If you must eat out…

Posted by: kimc on Friday, July 23rd, 2010

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Do it like this. Be sure to read the fine print, but even with fine print this is a great deal! I found some of our favorite restaurants listed in my area, and others that we would like to try but didn't want to pay full price. Stock up for date night, for gifts, and just for fun.

Topics: coupons/deals, food | 1 Comment »

A Frugal Hero

Posted by: DL on Thursday, June 24th, 2010

Sitting with Dear Friend, enjoying the view of Pennsylvania hills massed with lush and large green leafed trees, our conversation was filled with memories. Family and I were on a trip to the East Coast, and had some precious moments to visit with this woman. Alzheimer’s, seeking to steal this incredible, fascinating mind, had left remnants strong and clear. She remembered us and was thrilled at our visit!

A child of the Depression, Dear Friend was truly a frugal hero. Even now in later years, the choice of modest living was still her mantra. Her abode was simple and well cared for. With nature to observe and pictures of loved ones close, Dear Friend was content.

A childless couple, Dear Friend and her husband had traveled many a country and 49 states. She regaled our minds, just as many times before, with tales of the past and her trips abroad. Now a widow for 30 years, frugality was not a choice of necessity for this Dear Friend. Few knew, she could be living like a queen if she so desired.

Chuckling to myself, I recalled those many years ago, when Dear Friend was child-watching for me. Returning home, I discovered she had found a half eaten box of cereal in my trash and had resurrected such, to my chagrin. Sheepishly confessing that I had lost sight of said box and that now the contents were no longer edible, I again placed the box in the trash. I learned to be more careful with my cereal! Yes, we had some funny stories about Dear Friend. We also learned to check dates on any food gifts she might give us and, yes, she might have been called a bit eccentric. But the lessons learned from this frugal hero were many.

Generous beyond compare, she chose to live a simple life and gave away to her favorite charities and organizations more than she ever spent each year upon herself. Always seeking to be a good steward of all the Lord had blessed her with, Dear Friend’s example blazed upon my life. People were her joy, and possessions only important for how they could be used in service to others.

Hugging this grandmother of the heart to my children, I said goodbye. We may never meet again on this earth, but I will carry her legacy with me forever. She is and always shall be, my frugal hero.

Do you have a frugal hero?

Topics: frugal thinking, misc. | 3 Comments »

New members on the Frugal Blogroll

Posted by: kimc on Saturday, June 19th, 2010

If you're wondering why new members haven't been added to the Frugal Blogroll lately, here's my excuse:

click the image to read Parker's birth story.

To everyone who added the Frugal Hacker badge and waited so patiently for me to get around to adding your blog, thank you!

To those who gave up on me and removed the badge from your site, my apologies. We want you to join! Just add the badge again and use the form on our Join the Blogroll page to let me know, and I'll do my best to add your blog more quickly this time.

Below are 15 new members who applied during the month of May. Be sure to check them out and welcome them to the Frugal Blogroll!

Cheap Danny: coupons, deals and freebies
Nashville Cheapster
Sioux Falls Frugal Mom - Frugal tips, coupons, freebies, and coupons for the family.
Prairie Eco-Thrifter - I am a prairie raised woman who is passionate about saving money, being healthy, looking out for our environment, and most of all having fun. Since I have a passion for writing and helping others, I started this blog so that I could share tips with people like me on how to live a simple life while still having fun.

Frugal Baby Gifts

Posted by: MerchantShips on Monday, May 31st, 2010

My family has celebrated the births of 5 babies this month--and Frugal Hacks' own Kim C. may well add #6 to my list! Naturally, I've been busy thinking of meaningful baby gifts that don't break the bank.

Once Mom acquires the basic baby supplies, she may welcome time and effort more than another blanket. Here are a few ideas that will work on almost any budget:

If you have a good camera, offer to take, edit, and email photos of the new baby.
Deliver a frozen meal in advance.
Tackle a troublesome job, like cleaning that tiny bath that no pregnant woman can bend to scrub.
Take the other children to the park so Mom can nap.
Babysit so that Mom & Dad can have time alone before baby arrives.
Make a gift certificate for laundry service (yours!)
Who doesn't appreciate a garden bouquet and a thoughtful note?

I'm not crafty, so service- and food-related gifts work best for me. What's your go-to baby gift on a budget?

Topics: cheerful frugality | 10 Comments »

The Gift Cupboard

Posted by: DeputyHeadmistress on Friday, May 28th, 2010

My main frugal theme is 'What's in your hand,' that is, what do you already have on hand that you can put to good, frugal use. It also helps to plan ahead to be sure you have things in your hand.
Because we go to a congregation with a lot of young people, I can guess that I will have at least a couple of baby showers and wedding showers (not in that order) to go to each year, and because I have an 11 and 14 year old I know I'll probably be called on for a couple of birthday parties each year as well.

