Think Positively and Save Money

Thinking positively can help you save money. When you focus on the blessings in your life rather than on the things you don’t feel that you can afford, you will naturally be happier and require less of the material things. Also, thinking positively may help you figure out creative solutions the next time you feel as though you need to acquire something expensive. We do our best thinking when we are in a positive emotional state. Here are some ways that you can think positively about being frugal and consequently save money. Have goals and imagine how your life will … 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

5 Frugal Practices That May Be Costing You Money

Sometimes even the best intentions to save money fail. Are you losing money while trying to be frugal? Here are five frugal practices that may be costing you money. • Stockpiling Do you still have cans of vegetables from 2001? Have the breadcrumbs gone stale? Stockpiling is a great way to save money and to be prepared for rising prices, but when you have half a pantry full of expired food then stockpiling is costing you money. To solve this problem, don’t give up on the stockpiling, just get a little more organized. Rotate your pantry items and keep track … Continue reading

Earn Money with Your iPad or Tablet

Take advantage of your iPad or Tablet to earn money. With the iPad or Tablets capabilities, you can pad your bank account with some extra cash. Here is how. Selling Books Grab your iPad or tablet and head to the nearest thrift store. Using apps, you can scan promising looking books and find out exactly how much they are worth in the resell market. This means that books you can purchase for 50 cents or a dollar could be worth much, much, more. Don’t forget to hit yard sales as well, where you may be able to pick up an … Continue reading

5 Things to Make From Scratch to Save Money

Homemade is usually best, especially when it comes to saving money. Here are five things you can make from scratch to save money. They include homemade cleaners, food prepared from scratch, baby items and more. Pizza Pizza dough is quick and easy when you make it in a bread machine. Even with loads of toppings, two large (restaurant large, not supermarket large) thin-crust pizzas will cost you around $4. For a little more money, you can buy prepared dough, but of course making your pizza completely from scratch means a lower cost as well as a lack of preservatives and … Continue reading

Easy Ways to Clean Your Kitchen Floor

Over the years, I’ve tried a number of things to keep our kitchen floor clean. For a while there, it seemed like the best results and convenience were had by the most expensive systems. Fortunately, there are ways around the expense. Try one of the following ideas. The Cheapest An old fashioned floor scrub will be the cheapest. It only requires a bucket (or just a sink), some soap and something to apply the soap, from a brush to an old towel. You have to get down on your hands and knees and scrub and then rinse the floors with … Continue reading

Four Things I Cut in Half to Save Money

There are many things in our home that we cut in half in order to save money. When we make those cuts, we never notice a difference. Using the recommended amount or the size something comes in isn’t necessarily the best idea, especially when something will work the same way, or sometimes works even better when it is cut in half. Your products will last twice as long! Laundry detergent I always use about half of what is recommended on those cap fill lines or the powder scoops. Why? I find that with a good detergent, the clothes get just … Continue reading

End-of-Summer Mom Savers

Kids in Hawaii started the new school year last Monday. Meanwhile, my pal in Atlanta just told me her kids head back to class tomorrow. Are you ready to say so long to summer? I’m not! I am dreading the back-to-school blues, including packing lunches, ironing uniforms, looking for missing shoes as the bus sits at the end of the driveway, and fighting with kids about going to bed when the sun is still shining brightly at 7:30 p.m. Still, if there is an upside to back-to-school, it’s got to be the sales. Not the ones on school supplies; rather, … Continue reading

Save Money, Buy Generic

One of the easiest ways to save money at the grocery store is to buy generic. Just about every item you buy has a store or generic brand and the quality has improved so much over the last several years that you may not be able to tell the difference between brand name and generic. I am not brand loyal, except for ketchup, so I will always try the store brand if it’s a good enough bargain. I did some searching online and found several things that financial experts say you should always buy generic. *Over the counter medications- the … Continue reading

Clean Kitchen Sinks

We have been tackling the kitchen, focusing on appliances but today I want to talk about the sink. Now to some this may not be a big deal but to others (myself included), I just cannot handle having a dirty sink. I can’t stand seeing food or grease caked on or splattered all over my sinks. I find it very unappealing. Keeping my sinks clean on a daily basis is just one of those things that are important to me. And it can be done with very little effort and time. Several years ago I was introduced to “FlyLady,” an … Continue reading