With August passed, it will be hard to hold on to summer, but fortunately, we have a lot of memories of the “dog days.” We also have lots of great articles about saving money, something that is pretty important these days. Take a look at what was posted in August.
August 1st
Frugal Living Month in Review: July 2008
July went by so quickly for us! There were so many fun and frugal activities and events for us to explore, from a science camp to free movies and sand sculpting. I hope your July was equally fun and frugal. Summer is a busy time, I know. Did you miss any frugal articles last month? If so, here is an opportunity to catch up on what you missed. There are new ways to save money on food, clothing, kids, gas and more. Feel free to leave a comment on any frugal post. I read all of the comments myself, no matter whether the article was posted today or posted last year.
August 2nd
The Change in Generic Food May Help You Save
Here is one way that the downturn in the economy may be good for those of us living frugally, although some caution is still advised. Grocery stores are having to come up with new ways to be creative when selling their food, and they are quick to respond to anything that will sell product.
August 3rd
I was blessed (or cursed) with a sweet tooth. My body seems to burn sugar right up. Have you ever taken a sugar test during pregnancy? During the test, you are required to fast for an hour or two and then drink a sugary drink that is basically highly concentrated soda syrup, minus the fizzy bubbles. Furthermore, you have to drink the stuff within a certain number of minutes, and the experience is just horrible. Sometimes, they would ask me to repeat the test, because even after drinking that whole thing, my blood sugar would be on the lower side of normal, as if I never had ingested all of that sugar at all.
August 4th
Frugal Living Week in Review: July 28th Through August 3rd
Do you want to save money? Check out the past week’s articles about frugal living.
August 5th
Healthy teeth are important, and we often resign ourselves to having to pay whatever our dentist tells us to pay. But there are a few different ways to save on dental care without compromising the health of your teeth. Did you know, for example, that the cost of the same porcelain veneers can vary from dentist to dentist by thousands of dollars? Keep reading to find out how you can save money on dental care.
August 6th
Pay for Your Gas with Your Scrap Metal
Would you like to earn some extra money? Prices paid for scrap metal have greatly increased, making a few pounds of scrap turn into enough money to fill up your tank.
August 7th
6 Ways to Reuse Cereal Box Liners
Do you think that some things could never be reused? There are so many uses for the ordinary stuff that comes in and out of our lives. One good example is that cereal box liner. Cereal box liners are the waxed bags that hold the cereal and keep it fresh in the box.
August 8th
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?
August 9th
Isn’t it nice to know that the rest of the world is finally catching up to us frugal people? Well, maybe.
August 10th
The Difference Between Being Frugal and Being Cheap
Do you know the difference between being frugal and being cheap? They are not the same thing. Here are some ways to tell, or at least explain, the difference.
August 11th
Frugal Living Week in Review: August 4th Through August 10th
Saving money, earning money and reusing what you have are all part of living a frugal lifestyle. We know how to do these things in the way we run our homes. But, isn’t it nice when an entire country makes the effort to be frugal? That is the case with China and the Summer Olympics. Take a look at this story, plus an entire week’s worth of other frugal articles.
August 12th
Now I know what you might be thinking, but don’t go there. Read this post instead to find out one of the latest trends to saving money and the environment.
August 13th
Packages of food in grocery stores are shrinking faster than anything these days. In fact, the practice has escalated so much that a common term has developed among consumers, the “shrink ray effect.” Some manufacturers are using this idea to their advantage. I spotted one message on a recent bottle of Kraft salad dressing that proclaimed, “Still no shrinkage.” Manufacturers are not only raising prices, but they are also shrinking the amount of product that gets put into the package. I’ll discuss the products I have most frequently seen that suffer from the shrink ray. Later, I’ll address some ideas about beating this practice.
August 14th
Coping with the Grocery Shrink Ray
Did you know that your groceries may be shrinking? Yesterday, in Beware of the Grocery Shrink Ray, I talked about how many manufacturers are shrinking the amount of product in their packages, making them more expensive. This shrinkage, as I mentioned earlier, can also cause problems with recipes and meal planning. Here are some of the practices I do to cope with the shrink ray.