I keep my eyes open when shopping for nice bargains on items that will make nice gifts. Today I was at a grocery store that is closing out their dollar aisle items, so they were marked down to a quarter. Here are some things I bought, remember, for just .25 cents each:
a number of packages of paper plates and napkins in an Easter bunny theme. We don't do the Easter bunny, but we entertain at least a couple of times a week, and I don't mind using these plates and napkins for that purpose. I have used Christmas napkins at fourth of July parties because they were on sale. I am working on building and maintaining my reputation for eccentricity.=)

a lacy pair of baby socks that an be used for a cute gift bow or gift basket for a baby girl
a nice refrigerator magnet and two sets of really cute coasters that would make part of a nice gift basket for a college grad or newlyweds.
Some cute pony tail holders that would be nice in my 14 year old's stocking at Christmas
gel window clings in cute, bright colors- daisies and butterflies which most of my 14 year old's friends would love
insulated holder for a soda can, with footballs over it for the 11 year old's friends
A couple of really nice large sponges (huge, really) that would be great as part of a newlywed or high school grad off to college gift- I could pack them in a bucket with a couple other cleaning supplies, and some dusting cloths

For baby showers I like to give the book Honey For A Child's Heart, along with a couple of suitable children's books. This makes a nice family gift for us because my Progeny often go in on it with me and they will each choose a children's book of their own to give as well. I watch at Amazon and buy Honey when it's on some sort of special, using my swagbucks to pay for three or four copies at a time.

In my gift stash (a shelf in my closet), I also have:
Several candle holders, still new in the box, picked up at thrift shops
some new children's books on sharks, also found at a thrift shop
several pairs of Handmade baby booties crafted by an online friend and sold at a discount

I always look closely at new, still in the package items at thrift shops and yard sales just for this purpose, because I have found that being caught flat footed by an unexpected wedding, baby shower, graduation invite, or birthday party invitation can really throw the budget off. By building up and maintaining my stash of things suitable for gift giving (and baskets to put things in), I save money over the long run.

Topics: misc. | 7 Comments »

The Love Language of Gifts

Posted by: DeputyHeadmistress on Friday, May 14th, 2010

A while back my husband and I had an interesting discussion with another couple about gift giving. Her husband had grown up as a missionary child in an African country. Poverty was something he saw every day. She had grown up in North America, her parents were older when she was born, and they went out to eat almost every day. I grew up poor. I wore hand-me-downs from other families, had to wear ugly brown snow-boots instead of the gloriously red shiny ones I wanted because they had to be passed down to my brothers, and sometimes had the power turned off because my father did not pay the electric bill (he was more than willing to buy himself Italian shoes, however). My husband was raised by his grandmother, who owned acres and acres of orange groves in Southern California and did not lack for money at all by the time he came along. While she had the good sense not to spoil him monetarily, he never wanted for anything at all, either. His father did not have good sense, and it was not unheard of for him to wander by and give his son a hundred dollar bill- in the seventies, when a 12 year old could do a lot of damage with a hundred dollars. Once when visiting his family they found out we bought the children's clothes at thrift shops and they were absolutely appalled. An aunt privately took him aside and offered to take us shopping to buy the new clothes. They had not found out because of the way the kids were dressed, btw. They found out because I was excited about really great bargains we found at a local thrift shop and was sharing my joy over this with them without realizing they did not share that joy at all.

Not surprisingly, my husband, our friends, and I all have different ideas about what we value in gifts, and we enjoyed talking about the different processes we went through as we figured out what pleased the spouses in our marriages.

My friend once greeted her fiance's return from a trip with a huge hand lettered sign and some expensive stuff to go with it (I do not remember what, I just remember it was pricey stuff for a college student). Later when it was his turn to greet her on a return trip, he turned the sign around and wrote on the back of it, and gave her, oh, I don't remember- something like a plant he'd grown in his room or some wildflowers. My friend was crushed at what a cheapskate he was, whereas I would have been thrilled with such creative and frugal thoughtfulness.

On the other hand, on our first Valentine's Day as a married couple, my husband brought home a grapevine wreath from a floral shop- one that cost half my weekly grocery money. I was devastated and sick at heart. When I say it was half our grocery money, I mean that week I had half as much grocery money available as usual, and we were already eating a pretty limited diet of beans, rice, potatoes, with rice, potates and beans for variety. A present does not mean more to me because it costs more. If it costs more for what I view a frivolous reason, it actually causes me pain. Very likely this is associated with the deprivations of my childhood and my response to them, but also it goes with my particular personality and love language, just as my friend's love for gifts that do cost money is associated with her childhood and also her own personality and love language.

My friend said she would have been thrilled at such a romantic gesture. I asked her how it could be romantic to have to go without food to pay for a grapevine wreath you cannot eat and do not need, and I guess it just is, if that's your love language. Personally, I don't get it at all, and I mean that. I mean, I understand on an intellectual level that is how some people feel, but I cannot imagine it, I cannot understand why, and it's hard for me to believe that anybody really does feel that way, even though they tell me they do. Emotionally I am sure they can't really mean that, or that if only things were explained to them they would realize that the price on an item has no relationship to its value, and that true gifts are about love and time and service, not price- that's how foreign and incomprehensible that kind of thinking is. It seems thoroughly materialistic and soul-less to me. I never liked the story of the Gift of the Magi, either, in case you are wondering, and yes, I realize that seems soul-less to others.

It was years before my husband and I really understand this about each other. I think we finally got it the year he bought me a hundred dollar teapot I have never liked (you have to dust it with a q-tip), and I bought him a brief-case I thought was ridiculously overpriced.

I was shopping for his birthday present, and I began by shopping the way that would please me- the way that would actually thrill me, actually, and make me feel tenderly cared for and understood - carefully, frugally, taking time to assess all the different features, price comparing. This would ordinarily be a very time consuming process where I would go from store to store- because this is how I show my love- by spending time on something. But I was pregnant and had a 2 year old, and the 7, 8, 10, 13, and 14 year olds with me, the 10 year old still in diapers, and I was not supposed to be on my feet more than 20 minutes, and the 2 year old was fractious and we had just finished grocery shopping so I was exhausted, sore, and in near agony from the condition mandating I not be on foot. I also happened to start at the store where he had purchased the ugly teapot and so I had just found out how much it cost which did not make me feel loved at all, it made me feel like I was going to have to make more sacrifices in the grocery budget in order to pay for a present that was not purchased with my likes and dislikes in mind, and I simply snapped, grabbed the most expensive briefcase in the group I was looking at and muttered something quite unwifely like, "I can't keep doing this today. He doesn't care about anything but how expensive it is, anyway, so I will just get the most expensive one and I don't care what it looks like."

