Thanks to Brandy from Savin’ Some for this great guest post.  She is way more creative than I am!

Organization – it has long been a goal of mine to completely grasp this concept.  However, with so many “must-have” tools and systems it can add up to a nice chunk of change.  Or at least that is what I thought until I decided to get creative with it.

If you are anything like me, my house is full of items that have the potential to be great organization tools.  You see, we have five children ages 6 and under, so we have lots of “things”.  Most of these “things” fall into the category of “needs organization”, but there are quite a few that can be used as tools.

Today I want to share some ways in which you can organize your space, simply by using what you already have stashed in other places.

Beach Buckets

Most people have a few of these lying around the house.  These make the perfect container for small Lego blocks, little cars, Barbie clothes and shoes, and even “Princess Dress-up accessories”; we have a lot of those at my house.  By simply adding a cup hook to the inside of the closet, you can hang the bucket by the handle to keep it up off of the floor.

Boxes

We have moved twice in the past two years, so we have had our share of boxes.  Guess what I found out, you can actually use those for organization.  We were recently in need of a toy box for one of our children’s rooms, so I found a way to make it work.  I took a sturdy moving box (one of the larger ones) and cut the flaps off of the top.  Next I added some cute material from my sewing stash, and ta-da, we had a toy box.

Peanut butter and Jelly containers

These are one of my favorite tools, partly because we have so many.  PB&J seems to be one of the favorite food combinations at my house.  There are tons of things that you can use these for:

• Cut a slit in the top of a PB container and let the kids decorate the container.  Just that simple you have a custom piggy bank.
• Use them in the craft room to hold safety pins and push pins.
• Screw the top to a shelf and you can use them to hold craft nails, or other small items, when you need one of the items, unscrew the container.  I love the fact that this frees up counter space.
• Use them to hold toys or even snacks in the car on a road trip.

Baskets

It seems like baskets are everywhere.  You receive them as gifts, etc.  Rather than throwing them out or donating them to the GoodWill, use them to get organized such as:

• Use them to organize items in your bathroom cabinets.
• Spray paint them to match your theme, and use them to hold towels or wash clothes on top of the bathroom counter.
• Use them in the game room to hold all of the pieces to each game.

The possibilities for organizing with “found” items are limitless; you just have to get a little creative.  I took inventory of what we had the most of and went from there.  Not only will organizing with this method help save you time, but it will save money too.

Brandy is a homeschooling mother of five, who loves to save money.  She is the author of www.savinsome.com, a blog where she shares tips that will help save you money, time, and sanity.

Photo Source: Svilen001

Recently my boys and I met some friends and went to a U-pick strawberry farm.  Besides the fun that we had outdoors with friends, we also were able to pick the best-tasting strawberries I’ve ever had for only $1.49/pound – $4.26 for all you see in my box.

Last year, I missed the strawberry picking, but I signed up for a crop update e-mails from our local farm.  If you’re not sure where to find a farm near you, visit Pick Your Own.org to find a local farm.

What about you?  Do you enjoy picking your own fruits and vegetables from a farm?  What’s your favorite item to pick?

Do you have pumpkins left over from Halloween?  We had 2 small pumpkins that we got for free when we were camping.  The boys decorated them with markers, but otherwise they were untouched.

After watching Foodie Daddy’s pumpkin pie demonstration at the Saving Up Event (and easy recipe for no-bake pumpkin pie), I was motivated to actually try to use the pumpkins that I had sitting around.  So, on Sunday afternoon, I cut up one of the pumpkins so that I could roast pumpkin seeds.  However, I’ve read several places on the web how easy it is to make your own pumpkin puree.  So, I tried it…it really is quite easy.  I plan on making Money Saving Mom’s pumpkin muffins (without the chocolate chips tomorrow).

Here are some of the methods of creating your own pumpkin puree (with pictures):

• Bake in the oven – Getting Ahead
• Microwave – guest post at Money Saving Mom

Plus, here’s the recipe for the Pumpkin chocolate chip muffins.

Photo by shuttermon

I love fall with it’s colorful leaves (especially the bright reds…like the picture), visits to the apple orchards, college football games, and the smell of fires in fireplaces.  However, it’s not my favorite season, because I dread the ensuing coldness of winter.

I know it’s going to get cold (at least in MI), so what can I do to stay warm without a huge energy bill?

• Winterize your home – walk around checking for drafty doors, windows, fireplaces, etc.  If you feel drafts add caulk or weatherstripping, or consider adding the plastic sheets over drafty windows.  You may also want to think about increasing your insulation or replacing really drafty windows in the future (once you can budget for the expense).

• Install/Use a Programmable Thermostat - if you have a regular schedule away from your home, a programmable thermostat will save you money by automatically lowering the temperature of the house when you are not home.  When my husband and I both worked, we used this all the time.  We even used it at night…we’d let the heat drop to 60 and then program it to warm back up to 68 before we got out of bed.  We don’t do that anymore, though, since my boys don’t stay under their blankets very well.

