Thrift Store Finds Add Quirky Style to Your Home

Thrift stores can be amazing places, which is why I try to avoid them whenever possible. I almost always end up spending more money than I intended when I first walked in the door. Case in point: my daughter has been growing, so yesterday we visited a fantastic thrift store in a neighborhood we visit often. They have children’s clothes for a dollar. I walked out with $30 of goodies, including a wonderful new spring jacket for me. Yes, I needed the jacket, but I didn’t really need to spend the money! One of my greatest failings or pleasures in … Continue reading

Three Kitchen Products that Waste Money

There are a ton of things that you can use in the kitchen for convenience, but many of them also waste money, and in my opinion, aren’t worth purchasing. You can get away without using these products for very little inconvenience. Crock Pot or Slow Cooker Liners I remember the first time someone gave me a box of crock pot liners. These bags allow you to cook in a crock pot without the clean up. You just lift the bag out when you are done. I gave the box away almost immediately. Why? Well, beside the fact that I don’t … Continue reading

Cheaper Beverages

When my husband was spending $21 a week on his containers of iced tea, we knew we had a problem. And while he was watering that tea down to make it stretch a bit, it was still more than $80 a month just for the tea. So we made some changes to save money. I’ll share what we did regarding the tea, as well as some other strategies for saving money on beverages. My husband had been buying prepared gallons of name brand “designer” tea. We did some hunting around and found that his preferred brand also makes tea bags. … Continue reading

Three Things You Should Be Making in Your Kitchen

When I first embarked on the adventure of living frugally, I found myself repeatedly making three specific things because they were easy to do and would always save me money. Here is my advice. Cornbread Cornmeal is even less expensive than is flour. You can use it in place of bread to pump up a meal. Corn muffin mixes are okay, but they really don’t save you much time at all. Cornbread can also be used as a topping for casseroles or for stuffing. Cornbread can really stretch a meal. Popcorn And now another thing with the word corn in … Continue reading

Frugal Home Decor

As the weather gets warmer and you start planning for guests and parties, you may be wondering if your home needs a quick update. Without spending much money (or even any in some cases), you can update your home and give it a new look. Here is how. Raid the whole house Shop in your own home first. You might find some things that would go better in a different room, or create an impact if they were arranged near each other. This is the first step that many decorators do. The look around for what the client may already … Continue reading

How to Find Pantry Storage Space

In a recent post, I talked about all of the frugal benefits of having a small home. A small home can save you quite a bit of money, especially in the long run. But one thing a small home usually doesn’t have is extra storage space. And when you combine lack of storage space with stockpiling and cooking from scratch (two practices that can also save you a lot of money) you may wonder if you are going to be in trouble. Finding pantry storage space isn’t always as hard as you might think. Here are some tips on how … Continue reading

Great Home Tips

I’m always searching for great tips that I can use around the house. Sometimes the simplest solution is the most ingenious. When faced with a common problem, little household tips can come to the rescue. Here are some ideas that I have been thinking about or practicing lately. I keep a spray bottle with a half vinegar and half water mix under the bathroom sink, along with some soft rags. The spray bottle and rags make it easy to clean up the shower doors, the sink and anywhere in the bathroom in just a few minutes. Plus I know that … Continue reading

How to Clean a Cooler

With summer on its way, it is time to drag out the coolers and get them ready for backyard barbecues, picnics and days at the beach. But are you dreading opening your cooler because you are afraid of what you might find after a winter of storage? Here are some tips on how to clean your cooler. It seems as through we are forever cleaning out our cooler. One of the reasons for this is that we use our cooler on a regular basis throughout the year. It is handy to have it to bring along drinks and snacks when … Continue reading

How to Clean Out Your Fridge

If the cheese is walking across the shelf on its knees and the peas are covering themselves in a fuzzy fleece blanket, then it just may be time to clean out the refrigerator. Here is what you need to know about the tools and tips that will make the job easier than you might think. Assemble the masses Some people prefer to go it alone when cleaning out the fridge, but it can be helpful to have at least one helping hand. Designate a helper to toss things into the trash as you hand them out, or dry the glass … Continue reading

Family Fun for Less

Not everyone is pinching pennies during these tough economic times, and for those lucky families, taking advantage of incredible travel deals is a no-brainer. A number of luxury resorts are slashing prices to entice families to visit their kid-friendly properties, which means if you have the means to scoop up these savings you are guaranteed a good time. For example, the Somerset on Grace Bay, located along a sugar sand beach in Turks & Caicos, is offering incredible deals on their collection of spacious, ocean-front suites, villas, and cottages with full gourmet kitchens, surround-sound plasma TVs, and marble-floored bathrooms with … Continue reading