Another Frugal Gift Idea

Buy books.

Free Snapfish Photo Book From the Oprah Show

Check out this link for the next 48 hours and get a free custom cover photo book from Snapfish and the Oprah Show. This would make a great Christmas gift!

http://www.snapfish.com/info18

Great Gift-Giving Idea

Give the gift of dining.

De-Stress for Less

You're blessed--but you're also stressed--and you don't have lots of cash to spare. Here are a few inexpensive ways to relieve that stress...

* Get a massage. Who doesn't love a pampering massage? But at over $60 an hour, this kind of relaxation doesn't come cheap. You can go to a massage therapy school, though, and get one for as little as $10. All you need to do is fill out a questionnaire and give feedback. Most students like those at the Healing Arts Institute undergo at least 126 hours of training and need lots of feedback.

* Learn a craft. An hour playing with clay, painting pottery, or learning a new skill will get your mind off of your everyday worries. Craft stores, such as Michael's, offer craft clinics for the cost of supplies.

* Go to a movie. See a movie that you've wanted to see--one that your husband won't see with you. Enjoy a large popcorn and soda, too.

*Put a little culture in your life. Museums such as The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago charge $20 or less for general admission. The Smithsonian Museums in Washington D.C. are free! Check your local listings and spend a day with the masters.

What are some of the ways that you de-stress for less?

Grocery Shopping Tips

Since, the average family of four spends over $8,500/year on grocery shopping and dining out feeding your family is probably where you spend most of your disposable income. But, it's also a controllable expense. You'll slash a good portion of your food bill--and put tax-free money back into your wallet--by following these steps:

Create your best tool--a price book. This book tracks prices on your most frequently purchased products. Make a page for categories you use (in a simple notebook or loose-leaf binder) like boxed foods, canned foods, produce, etc. Create columns including date, store, product, size and price. Use receipts and grocery fliers to fill out your pages. Now, as you shop, you'll know that $2.50 is a good price for a gallon of milk because your book tells you $3.00 was your best price so far. Now put $2.50 in your book as your next best price to beat.

Clip coupons, selectively. If you regularly buy generic brands, a coupon item may still be more expensive, so use them when an item is on sale to get a double bang for your buck. Sort your coupons into a file box or small photo album, making them portable, but keep your coupons up-to-date. There's nothing worse than wanting to use a coupon after it's expired.

Plan your meals saves time and money. Before you shop, check your pantry, fridge, and freezer to see what's in stock at home. Now make two lists--one for items you need and the other, a menu list. Fill your menu list with on-hand items. You'll notice gaps right away. Fill these gaps with sales from fliers and coupons. Write these on your grocery list.

Eat before you shop. Hunger is the number one budget-buster.

Bring cash. Leave your checkbook, debit and credit cards home, so you don't overspend. Bring $10 extra to stock up on any extra-special deals.

Shop quickly. Every minute over a half-hour costs you 50 cents per minute.

Know where to look. Look high and low on the shelves for the best prices; check behind fronted shelf items for larger bonus sizes; and shop the perimeter of the store for basic, most-needed grocery items.

Investigate all food sources. Include grocery stores, warehouse clubs, salvage stores, food co-ops, farmer's markets, department stores--even your gas station. Never assume that one source has the lowest price on every item.

Stock up. Buy pasta, canned foods, and boxed goods when they're on sale. These are items you use regularly with a long shelf life. Also, look on the front and back covers of sale fliers for sales that the store takes a loss on--literally. Build your grocery list and menus around these items for the greatest savings potential.

Ways to Save on Utility Bills

We’ve all read the stories about how we should expect our utility bills to soar this winter. Some experts are predicting that our costs will rise by as much as 40%! I don’t know about you, but our household can’t withstand that kind of an increase, and though we’ve been fortunate that the weather has been mild so far, I’m well aware that Old Man Winter is right around the corner.

To get some money-saving ideas, I decided to go to the Nicor Gas website and I’m glad that I did. Listed were several suggestions to save dollars¾ some I knew already and some I didn’t. Then I was thinking, I’m sure I don’t live in the only household that’s on a tight budget right now, so I thought I’d share my favorites.

