1. June 2008 by Lisa.

I hear that statement all the time. I believe it is still worth it to clip coupons and use them. I’m sitting here flipping through my coupon binder and let me tell you all that’s in there for you health nuts.

Diapers, pull-ups, wipes, olive oil, sugar (I know you still keep some on hand), batteries, make-up, coffee, natural juice, tea, whole grain breads, canned fruits & veggies, frozen veggies, household cleansers, condiments, yogurt, eggs, milk, dish soap & detergent, food storage containers, baggies, trash bags, vitamins, internal cleansing system, deodorant, soap, shampoo, conditioner, hair spray, mousse, hair color, feminine hygiene, shavers, bandaids, sunscreen, laundry detergent, lotion, over the counter meds, peanut butter & jelly (don’t even try to tell me you don’t keep/use these), toilet paper, paper towels, napkins, paper plates, produce (salad, tomatoes), dried fruit, whole grain pasta, brown rice, spices, toothbrushes, toothpaste, mouthwash, floss, dog food, cat food

Not every coupon is just for brownies, pre-processed foods, candy, hot dogs and bacon. However, since I understand that getting Hamburger Helper and fish sticks for free doesn’t work for you, check out Organic Grocery Deals for specials on items you might use.

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28. May 2008 by Lisa.

Frugal gifts don’t always need to come from garage sales, the local dollar store and Walmart. They come from the heart.A dear friend of mine told me her best wedding present was one her sister-in-law gave her. It was an outdated calendar, but in it was written every family member’s birthday, anniversary, and special moments days. She was so thankful for the present and many, many years later still uses it. What a perfect gift to give a new sister-in-law!

I also remember a friend in college who was from New Jersey, but was going to school in Texas. He had to have some sort of operation on his jaw while at school. Several of his NJ friends got together and sent him a care package. They sent him pictures, letters, baby food and beautiful autumn leaves as packing material (no autumn in Texas). It’s been over 25 years, but I still remember how much my friend was touched by such a creative, funny, simple (and frugal) gift.

As a going away present for a friend, I made her a book by cutting out pictures from magazines and writing silly captions which told the story of our friendship and how much I appreciated her. It took a lot of time, a lot of heart, but no money. It was fun and it turned out to be such a hit I wish I had made a copy for myself.

I’m still hanging in there with drawing and would one day love to do portraits as gifts. I don’t consider myself anywhere near ready yet.

I love creative, thoughtful, funny homemade gifts like those. I run out of ideas quickly and would appreciate any and all help with fresh new gift ideas. I can’t bring myself to do coupon gifts or any recipe in a jar gifts. Yuck. I’m too old to give those cheap, outdated (not to mention the fact they’re not thoughtful or creative) gifts. Got any ideas to share?

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25. May 2008 by Lisa.

Even if you’re not new to the frugal mindset, you can still get caught up in catching all the deals, the rush of getting an amazing deal, and the thrill of watching your stockpile grow (not in a hoarding way mind you).

So you clip coupons, organize them, make your lists, and head out the door, seemingly every day, to find and take advantage of all those wonderful deals.

You eventually start to realize you’re making deal catching way too high of a priority, yet when you cut back you get bummed that you’re not catching all the deals you see posted by all those zealous bloggers. You end up chalking up frugality to an all or nothing activity (not a mindset), and you pitch it for the sake of more time with your family and other, more noble, interests. After all, it’s not worth penny pinching just to get a few freebies every week! You then figure you’re spending too much time and money just to save a few bucks.

Take a deep breath and relax. Step back and take another look. You may just need to assess a little. If you have 10 children all under the age of 4, God bless you! Quit washing out the baggies - throw them away! Invest in Rubbermaid and leave it at that. Just because you’re only saving $15/week doing GroceryGame, and not cutting your grocery bill in half, you’re still saving and doing better than before, right? How much time and effort you spend on being frugal is completely up to you. You don’t need to stress about catching all the awesome deals out there. After all, NOT spending money is the most frugal you can be.

Frugality is a mindset, not an activity. It’s fine if you save $15 this week on groceries and splurge $4 on a cup of Starbucks on the way home. You’re still saving.

Frugality is wise management of your resources. Not only is money a resource, but consider your time, your energy and your sanity resources as well. Adjust to your fun and comfort levels. There are days I just love doin’ the deals! There are days I hate leaving the house to shop and I shut frugality down. I certainly can’t and don’t even try to do every deal I post - not even half! GroceryGame, CVS shopping, coupon clipping are always there for you. Frugality is meant to free you up, not to enslave you. The deals will always be there to work for you. Now you can breathe.

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24. May 2008 by Lisa.

I just finished my first stockpile garage sale. I made $241.00 - woo hoo! I sold all those freebie CVS items I’ve stocked since February for the following prices and they sold like hot cakes. I held my ground, didn’t go down on price for anyone and they flew off the table!

