Category: money saving tips

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10 Free Everyday Things that Save Us Money

Years of paying down debt has shown us that, while bringing in more money is a wonderful way to accelerate debt reduction, it is not always possible. Living with multiple chronic illnesses, there have been many many years that I have not been able to work outside the home, so it has been my focus to search for ways that allow us to stretch our dollars further.

Although we use more than 10 free things in our lives we wanted to share our most used free items…

Plastic Grocery Bags

We realize that plastic is a huge issue for our planet and we are working to reduce our use of it, but not all stores are welcoming to reusable bags these days. While we avoid them when we can, we make sure to put every single plastic bag we do receive to good use. We use grocery bags to line our small trash cans and pick up dog waste. I have also used bread bags to put over my kiddos shoes when it was extremely wet outside and they wanted to go outside and play. Plastic grocery bags also make great shower caps.

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The 10 Things That Saved Us The Most Money

Our family has been on the road to debt freedom for a very long time. In fact, it has been so long that I can no longer remember when it all started. But looking back over the years, I thought it could be helpful to share a list of the things that helped our family save the most money. These are ways that we continue to use to save money on a daily basis and are listed in no particular order.

Ten

1 – Berkey Water Filtration System

Purchasing this system required us to save a little each month until we could afford the model that we believed would work the best for our family. Although it cost us approximately $550, it has more than paid for itself over the years.

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Frugal Christmas – Our Story

Frugal Seeds Christmas Edition paperback cover

Throughout our years together, Mr. SF and I have lived a rather frugal life. But once we were blessed with children we had to learn how to make our money stretch even further.

We had all the regular bills, housing, utilities, food, transportation and on top of all of that lots of medical bills, so when it came to Christmas, I had to be creative. I wanted to make sure we focused on the true meaning of the season in a very budget friendly way.

Now that my kids are older, Christmas looks a bit different, but we still enjoy many of the ways that I wrote about in my book, Frugal Seeds Christmas Edition, 101 Ways to Celebrate the Holiday Season on a Budget.

You can buy it on Amazon or read it FREE with Kindle Unlimited.

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October Pantry Stock-Up for $20 or less

This month I headed over to Meijer to see what I could find to stock up on for our family.

October $20 stock up haul from Meijer

I would like to first mention that I have randomly chosen stores and did not seek out items on sale to purchase. Instead, I looked for foods that my family eats on a regular basis and, if it happened to be on sale, it was a bonus. I also did not use coupons on any items that I purchased. The reason I have chosen to do these monthly stock-ups this way is because I wanted to see what people could purchase without doing any planning. Life is busy, people are stressed, and having to worry about stocking up on food does not need to be another stressor. So, when I was out running errands and I (1) happened to have $20.00 in my purse and (2) I was near a grocery store and had time to run in, then I did a monthly stock-up. If you haven’t already, please check out our August and September stock up posts.

I was happy to see that Meijer was having a 10 for $10 sale, with the 11th item free on a lot of canned goods.

October’s score included the following:

2 disinfecting wipes $3.99 each – total $7.98

2 garbanzo beans $1.00 each – total $2.00

1 northern beans $1.00 each – total $1.00

6 black beans $1.00 each – total $10.00

3 peach slices $1.00 each – total $3.00

All canned goods that I purchased were part of the 10 for 10 sale, 11th one free, so I also received one of the canned goods free.

Tax was $0.56

Total for all 14 items was $19.54

Two more months left to in the $20 pantry stock-up challenge and we would love to have you join us.

Have you been able to fortify your pantry? Please take a moment to let us know what you’ve found in the comment section.

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February’s FREE Financial Reading

This month is our Frugal February and we are on a mission to spend as little money as possible this month. This got me thinking of free things we could do and reading was one of my first thoughts. Since we are trying to spend so little, I didn’t want to even drive to the library to search for some good reads. This encouraged me to search for finance and success focused books that are free to read on the internet. I was shocked at all of the great reading I found and wanted to share it all with you!

If there is a book that you have read that encouraged you in your financial walk and is free to read on the internet, please leave a comment below, we would LOVE to share it.

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You are already paying for it – use it!

What is it that, at least here in the U.S., you are already paying for and, in my opinion, is one of the most underutlilized resources for saving money?

Your local library!

While there are books a-plenty to be sure, there is so much more on hand at your local library.

I worked for a large library system for two years and now live in a small mid-western town where I use our library frequently. Even after all that experience, it still surprises me what can be found at a library. What amazes me even more is that most people don’t have any idea just how much is available at no cost, beyond any taxes you’ve already paid, of course.

By merely walking into a library, you probably wouldn’t be aware of even half the possibilities. It can take some time to truly learn what all they have through exploration, research, and talking to the library staff. To help you save time and, hopefully, some money, I wanted to share what is available to my family and neighbors at our local branch so you’ll have an idea what you may be missing.

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Happy Veterans Day

The FrugalSource would like to take a moment to thank our brave men and women in uniform for all they do for our country.  I, Mrs.FrugalSource spent several years working at VA Hospital and it was the best job I ever had. I was deeply touched by the many sacrifices and stories that I was honored to witness during my time there and it has forever changed the way I view the world and those that work tirelessly to protect our part of it. We are extremely grateful.

Below are a few links to sites listing numerous discounts and freebies that our offered for these brave men and women.  We hope all veterans will take advantage of as many as possible.

Veterans Day Freebies

Veterans Day Discounts

Veterans Day Sales, Deals, and Free Meals.

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Celebrating Christmas on a Budget

It’s not about the money we spend…

Budget.  That is not a word that most people like to use when they discuss their holiday plans.  Our society constantly shows us that the holidays are meant for excess in every single way; gifts, meals, celebrations, excursions, decorations, desserts and adult beverages just to name a few.

We have come to a point in our society that we need to step back and take a good look at why we are taking a religious holiday and turning into a circus. The holy days are such a beautiful time in the year and can be enjoyed while creating wonderful memories, even on a budget.

While raising our kids, we have always been on a budget, trying to dig ourselves out of medical debt and now our mortgage. So, over the years, I’ve needed to be creative and come up with ways to enjoy the season without breaking the bank.

I have shared many of the ways that we celebrated the Christmas season with our family in our new book, “Frugal Seeds Christmas Edition: 101 Ways to Celebrate the Holiday Season on a Budget”.  It is available on Amazon in both paperback and ebook and can be read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited.

Wishing you a happy and budget friendly holiday season.

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Low-cost Fall Activities

Autumn is my favorite time of year, and if you spend any time on social media, it seems many feel the same way. The sights, sounds, and smells of the season are a delight to the senses and the weather is perfection in my book.

This is the time of year when I feel at my best, and I appreciate being able to spend more time outside. I love having the windows open and being able to cook without worrying about running up the electric bill while the AC beats back the heat from the kitchen.

Without further ado, here are some of my favorite low cost fall activities:

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