• Lower the Temperature – Experiment with how low you can set the thermostat without getting a chill.  We generally keep our thermostat at 68 during the winter.  We dress for winter (pants, long sleeve shirts, and slippers…since we have cold hardwood floors), and keep blankets on the couches.  Although it’s not toasty warm, it works for us (and our wallet).

• Use a Space Heater – If your family is congregating in one room, consider using a space heater to warm up that room.  You probably want to choose a space heater that is energy efficient, or you’ll lose your gas savings with a higher electricity bill.  If you have young kids, you also want to be careful about how hot the space heater will become, in case they touch it.  You also want to make sure that any space heater has fire safety precautions.

• Run your Ceiling Fan – if you have a ceiling fan in a room with a fairly high ceiling, set the fan to a clockwise rotation during the winter to force any hot air that has risen to the ceiling back down to the lower parts of the room.

• Let in the sun during the day – open up any curtains and blinds during the day to let the sun naturally warm up your home.

• Use your oven – In the heat of summer, no one wants to turn on the oven in the hot kitchen.  But, in the winter, using the oven can help heat up your home.  My husband used to keep the oven open after we used it…but it’s not a good idea if you have young kids or pets.  Also, you don’t want to use your oven solely to heat your home.

• Maintain your Furnace – make sure you change the filters on your furnace and get a regular furnace cleaning to keep it from overworking or working inefficiently.

How do you save money on heating costs during the winter?  What temperature do you keep your thermostat set during the winter?  For more frugal ideas, please visit Life as Mom.

Photo by claudmey

Even though I’m an avid couponer, I don’t always have time to plan my shopping trips to get the best deals and cut out my coupons (although I’ll still have a grocery list).  And sometimes, I’m just plain tired of dealing with coupons.  However, my family still has a grocery budget that I need to meet.  What can I do?

• Eat from your pantry – If you’re an avid couponer, you probably have a stockpile of items on hand.  Plan your meals around the items you already have, and you won’t need to purchase much at the grocery store that week for meals.

• Only purchase items for use that week – Many of the items where I use a coupon are for my stockpile, because they are at rock-bottom prices with a sale and a coupon.  If you’re getting burned out on couponing, take a week (or a couple of weeks off from adding to your stockpile).

• Purchase store brand items – Without a coupon, store brand items are usually cheaper than the name brand items.  Most of the time, the store brand items taste similar to the national brand…especially if it’s an item that will be used in a recipe with other ingredients.

• Check your grocery store’s sale flyer - You can take a cursory glance through your sale flyer to see if any staple items are on sale that you don’t normally have coupons for anyway, like flour, sugar, eggs, meat, etc.  You can still stock-up on those items if they are your target price without coupons.

• Use eCoupons - If you don’t have time to mess with clipping coupons, you can always just load eCoupons onto your store loyalty card.  There are several eCoupon programs – Cellfire, Shortcuts, P&G eSaver, and Upromise (click here for more information about Upromise and how to add the eCoupons). The disadvantage with the ecoupons is that they don’t double, and you can only use them once (so if you have multiple identical items, you would only get a coupon for one of the items).  But, they are easy to use.

• Use Printable Coupons – You’re still using coupons, but you won’t have to mess with organizing your coupons if you print out your coupons right before you head to the grocery store.  Only print those coupons that you will use on that shopping trip, and you will save time on filing your coupons.  Some printable coupon sources include: Coupons.com and Red Plum.

What about you?  Do you always use coupons or are there times that you slack off a bit?  How do you save money if you’re not using coupons?  For more frugal ideas, please visit Life as Mom.

Photo by zbyszek80

Because of the high cost of babysitters, my husband and I rarely go out to the movies (although when we are given a chance to go…oftentimes it’s hard to find much worth watching these days).  When we do go, it’s easy to spend a lot of money with the cost of the movie tickets and any snacks/drinks that we want to eat during the movie.  However, it is possible to save money on movies:

• Go to matinees or a weeknight movies – at my local theater, tickets are $10/ person for weekend movies after 3:55 pm, $7.50 for weekend matinees, and $5.00 for weekday tickets.  So, if I’m willing to go on a weeknight, I save 50% of the cost of the ticket.

• Use Swagbucks to get free movie tickets – For 99 swagbucks, you can get a free movie ticket for these movie theaters.  The free pass can be used for any movie up to $12/ticket.  Don’t know what Swagbucks is?  Click here to find out more.

• Use your Entertainment Book for movie coupons – In my local entertainment book, I can get discounted movie tickets (for the matinee price), plus there are coupons for free drinks, etc.

• Check your local warehouse club for discount movie tickets – My local Costco also sells 5-packs of movie tickets to AMC Theatres for $39.99.  So, if I’m going to a weekend evening show, I would basically get 1 ticket free.

