It's  Frugal Friday! 

The absolute best frugal tip of all frugal tips when shopping is to "think about it".  I'm training myself to never ever just go buy something. 

When I see something that I "gotta have", I think it over for a couple of weeks.  I search online and the store circular.  I look for promotional codes and coupons. 

When I think about it, one of two things always happens.  First of all, I might decide I don't even want it or need it anymore.  I forget about buying it altogether.  Second, if after  a couple of weeks (or more) I still need/want the item, most likely I've found a way to buy it cheaper. 

As a side note, we live in a rural area.  If the best deal isn't at Walmart, we gotta drive.  Y'all know how much the cost of gas is.  If the desired item is featured in a newspaper ad or store circular (they won't accept internet ads) for less, we take the ad to Walmart and they price match.  We get the sale price and save on gas.  

I'm having so much fun finding ways to save money.  The money we save adds to our debt snowball.  Which makes Trent Tribe Chief and myself really really happy.  You gotta try it and experience the thrill for yourself! 

Y'all have a great Friday and be blessed!

Y'all know I love Frugal Friday.  Don't miss this week's frugal tips.

Sometimes you just gotta pray.  Mrs. Biblical Womanhood herself tells us that she prays before going on a shopping trip.  It absolutely works!

Recently, my family and I had to be out for the day.  Dining out was included in our day on the town.  As we were seated at the restaurant the manager came over and gave us a coupon for a free entree!  A $10 savings!

Recently I was shopping where some gals were giving out coupons - in the rain.  Apparently the faster they gave out the coupons the faster they could get out of the rain.  They handed me 12 coupons for $2 off one of my favorite hair products.  (I can't wait for a BOGO sale!)  Some others around me didn't want theirs.  I gladly relieved them of their unwanted coupons.  Giving me $78 in coupons!  (Woohoo!)

So, you know what?  Prayer works.  We all need God's favor.  I know I can't be frugal without it. 

As a little girl, I loved my dolls.  I loved dressing them and fixing their hair. 

Well the Lord saw fit to give me three living dolls.  I have so much fun making them pretty. 

Frugal pretty can be challenging.  But I have a tool that makes it easier.

http://shedoeshair.blogspot.com/

This is the go to place for little girl hair know-how.  Cause y'all know little girl hair has got to be pretty.  This is my attempt at pretty little girl hair.

The red bow worn by Gracie is made by the sweetest gal and mommy of 3.  My friend, Toni Jill makes these boutique style bows at a fraction of the boutique price.  She can customize them to match anything.  Nothing tops off a little girl 'do like a bow!

Enjoy your Frugal Friday at Biblical Womanhood!   

I've been using the homemade laundry detergent for several months now and I'm still loving it.  I calculated that it costs $0.83 to make 2 gallons!  That is awesome savings, y'all.  So, when I saw a recipe for homemade dryer sheets, my curiosity was peaked.  I gave it a try and I am happy to report that I love it!  (Pictures below)

Here's the recipe:

2 cups water

1 cup vinegar

2/3 cup of any hair conditioner

Mix by stirring.  Don't shake.  Soak a cloth rag and ring it out until slightly damp.  Then throw it into the dryer with your load of clothes. 

I used an empty baby wipe container for my fabric softener.  I used socks that no longer have a match or have holes in them for rags.  I used conditioner from CVS.  It was FREE, of course!  So, the only thing I purchased was 1 gallon of distilled vinegar for $1.98.  The total cost comes to less than $0.13!  One recipe will do approximately 40 loads of laundry.  That is less than 1/2 cent per load!  It smells great and our clothes feel great!  Great smelling and feeling is real important to me.

I wrote on the box what it is just in case by some freak accident someone other than me puts clothes in the dryer.  I also wrote the recipe on the box, so, I don't have to worry about finding it when it is time to make more.

I started stirring it with a wooden spatula.  I changed to a wisk.  It worked a lot better.

Is that the sound of savings I hear?  Why yes, I believe it is! 

Hooray for Frugal Friday!  Go check out the other tips.

With the gloom and doom in the news, we all need some Frugal Friday!!!!!!

The cost of gas makes internet shopping even more enticing.  (Especially if they offer free shipping.)   I love the convenience of shopping online.  I can do it in the comfort of my PJ’s with my babies sleeping soundly. 

During the holidays, there are no long lines or blustery cold days.  My darling husband and I don’t have to moan or panic at the thought of braving the crowded store with four kiddos in tow.  I can save my shopping cart and sneak over to the other stores to comparison shop. 

Life in a Shoe taught me the ultimate secret weapon of online shopping.  Always search for a promotional code before buying.  This one little tip has helped me get free shipping, 15% off, 25% off, buy three items get the fourth item 50% off … the savings are unlimited. 

Here’s how it works.  Find the item you need at the online store of your choice.  Do a search for “(Enter name of store) promotional code”.  Choose the code that will save you the most.  Enter it when you check out.  So easy!  Save gas by shopping online.  Save money on online purchases by searching for promotional codes.  Savings all around!  Gotta love it, y’all! 

