Frugal Friday - Saving for Christmas 2020

(Note 1 :  my referral codes/links for grocery apps and Swagbucks can be found at the bottom of this post for anyone who might be interested.  Thanks)

(Note 2:  These are not for earning fast money, but consistently using them over time will add up!)


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Beginning on January 1st, I decided to see how much money I could earn using Apps on my phone, Swagbucks, selling on EBay, Pine Cone Surveys, etc.  The purpose of this is to save toward the cost of Christmas gifts in 2020, or at least put a chunk of cash toward it! 

In my planner I assigned a page to each source of income.  My plan is to update the page with the amount earned each month in 2020, so I can track the figures and also get an idea of what's worth doing and what's not worth doing.

Here are my current planner pages and the categories:

1.  Paypal

I started out with a balance of $198.53 as of January 1st.  I don't spend the Paypal money too often and it reached this amount over a long period of time.  Things that go into my Paypal account include things like payment for doing Pine Cone Research Surveys and an occasional sale on EBay or Etsy.   

So far since January 1st, I have added $12 from Pine Cone Research and $16.93 from Ebay sales (net after all expenses) So currently there is $227.46

The surveys earn $3.00 each and I usually do 2 or 3 a month.  Pine Cone Research is a great way to earn a little cash.  They have open applications every so often and you have to be accepted by them.  If I see that they are accepting applications, I will post it on here.  The surveys are easy to do and occasionally  they will send a new product for you to try out for free.  Then you complete a follow up survey which earns another $3.00. 

I don't sell a lot on EBay.  In fact this is the first time in a couple of years that I have sold anything.  What did I sell?  I don't use the conditioners that come in my hair color boxes.  So I had been putting them to the side for quite a while.  I had accumulated 11 of them!  They sell quickly.  Its not a lot of money, but they are out of my house and the money goes toward my goal of Christmas money!

I have some ideas for other things to sell on EBay, such as a dress that I bought a couple of years ago that still has the tags on it and I haven't worn.  It might be fun to see what I can get for it. 


I haven't had anything for sale in my Etsy shop in a very long time.  I would love to though.   Maybe soon!

2.  Amazon Gift Card Balance

This is by far the place that I accumulate money in the most.  I started out on January 1st with a balance of $210.53.  As of today I have $299.48.    The increase is made up of the following:

Fetch Rewards $10.00
Ibotta $20.00
Swagbucks:  $53.00
Amazon refund 5.95

I consistently earn points on Swagbucks which I redeem for Amazon Gift Cards!  Here's my Swagbucks Referral Link if anyone is interested:  CLICK HERE

The grocery apps on my phone are a source of income, but its slow.  Here are the ones I am using:

Shop Kick.  As of today I have 681 points which I earned since January 1st.   I need 1250 to get a $5.00 Amazon Gift Card.  The way it works is that you earn points (kicks) when you go into certain stores.  Then while in stores you scan the bar code of certain items.   Watching short videos earns a few points. You can also buy certain things and scan in your receipt for points.  I haven't bought anything yet that qualifies.  I'm only doing the things that don't require me to spend money.  So, at this rate I should have a $5.00 gift card in a couple of months.  This is REALLY slow, but its kind of fun to do and eventually there will be items that I would be interested in buying that would accumulate points much faster than just the scanning in the store.  So, I am going to continue on and see how much I earn by the end of the year.

Fetch Rewards.  This one is easy to use and earning a gift card doesn't take too terribly long.  You just scan all of your eligible receipts and if you purchase certain items you earn points.  If there are no eligible items on the receipt, you still earn a flat 25 points.  You need 1,000 points to earn a $10.00 Amazon Gift Card.  I started out on January 1st with 1433 points.  I cashed out for one $10.00 Amazon Gift Card, and after earning points since January 1st, I currently have 8,896 points.  I will soon have enough points for another $10.00 gift card.

Ibotta.  This one isn't as easy as Fetch Rewards, but I can earn gift cards pretty quickly.  I enjoy using it.  You need to activate the offers before shopping and I find that I already purchase many of the eligible items.  Sometimes it is for any item, such as any pasta sauce, or any oatmeal, etc.

You have teammates, which for me are friends on Facebook that also do Ibotta.   I didn't do anything to add them as teammates, they just showed up on my account.  To be on my team, use my referral code shown at the bottom of this post.  We can see what each of us is earning and help each other earn more!  I started out on January 1st with $18.71.  You have to reach $20.00 to cash out.  Since then I cashed out for one $20.00 Amazon Gift card and currently have $12.66.  I need $7.34 more to cash out for another $20.00 Amazon Gift card.

