Hands down, using your local library has to be the best frugal tip out there.  I am in love with my local library these days.  Here is why:  Everything is FREE!  You can’t get much better than free!  It doesn’t matter what you borrow or use, there is simply no charge!  Computer & internet use?  Free!  Bestseller Novels?  Free!  Children’s Story Times?  Free!  Blockbuster Hit Movies?  Free! There are recent materials as well as the classics.  You can easily find Best Sellers books as well as your old time favorite.  Plus there are tons of new release movies available, which brings me to number 3… MOVIES!  The library isn’t just … [Read more...]

Email, cell phones and Facebook have truly changed the way that we communicate.  It is rare now to receive a written letter.  I hardly ever receive anything personal in the mail unless it is my birthday or my hand-written-letter-loving friend Michelle surprises me.  Sadly, that means that bills and junk mail are what fills up most mail boxes these days.  However, I still love checking my mail box!  Why? FREEBIES!!!  I had an amazing couple of days the other week and received all of this in a matter of days!  I just LOVE getting free samples in the mail, so this jack-pot put me in freebie heaven for a little while.  :)  Here is what I … [Read more...]

The summer of 2008 I became obsessed with using coupons, going to CVS and saving TONS of money.  Over the course of 6 months I saved nearly $400 by taking advantage of CVS sales, coupons and their Extra Care Bucks program.  I know how much I saved because I was so obsessed that I created a spread sheet to track it all!!  Then I saw that positive pregnancy test and suddenly I had something else to obsess over.  Today I went to CVS for the first time in months and here is how I did... The items pictured above cost a total of $78.85.  It doesn't look like that much, but Claritin and laundry detergent can be pretty pricey.  Thankfully, I was … [Read more...]

My wonderful sister, Amy, filled me in on a great tip: Now is the time to buy ham! According to Amy, every year around Christmas and Easter hams are discounted. Plus there is a coupon for ham in the Sunday paper. So now is an excellent time to buy ham! Amy buys a ham, cuts it into chunks and freezes it. Then she sees how many different ways she can enjoy her frugal find over the next couple of months. Amy actually kept a tally of all the different things she did with her Christmas ham.   There was a $3 off coupon for Kunzler hams in the Sunday paper the other week. Plus ham was selling for $1.78 a pound at a local grocery store. I was very … [Read more...]

I consider myself a tree hugger, but I’ve never thought I was “crunchy” enough to cut open my toothpaste tubes to get out the last little bits.  I’ve read online that many people do that as part of their money-saving routine, but for me it was going a bit far. Well, I decided to try it out for myself and see just how much toothpaste is really left in an “empty” tube. Here is my seemingly empty tube of toothpaste. I cut off the top and this is what I was able to squeeze out. I also decided to try this out with my “empty” face wash.  Nate & I had been squeezing this thing to death! That night I used my rescued toothpaste to … [Read more...]

I have talked the ear off of anyone that would listen to me talk about the wonders of Swagbucks.com. So to everyone who already knows what this is and has been dragging their feet to join: NOW IS THE TIME! Swagbucks is celebrating their “birthday” on February 25, 2010 (this Thursday). You’ll want to join before then so you can participate in the celebration. Swagbucks will be giving out “Mega Bucks” all day, updating their homepage, announcing new ways to earn bucks and there is going to be some big birthday surprise. Click here to sign up with Swagbucks. Now for those who have never heard of Swagbucks…  Swagbucks.com is a free search … [Read more...]