Monthly Archives: February 2009

4 Tips for Tax Season

February 27, 2009
By

All I know is that I hope that this year’s tax return experience is nothing like last year’s. Not that the pro we used did anything wrong. In fact, he was perfect. It’s just last year we ended up owing a ton of taxes for our 2007 return, because we’d used (stupidly) part of our retirement money to buy this house.

This year we’re hoping for a better tax experience. For starters we didn’t dip into any retirement accounts, and we paid our estimated taxes quarterly. Once 2008 was over, I got all of my 1099s collected and filed. Then we added up the mileage on the car, noted the days spent out of town on business (so we can take the per diem), downloaded our expenses into Quicken, and now we’re just waiting for our tax appointment early next month.

Truth be told, I wanted to have our tax appointment this week, but our guy was booked. Now I know why.

I just got a survey from the National Retail Federation that said this: 71% of Americans who are expecting a refund from their 2008 tax return will have filed their tax return by the end of February. Wow. There must be a lot of business accountants and enrolled agents in America right now.

I thought that one of the most interesting stats from that survey was what people getting a refund plan to do with the money:

  • 48% plan to pay down debt
  • 38.9% will put it in savings
  • 26.7% anticipate they’ll use the money to cover everyday expenses
  • 11% will use the money to make a major purchase, such as a car

More now than ever, Americans are turning to tax professionals to prepare their taxes. However, the largest percentage (31%) rely on tax software to get their tax returns done. (FYI, if you use Turbo Tax and have a uPromise account, you will earn 6% back on your uPromise account when you file online.)

Regardless of how you get your taxes done, here are 4 tips you should keep in mind, now that tax return season is upon us:

  1. If you cut costs by bartering this past year, don’t forget to report the value of your barter agreement on your taxes.(Speaking of bartering, this Associated Press story on bartering, which appeared a day after my barter post, mentioned that barter ads on Craisglist are up 100%. Wow!)
  2. Avoid using services that give you your refund upfront. What you’re really doing is taking a loan against your eventual refund, and you’re paying dearly for it–some companies charge ridiculous interest rates (like 36%) on these refund loans.
  3. Remember: the IRS never calls or emails for personal information. If the IRS needs to get in touch with you with questions about your taxes, you’ll get a letter in the mail. If you get a call or an email asking for personal information, know right away that it’s a scam.
  4. Filing for an extension doesn’t get you out of paying taxes. If you just can’t get your self together to file your taxes by the April 15th deadline, no worries–the IRS is cool with giving you a small extension. You must ask for that extension, though, by April 15th. But if you are going to owe taxes on that previous year’s return, you have to pay your taxes on time or you will begin incurring interest and penalties, starting on April 15th.

Have I missed any important tax tips that will help the frugal minded? If so, post a comment to let me know.

Share

Spruce Up Your Home-Take Two

February 26, 2009
By

Back in September I wrote a post about a “spruce up your home” contest that Rohm and Haas was sponsoring. I just found out that the company has chosen 20 finalists (out of 135 entrants), and now they’d like the public to vote on which house could benefit from a face lift the most–and therefore should be the winner.

This $pruce Up Your Home contest is being done in partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation. And if you’d like to help choose a winner, you can cast your vote online at the Paintquality.com website.

I hope that some of the readers here ended up entering the contest, because it comes with some sweet prizes. The Grand Prize winner will receive a package valued at more than $20,000, which includes up to $12,000 in cash for an exterior house paint job and an $8,000 home improvement gift check. Eight 1st place winners will receive up to $5,000 in cash for an exterior paint job for their home. Each winning family will receive a young spruce tree on behalf of the Arbor Day Foundation. The Arbor Day Foundation will also provide 10,000 trees to the winner’s community through the foundation’s Trees for America program.

So go vote! You could help make a handful of Americans some very happy winners.

Share

5 Tips for Bartering Goods and Services

February 25, 2009
By

I’ve been looking at the photo header on the blog (the pinecones and candle) and feeling like it’s out of date. Well, not only is it out of date since I took it to illustrate a story on free Christmas decorations, but I’m not sure it represents “suddenly frugal” as well as another image might. The image that keeps popping into my head is a change jar, but not any old change jar–a cool, hip change jar.

Yeah, I know, change jars are neither hip nor cool, but that’s where my mind has been going when I think about “What picture says ‘frugal’?” And in my mind a penny pincher is a lot like a frugal person, in that she’s counting her spare change and keep it in a change jar. Whatever. (Do you have another image that screams “Frugal!” If so, let me know what that is.)

