*This contest is over, but the responses are still available in the Comments section.*
Announcing the first ever book giveaway contest from Simple Pleasures Press! Throughout the month of June 2015, to celebrate the beginning of summer, we’ll be running a series of giveaway contests. During the last week of June, there will be a Grand Prize so you’ll want to stay tuned. 🙂
The first book to be given away will be an autographed paperback edition of the newly re-released book The Original Simple Mom’s Idea Book: Hints and Hacks for Home and Family by Debi Taylor-Hough.
All you need to do is submit Your Favorite Frugal Tip in the comment section of this blog post. If writing up your own frugal tip sounds a little overwhelming or intimidating, feel free to share a link to your favorite frugal blog post or money saving website. 🙂
Contest Rules:
- Leave a comment on this blog page containing your favorite frugal living tip or link (no Spam!). (Only one entry per person will count toward the contest.) One winner will be chosen at random.
- Be sure to fill out the email address section of the comment form so I’ll have a way to contact you if you’re the winner. (The prize will be sent via snail mail, so when I contact the winner, they’ll need to provide a valid mailing address — but please don’t leave your snail mail address in the comment section!).
So, that’s it. Easy peasy.
Official entries for this giveaway will close at Midnight (Pacific Standard Time) on Friday, June 5th, 2015. At some point during the day on Saturday, June 6th 2015, I’ll choose a random number using an online random number generator. Whoever’s entry is located at that number’s spot in the comment list will be the winner!
Remember: You need to enter your comment and frugal tip between Monday morning (when this blog post went live) and before Midnight of the following Friday to be eligible. The comment section will remain open — so people can feel free to share their tips just for the fun of it — but ONLY those comments posted BEFORE midnight on Friday will be actually entered into the drawing.
So, are you ready? Then let’s go!
Click here —> What’s YOUR favorite frugal tip?
~Debi
Next Week’s Prize: An autographed copy of Mix-n-Match Recipes: Creative Ideas for Today’s Busy Kitchens! Be sure to sign up for email updates from this blog (the sign-up form is in the sidebar to the left) to stay up-to-date on coming giveaways, contests, new book releases, and other events.
Simple Pleasures Press 
Tough choice, but I think the most helpful tip for me is from your Frozen Assets cookbook suggesting we use name brand freezer bags. I may not have ever bought name brand baggies had you not mentioned it, and not realized there is a difference.
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Don’t go shopping unless you have something specific to buy..this includes on the computer as well. I can always find something I want but don’t need so I stay away thus saving my money.
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Currently my favorite frugal tip is to forego the big-chain coffee every day and drink the free stuff at work. Paying $5+ for one cup of something I can get for free is saving quite a bit of money.
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I always go to the store with a list. That keeps me from getting items that I do not need and overspending! It’s awful to come home and realize you now have two of some things and you could’ve saved a little.
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I never go to the store without a shopping list. Otherwise I end up with two of everything I do not need and overspend!
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If it’s a paper product your literally throwing money away. Use reusable when every possible. Napkins, paper towels, paper plates/ bowls are all $ being thrown away.
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We save our veggie peels and leftover vegetables in a bin or bag in the freezer to make vegetable broth with, and then freeze the broth to use when needed.
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Our biggest thing is meal planning. We plan the week around sales and what we already have on hand. I also try to do at least some meal prep on the weekend so we are less tempted to just eat out when an evening is busy.
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We do not use paper towels, Kleenex, paper napkins. Instead I have cloth napkins out on the table to use at meal time and a basket of cut up flannel “rags” for wiping hands and faces and spills.
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My most fun frugal tip is to buy at thrift stores and remake if necessary. For instance, we are in want of a big coffee table and found one at a thrift store that is not really beautiful. So, the plan is to strip it and woodburn game boards into the top (chess, backgammon, and Chinese checkers) and refinish it.
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I love local co-ops! I haven’t started one yet myself, but have joined two local existing ones that allow us to buy fresh and dry organic goods at wholesale (or lower sometimes!) prices. It means shopping in bulk or in season, but those are great money-saving strategies in general. It also puts us in touch with other local people like us – keen to save money on good products – so adds that community aspect as well.
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I make a menu plan for the entire week and post it on our fridge, noting on it one or two easy “alternate” meals that I can quickly throw together in case I’ve had an extra busy day and run out of time to do the regular meal prep. Having an easily adjustable plan like this helps us to avoid giving in to temptation and spending extra money to eat out.
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I have two: First, I combine errands so that I’m not making frequent trips in the car. For example, I’ll combine a trip to the matinee at the movie theater with stops at the post office/cleaners/drug store, etc. It’s gotten bad though – my sons would rather forgo a movie than ‘suffer’ through the errands. They’ve gotten savvy enough to ask “where else are we going?”:)
Secondly, living in the suburb of a large metropolitan area gives us ample opportunities to take advantage of free outings. Most, if not all, of the museums have weekly free hours, and there’s free concerts at local parks during the spring and summer. We are also fans of high school activities: for nominal ticket prices we’ve seen top-notch musical productions, sports (both the football and baseball teams have won state!), and free band and choir concerts.
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So many good ones to choose from! I think my favorite one (that I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone else post) is this one. We prefer real butter so I quit buying margarine & spreads years ago but real butter gets expensive. So, when Kroger puts it on sale for $1.99/box I stock up and buy at least 6 – 12 boxes. It freezes fine & I don’t have to pay over $4 per box which seems to be the average at all the groceries in my area. Sometimes it’s store brand & sometimes it’s name brand but both are good do it doesn’t matter. 🙂 I do sometimes buy the butter spread (butter mixed with some oil to make it easier to spread) but I try to watch sales on that, too.
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Thank you for all you do Debi! I use frozen fruits/veggies whenever possible. They do not go bad like fresh items AND are picked when ripe with FULL nutrients as opposed to picked before ripe and let sit before arriving at store.
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Save all the leftover vegetables in a quart bag in the freezer and you can always make soup. If I put a half cup of beans or corn in the fridge, I’m just waiting for it to get moldy so I don’t feel guilty throwing it away. If it’s in the freezer it will get used. And homemade soup is so much better than the canned stuff.
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My frugal tip is PARK the car & BICYCLE everywhere! For HEALTH & LONGEVITY it cannot be beat!!!
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When I wash or prepare large quantities of veggies or fruits, I always use a large bowl. When I finish I use the water for my herb garden. I find that this makes a difference in summer, as it is so important to save as much water as we can.
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I order giant sized cotten balls off amazon prime. It is so hard to hunt for them at the grocery stores or target and walmart because they don’t cost much so they aren’t placed on shelves that are in clear sight. And when you do find then they don’t have the size you want. So ordering off amazon they cost the same with prime 2 day free shipping you save a lot of time and hassle and unwanted grief.
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If there is a fruit or veggie that my family likes very much, I learn to grow it (if it works in our climate). Our family really likes raspberries and strawberries, which are very perishable if you buy them at the store. It’s easy to learn to grow one or two foods at a time and not as overwhelming as learning to grown several veggies, fruits, and herbs at once. If I find overripe berries outside when I’m picking, I just throw them into the empty spots of the garden. If an animal doesn’t eat them, then the seeds in the berries will potentially become new plants = more food 🙂
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