Archive for Archive for April, 2010
Traveling With Children
A few days ago our 19 year old came home from work shaking her head. She’d been listening to the radio, a Christian station, and there was a program on where the radio commentators were asking people to share their tips for enjoying their children while traveling. One lady called in and said that the [...]
A Multi-Generational Frugal Vision
Husband and I were basking in a quiet afternoon at home. Firstborn Son and Daughter-To-Be were sitting across from us huddled over the laptop. Tears welled up in my eyes as I realized I was witnessing a historical family moment. Husband and I had successfully passed on to Firstborn Son our vision of living debt [...]
Hungry Planet: What The World Eats
We’re piled on my bed to study the pages of Hungry Planet: What The World Eats. You’ve probably heard about this book and its beautiful photos, which document food from 25 families in 21 countries. It’s both eye-pleasing and eye-opening. Each family displays one weeks’ worth of food, from raw ingredients to KFC. My kids enjoyed spotting familiar products [...]
Composting
Alright, you city folk, apartment dwellers, thinking that this whole composting thing doesn’t apply to you because you live in a small place and don’t garden… I think there could still be something for you in this post. You don’t have to have a big, involved composting system like ours to benefit from compost. This [...]
Shortsighted Frugality
It seemed to be a good idea at the time. Having glanced out my window and seen the ever increasing supply of weeds in my front yard, I purposed to take the few minutes available to me and eradicate those weeds too tall for the lawnmower to clip. A hot Texas summer with over sixty [...]
Testing
Don’t you hate when you have to do that?
Frugal Encouragement
If you’re trying to live a frugal lifestyle, it helps to have frugal friends who share your goals and values. Adults are not immune to peer pressure. Friends who go out to eat often (and worse, invite you along Dutch Treat and are surprised when you never come) can make you feel a bit grubby [...]
To Registry Or Not To Registry?
Sitting at my computer and scrolling through the list of desired gifts, my musings continued about the proliferation of gift registries. Being blessed in my community to have many celebrations of marriages, births and birthdays, gift giving has become a hobby of sorts. Having recently had a conversation with a friend about such, and reflecting [...]
Hampton Hotels giving away 10 Amazon gift certificates every Thursday
Hampton is starting a Thursday Tweet Deal campaign in which the first 10 people to email hamptonfyi@gmail.com the correct answer to a challenge question will win a prize! Currently they’re giving away 10 $15 Amazon.com gift codes every Thursday. The challenge question is tweeted at 3pm ET. Last week’s question was, How many Hampton Hotels in [...]
Reader hacks
Angela shares ideas on Road Tripping With Children without breaking the bank. A bunch of blogging mommas have worked together to set up Shopping Lists that have all the sale items and coupons at most groceries, including regional chains. Check out the 4 Moms 35 Kids series, where 4 moms with large families share tricks of [...]
Punch and Cake Reception For About $100
Here in the South, receptions and showers often feature a simple menu of punch and cake. While this may not be socially acceptable in some parts of the country, count yourself lucky if it is! I helped a friend host such a reception for 100+ people. Here’s how the budget worked out, in real numbers: 3 Costco sheet cakes for $51, with 48 [...]
New on Frugal Hacks
Paying it Forward with Coupons, Deals and Freebies – Stay at home mother of 3 searching for good deals, freebies, and giveaways with the blessing of sharing them with others! Frugal Frolic – Join us on our journey. 14 months of unemployment and counting — creativity and an open mind are all you need! We’ll [...]
Sacramental Frugality
A couple years ago I read the book Crunchy Cons. It was quite a bit after publication, because I actually largely live what Mr. Dreher was writing about- we are out of step with the culture, not being consumer minded, not about buying things ‘just because,’ and I wait for my small library to get [...]
A Frugal Past Time
The picture of husband, book in hand, surrounded by precious little ones is fresh in my mind. We had come to spend an evening caring for the children of friends. The Mamma of these little ones prepared for our visit with piles of books brought home from the library that very day. Reading to the [...]
Drink Your Water
It’s interesting to me just how, well, spoiled for lack of a better word, we are when it comes to beverages. Water is vital for life, it’s basically free in the developed world, and, once you get used to it, you will find it is delicious. Water and the human body are designed for each [...]
