Archive for Archive for September, 2009
Ways to get free food
a guest post from the Frugal Fraulein Being the Frugal Fraulein that I am, the word free gives me tingles. This is my favorite time of year. The gardens are calling to be harvested, the trees are laden with fruit, the fish are moving up the streams and the deer and elk are fattening up [...]
AirTap: have you heard of it?
I heard about the AirTap Heat Pump Water Heater just last week on the radio, and already I want one. It’s not cheap, but it is cheaper than the much-vaunted tankless water heater, and it seems to be easier to install and far more efficient. Imagine a water heater that heats its water–not by gas, [...]
Cheerful Frugality Celebrates Fall
Fall has officially arrived. We’ve packed away the swim suits, and now I begin the search for free fall fun. Here’s what our family found: Fall festivals abound. From churches to schools, I’ve spotted signs on every corner. I’m helping with our church’s Oktoberfest country store. There are definitely bargains under the tent, and kids bounce [...]
Fix, Freeze, Feast
Have you ever been searching for something, but didn’t really know what you wanted until it was found? I have. Recently I had the opportunity to scan the book, Fix, Freeze, Feast, co-authored by Kati Neville and Lindsay Tkacsik. My excitement grew as I flipped through the pages and realized this was just what I was looking [...]
How one family eliminated $106,000 of debt in less than 5 years
He makes ~$4,000/month, and she’s a homeschooling mom. Read their story here.
Frugal Hack for Hand-me-down bike
Our 13 year old daughter has outgrown her bike, and our 11 year old son was ready for an upgrade. Problem: her bike was a light purple with pink and yellow flowers all over it. That’s just not cool. We do live in the country, and he mostly rides his bike from our house to [...]
Five Secrets to Maximizing Your Coupon Savings
Five Secrets to Maximizing Your Coupon Savings, a guest post by Jim Bob Howard I didn’t realize she was talking to me, at first. Undeterred, she tapped me on the shoulder and repeated her emphatic question, “How did you DO that?” “That” was checking out with two carts overloaded with groceries with an initial total [...]
Frugal Hacks fan page on Facebook
If you’re Facebook user, join the fans of Frugal Hacks! 335 and counting…can we make it 500 in short order? Tell your friends and 1,000 is just around the corner. After all, who doesn’t want to save money?
7 Important questions to help you prioritize your storage
a short excerpt from my upcoming e-book: There are two keys to good stewardship when it comes to storage: organization, and priorities. You can prioritize by asking yourself 7 important questions before you store an item: Will I use it again within a year? Would I really miss it if it disappeared, or would I forget [...]
Goodwill Outlets: Clothing By The Pound Strategies
Goodwill Outlet stores are popping up in chains all over the country. Be warned: they are no-frills (and for thrift stores, that’s saying a lot). Here are some Goodwill Outlet strategies to help you come out ahead: 1. Consider the weight. At my Goodwill Outlet, bins and tables of merchandise are rolled out to the sales floor [...]
Baby Wipes, Shower Gift and Fun Giveaways
Most of us have heard about how to make our own baby wipes (if not, try this tutorial, and this basic recipe is also good starting place) But this frugal recipe has another use as well. Years back there was a lady at a church we attended who always gave home-made baby wipes as a [...]
Assignment: find your priorities
A very intriguing assignment from Fiscal Fizzle, found via Get Rich Slowly: Cut Your Income in Half For this exercise, you’ll need to pull out your latest family budget and update it, if it’s not current. This establishes an accurate baseline from which to work. To enter the scarcity mindset, imagine that your total household [...]
Giveaway for over $50 worth of Charlie’s Soap
…over here on my family blog. Hurry up – we’ll be choosing a winner soon!
Reader Hacks
It’s been a long time since I shared readers’ hacks, but I’m resolving to do better. Maybe somebody has a hack to prevent procrastination? At any rate, here’s a sampling from the inbox: Noah said, Mortgages are probably one of the most overlooked areas to save. I know this because, for better or worse, I [...]
The Cost of Convenience
A couple months ago we purchased a pulley clothesline system (that’s the one we bought, though I think this one is a better quality), and my husband installed it on our second story deck. The reasons he put it on the second story deck include our shady yard (the deck is above a couple of [...]
