Forget an Ingredient?
Before you waste time and money on another trip to the store, check to see if there's something else than you can use in its place:
Featured Reader: Pat, MA
Name:
Pat from Massachusetts
Your Favorite Source for Bargains:
I check all the sale papers. I also check coupons online.
Your Best Money-Saving Tip:
Don't go into a store unless you need something. If you don't go in, you won't spend. It works for me.
The Worst Money-Saver You Ever Tried:
I saved all my product labels, boxes, etc. for refunding. It took up way too much space!
Black Friday: What Do You Plan to Buy?
We're days away from Black Friday 2009. Have you mapped out where you're headed and what you hope to buy? We want to hear your deal-snatching game plan.
Keep Up with the Latest Deals on the FL Forum:
Photo © Flickr user robholland
Big Bargains and Freebies
There are some good bargains and freebies out there this week. Here are several that you'll want to take advantage of:
- Cash in $40 in coins at a Coinstar machine; opt to have the money put on a gift card; and receive an additional $10 gift card by mail
- Buy any two Orville Redenbacher Gourmet Popping Corn or Poppycock products at Walgreens (in a single transaction), and get a free Redbox rental code on your receipt. Offer good November 22 through January 16
- The December issue of Country Living contains a $5 off $5 Hallmark coupon (It's in the subscriber's edition. I haven't verified if it's in the newstand edition). Be on the lookout for the same coupon in other magazines. Forum members are reporting that it's also in Martha Stewart Living, Real Simple and others
- Get $25 restaurant.com gift certificates for $3 and receive a free $15 gift code from ProFlowers when you use code THANKS. Good through November 26
Know of another great deal? Please tell us about it!
More Bargains
Shorten Your Thanksgiving Grocery List
Busy finalizing your Thanksgiving grocery list? Before you head to the store, take another look in your pantry to see if there are any items that you can eliminate from your list. Poultry seasoning, pumpkin pie spice and pie crust are just a few of the many things that you can whip up from basic pantry staples:
Frugal Thanksgiving Recipes:
Photo © Flickr user PinkMoose
Gift Idea: Snow Paint
Playing in the snow is fun, but do you know what's really fun? Painting snow. Put together a snow paint kit for each of the kids on your holiday gift list, and you're sure to be one popular frugalite:
More Homemade Gifts for Kids:
Featured Reader: Bev, KS
Name:
Bev from Kansas
Forum Membername:
mammahop
Your Favorite Source for Bargains:
Thrift shops, consignment sales and garage sales
Your Best Bargain of All Times:
It's a toss up between a $100 Chevrolet Caprice and our corn stove. The car is used as a work car, but only had 57,000 original miles on it. It gets 18 miles to the gallon, and if need be, could be used as a family car. The corn stove was $1500, and we used $450 worth of corn the first year. We also have a wood stove, but we would have still needed a tank of propane a month. If we had used propane, it would have cost us $2800 a winter to heat the house. Now all we need is to purchase corn every year. The wood is free - it just costs our time.
Gift Idea: Pine Cone Fire Starters
Sometimes the best gifts are the ones that hardly cost anything at all. Take pine cone fire starters for example: there's nothing particularly fancy about them, and yet they manage to be both beautiful and functional.
Take a walk this week to collect pine cones. Then, make some fire starters to give to your friends and family:
Photo © Flickr user TeoJPG
Solar LED Christmas Lights
I've long been a fan of LED Christmas lights and their energy-savings, but now there's something that I like even better: solar LED Christmas Lights. They're every bit as efficient as regular LEDs, but they don't require miles of extension cords to run, and they don't use even a drop of electricity. Pretty cool. The only uncool part? They still cost about $20 a set. Hmm ... maybe I'll wait and stock up during the after-Christmas sales.
What are your thoughts on this newest of new-fangled inventions?
Related Reading:
Photo © Erin Huffstetler
Go Foraging for Nuts
Have some free time this weekend? Then, use it to go foraging for tree nuts. This time of year you should be able to find pecans, walnuts, chestnuts and gingkos.
Related Reading:
Photo © Flickr user cesarastudillo