Other Grocery Apps.  The apps I am also attempting to earn money are Checkout 51, SavingStar and Coin Out.  I've earned gift cards before on Checkout 51 and SavingStar, but so far this year I have not earned anything.    I started out on January 1st with $9.50 on Checkout 51 and that has not changed.  I need $20.00 to get a gift card.  I started out on January 1st with $13.25 on SavingStar and that has not changed either.  I will keep an eye on SavingStar and Checkout 51, but they just haven't offered any items so far this year that I actually use.  I'm not going to buy something that we don't want or need just to earn a few points.  Coin Out is a new one I am trying and so far have $2.22.  Its easy to use because you just scan any receipt and earn a few points. There are other ways to earn money with Coin Out, but I haven't really tried any of them, other than scanning receipts.    It might not be worth the trouble, but I'll keep plugging away.  I have to reach $10.00 to cash out for a gift card, so at this rate it will take 10 months!

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If you would like to sign up for any of these Apps, I would love for you to use my referral Code.  It would be especially fun to be teammates on Ibotta.  Here are my codes, or links.

For Fetch Rewards use this code when signing up: B4AEN

For Ibotta use this code when signing up:  foujkwh

For Checkout 51 use this link:  https://checkout51.app.link/9JidDdPcg4,   or just click HERE.
 
For Coin Out use this link:  https://coinout.com/referrals/new?r=MGPHCWC   or click HERE.

I don't think SavingStar has a referral program.

I'm off work today, so had time to put this post together!  Have a great weekend!

Frugal Friday - Swagbucks - Walmart Points

I was remembering all of the "Frugal Friday" posts I used to do way back when I first started blogging.  I really enjoyed coming up with those posts and so I thought I'd post some more.  It might even be fun to go back and repost some of those oldies, but goodies!

I've posted here before about swagbucks, and I'm still earning Amazon Gift Cards that way.  As I've said before, its not a get rich quick scheme, but if you are patient and consistent, you can earn some gift cards for Christmas or what ever you need them for.    I am saving mine for Christmas!

If you would like to sign up and try it, here is my referral link:  Debbie J's Swagbuck Referral Link

There are always different ways to earn points going on.   As an example, Walmart is running huge deals all week long on everything from clothing and jewelry to home electronics, grills, and toys, and Swagbucks is offering 6% cash back (in the form of SB Points) for every dollar you spend through Sunday. Whatever you need this summer, now's the time to buy it and get rewarded for doing it.      Just click HERE to take advantage of the Walmart Swagbucks points.

If you haven't signed up for Swagbucks yet, you can also do that at this page and start earning points towards your first free gift card. As a bonus, if you sign up through me and spend at least $25 shopping online through Swagbucks before the first of the month and you'll get a 200 SB bonus - that's $2 in addition to the points you get for each dollar you spend.

For some reason this year I'm getting excited about preparing for Christmas in July!  I have lots of gift ideas and am trying to earn all the "free" money I can.  I already have a $25.00 Amazon gift card earned  through Swagbucks and am well on the way to earning the second one. 

What are ways you are preparing for Christmas?  Most of the time I don't even want to think about it, but for some reason this year I am inspired to get ready early.

Frugal Friday - The lunch box drawer

Today is Frugal Friday at Life As Mom.



One of the most frugal tips of all is to pack yours and your family's lunch for work or school. Now that those children who aren't home schooled are about to head back to school, its time to really begin to plan for this and also to stock up on some lunch items.

My husband and I have been diligently taking our lunches to work for a while now. When I see lunch box type items on sale I try to buy them and stock up. So this week I dedicated an area of my pantry to lunch box "easy to grab" items.

Our main source for lunches are leftovers. My hubby goes ahead and puts the leftovers into small plastic containers with lids in the refrigerator, which are the perfect size for grabbing when you are in a hurry. This week I made homemade vegetable soup on the one day that our temperatures actually stayed below 90! I then thoroughly enjoyed having this soup along with a pimento cheese sandwich for lunch the next day.

I'm planning to make myself a cute lunch box soon which will make taking my lunch even more pleasant.

The Pantry Principle - Re-run

This is one of my most popular posts originally posted almost exactly 2 years ago. I'm amazed that I've been blogging for over two years now! I wanted to read this post myself in order to get inspired to start preparing for the winter of 2009/2010 and thought you might like to read it again too.

THE PANTRY PRINCIPLE, Part One

The name of this Frugal Friday post is straight out of the Tightwad Gazette, II and is updated in the Tightwad Gazette III. The lesson is "to save the most money and time when buying food, you should shop to replenish your pantry, not to make specific meals". In the Tightwad Gazette III there is a list of what the author keeps in her pantry. I have also seen Pantry Lists on other blogs. My plan is to read several of these pantry lists and include the things I would use in my pantry.

One point that I'd like to make is that you don't have to have a special room or closet for your pantry. You can make a pantry anywhere that you can put up some shelves or use a closet or even under a bed! I have made my pantry in a corner of the laundry room in an old pie safe that was on the way to the landfill, but was rescued many years ago. This is a picture of the outside of it. As you can see there are baskets on top and underneath is a wicker picnic basket, plastic bin and beside it is a potato and onion storage box. It is full of buy one get one free potatoes and waiting for the sweet potatoes that are being harvested around here this time of year. In the picnic basket I sometimes "hide" items I don't want my family to find and go through too fast! LOL. The plastic bin is great for produce items, etc. There are also hooks on a shelf on an adjacent wall that has a recycle bag for plastic grocery bags. I am planning on making some cloth bags to hang on some of the other hooks to store food items.




