For many, money is tight this year.  That doesn’t mean that you can’t have a great Valentine’s Day.  Dismiss your expectations about what Valentine’s Day should be.  This is a day to make your mate feel special and to spend time one another. 

1)  Make a romantic dinner at home.  I don’t know about you, but in the past few years, I have given up on going out on Valentine’s Day.  It is not fun to go to your favorite restaurant and wait an hour or more to be seated.  It’s not romantic at all!  Instead, make a special meal at home.

2)  Create a romantic ambiance. Dim the lights, light some candles, and play soft music.  You probably already have the candles in your home.  If not, you can pick up some for just a few dollars.  If you don’t have the music, set up a free playlist at youtube or borrow some music from your friends.

3)  Make your own Valentine’s cards.  A store bought card that says, “Love you” isn’t very special.  What makes a card special is that someone took the time to write something meaningful inside the card.  A handmade card also shows sincerity.  There are websites out there with free clip art or you could make a card and put a picture of the two of you on the cover. 

4)  Swap babysitting with a friend.  Offer to watch her kids on February 14 if she’ll watch your kids on February 15.  Remember, you don’t want to go out on the 14th anyway.  You could also wait until the kids are in bed to celebrate.

5)  Enjoy a movie at home. Last year, my hubby and I did not have a sitter, so I made a special dinner and after the kids were in bed, we enjoyed the silence in our home and watched a movie together.  I bought some sparkling grape juice for just a few dollars and some strawberries.  It was fun just to spend time together.

6)  Make your own decorations.  The internet is full of crafts, garland, and the sweetest decorating ideas.  Many of them aren’t time consuming.  For a fun activity, get the kids involved.

7)  Make your own fabulous desserts.  Enjoy a special treat together such as the famous frozen hot chocolate.  No Fuss Fabulous has a recipe that sounds pretty simple and they show you how to make it as a gift for friends.  Or use your left over candy canes to makes the cutest heart lollipops and cupcakes or make heart shaped cheesecakes from Skip to My Lou.

8)  Forget the store bought gift and give your spouse something special from you.  You know your spouse and you know what he/she likes (or at least you should!).  If your husband is always begging you to go to the car show with him, then tell him you’re taking him to the car show.  If you husband’s love language is touch, then give him a 30 minute massage.  If your husband’s love language is words of affirmation, then make individual hearts for him with special sayings on them or things you appreciate about him and place them in random places throughout the house, or you could tape them to the door for a heart collage.

9)  If you want to buy something for your special someone, begin shopping ahead of time and looking for something that doesn’t cost a lot.  If your honey likes cars, then maybe you could buy a magazine subscription.  If your significant other likes coffee or chocolates, then you could make them a basket of homemade treats with a few favorite store bought items.  Get creative and stay within your budget.

10)  Let the kids be thrifty too.  My kids love to make things.  Get the kids involved by letting them make their own valentines this year.  Family Fun has some really cute Valentine card ideas.  Of course, you can search the web for printable Valentines too.

11)  I know I said 10 ways. Consider this a bonus.  :)   Try not to send flowers this year.  The mark up at Valentine’s Day is insane.  If you do want to give flowers, consider buying them from your local grocery store or supermarket.  They actually have some nice fresh flowers and arrangements for a fraction of the cost.

Also consider checking out 50 Thrifty Links for Valentine’s Day.

What ways can you save this Valentine’s Day?

images used with permission of SkipToMyLou

The following is a guest post.

So you’ve found a great deal on the perfect gift, but now what? Cards cost a fortune, considering they’re just sheets of cardstock, and normal gift-wrap isn’t so environmentally friendly. Well, here are a variety of ideas, from basic to more involved, to get you started.

Cards and Gift Tags:
The easiest, least expensive thing to do is to buy a gift card pack. I use this for thank you cards and quick notes. Target and other stores often sell big packs of colorful note cards with matching envelopes. I got a set of 200 for $10, with coordinating envelopes. I’ve gotten just plain bright colors, or sets that have embellishments on the edges (scallops, rounded corners, etc).

Another easy method is to print your own. Microsoft Office templates can be customized to fit your situation, and you can buy large sets of good-quality cardstock or photo paper.

A set of pinking shears and old greeting cards make great gift tags. Cut out part of the card, and write the name on the back, then attach it to the gift. My husband and I use this for all of our Christmas gifts.

Festive bookmarks can be used in lieu of cards or as a gift tag, as can reprints of photographs, which can be personalized and printed off very inexpensively.

