entertaining activities for the kids - a cheapo slip and slide, Frisbees, balls, a mini pool, etc. Most of the items were no good after the party! This year they can play with our existing toys, run through the sprinkler, etc. and have just as much fun! The adults can play charades, other fun games, or just chat!

How about you? How do you make your backyard BBQ's fun and frugal?

Check out other Frugal Friday posts on Life as Mom HERE.

-Michelle

Frugal Friday - Provident Living

This month the theme for our quarterly Enrichment Night at church was Provident Living. I was lucky enough to be able to teach a class that night on freezer cooking (I'm planning on sharing what I taught/learned in an upcoming series...so stay tuned!).

The online Merriam-Webster dictionary defines provident as:

I also remembered/came across a talk by Elder Robert D. Hales that he shared in the April 2009 conference:

"All of us are responsible to provide for ourselves and our families in both temporal and spiritual ways. To provide providently, we must practice the principles of provident living: joyfully living within our means, being content with what we have, avoiding excessive debt, and diligently saving and preparing for rainy-day emergencies. When we live providently, we can provide for ourselves and our families and also follow the Savior’s example to serve and bless others."

I love his definition so much more. To reiterate the principles he outlined, provident living is:

1. Joyfully living within our means - I think the key word is JOYFULLY! It can be depressing and/or frustraing to see what others have that you want, to live on a budget, even to be frugal. To find joy in living frugally is what it is all about!
2. Being content with what we have - ditto what I said above! It is the whole needs vs. wants thing.
3. Avoiding excess debt - In his address he later outlines reasonable reasons for debt (home, school, and possibly car). The key is to be prudent and only borrow what you can afford to pay back quickly.
4. Dilgently saving and preparing for rainy day emergencies - In today's economy, there are a lot of rainy days. It sure is nice to have a stockpile of food in my pantry and freezer and a little bit of money in the bank! If you don't/haven't started - start now! It is not too late!

How about you? How do you define provident living? Find more ways to live frugally on Life as Mom!

-Michelle

Frugal Friday - Make a trade!

One great concept of the frugal lifestyle is trading. Trade something you can do/have for something you can't do/have. This is not a new concept...it has been done forever. I love a good trade!

Here is a recent example: I have a good friend who knows I love to trade. We have been trading babysitting forever. She is a licensed cosmetologist and is usually the person who cuts my hair. A few weeks ago she called me and asked if I wanted to make a trade. She would cut my hair if I would watch her kids on a Friday night! I gladly accepted!

Another example: I am part of a group of four women who trade off large cleaning projects. We meet every Thursday and one person's house and all work together for 2 hours on any project - weeding, cleaning, painting, etc. The kids just play during this time. This works great because it helps each of us to tackle a large task once a month!

Some other examples might be:

1. Meals - one family cooks a meal for four families and drops the meals off one day per week. The rest of the week meals are dropped off from the other members of the group. My sister in law participated in a group like this and LOVED it!
2. More food trades - Potlucks are also a great example of this, throw a great party and ask each guest to bring a side. I have even been to some fun "bring your own meat" BBQ's. You just bring what you want to cook for your family and a side dish. Everyone eats their own meat and shares the sides.
3. Trade skills - My husband did hardwood floor for about 8 years. This is a skill that he could trade for landscaping, fencing, painting, or other skilled labor.
4. Trade teaching - Teach someone how to knit and have them teach you how to sew. This can apply to any skill.
5. Trade garden produce - If you had an abundance of tomatoes and a friend didn't have many tomatoes trade for what they grew that you didn't.

Obviously the possibilities are endless. Just be sure that the trades are fair to both parties. Don't allow yourself to be taken advantage of and don't take advantage of someone else!

How about you? What do you trade?

Check out more Frugal Friday ideas at Life as Mom!

-Michelle

Frugal Friday - Copy Cat!

It is important for me to have a home that is comfortable and cute. I love to to decorate. Sometimes that can be hard on a budget. One thing I love to do is copycat items I see in magazines, catalogs, or online. Here is an example I did recently:

I saw these pictures in a Deseret Book catalog that came to my home. They were about $9.95 and were about 3 X 5 inches. If I wanted a set of them it would be about $30-$40! Yikes!

I wanted to make my own. To start I had some fabric remnants from a skirt I made forever ago. I drew the designs on with pencil. I actually clamped the fabric down on a TV tray with my husband's clamps to keep the fabric from moving around.

