StBridgit's comments

Favorite Sources for Frugal Holiday Gifts (They aren't thrift stores) - Blog Entry

23 Oct 2008 04:19 PM

I'm going to mention the dreaded "black Friday". Yes, the day after Thanksgiving can be heinous and scary. However, if you plan ahead of time and do some of your shopping online, you can still get those doorbuster deals without the hassle. Check the store policy, but most stores offer the same deals through their website as they offer in the stores. Just know when those "deals" are available online, and research ahead of time what deals make the best sense for your family. For "must have" items, this is a good way to save some money.

How to Save on Laundry: 10 Ways - Blog Entry

22 Oct 2008 12:24 PM

Instead of using an expensive fabric softener, just use undiluted white vinegar in your washing machine. It works just as well as the fabric softener but costs far less. It is especially effective at keeping towels super absorbent, as it strips off residue that prevents the towels from absorbing water as they get older.

Frugal Gifts for Hard Times - Blog Entry

15 Oct 2008 06:50 PM

It's actually very easy to can. This is the first year I've done it myself, but I grew up helping my mom to make jams and jellies with the fruit from their trees. You can either buy a new canning kit for about $40-$50, or you can keep an eye out at thrift stores for a used one. It's basically a big stewpot with a lid, so any very large pot will do. The Ball Blue Book of Canning is a great book with recipes & tips. And you need a pair of jar lifters, and a magnet for fishing lids out of hot water. Otherwise it's pretty straightforward. Jams are a very easy place to start, because you mush everything up with sugar, cook it, add pectin, and can it.

If you want to try it next year, I suggest looking for a secondhand canner in thrift stores, and also keep an eye out for jars. Any jar which has no nicks or chips around the lid will work, and you want to use new lids each time. You can buy the lids now and just keep one in the car to check for size on used jars in thrift stores. Expect to start seeing them pop up early in the year as people use up what they were given and dispose of the jars. HTH!

Frugal Gifts for Hard Times - Blog Entry

15 Oct 2008 11:27 AM

I have been canning apple pie filling, apple jelly, and applesauce with free apples from my neighbors' trees. We will tie a bit of red velvet ribbon around the tops, attach a gift tag made with scrapbooking paper, and voila, Christmas gifts for our friends! I have some blackberry jelly for our friends and neighbors who don't like apples. This year the total cost per quart jar is about $1.50, because I had to buy the jars new. Next year it will cost us pennies. Frugal and useful!

Five Little Grocery Shopping Tricks: Size Matters - Blog Entry

06 Oct 2008 10:39 AM

Hehe, I thought you were going to talk about the packaging size with this post! I often see things on "sale", which aren't really a good price at all when compared to the regular price for a larger size or, increasingly, the smaller size! I always check out the price per ounce or other base unit for the things I buy, and whereas the default seems to be that the larger size is better value, in fact I am noticing lately that when the smaller sizes are on sale, they are a better value than the larger sizes. It can really add up to a lot of savings if you pay attention to the real price per ounce or serving and choose the product accordingly.

Breakfast for Dinner - Blog Entry

06 Oct 2008 10:35 AM

Breakfast for dinner is one of my favorite meals! However my husband usually wants his Irish sausages, which here in the States are an expensive treat. Since it's a taste of home for him though, I am willing to splurge twice a year on a big order for him!

Frugal Halloween Costumes - Blog Entry

06 Oct 2008 10:19 AM

If your kids are little, make costumes that be dual purpose dress up/play clothes. You can make a cowboy costume for a little boy very inexpensively--a bandanna, cowboy hat, and gun holster can be purchased cheaply at the thrift store or dollar store, and paired with jeans and a country style shirt or plaid shirt. And he can wear it again to play cowboy with friends. If you sew, making a "princess" dress for a little girl can be easily done with clearance/remnant fabrics, and she can wear it again for pretend play.

For adults, the Harry Potter idea is cheap and easy, and can be free! Most adults have graduation robes in their closets, or they can be purchased cheaply at thrift stores. A woman can don a cheap witch hat, graduation robe, rubber boots and a pair of earmuffs, and pair it with a misshapen carrot or other garden produce (the shrieking "mandrake) and go as Professor Sprout. A man can put a turban around his head, wear a robe, and be Professor Quirrell. Or wear all black and a black wig and be Professor Snape. The possibilities are large and relatively inexpensive.

Stretch Out Your Kids Clothing - Blog Entry

01 Oct 2008 10:26 AM

If you have babies that are bigger than the normal sizes, try buying shorts on summer clearance in a size or two bigger than what they "should" be wearing (easy to do with babies at the top of the growth chart), and use those as long pants for the wintertime. Girls can wear cropped pants as long pants with the simple alteration of the waist (just take it in a bit with a few stitches). Ditto boys. Right now my son's winter wardrobe consists of "long pants" that are really boys' shorts in size 4-5 which I have taken in at the waist. They look like little sailor pants because the legs are wide, but no one can tell the difference, and I don't have to chop off a good portion of fabric from size 4T pants to make them fit him. I have had to do this with both of my children, and the next summer they have grown enough to wear them as proper shorts or cropped pants.

Yes or No? Answer These Frugal Questions - Blog Entry

27 Sep 2008 07:12 PM

I have ordered from the kids' menu not knowing whether my child would eat it or not, and then eaten it myself when she/he didn't eat it. Sometimes I could predict that it would occur, and only ordered a side item for myself; at other times I have just had the server pack up what I ordered for myself to take home and eat later. I will also ask for more bread if it is unlimited and I want another piece with dinner, and then I will take the rest home--the rationale being that if they have served it to a table, they have to throw it out, and I'd rather not waste what is left over. And I will happily use coupons at a restaurant, but if I haven't brought them with me I don't ask!!

Frugal Furniture - Blog Entry

26 Sep 2008 02:37 PM

A couple of other things to bear in mind with furniture are, consider the utility/use of the item, and consider how 'visible' it will really be. A lot of useful furniture does not have to look brand new to be acceptable. Conversely, a highly visible piece in a high traffic area might warrant a bit more investment. You can also usually find similiarly styled items at discount stores to the high pricetag ones at the name brand furniture outlets. By making small compromises in design details, you will still get the overall look and spend far less. Or, you can embellish it yourself and dress up a plain piece. This is quite easy to do with wood furniture, as you can buy all sorts of premade decorative elements and stain them to match, then glue them on.