Frugal Friday: Dishwashing

Orginally posted 9/2/10
At the house we lived in before, I used to love my dishwasher. I almost never did dishes by hand and I loved it! Then we moved to our new place which has an old dishwasher I don't like. I started doing more dishes by hand. Then a thought dawned on me:

Washing dishes by hand is usually cheaper for me

It's pretty easy for me to find dish soap cheap, but it's a lot harder to get dishwasher soap free or cheap. Plus, by doing dishes mainly by hand, I get to train my little helper (and keep her entertained):

So two benefits to washing more dishes by hand: cheap soap and cheap labor/entertainment. Cheap labor/entertainment is a finer thing!! :)

Check out Frugal Friday for more great money saving tips!

Frugal Friday: Healthier Living

Photo by havankevin

It occurred to me that maybe this eating healthier stuff isn't as expensive as I thought it would be after all...

For example, our family took a trip to the grocery store this week, mainly to get milk. As I was walking around I was very tempted to grab some oreos and pizza rolls. :) My husband kindly reminded me that those weren't very healthy. Then, my husband was tempted by some Seirra Mist. It was my turn to remind him that pop in general is unhealthy.

Junk that our bodies don't need can be expensive. It's far less expensive to only eat what our bodies need. It's just harder. That's why I'm so glad my husband is on board with all of this. It would be so very difficult to stand by these new choices without support in my weak moments.

So we saved at least $7-8 on impulse junk food in just one shopping trip. I think that money would be much better spent towards healthy splurges like fresh dates, apples and raw oats. What do you think? Have you found healthy eating to be more expensive or less expensive? Do you have support in your healthier eating journey?

Repainting an End Table

This week, in trying to be a better Home Keeper more content with what I already have, I've been working on my dining room. My main project was to do something with this ugly white end table my husband's mom gave to him before we were married. I think she had it awhile before him, too. :)


I decided to try and be frugal and crafty and repaint the little guy. Thankfully, someone graciously left me a comment with some great advice on how to accomplish this task and saved me some money too.

You don't have to strip the old paint off. I already had a sneaking suspicion this was the case, but the worker a Lowe's told me I needed to. I'm taking the stripper and cleaner back. :) I did get some paint I love at Lowe's.

Step One: Lay down cut up plastic grocery bags instead of a drop cloth to save money and use up my endless supply of them.

Step Two: Sand the surfaces using a ratty piece of sandpaper my husband rustled up from somewhere in the basement.

Step Three: Paint the first coat using a pastry brush from my kitchen drawer because I cannot locate any paint brushes larger than my daughter's little craft paint brushes.

Step Four: Go out to Hobby Lobby while first coat is drying and get a real paint brush. I recommend using a real paint brush. :)

Step Five: Apply second coat.

Step Six. LET IT DRY COMPLETELY!! I put stuff on it while it was still a little "tacky" and almost had to do another coat. Luckily, it was still ok. I'd recommend letting it sit over night.


Isn't it cute now? It was totally worth it! We bought a quart of paint and I seriously used about 1/8 of it. Now I'm daydreaming of what else I can paint with it.... :) This was a very frugal project! Check out Frugal Friday for other great frugal ideas!

Interested in my "Keeping Our Homes" series and why I'm doing it? Come back Friday morning and see my post on my final results of cleaning, decluttering, reorganizing and making my dining room a spot I'm proud of. It doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg or a ton of time to do!

Plus, come link up how you kept your home this week or tell us how have you repurposed something or learned to be more content with what you already have. Share with us so that we can encourage one another in being Keepers at Home!

Staycation 2010

Photo by Alicia Nijdam

There's nothing quite like a nice, quiet, peaceful weekend away. Especially if you can manage to make it a couple's only weekend. But with times being tough it can be difficult to arrange a weekend away and if you have small children it may seem like a far off distant fantasy. Don't dispair!

Your dream weekend may not be as far off as you think! My husband and I have very tight finances and two small children (3 and 1) but with some creativity we managed to pull off a very lovely weekend without the kids and without spending a ton of money.

