Saving Money

Saving Money

Save Money by Buying Winter Coats in March

I’ve been wearing the same winter coats for several seasons. Of course, I’m in Los Angeles, so there’s no snow or sleet and barely any rain to wear them down. If you need to replace your winter coats every few years, it’s tempting to do it at the start of the season when you’re looking at your coat and thinking, “Wow, this is ugly.” Instead, you should buy…
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9 Frugal Anniversary Ideas (That Are Also Romantic)

My husband and I aren’t very big on anniversaries (or birthdays). We’re very open to time-shifting them, skipping gifts, or holding one combination celebration for all our anniversaries and birthdays together. That doesn’t mean we don’t want to recognize our marriage, though. So here are ten frugal yet romantic anniversary ideas you can do. 9 Wedding Anniversary ideas 1. Focus on You, Not on Gifts The first few…
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Saving Money: Using Coupon Codes at Christmas

This year I’ll be doing nearly half of my Christmas shopping online. Last year that number was probably closer to 75%, but this year I found some of the gifts I needed at Costco. So far I’ve only needed to visit two online stores to get many of my gifts: Amazon and Red Envelope. Red Envelope specializes in high quality, unusual gifts in a wide range of prices (some of…
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Save Money with Energy Efficient Air Conditioner Use

Last weekend, summer arrived early in Los Angeles. It’s gone again, but the brief appearance caused thousands of air conditioners to be fired up for a few days. Even if summer hasn’t arrived where you are yet, now is a good time to check your system or develop a plan for energy efficient air conditioner use. Not only will it reduce your electricity bill, it will also help…
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How to Buy Discount Clothes

I never pay full price for clothes unless I’m buying a gift for someone else (and even then, I save if I can.) I know many people buy their clothes on consignment or at closeout stores like Ross and Marshall’s, but I’m not one of them. I always find shopping at these stores to be more effort than it’s worth. Instead, I stick to stores I trust. Major…
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Save Money on Your Wedding with a Wedding Budget

Once again, we’re at the height of wedding season. We’re also at the height of engagement season. This week, I’m focusing on saving money on your wedding. Weddings are expensive, and many brides are looking for ways to cut costs, so I’ll look at the big things where you can save the most, as well as the simple things that add up. Today, we start with the budget.…
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Unfrugality of the Week – I Got a Droid

So, it finally happened. I committed the most unfrugal act of getting a smartphone. However, I still managed to squeeze a bit of frugality into it, even though it’s a big budget change. Not only did I buy a smartphone, but I had to break my current contract and pay a $70 termination fee to do it! However, buying my husband a replacement phone for four months would…
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How We Save 25% of Our Income

As I mentioned the other day, we’re saving about 25% of our monthly take-home. We didn’t start out there, but we’ve come a long way since I started this blog. Back then, we spent every dollar we earned either on debt payments or living expenses. Now we save a substantial portion. As part of financial literacy month,  here’s a look at how we made the switch over the course…
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Seven Cheap Ways to Celebrate Labor Day

Labor Day is once again upon us. My holiday will be spent doing all the things I couldn’t do while prepping for my move, like getting an oil change, a hair cut, and a car wash. We also plan to hit a couple of the sales to buy a bunch of stuff we need for the house. Normally I avoid the sales and other events and just relax,…
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How Community Resources Can Save You Money

Recently I saved $600 by making my own slipcovers. However, I needed to borrow a sewing machine in order to do that. That got me to thinking – what other ways could people save money by sharing community resources? Here are a few areas where I think people could start sharing resources. Household/Gardening Tools Although it would be difficult to share frequently-used tools among more than a couple…
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