• Join any free loyalty clubs – For example, if you’re a member of the AMC Movie Watchers Club, you can avoid paying the online ticket fee when purchasing tickets online at MovieTickets.com. You earn points for free items, and you qualify for special promotions such as free popcorn on Wednesday nights at AMC Theatres.

• Eat before or after your see the movie to avoid purchasing snacks - Even if you don’t have the time/money to go out to eat before or after the show, you can still fill up at home before you leave.  Since it’s against most (if not all) theater policies to allow outside food and drinks, I can’t suggest that as a solution to saving on snacks.  However, if you visit a drive-in movie theater, you are often free to bring in your own snacks.

• Wait until the movie comes out on DVD and rent it, buy it, or check it out from your library – this idea’s not quite as much fun as going to the movie theater, but it’s definitely much cheaper.  If you do purchase the movie, many times retailers such as Best Buy and Walmart have the movie deeply discounted the first week of release.

Do you go to the movies?  If so, how do you save money when you go to the movies?

Photo by Bubbels

Earlier this year, I wrote about how we don’t pay for  TV service (such as cable, AT&T UVerse, or satellite)…we just use our bunny ears for free reception.

However, I can understand that cutting cable is not for everyone (we really miss ESPN and the Big 10 Network during college football season)  But, that doesn’t mean you need to overpay for your TV service.

• Compare Prices by Company – even if your community does not allow cable company competition, there are still various alternatives to cable, like AT&T UVerse or several satellite companies (like Direct TV or Dish Network).

• Analyze your Bill – do you really need all the services and channels that you’re paying for?  Is it possible you can cut the premium channels and rent movies, join Netflix, or even get movies from the library for free?  For example, if we had cable, we would likely only watch ESPN…is one channel worth cable (it would depend on the game we’re missing for my husbands answer )?

• Ask your Provider for Discounts – unless you’ve signed a contract with your TV provider, you’re free to change companies at any time.  If you hear an ad for a discount for new customers, call your company and ask for the discount.  Mention that you’re thinking about switching to another company, and they may be willing to give you the discount.  You never know unless you ask, right?  Considering it would cost the company many times more to recruit a new customer than to keep your business, they might negotiate with you.

How do you save money on your TV spending?  Do you use alternative sources on the internet such as Hulu (I’d love to learn more about that)?  Anyone know how to catch live ESPN games on the internet ?  For more frugal ideas, please visit Life As Mom.

Update: Thanks so much to Jennifer for letting me know that I actually CAN get ESPN for free over the internet!  We use AT&T Uverse for our internet, so we can access the ESPN 360 site.  My husband will be thrilled!

Thanks to Sara from Learning the Frugal Life for writing this guest post on her family’s journey to using cloth napkins!

My family switched to cloth napkins about a month ago. I have been thinking about making the switch for about a year and finally decided to take the step. It was actually a little intimidating since my family had become so dependent on paper napkins and towels.

We used paper towels and napkins for everything. I mean EVERYTHING. Having 4 children in the house you can imagine how many we could go through in a day. We used them for noses, spills, eating, smashing bugs, wiping up mud, you name it. I could easily go through a package of 500 every couple weeks. While I know that paper napkins are fairly cheap (I could usually get a package for about $2-$3) that is still around $50 a year. Then if you add the cost of paper towels it begins to add up. What was really bothering me the most was the waste factor. So, I decided to make the switch.

There are many ways to get cloth napkins without buying brand new fancy ones. You can buy them second hand from thrift stores or yard sales. You can make your own from any fabric, old t-shirts, bed sheets or towels. If you watch the stores you can sometimes find napkins on clearance, especially around the holidays. Last month I picked up a whole bunch of Valentines napkins on clearance for .31 cents each. For everyday use I figured it wouldn’t matter what they looked like. Besides it’s kinda fun having a little variety.

I made my first set of napkins from some cotton fabric I found on clearance at Wal-Mart for $1.97. From this fabric I made 9 napkins, that averages to about .27 cents each. I sewed them all by hand in my spare time. I measured them each at 12 x 12 inches. I made them a little smaller than most of the conventional napkins to maximize my fabric. I cut them out and folded over each side and sewed them. This made them about 10 1/2 x 10 1/2 inches. While this is a little smaller than I initially wanted, they ended up being the perfect size for my toddlers to use.

Some people will argue the fact that using energy, water and soap to wash the cloth cancels out the good your doing by not using paper. I disagree. I don’t feel like the cloth napkins have increased my energy or water usage at all. The napkins are not that big and I just throw them in with my other laundry. Plus, we are typically only using about 6 napkins per day. Unless they get extremely soiled we just keep reusing them until they are dirty. I wash all my cloths in cold water, thus reducing energy. And if you hang them to dry you are using even less energy.