My pantry had gotten bare and so I started working on restocking it in preparation for fall and winter at lunch yesterday and these are the things I've gotten so far:

4 cans of mixed vegetables
2 cans of cut green beans with whole potatoes
4 cans of cut green beans
2 cans of cheddar cheese soup
2 cans of light red kidney beans
3 2lb bags of rice
2 cans of spaghetti sauce
1 can of sweet peas
1 large can of Folgers Coffee

That's a pretty good start, don't you think! Next week I plan to stock up items other than canned goods, such as flour, sugar, teabags, etc.

This is a picture of the inside of the pie safe with some of the products I purchased already stored there. There still room in there and definitely in the baskets, etc.

All of the national brand items were purchased on sale and/or with a coupon. Some of the store brand items are tried and true favorites. I'm not brand loyal. But, if a store brand isn't of good quality, I definitely won't buy it just because its cheaper. I have experimented with some store brands and have found some good ones.


Please visit Life as Mom for more Frugal Friday ideas!

ALSO, PLEASE VISIT MY NEW QUILTING BLOG: ANGEL SCRAPS QUILTING.

Small Frugal Blessings Of The Week

Good Friday morning to you!



We had some large unexpected repair bills this week for our water pump and air conditioner. It was also time to buy new tires for my "old lady car". But, instead of dwelling on the negative side of this I want to keep things positive!

Oh, what a blessing it is that we have plenty of water and an air conditioner to begin with! And the cost of a new set of tires is about the same as one car payment would be for the average person in America. We've not had a car payment in over a year!

Here are some of the small frugal blessings I've received recently:

1. I received $13.00 into my Paypal account from Ebates. I was surprised that I had reached this amount since I don't normally order a lot of things on line. The amount has to be at least $10.00 and they only transfer the money to you about every 3 months.

2. I was able to answer two surveys this week on line which earned me $6.00.

3. Amazon.Com has pulled out of North Carolina as far as its affiliate program goes so I received $5.79 into my checking account when they closed my account. Ordinarily the amount would have to reach $10.00 before they make a transfer. I assumed that I would never reach $10.00, so had forgotten about it.

4. I was able to order some items on clearance for my daughter and grandson from Old Navy using a free shipping code. I went through Ebates to order and earned $4.48more in that account.

5. I was going into Food Lion and noticed a coupon laying on the sidewalk. I picked it up and it was $2.00 off Scott Toilet Paper. The toilet paper happened to be on sale that day too.

6. I printed out a $5.00 off $20.00 worth of meat at Food Lion this week and was pleasantly surprised to find lots of marked down meat with good dates. I was able to really stock our freezer with some good meat such as beef stew, hamburger, pork chops and inexpensive steaks for only $15.00.

7. I started collecting Coke Rewards points. We purchase lots of drinks at work in the 12 pack cardboard cartons and my hubby gets bottle caps from his workplace. I also have a friend who has given me some codes. I already have about 150 points in only a week! I'm not sure what I'll spend them on, but maybe a "Country Living" magazine subscription.

8. I have 41 Swag bucks. If you would like to sign up for Swagbucks, click on the thingie on my right side bar. That way I can earn referral points when you win swagbucks.

9. My Upromise Account is slowly growing because of E-Coupons. I purchased diapers and Wacky Mac which earned $3.00. I know that's not much money, but I think its neat that the money just shows up in there. E-Coupons are definitely something I will use from now on.

10. If I honor God with my finances, I know that He will bless me in that area. One small way to do this is to follow the rules when it comes to coupons. The Food Lion on-line coupons state "One Print Per Person". But, the print process allows you to print as many as you want. I've decided to only print out one, even though I would love to use some more of those $5.00 of $20.00 meat ones!!!

And you never know what kind of coupons He might put on the sidewalk for you!

Check out the Life As Mom Blog for more Frugal ideas!

Frugal Friday - Making Use of Coupons

Elizabeth has begun a new blog called "Saving Pennies". One theme of her new blog is to feed the hungry, by using coupons and sales.

It would be wonderful if people everywhere would use their coupons to help stock food pantries, wouldn't it?

Here is one example of making use of coupons to feed the hungry:

Like many of you, I received several coupons for Rice Krispies Cereal from Vocal Point. One of these coupons was even for a free box. The others were for $1.00 off each box. We would never eat that many boxes of Rice Krispies, but it occurred to me that this would make a great food pantry item. To sweeten the deal, last week Food Lion had these large boxes on sale for $1.99. So I purchased 5 boxes using the $1.00 off coupons, making each box only 99 cents. So for $5.00 I was able to get 5 boxes of cereal for my church's food pantry.