When the time came to give him the present, he gushed over it. Among other things he said, "You must have spent so much time finding this!" At which point the children all looked at me waiting to see what I would do, since we do value honesty in our family, and they knew that time is exactly what I had NOT applied in choosing that present, thanks to my big mouth. I shifted uncomfortably and avoided his eye, and he repeated his gushing and praise, so I felt compelled to confess in front of my children, "I didn't spend any time on it at all. I started to, but then I decided you wouldn't appreciate it so I just picked out the most expensive one."

Now if this had been reversed, I would have been saddened. It would have diminished the gift in my eyes, and so I felt like I was saying something hurtful and I was ashamed and embarrassed. But to my husband, brought up with different standards, expectations, and regular electricity, this was not hurtful. It actually increased the value of the present in his eyes. He glowed, and gushed more. And I was shocked, while also a glimmer of a clue began to twinkle in the murky recesses of my brain.

We talked about it later, and for the first time he understood that an expensive present did not speak of love and cherishing to me, it represented cold, calculated shopping and buying of affections the easy way instead of investing one's heart into it and it spoke of materialism and meant deprivation to me, whereas, and I began to understand that for him, buying something new, shiny, and a little more expensive at the store represented, well, excitement, fun, careless abandon, and it says something to him about how the gift-giver values him.

And here's the thing- both of us are quite right. Where we were wrong was to give the sorts of gifts we would have wanted to each other instead of trying to consider the love language of the person to whom we were giving.

My husband stopped giving me store bought cards and started writing me notes and making coupons for acts of service. I stopped making his cards and started buying them. If he asked for a given book, I quit buying it used and bought it new for him, but if I asked for a book, he would buy it used for me. I have literally been known to squeal with delight when one of my children gives me some special thrift shop find for a present and then tells me how little she paid for it. It may represent something cheapskate and grim to somebody else, but to me, I think it represents care, security, and thoughtful love. Maybe you have to grow up in a household where expensive whims might be indulged one day, but that would mean unkept promises, jeans six inches too short, and utilities cut off just a day or too later to really understand this.

To give a nonfrugal gift to a frugal person is like giving chocolate cake to somebody who is allergic to chocolate and who doesn't like it anyway. That is not generous or kind. It might make the giver feel good, but gift giving should be about your recipient, not yourself.

To give a nonfrugal person an obviously frugal gift and go on about your frugality is equally unthoughtful. You are not communicating your love to that person, even if that is what you do want to communicate. One difference is that sometimes circumstances simply do dictate that you cannot give any but a frugal gift, but when this is your situation you can dress it up, make the presentation special, and keep quiet about how frugal you were.

And try to believe people when they tell what makes them feel most cherished and honoured.

Topics: Beyond Money, challenges, cheerful frugality | 23 Comments »

To Registry Or Not To Registry?

Posted by: DL on Thursday, April 15th, 2010

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 on her position that most young married women today do not enjoy handmade objects and appreciate not starting married life with eight toasters, I too sought to take a positive view of these registries. They do make it easy to determine the taste, style and color choice of recipients and you know where to purchase what is desired. However, I still hesitate to say that I am really fond of registries,. To be honest, perhaps this is because they were not as much in vogue when I entered married life, twenty-nine years ago.

I seem to ask myself, is it “best” to always receive what you want? I never would have thought to put on my registry, when an almost-bride, “one box of yellowed linens, please.” You see, I really received such a gift and it has become one of my most beloved of offerings. You chuckle, or think this frugal life has really gotten to my brain, and I must confess, when opening such gift, I could not help but think “cheap” when realizing my eccentric (and wealthy) great-aunt was the giver. Squirreling this box of yellowed linens away in the back of my closet and writing a thank you note in appreciation of her desire to bless me, my immaturity caused me to neglect this truly precious gift.

As the years ticked by and my frugal senses began to appear, I learned to think about “what I had in my hand.” One day, desiring to cozy up my home a bit, I remembered that box of linens still in my closet. Fresh air, gentle washing and sunshine cured some of these items of their yellow hue, and the few pieces with lingering stains could still be used with strategic placement of items on top. If you were to visit my home today, you would still find these linens in use in many different ways. What a blessing they have been to me as I have used them over and over again. I wish my dear great-aunt was still alive so I could tell her that now I understand she shared real “treasure” with me!

And the eight sets of towels I received? Twenty years after my wedding, I took the last new set out of my cedar chest and rejoiced again in the blessing that had been bestowed upon me. And then there was the simple trivet given by my missionary friends which caused me such sadness when it accidentally fell on the floor and shattered after I used it for so many years. Or the verse of scripture written by hand and sheltered in an old frame that has added “homemade beauty” to my walls.

To be quite honest sometimes after looking at the prices on registries of some of the items asked for, my heart sinks as my pocketbook will be too stretched to accommodate the desire. And what if I find a better deal elsewhere, doesn’t that kind of defeat the purpose of not receiving possible duplicates?