I had some embroidery floss, but no black and I couldn't find an embroidery hoop, so I set the project aside. A few weeks later we were getting ready to take a trip and I was looking for something in our storage room and I found an old cross stitch kit that I never made. It had some black floss and the embroidery hoop I needed. Score!

So I stitched these babies:

I think they turned out cute, but I'm not sure how I am going to frame them. I am either going to make small decorative pillows or frame them in black frames. I'm hoping my hubby can make them out of scrap wood. We'll see :).

This concept can apply to many items that you see in catalogs, online, or in magazines. It usually won't turn out exactly the same, but you can get something you like for less or in my case...nothing!

How about you? Do you have any great copycat projects?

Check out Life as Mom for more Frugal Friday ideas!

-Michelle

Frugal Friday - Fun Mother's Day Idea

I was looking for a fun idea for my mom and my mother in law for Mother's Day that the kiddos could help with. I did some searching and finally decided to make some coffee filter flowers. I found this great site with some good instructions.


As I was reading the list of needed items I realized that I didn't have everything I needed. What is a frugal person to do? I looked around my storage room and craft supplies and ended up with this:

The only items that I had from the list were the coffee filters, the food coloring, and the clear tape. We ended up using:

1. Floral wire instead of the wooden skewer
2. I used recycled green tissue paper instead of green construction paper
3. I used some recycled mauve tissue paper for the center of some of the flowers.
4. The flowers are placed in a paper cup with 1/2 of a styrofoam ball cut to fit in the bottom.
5. The paper cup is wrapped in recycled yellow tissue paper and tied with a recycled bow that was in my gift wrap box.

I didn't spend a penny and ended up with a cute gift that the kids will give to their Grandmothers on Mother's Day. I will make some cupcakes or sugar cookies and a homemade card to round out this gift.

I share this not necessarily because I think you should make it, but to encourage you to use your imagination to save yourself money. Look at instructions for craft projects and be creative with what you might be able to use instead!

Want to see more Frugal Friday ideas? Go check out Life as Mom!

-Michelle

Frugal Friday - Wrap it!

I went to a fun baby shower this week and one of the games we played entailed everyone getting a present and unwrapping it. The presents were wrapped so cute that I had to keep my wrapping paper. I was not ashamed when the hostess went around collecting the paper to throw it away.

Me: I want to keep this.

Hostess: You want to keep it?

Me: Yes.

Hostess: Oh..kay

Seriously the paper was so cute and had very little damage. If I was really brave I would have asked to keep every one's paper. But I wasn't.

Anyway...I wanted to share a few ways to save on gift wrapping...one of them being recycling used paper.

You could also use newspaper - but it has to be to the right person who knows you are a cheapskate and still loves you.

For everyone else, I take pride in the appearance of outside wrapping of the gifts I give. So, here are some tried and true ideas that are SUPER cheap or FREE:

1. Recycle gift bags - I have a TON of gift bags that I received from my wedding, baby showers, Christmas, etc. I re-use them all the time. Every year my work has a Christmas ornament exchange. I was delighted one year when I received my ornament in a gift bag that I gave several years before! Side note...if you become overrun with these, I have sold them at yard sales with great success.
2. Brown grocery bags - This could fall under the cheapskate category if you don't do it right. I remove the flat bottom of the bag and cut a slit up one side. I wrap the gift so that the printing from the bag is on the inside. Then put on a raffia bow. If you have stamps or a sister-in-law with a stamping obsession, you could put rubber stamp images on the outside of the bag. You could also decorate with stickers or have your children color on it for grandparent gifts. I hear you can also make a stamp out of a potato...but I haven't taken it that far :)!
3. Christmas wrap - Hear me out on this one...I like to purchase Christmas wrap at ROCK BOTTOM prices at the end of the season. I dig for wrapping that is one solid color or that could double as birthday or other. One year I found a roll that had a green background with red and blue dots. I have used it for all occasions.
4. The Funny Papers - I did this a lot as a kid. Wrap gifts to kids in the comics from the newspaper. They are colorful and fun and a great way to recycle.
5. Aluminum Foil - I have done this too, it is especially great for those FREE with overage rolls of Reynolds Foil many of us got from Walgreen's a few months ago. I would only do this for smaller packages.
6. Other common items - use old maps for your traveling friend, old sheet music for your musical friend, etc.