Anyway, I tried taking a picture of our change jar–a bunch of coins in a blue mason jar, but I couldn’t get the lighting right so that the jar didn’t wash out or the flash didn’t reflect on the glass. So I gave up.

Then I got to thinking: wouldn’t it be awesome if I could get an illustration of me holding some sort of cool, hip change jar? Yeah, awesome if I had the budget to hire an illustrator, and given the current economy, I simply do not.

The recession aside, I think I may have figured out how I can get my illustration without breaking the bank–I’m going to barter for it.

The last time I bartered with someone was at least two decades ago. There was a design company that offered to create custom stationery and business cards for me if I, in turn, would do some promotional writing for them. Together, we figured out how much the stationery and business cards would cost, and I gave them the same value in writing services.

In some of my wedding books, I suggest bartering as a way of saving money on a celebration. I still tell the story of my friend who bartered with the limousine company that transported her wedding party. In exchange for a free limousine, she wrote a brochure for the company.

It isn’t just writers that can barter for goods and services. This recent Wall Street Journal article describes a number of companies that, when tight on cash, turn to bartering. These businesses range from movers to a refrigeration company.

This article also outlined associations and membership organizations that let companies and individuals set up an account (for a fee), and then deposit and withdraw barter dollars based on services given or received. I don’t know about you, but if I’m going to go through all of the trouble of arranging for a barter deal, I’m going to try to avoid paying for anything at all, the least of which is a membership fee in a barter organization. This Planet Green article, by the way, lists free barter services with which you can register.

So while I consider how I’m going to find an illustrator with whom I can barter my services, I thought I’d share with you these 5 tips you need to keep in mind when bartering goods and services:

1. Understand the value of a barter. Just because you want to barter with someone doesn’t mean that they’ll find value in the services that you have to offer. I’m lucky in that I know how to write and write well. Pretty much every small business needs writing services of one sort or another. The same could be said, in this day and age, for website design or computer programming. So I would imagine someone wanting to offer these kinds of services for barter wouldn’t have trouble finding any takers. Bottom line: make sure you have a service to offer that is potentially as valuable as the service you’re looking to receive.

2. Have a clear idea of what you need ahead of time. Don’t waste your time or anyone else’s by being all wishy washy about what you think you might possibly want via a barter. Come up with a concise description of what service you need and what service you can offer so that when someone asks, you can tell them in a sentence or two. If you hem and haw or sound like a space cadet, no one is going to take you seriously.

3. Do your homework when looking for potential barter partners. Like with most things in business, networking and word-of-mouth recommendations usually pay off in the long run. If, like me, you have a bona fide project for which you want to barter, tell everyone and anyone you know about your needs–and the services you can provide in return. If you belong to a networking organization or a local Chamber of Commerce–even a playgroup with other moms–let them know about your desire to barter as well. Don’t know anyone locally with whom you can barter? Then check places like Craigslist, which has an entire section, under “For Sale,” for bartering.

4. Get it in writing. When you find someone to barter with, make sure you get your agreement in writing. Not only do you want to include the basics of who and what’s involved, but also you should spell out the value of the services and the time line by which it will be completed. Remember, just because you’re giving and getting something for free doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t get a contract for the exchange. This will, hopefully, help you from getting ripped off.

5. Understand the tax implications of bartering. Again, just because you’re getting something for “free,” that doesn’t let you off the tax hook. Here’s how the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) sees bartering:

“If you engage in barter transactions you may have tax responsibilities. You may be subject to liabilities for income tax, self-employment tax, employment tax, or excise tax. Your barter activities may result in ordinary business income, capital gains or capital losses, or you may have a nondeductible personal loss. Barter dollars or trade dollars are identical to real dollars for tax reporting. If you conduct any direct barter – barter for another’s products or services – you will have to report the fair market value of the products or services you received on your tax return.”

This potential tax implication is yet another reason to make sure you keep good records about the give and take of bartering, and why you want to have your agreement in writing. Of course, ask your tax provider how he/she thinks you should handle any bartering done during the tax year. (Note to self: ask my own tax provider this question when we meet to do our taxes next month.)

Do you have additional thoughts on bartering? If so, let me know.

Share

Frugal Wedding Plans More Important Now Than Ever

February 24, 2009
By

When I was spending most of my professional time writing wedding-planning books, I was constantly amazed by how much the average American couple spent on a wedding. In many instances this one-day event would cost more than a starting salary–or at least a starting salary in publishing where I work.

Additionally, I always said that February 14th or Valentine’s Day was one of the most popular days for couples to get engaged. So I guess it shouldn’t surprise me that less than two weeks later, Brides.com has released its latest survey on weddings: the 2009 American Wedding Study.