I do not mean to nitpick, nor change the registry culture. I just wonder how the rest of you frugalites deal with gift registries? Do you think they are a true aide to gift giving? And how do you work with them in the frugal life?

Topics: misc. | 25 Comments »

Frugal Collections

Posted by: DL on Tuesday, March 16th, 2010

Recently, while washing dishes with my new daughter-to-be, (my first born son is engaged!) she asked me if I had any special collections. Quilts and oil lamps immediately came to mind as I delight in any that come my way. However, since I don’t buy quilts or ask for oil lamps as gifts , I did not think these would qualify as real collections.

As I walked over to the pantry and glanced at my shelves, I smiled. A bit sheepishly, I turned to daughter-to-be and mumbled, “ I collect pickle jars.” Seeing her quizzical smile, I mustered up my courage to explain that although the pickles are delicious, it is the jars that I most appreciate! And no, these treasures would not be found in any curio cabinet or on display.

As proud as any collector of fine merchandise, I gave daughter-to-be a peak at my collection. Nestled on shelves of pantry and freezer, pickle jars reigned supreme. Filled with grains, baking supplies frozen milk and homemade soup, these jars showed forth their value. I beamed as she complimented me upon my resourcefulness.

Hmmm, maybe I’ll be starting a new pickle jar collection and passing it on to daughter-to-be!

Do you have any “frugal collections?”

Topics: misc. | 18 Comments »

A frugal and meaningful Valentine’s Day

Posted by: kimc on Sunday, February 7th, 2010

The word on the street is that people plan to be more frugal and practical this Valentine's Day. No surprises there. The big question is how to do it without looking or feeling cheap or thoughtless.

Fortunately, ideas abound. Just search the internet for frugal Valentine ideas, or try some below.

Chocolate. It's practically required, but how many of us really want to add a whole box of chocolates to our hips and waistline? Instead of paying for fancy packaging and presentation, do the presentation yourself: a few rich and creamy Dove brand chocolate hearts on the pillow speak volumes, and hint at even more. ht to Frugal Fiction

Flowers. Another firmly entrenched tradition where it's possible to break free from consumerism and come out smelling sweet. Try hand-delivering a single rose with a kiss and a single chocolate (but don't leave it at that!), or buy a variety of flowers with more personal meaning than overpriced high-demand red roses. Tulips are lovely and last longer than thin-petaled flowers.

A potted flowering plant is usually far less expensive than cut flowers and will last much longer, even if your sweetheart doesn't have a green thumb. Again, tulips are inexpensive, widely available and absolutely beautiful in pots. With a little know-how, they can be enjoyed for years to come.

If you really must buy a dozen flowers, here's a fun idea to get a lot of bang for your buck: Plan to meet in a public place, and have eleven strangers each deliver a single flower to your sweetheart just before you arrive to deliver the last flower. Oh - do make sure you have a vase or box to hold the collection when you arrive.

Express yourself. Don't rush to buy a sparkly $5 card full of cliches written by a total stranger. Write a love letter, try your hand at poetry, or jot down a handful of love notes and leave them in unexpected places.

Dinner. It doesn't have to be at a fancy restaurant. When we were first married, we often celebrated by splurging on inexpensive steaks that we cooked together at home. Over the years, we tried our hand at seafood and other specialty items that we could never afford to order at a restaurant. A nice bottle of wine at home is also far cheaper than 2 glasses of nice wine at a restaurant.

Later, when we had children and couldn't afford a sitter, we would buy the kids some fun foods like chicken nuggets and fries, then send them to bed with - gasp! - a video in their room. If they weren't ready to fall asleep at 7, they stayed put until they were ready to sleep, and hubby and I had the rest of the house to ourselves. The kids still have fond memories of these times.

Gifts. Sometimes the most appreciated gifts are the practical ones. One year hubby and I went clothes shopping together. We each bought 2 or 3 badly needed items that lasted for many years. Some years, we buy one item for the house that we have both been wanting, using the holiday to justify the purchase.

Get creative. Some gifts are free, requiring your time rather than money. If you are married, you have a whole other class of gift options from which to choose. Use your imagination.

Dates. Dates need not include a full sit-down dinner and a movie. Go browse a bookstore (then come home and check PaperbackSwap for the titles that caught your eye), go out for ice cream or coffee, split an appetizer at your favorite restaurant, stroll through an art museum, or visit that fast food restaurant where you first met your sweetheart. Look for sentimental value rather than retail value. more ideas here.

Movie. If you do want to take in a movie, consider renting one from the library, Netflix, or RedBox (search the internet for a free rental code). You could even buy an old favorite as a mutual gift. Pop a bowl of popcorn, dim the lights, and snuggle up together on the sofa. No matter how you get it, a movie at home is a more relaxed and intimate time and has far more potential for romance than the local theater.

If you must go to the theater for your movie fix, try an early matinee or a dollar theater, and avoid the concession stand. Instead of shelling out $10 for popcorn and coke, save your money and split an appetizer at your favorite restaurant afterward, or buy a nice treat to take home with you.

Need more ideas? Check out the roundup of posts at the Carnival of Valentine's Day Personal Finance Bloggers' Posts.
Do you have ideas of your own, or memories from Valentine's past?

Topics: entertainment, holidays | 8 Comments »

Make Money Writing, Homemade Gifts for Men, and More

Posted by: DeputyHeadmistress on Friday, December 18th, 2009

I've just signed up at Associated Content, where you can make a little extra money for your writing. I'm not sure that this will be a huge source of income for us, but every little bit counts, of course. Right now, they have a special where if you sign up now and get five posts up before December 31, you get five dollars. Manage to publish 10 posts by December 31 and you'll get ten dollars. For this program your posts do not even have to be new content. You can take old blog posts or other articles published elsewhere and repost them at AC and still be eligible for that five or ten dollars.