Ditch the kids. Sounds mean, I know, but I firmly believe (from my own experience) that every couple needs some time alone together to recharge. Kids benefit from seeing their parents loving each other and spending time alone together is one of the best ways to reconnect and enjoy each other. A few hours, a night, a weekend, whatever. Find a way for at least some time to remember why you fell in love and hopefully rekindle some of the passion from those early days. :)

My husband and I are lucky enough to have family nearby. Our girls spent 2 nights with Grandma and Grandpa (which they loved!) and it only cost us one 45 minute trip to pick them up. Not everyone has family nearby, but I'm sure if you put your mind to it you can come up with a great idea. Some families trade off babysitting. Or maybe all the kids could be in camp at the same time. :)

We stayed at our own Bed and Breakfast. Sure, it was a little more work, but it was cozy, homey and just right! We woke up when we wanted, watched movies when we wanted, played games whenever we wanted and just plain did what ever we wanted! We didn't have to worry about check out times, extra fees and getting lost in an unfamiliar neighborhood.

We went out to eat with coupons. Here's where we choose to splurge. We decided to hit some wonderful restaurants we rarely get to go to (like a fun Japanese steakhouse) and we even made one fancy, very kid unfriendly meal at home, Shrimp Scampi Linguine. It was fabulous and definitely worth it. We had store bought ice cream while we watched a free rental movie and had other fun treats.

We visited local attractions. We live very close to Marketplace and Flea Market. For fun, we went shopping and bargain hunting after one of our lunches out. We ended up not buying anything, but it was fun just to be out together, walking and enjoying experiencing things together as a couple. Is there something in your town that you can never do with the kids? Maybe even going to a real movie theater to see a non-kid movie?

All in all, we probably spent around $100 or less for a 2 day, 2 night couple's getaway. That's including gas for the car, food money and other small expenses. It was a very memorable "trip" and made me appreciate being with my husband again. I was actually recharged and ready to be the best Mommy I could be again. I began to miss my girls even! What a fine thing!

Check out Frugal Friday for other great frugal tips and Finer Things Friday for other wonderful things!

Frugal Friday: Don't Be Cheap

Picture By: ecastro

I was lucky enough to get two free entertainment books recently when Money Saving Mom posted about the deal. I was so excited when they showed up at my door the other day! My husband and I plan on using one or two on our "stayaction" this weekend when his parents take the girls (more on that later). :)

While I was thinking about the entertainment books, I remembered about when I worked at T.G.I. Fridays. The servers HATED it when someone came in with a coupon. In general, the people who came in with coupons were rude, demanding, and rarely left a decent tip.

I know that many frugal people pride themselves on saving a buck, but sometimes we scrimp in areas we shouldn't. If you're going to go out to a decent place to eat (where you sit down and someone takes the trouble to serve you) please have the courtesy to be mindful of the work and effort someone put into serving you. Tips are where servers make their money to live. I've worked in restaurants and believe me, it's very hard, stressful work, especially when customers decide to be difficult.

In general, you should leave your tip based on the pre-coupon total. Go ahead, be proud of yourself for being thrifty by using a coupon (I know I often am!) but please don't give all the rest of us couponers a bad rap by being cheap. Check out Life as Mom for other great frugal tips this week!

"The Fruit of Her Hands"

In trying to follow Titus 2:4-5, I'm learning so many lessons about being wise, frugal and a hard worker. Here's one of my recent lessons and reflections. Will you join me on this journey of being a Godly wife?

Not long ago, my family and I went blueberry picking. We try to do this every year now since they're only $1.40/lb and I'm obsessed with getting enough to last us all winter. I love frozen blueberries so much that I've been known to eat them out of a bowl with a spoon... still frozen! :)


Picking blueberries is very frugal and a great activity to do with children. It teaches kids about where some of our food comes from and the fact that sometimes you have to work for it. Somehow, food tastes just a little bit better when you've worked hard for it.... just don't forget the sunscreen!

Picking blueberries can also be very hard work, something we all need to engage in sometimes, especially considering the account of the Proverbs 31 woman. This virtuous woman was well known for her frugality and hard work. Today, it can be so easy to forget the virtues of good old fashioned hard work! Grocery stores and candle companies and soap companies, etc.... tend to make us forget all the work the ladies of old used to do.