Wrap:
When you get gift bags, save them! I have a clear tote full of bags. Every time we get invited to a special occasion, I pull out an appropriate bag. We used our wedding gift bags first, and now we’re using ones from our baby shower. Every Christmas we seem to pick up a couple, too, so they just keep going around.

Obviously, grocery bags and comics can be used, but you can use this idea with a little more creativity. Let your kids decorate some butcher-block paper with stickers, crayons, markers, or paint, and use that to wrap gifts.

You can also use gifts to wrap gifts. A handy idea for weddings or showers is to wrap kitchen items in flour-sack towels. Baby presents can be wrapped in burp cloths, cloth diapers, towels, or washcloths and tied with a bow. Christmas presents can be wrapped in a scarf.

In my family, we have a few seamstresses. My mom’s family now cycles around a couple dozen handmade gift bags out of festive cloth. They took some time and effort at the outset, but now wrapping gifts doesn’t cost anyone a penny!

Another option is to make the recipient search for the gift. The gift doesn’t even need to be wrapped in this case, since the search for the gift is fun by itself!

********************

Thanks to Bekah for today’s Frugal Friday post.  Bekah can be found at Motherhood Moment where she writes about freebies, coupons, money savers, time savers, environmental tips, and more.

The air is getting crisp and things just seem a little more pleasant.  Well, in my opinion anyway.  You know what this means.  The county and state fairs are coming!!!!

I don’t know about you, but when I hear the words county fair I think of nauseating rides, weird smelling food, and money.  Of course, the reason I think of money is because you can really spend a lot of money at the fair. 

Here are some ways to help you keep from spending so much money at the fair:

1.  Set a budget and stick to it.  There’s nothing wrong with having fun, but there needs to be a limit.  Whether it be $20 or $75, you need to have a set amount that you won’t go over.  You don’t want to get wrapped up into spending more than you planned on some food that’s going to make you feel queasy anyway.

2.  Check to see if the fair has a free day or a time that’s free to get in.  When we lived in Virginia, the entry to the fair was free.  It was great because I only wanted to walk around anyway.  Some fairs offer free admission before a certain time.  It’s worth looking into, especially if you have a large family or are on a tight budget.

3.  Eat a meal before you go.  Then you’ll only need to buy that funnel cake you’ve been craving.

4. Check to see if you can purchase advance tickets at a local grocery store, bank, or at the fair’s website.  Sometimes you can save several dollars per ticket.

5.  Maximize the cost of your admission by staying the entire day.  Get there early and leave late.   

6.  Take a backpack with you.  We always carry a thermos of water with us or some bottled water.  It’s ok to buy some treats at the fair, but if you’ll be there for long, you’ll need to keep hydrated.  Drinks at the fair can cost a lot of money.

7.  Research different transportation options.  Some fairgrounds charge $10 or more for parking.  See if they offer a free lot to park in.  You’ll probably have to walk a little farther though. 

8.  While at the fair, scope out different food booths and then decide where you want to eat.  Otherwise, you might be disappointed with the choice you’ve made and you’ll find yourself buying from another booth.  This has happened to me before.

9.  Preplan your day.  Look at the schedule of events for that day.  Choose the activities you want to see and plan your route.  Better yet, check out the events for the week and choose the best day.  Get the most bang for your buck.  You can probably find the activities listed on the fair’s website.

10.   Look for freebies.  Most fairs have an exhibit hall where vendors can promote their products and many times you can find lots of freebies.

I know there are more ways to save money at the fair. What ways can you recommend?

I confess.  Within the past few years, I have become a coffee snob.  Honestly, it wasn’t intentional.  I promise.  I wish that my palette craved regular coffee because it’s a lot cheaper.  Unfortunately, that is not the case so I have learned to be frugal and save some money along the way.

1)  Brew your own coffee.  Uh huh.  Cut out the expensive $5 trips to Starbucks. 

2)  Look online for recipes.  You may think that you can’t make coffee like the pros, but you can.  It’s really not that hard.  You just need the right ingredients.  Thrifty Mommy has some coffee recipes from Dunkin’ Donuts.

3)  Splurge on the more expensive syrups.  If you buy the cheap, nasty tasting syrups, then you’re not going to be motivated to make your own.  Some coffee shops sell the same syrups that they use.

4)  Use coupons to purchase coffee beans and grounds.  Some coffee manufacturer’s put coupons in the Sunday paper.  Otherwise, check online at their website and sign up for their promotions and newsletters.  When all else fails, call the company and ask for the coupons.

5)  Look at the warehouse clubs for discounted rates on beans. 