I know $5.00 isn't alot, but many times I will think in terms of spending $5.00 for groceries to donate to the food pantry. I try to get the most groceries I can get for that $5.00. Some weeks that might be 2 boxes of spaghetti and 2 jars of spaghetti sauce.

It also helps to think in terms of some people not having the means to put other items with the food. Who ever gets the Rice Krispies, will need milk. So that is a drawback. I wonder if some people even have electricity to cook the food. So in that case it would be nice to donate canned meats or other items that don't have to be cooked. Any ideas for that?

Today is Frugal Friday at Life as Mom. You can get lots of frugal ideas by checking out all the posts!

Frugal Friday - Amazing On-Line Deals on Prescription Glasses

My new glasses:



I wear contacts 95% of the time, but desperately needed a pair of "back up" glasses. I had an old pair that would do, but accidentally stepped on them last summer. It was crazy not to have a back up pair of glasses since without them I wouldn't be able to drive. What if I lost a contact while at work, or worse, got an eye infection?!!!

I first read about buying glasses online in a Reader's Digest article. My friend brings me her parents' magazines after they finish with them. This article gives the names of several websites that are reputable. Since I had already ordered contacts on line at CoastalContacts. Com, that was the first place I checked. They had a couple pair of glasses on sale for only $6.95, lenses included!!! The shipping was $6.95 so for about $14.00 I could get a pair of glasses. I need bifocals, but my main concern for this was to be able to drive, etc. So I figured I could take a chance on ordering glasses for distance only, online, if I was only spending $14.00.

I also checked on bifocals and progressive lenses at 39dollarglasses.com. The bifocals are $79.00 and the progressives are $89.00.

I decided to order the $6.95 pair from Coastal Contacts for distance only. These I will use for watching tv at night after taking my contacts out and/or for driving if I can't wear my contacts. I also decided to order a $79.00 bifocal pair from 39dollarglasses.com for multipurpose uses.

They both came in about a week and I am very pleased! So pleased in fact that I ordered another pair of $6.95 glasses from Coastal Contacts while they still have this sale going on. I will leave one pair in the glove compartment of the car, one on the bedside table and one for everything else.

This is a huge a savings over buying glasses at an optometrist's office. For example, my friend's husband bought a pair of progressive lenses two weeks ago which cost him about $300.00.

These are my suggestions if you want to try ordering glasses online:

1. If you are hard to fit or have a hard prescription to fill, you might need to use a brick and mortar optometrist. The glasses purchased on line are guaranteed, but it might not be worth the trouble if you wear glasses 100% of the time and need to make sure your glasses are right or need to have them adjusted often.

Buying glasses on line is perfect for me since I don't wear the glasses that much. It makes more sense for me not to spend $300.00 for something I will hardly ever wear.

2. Remember to get your prescription from the eye doctor when you go for a check up. If possible get them to put your PD, aka pupillary distance, on there. This is the measurement between the center of your pupils, measured in millimeters. This is the only thing that wasn't on my prescription. But, never fear! You can measure your own PD. Just use a ruler that has MMs on it and have someone measure yours. My hubby measured mine at 65.

Its not hard to read the prescription and if you have any questions, the websites explain it for you. You could also call and talk to someone who will help you. You could even fax or email the prescription to them

3. It helps if you already have an idea of what style glasses you like or that look good on you. The websites give you different face shapes and suggestions for which style looks best on which face shape. At 39dollarglasses.com, you can pick a face shape and see how each pair of glasses would look on that face. So you need to decide which face shape you have. You could also go to the dollar store and try on different shapes and styles of glasses to see which one you like the best on you, before going to the site to order.

4. Check around before ordering. I think I could have gotten my bifocal pair at an even better price than I did, but was so excited to order them I didn't wait.

5. Don't forget to go through the Ebates.Com site, if you have an account, to save even more! I received a few dollars in my Ebates account by ordering the glasses at 39dollarglasses.com.

Here are the websites recommended in the Reader's Digest article: 39dollarglasses.com, eyebuydirect.com, goggles4u.com and zennioptical.com.

I got the best deal, unbelievable in fact, on distance only glasses at coastalcontacts.com. Also Coastal Contacts includes a few freebies in every package. When I ordered contacts I received a nice pair of sunglasses that I use every day. When I ordered glasses, there was a key chain with a tightening tool (tiny screwdriver) attached, and a nice cleaning cloth.

Both pair of my glasses came in a nice hard eyeglass case.

For more frugal friday posts go to Life as Mom!

Frugal Friday - More Great Store Brands

I almost always try the store brand of favorite products to see how they stack up to the real thing and here are two really good ones.

Walmart's Great Value brand of ALL PURPOSE CLEANER WITH BLEACH. This bottle costs $1.28. My intent was to pick up the store brand spray cleaner and when I got home I realized this one also had bleach. It is now one of the permanent items on my cleaning product list. That says a lot, since my cleaning product list is very short and contains just a few items that really work for me. You do need to be careful not to let any stray sprays or drops get onto colored fabric, but it works great on everything else.



