I love the thrill of a bargain.  There’s not much better bargains to be found than at a yard sale.  Last week, my family stopped at a few yard sales.  A neighborhood in the area was supposed to have a neighborhood yard sale, but only a few houses participated.  I was a little disappointed, but I was still able to find some deals!

1st stop: Almost everything I found was $.25.  Wowwee!  As you can see here, I got some nice books for only 25 cents.  The pink books are some pre-k/kindergarten books.  He let me have all of them for $.25.  Those will come in handy with Cuddlebug over the next two years.  I also picked up a pink fuzzy purse for Alligator girl.  It was only $.25 too.  Somehow the purse didn’t make it in the picture.

Stop 2:  I found these Ty stuffed animals for only $.25.  My kids don’t really need any stuffed animals, but these were so cute.  I threw them in the washing machine (on gentle) and they’re good as new.  I also found two wallets/small purses for Alligator girl for $.25 and a few clothing items for her for $.50-.75.

Stop 3:  The lady at this yard sale had two boys, so I was able to pick up a few things for the boys.  A large floor size Thomas the Train puzzle was $1.  Other things I bought: alligator toy $.50, Premiere gold earrings (new) $1, Buzz Light Year figurine $.50, Rollerblade brand rollerblades (adjustable) $2, Franklin VHS tape $1, Toy Story book $.25.

I think we did pretty well and the kids are happy with their new things. 

Have you been to any yard sales this summer?

images (c) Karen Weideman

Guest post by Linette Gerlach

You can plant a garden even on a shoestring budget. For very little money you can grow enough food to help feed your family through the winter.

Here are a few tips to help get you started:

• Start your plants in recycled pots, or containers you make yourself. You can make your own plant pots out of newspaper, or egg cartons.
• Buy your seeds at the local farm store. There you can buy as much or as little of each type of seed as you want, and you’re paying by the weight. You don’t have to buy extra if you only want a few watermelon seeds, and the seeds are usually cheaper than purchasing pre packaged seeds.
• Swap seeds and plants with neighbors. If you have extra tomato plants, or chives trade them with your neighbor for peppers, or thyme.
• Save your own seeds. You can save your own seeds from many plants for next years crop. Before you save a particular seed do a little research to make sure the plant will grow back true from seeds.
• Start a compost pile, and make your own fertilizer for your garden. This is a huge money saver, and you’re also recycling your waste at the same time.
• Make your own potting soil, by mixing about half regular soil, with half compost. You may have to play around with the mixture a little to suit your soil.

If you have tips for saving money in the garden, feel free to share them in the comment section.

Linette shares more gardening advice at Mother Earth’s Garden, and cooking and gardening advice at The Home and Garden Cafe.

Image L Gerlach

Each year we have the same two problems: 

1) My daughter outgrows almost all of her pants in the length. 

2)  It’s hard to find shorts that are long enough.

What is the deal with short shorts anyway????

This year, I decided to take some of her old jeans and try to make shorts out of them.

I cut the jeans right above the spot where she had wore out the knees.  I was just going to roll them up,but decided they might unravel so I had my mom put a stitch in the bottom.

Ta-da. Now we have cute shorts that are long enough and they didn’t cost us any money.   Reusing old pants is a great way to save money on your summer wardrobe. 

You might also like this video on making maternity pants from old jeans.

images (c) Karen Weideman

Guest post by Heidi.

Cutting back on expenses is just like cutting back on favorite foods to lose weight: the pain is intense in the beginning, but I promise you – it’s short-lived.

We started curtailing our spending a year ago. At first, I didn’t think I’d ever be able to live with the lifestyle changes . . . but I quickly learned that when you remove excess from your life, only good things will follow.

How do you start a money diet?

Like a food diet, hit the big items first. Pretty soon, you’ll be able to see smaller expenditures in your budget that can be cut out, too.

Here’s a list of the top 10 items that we cut out, in chronological order. You can probably go through the same exercise … You’ll be amazed at how quickly you can stash away cash you never knew you had!

1.  Cut: A Yearly Disney World vacation.  Cost:  $3,000.
Substitution: More short trips to visit extended out-of-state family. Disney-vacation frequency curtailed to once every two to three years.

2. Cut: A planned purchase of a new $25,000 pontoon boat.
Substitution: We waited for off-season sales on eBay and found a used boat in January for $4,000, in pristine condition.

3. Cut: New cars, to be replaced every five years at a minimum. ($30,000 average price)
Substitution: We’re running the old cars into the ground until we can’t drive them anymore! Repairs are nominal compared to monthly payments. We’ll buy used cars when ready.

4. Cut: Weekly restaurant dinners, averaging $75 for two with drinks and dessert.
Substitution: We grill at home now. Restaurant dates are once every six weeks.

5.  Cut: Movies, now at $17 for two tickets.
Substitution:  A Netflix subscription, for $5 per month and unlimited rentals.

6. Cut: Frequent trips to book stores, averaging $50 for new books and magazines each visit.
Substitution: The public library. We visit weekly and have also discovered other programs for families (family movie night, for example), free DVD rentals and even magazines.

7. Cut: Regular trips to Best Buy for $50 video games.
Substitution: A second-hand video gaming store at the mall offers the same games for a fraction of the price. When we decide to try a new game, we receive money for one that we no longer play and buy a used game to take its place.

8. Cut: Weekly trips to liquor store, averaging $75 each. Regular visits to Starbucks, $4.50 each.
Substitution: Occasional bottle of wine, $7-$9. Cutback in drinking reduces need to buy as much! Starbucks has been replaced with store-bought coffee, combined with flavored syrups and whipped cream.

