Frugal Tips for Summer Activities

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

Snowing in Spring…Adjusting Our Frugal Plans

It is a few days past the official start of spring, and I am looking at a wintry wonderland just outside my window. The salt trucks and plows have been by, but they have to be diligent. Already the driveway and roads are covered with white. Despite about three inches of snow on the ground already and more to come, schools are not closed today. There is no excessive wind, and we are used to snow. The weather has been wrecking some havoc with our spring frugal plans. We can’t get started on our garden, and may lose out on … Continue reading

Ways to Stretch Your Vacation Dollar

With spring break travel peaking and the busy summer vacation season right around the corner, now is the time to learn how to stretch your travel dollar.  The following tips don’t require a ton of effort to execute.  What’s more, once you realize how easy it is to save on travel-related expenses, you may be inspired to find a few more frugal ways to keep from going into debt during your family getaway. Timing is key:  Do a little research before you hit the road on a family vacation.  Airfare and hotel rates can jump sky high when traveling during … Continue reading

Tips for Disney World Resort Hotel Stays

Today I just learned about a new Disney resort: the Disney Yacht Club resort.  When I say new, I don’t mean that it’s about to be built or to open, but that I had never heard of it before.  The resort’s been around since 1990.  There are just so many hotels at Disney World, it’s hard to remember them all or keep them all straight. It can be a dilemma for those looking to plan a Disney World vacation.  You may have crossed the first hurdle – deciding whether or not you’re going to stay on site – but you … Continue reading

Tips for a Budget-Friendly Family Vacation

When the thought of taking your family out to dinner makes you cringe because of the expense, it is hard to contemplate taking everyone along for an actual vacation. Even though money concerns may make it seem as though you will never get away, you do have options, a number of them in fact. Here are some ways that you can stretch your vacation budget. 1. Look for the budget airline hubs Although airfare prices seem to be rising, there are a number of airline hubs that tend to have the cheapest airfare tickets. Some places are just less expensive … Continue reading

Compounding Pet Medications: Is It Safe?

It can be tricky getting them to take their meds One of the latest health scares has been over a strain of meningitis that’s killed multiple people. According to WebMD, the meningitis originates from a compounding pharmacy in Massachusetts. Compounding is the practice of putting more than one type of medication in a pill, or basically changing the medication in some way from its original formula. How is this relevant for the pet owner? Compounding is a common practice in pet medications. Before you worry: the meningitis came from a human medication for back pain and it seems the authorities … Continue reading

More Laundry Tips

In my quest to simplify most household tasks I’ve gotten the laundry room organized and running smoothly. My last post was about sorting laundry and doing a load every day to cut down on the enormity of the task. Today I have some tips and tricks I’ve collected that help make laundry even easier. *Instead of sorting and mating socks, trying to figure out if those white socks are your husbands or your teenagers, give each person a mess delicates laundry bag. Collect the bags once a week, zip closed, toss in the washer and dryer and then return to … Continue reading

Theme Park Discounts and Savings Tips

Are the kids clambering for a theme park vacation this summer? Are you clambering for a way out of the great expense of it? You don’t have to. Just take advantage of these theme park discounts and ways to save on your theme park vacation. Make their dreams come true for less. Local Theme Parks Residents can often get deep discounts on local theme parks. Even without this benefit, lesser known parks can often be much less expensive than the bigger ones. Plus, you may save a bundle on travel expenses. Find out if there any theme parks in your … Continue reading

Frugal Spring Gardening Tips

You can save your money and still have a wonderful garden. It is all in how you go about it. Use the following spring gardening tips to ensure a beautiful garden for half the price. Concentrate on Perennials While annuals can give you an immediate burst of color, I like to center my gardening around perennials because they grow year after year. You can plant them once and they will return and in some cases spread with new plants for you. When purchasing perennial plants opt for smaller ones in four-inch pots. They will be less expensive. These small plants … Continue reading

Tips for Preserving Staples

You can extend the life of your staples, your food, if you just follow a few guidelines. Storing food the right way will keep it fresh. Making sure that your emergency food supply is good and ready to eat is important in any emergency preparedness plan. For a good overall tip for preserving staples is to store them in a cool, dark location, but make sure that this location is also dry. Basements are idea for storage, as long as you have a dehumidifier that can take the moisture from the air and prevent the growth of mold. Whenever you … Continue reading