One of my favorite lotions is Vaseline Intensive Care in any scent, and this Dollar General version with Aloe Vera is just as good. It only cost $1.00 a bottle. They also have other versions of the Vaseline Intensive Care brand.



You can read many other Frugal Friday Posts at Life AS Mom

Decorating on a Budget

Today is Show and Tell Friday at kelli's House and also Frugal Friday at the Life As Mom Blog and this post fits both!

I took a few pictures of some touches my daughter added to her home which she was able to do without spending a lot of money.

I absolutely love these framed piano music pages. She took these pages from her own piano music books that she used during her childhood piano lessons. If you look closely you can see the notes the piano teacher made on the sheets.

Not only do I like the way these turned out, they also have a sentimental value. Since she has a piano bench full of childhood piano music books, I want to frame some for my own home. Wouldn't that be cute paired with a picture of her as a girl?

At Christmas time I could use a sheet from a Christmas Music Book!





Stenciling is a very frugal way to add special touches to your home. My daughter stenciled these designs over doorways.





You can also try your hand at painting free hand designs on the walls. Just find a picture you like or something already in your home and copy it.

My daughter has these glasses with the chickens on them stored on top of her cabinets.

From this:




To this:



Be sure to check out Kelli's House and Life As Mom for more posts today.

My thanks goes to my daughter, Lori, for the use of these pictures from her home. :o)

Dream Pantries and Creating a Larder of your Own

I love looking at pictures of pantries and thought you might like to see these pictures I found in a couple of library books. Having a pantry is a very frugal and economical thing to do and getting ideas from other pantries can be very helpful in getting motivated.

These books were published in the early eighties. I checked out several "organizing books" and noted that none of the newer books had information about pantries.

This is a quote from one page:

"The larder is an old-fashioned idea that's worth a second look. The handsome built-in storehouses featured here are great for cooks who like to stockpile canned and packaged foods when they're on special at the supermarket or who buy large quantities of their favorite fruits and vegetables at height-of-the-season prices.

If your larder is primarily for fresh produce, its best to keep it cool and dark. Use wire shelves or vents to the outdoors (cover them with fine window-screenmesh) to keep air circulating, and avoid storing any bruised or damaged produce."

So being frugal by having a pantry, aka a larder, is definitely not a new idea. But, most of us don't have pantries like these, so we have to make do with what ever we have. Any cabinet, closet or box can be the start of your own pantry.

Here's a post about my pantry with pictures that I did for Frugal Friday once before.









I hope these pictures will give you some great ideas for creating a pantry/larder or for improving the one you already have.

I especially like the pictures that have shelves for cookbooks.

Go to Biblicalwomanhood for more Frugal Friday posts.

2008 Financial Lessons

I haven't done a Frugal Friday Post lately, but have been thinking about doing this particular post for a while.

These are a few of the financial lessons I learned in 2008:

1. Pride goes before a fall. I was so PROUD of having paid off our van! Two short months later it was totaled!

2. When said "paid off" vehicle is totalled and you have to find transportation within a week's time, buy a good, used, dependable car. Even though I jokingly call my car "The Old Lady Car", it was probably the best financial decision we've ever made. Its a 2001 Buick LeSabre, about which the very experienced mechanic who services our vehicles says, "If you keep that car serviced, it will last a long, long time". No monthly payments, its good on gas, rides like a dream. Thank you Lord!

3. Let go, and Let God: I often try to be frugal in my own power. When looking back at 2008 and the years before that, God has taken care of us abundantly. He probably thinks I'm silly when I obsess over the tiniest frugal things, when He can bless me more abundantly than I ever dreamed in the blink of an eye!

4. Keep up the hard work: I think that we DO need to be a good steward of our blessings and be as frugal as possible, without being stingy. This is not a "on again, off again" process. Its a day to day journey. There will be days when time and situations will win out over being frugal. That's ok, just keep going. There's always another day.

5. Accept the fact that some things are just not ready to happen, or may never happen. Examples: Etsy Shop and Ebay. Sometimes hard work just won't make something work. Its just not time or may not be the Lord's will at all.

6. Cheapest isn't always the best buy. Example: A beautiful top that costs twice as much as I felt comfortable paying, but I've already worn it for two years and counting. One nice, quality item is worth several cheaper, poor quality items. Hmmm, I think I'll go shopping! :o)

7. Do the best you can and God will do the rest!

Visit Biblical Womanhood for more Frugal Friday Tips!

Mid-Year Financial Checkup

Now that the year is more than half over its a good idea to do a Mid-Year financial checkup:

1. Go over all your bills to see which ones you can stop altogether or which ones have charges you can get rid of. I am in the process of doing this. Mid year and January are my usual times to try to become more financially fit. (and physically fit!!)

I have turned my kitchen table into a temporary desk by pulling out all our bills, a calculator and bringing the phone in there. I'm going to list on a legal pad all our bills, the amounts due and due dates. Then I'm going to go over each one with a fine tooth comb to see which ones can be reduced, eliminated or fine-tuned.

