It is time to start thinking about birthdays in my family. Since we all try to be a bit thrifty, most of us don’t do a birthday party every year. Growing up, it was the 1st, 5th, 10th, 16th, 18th and 21st. A few family members feel like their kids should get an actual party every year, but they don’t do big parties on the “less important” years. Budget Goodie Bags Last year, I talked about keeping an eye out for clearanced goodie bag items during after holiday sales. We also check the party store’s clearance table on a regular basis. This year, I have the advantage of some very budget friendly goodie bag ideas I just saw a friend use and I will be incorporating them in our bags. I thought you all could use some... [Read more]

We had a few of the juice cans from those frozen concentrated juice drinks sitting around the house. We had a few bored kids. Mix them together and… free musical instruments. You can’t get much thriftier than that. To make a juice can shaker, you’ll need: A juice can and lid (We use Welches) Beads, pebbles, beans, or rice Hot glue or tape Thoroughly clean the can and the lid. Pour the beads or other items into the can and hot glue the lid on. If you’re allowing a child to do the project, have the child tape the lid on with a piece of duct tape instead. That’s all there is to it. We tried different filler items for different cans to create a slightly different sound for each one. If you don’t have juice cans,... [Read more]

We love the zoo. We love the museum. We love the science center. Since we are thrifty, we don’t love paying to visit all the fun attractions available in our area. Luckily, we often don’t have to pay or, if we do have to pay, we can score a major discount. I usually start my search for cheap or free attractions we can visit at my credit card company’s site. Bank of America gives card holders free admission to a limited number of museums on the first weekend each month. If I can find one we want to visit and kids’ admission is very cheap or even free, we’re good to go. [Read more] [Read more]

If you have kids that like crafting, you have them, too. Those bits and pieces that are sure to be useful for some future project. You know, the four yellow sticky foam dots from that summer fun foam craft and the half a fuzzy pink pipe cleaner from that princess themed craft. Being thrifty, you aren’t about to throw those leftover craft supplies away. However, you don’t exactly want to have the current messy leftovers pile on the craft table, either. So, what’s the answer? Bag it up and pass it on. If that pile of bits and pieces is frustrating you, bag it up and drop it by your girl scout leader’s house or send it to school with a note to your child’s elementary school teacher that explains you were cleaning out... [Read more]

Have you ever seen your plans for a thrifty trip go up in smoke because, after three or four hundred repetitions of “I’m bored, Mom,” you ran into the nearest convenience store and bought every junky little game or activity book you could lay your hands on? Have you agreed to stop at the rest stop for costly drinks because the kids can’t wait another minute for a drink? Our family never had these problems because we always pack a “magic bag” filled with things for the trip. Inside the bag, we put: Prepackaged drinks, like Capri Sun or Ssips. We tried a lot of different money saving things, like a huge cooler that has a spout and little sippy cups, but they made a mess when we were dealing with the under... [Read more]