StBridgit's comments

Save Money and "Off to College" - Blog Entry

21 Jul 2009 06:15 PM

One thing that can help is to check far in advance with the college about dorm assignments. If you can request your dorm, try to get the one with the most accessible shared kitchens, etc. That will make it far easier to make your own food.

Save Money on Landscaping - Blog Entry

01 Jul 2009 04:11 PM

It's not uncommon for towns to offer free mulch from disposed trees. In our previous municipality we could take as much as we liked, we just had to shovel it ourselves into our truck bed. You will also find it is often legal to collect seeds from deadheads in your local parks.

Qualities that Will Get You More Money - Blog Entry

25 Jun 2009 02:51 PM

Contentment is required, I think, to be a frugal person. You don't desire every new gadget and marketed product. You are happy with what you have and only buy what you actually need.

Frugal Designer Touches for Your Home - Blog Entry

24 Jun 2009 06:20 PM

You can also change the look of your accent pillows by tying loose fabric around them. Even a fun rectangular scarf can be used to tie around an accent cushion and give a new look. Stick with one new color or pattern and you can refresh a room instantly.

How to Reduce Your Air Conditioning Cost - Blog Entry

17 Jun 2009 08:55 PM

There are a few home improvements that can show significant savings on both air conditioning and heating costs. First, make sure you have enough insulation in your attic or crawlspace, and your walls. Insulating gaps around doors & windows (usually present underneath the trim) with spray foam or fiberglass can drastically cut the leaks of cool air out in summer and hot air in.

Second, consider which parts of your house are hit hardest with the western & southern sun. Those are the areas that will see the most heat during the day. Focus your efforts on reducing direct sunlight to windows in those spots, either with window films, landscaping with trees & climbing vines/arbors to shade those windows, or room darkening blinds.

It also might be worth investigating whether you can get a free energy audit from the electrical company. The best of all is getting an audit with an IR thermometer, which will show where you might be lacking insulation in your walls. It's far cheaper to pay for blown-in insulation in gaps in your wall than it is to keep paying for heat exposure through uninsulated spaces.

How to Save Money on a Bathroom Renovation - Blog Entry

09 Jun 2009 09:45 PM

We are at the end point of a remodel of our kids' bathroom as well. We did the work ourselves, and also replaced a subfloor (the old one was dry rotted). Ours was more extensive, though, as we had to replace the tub too.

We found that buying light fixtures and sink fittings from the clearance table or rack of our local big box stores helped to save a lot of money. Most holiday weekends we could find a selection of what we needed.

Repairing and repainting items is a great way to save money too. We repaired the light fixture in the sink room, and it looks great again. We repainted the over-toilet cabinet to match the new trim and it looks brand new.

We also bought 12" x 12" tile mosaics and broke them up into 3"x3" squares and 3" wide strips to accent the floor and tub surround. It was far cheaper than other more expensive tile trims, and only required using a utility knife to cut the webbing holding the mosaic together.

Lastly, we borrowed tools from friends and neighbors instead of buying them. A contractor friend has let us borrow his tile saw, a big savings for us. We also borrowed specialty tools as we needed them throughout from neighbors, and accepted their help & expertise when we were unsure about something.

We did realize our DIY limits and paid a plumber to relocate the tub fittings, because the old tub had odd offset measurements and those could not be duplicated. Still, that can be a frugal thing, too, to spend some money on an expert instead of trying it ourselves, messing it up, and having to pay to clean it up and still get a pro!

Become a Home Consumer Tester and Get Free Products - Blog Entry

05 Jun 2009 11:58 AM

Yes, we shop for the National Shopping Service and for Mystery Guest, Inc. NSS does all sorts of companies, but the one we do the most is a national pizza chain. Mystery Guest has more of a choice of mid-range chain restaurants. The best tip I have for doing this is to be sure that you follow the rules explicitly for the shopping, have a good memory, and review the survey & rules before going to do the assignment.

Become a Home Consumer Tester and Get Free Products - Blog Entry

04 Jun 2009 05:59 PM

This is a great way to subsidize eating out, too. We shop for two different mystery shopping companies, and we get free meals at nice restaurants and free delivery pizzas. As with your consumer surveys, you should never be asked for money to sign up. You will usually be reimbursed for a set amount per meal, but they are prompt at sending the reimbursements, and it usually includes extra money for completing their surveys.

Three Ways to Get Free Entertainment - Blog Entry

01 Jun 2009 02:29 PM

There are often cute museums or memorials that are local and open for free tours with docents on weekends during the summer. It's fun for kids to explore, say, a puppet museum, and it's an hour or more of free entertainment.

Our town also puts on a series of free concerts in the main park during the summer. It's nice to come with a blanket and some ice cream cones and enjoy the free music and nice evenings.

This summer as well we will be taking advantage of our local movie theater chain's free kids movies throughout the summer. They are older movies (last summer or before then), but they are completely free. Of course the movie theater prefers that you buy their snacks, but we give the kids snacks to eat in the car on the way and they aren't asking for popcorn as we go in.

Four Ways to Save Money on Birthday Cake - Blog Entry

01 Jun 2009 02:24 PM

There are many good websites out there with cake design ideas for kids birthday parties. It really is not hard to decorate your own cake, especially if you use some cookies, crumbs, and cereals for premade decorations, as you state. You can also find small characters to put on the cake, so if your child loves Dora you can buy a 3" Dora figurine for $8 and put her down in a simple scene.