You know, I don’t think I’ve done thrifty link love in literally months! There are a lot of great thrifty bloggers and thrifty minded sites out there who we should take the time to visit. With that in mind, I thought we’d have a little link love to kick off the weekend.

Thrift Store Tips #1: Converting the retail mind to the Zen of thrift - The Thrifty Chicks break down thrift store shopping with a very cool slant on avoiding impulse buys.

Think you can’t afford home security? CNN Money says, “You sure can - even on a budget!”

Living with long-term unemployment - an NPR special podcast worth a listen.

Getting fit, taking up new hobbies, and other extracurricular activities don’t have to cost a lot, in fact, in some cases you can do all this for near-free or free.

How being lazy can cost you more than you might think.

Last but not least a cool pictorial about 25 ways to save more money each and every week. Yay!

What cool blogs have you been reading lately?

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It has been confirmed that there will be Super Doubles at Harris Teeter starting Wednesday.  The sale will run June 24-30.  This means that they will be doubling coupons with face values up to $1.98!  ($1.75 becomes $3.50!)  So if you have some high value coupons, now is likely the time to use them!

Thanks to SavvyDollar for the tip.  You can join the Harris Teeter chit chat at SavvyDollar.org.

Image (c) Karen Weideman

Yearly surprise (or periodic) costs include things like health care and car repairs not covered by insurance, birthday gifts for all those parties your kid gets invited to, PT summer camp, and so on. When surprise costs pop up as surprise it can cause a crimp in your budget.

To ease the surprise factor of periodic costs, do a general estimate at the start of each year. For example, consider all the surprise costs of the previous year, then add them up and divide by 12. Once you’ve got a figure in mind, be sure to set that amount aside each and every month, just as if it was a real bill. Put the cash into a specific saving account, or just keep track of the amount in your normal account. When surprise costs pop up, you’ll have the money ready without having to move bills around, re-budget, or freak.

Actually, something to consider is doing the same with utilities. In some areas water, gas and electric companies will allow equal pay - basically they charge you the same price all year (monthly) based on your previous year’s bills. This means you pay more for electric in summer, when costs would normally be low, BUT in the winter you avoid crazy surprise $200 bills.

[image via stock.xchng]

The Internet can be a pain. It’s over-priced for high speed, has annoying glitches, and you really have to wade through some terrible crap sometimes to find what you need. That said, would I give it up for a swimming pool full of chocolate - NO.

The Internet, with all it’s issues, has changed how we do just about everything, and best of all it can save you money. Here are five ways that surfing can save you big bucks.

Reviews: How often have you bought something and ended up hating it? With the Internet, you can find reviews on almost everything on the planet - books, soup, coffee, toys, cars, movies, electronics, real estate agents, and more. Best of all, most reviews are totally free. However, take reviews with a grain of salt. I always hit my most truested sources, like say, CNET for tech gear, and I always double check with other review sites.

Home, fun, & cooking: Kids crafts, adult crafts, patterns, coloring pages, recipes, DIY plans for a greenhouse, DIY sink fixes, and so much more are available online. It pretty much eliminates the needs for coloring books, cookbooks, and a lot more.

Banking fees: You can save on checks with online bill pay, save time and money by never actually setting foot in your bank - most offer all services online, and even learn about stocks and bonds. Banking and money transactions have come a long way online, and using these services can save you money.

Coupons & deals: For example, right here at Thrifty Mommy, Karen posts all kinds of sales, coupons, and deals for you to enjoy, and she’s not the only one. There are plenty of online sites completely dedicated to locating you the best deal possible on every item under the sun.

Music and movies: While I hate to think of the web as the best entertainment (get outside!) it’s true that there are tons of free entertainment options online. You can download or listen to music, watch movies, and even do away with cable but still watch your favorite television programs online.

Now - tell me how the Internet saves you money?

[image via stock.xchng]

Guest post by Katelyn Thomas

You’ve started a garden to save money, not to spend it! Who knew that it could be such a costly operation? Mulch, soil, fertilizer…the list seems to go on and on. Before you shell out a lot of cash, you may want to try thrifty alternatives for some items. Here are a few things I do to make gardening frugal:

• Make friends with a farmer. If you know a farmer, paying for expensive fertilizers will be a thing of the past. I asked my neighbor if I could buy a wheelbarrow of aged cow manure and he dropped an entire backhoe load of manure in for me and wouldn’t take a dime. Even if you pay for manure, odds are that it will be cheaper than the stuff that comes in bags at the store. (Make sure it is aged, though. Fresh manure can burn your plants right up!)
• Swap plants with friends and neighbors. I found a good price on parsley - a four pack for $2. I split it with the rest of the family. I also gave away over 30 of my prolific strawberry plants. They hopped out of their bed to grow in the path. In return, I’ll get help digging out a few big things I need to move. In years past, I’ve gotten tomato seedlings, peppers and a ton of perennials.
• Use cardboard and newspaper. I lay cardboard on my temporary vegetable garden paths before I put down a layer of mulch. This way, I can make the layer of mulch a lot shallower and still keep weeds at bay.
• Collect leaves in the fall and chop them up with your mulcher or by running over them with a mower. (Make sure there aren’t any sticks, first.) Chopping leaves gives you a head start on leaf mold, which sounds unpleasant, but is rich crumbly stuff that plants love. This can replace expensive bags of hummus.
• Head to a real farmer’s market. We have one of those overpriced markets where plant nurseries set up booths, but there’s also a local market at the local auctioneer’s barn every Monday. That market is filled with booths of veggie plants that are downright cheap.

Katelyn’s first love is holidays, but she also enjoys living a thrifty lifestyle and has been gardening frugally for many years.

image (c) Linette Gerlach

Ok so recently my dishwasher has been flooding all over the damn kitchen. Did I just curse? Sorry, but well, it’s super annoying. I’m talking soap and water ALL over my kitchen. I was thinking I’d need a new one, but read up on it first, and found out…

If you have a disposal, you need to run it for about 30 seconds before you run your dishwasher or debris left in the disposal can be pulled into the dishwasher drain line and clog it - which of course can lead to my issues. Do I always run the disposal 30 seconds? NO. From now on I will though, and hopefully it solves my problem.

Other ways to keep you dishwasher in tip-top shape (and save you from repairs and new washers) include:

• Use less detergent. Dish wash detergent companies say to add a certain amount of dish soap to your load of dishes, BUT if you actually read your manual, it likely says ONLY add a teaspoon. The soap people want you to buy more soap, but more, doesn’t always equal cleaner and better. Too much detergent can clog your washer and leave icky residue on dishes. All this means you need to waste more water and energy running your washer again and you waste soap.
• Periodically check the holes in the spray arm of your dishwasher. Small bits of paper and other junk can get stuck in there and then your machine won’t work as well.
• You need to clean your dishwasher filter out once in a while. Check your manual for instructions.
• Keep the exterior clean as well which can help avoid soap buildup and rust. Plain old hot water and a little soap work fine.
• Always read your specific manual. There’s a section with upkeep and cleaning - actually follow this. It may seem like a small thing, but having to buy a new washer can be pricey when you’re not expecting it.

Got any other cool dishwasher tips?

[image via stock.xchng]

Since so many of you responded to my post,  “Five reasons why I don’t use coupons”, it would be hard to respond in the comments. Hence this post.

First of all while some of you agreed with me, an overwhelming amount of you don’t. I wasn’t surprised. Most of my thrifty pals don’t. That’s why I didn’t entitle the post five reasons why YOU shouldn’t use coupons. To each their own, coupons just aren’t my bag. I like that people pointed out their thoughts though, especially the folks who gave examples that could help others - the coupons I see, and the time it takes me to find them just doesn’t add up to monumental savings for me personally.

The only comment that irked me was the one that noted it was odd to see my post on a thrifty blog. I hate when I’m equated with non-thriftiness because I don’t use coupons. That’s not cool. I have this suspicion that I can’t be the only human on the planet who one, doesn’t like coupons, and two, still likes to save money. It’s always bothered me that so many thrifty books and sites concentrate on coupons, that I don’t like to use, as the major way to cut your budget and save money. I like tips that go beyond coupons.

Since I don’t use coupons what are the major ways I save money? Well…

1. We don’t buy much stuff. I tend to buy what I absolutely need about 95% of the time. Sure I buy cute dresses or lip gloss once in a while and my son will get a toy that’s fun but ultimately unnecessary, but usually we just buy basics. We don’t have cable or two cars or more house than we need. We never buy soda and rarely buy other junk food - although once in while we like it, we just save our money most of the time for something fun we can do together like a trip or new Frisbee. Before I buy anything I ask myself some questions to make sure it’s worth it.

2. We eat low and homemade on the food chain: We don’t eat any red meat or pork (meat’s expensive) and the foods we buy organic are the big baddies, not items like bread and cereal (low on pesticides). We cook a lot from scratch vs. packaged foods, and tend to make easy meals of brown rice, veggies, apples and so on.

3. We make our own cleaners: I buy very few cleaning items which saves a ton. I make my own because it saves money and is better for the planet. In fact, many of the ways we save money at my house come naturally from living green.

4. We use it up and use reusable items: At my house we haven’t bought paper towels for years. We use cloths to clean, cloth napkins for meals, and buy things that have a long life span. We check Consumer Reports (or something like it) before making a purchasing decision. We drink tap over bottled water, buy at thrift stores, and skip lots of basics like foil or plastic wrap in exchange for reusable food storage options. Buying items that are reusable and last forever saves you lots of money.