I also save boxes of all sizes to be used for wrapped gifts and I recycle ribbon or use cheap ribbon I buy at after holiday sales. I've also heard of people fashioning saran wrap into fancy bows with great success - I have not done this. With a little creativity, though, there really is no reason to pay for gift wrap - just use your imagination.

Want to find out other ways to be more frugal? Check out Life as Mom!

Frugal Friday - The Tightwad Gazette

I bought the Complete Tightwad Gazette when I first got married to see where I could save on expenses. I was 21 and found some value in what she had to say, but discounted a lot of it as a bit "extreme."


Over the years I have turned to the Tightwad Gazette over and over again for ideas and sometimes a boost to "get more frugal again." Lately with our decision for me to work part time and cutting our income, I have been reading and re-reading the Tightwad Gazette quite a bit. As you can see...my copy is well worn.

I was really excited to find this recent article/interview with Amy Dacyczyn, author of the Tightwad Gazette. I also found this article, and this article (with pictures of the gal!). She is still out there - being frugal and loving it! It is nice to know that she is still practicing what she preaches even now when she doesn't NEED to be frugal.


I highly recommend The Complete Tightwad Gazette (check out my sidebar to get your copy from Amazon) and putting some of the ideas into practice. You will save money.

Don't forget to check out Life as Mom for more Frugal Friday bloggers!

Frugal Friday - Yard Salin'

Now that the weather is going to be getting warmer, I know how my Saturday mornings are going to be spent for awhile...Yard Saling!

Yard sales are one of the BEST resources for a frugal person. I have had great success making purchases at yard sales. Just to name a few...

1. a $5.00 patio umbrella


2. a $4.00 Big Wheel bike


3. a $2.00 highchair/booster seat that attaches to a kitchen chair


4. countless clothing items for under $1.00


5. an opened package of swim diapers with one taken out of it for $1.00


6. several pairs of kids shoes for $.50 each


7. a $10.00 "Love Sac" (giant beanbag chair)

I could go on all day...but I won't. So, how do you get the best deals at yard sales?

1. Shop early or late. Pretty contradictory, but you can get the "good stuff" or items in high demand like furniture, or kids clothes, but later in the day, the sellers just want to haul less stuff back in the house, so you can really bargain with them!


2. Have a Plan. I try to hit all of the neighborhood sales that I can (one neighborhood has a Saturday where everyone is invited to have a sale). I also check the classifieds for certain types of sales and make a route to that sale and others along the way so I don't backtrack.

Other than that, just have fun. Just like couponing, you don't have to hit every good deal or sale. You will just drive yourself crazy!

How about you? Do you have any great yard sale tips? Please leave a comment!

For other Frugal Friday links, check out Life as Mom!

Frugal Friday - Save a Stamp!

Are any of you out there still buying stamps, writing a check, and mailing your bills? I must say that I hadn't purchased a stamp for quite a while until I joined my coupon train. I love doing things electronically - plus it saves money!

There are SEVERAL different ways to pay electronically:

Autopay - This is when you still may receive a bill, but it is pulled out of your account automatically each month on the due date. You do not initiate this type of payment. You make one authorization and they continue to pull your payment out each month until YOU cancel. Many companies offer this - cable, insurance, phone, gas, electric, etc. Check out your billing statement or their website for details.

Pay Online - This can be used for those who would like to initiate their own payments. You control when it is paid and pulled out of your account. You go to the company website and make the authorization each time you want to make a payment. Again, many companies offer this, check out their websites!

BillPay - This is a service that is probably offerred by your bank or credit union. I LOVE using BillPay because I can pay anyone with this service, even if they don't accept electronic payments. You can either initiate the payments or set up autopay (you can control all of this through your bank or credit union website). The best part is if the company or individual you want to pay does not accept electronic payments, the BillPay provider will mail a check. It depends on the bank or credit union whether or not you pay for this service. My credit union offers standard BillPay for FREE or an upgraded version for $2.00 per month. At $.42 per stamp, this is a good value!

If you are still writing checks and using stamps to pay your bills...STOP! You will save money (and a few trees!) by paying electronically.

For more Frugal Friday ideas, check out Life as Mom!

Frugal Friday - Give it up!

It is amazing how the little things make a difference.

