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Frugal Tips for Summer Activities

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Summer vacation is a great time for families to go out and do things together. Visiting amusement parks, dining out, and staying in hotels can end up costing a lot of money. Travel expenses can quickly add up, too. Here are some frugal tips that will help your family enjoy summer vacation without having to go into a lot of debt. Pack some snacks. Make use of your child’s lunchbox this summer. It is the perfect container for easy to eat snacks that your family can bring along on car trips. Instead of stopping the car at the nearest fast … Continue reading →

Invest Your Time Wisely

“Time is money” is an old saying that is meant to convey the urgency of rushing ahead because any time wasted could be time spent earning money. Many times in our frugal lifestyles, we trade off time in order to save money, such as cooking from scratch instead of going through the fast food line, taking out the time to create a grocery list and clip coupons before shopping, etc. Most of the time these are good choices and have a secondary benefit. The time I spend hanging laundry means saves some money, but it also means that my kids … Continue reading →

A Child’s Self Esteem and the Frugal Life

My daughter came home the other day from a doll playdate. The girls all brought their 18-inch dolls, you know the American Girl Doll kind. My daughter does have a real American Girl Doll, given to her on her birthday after more than four years on her wish list and some creative saving. She is fond of that doll, and has never once complained about the fact that it is her only one (it is not unusual for her peers to have three or four of these dolls as well as all of the accessories). She did complain though that … Continue reading →

Eliminate Food Waste: You Can Eat These Part 2

Are you throwing away valuable nutrients that could not only keep you healthy but could reduce your food bill? Most of us do. Eliminate food waste and reap the rewards of a lower grocery bill! Yesterday’s blog post covered typical items that we throw away, such as broccoli stems, and how you can take advantage of these common discards to eliminate some of your food waste. If you missed the post, click on the title, Eliminate Food Waste: You Can Eat These Part 2, to read it. Today, in Eliminate Food Waste: You Can Eat These Part 2, I’ll expand … Continue reading →

The Best Healthy Food on a Budget

Most of us are familiar with the Ramen every night diet. It isn’t a plan to lose weight, rather a plan to actually afford food, and it has been made famous by college students or anyone just starting out with only a limited budget. But the Ramen Noodle diet isn’t exactly a healthy one. The “meal” contains high levels of sodium and carbs and pretty much zero nutrients. Yes, it will fill you up for less, but it isn’t something you can use to feed a family and keep them all healthy. Another source of cheap food that people often … Continue reading →

Five Ways to Spend Less to Feed Your Kids

Kids can be little vacuums sometimes, eating up everything in sight. While it is good for growing bodies to get the calories and nutrition that they need, it isn’t always great for the budget, especially when you want to eat out. A typical family with three kids can spend $25-$30 at a counter service restaurant or $50-$70 at a family-friendly sit down restaurant. There are a number of ways to reduce the cost of food for your kids, that are not extreme and will leave you spending less to feed your kids. Here are five of the best ways to … Continue reading →

How Breaking Your Budget is Bad for Your Health

Here is another reason to stay on your budget. Breaking it can actually be bad for your health. Agonizing about how you are going to afford a new purchase can stay with you, even after you solve the problem. Researchers now say that our brains don’t like being in debt. Having fears about money affect our health long term. Whether we realize it or not, debt causes stress, and stress causes poor health. Stress and pain seem to register much more strongly than does pleasure. So, the next time you feel ready to break your budget, keep this in mind. … Continue reading →

Frugal Protein Sources

Unfortunately, it is a fact right now that food prices are continuing to rise, and the experts are telling us that it is going to get worse before it gets better, if it ever does get better. Although most food is effected by the current food price hikes, the cost of protein sources is particularly worrisome. Meat prices had already been high, and now with the drought will get even higher. Peanut butter, a once inexpensive source of protein, has now gotten more expensive and may no longer be the best choice when you are on a limited budget. This … Continue reading →

How to Water Your Plants During a Drought

Water, water. Sometimes it’s not everywhere. Sometimes there is no rain to be found, not for days and weeks. This is scary for farmers and deeply frustrating for gardeners. In a drought, plants die, and if you rely on these plants for food and shade, this can be very difficult. How can you weather drought and plan for future dry times as well? Let some of your plants go dormant. Lawns and moss will go brown. This is fine. Keep your lawn a little longer before the dry season begins so that it will make as much shade and conserve … Continue reading →

The Frugal Way to Save at the Farmer’s Market

I love farmer’s markets, but I confess that there was a period of time when I avoided them. I always seemed to spend too much money when I shopped at them. For the sake of our budget, the best thing to do seemed to be to stop shopping at them, which was a shame, since we missed out on fresh items grown or crafted locally. The problem had to be solved. How could we still enjoy the farmer’s market while keeping on task with our budget? Here are the strategies that I started to employ. I saw a difference in … Continue reading →