$1 - Toothpastes, toothbrushes, shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, body wash, liquid hand soap, Johnson’s Buddy bath bars, unopened make-up

50c - Revlon emery board packs

Not only were those items freebies, sometimes I was paid to take them off the shelves (if I used coupons). Not only a great deal for me, but a great deal for those who came to the garage sale.

Not to mislead you - I made over $100 on the freebies. We had other junk I got to get rid of as well. Let’s hear it for decluttering!

It’s over and we’re ordering pizza for dinner. I may be frugal, but I’m no fool. Going to bed early tonight!

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16. May 2008 by Lisa.

I’m seeing more and more how coupon shopping not only blesses our family, but it blesses others as well. I’m on such a roll about this! We have been able to give to all our immediate family members, friends, etc. from our stockpile. Even at the grocery store I’ll get behind someone in line with my fat coupon binder and watch as the person in front of me unloads her (usually a female) groceries at checkout. If I have coupons, I give them to her. Before you gasp (yes, I know coupons are a treasured item to us coupon shoppers), remember I usually take ten papers every week, so I have plenty of coupons. Doing this not only brings a smile, but it opens doors to conversations!

A couple months ago there was a young mother in front of me at Walmart with 2 kids hanging off her and the cart. She didn’t speak much English. I noticed every once in a while she would have the cashier read the total to her. She paid in cash and I could see the all too familiar “squeaking by” that I’ve done myself on many occasions. There were two items she was unable to afford. They weren’t expensive so I asked the cashier if she would ring those items up on my bill, but put them in her cart (she was still standing near, after her transaction, adjusting groceries and children).

I don’t say this to toot my own horn, but to tell you I’ve never done that before. I don’t think that would have even crossed my mind before I started coupon shopping. I was just so bothered that I didn’t have any coupons for her that I realized we have saved so much money learning how to shop that I could afford to buy her those two small items and come nowhere near breaking the bank.

I only wished I could communicate with her to tell her to go to my website and learn how to save more money! Oh, if we could only teach everyone how to shop!

Please, please, please leave me your comments. Bless me. I want to hear how you have been a blessing to others through your frugality. Don’t think of it as bragging. Think of it as nudging others along to be more frugal. The joy!

Posted in FRUGALITY | 6 Comments »

14. May 2008 by Lisa.

Here are some tips on how to stretch a dollar.

1. Use GroceryGame.com. I promise it is worth the money. You can try for only $1. I enjoy letting others find the deals for me. It saves so much time (and money) and makes coupon clipping worth it.

2. When you go out to eat order water at restaurants. It’s healthier. If you don’t like water, ask for hot water and bring your own tea bags. For a family of 5 this can save $6-9.

3. When you coupon shop at grocery stores that double/triple coupons, make multiple transactions so all “like” coupons get doubled/tripled. Multiple transactions are time consuming and can bog the grocery line down. If you know you’re going to use this method, you might want to shop during the day when the store isn’t very busy or go to a self-check lane.

4. Carry water bottles and snacks in the car especially if you have children. This can curb the desire to hit the drive through.

5. Stay at home. Spend less on gas, shopping and eating out. Seriously. If you just stay home, there will be less money out of pocket.

6. Unscrew light bulbs in light fixtures. The fixture that hangs over our kitchen table holds 5 light bulbs. Great for when we’re doing school. Not so great when we’re eating dinner and the windows are open (attracts bugs). We unscrew some bulbs before dinner. One bulb on at night when the kids go to bed serves as a kitchen night light. Use dimmer switches and use CFL bulbs.

7. Cancel cable. That’s right. I said it. Seriously, what good is it? What does it promote? For that matter, cancel unused magazine subscriptions.

8. Use a timer when you shower. Our daughter needs this. Without it she would be in there for 45 minutes drawing pictures on the steamed up shower door.

9. Make use of your library card. Many libraries offer more than books. There are magazines, DVD’s, framed art to check out and passes to museums.

10. Garage sale shop. It’s fun! There are certain items I refuse to buy used, but this really is a fun Saturday morning activity if you feel like getting out.

11. Season passes - only if you’ll get more than your money’s worth.

12. Trade babysitting time with a friend/couple who also needs a sitter. This worked well for us when our kids were little. Twice a month we watched our friend’s children and twice a month we got a date night. Worked out well and we’re all still friends.

13. Recycle and freecycle.

14. Bring your own bags to the grocery store. Many stores offer around 5c for each bag you provide.

15. Stockpile. If you run out of something you can run to your pantry and not spend gas and time running to the grocery store to pay full price because you need it now.

16. Learn how to shop at CVS so you get way too much for free.

Anything you want to add? Please leave a comment or email me at Lisa@homeschoolingandfrugal.com

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