I started this yesterday by working on our phone bill and one other bill. I made a couple of calls, reduced some minutes and an interest rate and feel pretty good about it. Little charges add up over time and seem to creep in there without our really noticing it.

I plan to work on this more this weekend and the coming week.

2. I also intend to work on our budget. I've already been thinking about how much gas we use each week. $80.00 to $100.00 a week!!!! YIKES! AAARRRGH!!! I'm sure the figures most of us allowed for gas and food have changed since January 1st! Any money saved in Number 1. above may be reallocated to gas and food.

3. Its not too early to be thinking about 2008 taxes. Yuck! But, having these things organized as you go along is so much better than waiting til the last minute next April. It could be as simple as just setting up a file to put deductible receipts in or a more complicated filing system if your deductions are more complicated. I'm filing 2008 deductible receipts in a file that says "2007" on it. Gotta fix that!

4. While you are into this you could declutter some papers! I know I need to! This would be a good thing to work on during the July Decluttering Challenge I posted about here. Maybe I could show some before and after pictures of this next week. (if my camera is working) I'd love to see any before and after pictures you have of decluttered desks, filing areas and paper stashes!

For more Frugal Friday tips please visit Biblical Womanhood.

Frugal Friday - Waste not, Want not

Happy Friday to you!

One of the most important frugal skills is to be ever watchful for waste. We all have a natural tendency to want more, more, more. Do we need more? Probably not.

There are so many areas that I need to simplify. I have too many clothes in the closet, too many leftovers in the refrigerator, too much clutter around the house, and you get the idea....

This is one reason I have been trying to limit my grocery shopping to twice a month. If I went to the grocery store every day, which I won't do of course, I would buy a buggy full without even thinking about it. Number 1, I would never be able to afford that!!!! Number 2, think of all the waste! By shopping less often, I make do with what I have on hand, reducing waste and saving money.

I need to wear the clothes I have. This is hard because I love new clothes!!! If I didn't buy any clothes for 2 or 3 years I'd have plenty. Right now my bottom half is a little larger than the clothes I have been wearing in the summer time the last few years. Sadly, a few of my very favorites are just hanging there because they are too tight. I am diligently working on this problem. But, even with this problem, I have plenty of clothes that do fit. Yes, buying new clothes is one area I really need to use self control in!!!

I have noticed that lots of people are very wasteful! They don't even notice their bad habits. I have been on a frugal quest for so many years out of necessity, that I have radar where waste is concerned.

I don't know about you, but I haven't noticed many people in our area that seem very concerned about the price of gas. Sure, we complain about it, but most people seem to be going about their regular routine as if there is no tomorrow. The gas stations are busy and the vehicles are BIG! We made a trip to the gas station and to the grocery store on Saturday. The gas station was packed. The grocery store was deserted. I don't get it! Old habits are hard to break, but we really need to use less gas for many reasons! Of course, this includes me! I'm guilty too.

So use your "waste" radar and be ever on the look out for it!

For more Frugal Friday tips go to the Biblical Womanhood Blog.

Frugal Friday

Its been a while since I did a Frugal Friday Post! While this post is nothing earth shattering in the world of frugality, I wanted to list the ways I've been frugal, even under the stress of being a caretaker, during the last couple of weeks.

1. I had a couple of birthday and Father's Day gifts to buy. The economy has forced most retailers to offer very good sales and discounts. I was able to buy my sweetie several "nice" shorts for work and leisure at an extremely good price. I've never been able to find things for him at a thrift store or yard sale in the right size that looked nice, so finding clothing for him at an unbeatable sale in a retail store is the way to go.

2. I plan to keep an eye on the ever increasing sales for items to be used next year or for Christmas, etc. I would like to buy my grandson summer clearance clothing in the size he'll be in next summer, a 24 months size. I have a place to keep them until then. What a savings this will be. I've already seen very nice things at great prices. Its only June. They're bound to go much cheaper by the end of the summer!!!

3. I noticed that Bath and Body Works was having a 75% off clearance sale on their nice lotions, etc. I'm going to stock up on these for Christmas, stocking stuffers and other gifts.

4. I have managed to hang out a few loads of clothes. Its so hot now, it doesn't take them long to dry.

5. The stockpile I accumulated before Mama's stroke has been very convenient. I have plenty of hamburger in the freezer and canned goods for quick and frugal meals. I now see the necessity of a stockpile not only for saving money, but to have on hand in case of emergencies.

6. Being organized in my bill paying process has helped me to make sure I had no late charges, even when I don't have time to even think about such things.

7. We have been combining trips or avoiding as many trips as possible to save gas.

8. I have cut down the number of fast food meals I eat for lunch while at work. I've tried to bring a sandwich or soup. At the very least I limit what I buy to one sandwich or wrap and take advantage of the many coupons available.

9. We finished paying off our vehicle payment and ARE NOT GOING TO EVER BUY A VEHICLE THAT REQUIRES A PAYMENT AGAIN!!! (I hope:o) !)

