The Most Frugal Cities of 2013

How frugal is the city that you live in? Are you living in a city filled with spendthrifts or savers? Take your best guess as to the answer to those two questions before you read this blog. You might be surprised about which cities Coupons.com found to be the most frugal places in the United States for 2013. Coupons.com is an extremely popular website. It is where coupon clippers go to find awesome coupons for groceries, household items, and more. Using coupons is a great way to cut down on your grocery bill. If you are serious about saving money, … Continue reading →

Dealing with Silly Bandz

Okay, unless you have been living under a rock, or don’t come in contact with kids, you have probably seen Silly Bandz, those rubber band bracelets in unique shapes. The bracelets are fun to trade, and can be a status symbol if you have a rare one or enough to cover your arm from wrist to elbow. Our local Christian bookstore even carries them–in Biblical shapes of course. Teachers hate these things. They are a real distraction in the classroom. I am starting to hate them, too. The cost of the next package and then the next package can really … Continue reading →

Rent Your Children for Extra Cash

This gets listed under one of those “Why didn’t I think of that?” ideas. It is such as simple idea, and yet it can make you some easy money. Making ends meet can be pretty tough right now, and our kids tend to add to the burden with all of those extra expenses. Besides food, clothing and medical cares, there are toys, activities, school fees, etc. It really adds up. Kids really make you spend. Everyone should be involved in frugal living in a family, and that includes children as well. If everyone is on board with saving money and … Continue reading →

Frugal is: Living in Your Van to Save College Costs

I hear about people living in their vehicles all the time, generally because they are down on their luck. Even famous people have been known to live in their cars during hard time,like Jewel and Tyler Perry, for example. Just two years ago Ken Ilgunas was called a crybaby for an article he wrote in the Buffalo News Opinion Column as he complained about being a college graduate and living at home. Here is an excerpt of the column he wrote: “Desperate times called for desperate measures, and I had no intention of living in a society that was as … Continue reading →

More Extreme Frugality

When does frugal get too extreme or cross over to being cheap? My definition is that if a frugal practice actually creates real hardship for a family or unfairly takes advantage of someone else, then it isn’t frugal in the true sense of the word. The following are some recent stories about frugal practices that I have heard about. Read them through and make a decision about them. Would you do (or have you done) any of these? Are they smartly frugal or just plain cheap? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Writing on post it notes in pencil, … Continue reading →

Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics Are Frugal

Hosting the Summer Olympics is an enormous feat that takes billions of dollars to orchestrate. Think about all of the things that must be built, from new venues, to housing, to television and media towers, to the medals themselves. But Beijing Olympics officials vowed from the very beginning to keep everything as frugal as possible for this Summer Olympics. The Beijing Organizing Committee of the 29th Olympic Games (BOCOG) wanted to make sure that there was a balance of income and expenditure, with maybe even a little profit. How can they do this? One of the big expenses for a … Continue reading →

Toilet Paper Wedding Dress

Okay, here is another one for the Hall of Frugal Fame. Can you imagine walking down the aisle at your dream wedding with a dress made out of toilet paper? You got to believe that this would be a dress that was very frugal. In fact, you might even be able to reuse it after the wedding for even more savings. (I heard of one family who reused the toilet paper that they found draped over their trees after Halloween.) Instead of one wedding dress made out of toilet paper, why not consider a choice of six different designs. New … Continue reading →

Never Buy Another Pair of Panty Hose or Tights Again

In the past, I have written a couple of articles on uses for old and ruined pantyhose. One of the ideas was something a friend told me about and was a terrific way to use a pair of torn pantyhose. I also wrote an entire article on ways to reuse your old pantyhose. I simply cannot waste something that is so expensive. Now I have a new solution to an age old problem. Pantyhose are very prone to rips, runs and tears. How would you like to do something that might provide a lasting effect and prolong the life of … Continue reading →

A Poll of Favorite Frugal Blogs from 2007

There is a vast difference in what those that seek out frugal ideas are looking for. Some people want ideas to save money long term, some immediate and some are looking for ways to simply cut costs and live a more simple and frugal lifestyle. Several weeks ago, I contacted some frugal friends (17 to be exact) of mine. Some have frugal blogs, some are my real life friends and still others responded to my e-mail plea. I asked them to go back through 2007 (January through October) and figure out what their very favorite articles were for each month. … Continue reading →

How To Frugally Live Through Lifestyle Changes

There are dozens of ways that our lives change daily, but sometimes major events occur and our lifestyle changes drastically. This can really put a damper on our budget if we have been living that way for awhile. There are ways to help conquer the problems that we face and help us continue to live more frugally. Recently I found myself a homeschooling parent again. I absolutely love homeschooling, so while it is a major life change, it is not something I regret at all. It did however, require some altering in our budget and our spending habits, to ensure … Continue reading →