One shocker the survey uncovered: the average amount spent on an engagement ring has shot up 43 percent–from $4,435 to $6,348.

It seems that with the rest of the wedding plans, brides in 2009 are trending towards a recessionista or frugalista wedding. Well, kind of. I mean, the average cost for a wedding has only risen by less than 1 percent. It’s still a whopping $28,082. And brides are still paying, on average, more than $1,000 for a wedding gown. ($1,075 versus $1,056 previously.) However, the amount spent on wedding rings actually went down–from $2,079 to $1,575. (That’s still too much in my book but that’s just me.)

Since the survey found that more than half of engaged women (58%) expect to use a credit card to help pay for wedding expenses, now more than ever these brides needs some frugal wedding planning ideas. That’s why I’ve decided to rerun below some of the tips from my recent post on frugal weddings.

  1. Think local and in season. If your food and flowers don’t have to travel a great distance to get to your reception, then you won’t pay a premium to get them. Figure out what food is available locally and in season around the time of your wedding, and plan your wedding around them.
  2. Use social media connections to your advantage. Knowing someone in the business is a great way to get a discount on everything wedding related. So as soon as you get engaged, update your Facebook status or your LinkedIn “what are you working on” statement to mention your upcoming nuptials. Feel out family members to see if they might be able to score you some savings on a limo or the band.
  3. Don’t forget about Freecyle or Goodwill. Depending on what you need for your wedding–from ribbons to tablecloths–you just might be able to find it for free from your local Freecycle list. At the same time don’t forget to check in with your local Goodwill or thrift store for affordable options for your wedding, including a gown or bridesmaid dresses.
  4. Do as much virtual planning and inviting as possible. If money is super tight, using Evite instead of a fancy (and expensively) printed invitation can help you keep your budget in line. Don’t want to offend the older generation with virtual invitations? Choose a company with inexpensive options, like VistaPrint to print your invitations. Then save even more money by using a postcard for RSVPs and having your directions online that your guests can print out so you don’t have to pay extra for those to be printed as well.
  5. When in doubt, think Super Bowl Sunday. Moving your wedding to a non-traditional day of the week for a wedding, like Monday or Thursday (unless New Year’s Eve happens to fall one those non-weekend days) can save you a ton of money. Someone once told me that the cheapest day of the year for a wedding is Super Bowl Sunday. (That date is Sunday, February 7, 2010 next year.) Now if you’ve got sport fanatics in your family–your fiance included–this suggestion likely borders on heresy. But if your friends and family couldn’t care less about football, a Super Bowl Sunday wedding might be your biggest frugal option!

Congratulations to all of the newly engaged couples in 2009. I hope you find these tips helpful as you begin planning your big day.

Share

Frugal Winter Workouts Segment on 6abc.com

February 23, 2009
By

I’m featured in this TV segment (syndicated nationally but recently shown on the ABC affiliate in Philadelphia) on frugal winter workouts.

[vodpod id=ExternalVideo.787210&w=425&h=350&fv=station%3Dwpvi%26config%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fa.abclocal.go.com%2Fstatic%2Fflash%2Fmediaplayer%2Fxml%2Fconfig_wpvi.xml%26playlistid%3D6671934%26open%3Dnull%26isVDI%3Dtrue]

more about "Frugal Winter Workouts Segment on 6ab…", posted with vodpod

Share

Reusable Shopping Bag Savings Going Down the Drain

February 23, 2009
By

A few weeks ago I’d written about taking reusable shopping bags with you when you go to the grocery store. Because I wanted to highlight the stores that reward you for bringing your own bag. In response to that post, I started doing some research into exactly which stores gave what kind of benefits. I did this because the information I was getting from everyone but the retailers themselves was conflicting.

I quickly discovered that supermarkets are notoriously private about their business practices. Despite reaching out to all of the major supermarket chains in the United States, I heard back from only two: Hannaford’s and Giant/Martin’s.

Here’s what the Hannaford’s spokesperson told me about the store’s policy. Note: I got this email in January:

“Hannaford currently provides at .05- cent credit per bag when customers bring in re-usable bags. We also have a long-standing policy of collecting any plastic bags customers use and return to our stores. We don’t own any other supermarkets. Hannaford stores operate in New York, Vermont, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine. Our policies are directed more at encouraging re-use and reducing the waste stream of plastic bags. Most customers are telling us that their motivation for bringing reusable bags also is mainly about reducing the waste stream. On the savings side of things, they express the greatest interest in  weekly sale specials and private brand products, such as Hannaford brand and Nature’s Place organic and natural foods.”

