Is It Cost Effective to Keep Chickens?

We have been wanting to explore keeping chickens (click here for an interview with the chicken lady) for a while. It is a project that would be educational, and provide us with some fresh eggs. Our environment is perfect for it. We live on two semi-rural acres and would have plenty of space for a coop. Many of our friends already have chickens. It has been a trend in this area for a number of years. They are happy to answer all of questions about raising chickens, what works or doesn’t work, how to keep the foxes out of the … Continue reading →

Using the Library to Lower My Grocery Bill

We’ve been going to the library a lot lately. I think the fact that the weather is no longer snow and ice but not yet nice enough to stay outside long may have something to do with it. Either way, our library cards should really be sporting racing stripes. Today, rather than picking up the latest novel, I decided to browse the cookbooks and flip through the recipes. As you may know, one of my major goals this year is to keep the food budget under control, no more than $100 a week, with $80 being ideal. Since we don’t … Continue reading →

Frugal Spring Gardening Tips

You can save your money and still have a wonderful garden. It is all in how you go about it. Use the following spring gardening tips to ensure a beautiful garden for half the price. Concentrate on Perennials While annuals can give you an immediate burst of color, I like to center my gardening around perennials because they grow year after year. You can plant them once and they will return and in some cases spread with new plants for you. When purchasing perennial plants opt for smaller ones in four-inch pots. They will be less expensive. These small plants … Continue reading →

Save Money on Your Lawn

Summer will be here soon. Do you know how much money you spend on mowing and maintaining your lawn? Better yet, do you know how much you can save on this expense? Read on. Do It Yourself Right off the bat, you’ll get the most savings when you do it yourself. Even if you are unsure about seeding or fertilizing, you could could save by mowing your lawn yourself. Cost savings: $20-$100 per week. Maintaining the Mower Keep your lawn mower in good shape. Maintaining the lawn mower will go a long way to making it last longer. Read the … Continue reading →

How to Save Money on Fall Yard Work

Do you know that you could easily spend hundreds of dollars during your fall yard work. I’m not even talking about the cost of purchasing plants and trees but simply the money it can take to do your clean up. Obviously, some home have more work than others, but every home can use the following tips to save money. Rent Equipment Thanks to local home improvement centers, there is no need to buy expensive yard work equipment that is only used a couple of times per year. Instead look into the cost of renting. A professional leaf blower will save … Continue reading →

Where to Get Free Flowers, Plants and Trees

The secret to a beautifully landscaped yard and garden isn’t necessarily spending a lot of money. In fact, you can have a landscaper’s dream for free. A couple of weeks ago, my family and I attended a yard sale. While we didn’t find anything we wanted to purchase, we did find a very pleasant family who had an absolutely gorgeous yard. There was a bank of different flowers and plants to the left of the garage, and a trellis arch off to the right of the house that led back to a secret garden. Naturally we complimented the homeowner. She … Continue reading →

Frugal Container Gardening

Yes, I know that we still have a long way to go until Spring arrives, but it is okay to do a little planning and dreaming, right? Container gardening can be fun and very frugal, especially if it is food that you grow in your containers. Containers can be placed almost anywhere, even if you have only a small space to work with. You can also move the containers around to get a new look or to allow your plants to get the most sun that they need. But before you go out and purchase all of your supplies, why … Continue reading →

Growing Groceries: Basil

Fresh herbs can be expensive, and yet they are some of the easiest food to grow. You can generally grow herbs in a very small space. A sunny window in the kitchen is ideal for growing herbs. You’ll save money in a number of ways: You won’t have to purchase the food. You won’t have to worry about waste, since you’ll pluck what you need as you need it. You won’t waste gas and time having to go to the store when you need a particular fresh herb. You can use less expensive ingredients, such as pasta, and make the … Continue reading →

How to Have a Frugal Garden

Every year when I talk to my husband about gardening, he gets that look in his eye and says, “You know, it isn’t going to be cost effective.” This is because although growing our own food could in fact cut our grocery bill, all that is entailed with actually starting a garden from scratch could cost money. So in dedication to the love of my life, I thought I would come up with some ways to have a frugal garden. My husband’s biggest concern is prepping an area for a garden. Because of our location, we would need fencing to … Continue reading →

Frugal Food Growing

Everyone knows that growing your own food can save you a lot of money, right? Well, in some cases, it may actually cost you money! That is right. You may find yourself spending more money than growing your own food saves. Here are some tips on really frugal food growing. Use the space you have. If you live in an apartment, see if you can grow some plants in containers on a porch or Windowsill rather than buying space in a community lot. Later, when you are experienced enough to get a huge yield from your garden, then go ahead … Continue reading →