For previously published materials, your payment scale is based solely on number of hits.

For example, I wrote a post on ten home-made and frugal gifts to make for men, and it currently has 238 hits, and at this point that will bring me a whopping .38 cents. But this is content I previously posted on my blog, so all I had to do was copy, paste, and make sure the formatting worked, and the article will continue to make money as people google the topic, or kindly follow links such as this one (thanks!). I like this post a lot and I believe it has some uniquely frugal ideas that are a cut above the usual 'color a picture,' 'paint a t-shirt,' projects.

The payment scale is a little higher for articles that have not previously been published elsewhere. You can also submit articles in response to particular requests posted by AC on their site- this article on three easy but nice crafts you can make with your kids hasn't had any hits yet, but I'm already being paid 2.34 for it. Admittedly, this is small change, and I've made more publishing for in print magazines before, but it can add up, and friends who have been doing this for a while tell me they pay upfront, and the money increases as you go. The crafting article, incidentally, includes a recipe and a picture for a dough for making ornaments that works so well that we have some ornaments made 25 years ago that still look as nice as they did when new.

If you haven't already seen it, you may find something useful in this article on ten ways to help your children stop their 'gimme-gimmes.' which is another article first posted on our regular blog and then reposted at AC in order to meet the ten posts by December 31 deadline.

10 Frugal Gifts I’m Giving

Posted by: MerchantShips on Monday, December 7th, 2009

Whew! I just crossed the last item from my Christmas list. It did require a last-minute run into Fresh Market, but overall, I came in under budget.

Here are 10 frugal gifts you might find on my kitchen counter this season:

4 Tickets to the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum. Don't laugh--admission costs $21 per person. We're delighted to give our free passes to a music loving family. Have you entered any radio contests lately?

A green centerpiece. Our gourmet shop sells small baskets of fresh pine and pinecones for $15. If you have access to evergreens, you can put these together for $2 ($1 for floral foam, $1 for container).

A bundle of cinnamon sticks. I stopped by the Indian grocery for star anise and left with a bag of cinnamon sticks. A long bundle costs less than $2, smells and tastes fabulous. I tied up a few with beautiful ribbon for holiday hostess gifts.

Chai tea mix. Speaking of spices, Amy from Momadvice.com shared her frugal gift mixes at a local blogger party last month. A nice change from hot cocoa or Russian tea, her recipe is absolutely gift worthy.

Glade holiday candles. Amy came to Nashville to demonstrate Glade's Holiday Collection candles. Product promotion works, because I found myself at Walmart's endcap display a week later. For $2.25, these Christmas scents smell like the gift shop version.

Perfectly preserved vintage items. Just ask stylist Eddie Ross if his thrift store table finds are appreciated. One relative will open a $3 cut glass dish in her gold-rimmed pattern, filled with dark chocolate truffles.

Digital photo slideshows. Someone in my family lost his baby book, so I'm creating a digital version using Smilebox, my favorite free slideshow service. The color and theme choices are amazing.

$5 magazine subscriptions from Amazon. Get a year of Country Living, Popular Mechanics, Smart Money or Veranda for $5 and no shipping.

Great music. An i-Tunes gift card is great, but a playlist of favorites is personal. Hunt for free MP3 downloads on Amazon's 25 Days of Free or check your favorite musician's websites.

Service to others. We are truly at a loss for people who want nothing. In addition to a good book, we'll be giving them a card, saying that we have served a hot breakfast to 2 dozen hungry people in their name.

Finding a few real bargains can help you give more generously in other areas. How are you stretching your gift dollars this season?

Topics: cheerful frugality | 5 Comments »

Frugal and Creative Christmas (or other) Gifts

Posted by: DeputyHeadmistress on Friday, December 4th, 2009

For children- the best way to reduce your children's expectations and cases of the 'gimmes' is to turn off the television, or at least the commercials, and take them to the library or the park instead of the mall or toy shop. If they don't know what's out there, they can't yirn for it (yes, yirn is what I meant):

Use magazine or catalog pages (because they are glossy so hold up better) and make a set of paper boats. Make them really small and give them in an old metal tin formerly used to house mints (altoids, usually). Paint the tin or decoupage it if you like.

Use the old metal tins to hold the beads from several pieces of costume jewelry picked up at a thrift shop or yard sale (or from your old stash)- take apart the costume jewelry and give the beads, findings, and a bit of floss or fishing line to a child interested in making her own necklaces or bracelets.

We have found lots of old classic board games and puzzles at the thrift shop. Games are easier to check to be sure they have all the pieces, and you can either take a chance with a puzzle or watch for puzzles that haven't been opened.

A small basket of 'go-together' things from the thrift shop and your own head:

A couple of matchbox cars, a book about cars, a toy stop sign or house, and a plastic or vinyl placemat upon which you have drawn a few roads.
A toy shark, a book about sharks, and a framed picture of a shark (you frame it from a picture from an old calendar or a book that the thrift shop tossed in with a batch of other books because it was falling apart), or some viewmaster cards about ocean creatures.
A 'bedtime basket: two or three bedtime story books, a stuffed animal, and a comfy pair of pajamas made from a pair of sweat pants and a co-ordinating t-shirt.
A jump rope, a set of jacks, and a book of jump rope rhymes (you could put this together yourself from jump rope rhymes you find online.
Blocks and toy soldiers or toy animals.
Have you ever noticed how many Christmas ornaments would also make nice items for the dollhouse? Don't do this if any of your children still mouth their toys, as Christmas ornaments are not tested for child safety issues, such as lead paint and other hazards. Use common sense.
A few wood scraps, some old tools (simple things, a small hammer, a screw-driver, a wrench), and some nuts and bolts.
A home-made batch of play-dough and some cookie cutters and a rolling pin from the thrift shop, along with other odds and ends that would make interesting shapes and patterns in the dough.