August 15th
Reusing items is more frugal than just recycling them or throwing them away. Many times, we can find new uses for inexpensive things that we already have, making an expensive trip to the store unnecessary.
August 16th
While I now live in a semi-rural part of Pennsylvania, the fact is that I am a city girl born and bread, uh bred. Many people think that is harder to be frugal in the city.
August 17th
Stretching Your Makeup Savings
Beauty can be expensive. Just the other day, I was given an “invitation” for a spa event that cost $160! Whew. There are some frugal ways that we can still pamper ourselves and use makeup and other beauty products without going broke. Here are some ideas for stretching your makeup savings.
August 18th
Frugal Living Week in Review: August 11th Through August 17th
Have you heard of the “no pooing” method? It is certainly controversial. At the last check, there were 37 comments on that post. be sure to check it out, along with the other great articles that we have had this past week.
August 19th
Save Money on Toaster Pastries
Luxury can sometimes come in little packages. For us, it may be in the form of toaster pastries or “pop-tarts.” Because of the expense of these things (not to mention the sometimes shady nutritional value), we seldom buy them. But toaster pastries, especially if you get the healthier versions, aren’t bad things for snacks or an emergency breakfast once in a while. Back to school seems to be a good time for toaster pastries, as we all adjust back to a hectic lifestyle.
August 20th
If you look hard enough, you can usually make something from nothing. Whether you have a need or a want, here are some thoughts on how you can take advantage of nothing to make something.
August 21st
Heading down to the shore can be a great family vacation. But like any attractive summer vacation spot, things can be pricey.
August 22nd
You may be caught up in back to school, but it still isn’t too late to enjoy a great vacation at the shore. I know because I am there right now. We have been having all sorts of fun on a limited budget. Yesterday I talked about rentals and food, now let’s get into to some more ways to save money at the shore.
August 25th
We just got back from our vacation this weekend, and we are now catching up with the regular routine. An unplanned side trip extended the vacation by a day, and so there is a lot to share with you.
Frugal Living Week in Review: August 18th Through August 24th
Are the kids gearing up for back to school, or perhaps they are already there? Yesterday I got the final school supply list, and I went into my stockpile to gather everything up. Stockpiling really helped us, since by the time the official lists come out, the sales are pretty much over. If you want to read more about frugal school supplies, you can check here:
August 26th
The Cost of Chocolate Candy is Rising Again
Those sweet treats are going to be costing you just a bit more very soon. I know that I am paying attention to this one, since my family has a “wicked” sweet tooth for Dove dark chocolate. We stock up on the stuff when we have coupons and there are sales, but the little wrapped squares tend to go very quickly unless we conserve and dole them out carefully. After recent announcements by some chocolate candy manufacturers, we may just have to do with less or without.
August 27th
Ideas for Cooking from Your Stockpile
With food prices continuing to rise, stockpile cooking is a great way to stretch out that food budget and minimize food and money waste. Whenever money is tight, you should always start with what you already have. Having a robust pantry allows you to make many different meals, but what if you find your pantry slimming down? With less bargains available, I have been seeing some shrinkage in my pantry. That is why it is so important to get creative and use up what you have.
August 28th
Stretch out your food budget by not letting anything go to waste. When you are faced with dinner time and there is “nothing” to prepare, take a look into your pantry. There are so many things you can make with what may be available. Today let’s take a look at bread. You can usually find bread in most people’s kitchens, and it is great for turning into meals and side dishes.
August 29th
Getting Creative with Almost-Expired Food
Using what you have in your pantry is important when food prices have risen so much. Creating meals from your pantry can reduce your weekly food budget or allow you to skip a shopping trip or two. It also prevents food waste. Sometimes you are faced with just a few strange items to use up before they expire or go bad. This is where you have to get creative. I’ll offer you some tips, as well as links to a couple of recipes that will help you create real meals from a collection of end-date food.
August 30th
Is It Cost Effective to Bring a School Lunch?
When planning out whether our eldest child will buy lunch or bring lunch to school, the cost involved is one factor. Last year, he brought lunch most of the time, and was allowed to buy a lunch for a special treat or as a reward for good behavior. With the cost of groceries increasing, I have been wondering if it still cost affective to have homemade lunches.
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