Frugal Hacks » announcements

Winner of The Tightwad Gazette

kimc — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 21:23:51 +0000

Before announcing the winner of our latest giveaway, we need to take care of business. First, let's do some research. You do know who Amy Dacyczyn is, right? You know about The Tightwad Gazette?

Here she is long ago, in the heyday of the newsletter that started it all. She's talking about a recession. Funny how people get really interested in living frugally during a recession.

And here she is very recently, in her gorgeous house which - if memory serves - she and her husband purchased with cash while raising 6 children on a very modest income.

Thanks to Yardsalequeen for sharing the video above.

And now that we've done our homework, it's time to announce the winner of the used copy of The Tightwad Gazette, which I got for free by using a coupon at a used bookstore.

Out of 21 entries in which readers shamelessly shared their own frugal failures and those of others, we narrowed it down to the following 4:

Forest, whose friends saved on dinner by digging and cooking their own shellfish on a European trip. They wound up in the hospital with food poisoning and big fat bill.

Renita, who tried to save on a beach trip by setting up a tent amid a storm of mosquitos, only to get rained out by a storm of another sort. They ended up spending way too much money on a last-minute unplanned hotel stay.

Allison, who as a newlywed caused her husband great gastrointestinal distress by substituting too much TVP for his customary hamburger. It was a month before they pinpointed the cause of the trouble.

KarenE, whose dog ate like a king when the family decided they didn't care for the taste of grass-fed - after they bought an entire half.

Our own secret and totally unfair method has pinpointed Forest's friends as those mostly deeply in need of The Tightwad Gazette. We'll mail it to Forest in the hope that he can impart some wisdom to them.

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Joining the Frugal Blogroll: a fresh start

kimc — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 11:18:13 +0000

OK, people. Here's the thing. I'm expecting my 10th child and I'm waaaay behind on adding new blogs to the Frugal Blogroll. Some of you asked to be added months ago. You put the badge in your sidebar where it belongs, and you waited patiently. Then your patience finally ran out. You got tired of waiting and took it down. I don't blame you, but when I try to catch up on old business, nobody has the badge.

Some of you just emailed asking to be added without placing the badge in your sidebar because things got mixed up and misplaced while I was reconstructing the blogroll and you couldn't find the instructions. My fault, but I'm not going to let you slide on my account. I'm a stickler like that.

So I'm going to close my eyes and hit the delete button on all the emails in my Frugal Hacks inbox. I hope you realize this is going to hurt me more than it hurts you. Please tell me I'm doing the right thing.

And then when the cloud of guilt has cleared, those of you who would like to be added to the Frugal Blogroll can go here, carefully read the rules, add the badge to your sidebar (if you're reasonably sure your blog qualifies) and start the waiting game again. But this time, I'll try really, really hard to keep up with you all.

Is it a deal?

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Frugal Hacks fan page on Facebook

kimc — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 12:26:42 +0000

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?

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Help me!

kimc — Wed, 27 May 2009 13:37:10 +0000

Some of you have been asking, so I'll admit it. The Frugal Blogroll is a mess, and I'm really hoping you will help me put it back together.

There are over a thousand links, and I'm trying to get them away from Blogrolling.com into a static list that will load much faster - and not be at the mercy of an outside server, which was recently hacked and down for a long-long-long-long-long time. It will be ordered alphabetically, with easy navigation at the top to take you to any letter on the page. It will be a thing of beauty.

Here's where you come in. I can sort them alphabetically into a spreadsheet, but the formatting is a mess and the links are redirecting through Blogrolling.com. I need 27 volunteers who will each take one letter of the alphabet to fix. They will need to click on each one to verify that it still goes to a live blog that is displaying the Frugal Badge or blogroll in a sidebar on the front page, then make a list of linked blog titles, keeping them in the same order.

Each volunteer will receive my undying thanks, heartfelt gratitude, and a big hearty cyber hug. While you're working on that, we'll be working on approving and adding over 200 new members who are waiting for me to get my frugal act together.

So who's ready to help? Just leave a comment, and I'll send you a list of blogs to work on. I promise it will be easy. I'm guessing each group of blogs will include about 40-50 links and will be no more than 1-2 hours of work, depending on your connection and your dexterity with the mouse.