The Giant/Martin’s spokesperson sent me this message:

“Until 2007, we offered a Bring Your Own Bag program which gave customers a 3-cent refund for reusing their own bags. The BYOB program was not widely used by customers and, therefore, was discontinued in favor of the broader appeal of an affordable, reusable option. Customers can still bring their own bags with them when they shop but they don’t receive an additional discount when they do. You might be interested to know that we continue to encourage our customers to recycle their plastic bags as well. There are plastic recycling bins in the vestibules of all of our stores. Giant works with Trex to turn customers’ old plastic bags into park benches. Since 1997, we have donated more than 1,300 park benches to fire departments, churches, schools, parks, playgrounds and libraries to help beautify local communities.”

Now I just discovered that Hannaford Brothers has stopped giving a bag credit all together. For the time being they are handing out their reusable shopping bags for free (they normally cost $.99) to customers that are already using reusable bags. But the financial benefit of bringing your own bag to Hannaford’s is no more.

Whether or not it’s worth it to you to bring your own bag, if you do take a plastic bag, please recycle it in the collection bins you see outside of supermarkets. For example, Giant works with Trex (as mentioned above) to turn those bags into building materials. If you ever wondered exactly what came of all that, consider these stats from Trex itself:

  • 600 million – Pounds of plastic and wood scrap that Trex salvages and keeps out of landfills each year
  • 1.5 billion – Recycled grocery bags used to manufacture Trex products each year

According to Trex, the average 500-square-foot composite Trex deck contains about 140,000 recycled plastic bags.

Now that’s pretty cool.

I have a feeling that the following is going to happen in the near future: instead of rewarding us for bringing our own bags, all retailers are going to follow in IKEA’s footsteps and start charging for you to take a bag, like Washington DC is considering doing. Once people have to start paying for their own bags, they’ll figure out real fast that bringing their own bags is the most economical way to get your groceries home. Then again there’s always empty boxes, like the kind you pick up at BJs and Costco.

Share

Other DIY Cleaners

February 19, 2009
By

For more ideas on making your own household cleaners, check out this post called “That Squeaky Clean Feeling” over at the Recycle Raccoon. There are a number of DIY cleaners you can try in this post, including an all-purpose spray using either lemon juice or vinegar and a “soft scrub” scouring agent using baking soda.

Share

Suddenly Frugal: The Book

February 19, 2009
By

Just wanted to share this good news with all of the readers of my blog about the book I’m now working on. This blurb ran in a book publishing trade yesterday:

NON-FICTION: LIFESTYLE
Leah Ingram’s SUDDENLY FRUGAL, based on the author’s blog, the book will help readers identify small, painless changes they can make to their daily habits that can add up to big savings while bringing them closer as a family, to Meredith O’Hayre at Adams Media, for publication in October 2009, by Adam Chromy at Artists and Artisans (World).

The book itself is due to the publisher on April 1st (that’s no April Fool’s joke) and will be in bookstores around the time that kids go back to school in the fall.

Share

4 Easy Steps for DIY Laundry Detergent

February 19, 2009
By

dsc00023I always try to do inventory of the house before I go grocery shopping. In the past when I haven’t done this, I’ll come home with, say, two bottles of maple syrup, only to discover I already had two bottles in the pantry.

The same is true with checking other household goods. That’s why I’m glad I checked in the laundry room before heading out to the store earlier this week to go food shopping. I picked up the bottle of liquid laundry detergent and gave it a shake–there was barely anything in it. OK, I thought, now is the perfect time to finally experiment with making your own laundry detergent.

I’d read about this practice of DIY laundry detergent on a number of blogs and websites, including Frugal Dad, who said that homemade laundry detergent wasn’t for him. I’d seen recipes for liquid detergent (some involved boiling your DIY laundry detergent on the stove; no thanks) and recipes for dry detergent.

Since the dry detergent seemed to be the easiest to make, I figured I’d give it a go. So that night I went shopping, I added the three ingredients I would need to make my own laundry detergent to my shopping list:

  1. Arm and Hammer Washing Soda
  2. 20 Mule Team Borax
  3. Bar of Fels-Naptha Soap

Thankfully, I was able to find all three items at my local supermarket in the laundry aisle.

At first I’d looked for the washing soda in the bakery aisle, because I figured baking soda? washing soda? Must be the same thing. But it’s not.

I’m already a huge fan of Borax for its stain-removing abilities so I knew where to find with the commercial laundry detergents.

And right above the Borax were the bars of Fels-Naptha Soap. My take on Fels-Naptha stuff is that it is like an old-school stain-removal stick except it comes in bar form.