I'm very thankful for our modern conviences, but sometimes homemade blueberry jam just can't be beat by anything you can buy in the store! Sure I could get $0.99 grape jelly, but when Christmas rolls around, all I have to do is pull from my stock of 16 half pints and 2 pints of blueberry jam and I'll likely save a bundle in gift money. I hate buying gifts for people they'll never use, so I often gift homemade things and things from my stockpile. My family really appreciates it!

So, get a little creative and find some fun ways of working hard and saving money. You'll learn and grow from it, your children will learn from it and your wallet will thank you! Check out these tips for freezing blueberries so they'll retain great flavor and texture or I'll try to post my recipe for blueberry jam later soon. Check out Finer Things Friday and Frugal Friday for other great ideas and inspiration!

Friday: Overcoming

http://www.flickr.com/photos/scottfeldstein/ / CC BY 2.0

I have a serious weakness for peanut butter. I always have, which my family likes to remind me of. Just the smell of it can shake my resolution to get back down to my high school weight. Making PB&J sandwiches for my daughter can almost break me!

The other day, I was making one of her sandwiches when I had a moment of weakness. I thought "why not just eat peanut butter, out of the jar, as much as you want! There's always tomorrow to diet!" Blah. I've had enough of those kinds of thoughts to know what they lead to...

I rejoice over my final decision. I took a tiny nibble and then put the lid back on the jar and put it away. Yay! You know what keeps me motivated? I signed up for the online Weight Watchers program and paid for 3 months in advance. I thought "I'd hate to be paying for something and not following it!"

Although I'm paying for something I really wish I didn't have to pay for (a diet service), I think it's frugal in the long run. I'm teaching myself moderation, self control and experiencing victory. I think at $17 a month, I'm getting a real bargain! Paying in advance and keeping myself on track has already proven to be both a finer thing and frugal choice for me!

Oh, and because I'm not about completely depriving myself, on my recent diet shopping trip I got some Chocolate Rice Cakes I plan to spread 1 tsp of peanut butter on for a fantastic 2 point (about 80 calories) treat to keep myself motivated. You can't put a price on guilt-free indulgence that keeps me on track!

Frugal Friday: Frugal Health Food

One secret I've learned recently is how to find excellent quality health food products for a decent price. Amazon's Grocery Store. Simple!

When I needed to buy Vegetable Protein for my current detox diet, I wasn't happy about the prices. So I did some research on quality proteins on a different site and then turned to Amazon's Grocery Store to find the lowest prices. I also noticed some things I've been considering buying, like Raw Organic Cacao Power.

Add in the fact that I've developed quite a nice stash of $5 Amazon.com giftcards from Swagbucks and I can score some great deals on healthy foods! Well, actually, because of Amazon's Grocery Store, you can score A LOT of great food deals! To see other great frugal advice this week, check out Frugal Fridays at Life as Mom!

Frugal Tip: Word of Mouth

http://www.flickr.com/photos/meddygarnet/ / CC BY 2.0

Quite honestly, one of the best frugal practices I've ever come across is the ancient and extremely simple "Word of Mouth." You can seriously apply this to anything.

It's by word of mouth that I read about new printable coupons I wouldn't have found by myself. It's by word of mouth that I find out when there's special store deals going on. It's by word of mouth I find out about clearances. It's by word of mouth I hear about great non-food deals like appliances. How often have you bought or even received something for free because your friend's aunt's brother-in-law need to get rid of it fast?

Knowing this principle, anytime my husband and I need something, I often pass the word out to my family and friends. Whether it's a car, furniture, apartment or job possibilities, we usually find what we're looking for by word of mouth. Actually, we've had to turn many things away because we were receiving too much stuff!

Example: We were recently looking for an apartment and I mentioned it to my mom. I was getting a little overwhelmed at the task of sorting through all the possibilities in the area and I wasn't having much luck.