6)  Check local papers, freecycle, and the internet for equipment. Coffee equipment can be very expensive.  Check around and compare prices, equipment quality, look for sales, etc.  I am thankful that we found a display model espresso machine for $20!  It brews coffee and espresso and has a frother.

7)  Store coffee properly.  Only buy what you can use within a short amount of time.  Some people say to only buy what you can use in a week.  I can keep mine for several more weeks just by storing it in an airtight container.  You might even consider vacuum sealing the beans.

8)  Buy beans instead of grounds.  Grounds lose their flavor quicker than beans.  This year I purchased a coffee grinder and started buying beans.  The flavor is so much better.

Read more

As I shared earlier this week, we made $2953 at our yard sale last weekend.  Prior to that, the most we had ever made was $580.  I can’t guarantee that you’ll do as well as we have, but here are some tips to help you get started. 

1)  Go through closets, dressers, toys, cupboards, cabinets, bookcases, etc before the yard sale.  Take out items that you no longer want and add them to your yard sale pile.  It’s good to do this at least once a year.  You may want to wait until spring when you’re doing your spring cleaning.

2)  Find a decluttering buddy.  I don’t know about you, but it is easier for me to get rid of things when I have some moral support.  It helps to have someone that can honestly say, “That doesn’t look good on you.  That’s out of style.  You haven’t used that in years.”  Sometimes a little nudge is all we need.  Unfortunately, I don’t have a decluttering buddy.   

3)  Price as you go.  As you find things in your home that you want to add to your yard sale, go ahead and take the few seconds to put a price on it.  This will save a lot of time and aggravation on yard sale day. 

3)  Spread the word.  I’m having a moving sale soon and I’ve already begun telling friends, people from church, and others about the sale.  I have people saying, “email me and let me know when it will be”. 

4)  If possible, post signs.  We like to use the fluorescent poster board and thick black permanent markers for our signs.  We have found that we do better with signs than with advertising.  People stop by and say that they saw our signs.

5)  Put your signs up the day before the sale so that people see them on their way home from work. Then they’ll think, “I’m going there tomorrow.” Otherwise, they might not be out and about the day of the sale.

6)  Let friends and neighbors be a part.  You can advertise the yard sale as a multi-family yard sale.  This will let customers know that there will be more things and a bigger selection to choose from.  Participants can also share in the advertising expenses.

7)  Put a price on everything.  Some people will walk away rather than asking the prices for things.  Even if the item is 25 cents, you need a price on it.  All those 25 cent items add up.

8)  To save time, buy the premade price stickers.  You can purchase these in the office supply departments at most stores.  Recently, I even saw these in Dollar Tree.

Read more

The following is a guest post.  

I have four children and I’ll be honest not all were 100% planned (not timing anyways) and each comes complete with their own funny story. I found out that I was pregnant with my third child, a little girl, only after I had just got rid of all the baby items and clothes. This was done by one week and of course it was to someone that was moving. I knew I’d never see those clothes again and now I was once again looking at starting over on preparing for baby. But I learned a lot.

Here are a few tips for you for finding cheap baby clothes:

1)  Ask your neighbors and friends.  If any of them have recently given birth, ask them if they have anything they could pass down to you. Chances are they’ll say yes because they don’t want to have to trash them or find someone to take them later.

2)  Hit up garage sales. Believe it or not you’ll find all those name brand outfits you want that have only been used maybe once for less than a buck. Imagine how many you’ll be able to find for the cost of just one of those outfits.

3)  Shop at thrift stores. Many people tend to stay away from them but these are gold mines just waiting to get discovered. You may even find a few things for your home or yourself.

4)  Put an ad in the paper that you are looking for clothes, or join a freecycle group. There’s always someone looking to help you out. You just have to give them the means to do it.

5)  Shop at department stores BUT during offseason times. If you know your baby is going to be born in summer you can buy tons of winter things now, just buy bigger. I normally count the months and go by it. Or go to the bargain and clearance racks to see what’s there. You’ll be amazed at what’s marked down.

Hope these 5 tips helped you. I know it’s helped me from time to time.

Eliza is a wife and stay-at-home mother to four children that range from 11 years to 1. When she isn’t busy playing video games with them or changing diapers, she enjoys blogging and reading books.  For a more personal view of her life, you can find her blogging about motherhood at Babylune or The Life of a Home Mom.

Thanks for being a guest blogger, Eliza!!!

Hi. My name is Jenn, and I’m a scrapaholic. Yes, I have a room full of funky scissors, expensive paper, ribbons, leetle flowers and WAAAAY too many stickers. And I NEVER use them. But I scrap every day! Yes, I’ve gone digital.