• Buy a $.50 can of soda from the vending machine each workday will cost you about $130.00 per year.
• Buy a $2.00 cup of coffee each workday and it will cost you about $520.00 per year.
• Buy two kids a happy meal once a week and it will cost you about $311.00 per year.

When I made my move from full time to part time, these were some of the things I had to think about and give up in order to be home with my kids more.

It has been fun to continue to analyze our budget and make more cutbacks as time goes by - and I know there is room for even more!

Some things I have given up in the name of frugality:

• Eating out (as much) - we have cut WAAAAAYYY back on this. I wish I could get to a point where we didn't go at all, but I'm not quite ready for that!
• Splurge trips. I used to make a trip to Target or somewhere about once a week and just buy some knick-knacks, lotion, clothes, etc. I haven't missed this at all.
• Unplanned grocery shopping. I used to shop without a list and just buy what looked good. I have saved a bundle planning and have cut my grocery expenses by at least 1/2.
• Expensive nights out. Nice Dinner. Movie. Popcorn and Milk Duds. I can't believe that we used to do that! Now we eat dinner at home, go to the $3.00 movie, split a popcorn, and I bring Milk Duds in my purse :).

It is amazing how a change in your way of thinking and giving up a few things can save big bucks!

How about you? What you have you "given up" in the name of frugality?

Check out some other Frugal Friday posts on Life as Mom!

Frugal Friday - Pay yourself!

For Frugal Friday this week, I wanted to talk about the importance of paying yourself. There is a common term in the finance/money world called Pay Yourself First. I say first pay the Lord, then pay yourself! I read a great book several years ago called Money Wise and Spiritually Rich by Dennis Deaton. It is filled with many great insights. One that really stuck with me was the 10 - 10 - 80 rule. Pay the Lord a 10% tithing, pay yourself 10%, then live on the rest.

This is easier said than done!

I was never a saver until I got married. I was working at a credit union and was amazed by what I saw:

Many people who looked "rich" (nice cars, nice clothes, etc.) were deeply in debt and had no savings.

Many people who looked "poor" (drove old cars, dressed modestly) had no debt and huge savings accounts.

I decided that I could save something.

At this time at work, we also had an amazing CEO who encouraged all of us to increase our savings each time we got a raise. When we got a 3% raise, we should increase our savings by 1 1/2%. We would still get a raise and we wouldn't miss that 1 1/2%. I started my 401k contributions at 1% and worked my way up to 6% this way. This same principle could be applied to any savings plan.

While I was working full time, I worked my way up to saving 10% or more with each paycheck.

It was amazing how little I missed this money and how quickly it grew(and is still growing)!

My point with this rant, is that anyone can build a healthy savings a little bit at a time. Here are my tips to make that happen:

++Acknowledge the Lord's hand in your life and pay tithing to thank him. If you aren't religious, donate to your favorite charitable organization.

++Live below your means. It will take a lot of time for us to truly be able to do this...we are still paying off old debt.

++If possible, set up a deduction from your paycheck directly to a credit union or bank. You won't miss what you don't see!

++Cut back on one thing (like eating out or buying coffee or soda each day) and put that amount in your savings.

I also recently heard about this fun site called Feed the Pig with great savings tips, calculators, and games. Check it out for some great ideas.

How about you? What are your savings strategies?

Frugal Friday - Think Creatively

Everyone is frugal for a different reason - for fun/lifestyle, necessity, saving for a purpose (home, car, getting out of debt), or other reasons. Right now we are frugal out of necessity. Being frugal out of necessity can cause some people to feel like they are being deprived because they are comparing themselves with others their age, in their neighborhood, etc.

I don't feel deprived because I have to be frugal.

I feel empowered.

It is so empowering to figure out ways to do what you want without spending anything.

When I want something or I want to do something, I can't just go out and spend the money. I have to think creatively to get it or find a solution that will work. Sometimes the more I think about it I realize that I don't need what I thought I needed.

--A good example of this is entertainment - you can spend $100's of dollars to have fun, but you can also have a lot of fun for FREE. Check out some of my ideas for cheap dates here.

--Another example is food. I love to go out to eat, but of course that is a wallet drainer. I try to find inexpensive solutions that taste just as good - or sometimes better. My fellow blogger Deal Betty has some great copycat restaurant recipes. Check out her awesome recipes here.