Once I got the stuff home, making the laundry detergent was pretty easy. My plan was to store everything in a reusable Rubbermaid 10-cup container with a lid. So as I went through the steps below, I just dumped the ingredients (shown below) right into this tub.

dsc00022

  1. 2 parts washing soda (I did this quite literally and started with two cups of washing soda)
  2. 2 parts Borax (again, the literal approach with two cups)
  3. 1 part grated or chopped Fels-Naptha soap (I’d read that some people put the soap in a food processor to get it into tiny bits; I just got out my cheese grater and put it to work)
  4. Mix all ingredients (I put the top on the container and gave it a couple of shakes. I could have stirred it with a spoon)
  5. Do laundry (I dropped a 1/4 cup measuring spoon into the container for doling out the detergent. Most of the recipes I’d read recommended using anything from 3 tablespoons to 4 tablespoons of detergent in the wash. I figured why not just measure out the 1/4 cup–which equals 4 tatablespoons–and be done with it)

It took me five minutes only to put this all together. Really, only five minutes. Grating the soap is what took the longest.

I have a top loading washing machine (came with the house), so I’ve gotten in the habit of pouring/dumping my laundry detergent in first and letting the tub fill before adding the clothes. Waiting like this allows the detergent to dissolve. In the past I could usually tell that the dissolving was occurring because I could see bubbles. With DIY laundry detergent? Not so much. Actually, not at all. And that had me worried.

But I dumped in my first load of clothes, let it run its course and came back when I heard the washing machine turn off.

Everything looked clean. And everything smelled clean. I figured, OK, this might just work. And I tossed the wet clothes in the dryer for five minutes to get out the excess water (like I always do), and then started hanging up the items one by one to dry.

I started a second load, then a third and now here I am, four days later, and you know what I’ve discovered? This stuff works.

The only problem is that we, as Americans, have been brainwashed–no brainwashed is too strong a term but it’s a good pun since I’m talking about laundry right–or led to believe that the more bubbles in a cleaning product, the better.

Bubbles=clean.

And when you’re using DIY laundry detergent, you just don’t have the bubbles. And you need to get over that.

Besides, here’s the upside to my DIY laundry detergent experiment:

  1. I made my own laundry detergent. (How cool is it to be able to say that?)
  2. I spent about $6 in the process, and I imagine that this laundry detergent is going to last me a long, long time–much longer than $6 spent on a commercial brand would.

The one downside to my DIY dry detergent? Since I’m still scarred by those “ring around the collar” Wisk commercials from the 1970s, I’m pretty anal about trying to get those rings out of my husband’s work shirts. In the past I would pour the liquid detergent on the “ring” and then sprinkle some Borax on it. Usually just water and Borax didn’t do the trick, which is why I added the liquid detergent to the mix. So when Bill’s shirts came out of the laundry yesterday–and hadn’t been pre-treated–the ring was still there. I considered investing in a small bottle of liquid Tide, just to keep on hand.

But then I thought, wait! Maybe I should try rubbing the Fels-Naptha soap on those rings.

With the next load, I’ll have to give that a try. And I’ll let you know how that goes.

Share

Back on the Wagon with Meal Planning

February 18, 2009
By

I appreciate all of the comments to my post earlier this week about falling off the frugal wagon. I’m pleased to report that the horses have been hitched up, and we’re back on the frugal wagon, and moving ahead at a steady pace. The first way that I got my family back on track was making sure that I got serious about meal planning again.

It’s not that I wasn’t meal planning before, but I wasn’t writing down the meals I planned to make. I was just winging it. It’s the same with counting points on Weight Watchers. You can write down every single point you eat, measure your portions and keep on track. Or you can wing it, and then you wonder why your jeans are getting tight.

Before I went food shopping earlier this week–and hubby came along to help; thanks, Bill!–I wrote down the meals I wanted to make for the week. I did this based on recipes I’d pulled lately as well as what was on sale at the grocery store (chicken breasts for $.99 per pound). Then I made my list.