The day after I told my mom we were looking, she sent me a listing for the apartment we're now moving into on Saturday. It's a wonderful deal for the area and is just a few minutes from my husband's job. It was a blessing to our family to get this apartment and I doubt I would have found that listing if my mom hadn't sent it to me. It was from a site I didn't know much about.

So I am extremely thankful to have such wonderful friends and family that look out for our best interests and are willing to help us. I'm also thankful for the great online blogging community (word of mouth!) I found a few years ago that I'm positive has taught me frugal living ideas and deals that have saved my family thousands! Never under estimate the finer thing of word of mouth!!

Coupon Sources

There are many, many ways to find coupons. I've gone about it many ways myself. Here's a few of them:

• Buy a paper (the simplest and most expensive)
• Bum papers off your parents, grandparents, aunt, uncles, in-laws, neighbors and anyone else you may know :)
• Get them from your hubby's work (rarely)
• Buy papers 1/2 price on Monday (some gas stations and drugstores will have leftovers for sale)
• Go recycling dumpster diving (yep, I've done it. Very humbling)
• Print them
• Email a company for them

The last one is the one I want to address today. I have done this before (with P&G and Sunmaid). Some companies will send you coupons just for emailing them. It's definitely worth a shot. To get you started, For the Mommas has posted a list (and another here) of companies she's heard sends out coupons if requested. I plan on working my way down the list! Check out Frugal Friday for other great money saving tips!

Recipe of the Week: Tuna Egg Salad

I LOVE this stuff! My mom used to make it when I was a kid, so I guess it's a comfort food. Luckily, it's also very economical (our mom's were good at that, weren't they?) I've also broken it down into calories (still trying to be good about losing that baby weight!) and it's not too damaging, especially for comfort food!

Tuna Egg Salad-3.5-4 WW Points (5-6 servings)

• 1 5oz. can of light tuna in water (drained-100 calories)
• 6 hard boiled eggs (peeled and diced-420 calories, ouch!)
• 2 tablespoons of mayo (220 calories)
• mustard to taste (0 calories)
• Dill pickles to taste (I even pour some of the juice in-about 5 calories)

Mix all the ingredients together until it's creamy and tastes good! One serving (about 1/5 of the mixture) will cost you about 148 calories! I toasted an Arnold's Multi Grain Sandwich Thin (100 calories) with 1oz of Mozzarella cheese (80 calories) and topped it with 1/5 of the Tuna mixture. So, I had one of my childhood favorites (Tuna Melt!) for lunch today at about 328 calories. Not bad. You could always make substitutions to make it even lighter (like light mayo, only half a Sandwich Thin or no cheese). Eggs and tuna are fairly cheap which makes this an economical, satisfying comfort food!

**Updated 9/10/09:
As per a comment, I tried this recipe out, substituting 4 tablespoons of plain low fat yogurt for the mayo. To my surprise, I could barely tell a difference and I loved it! The yogurt only added 27.5 calories compared to the mayo's 220 calories! Using this substitution makes this awesome salad only 110 calories per serving (1/5 of the recipe) which brings the WW points down to 2.5-3. Wonderful! Thanks for the tip!!

Too see other frugal ideas, check out Life as Mom's Frugal Friday and to see other fine things, check out Amy's Finer Thing's Friday! Check out Tasty Tuesday and Tempt My Tummy Tuesday for other yummy recipes! Also, You’ll find all kinds of new recipes this weekend at Heavenly Homemakers Recipe Parade!!

Friday: Exercise and Love

I live in north east Ohio. Our last few days (the last week really) have been filled with this:

So of course, what comes after all of that snow? Shoveling!

10 minutes of snow shoveling by hand is worth 1 Weight Watchers Point for activity. Yesterday, I shoveled for 50 minutes and it counted as 3 points! Yay! Today, for 20 minutes I worked off 1 point.


On top of the weight loss benefits, I know my husband would have to come home after 8 hours of work and do it himself. So I went out there during precious nap time and did it for him! Oh and do I have to mention that it's free? A free Valentine's gift of love and service!

Serving the one you love in a way they'll appreciate and working off some calories? I think that's a Finer Thing! To see other frugal ideas, check out Frugal Friday!

