It’s easy to save money on holiday meals using some basic common sense, sharing in the meal prep, and keeping it green. Shop early: Finding holiday fare on sale means shopping early. You can pick up a budget turkey right after Thanksgiving, and freeze it til Christmas.

When you wait too long, you may be forced to pick up national vs. store brands of items like condensed milk and pie filling, which will cost you.  Save fresh fruits and veggies as day before buys, but get everything else early.
Share the fame: I know folks who want to whip up an entire …read more

Cars cost families a lot. At first glance it may not seem like much of your budget goes to your car, but the Dept. of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics notes that car ownership costs are the second largest household expense in the U.S and can take up about 17% of the family budget (that’s for one car).

Ditching one car if you have two can be an excellent way to lower household costs. You can save that money you would be spending on depreciation, interest on your loan, taxes and fees, insurance premiums, fuel costs, maintenance, repairs, and more and …read more

Birthday parties can be spendy, no doubt about it. It’s crazy how it all adds up because basically there’s not really too many components – food, activity, goodie bags, decor. There’s one way you can combine at least three of the components though and cut costs in the process.

For fun and savings combine the food, activity, and goodie bag components or at least two of each. For example…

Have kids decorate cookies or cupcakes at the party. Set a table out with all the necessary decor items – frosting tubes, little candies, sprinkles, and more. Have kids go at it for …read more

Ok, so I am not really trying to turn Thrifty Mommy into a political blog but there are some things that are just griping me!!
This stimulus package is a big one.  These ideas are just mine and feel free to disagree as I am really wanting someone to explain the other side because I am just not getting it right now.

If we don’t have the money to spend, why are we spending it?  I realize that we need to do something.  However, I am of the mind that if we don’t liek the practices of a bank, then we don’t …read more

Mary Emma over at Quilting and Patchwork has such a great website for quilting and sewing.  I have really enjoyed camping out every few days as I am now atempting a queen sized quilt!  (Yes I have lost my mind!)  So imagine my pleasure when I popped over today and found her 13 Frugal Finds for Quilting and Fabric Art post.  What a great post!  I love recycling.  Can’t wait to show you my quilt when it is all finished.  Check back for pictues and updates in about 14 months!  I gave myself 2 years.  I’m in no hurry and …read more

I love honey.  It is an all natural food that is pure and can be eaten straight out of the comb.  I will add not to give it to your infants less than 1 year due to the pollens in the honey.  But did you know there are tons of healthy benefits from honey?  And it’s cheap!  Here are a few that I found are great.

Hot Totties for a cold and cough – 1/3 lemon juice, 1/3 whiskey, and 1/3 honey; heat it and drink a shot every 6 hours
Cough – 1 tsp when needed
Laxative – Put some in your …read more

We are at my mom’s house this weekend.  I have enjoyed myself tremendously.  Family can be very nice to visit.  I wish we lived closer.  Today, my mom and dad’s friends came over and eat with us.  He is a mechanic and we got to talking.  He told me about a great little secret in car care.  COKE.  Turns out, that road film you get on your window that is hard to get off your car after a long trip isn’t so hard to remove after all.  Take a bottle of coke and shake it all up.  Then when you …read more

I was amazed when I found this post on how the craftster made a wedding dress for $10 from the dollar store.  She totally impressed me.  The dress, although not the most beautiful dress I have seen, is very doable and she gives great ideas on how to make a wedding dress for under $20.  You could actually replace the shower curtain with fabric and still come under $20.  Anybody up for the challenge?
Thank you, The Creative Bride, for the tip and fun reading. I will be back.
Wish I could show you the dress, but I don’t want to step …read more

It’s prom time again! If you are still looking for the perfect dress and are like us here at Thrifty Mommy, I have the perfect places for you to look. Now don’t say you can’t find them. I live in a small city, < 160k, so if I can find it, so can you. I helped my girlfriend look for a formal gown so I have some experience in formal wear searching.

Call around to your local thrift stores.
Do you have a cancer store? We have one and that is where she found her dresses.
Prom …read more