I invested less than $7 for my cloth napkins. I figured I spend about $100 per year on paper towels and paper napkins. While I have not totally eliminated paper towels I have definitely cut back our usage. So for that small initial investment up front they have more than paid for themselves, as I estimate that I will be saving about $70 per year. It feels good to be wasting less, and saving more. I expect my napkins to last me many years. I recommend that everyone look into switching to cloth. Not only will you save money, you will also be helping the environment.

Have you switched to cloth napkins or thought about doing it? For more frugal tips, visit Being Frugal.

Sara @ Learning the Frugal Life is a wife and mother to 4 boys. She used to work as a Medical Assistant, but after the birth of her third child decided to take the job of homemaker. She enjoys teaching herself and others how to live more frugally in their day to day lives. Sara also enjoys gardening, baking, organizing, scrapbooking and coming up with new arts and crafts for her kids to try. You can visit Sara at Learning the Frugal Life for some great tips on saving money or at her personal/crafty blog at One Mom, Five Boys.

Doing laundry is a fact of life in most households. Many times it is a daily chore that is necessary so our families have clean clothes to wear. The energy that is used doing laundry can add up over time to a pretty hefty bill. But, there are ways to save money even on laundry:

• Switch to a cold water wash – I wash all my darks in cold water with just my normal detergent, and the clothes come out clean. But, if you’re worried about whether regular detergent will do the trick, there are special cold water detergents. About 90% of the energy used to do laundry comes from heating the water. So, by doing 80% of your loads in cold water, you can save more than $60 per year (or $100 in higher electricity areas).

• Only do full loads of laundry – It takes about the same amount of energy to do a small load vs. a large load, so wait until you have enough laundry to fill the washing machine before you throw in a load.

• If you’re in the market for a new washing machine, consider an ENERGY STAR washing machine. The machine may be more expensive up front, but you’ll need to add the calculation for the energy savings into the cost. An ENERGY STAR qualified machine may save $550 in operating costs over the life of the machine.

• Consider hanging clothes to line-dry (or use a drying rack) rather than using your dryer.

How do you save money on laundry? For more frugal tips, visit Biblical Womanhood.

Thanks to Tia from Tia’s Saving Cents for writing a guest post for me on preparing for a layoff.

A few months ago I learned that my job would be ending this April. I am very blessed. I received a lot of notice and the plan I am leaving with has a severance package, which I know is a lot more than many are left with when they are handed that pink slip. I was in denial the first few weeks. I was still getting up and going to that job everyday, so it did not seem real. When the first round of leave dates arrived for my co-workers, it hit me. This is real, and I need to take advantage of this time to prepare.

Build Up The Stock Pile- My first focus was to build up my stockpile. I reviewed my Top 50 items and started taking inventory of what I had, and how much I thought I would need to last a 3-6 month period. I reallocated money from our entertainment budget to help me double my stock piles, and so far I have been able to find some really great free and really cheap deals to assist me. The big challenge will be keeping my teenager from devouring it all!

Cutting Back On Extras- This is the hardest for me. We don’t have a lot of “extra” to cut from. The one area we do trip up in keeping costs down is eating out. We have significantly cut back on this in the past 2 years. First, to prepare to buy our house last April, and then to keep in our budget, but I do “reward” myself for staying on my menu for 13 days by ordering pizza or some other fast food on the 14^th day. When you are feeding a family of 6, even with coupons this is expensive. I have started menu planning for all 14 days and have been lucky enough to be able to get jobs mystery shopping a pizza establishment, so we have not lost this luxury all together – we just try to indulge when it is free.

Another “extra” is gifts. I love to give them and on my clearance expeditions I often find fabulous deals too good to pass up. This year I have (passed them up that is). I picked up the gifts for my son’ birthdays for this year at Target’s 75% off toy sale and set a budget of $30 total for the toys I would pick up for all my nieces and nephews birthdays this year. I was not able to cover them all at this sale since some of them are now in their teen years, but I was able to get all of the kids covered with gifts I know they will love, and at 75% off did not break the bank ($25.84 was the final total). I will cover the teenager’s gifts this year with mystery shopping at a few local stores they love. A definite win win situation! In the past I felt that because they were free to me, I needed to buy something too, but since the girls do not know that they were free to me, I will let go of that and take advantage.

Increase Savings- I am great at saving money while spending it, if that makes any sense, but not so great at saving it in an interest bearing savings account. This is where my husband is great, so we discussed how much we wanted to increase our savings and have tried hard to stick to it. Life has thrown us some interesting curve balls. My husband works for our state and they are implementing 2 day furloughs a month. This cuts our income significantly. When we purchased our home in April, we knew I was not working in a stable job environment so we made sure we could pay all the “bills” with his salary alone. We did not expect that his salary would be cut at the same time as I would be losing my job. I also do not anticipate finding work quickly. My field is in complete layoff mode and even chances of finding a job in a law firm are slim to none, so having this savings is important. I am hoping even with the curve balls, we will be able to reach our goal before April 30.