--Another great example is decorating. I have seen my share of lavishly decorated homes. I find it funny that there are shows like "Design on a Dime" (I loved watching these when we lived in an apartment with FREE cable!) where they are redecorating a room for what they say is very little, but their budget is $1,000! Oh, the things I could do with a $1,000 budget!

There is another show I liked called "Decorating Cents." Their room budget was $500, still not a bargain in my book, but at the end of the show they did a feature where they would rearrange a room for someone for FREE. It was amazing what the person had that just got moved around.

That is a cool premise for a show - you have what you have because you like it in most cases, but are just sick of the same old, same old. Just rearranging things, moving a picture from one room to another, moving a chair from the bedroom to the living room, rearranging your plants really can make all the difference. If you don't know where to start, have a creative friend come over to help you!

There are tons of other ways to be creative, these are just a few. What are some ways that you practice creative frugality? Please leave a comment!

Frugal Friday - 10 things you can do to save $10.00

One important aspect of frugality is that you cannot cut everything all at once. There is very little you can do to make a quick $100.00 - but there are things you can do to save yourself from spending it.


Here are 10 small (painless) things you can do to save yourself $10.00.


Do all of them and you will save yourself from spending $100 (or more)!


--Make your own pizza. This may even save more than $10.00. This used to be a little be scary to me. I was never a scratch baker and anything with yeast just seemed too complicated and time consuming. I found this recipe on Money Saving Mom's other blog and it was so easy, quick, and delicious. You can make it as thin as you want. We like the thin crust around here and this recipe fits nicely in a 15x10x1 cookie sheet! This is a 1/2 pepperoni 1/2 bbq chicken pizza I made recently.


--Shop yard sales. This may also save you more than $10.00. It is hard to say because a lot of the items I purchase at yard sales I would NEVER pay full price for! I love to buy kids books for $.25 each, inexpensive kids clothes, cookbooks, games, movies, etc. I would never have as much of these items as I have if I hadn't purchased them at yard sales. Just purchasing one outfit or toy for your kids would save $10.00 - so the savings here are limitless!


--Check out the library. Pun intended. We are movie buffs around our house and I love the library for movies. They don't always have the latest releases, or even movies I have heard of...but I have found some really fun movies I would not have seen otherwise. Get a library movie once a week for 10 weeks and you saved $10.00 in Redbox fees - but let's be real. It is way more than that because you always forget to return it by 9:00. You know it's true!

--Trade babysitting with friends. Paying a babysitter can be a huge expense, trading with friends who have kids is a perfect way to save a few bucks. You can save $10.00 in one night by trading with friends. Don't have kids? Trade other things babysit in exchange for ironing, cooking, haircuts, coupons etc., etc., etc.

--Make your own playdoh. Playdoh can be expensive, especially if you want multiple colors and accessories. Making your own is so much better. It smells better and you don't get stressed when it dries out, you can just make more. Check out my FAVORITE playdoh recipe here.

--Use coupons! Done correctly, coupons can save you HUNDREDS - not just $10.00. You can save $10.00 or more in one trip! If you don't use coupons now, read more about coupon shopping and why you should do it here.

--Take a walk. Again, this isn't exactly $10.00 that you would save here, but walking is good for you and it saves gas which = saving money. Over time, you can save a lot by walking. It depends on where you live, but I live within about 2 miles of anywhere I would want to go (besides family and friends homes!). For fun, the kids and I have walked the 1.5 miles to Walgreen's to pick up my deals and pushed them home in the double stroller.

--Turn off the lights! Since I started working part time and we have been cutting expenses, I have been careful about making sure the lights are off in rooms we aren't using and trying to be more energy conscious. My goal is that when they re-evaluate our level pay for the year it goes down instead of up. What is amazing is that last year in January we used almost exactly the same amount of power that we did this year in January. The reason this is amazing to me is that last year my husband and I were both working full time and we were never home. I also didn't cook much. Now I cook almost every day and I am now only outside the home at work two days a week. It shows that we have been using less energy, which is great!


--Make things last. I am also big on this. Read my post about my dish soap here and my toothpaste here. I also cut my dryer sheets in 1/2 to make them last twice as long. This doesn't save $10.00, but over time, it will. If I get a box of 50 dryer sheets for $2.00 and I use 10 per week, what would have lasted me 5 weeks now lasts 10 weeks. Just over a year and I will save $10.00!

