Frugal Living Today

Another day, another frugal holiday tip for my dear readers.  Today’s tip is all about decorating your home for Christmas on the cheap.

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I should start by saying that the entire concept of the holidays is beyond me.  What was once a spiritual and religious celebration has turned into a decadent spending orgy with the only true winners being the credit card companies who are charging ridiculous interest rates on all those ridiculous expenditures you just made.  If you think the U.S. is in a financial crisis right now, wait until January when the first of the credit card bills start pouring in.

If I have said this once I have said it a million times - if you don’t have it, don’t spend it.   It really is a simple concept, I just don’t understand why so many people find it difficult to grasp.

Credit is not money.  Credit is debt.  Stop using credit unless you can afford to pay the entire balance when the next bill comes in.

There is nothing more frustrating than spilling something and not know anything about stain removal, or just not having the right commercial product on hand to take care of the problem immediately.  What did we do before there were thousands of stain removal products on the market, back when we couldn’t shout it out?  Here are a few of my own personal stain removal tips to get you stain-free in no time using items you probably already have on hand. Continue Reading »

Michael’s Notes: I came across these ideas in a book of helpful hints that I’ve had on the  shelf for years and I couldn’t believe how common sense it seemed.  This was definitely one of those “why didn’t I think of that” moments and since I’ll be putting up my tree after Thanksgiving, I’m going to give them a try.

Lighting The Way - Two great frugal ideas for Christmas Decorating!

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Beginning on Black Friday - that’s the traditional biggest shopping day of the year he Friday after Thanksgiving for you non-Americans - I will be posting frugal Christmas tips all the way through the holiday season.  Let’s not forget that Hanukkah starts on December 21st this year, so I’ll be sharing what I can to help our Jewish friends have a frugal holiday season as well.

Let’s start with this - a pre-release of WalMart’s Black Friday Sales Circular so you can plan your shopping a little bit early this year:

As you can see there are quite a few really good bargains at good ol’ Walmart this year (as usual), but many of these sales are only between 5 and 11 am on Black Friday and you need to bear in mind that each store has a limited supply of the items in the sales circulars so if it is very important that you get one you’re going to have to brave the crowds and stand (or sit) in line for several hours to ensure your place at the checkout with the perfect gifts.

I readily admit to being a coffee addict.

I know it isn’t good for me and I am well aware of the negative implications of any addiction, but it is what it is and without my morning coffee I am not an easy person to get along with.  Even worse is the addition of the knowledge that I am a bit of a coffee snob as well, meaning that if the coffee isn’t really good I don’t even want to bother.  note:  this does not imply that there aren’t some good coffee brands that are also inexpensive, only that I am really picky.

I also happen to like good deals (as if you weren’t already aware of that by now!), so imagine my joy when it is brought to my attention this morning that Dunkin’ Donuts is giving away free samples of their coffee.  It appears as though samplers had a choice between original and Dunkin’ Dark in the beginning but I arrived late to the party so I was left to choose from Dark and Dark.  The good news is that I really like dark coffees!

To get your free sample, click the image link below:    

I have been watching the goings on in Washington D.C. and on Wall Street with a great deal of interest over the past few months and I have come to only one conclusion - we need a recession. Before you set your phasers on “stun” and leave terrible comments allow me to explain myself.

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