Dark Chocolate Mocha

http://www.flickr.com/photos/brendaannerl/ / CC BY 2.0

I know I've posted this one before, but it's very worth another post! Plus, since I've been working on dieting, I have some new tips to help make this treat even better!

I stumbled across the idea for this fun creation today leading up to nap time. This week has not been a good one and I need to find some better ways of relaxing and coping... coffee has become one of them.

Now, I'm not endorsing caffeine as a coping mechanism or a good habit. I've always avoided letting coffee become a habit and so far (at almost 24 years of age) I'm still not addicted to coffee. I used to witness my mom's addiction to it and always tried not to let that happen to me. I somehow survived 4 years of Civil Engineering classes without it and hope to continue. However, after having my second child, I am now seeing why so many moms need love coffee! I personally hate the taste of coffee and can only drink the "frilly" coffee stuff (think mocha latte super sugar flavored anything). Therefore, I treat coffee drinks as a pampering treat and after a week like this one, I sure need it!

I used stuff I have in my pantry to come up with this little treat, instead of hitting Starbucks or Border's. On top of the savings in cost, I was able to control the ingredients, so I know it's not out of control in the calories department. I've been closely watching calories lately (another fun byproduct of having my second child) and this is an almost guilt-free indulgence.

Dark Chocolate Mocha (3 Weight Watchers Points)

• 1 c. of 1% milk (110 calories)
• 1 packet of Nestle Taster's Choice in Original or 1-2 tsp instant coffee (free sample through the mail!) (0 calories)
• 1-2 teaspoons of unsweetened baking chocolate (14 calories)
• 2 teaspoons of white table sugar (30 calories) or Xylitol (20 calories)
  

If you really wanted to cut back, you can make this with 1/2 c. milk and 1/2 c. water and save 1 point and 55 calories, but I think it's worth the extra cost to make it with all milk

You can use a sugar substitute, but I seriously hate the taste of most of those and for 30 calories (and 1 point), I think the real thing was worth it in this case. Beverages allow the flavor to be too obvious.

Heat half the milk in a mug in the microwave until very hot. Stir in coffee, baking chocolate and sugar. Now, the baking chocolate takes some time and effort to get properly mixed in so stir it good! Add the rest of the milk and enjoy!

Doing it this way keeps it from being too hot. I hate coffee you have to wait 20 minutes to drink because it's too hot. If you want it that hot, by all means, heat all of the milk in the microwave. If you want it colder, heat less of the milk. However, to get the stuff to dissolve properly, you need HOT liquid, so if you want it completely cold you'll have to mix it and then refrigerate or freeze it.

To recap:
You now have a low cost, deliciously almost guilt-free way of pampering yourself for only 154 calories (or 3 Weight Watchers Points) without leaving the house. Sounds good to me! Check out other frugal ideas at Life as Mom's Frugal Friday! To see other wonderful things, check out Finer Things Friday. To see other great recipes check out Tasty Tuesday, Tempt Your Tummy Tuesday, and Tuesdays at the Table! You’ll find all kinds of new recipes this weekend at Heavenly Homemakers Recipe Parade!!

Homemade Kettle Korn

Oh my! I am obsessed with Kettle Korn. Every year, at least once a year, I have to buy at least one bag of it at some carnival or fair. Really, whoever thought it up is a genius. Microwave Kettle Korn bags just don't do it justice. Imagine my surprise and delight when I found a general recipe for it, tried it and found that it's basically exactly the same as carnival style! At home. For a fraction of the cost!!

Some of you may not know what Kettle Korn is. How to describe it exactly? Hmmm... it's like a very lightly carameled corn that's also salty. A sweet and salty combo. It is fabulous! It would also make a great party food... cheap and easy!

Homemade Kettle Korn

• 1/4-1/3 c. popcorn kernels
• 5 tablespoons granulated sugar
• enough water to make the sugar into a slurry
• 1-2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 tsp salt

Pour the kernels into a brown paper bag (lunch bag style) and fold down about 1/2 an inch twice. Staple it twice (side by side in a line) with, yes, metal staples. It'll work, trust me.