So here’s what we’re having this week that will help keep us on the frugal track:

  • Maple Dijon Chicken in the Crock Pot (This is crossed off because we had this last night. I got this recipe off the A Year of CrockPotting blog. By the way that blog’s founder Stephanie O’Dea will be on “Good Morning America” to Crock-Pot on Thursday morning (tomorrow).
  • Breakfast for dinner
  • Moroccan Chicken Stew with Cous Cous (I got this recipe from the March 2009 issue of Fitness, one of the magazines I subscribe to–as opposed to buy on the newsstand–as a way of saving money. I suspect I may have to boil pasta for my kids this night. This may be too way out there for them.)
  • Pork or chicken stir fry (also from Fitness; their recipe calls for pork but I might use up the chicken instead)
  • Grilled chicken over greens (this is so simple to make; I just use my George Forman Grill to grill the breasts without leaving the house)
  • Homemade pizza (for this we buy two balls of dough from the local pizzeria, at $2 a pop, and use our own sauce and shredded cheese for the toppings. It’s probably cheaper to make our own pizza dough, but the stuff from the restaurant is so much better and, frankly, easier.)
  • Pasta with turkey meatballs

Really, drawing up this list of possible dinners wasn’t that difficult. And now I’ve got a guide to work from for the rest of the week.

I know that some people have written to me to say that I should try to serve more vegetarian options to save money, but that doesn’t work for us. We don’t eat red meat, which is my contribution to the quasi-vegetarian movement. I realize that this is really quasi since we’re eating chicken, but beans just don’t fly at my house–unless their Bush’s vegetarian baked beans (ironic, I know) served with turkey dogs.

Share

Practice Sustainability, Win $5,000

February 17, 2009
By

I just got the heads up that time is running out to enter the Just Do One video contest. The winning video entry will receive a cash prize of $5,000.00.  We all know someone who could use $5,000.00 right now, right?

Entering is simple. Just take a 3 minute video of you, your friends, your family or anyone you know doing one act of sustainability.  Not sure what that qualifies as sustainable?

Here are some video ideas:

·   Buying organic food & wine from Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, etc.
·   Setting up a compost bin
·   Packing groceries in canvas totes rather than plastic bags
·   Dressing the family in organic clothing
·   Cleaning the babies room/house/automobile/boat/garage with eco-friendly cleaning products
·   Turning off the lights when leaving the house
·   Car pooling
·   Driving a hybrid vehicle
·   Video clip from a green baby shower/green wedding/green Christmas party

These are all simple ideas that help save our planet. They might just save you–and you–some dough, too.

The deadline to enter is March 1, 2009 and the winner will receive press coverage leading up to Earth Day–good for any entrepreneurs or small-business owners that read this blog.

Good luck!

Share

Falling Off the Frugal Wagon

February 15, 2009
By

I guess like any behavior change, once in awhile you fall off the wagon. I feel like this weekend, we fell way off the frugal wagon.

For starters, my kids have had a mini winter break (read: no school) for the past five days. That means that we’ve had a lot of time to fill.

So on Friday, when my daughters asked to go to the movies and bring a friend, I said, “OK.” I hate paying for movies when I can get a movie at home for the four of us to watch via On Demand for about $5.

While we did manage to see a matinee–tickets were $7 for them, $8 for me instead of $9.25 for them and $10.25 for me–we chose to go see “Coraline” in 3D, which added an extra dollar or so to the ticket price. Yeah, great, I got to pay about a buck extra for a pair of crappy, plastic 3D glasses that I just recycled after the movie was over. (OK, it’s a good thing they had a recycling box right there in the theater.)

We happened to go to the movies across from our local mall, and before we knew it, we were hungry. We’d managed to avoid the concession stand at the movies. I’m sure that helped us to avoid spending as much as the $32 we’d spent on movie tickets. But we were hungry nonetheless. So five dinners in the food court, and now we were out another $30.

Then today, my daughter wanted to go bowling with a friend. And before I knew it, not only was I going but so was her friend’s mom and the little sister. Truthfully, it was great to get out and be able to hang out with another adult for a couple of hours–and kicking everyone’s butt in bowling didn’t hurt either. (I bowled a 127 and 133.) And at least the other mom and I split the cost of bowling, somewhat, so that I only shelled out $15.

But then everyone was hungry again, and we were sort of in that no man’s land between lunch and dinner. The nearest option for us was a Panera Bread, and, bam, there went $16 from my wallet.

Finally, on the way home from bowling/Panera, my husband checked in. He was on his way back from taking my older daughter to her softball lessons and feeling hungry. Hearing that we’d just grabbed a bite to eat at Panera, he decided to stop and get food for the two of them. He ended up overbuying and bringing home take out for us, which cost about $50. Ridiculous, I know.

Oh and did I mention that my jeans are feeling tight, too? It feels like nothing is going right these past few days.

What hasn’t helped in all of this going out and spending money is this: we discovered another dead mouse in our kitchen.