I imagine over the years I’ve spend hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars on all that stuff gathering dust in my craft room - but I avoided using it because it was too much work to get it all out; I didn’t want to just have to clean it all up again in order to eat dinner, the kids would get into it and make ‘art’ with $1 sheets of paper… too many excuses. I was working at a scrapbook store, when I realized I hadn’t done any personal scrapping for TWO YEARS!!

Then I went digital! I have always used Photoshop as a retoucher, and had moved into laying out my kids’ school yearbooks - when I had that D’OH! moment… laying out a yearbook is… yes… SCRAPBOOKING!! I started looking around online, and realized lots of other people had already figured out how to scrap digitally, and were doing a WAY better job than I was!

I started learning and scrapping, and was able to tell my story again! (CLICK HERE to see a slideshow of some of my favorites.)

Digiscrapping fits into my new thrifty lifestyle because:

• Once I purchase a page kit (papers and elements), I can use it over and over!
• I can make my own backgrounds (papers) and titles and elements - it’s fun!
• I can stop and start whenever I want - no cleanup! Just hit ‘Save’!
• I can wait for sales or free coupons to print things (just got a free 20 page book from Shutterfly!)
• I don’t HAVE to print - lately I’ve been making slide shows from my layouts and sending them to the grandparents on DVD. Easy for them to view - everyone can see at once, no crowding around the book!
• I actually DO it now!

You can’t put a price on preserving your memories.

One day I was telling my son that we were going to host a couple of high school kids from a choir that was visiting our church. I asked him if he remembered when we did that the year before.

“No, I don’t remember.”

“Sure you do, remember they slept in your room and you bunked with your sister?”

“Nope.”

“Of course you do, remember we took them to Baskin-Robbins for ice cream?”

“Did you take pictures? Can I see them?”

“No honey, I don’t think we took any photos.”

“MOM, if you took PICTURES, I’d REMEMBER!!!”

Out of the mouths of babes.

So, if you’re not crafty, can’t stand the idea of little stickers and glue sticks - try digiscrapping. If you paper-scrap but can’t seem to find the time or space - digiscrap! If you’ve got a story (and we all do) - tell it!

Jennifer White is the owner of ScrappersWorkshop.com, a learning site for digiscrappers. She also designs scrapbooking supplies, catch her blog at http://www.scrapkittydesign.com/blog. If you’re new to digiscrapping, (or even if you’re not!) free samples and tutorials are available at http://www.scrapkittydesign.com/ScrapKittyDesignNewbiePage.html

You don’t have to spend a lot of money on dates for them to be fun.  Fortunately, there are some entertainment options that don’t have to break your budget.

1)  Bowling - You don’t have to be a good bowler to go bowling.  Being silly and laughing at yourself are part of the fun.

2)  Parks -  It’s ok to swing on the swings and slide when there’s no kids around.  Plus, it’s dark and you don’t have to worry about looking foolish.

3)  Natural attractions - Just a few weeks ago our family visited my parents.  My husband and I always know we’ll get a date night there.  We went out to eat and then we drove to the water front.  We walked around the pier and then went to the park.  Yes, we climbed on the jungle gym since no one could see us. 

4)  Ice cream - Stopping for ice cream is usually inexpensive.  You can get your ice cream and go to the park to sit and talk.  Or just get your ice cream and sit inside the freezing cold building and talk for a while.

5)  Coffee - Provided you don’t go to “FourBucks”, it won’t cost too much.  Even if you do go to expensive coffee shops, the two of you can probably spend less than $10.  I just have to say . . . you can do some good people watching at coffee shops. Right Kelly? 

6)  Baseball - Going out for a night of baseball can be inexpensive.  Some areas have local teams.  You can usually get seats for less than $10. 

7)  Discount theater - If you’re lucky, your area has a theater for movies that have been out a little longer.  Sometimes you can get tickets for $2-3.  I like going to these because it’s less crowded and going to see a movie as soon as it’s released isn’t a big deal to me.

8)  School musicals - You can find some pretty good talent at school musicals for little cost.

9)  Free attractions - Pretty much every area has free attractions.  It could be a festival in the square, free museum day, a local farm.  The internet is great for finding free entertainment.  Google your city and free attractions.  If you still can’t find anything, then give your chamber of commerce a call. 

10)  Stay at home - Put the kids to bed and make the effort to have a special night together.  Sit on the patio and drink coffee, have dinner on a blanket in the backyard, watch the stars, eat cake, or watch a dvd.  Get creative. 