Microwave on your popcorn setting. It really is safe to do this. Just treat it as you would any microwave popcorn bag. When it's done, pour it into a bowl, shake to separate the unpopped kernels and scoop the popcorn out, leaving the kernels behind. This is very important! Trust me, eating kettle korn kernels is not pleasant.

Mix the sugar and water together in a small saucepan (preferable non stick) and heat over medium heat. It'll get bubbly as the water boils off. Boil it for a while, until it turns a pretty golden color. It will smell slightly burnt. That's basically what caramel is... burnt sugar. :)

Slurry

Beginning to boil

Beautiful Amber Color

Note: Do not get this stuff on your skin and don't do this with kids around. This hot sugar is basically molten lava and sticks to you as it burns you. Also... do not try to lick it off if it does happen to get on you. Trust me...

Once it's a beautiful amber color, turn off the heat, quickly stir in the butter until melted and pour over the popcorn, stirring the popcorn to get it well coated. Sprinkled with salt and any other seasonings you desire. You can spread this out to cool on a cookie sheet or just keep it in the bowl. You really should wait for it to cool (again, trust me...). If you opt for the bowl version, you'll have to break it up as you eat it. Yum!!

Serves: Just one of me or maybe 3 normal people :) (How'd you like my step by step with pictures? Is it helpful? I think I'm getting the hang of taking blog pictures!)

Finding a way to make one of your favorite treats at home? I'd call that a Finer Thing! Check out Life as Mom's URS for other great game day recipe ideas! For other great frugal ideas, check out Frugal Friday!

Frugal Friday: A Cheap Date

I have yet another cheap date idea! How about a movie and carmel popcorn. Mmmm... I tried this recipe and it's fantastic!

Now, before you freak, yes, it is possible to make your own microwave popcorn with just kernels, a brown lunch bag and two staples (I read about from Alton Brown, my cooking inspiration!) and no the staples don't catch the microwave on fire or anything. This is how I always make it now- never had a problem, except when the bag once got caught on the wall, which kept it from turning, so it burned. My microwave still smells. Blah!

Carmel Popcorn and Peanuts (like the one in the March 2009 All You)

-1/3 c. unpopped popcorn kernels
-1 c. peanuts
-1 1/2 c. sugar
-2 Tbsp. light corn syrup
-2 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into pieces
-1 tsp. vanilla
-1 tsp salt

Put kernels into a brown paper bag (lunch bag type) and fold it down about an inch (I do it a second time too). Staple it twice, in a row, to keep it shut. Microwave on high on your popcorn setting. Pour into a large bowl and add peanuts.

In a large pot, mix 1/4 c water, sugar and corn syrup. Bring to a boil over med.-high heat. Reduce to med and cook without stirring until it is a light amber color, 4-6 min. I think I did it a little too long because it was pretty hard.

Remove pot from heat and stir in butter, vanilla and salt. Pour carmel over popcorn and nuts and stir until completely and evenly coated. Scrape mixture onto a prepared baking sheet (with parchment paper or foil) and let cool before breaking into pieces.

Movie: Redbox!! For those of you who don't know much about redbox, it's pretty cool and very easy. You find a redbox location (usually outside Walmarts, Giant Eagles, etc). Browse through their movie selection (not the best, has a lot of garbage, but some good ones too) and pick your movie. Add it to your cart and check out.

All you need is a debit or credit card to swipe. It costs $1-$2/night and it's due the next day at 9PM at any Redbox location. Redbox is cool because there are a TON of promo codes out there for a free movie. You can go here to see all the promo codes. So, popcorn and a movie for very cheap!

Check out other money saving Frugal Friday tips over here!

Frugal Friday and Finer Things Friday: New Blog Design

http://www.flickr.com/photos/crystalflickr/ / CC BY 2.0

I've been super excited about this new blog design and at last it's here (You can click the link to come see it if you're reading in an email or reader)! I'm very pleased with how it turned out and look forward to "breaking it in." :) Leave me a comment and let me know how you like it!