5. We keep a budget - most of the time to the penny: A book that changed my life was Your Money or Your Life. I liked the whole book, but the best thing I learned from that book was to write down everything you spend, even if it’s 10 cent gum. You learn A LOT, save tons, and figure out how to cut out weird extras you never knew you bought. Also it teaches you how important your life hours are compared to making money. If you don’t want to waste more time making it, if you’d rather hang with friends and family, then you should buy less, not work more.

In any case, I’m sure there will always be people who love coupons, and that’s a-ok. It’s just not my bag. Doing the things above saves me more money than coupon clipping will ever save me.

What’s your favorite money saving tool or idea? I.E how does your family cut cost the most?

[image via stock.xchng]

Happy April thrifty people! If you’re looking for early spring deals, here’s what’s on tap…

Spring clothing: I know it seems like spring styles just recently appeared, but summer clothing lines are coming asap, and stores want to push out the spring items before that happens.

Last minute winter clothing and gear deals: Most winter stuff is gone or on the way out (in a flash) but if you visit stores and head straight to their clearance sections you can score winter coats, hats, gloves, and other winter gear (think sporting) for a song. Stock up by buying a size or two ahead for the kiddos.

Televisions: New TV designs hit the stores during the spring, so now is a great time to buy an older model. You can save up to 20% or more. If you don’t care about digital, and have a converter box, you may be able to snag an even better deal on an older non-digital model (analog) because of the air-wave changes this particular year.

Consumer Reports notes that spring is a great time to purchase digital cameras as well. Actually, I didn’t know this before, but it’s true. I happened to buy my own camera last spring and while shopping most did seem to be on sale.

What secret cool deals do you know of for April?

[image via stock.xchng]

In a word, YES!

Not sure if you know this, but while I do write on other topics, my main interest is green living. It’s what I write about most of the time, what I think about almost all the time, and in my opinion, green living can be applied to almost anything, including finances and your budget.

Here are two green living ideas that can save you money each day:

1. Using cloth over paper whenever possible: Using cloth napkins, cloths for cleaning, and cloth handkerchiefs is a great way to save cash and the environment.

Example:

Set of basic cloth napkins for a week for a family of four = about $70-100 (note that if you go the thrift store route, you could score cloth napkins for a song; I’m talking $15 for a week’s worth of napkins).

Basic paper napkins for a week for a family of four = about$8.37 BUT that’s also around $435 per year, where as the cloth napkins are a one-time purchase that can last years. So if your cloth napkins last only two years, you still save around $700. Cut out paper towels for cloth and we’re talking HUGE savings.

2. Make your own cleaners vs. buying new household cleaners: This can save you money in two ways. One, ingredients for homemade cleaners are way cheaper and go further than store bought bottles of cleaners. Two, many store bought cleaners are toxic, and who knows if you’ll end up sick and with doctors bills due to the cleaners?

Example:

One bottle of say, store bought toxic tub and tile cleaner is about $6. Or you could buy a bottle of tub and tile cleaner that’s safer, but still around the same price - $6. Either way, if you buy a bottle every two months that’s about $36 a year. NOT counting all the other cleaning products you buy.

If instead, you buy a big box of store brand baking soda for $2, and use that (sprinkle in your tub, scrub with water), you’ll save a lot. One large box of baking soda usually lasts me about four months or more, and I use it for tubs, toilets, sinks, and more. You save about $30 per year IF all you count is the tub cleaner. If you make all your own homemade cleaners you’ll save tons more.

Learn how to make 25 Safe, Non-toxic, Homemade Cleaning Supplies.

If you’re interested in other ways that living green can actually save you green you might want to subscribe to the Thrifty Mommy news feed (it’s totally free!). From time to time, I’ll post other green saving tips.

How are you living green and saving money? Let me know in the comments…

[image via stock.xchng]

Lately it seems that printable coupons have become very popular.  There have been coupons for more popular products and the coupon values are higher.  Some of my recent favorite coupons are $5 and $3 off Huggies products, $1 off Quaker oatmeal, $.55 off Pop-Tarts, and my most favorite is the Johnson’s coupons.

It seems the printable coupon competition is soaring, but that’s good news for the thrifty.  Here are some recent coupons I found from coupons.com. 

• $1  Scott tissue
• $1 Quaker oatmeal (has been on sale lately for $2.50)
• $1 McCormick extract or food coloring (just in time for your spring baking)
• $2 Dry Idea
• $5 Hasbro Sorry! game
• $5 Hasbro Guess Who? game
• $1.50 Dove Cream Oil Body Wash
• $.35 Pillsbury Crescent dinner rolls

Have you found any great printable coupons lately?

image from coupons.com