10. We have been eating the garden produce my mother worked so hard to grow before her stroke. The veggies are so good, good for us, and at no charge.

For more Frugal Friday Posts please visit the Biblical Womanhood Blog!

Frugal Friday - Stockpiling

I'm still doing well on limiting my grocery shopping to once every two weeks and also am loving menu planning! In yesterday's post I talked about how I feel led to stockpile for my family and the needy. Stockpiling would also help me to limit my grocery shopping trips and save money. With a well stocked stockpile, I could stretch the time between major grocery shopping trips even further. Wouldn't it be nice to go to the grocery store only once a month..... or less!!!!

Last Fall I did a couple of posts on stocking up for winter here and here. Many of the items I stocked up on are just now beginning to be depleted. It has been really nice to know that I had many of my regularly used staples on hand.

I've decided that I must love to make lists! I'm always coming up with some kind of list every day. The following are my steps to stockpiling for the future.

1. Decide what kinds of things we need and that we actually would use. There's no point in purchasing things that we don't really need just because they are on sale. I've also learned from experience, there's no point in buying things my family doesn't already like or use.

These items also need to be things that store well, either in the freezer or pantry.

2. Inventory my existing pantry, freezer and other storage areas to see what we need. We need to throw away any old and outdated items.

3. I have cabinet space in my laundry room that is being wasted because it is filled with clutter or other unneeded items. I'd like to organize this space to be used for staples, paper products and hygiene items.

4. I'd like to keep a pantry/freezer inventory sheet in my homemaking notebook so that I can always know what I have, how old it is, and if I need to be on the lookout for more of a certain item.

5. I'd like to allocate a certain amount of money each week to increasing our stockpile. Yesterday I decided I would go to Dollar General on my lunch hour and spend $10.00 on canned goods. You would be amazed at how much I was able to purchase for $10.00. This gave me a nice little start on the stockpile!

6. I'm going to diligently watch the sales papers for unbeatable sales and loss leader items to buy in bulk. I also need to be aware of what the best price actually is for each item. For instance, even though Walmart is not my favorite place to shop, I know which items sold there are the best product at the best price, so I'll make an occasional trip there to buy these in bulk.

This is also true for Dollar General. I know which brands they sell that are good, and offered there at the best price I know of. When I made my $10.00 trip there yesterday, I passed up many things that I knew weren't the best price or I wasn't sure. For example, there was apple juice that was a product of China.... no thanks!

7. This summer I would like to be on the lookout for produce that I can freeze or store. I might even try to do some home canning. My mother has always done this for all her children. She doesn't need to do this, she just likes to do it. But, she really isn't able to any more and I would like to learn this skill. My favorites would be canned tomatoes and green beans. I have a book around here somewhere on this subject. It tells what to do with your surplus garden produce.

One item that stores very well with no work involved is sweet potatoes. Recently I came across some I forgot I had that were stored since last winter. They were still in perfect condition.

Wouldn't it be nice to have a root cellar?!!! You could fill it with all kinds of potatoes, carrots, cabbages, onions, and have a place to store your canned products. I bet some of you have one of these!

8. We are not growing a big garden, although we have plenty of land we could use for this purpose. I'm very interested in a square foot type garden, which I think produces as well as using the row system. Also container gardening appeals to me. My husband has several tomatoes in pots that are really growing fast! This weekend I am off work for 3 days, so I plan to work on this gardening situation.

For more Frugal Friday tips, go to the Biblical Womanhood Blog!

Frugal Friday - No Grocery Shopping Update

Well I made it a whole week without going to the grocery store, not even to pick up something I forgot!!!! This is a major accomplishment for me because we are always running in the store to pick up something we forgot or to get something to cook for supper because of poor planning. AND you know that if you go in for one item, you're going to spend more money than you intended!

I was so tempted to just make a couple of little runs to the grocery store, but I managed to resist and MAKE DO!

There were a few things I ran out of or would have liked to buy, but managed to get by without going shopping as follows:

1. One of my recipes for the week called for self-rising flour. I only had plain flour on hand. I knew the only difference was baking powder and salt, but how much?! I located a cookbook that gave the amounts and I was able to complete the recipe without going to the grocery store. It turned out just as good as if I had the self rising flour.

2. I ran out of coffee filters! The first morning I folded up a paper towel and that works ok, but I don't really like to do that. I remembered that at work in the storage closet we had a stack of coffee filters someone bought a long time ago that don't fit our office coffee maker and were destined to be thrown away. I obtained the appropriate permission and took these home. Not only do they work for my coffee maker at home, they were saved from the trash can.

3. I used all the shredded Cheddar and mozzarella cheese that I had on hand in recipes this week. That's ok. I simply won't make any recipes this week that call for cheese. No lasagna, pizza or Mexican chicken! There are lots of other recipes that I can make without cheese.