My designer was Jessica from So Stylilized and I am very pleased with her work. We had a little trouble at first, mainly because I don't know anything about the design process and because I am SO indecisive. I wasn't sure how to communicate what I wanted. I just knew what I didn't want. When I finally decided I like a "scrapy" type style, things came together VERY quickly, in just a few days, and she even installed everything for me! Through the whole design process, I could see exactly what she was doing through a preview page. We communicated through emails and she was professional and quick. I highly recommend her work.

Right now, for the time being, she is still offering her design services for FREE as a portfolio building special. She's hoping to continue this free offer if people use the option of "tip the designer." I think she's booked into the beginning of 2011 right now, but because of her speed, it may not take that long! If you're interested, I suggest you head over there quick and sign up!

To see more Finer Things check out Amy's blog. To see other great frugal tips, check out Frugal Fridays!

Frugal Friday and Finer Things Friday: Cooking Skills

I had always heard people suggest doing things you normally do and including your toddlers in it. I did this a little bit last summer, but now I'm finally beginning to do that more with my oldest, who's two, and it's been so wonderful! Sure, it takes a little longer to get some things done, but she's learning some important things and now begs me throughout the day to let her "help." She pushes her chair over to the counter and looks for things to do. Even on a stool she's still too short, so we use a dining room chair for now!

(No, I didn't let her touch that knife, don't worry)

Forget all those expensive toys! Give my girl a potato and a plastic knife and she's happy!


Another thing she loves is when I give her a baby wipe. She'll go all over the house "cleaning" for me. Her wipe often looks pretty raggedy when she brings it back.... she's showing me up in cleaning skills! She's also a big help with putting clothes into the washer or dryer.

It's one of my goal acheiving Baby Steps this month to include my toddler in the things I'm doing through out the day, like laundry and cooking. So far this month, we're doing pretty good. It helps the time pass on the days that Daddy works 12 hours and it gets her excited about cooking and cleaning. This time we've been spending together has been a bonding experience and educational. I like to think of it as the early homeschooling steps. Looking for something to keep your active toddler busy? You may not have to look any further than your own kitchen or laundry room!

Check out Finer Things Friday for more great posts on the Finer Things and Frugal Friday for other great posts on living life on less!

Walmart Frugality

I don't hold back about my general dislike for my area Walmarts... usually the prices around here are much higher than I see online in deal lists and sometimes they don't even carry the products. I decided to brave a Walmart deals trip when I went to pick up a prescription. I was reminded why I avoid Walmart, but there was one good thing I learned. I know it's not new, but it's good to be reminded:

Always Ask!!

When I entered Walmart, I went straight for the produce, scoping out any good apple deals. I saw $0.97/lb. Not bad. I saw 3 lb bags for $2.50. Good. I saw $1 something/lb. Ok. And this was all from the SAME kind of apples. I was very confused! Then I came across little bags filled with the same kind of apples with a sign above them that said $0.47/lb. I wondered to myself "Did the $1 fall off?" Maybe it was just a great deal. Hmmm....

So I picked up 6 bags of them. There were 3 more left, but I didn't want to have to bring more back if it was really high, so I just got 6. I looked for the rest of the deals and was greatly disappointed on most of them.

I proceeded to checkout and I immediately explained to the cashier what I saw in the apple section. She scanned them and they rang up at $0.78/lb. Man! I didn't see $0.78/lb anywhere. Every other number, but $0.78/lb. Long story short.... I got the apples for $0.47/lb. Very worth the effort, even though the cashier had to rering everything. But her boss told her to give that price without me even asking (I was going to go along with the $0.78/lb). So if you ever get to something confusing in a store, just ask. If you think some produce should be lower because of age, just ask! For more great frugal tips, check out Frugal Friday at Life as Mom!

A Frugal Balance

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This week, while reading Lady Jen's (Joy Ever After) posts about finances, I stopped to reflect back on the topic of balance (take her frugality quiz, it's cute!). Is so easy to get slightly off balance, then a little more each day. Before you know it, a little adds up to a lot and it's hard to remember how you got to where you are. But I'm not talking about in the "over spending" money sense. Hard as it may seem, it is possible to get off balance in frugality.

