Five Little Grocery Shopping Tricks: The Limit Sale

Have you been wondering why your grocery bill seems to be increasing every month? Maybe it is because you don’t know about these five little grocery shopping tricks. Grocery stores often use different marketing techniques to get you to spend more than than you planned to spend. don’t be sucked in to the madness. Know ahead of time just what the store is trying to do so you would stay from your budget. In this series, I’ll go through the five little grocery shopping tricks and tell you all about them, including how to avoid having the store take advantage … Continue reading

Beware of “Aspirational” Marketing

Frugal shoppers are usually savvy shoppers, but even we can become a victim of some well-researched marketing techniques. We find that we “need” things just to survive, but if we really examine those needs, I mean really examine them, we may find that the need is not something directly related to our survival or even happiness. Aspirational marketing is a technique in which the goal is to sell items to people who can’t afford it. I kid you not. The marketers want people who might want to aspire to a different lifestyle but can’t afford it. It is literally convincing … Continue reading

Frugal Living Week in Review: September 22nd Through September 28th

Here is the Frugal Living Blog week in review for September 22nd through September 28th. September 22nd Creating a Rich Environment for Kids Since we have moved to our new area, we run into families that are what I would consider affluent. The kids live in large, new homes and are surrounded with plenty of the latest toys, clothes, vacations and possessions. Each home has an expensive outdoor play systems, trampolines, pools, a number of current video game systems, etc. Frugal Living Week in Review: September 15th Through September 21st Here is the Frugal Living week in review for September … Continue reading

Stretch Out Your Kids Clothing

In the Home Blog, I’ve been discussing how I am in the middle of switching out sizes and seasons for my kids clothing during this weekend. But did you know that there are some items that you can actually stretch out or remake to get an extra year or two? And if you have too much of one kind of item, such as a zillion onsies, make them over into something you can use. Whether the clothing is too small, too worn or two stained, don’t throw it out. Instead, create a new wardrobe and save on the cost of … Continue reading

Yes or No? Answer These Frugal Questions

When it comes to frugal living, there is sometimes a fine line between being smart about saving and being a miser. Here are some practices that many frugal people use. Are they common sense or going to far. See what your responses might be, yes or no, to each of these questions. You go out to dinner and want to keep your bill as low as possible. Would you do any of the following: You order a free water with lemon. You then squeeze the lemon and add some sugar or sweetener to make your own lemonade. You order a … Continue reading

Frugal Furniture

Want to get quality furniture for less or even for free? If so, you’ll want to read this post! Moving to a larger home, we were in some serious need of furniture. Did you know that the average room costs between $2,000 and $5,000 to furnish? Well, that is just plain unacceptable in my frugal world (not to mention impossible). Here are some tips on getting frugal furniture without going cheap. My biggest piece of advice for you with frugal furniture is to take your time. Obtain your pieces one at a time and when they become available and affordable. … Continue reading

Frugal Living Week in Review: September 15th Through September 21st

Here is the Frugal Living week in review for September 15th through September 21st. September 15th Frugal Living Week in Review: September 8th Through September 14th Now that we are settled in the school routine, we can sit back and take a look at how we are doing in terms of managing our money with all of the little expenses that will come up throughout the rest of the year. There are the school fundraisers, Halloween, the cold weather and of course the holidays. Check back every day to see what is new as we cover these topics and more. … Continue reading

Creating a Rich Environment for Kids

Since we have moved to our new area, we run into families that are what I would consider affluent. The kids live in large, new homes and are surrounded with plenty of the latest toys, clothes, vacations and possessions. Each home has an expensive outdoor play systems, trampolines, pools, a number of current video game systems, etc. With our frugal budget, we can’t quite compete with all of that. But what we can do is create a rich environment for our kids. I think we have managed to do that, since our house is the current “hang out house” for … Continue reading

Saving Money on a Special Diet

When you discover that you need a special diet, you might start to panic. Not only do you have to figure out new ways of cooking and eating, but you may also see a spike in your grocery bill. Special foods sometimes can cost a lot more than what you usually buy. Recently, a member of my family was told a “low glycemic index diet” was needed. This diet pays close attention to foods that cause a sudden rise in blood sugar. The goal in this diet, is to eliminate many carbohydrates that might cause that spike. Each food has … Continue reading

Frugal Pantry: Pasta

When you reach into that pantry to plan out dinner, you might want to consider pasta. Pasta can be a great source of a filling meal. And with pasta, there are so many inexpensive options. Shopping carefully, you can get 16 ounces of pasta for less than $1. Add a few inexpensive ingredients, or even a small amount of expensive ingredients, and you still have a meal to feed the entire family for less than $5. I enjoy trying new pasta dishes, especially when I can throw some things together using food that we already have around the house. Last … Continue reading