4. Our milk and bread lasted all week, but I will be going today or tomorrow to restock that. Next time I will buy double and freeze one week's worth. That would have kept me out of the grocery store all together.

I'm already working on my menu for next week. I was scoping out my pantry this morning and noticed we have lots of beans and tomatoes in there so naturally we're going to be having chili at for at least one meal. Vegetable soup might be another one that I already have all the ingredients for as well!

For more Frugal Friday tips to to the BIBLICAL WOMANHOOD BLOG!

Frugal Friday - No Shopping for Two Weeks

I have made the decision that I am not going back to the grocery store for two weeks! No matter what we run out of, we're going to make do. I'm going to allow us one trip, maybe for milk and bread. (or Doritos?!!) LOL

In a couple of posts this week I posted about menu planning and have decided to make a list of meals, enough to last two weeks and a grocery list of the foods I need for two weeks, after taking into account what I already have in my pantry and freezer. I've already spotted some good deals at Food Lion this week, which will be great for stretching our meals!

I've seen other bloggers who had Pantry Challenges, to see how long they could eat from their pantry and freezer before going to the grocery store. My own daughter does this from time to time. My challenge is make do for two weeks.

Who says there is a rule that you have to go to the grocery store every week, even when there is perfectly good food available already?

Ok, think of it this way: If there was a gas shortage so severe that only emergency driving were allowed, what would you buy at the grocery store?

I don't have a grocery store located near my home that I can run into often.... However, its not only the money saved in gas, it the time thing. I do want to feed my family well, but does this mean I have to go the grocery store every week or as in our case some times several times a week? This takes away valuable time from being at home taking care of my family in other ways.

My hope is that after becoming successful at only grocery shopping every two weeks, I can stretch this to a month, or more. Next week I will post my menu for the week and keep you posted on how we do "not going grocery shopping for two weeks". This will be a good discipline for me in self-control!

For more Frugal ideas, visit Biblical Womanhood.

Frugal Friday

Frugal Uses for over the door hangers:


I recently did a post about how I enjoyed using plastic over the door hangers in the laundry room. A good frugal use for this item is to hang wet clothes on hangers to dry. The post is here. But, my Frugal Friday tip this week is another frugal use I have found for the over the door plastic hangers:






I recycle EVERY gift bag that comes into my possession and have found that two of these hooks over the back of my closet door make a great place to keep them organized. I organize them by size. The larger ones go in the back and the smaller ones go in the front.


I keep all the Christmas bags with my Christmas decorations and wrapping paper in their own storage space.


I have been placing my handmade pocketbooks in gift bags for my husband to sell. The men who have been buying the pocketbooks for gifts love having them already wrapped! So, I have about run out of the large size recycled gift bags. I have found that you can find these in pretty colors in the craft section of Walmart at a less expensive price than they are on the wrapping paper isle. I bought this set of 5 to use for Pocketbook sales.



For more Frugal Friday Tips, go to Biblical Womanhood.

Frugal Friday

The Frugal Husband saga continues:

The Frugal tip I learned from my husband this week is "Don't be afraid to Ask".

My husband was driving along past a local Dollar General Store when he spotted these great shelving units sitting out beside their dumpster. He quickly went inside and asked the manager if they were throwing them away and she said, "Yes". He asked her if he could have them and she was very happy to get them off her hands!



This picture shows them in our garage with all the shipping supplies I use for EBay and my Etsy Shop. It looks so much nicer and it is so much easier to locate the size box and other shipping supplies I need. Before they were such an eye sore and in the way.

My husband also put this "don't be afraid to ask" tip to use in another way. He noticed that one of his customers had numerous empty plastic barrels sitting behind their business. He asked if he could have some and they said, "Take all you want!". Each time he visits them he gets as many as his truck will hold. In our area there is a demand for these to use on farms, to make animal beds, to make animal feeding troughs, etc. The biggest demand right now for these barrels is for water barrels. There has been a drought in the South for a while now and water barrels are a hot commodity! He has been able to make some extra cash selling these.

So if you see something interesting that seems to be in the way or unneeded, DON'T BE AFRAID TO ASK!. Not only will you be benefiting yourself, but the person will appreciate getting the items off their hands!

For more Frugal Friday Tips, please visit Biblical Womanhood.

Frugal Friday

If you've ever paid a bill late or forgotten about a draft, this is one way to help yourself remember and avoid any late charges.

Just write down on an index card all your bills, the amounts due and the due dates. This fits easily on the inside of your check book cover. Mine has a clear plastic inside that I can slip this into. Just remember to check this regularly to see where you are on your bill paying for the month and its also a great way to see where you are on your budget.

I go a step further and write down any I tend to forget in my little planner. I have a couple of bills that were always due the same day for years and all of a sudden the due date was changed. I'm set in my ways and just keep forgetting that they are due on a different date. This helps me to stay on top of it!

I got this idea from Laine's Letters. We used to keep a list of all this on a legal pad each month, but the index card is much simpler.

For more Frugal Friday tips go to Biblical Womanhood.

Happy Friday!