For young cooks or older cooks, look for small kitchen gadgets and build a present around that. One year at our house the 'easter basket' for each of our little girls was a stainless steel mixing bowl, a small wooden spoon, a small whisk, and a small baking tin, and it was a big hit. Other kitchen related presents I thought of while browsing the thrift shop:

A nutmeg grater (I picked one up at the thrift shop for .50), a couple of whole nutmegs (this package could contain as many as a dozen whole nutmegs so you could make several little presents with them), and a batch of a recipe using grated fresh nutmeg along with a copy of the recipe (or forego the batch if you the present won't be opened for a while). We like nutmeg muffins, immensely.

Cookie cutters, colored sugars (you can make your own by putting sugar and some food coloring in a small jar and shaking very, very well), and a recipe for sugar cookies. Include a batch of dough if the present is to be opened immediately (this freezer recipe looks good).

A fluted pastry cutter and a recipe for these cookies (instead of cookie cutter shapes, roll out the dough and use the pastry wheel to make squares and diamonds), or for home-made noodles.

A teaball or tea infuser, a teacup and saucer (or a pair) and some looseleaf tea (check your local natural foods store, or consider making your own blend).

An apple corer-slicer and a recipe for an apple dip. If you find a pretty bowl with a lid this would go nicely with this present , especially if you fill it with a batch of the dip.=)

For somebody with a green thumb:

If your recipient has a sunny window, consider a pretty pot of soil (I saw lots of pretty planters at the thrift shop) and some herb seeds, or buy some mint at the grocery store (produce section) and plant it in a pot.

A book on gardening , some seeds, graph paper, and an out of the ordinary gardening catalog (Johnny's Selected Seed, Seeds of Change, Territorial, Peaceful Valley Seeds, for example)- I saw lots of nice books on gardening at our thrift shop- not all 'how-to' books, but also pretty coffee table books, devotional type books, gardening memoirs both funny and sad.

A pretty shallow bowl, some flat glass beads, and a bulb for forcing.

For a young couple:

A basket of Christmas decorations

A pair of matching mugs or bowls and home-made hot cocoa mix, spiced tea, or ice-cream topping; add a deck of cards or some other game.

For a man:

Find a nice 'manly' tin, and wrap up a batch of cookies or home-made bread. Include a home-made certificate entitling the recipient to one refill (or one refill a month, or membership in a 'cookie of the month' club).

Pick up a good thermos, if you can find one (I've seen a Stanley thermos at our thrift shop a couple of times), or a couple of sealable lunch containers. Promise to keep them filled.=)

Put together a shaving kit- I found a boar hair bristle brush one year (admittedly, this will not be a common find, but you never know, and the point of this post is to prime your pump, not give you a dot to dot list), and included the brush, a bar of goat's milk soap, and mug to put it all in. You can add a good razor and some aftershave.

A tie and a tie-pin- and if you cannot find a tie-pin you think he'll like, put together one of your own by finding a plainish, flat tie tack and using something like a dab of Gorilla Glue to attach a better front- look through thrift shop jewelry, craft supplies, and even on the fastentings of clothes to find something you think he'll like.

If your guy travels, you can put together a traveling kit for him- look for a nice small and manly bag at the thrift shop and add things like:

small bottle of shampoo
nail clippers
pain-killer
chapstick
unscented lotion
mouthwash
toothpaste
toothbrush
floss
laminated photo of you and the kids

While the items on this list are not exactly frugal, this is a really good source for ideas on all things manly.

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Those are a few of the ideas I had while browsing the thrift shop. What are some of your more creative ideas for frugal gift giving?

Topics: Out of the Box Frugality, money-saving hacks | 3 Comments »

Gathering the Fragments…

Posted by: DeputyHeadmistress on Saturday, November 28th, 2009

of Thanksgiving Dinner, or what to make with the leftovers. This post is delayed, btw, because MY family spent most of Thanksgiving and the day after eating things like crackers, ginger ale, and chicken soup, when we were not looking upon all comestibles with a horrified and queasy eye, if you get my drift.

Just be lucky our drift is all you'll be getting. We kindly shared our little bug with my sister-in-law, my son-in-law, my grandson, and friends from out of town. Aren't we generous.

We were so sick, in fact, that I spent all day Saturday thinking it was Friday, a very black Friday indeed. This means that this post is kind of a leftovers post, and that's suitable after all, since it's all about leftovers, and I think that's a great topic for a post Thanksgiving post.=)

Even if you aren't a Thanksgiving Day celebrant, you can adapt these recipes to any leftover poultry (or other leftovers as well)

So here we are- first, I hope you saved the turkey carcass, because you need it for a wonderfully nourishing and rich broth
Turkey Enchiladas are a tradition stemming from my childhood- when we lived in the southwest we smoked our turkey every year, and we learned the most delicious use of leftover smoked turkey is to make enchiladas. In fact, we liked this so well that we prefer the leftovers to the turkey. It's still good even without the smoked turkey. Here's the recipe:

Sauce~
In a large saucepan heat together:
two cans evaporated milk
2 cans cream soup (usually cream of chicken, but cream of mushroom is also good)
1 small can tomato sauce
1 envelope onion soup mix (optional- it will be richer with it, but it's not necessary).
grated cheese to taste (how much cheese will depend entirely on your budget and your taste preferences).
1 or two cans of diced green chiles

Filling~
Mix about 4 cups of chopped leftover turkey, grated cheese (to taste), and some more green chiles (to taste). Measurements are very flexible. Do you like your enchiladas thick or thin, full of cheese or full of meat, spicy or mild, dry or saucier?

