photo by rhettmaxwellI received the following email from a reader, Janelle, and thought the discussion would be helpful to many of you. I've been reading your weblog off and on for a while, and have a question for you. I notice that most (not all) of the "deals" you get, and that are out there with coupons are for foods that I don't choose to feed my family. Processed, not organic, not local, containing high fructose corn syrup, etc. While I admit, we're not perfect, how does a family that often eats granola (from the bulk bins or homemade), homecooked meals, and uses natural or kitchen (vinegar, etc) products to clean, actually use the tips that Keep Reading
Saving Money On "Real Food"
The Perfect Reusable Produce Bag!
Have you been ever so faithful at taking your reusable grocery bags while shopping in order to reduce the amount of plastic bags you bring home, only to end up with countless plastic bags from the produce section? I sure have, and I have been looking for an alternative bag for my produce for a long time with no success. There needed to be certain requirements for a produce bag that I just couldn't seem to find. It needed to be lightweight, see through and have an easy way to close. The cost was also a factor as I needed at least 3 or 4. Well, I am happy to report that I have found the perfect reusable produce bag! While shopping Keep Reading
Dressing Your Kids Well On A Budget
photo by Darwin BellThe following is a guest post by Christy, one of the organizers of the Ever After Resale Consignment Event.-------------------------------------------My name is Christy. My hobby is dressing my five young children in cute, quality, name brand clothing. Confession over, now on to tell you how I support my habit!When my first daughter was born my husband accused me of playing with a human doll. I loved dressing her up but out family budget did not allow for me to spend large amounts of money on her wardrobe. So, off to garage sales I went. I thoroughly enjoyed picking up cute clothing for her at just a couple of dollars per outfit. I Keep Reading
Childrens Clothing Consignment Events: An Introduction
It's consignment event season! I love consignment events for both purchasing inexpensive clothes for my kids and making some money on the clothes and accessories we don't need. I have sold at two different events in the Portland area and have found events to be the most profitable way of getting rid of our old stuff. Selling at consignment events are great for a number of reasons: :: You get maximum exposure. Garage sales are easy because you never have to leave your house, but you also get a limited amount of people. What if it rains? What if you fail to advertise well? Consignment event organizers work hard to get people in the door. You would Keep Reading
Breakfast Bargains: Pancakes
photo by wordridden This is the first part in the series Breakfast Bargains -- ideas on how to feed your family nutritious, frugal breakfasts. You can read the introduction to this series here. ------------------------------------------- Pancakes are a great way to feed your family in the morning. They can include a variety of ingredients and can be dressed up in so many ways. What I particularly love about pancakes is that they freeze well and are easy to reheat on a busy morning. Making them from scratch does take quite a bit of time, but I make a double or triple batch on a slow morning and "flash freeze" the leftovers. The time I put in Keep Reading
Frugal Living 101: When To Say When
I just received two questions from a Frugal Living reader and I thought it may be helpful to answer them on the site and also get your input. I will answer her second question in a later post.photo by tj scenesRachael asks the question (paraphrased): When do I know when to stop buying? It's difficult to stop taking advantage of deals even when we don't need the items. I especially enjoy giving our extra deals to others, but we need to get out of debt.Great question! Here are my thoughts::: Set a monthly food & household budget and stick to it. I cannot stress this enough. Right now my budget is $265. My husband pulls that amount of cash from our Keep Reading
Frugal Dinners: Slow Cooker Chuck Roast
Slow Cooker Chuck Roast One thing you must know about me (Angela) is that I do not enjoy cooking. I am not particularly good at it. And when I become a millionaire, I plan to hire a full time cook/massage therapist/laundry folder. That said, I thought it may be helpful to post some dinners that I scrape together to inspire those who are bent in a similar way. Here's what I made for Friday's dinner: Slow Cooker Chuck Roast You will eventually notice that I do exactly the same thing with all other beef crockpot meals. Here are my ingredients: First, I dumped a 1 lb bag of baby carrots ($1) and about 7 organic, chopped potatoes ($.50) in Keep Reading