Frugal Living
Popular posts in Frugal Living
Posted 3 days 16 hours ago by Carrie Kirby
Shopping
Today the sales tax in Chicago went up to 10.25 percent after a 1 percent hike in the Cook county rate.
The change has me thinking seriously about how much I can afford to pay to maintain the ideal of shopping locally. I'd like to support those stores so they'll still be around when I need them. Ideals are great, but who can afford them at 10 percent of the purchase price? How much is too much to pay for buying locally?
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Posted 3 days 19 hours ago by Paul Michael
Frugal Living, Life Hacks, Food and Drink, Consumer Affairs
Anyone who's read Linsey’s great article on freezer emergencies will already have a great head start on saving your food, should the worst happen. But what about another solution altogether, for emergencies, that doesn't involve your freezer? A solution for those of us who just aren’t all that, well, organized and together? The answer lies in a big bucket at Costco.
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Posted 4 days 23 hours ago by Paul Michael
Frugal Living, Consumer Affairs
“The first rule of Fight Club – We Do Not Talk About Fight Club.” Everyone who’s seen the movie remembers that. But what about something Tyler Durden, the anarchist extraordinaire, said very early on in the movie? It’s something profound that stuck with me from the second I saw it in the movie theater to this very day. And I think it should stick with you, too.
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Posted 5 days 4 hours ago by Philip Brewer
Personal Finance, Frugal Living
My brother told me once that, when he was in college, he handled money this way: "When I got paid, I set aside enough money for cigarettes, then spent the rest buying pizza and beer for everyone until the money ran out. The other people I hung around with did the same."
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Posted 5 days 16 hours ago by Julie Rains
Lifestyle, Cars and Transportation
Spotted moving along on the roads in my city just last week was a golf cart. Is this solution to high gas prices (a bare-bones battery-powered vehicle) wise or even legal? I’ll tell you about a village that limits gas-powered vehicles in favor of electric golf carts and give you tips on using golf carts for more than just toting around clubs on the golf course.
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Posted 1 week 2 hours ago by Linsey Knerl
Frugal Living, Lifestyle, DIY
Ever since I left the city and crept my way back into my childhood farm house, I have been slowly adjusting to a simpler lifestyle. Living On An Acre has been a steady and dependable guide to covering the bases of both the practicalities and the possibilities of living a more sustainable dream.
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Posted 1 week 2 days ago by Myscha Theriault
Green Living, Art and Leisure
Looking for something different to do this July 4th holiday? Want to celebrate ecology and green mindedness while you’re at it? Well, if you happen to be in upstate New York, consider swinging by the Clayton Opera House for July fourth and fifth.
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Posted 1 week 2 days ago by Myscha Theriault
Food and Drink
Love Indian food? Not finding the mile-long ingredient lists particularly frugal? Ruta Kahate’s book, featuring dishes made only from five readily available spices, could be just what you need.
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Posted 1 week 2 days ago by Julie Rains
Frugal Living, General Tips, Health and Beauty
Healthcare will most likely be my family's largest expense in a couple of years, when we've finished paying our home mortgage. We're not heavy users of the healthcare system, so what have we done to incur such high costs? We're Americans who want to protect our family from a medically-induced financial disaster. Fortunately, I just read a book ("Stay Healthy, Live Longer, Spend Wisely" by Davis Liu, M.D.) that gave me a better understanding of the healthcare system and how I can get the most value for my dollar. Here are 50-plus ways plus to save money without compromising your well-being.
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Posted 1 week 2 days ago by Xin Lu
Personal Finance, Frugal Living, Food and Drink
My husband and I eat out quite often because we just do not have the time and energy to cook on most weekdays. Even though we go out three times a week or more, we do not really spend that much money on food. These are some of the things we do to save money on dining out.
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Posted 1 week 4 days ago by Linsey Knerl
Frugal Living, Life Hacks, Food and Drink
We’ve been weathering tornado season with your typical emergency planning and assortment of supplies. Candles, radios, and a clean basement shelter are ready to go at a moment's notice. It had never occurred to me, however, to keep a rescue plan in place for my frozen foods – until the worst happened.