Grease a casserole
Dip a corn tortilla in the sauce mixture. Lay it in the casserole dish. Put a spoon full or two of turkey mixture down the middle of the tortilla. Roll it and turn it seam side down in the pan. Repeat until the pan is full of enchiladas. Pour remaining sauce over the enchiladas and bake until hot all the way through and golden around the edges. I never make this without getting sauce all over my hands.

Serve with a salad and refried beans on the side.

Turkey-Stuffing Casserole- this makes a wonderful breakfast or brunch recipe

The first year we were married, over a quarter of a century ago, I participated in a 'secret sister' program at our church. For those unfamiliar with church 'secret sisters,' you exchange names and, keeping your identity a secret, you give little gifts, cards, and notes to your secret sister, and you remember her in prayer regularly. Lou-Anne, the sister who drew my name that first year of marriage, had a gift for gift giving. She cross-stitched a beautiful red and white cover to a canning jar, which I filled with the dried rose petals from my wedding bouquet. She wrote thoughtful notes with sweet little Bible verses perfectly matched to my prayer requests. and she gave me a one-dish meals cookbook that has served us well for almost decades of marriage. Some of our most economical, tasty dishes came from that cookbook. Her thoughtfulness and kindness really meant a lot to me over the years, and taught me something about personalizing little gifts and how the small and frugal extra touch can mean so much. She taught me something else too....
A few years ago we crossed paths again (this happens often with military families), and I told her how much those little gifts had meant to me and how much use they had gotten. She was embarrassed because she didn't even remember that she had ever been my secret sister. She didn't need to be embarrassed. It did not hurt my feelings. On the contrary, she taught me something again about generosity. She taught me that we never really know how much some small kindness that we don't even consider worth remembering will be a precious gift to somebody else. Never slight the small things. I was also impressed with how little she had focused on herself- she cross-stitched a small gift for me, something personal and handwork of her own, but then did not remember it- because she was just that selfless.

Here is one of the recipes from the cookbook she gave me:

6 beaten eggs
2 cups of milk OR one cup milk and one cup cream of celery soup (NOTE: I don't use the cream soup. I use two cups of thinned gravy leftover from Thanksgiving Dinner).
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of dry mustard (this really does contribute to the flavor)
1 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce
10 slices of slightly stale bread (I never use bread. I use leftover stuffing or dressing, because we like ours a bit dry. If your stuffing or dressing is mush use less soup/milk/gravy)
2 cups grated Cheddar cheese, sharp
2-4 cps of diced leftover turkey

Mix well the first four ingredients to make a sauce.

Grease a 13X9 casserole dish

Spread half of the stuffing (or bread if that's what you use) in the bottom of the pan. Spread the turkey and cheese over this, and top with remaining stuffing (or bread). Pour the milk mixture evenly over this and refrigerate for four hours or overnight.

Bring it to room temperature and bake in your preheated, 350 degree oven for 45 minutes to an hour (until it's bubbling hot). Let stand another 15 minutes before serving.

This serves eight, if they aren't farmhands.

Another favorite from that cookbook is Cranberry Chicken Pinwheels- only we make it after thanksgiving with leftover turkey:

pinwheel topping
* 2 C. packaged biscuit mix
* 1/2 C. milk (Or just make some biscuits)
* 1/2 C. Cranberry-Orange Relish

Sauce
* 1/4 C. chopped onion
* 1/3 C. flour
* 14 1/2 oz chicken broth
* 1 1/3 C. milk
* 1 1/2 C. cooked chicken or turkey cut into bite sized pieces
* 1 C. shredded cheddar cheese
* 3 oz can sliced mushrooms, drained

To prepare pinwheels, combine biscuit mix and the 1/2 c. milk. Stir till well blended. Turn out onto lightly floured surface: knead 5 to 6 times. Roll out to a 10 inch square. Spread cranberry relish over dough to within 1/2 inch on all sides. Roll up as for jelly roll. Moisten edges with water; seal. Cut into 8 slices; set aside.

Sauce
In saucepan cook onion in butter till tender but not brown. Stir in flour, blending well. Add chicken broth and the 1 1/3 c. milk. Cook and stir till mixture is thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir 1 to 2 minutes more. Stir in chicken or turkey, cheese, and mushrooms. Cook and stir over low heat till cheese melts and mixture is boiling. Turn chicken mixture into a 9x13 pan. Arrange pinwheels, cut side down, atop hot mixture. Bake in a 425 degree (Fahrenheit) oven about 25 minutes or till pinwheels are browned.

Serve hot.

Makes 8 healthy helpings, or 11 or so more prudent servings.

Leftover cranberry sauce is also delicious over pancakes or waffles, and on buttered muffins.

What's your favorite thing to do with leftovers?

