There is a blog I follow called Craftoholics Anonymous. It is amazing! And today I got on to check and there is a giveaway for a book, "seven ears of plenty" by Linda Olsson. It is about food storage and how to use it productively and it takes things from all over the world! I would totally love to win it!
Food storage is one of those things that I wish I could be a TON better at, but being a single twenty something year old it isn't that easy to know how to productively use it.
For EVERYONE in general, food storage is FRUGAL! I know that it seems like you are spending a bunch of money on food, but it really does save in the end. AND when it comes time that you are in a disaster, money is tight, etc. You already have it!
BE PREPARED!
Friday, February 25, 2011
Friday, September 24, 2010
Groupon!
So, It's been awhile. Life kind of exploded for a couple of weeks there. But, it is on it's way back to normal.
During those weeks I discovered through a few friends here in Utah, Groupon. You sign up and there is are daily deals sent to your email. Usually they are deals for more extravagant spending. Deals for Friday night dates, weekend get aways, yummy restaurants, etc. But, the point of this blog is to show you that you are able to have a fun-filled "normal" life while still being frugal.
A Groupon example:
Provo River Cruises has a Halloween cruise. They line the river with jack-o-lanterns and pile 40 people into a boat. The guide tells a haunted story to set the mood. A pirate even attacks the ship during the ride! I'm super excited about that. The cruise runs through October and is normally $14.00 per person. Groupon sent an email to me to buy the tickets for 50% off, $7.00 per ticket. I could buy one ticket or more!
Point is that a Halloween cruise isn't something that I would necessarily have known about or thought about budgeting in, but with Groupon it's something that can easily become a reality without killing my budget.
Just go to http://www.groupon.com/ and choose the city you live in or near, and subscribe to the emails, in order to start saving on adventures, relaxation, and sometimes necessities!
During those weeks I discovered through a few friends here in Utah, Groupon. You sign up and there is are daily deals sent to your email. Usually they are deals for more extravagant spending. Deals for Friday night dates, weekend get aways, yummy restaurants, etc. But, the point of this blog is to show you that you are able to have a fun-filled "normal" life while still being frugal.
A Groupon example:
Provo River Cruises has a Halloween cruise. They line the river with jack-o-lanterns and pile 40 people into a boat. The guide tells a haunted story to set the mood. A pirate even attacks the ship during the ride! I'm super excited about that. The cruise runs through October and is normally $14.00 per person. Groupon sent an email to me to buy the tickets for 50% off, $7.00 per ticket. I could buy one ticket or more!
Point is that a Halloween cruise isn't something that I would necessarily have known about or thought about budgeting in, but with Groupon it's something that can easily become a reality without killing my budget.
Just go to http://www.groupon.com/ and choose the city you live in or near, and subscribe to the emails, in order to start saving on adventures, relaxation, and sometimes necessities!
Sunday, September 12, 2010
H2O is better
Ok,
So I'm a little behind in my posts. Today's fabulously frugal idea comes from just pure logic.
Drink Water.
There are two sides to this logic... It's healthier than drinking anything else and it is cheaper than drinking anything else.
I want you to just keep track for a week of how much money you spend on any kind of drink you normally and regularly partake of. It might be soda, juice, beer, sports drinks, etc. Whatever it is you drink on a regular basis. Add up the cost for one week, the cost monetarily and the cost physically. Count those bills and calories. That is what you could be saving your wallet and your body WEEKLY!
It's usually and incredibly larger amount that most people think.
I'm not saying juice is bad or that you shouldn't have it EVER, but when you go out to eat (which is never frugal) or when you down a whole bottle of juice in a day or when a gallon of milk lasts you through one meal...think about drinking water instead of another glass of whatever it is.
Want to be fabulous and frugal? Drink water!
So I'm a little behind in my posts. Today's fabulously frugal idea comes from just pure logic.
Drink Water.
There are two sides to this logic... It's healthier than drinking anything else and it is cheaper than drinking anything else.
I want you to just keep track for a week of how much money you spend on any kind of drink you normally and regularly partake of. It might be soda, juice, beer, sports drinks, etc. Whatever it is you drink on a regular basis. Add up the cost for one week, the cost monetarily and the cost physically. Count those bills and calories. That is what you could be saving your wallet and your body WEEKLY!
It's usually and incredibly larger amount that most people think.
I'm not saying juice is bad or that you shouldn't have it EVER, but when you go out to eat (which is never frugal) or when you down a whole bottle of juice in a day or when a gallon of milk lasts you through one meal...think about drinking water instead of another glass of whatever it is.
Want to be fabulous and frugal? Drink water!