Keep Communication Open- This is a biggie. Monetary stress is huge and can really be hard on a family and a marriage. Keeping the communication flowing keeps concerns on the table and allows you to work and plan together.

Do you have any tips for me? This is my first experience with a layoff. I started this job 11 years ago straight out of school and have never been unemployed so this will be a new journey. If you have any experience to share I would love to hear it! My income is 47% of our household. This will be a significant life change. I am looking forward to finding the direction God has for me and my family thru this. It has definitely refocused my prayer time.

Tia is a blessed wife and mom to 4 busy boys ages 15-3. She loves finding great deals, shopping smart and sharing it all at TiaSavingCents.com. Join her there daily as she shares great deals, smart shopping tips and how you can keep your hard earned money in your bank accounts.

I have a guest post over at Passive Family Income today. Check out “5 Easy Steps to Cut Your Grocery Costs”.

When most of us think about our local library, we think about borrowing books. But, many libraries offer many additional services that are usually available for free or a small fee.

• Why purchase books? They can be expensive and often provide an additional challenge of where to store them. At our library, I can browse the online card catalog and place and “order” for my books. The librarians will either get the books off the shelf for me or order them from another library in my network. When I got into the library, I simply have to go to the front desk and ask for my “hold” pile. It makes it a lot easier than trying to physically browse the shelves with little boys that think the library is a place to run rather than be quiet.

• Why pay for Gymboree or other expensive playgroups? Many libraries have weekly story times for a wide range of kids that are free.

• Why purchase Video Games? My library offers a collection of video games for free. I don’t have a game system, but a friend of mine in the area rents Wii games from her library for a minimal fee. She may eventually end up purchasing the game, but her family can test it out first to make sure they really will enjoy it. She says that there have been games that they would have purchased that were not as good as they expected…thus saving her money on games that would not get used.

• Why rent videos from Blockbuster? Many libraries offer DVD rentals for free. My library actually has a small fee for DVD rental for feature films, but it’s only $1 for 2 nights vs. $3+ at Blockbuster.

• Why pay for Admission to Museums? I’m not sure if it’s just the area I’m in, but my library offers passes to many of the local museums for free. They have limited tickets available each day for up to 4 people to visit the museum. You have to use the pass within a week, so you need to pick up the tickets when you are ready to visit.

• Check out your library for other services. My library has book discussion groups and even a prom dress exchange to save money on prom costs.

How do you use your library? For more frugal ideas, visit Biblical Womanhood.

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about periodically doing an insurance rate comparison to save money. However, if you shop around for the best rate, and then pay a premium surcharge in order to make a monthly payment, you are losing out on some of your rate savings.

There are several things that you can do to avoid the premium surcharge (which can be as high as $4.00+ each month).

• Pay the entire balance due up front
• Ask your insurer if you can get the monthly surcharge waived if you have the premium automatically deducted from your checking account each month (I know that Liberty Mutual offers this).

Ever since we got married, my husband and I have always paid our auto insurance premium in full. Once you’ve gathered the money the first time, you simply pay yourself each month into your savings account so that you have the money when the full premium bill comes due.

How do you accumulate the money the first time, though?

• If you’re getting a sizable tax refund, you can save this money for your next premium bill. We actually use our tax refund each year to pay for our auto insurance. Throughout the year, I keep track in a spreadsheet of what our expected tax refund will be each year. If the refund is expected to be less than our annual premium, then I will save the additional money needed each month. Please Note: In my opinion, it is better to get a higher paycheck each month than give the government an interest-free loan throughout the year, but when my husband receives a bonus, a large chunk is pulled out for taxes. We shouldn’t have that “problem” this year…since we’ll probably not get a bonus.

• Each month when you pay the insurance bill, allocate a little bit extra to your savings account to try to save up for the full premium when the annual bill is due.

• Save any “extra” money that you can find throughout the year towards your next 6-month premium bill. Some ideas include getting a money change jar, selling items on ebay or Craigslist, do online surveys, etc.

How do you avoid paying fees on your insurance premiums? How have you saved up enough money to pay the semi/annual insurance premium in full? For more money saving ideas, visit BeingFrugal.net.

Photo courtesy of asterisco at stock.xchng.

Since my boys are currently 5 and 2, it’s usually pretty easy to purchase most of their clothes from garage sales, thrift stores, and resale shops. However, there are always a few things that are harder to find. For me, it’s winter gear, such as coats and snow pants. To make sure that I’m not paying full price, I purchase those items when they are on clearance at the end of the season.

Although it sure doesn’t feel like winter is ending anytime soon (here, anyway), I started keeping an eye out for clearanced winter gear about a week ago. On Wednesday, I hit the jackpot at Meijer. I found a winter coat and snow pants for 75% off for my 5 year old next winter. The coat is really nice with double layers, and it retailed for $59.99…I paid $14.99. The pants were $19.99, and I got them for $4.99. I bought the size that I thought my son would be wearing next year, and then I made him try it on when he got home from school to make sure that it had some room to grow into.

