Catch up on the latest tips and advice for frugal living!
May 5th
Want to have a fun way to celebrate the day without spending a lot of money? Here are some fun ideas that you can use to celebrate today, Cinco de Mayo.
The pleasant weather outside brings lots of great spring and summer food, especially food cooked on the grill. One of the favorite types of grill food is the hamburger. It used to be that hamburger in itself was frugal, but that is no longer the case. Exotic ingredients and fixings, preformed burgers that have less actual meat in them and the rising cost of beef have all made having a burger almost a luxury these days.
Frugal Living Week in Review: April 28th Through May 4th
With food and gas prices being so expensive, even the non frugal are becoming frugal. People are having a rude shock when they realize that their dollars aren’t going as far as they should. This is leading a huge interest in frugality and saving money. Living frugally is becoming a widespread necessity. That is why I hope that you can use and enjoy all of the great articles here in the Frugal Living Blog. Here are just the ones from last week, in a handy review.
May 6th
What can be done for Mother’s Day when there is not a lot of money in the budget to spare? Try one of the following ideas. You can use them for your own mom or, if you are a mom yourself, suggest them to your family. Great gifts can come in frugal packages.
School Lunches Getting More Expensive
And now, here is another casualty of the rising food prices, the school lunch. I have to tell you that I am getting tired of mentioning rising food prices, but there is just no way around it. The fact that food is getting so much more expensive and rising so quickly affects almost everything related to the frugal lifestyle. So bear with me as I bring you another important article related to expensive food.
Need to rent a car? Here are some ways to get that car for less than what others are paying. In some cases, you can even “rent” a car for free. Here is how.
May 7th
Postal Increase: Stock Up on Stamps
Sending snail mail is one of the most frugal things you can do, because you really get a lot of service for a little stamp. Imagine, you can send a letter anywhere within the United States for only 41 cents. You can’t even buy a candy bar for that amount without some serious couponing. And, it doesn’t take that much more to send a letter overseas.
Whether you call them garage sales, yard sales, tags sales or rummage sales, the fact of the matter is that the season for sales of great stuff is here. One downside of shopping at garage sales is that it can often be hit or miss. Sometimes you find amazing bargains, while other times you can spend a whole day of driving around with nothing to show for it. It makes sense to minimize your frustration by choosing to visit the best sales and ignore the worst. But how can you predict what sale will be big and what sale will be a bust? Here are some of my tips for finding the best garage sales.
Finding the Best Garage Sales 2
The neighborhood can affect the price of items. In general, more affluent neighborhoods generally have nicer stuff, but I have also found that very affluent areas also have no idea what the prices for garage sale items should be.
May 8th
One thing that many thrifty people do is to sell their used items on Ebay. Not only do these people generally recoup the cost of their items and thereby reduce their budget, but they also can make a profit. This is a nice way to get paid to have your kids wear nice clothes, for example.
May 9th
Frugal Living for Large Families
Have you seen the news today? The Duggars announced that they are pregnant with their 18th child. While that is one of the extreme example’s of large families, the truth is that many families are choosing to go larger these days. And with larger families sometimes come creative budgeting. Whether you have a larger family or are just thinking about one, here are some great tips on frugal living for large families.
May 10th
Frugal Random Acts of Kindness
You don’t need to hand out $100 bills to practice random acts of kindness (ROAK). In fact, sometimes the smallest or least expensive things can mean the most to someone, whether they are a friend, a neighbor or a stranger. It is amazing how a ROAK can really make someone’s day and change a bad attitude to a good one.
Have you ever been to a free stuff event? It is very much like a yard sale, except that everything being offered is free. That is right, nothing costs a thing. Free sales are wonderful events. You can find some great items that are wanted and needed. I have seen free stuff events that give away everything from household goods to children’s clothing, from tools to books. If you are lucky enough to find one of these events, be sure to take advantage of it.
Earlier today, I talked about free stuff events, and how wonderful they can be. I also talked about the etiquette involved when attending one. If you missed that earlier article, click here: Free Stuff Events. Now, I’ll talk about how to find these events.