I know you have some ideas for inexpensive dates.  Please share them with us. 

Happy Frugal Friday!  I have hundreds of tips for you today!  :) 

Sometimes at Thrifty Mommy we give you tips on sales and other things that are only relevant to that week.  But then there are times that we have lists of ways to save time and money that can be beneficial for years to come.

I decided to surf around the archives and pull together some of our helpful articles.  Most of these articles are relevant to men and women, whether or not you’re married with children. 

I hope you will enjoy these articles.  Let us know which ones are your favorite or if there are some other Thrifty Mommy articles that should have been included.

Happy browsing! 

Housekeeping

15 Summer Cooking Tips

25 Ways to Clean with Vinegar

60+ Frugal Ways to Use Baking Soda

10 Tips for Spring Cleaning Success

4 Thrifty Stain Removers

More Help with Common Stains

10 Tips for Saving Money While Doing Laundry

10 Ways to Clean with Baking Soda

Quick Cleaning Tips

10 Organizing and Decluttering Tips

A Frugal and Time Saving Dishwasher Detergent

25 Tips for Freezing Food

Cooking Tips

Top 10 Green Household Cleaners 

Recipes

Easy Cubed Steak

Tomato Casserole Recipe

Cheesy Chicken Croissants

Read more

Recently, we did some work to our yard and I saw just how quickly money can be spent. We spent a few hundred dollars and all we got was a little dirt, mulch, and five small bushes.

If you’re willing to be patient, there are some ways that you can save a lot of money while gardening.

1) Post an ad on freecycle or Craig’s list. Many gardeners are willing to share their excess plants. I am a member of freecycle and I have seen several ads lately for gardening supplies.

2) Buy perennials instead of annuals. Perennials come back each year and they usually need to be divided every 3-5 years. When you divide them, you’ll have more plants to put some place else.

3) Swap bulbs with neighbors and friends. One year we dug up our flower bed and found hundreds of daffodil bulbs. Needless the say, the previous owner hadn’t separated them in many years. It’s nice to give away extra bulbs to friends, family, and neighbors. If people know that you’re interested in gardening, many times they will offer you their extra bulbs or cuttings from their plants.

4) Use seeds instead of buying plants. You can get a lot of plants from an inexpensive package of seeds, where as plants can costs a few dollars each. Plant the seeds indoors a few months before you need them. An egg carton, dirt, and pan are all you need to get started.

5) Be on the look out for volunteers. One year we dug up the volunteer bushes in my parents’ yard and planted them in our flower beds. We saved a lot of money and the bushes did very well. Sometimes you can even find plants in your yard that are offsprings of your neighbor’s plants. You can dig those up and put them in places where you need plants.

6) Purchase low maintenance plants. One year I bought some impatiens and they needed to be watered every day. If I didn’t water them every day, then they would start to shrivel up. Forget going on vacation. Some plants require special fertilizer and pesticides. Buy something that isn’t going to cost you a lot of money to maintain.

7) Get creative with planters. You could spend hundreds of dollars just on planters and pots. Search around your house for items you could use as planters. Some people use old boots, wooden boxes, wheel barrows, tea pots, tea cups, wagons, baskets, and baskets.

Get reference information from the library or internet. There’s no sense in buying expensive books and “how-to” guides when you have free references at your tips. There is a wealth of information that can be gotten without having to spend money. There are also online gardening forums where you can ask others questions. Gardeners are usually helpful people.

9) Get seeds from flowers and foods you already have. I have a lemon tree in my house that came from lemon seeds. Save your apple, plum, watermelon, and flower seeds.

10) Check out clearance sales. Sometimes you can find some deals on plants that haven’t received proper care. Sometimes all they need is a little TLC. Also, at the end of the season is when you can find potting supplies, edging, hoses, tools, etc on clearance. Target is good for putting those items on clearance quickly.

11) Save old coffee and tea grounds for fertilizer. Sometimes Starbucks will have free bags of used coffee by the entrance of their store. I’ve put coffee grounds on my new shrubs twice this week.

12) Water your plants at night. This will allow the plants to get the water before it evaporates.

13) Collect your rain water to water your plants. You can also save your bath water or install a rain barrel. This is especially helpful if there are water restrictions.

14) Make a compost pile. Fill it with yard and kitchen waste. The compost will condition and fertilize your plants.

15) Join a gardening club or plant swap. You’ll probably learn tips for plants which grow well in your area and you can swap seeds, bulbs, volunteers, and clippings.

What thrifty tips can you add to this list?

image: Me