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Posted 1 week 5 days ago by Philip Brewer
Career and Income, General Tips, Art and Leisure
Here are two ideas you already know: You won't achieve maximum happiness by always doing the most pleasurable thing you can think of at each moment, but neither will you find it by always deferring present happiness in favor of greater future happiness. The key is balancing these two things. And the genius in this book is that it gives you tools for finding that balance.
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Posted 2 weeks 12 hours ago by Margaret Garcia-Couoh
Shopping
True confessions? I'm a girl and a depression shopper (as in shopping, not unlike cheesecake, makes me momentarily happy like millions of other Sex and the City watching gals). But in an ever increasingly difficult economy it just ain't that wise to be buying those $200 dollar shoes. I give you strategic thriftstore shopping: same adrenaline rush but under $10 dollar satisfaction.
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Posted 2 weeks 1 day ago by Linsey Knerl
Personal Finance, General Tips, Lifestyle, Consumer Affairs
I know of parents who don’t ever discuss money with their kids. “They should be carefree at this age,” they claim. Money isn’t an appropriate topic for family conversation at these homes. But is this a cop-out for preparing kids for real life? And are they missing an opportunity to keep one another accountable to a single goal?
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Posted 2 weeks 1 day ago by Sarah Winfrey
Lifestyle
Do your normal financial routines feel blah? Does saving not give you the same rush that it used to? Does investing feel overwhelming, dull, or uninteresting? Then maybe you're managing your money with your head and not with your heart. While the idea is counterintuitive to most frugal people, listening to your heart when it comes to your money can help you create financial routines that stick with you, even through the most drastic of life's changes.
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Posted 2 weeks 2 days ago by Linsey Knerl
Frugal Living, Health and Beauty, Green Living, Food and Drink
Recently our own Xin Lu wrote a post on a motivating way to lose weight (a very interesting piece.) Imagine my surprise when a commenter spoke my mind by sharing the ultimate in “green” workouts! Not only does this daily routine give me tone and energy, but I’ll be enjoying the “fruits” of my labor in just a few short weeks!
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Posted 2 weeks 2 days ago by Julie Rains
Life Hacks, Budgeting
I brought a bag filled with quarters to pay for my meal at an Italian restaurant recently. I’ve been taking an informal survey of merchants to see who welcomes my coins. Having received a cool reception from the cashier at a gas/convenience store, I modified my coin-paying technique; now I carry quarters in a plastic bag separate from dimes, nickels, and pennies to accelerate sales transactions. When I showed my bag to the restaurant cashier (also the hostess, waitress, and owner’s wife), I was amused and surprised at her gesture. I'll tell you what I learned from this encounter and share the best places I've found to spend my coins.
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Posted 2 weeks 3 days ago by Kate Luther
Personal Finance, Frugal Living, Life Hacks, Lifestyle, Cars and Transportation
How would you like to get out and "see the world"? Visit the Carthage Ruins or spend a week just hiking across Europe. Paris, Italy or maybe the Bahamas... there's really just no end to the places you can go.
Now, I know what you're saying - those places cost money and technically you'd be right. While traveling is certainly one of the more exciting ways to spend your time, airfare and hotel rooms can add up quickly and with the economy the way it is... well, it looks like Aunt Tessie's farm is about all the traveling you'll be doing anytime soon.
But there are ways to get around those big travel expenses without sacrificing your fun. In fact, with these tips you might just find that your trips become all the more adventurous!
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Posted 2 weeks 6 days ago by Linsey Knerl
Frugal Living, Health and Beauty, Green Living
Water is a necessity. Soft water may not be. Depending on where you live and how you use water, the cost of processing your water may not be worth it.
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Posted 3 weeks 3 hours ago by Myscha Theriault
Green Living
In these days of planetary consciousness and squeezing every nickel, any new idea helps. Here’s an “extreme green” list of ways to put previously discarded items to new use.
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