How do you save money on clothes? Have you found any good clearance clothes deals lately? For more frugal ideas, visit Biblical Womanhood.

Do you want a relatively easy way to save at least $25 a week? Pack your lunch each day and bring it to work (or send it with your kids to school). If you stay at home with the kids, eat your lunch at home or plan ahead and bring a lunch or snacks with you while you’re out.

It’s really not that difficult to do…with a little planning. If you wait until the last minute in the morning when you’re running late, it becomes easy to say, “I’ll just buy today”. But, if you pack your lunch the night before, then you’re ready to go the next morning with little thought.

A little confession…I really don’t like most leftovers. It’s against my frugal nature to throw any leftovers away, but I don’t have to worry about it. My husband loves leftovers! Usually, he’ll bring them to work the next day for lunch. Or, if we don’t have leftovers (which isn’t very often with 2 little, picky-eating boys), he’ll pack a turkey sandwich (or two), some granola bars, a banana, celery, and V8 juice.

How do you save money on lunches? What are some staples that you pack when you bring lunch? For more frugal ideas, visit Being Frugal.

Picture: leftover Frito Pie that hubby’s bringing for lunch tomorrow (it really does taste good…although it looks pretty bad as leftovers)

Let’s face it, birthdays can be expensive. Not only do you have gifts to purchase, but you have to have a cake, too. If you buy your cake, it can be really expensive ($15.00 or more).

Or, you could make your own cake. I can usually purchase box cake mixes for $1.00 or less, when I find it on sale and use a coupon. I also make my own frosting, which is another big cost savings there.

Think Simple

But, you’re worried that you have to have fancy cake pans, or you have to have all kinds of cake decorating experience. That’s not true. I’ve made my share of cakes with fancy car-shaped cake pans, etc, but you don’t have to have that.

With a little creativity, you can turn a cake made in different-sized glass bowls into a turtle Here’s where I got my idea.

Or, you could print a coloring page off the internet and trace it into a Batman (or a Boz). It’s called a Buttercream transfer and here are directions on how to do it. As far as having cake decorating experience, all you need is a little practice making stars (the most basic cake decorating stroke).

Have Your Kids Help

For even more fun, you can involve your kids in making and decorating their own cake. Not only do they have a delicious (and frugal) cake for their birthday, but they probably had a blast helping you out in the kitchen. The cake may not turn out perfect, but what’s more important – the perfect cake picture or the fun your child had with you in the kitchen? Besides, pictures of cakes are always quite forgiving . Mine always look better in pictures than they did in real life.

Buttercream Frosting Recipe

To help you get started, here’s my recipe for buttercream frosting (made with the new trans fat free Crisco).

1 cup shortening (trans fat free)
1 cup butter
2 tsp. clear vanilla (if you want the frosting to be white) – Wilton sells the clear vanilla
2 lbs. powdered sugar
4 tbsp. milk

Mix the shortening and butter, then add the vanilla and milk. Slowly add the powdered sugar. Then blend for about 5 minutes.

If you’re interested, you can see pictures of many of the cakes that I’ve baked for my kids over the years.

Every so often (usually when my insurance rate goes up about $50 or more for a 6-month period), I’ll compare my auto (and homeowners) insurance rate to that of other companies to see if I’m getting the best deal. How do I do it?

• Go directly to the insurer’s website to get a quote (or call an agent). It’s best to have your current policy information so that you get a quote on the exact same collision and comprehensive coverage that you currently have (so you can compare apples to apples). Some of these sites include Allstate, State Farm, Liberty Mutual, Farmer’s Insurance, Progressive, and Geico.

• Earn UPromise money and get a Liberty Mutual quote. If you call 1-888-717-5644 and mention Upromise, you will get $5.00 in your UPromise account (whether you switch or not). You can also earn $2.00 in Upromise money by requesting an auto quote from Insurance.com through Upromise. Sign into your account, click on Earn Rewards, then Auto, and scroll through the Auto Partners until you find Insurance.com. If you’re not a UPromise member, click here to sign up (it’s free) or for more info, click here.
  

• Shop through a website that gives rates for several insurance companies like Insure.com or Netquote.
  

Other general tips for reducing insurance costs:

• Consider increasing your deductible amount. You want to make sure that you have money to cover the deductible in your emergency savings fund.
• Ask about any membership or alumni discounts. For example, I have a discount through Liberty Mutual through my university.
• Consider covering your auto and home under the same company to get multiple policy discounts. For example, my homeowner’s insurance is higher with Liberty than with my previous company, but I switched, because the total package was less expensive with both auto and home.
• Pay for your entire premium in one payment. If you make monthly payments, you are usually charged a service fee each month. Although it’s only a couple of dollars, those couple of dollars add up fast. Instead, set money aside each month, so that you have the money ready when your premium is due.

