Category: Thrifty Ideas

One of the best things you can do to save money is take on home improvement and car/home maintenance jobs yourself. There is so much information available these days that will show you step by step how to tackle virtually any job that you can think of. You can buy how to books or just google the task at hand. Now some jobs, I will leave to the professionals such as major electrical or plumbing. Some people will even take on those jobs. It’s a perfect opportunity to spend some quality time with your spouse as well (that is, if…

I sat here thinking, what I am going to post for Frugal Friday this week? I’m not feeling particularly frugal this week as I have spent a bit of money on getting things done that need to be done. I did comparision shop and do what I could to save money, but… Then, tonight, on the way home from the store, I asked munchkin if she wanted a Happy Meal from McDonalds. (Now, see, I really didn’t feel like making dinner tonight, so I was trying to get out of it.) Her reply, “No, thanks. I’d rather eat at home.”…

Now, generally speaking, I prefer homemade over store bought, but there are times that it’s good just to be able to pick up some baked goods from the store. Plus, I have found that homebaked bread does not freeze well for my frozen sandwiches for D. The bad thing is that good bread can cost several dollars a loaf. The solution? Head over to the bread outlets. Now, not all bakery/bread outlets are created equal. Some have good prices on some things, but regular prices on others. A good bread outlet will have very inexpensive bread and well priced extras.…

Having pets is not frugal by any means. So, for those of us that love animals, we have to come up with ways to make pet ownership a bit less expensive. Pet bedding can get very expensive — especially when you have to change it at least once a week. I purchased a paper shredder several years ago and shred all the junk mail that comes in the mail. Instead of just getting rid of the shreds, I use them in the guinea pig cage. First, I line the cage with newspaper. Then, I put all the paper shreds in…