9. Cut: Monthly clothing purchases from catalogues, averaging $200 to $300 minimum.
Substitution: Except for our child, who grows out of his clothing, we have cut this expense completely. We wait for off-season sales to purchase items at 60 to 80 percent off. We also combine our better-clothing items with cheaply-purchased items from discount stores like Wal-Mart … combining the two camouflages the less-costly item.

10. Cut: Gourmet impulse purchases in grocery deli.
Substitution: Online recipes for similar products allow us to make many of the same items for much less. The result is a healthier alternative (because we know the ingredients) and also more enjoyment in the finished product. We occasionally splurge on a longed-for item, but these are now “treats” rather than regular purchases.

image sxc.hu

Heidi Rafferty is a freelance writer and blogger. You can find her work at Kingdom Treasures and The Objective Journalist.

Yesterday, I went to Wal-Mart, the devil store because I spend way too much money there, and splurged on a pregnancy craving (at least I am using it as a good excuse at this point HAHA) - ramen noodles.  I realize, before you give me a hard time about the sodium, they are horrible nutritionally.  But they are wonderful!

So anyway, I went and just hate to have to load up 10 separate boxes.  So I was very happy when I saw them packaged for 6 packs for $1.82 or 30.33 cents a piece.  Then I looked at the individual ones and saw that they were only 28 cents a piece.  So I bought the individual ones but saved my money because I had my phone calculator handy and knew the unit price.

So remember, my savings wasn’t that much but sometimes, it is a huge difference.  Bulk isn’t always better.  So be careful out there and USE THOSE CALCULATORS!

Lately we have known way too many people who have lost thier jobs.  Karen and I just wanted to let you know that we are praying for all of you who are struggling, regardless of your job status.  But we are especially praying for those of you looking for jobs.

These last few weeks, my family has been hit as well.  We are so thankful to have our jobs.  My job is tenuous but so far, so good.  But my family hasn’t been so fortunate as of late.

• My dad was laid off in February
• My step-dad was cut to 20 hours a week from full time and lost his insurance
• My sister is waiting for her furlough
• My sister-in-law lost her job a few months ago

Keep up the hard work with finding a job.  We are praying for you.

The other day, I went to Wal-Mart and was walking to the kids section when I noticed the guy marking down the bath wraps that I wanted!  I have been contemplating making it but knew the material alone would cost me $10.  They had them marked down for $2.50.  I was so excited that I bought mine without thinking about Turkey Butt wanting one.

Of course, when I brought it home, she wanted one just like it.  So I went back the next day and they had marked them up to $5 (regular price $10).  I bought her one but it was painful.  I was still happy to have mine for cheap and now Turkey Butt and I get out of the bath and sit in our wraps for a while together.  She loves it!

I live and wash on teh hopes that there is rain. I am constantly running my well dry. I know I am getting older because I now look at rainfall in relation to how many loads of laundry I can do and how much water will be left for showers. Trust me, there is nothing worse than standing in the shower with soap in your hair and not being able to rinse it out. Talk about a bad hair day. I have heard about this water and money saving trick and like the idea. I will give a quick disclaimer, if you, shall we say, fill the potty a lot, then flush more often as you will have a little less water in the flush.
According to the video, you can save 16% on y ou water bill and 7500 gallons of water per year. Now I can handle that many showers!

Let me know what you think.

When we worked at the group home, we spent so many hours working each day that I usually did not have time to pack my daughter’s lunch. It was hard to pay the $1.70 each day for her to eat, but it was a chosen convenience for us.

Now that we’ve moved and I’m working from home again, I’m packing her lunch every day. One reason is because I want to monitor what she’s getting and how much she’s eating. The main reason though is the price. School lunch for elementary students is $2.30!!! Of course, rates are higher for older children and adults.

If you’re thrifty, you can pack your child a healthy lunch for less than $1 per day. Yesterday’s lunch for my daughter was a turkey and cheese sandwich on whole grain bread, sliced peaches, and a cup of milk. I pack her a Munchkin straw cup that has a valve in it, so that the milk doesn’t leak.  Of course, there is a large ice pack inside to keep everything fresh.

I’ve done the math and figured that if I bought school lunch for her everyday, it would cost about $46 per month! Ouch! That’s a good part of my grocery bill.

Please vote in our poll to the right and let us know if you buy school lunch.  We’d also like your thoughts below in the comments.  Thanks!

image by me

I love drifting around the net.  And to answer your questions, no.  I have not found the end of the Internet yet.  But what I did find were some great sites and great deals.  So I thought I would show you some really great finds.  It’s great.  Do you feel great yet?  HAHA

• Baby Cheapskate - Angie always finds great diaper deals and if you miss her diaper deals for the week,  you basically through your diaper budget out the window and waste your hard earned money.  I love her!
• She Knows Coupons - Eliza does a great job of giving you the latest updates on the latest and greatest coupon deals out there.
• Frugal Living - I just love Pat and all she does.  I especially love reading her blogs as she has a way of putting things that make me laugh and WANT to save money!  “I was lazy today and made pudding from an instant mix instead of cooking it from scratch. Scratch is a little cheaper (although generic mix is pretty cheap!), but it’s a lot better, and I suspect it’s better for you.”  She just cracks me up!
• 5 Minutes for Mom - I can’t say enough about the Tackle it Tuesday challenges.  They also keep us in touch with their fantastic kids.  I keep coming back for the antics.
• Dumb Little Man - I love the way they focus on ways to make you more marketable and their post on the 6 frugal ways to beat Cabin Fever is right up my alley.  I am so ready for spring!