Two weeks ago we’d noticed this odd yet repulsive smell that did not go away when we took out the garbage. A day or so of sniffing around, and we realized that there must be something dead behind the dishwasher. Once we unhooked the dishwasher and pulled it out, we found the furry gray rotting fiend that was stinking up our kitchen. Then, three days ago, the smell returned, but this time it seemed to be coming from the range. We haven’t figure out how to move the range to check on exactly where the culprit is, though in researching the range I did discover that it’s a Hotpoint Hallmark Range/Double Oven from 1968. Holy cow, that’s 41 years ago. And we discovered that sprinkling Arm & Hammer baking soda in the area that you think is housing a stinky dead mouse helps to mask the smell.

Anyway, we’ve torn apart the kitchen looking for telltale mouse signs (yup, we found droppings) and, quite frankly, we’ve been a bit grossed out at the prospect of another mouse in the kitchen. And we’re grossed out about actually cooking in the kitchen. So we’ve been avoiding the kitchen all together.

So along with climbing back on the frugal wagon tomorrow, Monday, so we can get our spending back in check–and cleaning my kitchen top to bottom so I can put it back together and get back on the meal-planning/cooking-at-home wagon–I’m also climbing back on the Weight Watchers wagon. I may not start going back to meetings (can’t justify the weekly expense), but I’m pretty sure I’m going to start tracking Points on my own.

Let me know about some instances where you’ve fallen off the frugal (or whatever) wagon, and what tips and tricks you’ve used for getting back and staying on it.

P.S. Regarding Weight Watchers, if you haven’t already done so, you should sign up for Hungry Girl’s e-newsletter. It delivers delicious food ideas and options, all of which come with a Weight Watchers Points values. Love ya, Hungry Girl!

Share

2 Quick Friday Frugal Tips

February 13, 2009
By

Here are 2 quick tips for your Friday.

The first has to do with the Postal Service. As we know from my recent post on paying bills online, more Americans are sending money electronically via online banking. This means that fewer people are buying and using stamps. And the United States Postal Service is hurting because of it. No wonder, then, that postage is going up yet again, this time in May. That is, on May 11, the price for a first-class stamp goes up to 44 cents, from 42 cents. This comes almost exactly one year after the USPS raised the price of a first-class stamp to 42 cents in 2008.

The good news is that the USPS will continue to sell the “Forever” stamp–and you will be able to continue using these “Forever” stamps (which do not have a price denomination on them) after the price changes. So if you stock up now at 42 cents, you’ll be saving 2 cents with each letter you send from May 11 forward.

My second frugal tip is something I discovered when I had exchanged “tweets” with the Quaker Oats person over on Twitter. (I’m @leangreenmom, by the way.) I’d always wondered if, in a pinch, you could use rolled oats for breading chicken when you were out of bread crumbs. So I asked this question on Twitter, and got back an affirmative answer, along with a link to a chicken recipe for “Spicy Oat Crusted Chicken with Sunshine Sals” using Quaker oats. This looks delicious, and I’m going to have to add it to my meal-planning list for next week. I surely don’t have to add Quaker Oats to my shopping list, though–I’ve got two tubs of it to use up.

Share

Recycle Cell Phones for Valentine's Day

February 12, 2009
By

I know, I know, you’re probably wondering what the heck recycling your cell phone has to do with Valentine’s Day. Well, consider this.

Everyone thinks about relationships on Valentine’s Day–the relationship they’re in, the relationship they wish they had or the relationship that they’re just getting over. But did you ever stop to think about the relationship that no one wants to be in?

That would be an abusive relationship. Sadly, 1 out of 3 American women report having been abused at some point in their lifetime, and nearly 1 in 5 full-time, employed adults report they have been a victim. There is a way you can help those caught in abusive relationships–by donating your cell phone, battery or wireless accessories to the Verizon Wireless HopeLine Phone Recycling Program.

So this Valentine’s Day, when you go out to pick up some chocolate for your sweetie (or yourself), why not make a trip to your local Verizon Wireless store and drop off any old cell phones, batteries or accessories you no longer need? By donating these items (which can come from any wireless provider, FYI), you can help support victims of domestic violence. Proceeds from the program go towards providing wireless phones and cash grants to local shelters and non-profit organizations that focus on domestic violence prevention and awareness.

If you don’t live near a Verizon Wireless store, you can ship the phones to Verizon for free. Simple download and print the free, postage-paid label from the Verizon Wireless website, and adhere it a box/envelope. (Please be sure to review all shipping instructions carefully and include a return address on the label.) I’ve got two cracked-in-half Razr phones sitting on my coffee table. Maybe my gift to someone else this Valentine’s Day is shipping those phones off to Verizon Wireless’s HopeLine.