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Sharp Thinking
Ok! It's that time again. One more fabulously frugal way to live! I know you've been waiting for it.
I got this idea from my oldest brother and his wife. It's an easy way to make your razors last a little bit longer than normal.
I don't know about you, but I calculated how much money I spend on razors per year and it comes out to be about $108.00, add that with $48.00 per year for shaving cream, and when my razors get a little less sharp I have to exfoliate more which is another $30.00 per year. So I'm looking at about $190.00 per year for shaving. Well, if I were able to stretch my razor a little further that cost would go down by about half. When you put it in these terms it seems a little more important to make your razor last as long as possible.
Here's an easy, economical, fabulous way to stretch your razor.
Put it in oil! Instead of keeping your razor in your shower where water hits it not only when you use the shower, but when anyone uses the shower...keep it on your sink. Get a cup and put about half a cup of baby oil in it. Put your razor in it, blade down inbetween showers. Your blade will last almost twice as long as it normally would! Great, cheap, easy.
You'll still buy the same razors as before, but they'll last you twice as long. Baby oil only costs about $1.25 for a big bottle, which will last you almost all year. This also helps your razor to not be as abrasive on your skin. For those of you with sensitive skin like me this is kind of a big deal. And, because of this fact your cost on shaving creams and exfoliants will go down as well. Instead of $190.00 per year you'll be spending about $80.00 per year. It turns out to be $6.67 per month.
Not too shabby. Actually, it's frugal and fabulous!
I got this idea from my oldest brother and his wife. It's an easy way to make your razors last a little bit longer than normal.
I don't know about you, but I calculated how much money I spend on razors per year and it comes out to be about $108.00, add that with $48.00 per year for shaving cream, and when my razors get a little less sharp I have to exfoliate more which is another $30.00 per year. So I'm looking at about $190.00 per year for shaving. Well, if I were able to stretch my razor a little further that cost would go down by about half. When you put it in these terms it seems a little more important to make your razor last as long as possible.
Here's an easy, economical, fabulous way to stretch your razor.
Put it in oil! Instead of keeping your razor in your shower where water hits it not only when you use the shower, but when anyone uses the shower...keep it on your sink. Get a cup and put about half a cup of baby oil in it. Put your razor in it, blade down inbetween showers. Your blade will last almost twice as long as it normally would! Great, cheap, easy.
You'll still buy the same razors as before, but they'll last you twice as long. Baby oil only costs about $1.25 for a big bottle, which will last you almost all year. This also helps your razor to not be as abrasive on your skin. For those of you with sensitive skin like me this is kind of a big deal. And, because of this fact your cost on shaving creams and exfoliants will go down as well. Instead of $190.00 per year you'll be spending about $80.00 per year. It turns out to be $6.67 per month.
Not too shabby. Actually, it's frugal and fabulous!
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Old Towels
Okay, So this isn't the promised laundry detergent recipe, but it is still fabulously frugal living. I am not an avid blogger, but there are my few that I follow. One of these said blogs is PYP, Pinch Your Pennies. I was directed to this blog by the same dear friend who is giving me the laundry detergent recipe. She's a doll.
So this blog is dedicated to the dirty, shredding towels we all have hidden in that dark back corner of our linen closets. You know, the ones you only use when there are absolutely no towels left clean in the house, those you pray your house guests never find but undoubtedly your child will pull out to use and run across the living room with wrapped around their body as your entertaining said guests. Those dreadful things actually have a use! A frugal one!
I am stealing PYP's idea, but alas, I never claimed these to be my own ideas, just the best frugal ideas I could find. So, here we go:
Make a drying rag!
Take one of those old towels and cut it into 6 fourteen inch squares. Then find a fabric that you think is adorable. (A good idea for the fabric is an old piece of clothing which has small stains, holes, etc.) and cut 12 fourteen inch squares from that. For each dish mat you're making, place 2 pieces of the cotton fabric right sides together with one of the towel pieces on top of it. Pin it all together, stitch around 3 sides and most of the 4th side (opening for turning). Clip the corners, so they come out nice and sharp instead of bunchy. Tuck in the edges of the opening and topstitch all the way around. You can also stitch a big X across the whole thing to keep the layers in place. And there you have it, a pretty drying rag.
There are plenty of other ways to use old towels. They may not be as crafty or cute. Here's just a brief list off the top of my head.
oil rag for the car
drying rag after a car wash
burp rags for a baby (you could make it similar to the drying rag, with a softer material on the outside)
cut them up for cleaning rags
wrap around the end of a broom for a make-shift mop
Keep by the door to wipe off kids, pets, and even hubby's feet
Cut into strips and put in a first aid kit for quick ties
sweat rags...
and much much more...
be creative
Be Frugal, Be Fabulous!