How do you save money on auto and homeowner’s/renter’s insurance? For more ideas that work for others, visit Rocks in my Dryer.

Photo courtesy of clix at stock.xchng.

Are you using dozens of stamps each month when you pay your bills? If so, you could save lots of money by paying your bills online. There are several ways that you can pay your bills without ever having to shell out that $0.42 per bill again.

Set up Online Bill Pay at Your Bank – many banks offer free online bill pay to their customers. You just need to do a one-time set up for each of your bills with the name of the company, the address, and the phone number. After that, all you need to do is enter the amount and the date the bill should be paid. Often, the bank will do a one-day transfer to pay the bill, but if that’s not set up, they will send a check. As an example, I have my son’s preschool bill set up to pay each month online. Not only do I not have to remember to write the check and drop it off while I’m there, but I save the cost of the check, too. Plus, I save on any potential late fees because I forgot to make the payment.

Set up Autopay Directly with the Billing Company – many companies will allow you to set up auto billing where they will automatically pull the money for the bill from your checking account or charge your credit card with the amount due. Then, you don’t even have to worry about paying the bill online.

Are there any other things that you do to save money on postage?

Photo courtesy of scoll22 at stock.xchng.

Cable TV can be really expensive! In our area, it costs $40+ per month to have the standard cable package. Add digital cable, a DVR, HDTV, and it could very likely cost over $100 a month for TV.

Although we live in a suburb of a fairly large city, our analog TV reception was not very good. We could get ABC very well, but forget Fox or CBS (which made it very frustrating to watch pro football). So, about 6 years ago, we decided to add basic cable, which was basically just the normal free broadcast stations, plus a few extras like the weather channel and QVC. It was pretty inexpensive when we signed up (about $11.00 per month). However, this spring, the cable company had increased the prices so much over the years, that we were up to $17.50 per month (for free broadcast TV, mind you!).

Because of the digital transition, we purchased some digital conversion boxes this spring and discovered how wonderful the digital stations are. They come in crystal clear, and we get multiple stations (for example, we get 3 PBS stations). So, we made the decision to cut the basic cable and just use our antennas with the digital box. The federal government was giving out $40 coupons to get a digital box, but the funding has run out. They do have a waiting list for any funds that become available from expiring coupons. Click here to sign up, if you have not requested a coupon already)

We haven’t looked back…the quality on the digital stations is great (much clearer than analog) and the reception is great. If you are paying more than you like for cable TV (and can live without ESPN…that’s a hard one for us), then borrow someone’s digital box and rabbit ears and see if it works in your area. Maybe you can save on this monthly expense too. And, there’s always Netflix (which still works out cheaper than cable), if you’re looking for something to watch.

For more frugal ideas, visit Biblical Womanhood.

Photo courtesy of romexico at stock.xchng.

You may have noticed from my shopping posts, that I purchase a lot of my Christmas gifts for myself. It’s because I know how to get the good deals, and it really bothers me to pay more for an item than I should. For example, a couple of years ago, my husband put a DVD in my stocking on Christmas morning. When I found out that he purchased the item from FYE, I couldn’t believe that he paid “full price” instead of at least checking out the prices online. My frugal side won out, and I had him return the DVD and I ordered it from Amazon.

I’m a bit embarrassed when I think back on that incident. My husband was trying to show me love by picking out a thoughtful gift to surprise me. And I ruined it . So now, I shop for my “main” gifts, and he surprises me with stocking stuffers (no matter how much he “overpaid” for them). I love that my husband knows what I like, and I don’t mind that he spends more than he should for Christmas. I just do the shopping the rest of the year .

Do you struggle with gifts that others purchase for you when you know they overpaid for them? How do you handle it?

If you had asked me last week if I used my microwave a lot, I would have answered, “No”. However, then it broke. All of a sudden it doesn’t heat food and makes a “different” noise when it’s running.

Now, if you ask me if I miss my microwave, I would answer with a resounding, “Yes!”. We use it for such everyday things that I didn’t even think about it…like chicken nuggets for the kids for lunch, reheating my frozen homemade spaghetti sauce and pea soup, making hot chocolate when I’m cold and don’t want to turn up the heat.

However, I don’t want to buy a new microwave…at least not right now. For one thing, since it would be an unexpected purchase, it is not in our budget right now. Sure, we could dig into our emergency fund, but is having a microwave right now really necessary?

I don’t think so. For everything that I used to do in the microwave, I can also make it in the oven or on the stove. Sure, it takes a little more time and prethought (like don’t wait to make chicken nuggets when your toddler is screaming with hunger!), but it can be done. It’s funny, I don’t think I’d ever made hot chocolate on the stove until last night…so I’m gaining some new experiences too.

Now that you know why I don’t plan on running right out and buying a new microwave, I do have a question. Has anyone ever had a microwave repaired? I always thought that for the most part it was cheaper to purchase a new appliance than to fix them. Has anyone had a simple issue with their microwave that was resolved easily? Our microwave is only about 4 years old and is an over the stove type of microwave (so in other words, more expensive). Thanks for the help!

