Tag Archives: frugal living

Invest Your Time Wisely

“Time is money” is an old saying that is meant to convey the urgency of rushing ahead because any time wasted could be time spent earning money. Many times in our frugal lifestyles, we trade off time in order to save money, such as cooking from scratch instead of going through the fast food line, taking out the time to create a grocery list and clip coupons before shopping, etc. Most of the time these are good choices and have a secondary benefit. The time I spend hanging laundry means saves some money, but it also means that my kids … Continue reading →

How We Found $760 Last Week

Dismayed because our newly built and delicate basic emergency fund got hit again last month, my brilliant husband found us more than $760 that helped us get back on track. As you may know, we have started taking the Dave Ramsey Financial Freedom course. One of the first steps that he recommends is to fund the start of an emergency fund. This way, you don’t have to worry about getting into debt if an emergency should occur. The problem was, is that as soon as we funded this, it got hit for the whole amount, leaving us back to square … Continue reading →

What is the Best Time to Buy…

Each month in the calendar offers different bargains. You’ll save big on bikes in September, for example. By anticipating or holding off on the things that you need or want, you just may get a real steal. Print out this handy guide or bookmark it, so you’ll always know when items go on sale or get discounted through out the year. Here is when to buy what. This list is based on personal experience and a recent report by Consumer Reports Magazine. Of course, you should still check the clearance racks and corners of your local store. Sometimes individual stores … Continue reading →

Bulk Food Bargains

Not all bulk food is created equal. If you buy the wrong kind, you may wind up increasing your grocery budget instead of slashing it. Here are several types of food where bulk buying can really help you save. Cereals and Grains Any kind of grain product in its purest or almost purest form is usually a great deal when you buy it in bulk. This is especially true for organic grains. I usually pay $28.48 for a 25 pound bag of organic white flour. That is about $1.14 a pound. In the local store here, a three-pound bag of … Continue reading →

Frugal Gripe

I admit that I have tried quite a few frugal practices myself. Some of them have worked out and some have not. But there are some frugal practices that I have no intention of doing. In fact, I can’t stand it when others do them either. For me, I draw the line at taking advantage of people or businesses to do something that clearly isn’t intended. So while I will happily clip coupons and do deals in order to get free or low cost food, I won’t get free products online through a promotion and then lie about purchasing them … Continue reading →

Frugal Consumers Hurt Recovery

At least that is the latest headline in the news. The Associated Press reported a story that consumers are being cautious about what they spend and that is hurting the economy. “For the economic recovery to gain strength – and the unemployment rate to come down in any meaningful way – consumers will need to become less frugal.” While I understand the basics of economics and how less spending can influence employers to be wary about hiring new employees. This can then affect the unemployment rate, I have to take offense at blaming the economy on frugal shoppers. Are we … Continue reading →

Frugal Christmas Entertainment

This year, why not spend most of your time preparing for Christmas by taking advantage of all of the free and low cost Christmas entertainment and activities, instead of spending that time shopping (which is not very frugal at all). Here are some of my favorite frugal Christmas entertainment activities. Breakfast with Santa This time of year, there are many opportunities to experience breakfast with Santa. This can be fun because the kids will generally get a longer time talking with Santa than if they visited him for a quick photo at the mall. Breakfast with Santa can be pricey … Continue reading →

If You Want to Save Money, Get Snowed In!

Whenever their is a big snowstorm predicted, people rush out to the grocery store to make sure that they have enough supplies in case they can’t get out for a few days. The shelves that once contained plenty of milk, eggs and bread become bare, as shoppers snatch up these staples. They don’t want to find themselves without food. Once people are actually snowed in, they have to make sue with whatever they have in the house for meals, be that a full turkey dinner or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. There is no way to go out to a … Continue reading →

Inexpensive Protein Sources

When the groceries are bare and you are doing what you can to stretch that last paycheck to cover meals, it becomes a matter of not getting what groceries you want, but what groceries your family needs. In general, starches (carbohydrates) are easy enough to get for little money. There is brown rice, enriched pasta, potatoes, corn meal and flour to be had for very little money, especially if you buy generics or in bulk. Protein sources, on the other hand, can be a little more difficult to get inexpensively. Your food dollar won’t stretch as far with protein sources … Continue reading →

Where to Find Nice, Inexpensive Ornaments

Most years I dread taking down the ornaments for the tree, not because of all of the work involved but because of the fear that we won’t have enough ornaments. Most of the ornaments we have are either broken or long faded. Since they were never family heirlooms, with the exception of a handful of ornaments, I don’t feel bad about replacing them. They were mostly hand me down and tacky dollar store ornaments. The problem is, that buying new ornaments can be expensive, especially when you have an entire tree to fill. So that was my mission: find some … Continue reading →