The company I work for has one monthly payday. The closer it gets to the end of the month, the more of my coworkers are bringing their lunch from home. The problem is that most of them only do it when they’ve run out of money. A few of us brown-bag it throughout the month, […]
Category: Pinching Pennies
Patch it, glue it, make it last.
Small repairs help extend the life of the things we already have and keep household expenses down. I have a stash of buttons to replace any that get lost, and I have sewn up tears in everything from shirts to purses, and bedding. Replacing a broken zipper isn’t too difficult, especially if you have access […]
Track your spending
If you are having trouble making ends meet, it helps a lot to know where your money is being spent so you can make good decisions about where to cut back. You might be surprised at what you learn about your spending habits. There are a lot of ways to track spending, just use trial […]
Preparing for uncertain times
If you lost your job, wouldn’t you want to have a supply of food on hand for your family while you find another job? Gathering an extra supply of food can be done without straining your budget. Try the “one to use and one to store” method of slowly building up your food supply. Stock […]
Buy in bulk: a little work saves a lot of money!
You can save a lot of money if you buy meat in bulk, and then split it up into recipe sized portions. Then you only have to thaw out what you need for one meal at a time. I love to use just a little bit of bacon in a lot of my dishes as […]
Fun birthday cakes for cheap
I have had plenty of grocery store and bakery cakes, but I really prefer to make one at home. However, I’m not going to make one from scratch if I’m busy planning a party. I use box cake mixes and they always get rave reviews because I do something creative with them each time.Add some […]
My super cheap and low-fat secret!
I found a great secret to low-fat, satisfying meals and snacks – beans! If I hadn’t told them, my family would never know. I made delicious chocolate chip pecan cookies at Christmas this year as gifts for family. They were a HUGE hit, and they are healthy and low-fat. Instead of white flour, I used […]
Teen boy birthday party for cheap
I had a crisis on my hands recently. My son was turning 15, and throwing a “video game party” was not an option. We had a ban on video games in the house during that time. I didn’t have enough in my budget to throw a party anywhere else. A two hour bowling party was […]
Uses for old jeans
Don’t throw your old jeans in the trash. There are just too many things you can do with them. When I get a pair of jeans for my fabric stash, I cut along the seams to harvest as much fabric as possible. I save the seams that go down the outside of each leg to […]
Check your receipt!
Even though every store has digital price scanning, you should always check your receipt before leaving a store. Make sure all coupons got applied correctly, and that you were charged the correct price for the things you bought. You may be very surprised at how often you find errors. Most of my grocery shopping trips […]
Make your own laundry soap
Cutting back on the amount of laundry detergent you use does save you quite a bit but at $8.00 for a box of the cheap stuff, that is STILL too much for me. I researched home made laundry detergent and soap (not the same thing!), and here is what worked for me. I will never […]
Frugal Kitchen Step 1: Learn to Cook!
The best thing you can do for yourself and your family is learn to cook – KNOW what goes into your food. Don’t be afraid of your kitchen! The most significant area of your life where you can save money is groceries and food. Learning to cook can be fun, and you WILL save money! […]