For more frugal ideas, visit Biblical Womanhood.

Although gas prices have stabilized, I still try to save money on my fuel expenses each month. I want to get the best price I can on gas without driving all over town wasting gas looking for the best deal.

Should I stop at the Mobil station near my house that usually has good prices (and I get 3% UPromise savings from my UPromise Mastercard, plus a penny a gallon UPromise savings) or should I drive my Costco station where the price usually beats everywhere else (and I get 3% cash back on my Costco American Express)? Or should I go somewhere else altogether for the best deal?

When I know that I’m going to need gas, I will check the internet for the best gas prices at each of those stations, plus others that I will pass on my normal route. That way, I know where to stop for the best price. Most of the time, it may only save me a penny or two per gallon, but those pennies add up.

Plus, when gas is either increasing quickly or lowering fairly quickly, there are sometimes large differences in price at each gas station. For example, today, I saw gas pricess while I was driving ranging from $2.19 to $2.53. I sure wouldn’t have wanted to fill up at the $2.53 station just because I didn’t know what the current low price was.

Here are some websites that can help you with your gas price search:

• Gas Buddy – you can click by state and they have either state or city web sites – this is my favorite site
• Gas Prices on Mapquest – shows you a map with stations and their prices
• Gas Price Watch – also a map with gas prices. It doesn’t seem to be as updated as Gas Buddy

Do you check gas prices? How do you make sure that you get the best price?

For more ideas that work for others, check out Rocks in my Dryer.

Do you live in a city where you’re not near any relatives? Well, I do…so it’s hard to find someone to watch my kids for me when I need to go to the doctor or watch my youngest son if I want to work in my older son’s preschool class. I could pay money to hire a babysitter or ask some friends to help out…or I could be a member of a babysitting coop.

I really can’t claim any credit for the idea, since one of my friends started it, but I am a member of a babysitting coop. I have a hard time asking friends for help, but it’s a lot easier to ask for help with babysitting, when I know that I will also reciprocate in the future.

Basically, we came up with a group of families from our church who all lived fairly close to each other (and were willing to join). Then, we gave each family a certain number of timecards. When we babysit, we are “paid” with these timecards. We pay full-time for the first child, and each additional child is half-time. For example, I would pay for 2 hours for my older son and then 1 hour with my younger son if I was gone for 2 hours.

When we have a babysitting need, we send out an e-mail to the group to see if anyone is available and willing to watch our kids. I mostly use it during the day, but my husband and I have been able to go out for a couple of date nights, too. Best of all, it doesn’t cost us any money (and my kids have fun playing with their friends).

Do you have a babysitting coop? Or do you have other great ideas for getting frugal babysitters? For more frugal ideas, check out Biblical Womanhood.

Last week while cooking dinner and baking, I ran out of some items that I shouldn’t have. If I had done a better job of planning, it wouldn’t have been a problem. But, with a little creativity, I was able to turn it from a disaster into a frugal success.

I was making tacos for dinner and discovered while I was browning the meat, that I had forgotten to purchase a taco seasoning packet for the meat. I debated what I should do.

First, I berated myself for forgetting…the meal had been planned, and I usually check my cupboards for all ingredients and put anything I don’t have on my shopping list…but I forgot that the seasoning was even an ingredient. Second, I wondered why I didn’t purchase the bulk taco seasoning at Costco when I saw it…then I would never run out of seasoning . I debated making an emergency trip to the grocery store. It was only a mile away, but that was extra gas, and the meat WAS browning…dinner would be delayed. My husband and I discussed it, and decided that I would just make the meat with no seasoning. That was fine with him…since he’s not picky, but I would have to add a LOT of extra toppings to my taco to make me forget that it was DIFFERENT. Then, I had the ingenious idea to research taco seasoning on the internet. In the space of 2 minutes, I had a recipe for making my own taco seasoning using the spices that I already had on hand. It was a frugal alternative, and it tasted good.

Then, later that same night, I was making some cheesecake to bring to my in-laws house for Labor Day weekend. Once, again, my shopping list went awry…I thought I had tons of Baker’s Chocolate, but when I pulled it out, there was less than half of what I needed. Did I panic? No, my lesson earlier that night with the tacos caused me to think about my alternatives. I had several bags of Hershey’s Bliss dark chocolates that I had purchased at Walgreens the previous month on a great deal. Someone had mentioned on their blog that they broke them into pieces for making chocolate chips. I thought, maybe I could use a mix of the semi-sweet Baker’s chocolate and the dark chocolate Bliss. I melted it, and used it in the recipe, and I can’t even tell the difference. If I still have the Bliss around next time, I’m going to use it instead of any Baker’s chocolate, since it’s available, and it was free.

Have you ever had to be creative in the kitchen and come up with some easy and frugal alternatives?