Note: I wrote this as a guest post at a friend’s now-defunct blog, so I’m re-posting it here. Last year, a horrifying study found that 25% of Americans hadn’t read a book in the last year. This is horrifying for a number of reasons: We’re not reading because we’re choosing other entertainment forms, most of …
Monday is Memorial Day, which the stores consider the official kick-off of the summer shopping season. You’ll see sales galore, but you can still be frugal if you try! Check for Deals If there are items you need for summer projects, check the store circulars for coupons and discounts. If the item you want is …
Right now you’ve probably got one kind of cobbler on your mind: apple. Today I’m going to talk about the other kind. Not peach. The kind who do shoe repair services. I heard a report on NPR this morning about the booming business cobblers are doing, and it reminded me that I picked up a …
My husband and I didn’t have time to buy a dining room table before hosting Thanksgiving this year. Fortunately, we found a creative solution for this conundrum: the patio table. Had we had the 11 people we originally expected, rather than the 6 we had, we would have used the patio table plus our kitchen …
When it comes to Thanksgiving centerpieces, it’s best to go simple. You could spend a fortune on a giant cornucopia overflowing with gourds, nuts, and flowers, or you could keep it simple with a small vase, some fall leaves, and candles. Here are a few of my favorite ideas for Thanksgiving table decorations. The Simplicity …
I’ve hated my slipcovers for a few years. When I bought the couch and chair about 10 years ago, I bought a kind with sage velvet covers. Gorgeous, and dry cleanable. At least until I took them to a dry cleaner who machine-washed them and shrank them. I didn’t even think to sue them for …
Frugal Slipcovers: How I Made Over My Living Room for $200 Read More »
My post comparing being frugal with being environmentally friendly sparked some discussion about the difference between being frugal and being cheap. I recently read two books on just this topic: The Complete Tightwad Gazette and America’s Cheapest Family. In comparing the two books and the two concepts, I’m going to look at two areas I mentioned yesterday, that also consume …
America was built on frugality. The original settlers were not wealthy, and they used as much of every resource as they could. Eventually they built a prosperous land, but again, the people were essentially frugal. Was there wasteful spending? Sure. Was there ridiculous wealth? Of course. But the economy wasn’t backed by spending. Then something …
I love a family game night. I come from a very competitive family, so we can be a bit hardcore in our games, but you can have a peaceful family game night, too. If you play with games you already own and enjoy affordable snack food at home, it can be much cheaper than a …
Every year, my Christmas list seems to get shorter and shorter. When I was young, my list was very detailed and long. Now I struggle to come up with a few items. I seem to have reached a point of max stuff and now am just looking to fill new needs that have arisen. Maybe …
