Author Archives: Andrea Hermitt

You Can be Frugal and Eat Healthy Organic

I wrote about my first trip to an organic food store in years entitled Can you be frugal and healthy. My point was yes you can. For me there are even more challenges, as I am trying to go gluten free on top of eating more healthy, and revisiting organic foods. I mean, would a frugal person even go there? Should a frugal person go there? I think we can and should. Here are some frugal things you can do to accommodate healthy eating. 1. Eat less. The reason poor people buy cheap food is because they can buy more … Continue reading →

Can You Be Frugal and Healthy?

“Unhealthy people are poor people… and vice versa.” This is a title of a 2002 report from Columbia University. There are many reasons that poor people are unhealthy, but the number one reason is that they can’t afford and don’t have access to healthy food. Let’s face it. A 2 liter bottle of store brand soda costs $.69. Meanwhile, a gallon of orange juice costs $3.69. A large bag of potato chips cost $2.00. A small bag of banana chips cost $3.00. A Donut costs $.35. A mango costs $1.00. A coffee cake costs $3.69 and a fresh fruit salad … Continue reading →

Tips for the Frugalista Pageant Participant

I have to admit to breathing a sigh of relief when my daughter decided to hang up her crown as the economy hit rock bottom. It would be one less expense to worry about. Let’s face it after all, pageants are an expensive hobby. But once a diva, always a diva. She still managed to participate in a couple of specialty pageants over the last few years and do several plays where we had to buy costumes, so we managed to pick up a couple of Frugalista pageant tips. (Many of these tips are for children and Jr. participants, but … Continue reading →

Easy Fixes When Frugal Goes Too Far

I just read a blog about a Frugalista who may have gone too far. Some of the frugal things that frugal people have done that may have gone too far, and some simple remedies to fix them are: Turning underwear inside out: I hear men do this. I can’t imagine any self respecting woman doing this however. Why wear them dirty when you can hand wash your dirty undies while you are taking a shower. While it takes some time to dry, planning one day ahead of time will allow you clean underwear to wear the next day. Refusing to … Continue reading →

The Most Frugal Thing a Parent Can Do

As my son gets bigger and taller and smarter, college costs are constantly on my mind. It occurs to me that the biggest frugal win is not to have to pay for college. That makes ensuring your child has a good education the most frugal thing a parent can do. If you are a parent with young children, this means you need to start investing into your children now. Spend time at the kitchen table making sure your children’s homework is done and that they understand the assignments. Teach them how to organize their notebooks and to organize their thoughts … Continue reading →

Does it Pay to be Frugal with Taxes?

It’s tax time again, and I find myself using my old frugal tactics for preparing my income tax forms. While this is an area where you need to be careful, you should know, you don’t have to pay high prices to get a good tax return done. Here are some tips you can use: Use two online software programs: If you are using online software programs to do you income taxes, don’t stop at one Federal return. Do two. Plug the exact same information into the first return as you used in the second one and see if they calculate … Continue reading →

Frugal Tips for Surviving Snowstorms

Fortunately (or unfortunately)for me, I no longer live in blizzard central where I grew up and spent the first decade of my adult life. Still, the news of blizzards in the northeast has me feeling a bit nostalgic. It also has me thinking of all of the frugal things that my parents did during snow storms and blizzards to keep us kids warm, happy, and fed. Hang blankets for extra warmth: Growing up, our homes were fueled with oil. During snowstorms, the temperatures would drop causing us to run out of oil quicker. To slow down the consumption of heating … Continue reading →

Closing Sales Aren’t Always What They Seem

I am in the market for new dining chairs. My old kitchen chairs were scratching the floor, so I moved my dining chairs into the kitchen and my teak kitchen chairs onto the deck. This left me looking for new dining chairs. In my travels today, I came across a discount furniture store that said it was having a closing sale, and I went inside. We saw some great items we wanted, and the sales person tried to get us to buy today because it is a closing sale, after all. In my typical frugal fashion, I was not in … Continue reading →

Is Angel Food Ministries a Good Frugal Choice

I was recently turned onto Angel Food Ministries by someone who needed to stretch their food bill and found it a good deal. Angel Food Ministries distributes boxes of foods with a full week’s menu valued at about $65.00 for $30.00. The service meets their requirements to feed their family on a small budget. As a frugal person, but not necessarily needy, I have been pondering whether using Angel Food Ministries is a good idea. Here are some of the conclusions I have come to. If I am not necessarily needy, is it right to use Angel Food Ministries? Angel … Continue reading →

Best Time for a Frugal Person to Remodel

Well, I am back in my home after a 2 week remodel. Yes, frugal people remodel too. We just do it frugally. You may have noticed that I spent some time whining in the home blog about my trials with water damage and the insurance company, well they finally paid off and we were able to get repairs done. Since we were dying to have some other things done in our home, we piggybacked those changes with our insurance repairs for a great price from the contractor. Since our ceilings were getting repaired and painted, we got the walls of … Continue reading →