It's Frugal Friday! 

Money Saving Mom got me to thinking about Make-It-Yourself Projects.  I love repurposing old, broken or even discarded items.  Here are some awesome sites to give creative inspiration! 

MIY Creations

The Splash-Art Tablecloth is one of my favorite projects.  My girls and I can't wait to make our own!  Y'all know your kids would love nothing better than to stain up a tablecloth real good.  That ketchup stain will blend right in.

Stuff made into other stuff!  I love this -

Christmas Make-it-yourself Countdown - It's not too early !

Y'all know it's Frugal Friday - http://www.biblicalwomanhoodonline.com/blog.htm!

If you've read this, http://weblog.xanga.com/TrentTribe/650869461/my-sunday-hobby.html, then you know I love coupons.  We all do, right?  Well, here is everything there is to know about coupons -

http://www.grocerycouponguide.com/  

"When it comes to saving money on groceries, there's a lot more that you can do than merely cut out coupons from your Sunday paper. With an estimated $360 billion worth of coupons floating around, there are plenty out there to help you reduce your monthly shopping bill if you follow a few basic strategies. That is what this site is dedicated to doing."

Get over there and start learning.  No matter how skilled your couponing abilities, you'll find valuable information.  Have fun!   

It's Frugal Friday, go on over.  We all need new ideas and encouragement as we pursue our debt free dream!

http://www.biblicalwomanhoodonline.com/blog.htm

1.  Befriend the Library.  All those books I’ve been wanting to read, the library has them.  I can read them for free (well technically my tax dollars paid for them but I digress).  I remember a conversation I had with someone about the books I had been reading.  “How do you read all these books?  Where do you get all these books?  Isn’t it expensive?”  Well ummm, the library.  I strongly recommend reading books to help with frugal and debt free living.  I have had to change my mind and my ways.  I need influence.  Books are a great way to influence my thinking.  Of course the internet is a great resource, too.  The library and the internet help me my husband with do-it-yourself projects and maintenance.  Projects and simple maintenance can be done, with free labor!  The satisfaction I feel, will more than reimburse me for my labor my husband’s labor.  The library also saves me on homeschool curriculum.  Most all of the literature books and recommended reading can be found at the library.   

Recommended Reading

Recommended Websites

http://www.crown.org/

http://www.daveramsey.com/

http://likemerchantships.blogspot.com/index.html

http://www.moneysavingmom.com/

2.  Bargain Shopping.  Combine store ads with coupons for huge savings.  Switch to store brands for everything else.  Shop with a list.  Use it up – I don’t open anything until I have used up the old (I will not tell you how many half used beauty products I have found under the sink and in the medicine cabinet in the past).  I find recipes to use up the items I already have.  If I normally buy something at regular price, I challenge myself to find it on sale.  Before I buy anything, I search the newspaper or the internet for a coupon.  Especially when shopping on the internet, I at all times do a coupon or promotional code search.  When I’m constantly on the lookout for a bargain, there is no end to the money I can save.  It becomes a game that is fun to play!  Do I really need it?  If we can survive without it – we do without.  If I have to store it, dust it or even insure it, I don’t need the hassle! 

3. Eat Out Less Often.  I’ve learned to carry snacks for when we are out.  This is the best way to avoiding eating out.  A box of granola bars goes a long way in getting us back home without stopping to eat out, lol.  I also freezer cook.  You can read about it here http://weblog.xanga.com/TrentTribe/653857135/frugal-friday.html and here http://weblog.xanga.com/TrentTribe/657132657/freezer-cooking-the-sequel.html.  When we do eat out, we eat out for less.  We share a meal.  We drink for free.  (Water is better for you anyway.  We don’t think of ourselves as cheap.  We think of ourselves as healthy.  The same goes for meal sharing.  Smaller portions is healthier.)  We look for coupons in the newspaper, junk mailers, entertainment books, and restaurant websites.  We choose places where kids eat for free.  We eat out for lunch or breakfast rather than dinner.  We order by phone and bring the food home.  Doing this skips the drink order, there are no rules about meal sharing and we avoid the tip.  (We never avoid tipping when we dine in, we always tip generously.  I was a waitress once.  It was common at my restaurant that the “church crowd” was the worst tippers.  My husband and I have made it our mission to dispel that reputation.)

4. Budget.  Then, find creative ways to stay in the budget.  Here is a cool budgeting tool, http://www.crown.org/Tools/Calculators/Budgeting_Budgetometer.aspx

Cut back.  Scale back your phone plan.  Cancel subscriptions and membership plans.  Cancel the cable or find a way to get it for less.  Don’t go to the movies.  Have movie night at home.  We can enjoy better food at home for far less money than the theater.  We can pause and rewind.  This is a big deal to me because I’m always taking little girls to the bathroom.  No one cares if the baby cries.  The baby can play and crawl/walk around as much as he wants.  Brian changes the oil in our vehicles.  We have our hair cut less often.  I do my own pedicures.   