And I'm curious: is anyone wondering why I need 27 volunteers instead of 26?

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Faster than inflation

kimc — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 16:12:15 +0000

We have solved The Problem. What? You didn't know there was one?

We had assumed that the shocking lack of commentary and general interaction was due to the sluggishness of the front page, so we moved the big ol' blogroll to its own page over here.

See? Problem solved! Now you can leave the all those comments that you so desperately wanted to leave but didn't have time for the page to load! Aren't you so happy?

In all seriousness, please take a moment to leave a comment if you notice an improvement. We think it's coming up faster than inflation now.

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Vote for Meredith!

kimc — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 19:53:08 +0000

Meredith of Like Merchant Ships has been a contributor here on Frugal Hacks almost since the very start. We all love her sweet, cheerful spirit, her gracious hospitality on any budget, and her frank honesty about all things frugal.

Now she is in the running for Scholastic's Mommy Blogger awards! She made the final cut out of a field of over 500 and is currently in 2nd place. If you know and love Meredith's blog, please vote for her. If you don't, go visit. Then vote for her.

Voting ends March 13 and you can only vote once, so you have time to think about it. But don't think too long, because if you're like me you'll forget. Don't deny it. You know it's true. Just do it now, ok?

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Follow Frugal Hacks on Twitter

kimc — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 18:57:19 +0000

Frugal Hacks now has its own Twitter account.

Follow!

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Forum update

kimc — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 06:19:23 +0000

The new forum seems to be a big hit! I can't believe the response so far. Between 2:30 and midnight, there were over 3,000 pageviews! Are you all really excited about sharing ideas, or is it just the promise of cold hard cash? Either way, I'm excited!

Just one quick request: If you are starting a new topic, please search to be sure your subject is new to the forum. Commenting on an existing thread is much more fun for everyone!

These users have already qualified for the $100 drawing by posting at least 25 times to the new Frugal Forum:

lynette355
DeputyHeadmistress
frugaltxmama

There are still 47 spots left to qualify for the $100 drawing, not to mention the $25 drawing for blogging about the forum. See this post for details on both.

So...how are you doing? Stats are now at the bottom of the forum.

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The Frugal Forum is here! $125 in cash prizes!

kimc — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 18:20:12 +0000

The new Frugal Forum is up and running, and ready for you to jump in. You can get to it by clicking on the Forum tab at the top of the page. I would love to hear from you over there, and to make it more fun, I'm going to have a drawing for a fabulous prize of $100 cash!

I will draw among the first 50 people who post at least 25 entries on the forum. There are just a few commonsense rules.

ENTER TO WIN $100 CASH:

You must register to post or start a new topic. Anyone can read, but you must be logged in to post. It's easy. This prevents spam, and it allows me to see how many times you've entered.
Your entries must have some substance. They don't all have to be brilliant and innovative, but they must have some meaning and be related to frugal living. You can't just say, "Me too," or "Good point" twenty-five times.
You must have 25 published entries. I reserve the right to delete any post or topic at any time. If you know me, I use this right very sparingly. I'm really just covering the bases here.
The final decision is mine. If several people cross the 25-entries line at the same time, I might end up with 53 people in the drawing instead of just the first 50. If less than 50 people qualify, the drawing will be cancelled. You have to promise not to complain, mkay?

So get hoppin'! Go register (it's easy) and start gabbing. Share your wisdom, or pose your question. Let's help each other learn how to live on less!

BONUS GIVEAWAY: $25

Just post on your blog about the Frugal Forum and the $100 giveaway. Link to this post and the forum, and leave a comment here to let me know. I'll draw for the winner of this giveaway when I draw for the $100 winner.

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Frugal Hacks in the news!

kimc — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 06:21:51 +0000

Frugal Hacks was mentioned Sunday morning in the Dallas Morning News online in a very short list of Web Sites That Give the Frugal a Forum. The others mentioned were:

The list itself was in connection to another article in the Dallas Morning News in which consumer dropouts swear off new products for a year.

Thanks to the heads up from Ewok Girl.

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