And bonus! Besides saving money, we earn bragging rights too! By curbing utility costs we’re, also, staying a little "greener." Using these tips will not only save us money, but will lower our carbon footprint considerably and aid our environment, giving us a double bang for our buck!

Here are my favorite¾ and easy¾ tips:

Replace air filters. Experts say furnace filters should be changed every three to six months (clogged filters use more energy). My furnace guy told me to buy the cheapies and change them every month.

Run full loads in your washer and dishwasher. Wash clothes in cold water.

Air-dry your dishes using the air-dry cycle or by opening the door.

Keep the dryer from cooling down between loads.

Turn off the range hood and bathroom exhaust fans. They drain the house of heated air in just one hour!

Close the chimney flue. An open flue is like having a window open¾ 24 hours a day!

Seal your windows. Put plastic sheeting on older windows and save a bundle. This is my favorite tip and it really works!

Let the sunshine in. Leave drapes open to catch sunshine during the day and close them at night to keep in the heat.

Keep your garage door closed to keep your house warmer.

Seal your ducts. 40% of your heat is lost through leaks.

Caulk, seal and weather-strip around windows, doors, and baseboards, openings around television cables, dryer vents and plumbing pipes.

Humidify. Humid air feels warmer (think summer) making a 68-degree room will feel like 76 degrees. Set bowls of water near your vents if you don’t have a humidifier.

Program your thermostat or turn it down when you’re not home or you’re sleeping.

Consider closing heat vents downstairs or in baths with no windows.

Move furniture away from registers to ensure proper airflow.

Use your ceiling fan. Yep, even in the winter! Reversing it (clockwise) will create an updraft and recirculate the hot air at the ceiling.

Turn down the heat on your thermostat and water heater when you go on vacation.

Plant trees. Deciduous trees keep your house warm in the winter by letting in sun and evergreen trees serve as windbreakers.

For more tips visit www.nicor.com 

Welcome!

I just wanted to say "hi" and invite you to come here to read about ways to save money--on just about everything!

I love, love, love to save money, and I'd like to share my tips, but I'd also like to hear yours. Let's learn--and save--together!

Saving our Precious Water

Of all of our natural resources, none is more precious than water. We can't live without it. And while the media continually draws the public's attention to the rising cost and consumption of oil and gas, very little attention is given to what will become the most serious resource issue in the next century--the international water shortage.

Flushing our toilets alone accounts for a staggering 40% of our water usage, with the bathroom being where we use a whopping 75% of our water inside the home. With a bit of thought and effort, though, we can save money and be "green" at the same time. Use these tips to save cash and conserve our most precious resource:

Bathroom

• Add food coloring to the toilet tank. If it's leaking, color will appear in the bowl within 30 minutes. Most replacement parts are inexpensive, easily installed, and can save more than 600 gallons per month.
• Place a plastic bottle weighted with pebbles and water in the toilet tank to use less water.
• Install a low-flow showerhead to save more than 500 gallons of water per week.
• Keep showers under 5 minutes to save up to 1000 gallons a month.
• Turn off the water when brushing teeth, shaving, or face washing to save 200 gallons a week for a family of four!

Kitchen

• Install a low-flow faucet aerator to cut water use in half.
• Don't rinse dishes and save 20 gallons of water per dishwasher load.
• Store drinking water in the fridge to avoid running the tap every time you want a cool glass of water.
• Defrost food overnight in the refrigerator or microwave instead of under running water.
• Cook food in as little water as possible to save water and retain nutrients.

Around the house

• Read your water meter before and after a two-hour period when no water is being used. If the meter does not read exactly the same, there is a leak.
• Never put water down the drain. Use it for watering a plant, a garden, or cleaning.
• Insulate water pipes for faster hot water and less waste.
• A faucet dripping at the rate of one drop per second wastes 2,700 gallons per year, so fix it.
• Wash full loads of clothes to save up to 600 gallons each month.