5. In many situations it saves money to live on one income.  Mom, are you wanting to stay home?  Seriously, this is a great way to be at home.  Go to http://www.crown.org/Tools/Calculators/Work_OneIncome.aspx.  Do the calculations.  Then, come back here. 

So, how much do you really make?  I bet you can easily find ways to save that amount.  Especially, if you are home.  You will have more time to devote to shopping the sale ads, clipping coupons and cooking (to avoid eating out). 

Implement as many frugal habits into your lifestyle that you can and start enjoying a debt-free life.  You know that famous quote, “Live like no one else now, so, that you can live like no one else later.” 

It's FRRRRUUUUGGGAAALLL FRIDDDDAAAYYY!  Go on over.  We all need money saving tips. 

http://www.biblicalwomanhoodonline.com/blog.htm

Look up the word Frugal.  You really don’t have to but if you did, you would see that the antonym of frugal is generous.  Goodness, I ten thousand times disagree! 

We are frugal but with the goal of being more generous.  It is our desire to live well below our means so that we are able to give more of our money to the church and to meet the needs of others as God leads us. 

Okay, that isn’t the only reason we’re frugal.  We really like the peace of mind of being out of debt.  We really like the idea of making money on our money instead of making others money by borrowing their money.  We really like the idea of having money for rainy days and olden days.  So, being able to give is just one of the reasons we are frugal but it is still an important reason. 

Here is an example of generosity in my life.  When my littlest child outgrows clothing, I always give it to someone who has a child in that size.  Right now I have a littlest girl and a littlest boy.  So, I get to pass on the little girl clothes to my niece and the little boy clothes to my friend (who is adopting, hooray!). 

With each new baby in my home, I did not have any baby clothes.  I had passed the previous baby’s clothes to someone who needed them.  And even though I did not save the baby clothes to pass down to my next child, I have never had to buy baby clothes.  That generosity has always been returned to me.  My babies never, never lack for adorable clothes to wear.  Four times never.  Three girls and one boy, never.  I am always given baby clothes by some loving caring friend who is looking to do what I did.  Bless other mommas. 

Here is my rationale for doing this.  We live in a small home and I don’t want to store a lot of clothes.  I do keep my oldest daughters clothes.  I know that I have two more girls who can wear them.  So, any clothing storage is reserved for clothes that I’m certain will be worn.  With baby clothes, I was never absolutely certain we’d be having another child and if we did have another child would it be the same gender?  It seemed the right thing to pass on my baby things to babies who needed clothing at that moment.  Rather than hoard them for future baby girls or baby boys that I might (and sadly, might not) have.  (Of course, there’s a few sentimental things that I hold on to.  I’m a sappy mom.) I decided to trust God to provide baby stuff for future Trent babies. 

He provided the babies and he provided the stuff.  (Thanks, Lord.)  Who knows, there may be more Trent babies in our future? 

This is just one rather little example of generosity at work in my life.  It’s generously frugal to be exact.  Antonym, shmantonym.

Here is another example of generously frugal http://debtfreedowds.wordpress.com/2008/05/24/sharing-the-wealth/.  Share how you are generously frugal.

Just because it’s frugal doesn’t mean that I can tolerate it.  And I’m the girl who thought I loved all things frugal.   

Homemade Dishwasher Detergent is a good example.  When I read the recipe, I couldn’t wait to try it.  I already had the ingredients on hand. 

½ cup borax

½ cup baking soda

Combine in a container.  Pour two tablespoons in dishwasher.

The dishes were technically clean, if you can accept the white residue. It was a real stomach turner for me.  The white residue had to be hand washed from each dish.  Rinsing them did not get it off.   Hand washed from each dish! 

Do you know how long I went without a dishwasher?   TEN YEARS!  After ten years of marital bliss, giving birth to three girls, preparing to give birth to a boy and hand washing dishes all the while, I finally got a dishwasher.  The HALLELUJAH Chorus played in the background the first time I loaded her up.  Yes, my dishwasher is a girl.  Only a girl in my tribe would wash the dishes, unless coaxed or given the option of laundry instead.  My dishes came out sparkling and germ free.  Ahhh!  What a girl, my dishwasher. 

I started adding dishwasher detergent to my cart each time I could find it on sale.  Combined with a coupon, of course.  Then, I read about people making their own dishwasher detergent for pennies.  Well, I couldn’t resist!  A dream come true!  A nightmare!

Having sworn off hand washing forever, there I stood, hand washing white residue. Homemade Dishwasher Detergent – what a disaster! 

Okay, I know some of you love it.  I’ve seen your comments.  Somehow your dishes don’t have white residue.  Y’all would no sooner eat dinner on a plate of white residue as you’d eat a spoon of borax. 

I need to add vinegar as a rinsing agent, you say?  I did.  It didn’t work.  Use more baking soda and less borax?  Tried it.  I also tried using less than two tablespoons.  Didn’t work.    I saw something about using washing soda instead of baking soda.  I haven’t tried that.  Hadn’t got my nerve up yet. 

So, what did y’all do to get yours to work?