If you are a Christian, I'm sure you've heard of Jesus' teaching on God and mammon (money). What most of us walk away from this story with is: Don't let spending money on things become an idol. Don't love money more than God. While this aspect of the lesson is a true and very good one, I have to say I think there's more.

I would say that you shouldn't let saving money become an idol either. Money, whether spending or saving it, should never come before God and His priorities for our lives. Money is a tool. If we spend extreme amounts of time trying to save pennies and/or your family or relationship with God suffer because of it, we need to stop and check our priorities. I love saving money as much as the next person, but I do my best to keep it in perspective. It is very easy to get out of balance and go overboard.

Example: It's Wednesday and it's the last day for some killer deals at Giant Eagle (our local grocery store that doubles coupons). I've spent the afternoon printing and sorting all the coupons I'll need, making my shopping list and double checking everything. But what do you know, my kids are cranky, I'm tired and we don't really need the stuff I'm planning on buying right now. Sure, I could use those deals later, but our pantry, refrigerator and freezer are all stuffed. What should I do? What would you do?

I stayed home. Yep. All that time wasted. But I chose my children and my sanity as my first priority. Did I regret it? A little. In the back of my head were the nagging thoughts "but you'll need that stuff someday and will have to pay full price!" I doubt I'll have to pay full price for it (sales cycle about every 10-12 weeks anyway) and even if I do pay full generic brand price, so what? It's not the end of the world. Trying to drag two cranky little kids through the store while I'm tired myself is just asking for a meltdown (from both the kids and me!) A few deals really aren't worth all that. And besides, there's always next week.... Learning to keep balance in areas of our lives? That's a Finer Thing!

Do you have any thoughts on not letting saving become an idol either? Share them with us! And check out other great frugal tips at Frugal Friday this week!

Frugal Friday: Selling on Amazon

I recently have been on an organization quest and this quest led to me finding some stuff we definitely don't need laying around anymore. One such example is my engineering textbooks that haven't been cracked open in over 2 years. Didn't know I have a bachelor's in civil engineering? :) Another story, soon, I promise! I will be starting an all about "you" series soon. Anyway...

I decided that since I loved Amazon for buying my textbooks when I was in school, it would be the perfect place to sell them. I'm not selling all of them, just the ones I know I never want to see again. My Calculus book is falling apart and very beloved to me and I can't imagine parting with it. My Geotechnical Engineering book, on the other hand just brings back horrible memories of a horrible class, so the soon I can get rid of it, the better. Don't sell things you'll regret later! You may feel like you're "purging" but be careful what you get rid of!

You can go to Amazon.com and click "Sell Your Stuff" on the left-hand side, near the bottom. They want you to sign up for a plan, but you don't have to. You can sell a few individual items by starting out here. You'll need to sign up for a seller account if you're new, which is easy. You'll fill out your info, including a phone number, then they'll give you a quick, automated call to confirm that it's your real number.

Once you're all signed up, listing items is easy. Simply log into your account, click "your account" at the top, and go to "your seller account" on the right hand side. Click on list single items. You simply type in an ISBN or search by the type of item you want to sell. You need to list it's condition, what price you're asking (they'll show you the current going prices for comparison) and what shipping type you want to do. Amazon will take a chunk out when it sells as their commission (it was about 15% for textbooks). When you list the item, it'll tell you what your profit (including shipping charges) will be minus their fee.

I listed 6 or 7 of my books and less than a day later, I've already sold 2 of them, probably because I competitively priced them. Amazon sends you an email when it sells and another when it's paid for and you need to ship within 2 business days. Log into your seller account again and click on your orders on the right hand side. You can print a packing slip which contains the person's address. I put the first book that sold into a box I already had from an Avon order, stuffed newspaper around it, put the packing slip inside and taped it up really good. I sent it by media mail and it cost $3.16 (which was covered by the $3.99 shipping charge I received).

The first book sold for $56.01+$3.99 for shipping!! After Amazon's commission and shipping, I made $46 off of a book I doubt I'll ever think of again. I'm loving this!! I'll think I'll go around looking for more stuff to sell now. Hopefully I don't get addicted to selling stuff or we may not have anything left! :)

For more frugal ideas and tips, check out Life as Mom's Frugal Friday!