Topics: misc. | 4 Comments »

Thankful For The Little Things

Posted by: MerchantShips on Monday, November 23rd, 2009

One of my favorite quotations reminds me to be thankful for the little things:

To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not rich; to listen to stars and birds, babes and sages, with open heart; to study hard; to think quietly, act frankly, talk gently, await occasions, hurry never; in a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common--this is my symphony.

--William Henry Channing

Learning to love what you have is essential to the frugal life. This week, as we count our blessings, here are 3 great blogs which have helped me do the same.

A Holy Experience - Ann's 1000 Gifts of Gratitude

The Homespun Heart - How To Prepare A Heart of Thanksgiving

Chatting At The Sky - Tuesdays Unwrapped Celebrate The Small Things

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!

Topics: misc. | 5 Comments »

A Gift of Frugali-TEA and Magazines

Posted by: DeputyHeadmistress on Friday, November 20th, 2009

Pip mentions a wonderful Adagio tea deal going on right now here.

You get a five dollar gift certificate to apply towards an order from adagio teas (and very good teas they are, too). You have to use it for a minimum order of five dollars, and shipping is 3.75, so you will be spending at least that much, but keep reading to see some ideas to really maximize on this deal and use it for a nice present.

Their teas are loose, full leaf teas which are better tasting than the broken odds and ends that find their way into most American tea bags, and, being full, loose leaf teas chosen with quality in mind, that means they are free of that typical American tea flavor, which I find has a tinny, bitter after taste that I personally think makes them taste much like dirty dishwater smells. Incidentally, I am from Arkansas, and for years, before my Razorback Daddy fell prey to Dementia, he swore I was a changling and not a true child of Arkansas at all, because he was putting sweet tea in my bottle when I was but a wee little mite and I was spitting out the bitter stuff even then.

But back to something finer in life- generally, the Adagio tea samplers make ten cups each and are only 2.00. They come in adorable cute reusable tins. Spearmint, peppermint, and chamomile herbal teas are only 1.00 per sampler (and make five cups each). When you place your order if you tell them your birthday (or be tricksy and give them the birthday of a friend or family member), they will also give you a free sampler for that month- it will be named with the corresponding sign of the zodiac.

These little tins make really cute stocking stuffers or part of a nice gift basket for a new mother or a friend's birthday- especially if you used that friend's birthday month for the birthday sampler!

So, you can get two regular samplers for 2.00 each, then choose one of the three 1 dollar samplers, and then get the free birthday month tea and you have four very cute little tins of loose leaf tea for which you paid only the 3.75 in shipping.

OR you could buy five tins of an assortment of spearmint, peppermint, and chamomile tea samplers. I don't know if you also get the free birthday sampler with this option- I tried to walk through another order to see (I didn't intend to complete the order), but it is supposed to be only certificate per household, and it wouldn't recognize my certificate. If you go this route, would you let me know how it worked?

If you do not need or want four sampler tins of tea, you could go really upscale and buy a five dollar sampler of one of the gunpowder blends or the dragon pearls (very pretty rolled teas), or use it to apply towards the purchase of one of the blossom teas (these are ten dollars for a package of ten blossoms). These are beautiful blossoms that unfurl in your teapot- so you want to have a glass teapot in order to really get the benefit, since with this tea the visual appeal is as important as the taste.

Once you place your order, there is also an option to purchase a year's subscription to your choice of four various magazines for only 2.00 each, and I chose some of those for gifts as well.

Basically, that means you can give each of four special somebodies a year's subscription to a magazine and ten cups of really quality tea, so they can sit down with a cup of tea when the magazine comes each month (depending on the subscription- some of them were for ten issues, some for 8, some for 12), for only 1.43 per person!

Now, the magazines only have the option of sending them to one address. I suggest choosing yours, then when the first one comes send them a change of address and update it to your gift recipient's address. Then wrap up the magazine you received with the tea for gift giving, along with a short note explaining that they will be getting the magazine sent to them.

Make this really fun (and special, but still frugal) and include, oh, a couple print-outs of crafts to make from old magazines, such as:
1. beads
2. dangly earrings
3. folded boats [glossy magazine pages float in a sink of water much longer than other paper boats],
4. envelopes for mailing snail mail letters or storing coupons,
5. collages
6. or even a magazine bowl [which I would not use for storing food, but would be fun for toys, storing balls of yarn and crochet hooks or knitting needles, keeping the remote controls in...)
7. suggest that when your recipient is finished, they could donate used magazines to nursing homes, a medical office, or care centers.
8. Shred magazine pages for packing material (including in gift bags), and use strips cut from old magazines for bows for packages (scroll down to bottom of this post for photograph and a link).
9. Make this cute heart pendant (I think I'd like it better as a refrigerator magnet)
10. Make a bracelet- this adorable project uses sheet music and guitar strings, but you could use anything the same shape, and coiled magazine pages instead of sheet music.

Add a sweet note explaining that each time the magazine comes you hope they can sit down, put their feet up and enjoy a cup of tea with their reading, and you have a thoughtful and fun gift that lasts all year long.

So get your tea.=) Either click through to read what Pip had to say about Adagio Teas and which samplers she recommends, or just click on the icon below to get started:

Advice from our Tea Aficionado Friend, known on our blog as The Tea Chemist:

Brewing Tea• Tea must be made with boiling (not boiled) water
• Brew tea anywhere from two to six minutes (for stronger tea, brew longer)
• Loose, full-leaf tea gives the best flavor
• If using a teabag, do not, under any circumstances, squeeze the tea bag into the tea (this releases tannic acid into the tea, which causes a bitter aftertaste)

Topics: misc. | 3 Comments »

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