So this blog is dedicated to the dirty, shredding towels we all have hidden in that dark back corner of our linen closets. You know, the ones you only use when there are absolutely no towels left clean in the house, those you pray your house guests never find but undoubtedly your child will pull out to use and run across the living room with wrapped around their body as your entertaining said guests. Those dreadful things actually have a use! A frugal one!
I am stealing PYP's idea, but alas, I never claimed these to be my own ideas, just the best frugal ideas I could find. So, here we go:
Make a drying rag!
Take one of those old towels and cut it into 6 fourteen inch squares. Then find a fabric that you think is adorable. (A good idea for the fabric is an old piece of clothing which has small stains, holes, etc.) and cut 12 fourteen inch squares from that. For each dish mat you're making, place 2 pieces of the cotton fabric right sides together with one of the towel pieces on top of it. Pin it all together, stitch around 3 sides and most of the 4th side (opening for turning). Clip the corners, so they come out nice and sharp instead of bunchy. Tuck in the edges of the opening and topstitch all the way around. You can also stitch a big X across the whole thing to keep the layers in place. And there you have it, a pretty drying rag.
There are plenty of other ways to use old towels. They may not be as crafty or cute. Here's just a brief list off the top of my head.
oil rag for the car
drying rag after a car wash
burp rags for a baby (you could make it similar to the drying rag, with a softer material on the outside)
cut them up for cleaning rags
wrap around the end of a broom for a make-shift mop
Keep by the door to wipe off kids, pets, and even hubby's feet
Cut into strips and put in a first aid kit for quick ties
sweat rags...
and much much more...
be creative
Be Frugal, Be Fabulous!
Sunday, August 15, 2010
The Kick Off
Well, Here we go!
I was chatting with a good friend of mine on Facebook tonight. In the banter back and forth of catching each other up on what we were doing with our lives, she mentioned making detergent with her mother. "Detergent?!" was my response. I thought about it for a moment while I read her next five messages explaining how great it really was. Once again, I smacked myself over the head and realized that I needed to be more like this friend and her mother. Why not live off of less? I'm in a situation, as many American's are right now, where my dollar
means a lot to me. Frugality was something of a necessity until the past decade or so, and now it is needed again. I replied to my friends comments telling her the realization I had of needing to make my dollar stretch some more, and wanting to be like her mom. I mentioned the phrase 'frugal and fabulous' and her reply was "that should be the name of a blog!"...and now it is.
Ladies, and gentleman, this blog is where I am posting, weekly, the best and most logical ways to make your dollar stretch. I'll be using these things in my own personal life, it's up to you if you do in yours.
I'm not a "hippy" "tree hugger" or anything of the sort. I don't reuse plastic bags or plastic silverware. I don't save everything I "could use" for something. I am just a young professional in this world struggling to make ends meet and wishing I had more money to do it with. I have set my mind to finding out how to live better off of what I've been dealt. I hope you find some value behind it.
Beginning this week, I will post weekly ways to make you frugal and fabulous. Let's face it, we all want to be fabulous or stay fabulous, even when we don't have the money to be "fabulous". I say you don't need more money to be fabulous, just new ways of doing things.
I was chatting with a good friend of mine on Facebook tonight. In the banter back and forth of catching each other up on what we were doing with our lives, she mentioned making detergent with her mother. "Detergent?!" was my response. I thought about it for a moment while I read her next five messages explaining how great it really was. Once again, I smacked myself over the head and realized that I needed to be more like this friend and her mother. Why not live off of less? I'm in a situation, as many American's are right now, where my dollar
means a lot to me. Frugality was something of a necessity until the past decade or so, and now it is needed again. I replied to my friends comments telling her the realization I had of needing to make my dollar stretch some more, and wanting to be like her mom. I mentioned the phrase 'frugal and fabulous' and her reply was "that should be the name of a blog!"...and now it is.
Ladies, and gentleman, this blog is where I am posting, weekly, the best and most logical ways to make your dollar stretch. I'll be using these things in my own personal life, it's up to you if you do in yours.
I'm not a "hippy" "tree hugger" or anything of the sort. I don't reuse plastic bags or plastic silverware. I don't save everything I "could use" for something. I am just a young professional in this world struggling to make ends meet and wishing I had more money to do it with. I have set my mind to finding out how to live better off of what I've been dealt. I hope you find some value behind it.
Beginning this week, I will post weekly ways to make you frugal and fabulous. Let's face it, we all want to be fabulous or stay fabulous, even when we don't have the money to be "fabulous". I say you don't need more money to be fabulous, just new ways of doing things.
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