--Haircuts. I, myself, am NOT a glamour girl by any means. I can go for months without a haircut and be fine. My husband on the other hand must go every six to eight weeks. I have made a few mistakes in the past on his hair, so I am not allowed to do it :). He goes to Great Clips for about $14.00 including the tip. If he goes every six weeks, this is at a cost of about $120.00 per year. If I make him wait until eight weeks (which I do), we spend about $91.00 per year, saving us about $29.00 per year! (every little bit...) I do cut my son's hair for free. He still lets me :).

There are so many more ways to save a few bucks here and there, these are just a few that I have had rattling around in my head. As you can see, though, in a lot of cases a few small changes can save quite a bit - make a few more and you just saved yourself $100.00 - now go put it in a credit union!

Frugal Friday - Fun Valentine Idea

I found this fun idea in the February issue of Family Fun magazine (you can get 24 FREE issues of this magazine here.) It worked out really well because I have a ton of small tubes of hand lotion that I got for FREE with coupons (see here).

This was super easy and fun!

++All I did was trace my sons hand onto some cardstock, used it as a template and cut out several hands.

++Then I either wrote on the hand or on a smaller piece of cardstock things like - You Deserve a Hand! and Hands down, you're the best! My original plan was to have the kids color the hands, but my son wouldn't let me have the hands he colored, he wanted to keep them! My daughter colored the green one below.

++Then I taped the hands to the lotion.

Voila!

The plan is...one for each grandma, and one for each Sunday school teacher :).

Frugal Friday - getting the most out of my dish soap...

It is important to me to get the most out of what I am buying. I hate to waste anything! Read my post here about my toothpaste :).

I came up with a great idea to get the most out of my dish soap. When I get to the bottom of a bottle of dish soap...

I add water.

I jut put a little bit bigger squirt into the water for the load of dishes. I keep adding water until there is no dish soap left. It works great and makes the dish soap last just a little bit longer. I also do this with my hair conditioner. This is yet another way that being creative and making things last can save money. Every little bit counts!

Frugal Friday - Cheap Dates

I love my kids just as much as the next mom, but one of the good ways to make a marriage strong is to date. Alone time without the kids always recharges my batteries! When you are trying to keep to a tight budget, sometimes dating can fall by the wayside. Just going to dinner and a movie could set you back almost $100.00 including paying the babysitter! With a little creativity, you can still date your spouse and spend little to nothing doing it. Here are some of the things we do:

1. Watch a movie to watch after the kids are in bed, have cheap/free snacks, pop some popcorn. (use a FREE Redbox code, grab a movie from the library, or swap movies with a friend)


2. Take and nice long walk and talk with each other. This is good for your body and for your marriage!


3. Take the kids to a friends house and go home and have a nice quiet dinner. This is an actual dinner my hubby prepared for me as a surprise. He even borrowed his parent's table linens, candelabra, and china!


4. Spend an evening taking pictures of each other with the digital camera. We have done this so many times, it can get really silly!
   


5. Pack a picnic and eat it in the backyard, living room, or go to a park.


6. Find a book you both want to read and spend some time reading it out loud to each other.


7. Read this article I shared early on in my blog about some other fun date ideas - some I have tried, and some I haven't!

How about you? Any great date ideas?

Frugal Friday - Staying Organized

I know what you are thinking...what does organization have to do with frugality?

My answer: A LOT!

Staying organized with your stockpile and knowing what you have can save you a lot of money:

Case in point:

I think I have a can of refried beans in my stockpile.

I plan a recipe based round those refried beans.

I start making the recipe.

I can't find those refried beans.

I go to the store to buy some refried beans.

I find the refried beans behind some canned tomatoes a week later.

Staying organized would have saved me $.99 that day, not to mention my time and energy!

Staying organized has many benefits - for frugality's sake I would include the following:

1. You will not purchase things that you already have (like refried beans)


2. You will not become overrun with stuff because you know that you can only use so many bread bags, baggies, plastic shopping bags, etc.


3. You keep a grocery list and don't overspend because you stick to the list.


4. You always know what coupons you have :)

I'm sure there are plenty more benefits, but those are just a few that I have found helpful. I am not writing this because I am the most organized person in the world - on the contrary. I like to be organized, I am striving for organization, and I see the many benefits of it.

For more of my thoughts on this, read this article I wrote few months ago. How about you? How has organization helped your frugality? Please leave a comment!