Share

Bummed About Magazine Slump

February 11, 2009
By

We got one of those letters in the mail the other day. The one that announces that the magazine we’d been subscribing to was folding/going under. And in its place we would be getting another magazine.

In this case it was CosmoGirl that was folding, and Hearst, which publishes CosmoGirl, would be sending my daughter Seventeen in its place. Only problem–we’ve already have a subscription to Seventeen. At least I won’t be getting duplicates, though, but rather a longer subscription to Seventeen (or so the letter says).

Last year I started getting Martha Stewart Living because Blueprint folded, and know I hear that Conde Nast has shuttered Domino, another magazine to which I subscribe. I wonder what I’ll be getting in its place?

Here’s more depressing news about the magazine industry–525 magazines went out of business in 2008. I wonder how many will go under in 2009? The one bright spot? The bridal category is booming. That’s good news for me since I’ve got lots of weddings articles I own the rights to and sell as reprints. Perhaps I should start doing mailings to regional wedding magazines offering my writing wares. (Let me know if you’ve got any connections.)

In the meantime, I’m still going to love my magazines and continue to subscribe to them–which, by the way, is the most frugal way to be a magazine reader. If you pay at the newsstand or the checkout counter, you pay through the nose. But if you pay upfront for a subscription, you can cut your annual magazine costs in half, if not more. Of course, you could always just read magazines at the library for free, but that doesn’t work with someone like me. I’m a reader who wants to peruse the pages before bed or tear out articles or recipes I can try later. And I don’t think the library would like me snoozing in the reading room or destroying their magazines just to get a recipe.

How do you enjoy magazines on your frugal budget?

Share

4 Ways to Save Money and (Almost) Not Notice It

February 10, 2009
By

I just came across this blog posting “4 Ways to Save Money and (Almost) Not Notice It.” Not only is there some good, basic money-saving advice in this posting but also it recommends this blog. (Guess I’m a sucker for sucking up.)

And since we’re talking about doing something with an “almost” result, here’s a link to last summer’s post on how to get something for (almost) nothing (read: free) via the Internet.

Share

10 Cheap Dates for Valentine's Day

February 10, 2009
By

My husband and I had our usual exchange today as we do before every Hallmark holiday.

Him: “What do you want to do for Valentine’s Day?”

Me: “Nothing. You?”

Him: “Nothing. Good, we’re on the same page.”

Call it 16 years of marriage complacency or the fact that we don’t feel the need to profess our love for one another with a gift and an outing, just because of a date on the calendar. But my husband and I just aren’t big into these forced gift-giving, card-sending situations.

That’s why I really liked these 10 cheap date ideas, courtesy of the Debt Diva. These are right up my alley because, truly, we could use these ideas on February 14th or any other day of the year when we want to hang out together.

Here they are–enjoy!

1.       Romantic Dinner: Have a nice candlelit dinner at home. Cooking at home costs much less than going to fancy restaurant. Dress up in something nice and make something new.
2.       Treasure Hunt: Create a map and go to all your special places or favorite spots. Hide a little gift at the end to wrap it all up.
3.       Day of Fun: Since Valentine’s falls on a Saturday this year, you can plan a whole day of activities, which could include breakfast in bed, a day at the park, a movie marathon and a romantic dinner.
4.       Movie Marathon: Movies are a great way to spend time together cuddled up on the couch. Pick movies that are special to you both or find something you each like and want to share with one another. Another idea is to watch home videos to bring back memories from your wedding or kid’s younger years.
5.       Live Music: Check out a concert in your town that you both enjoy. There are also local cover bands that play music of a favorite artist at an inexpensive venue or even for free.
6.       Wine Tasting: Many vineyards offer a tasting for around $10. This is a romantic fun way to spend the day. If you make a purchase at the end, many vineyards will even apply the tasting fee to the product.
7.       Relax: Take the day to spend relaxing together at a bookstore, a coffee shop or even at home. Sometimes you just need to rest and know you are there for each other.
8.       Take a scenic drive: Drive to special place or get out of town for the day. Talk and reminisce about good times.
9.       Do a second “first date”: Ask all the get to know you questions. Give yourself a low budget and have some fun doing the things you did when you first met.
10.   Dance: Take a slow dance at home after dinner or find somewhere free to dance the night away later in the evening.

Share

7 Ways to Reuse Toilet Paper Rolls

February 9, 2009
By

Yesterday was unseasonably warm for February. We were outside playing without jackets on, and I even had the windows open at one point. Which made me kind of sad when I came in to my living room and looked at my fireplace. Soon enough it was going to be spring, and another season of making fires would be over. Sure, I’d like longer days and warmer weather, but I really love having a crackling fire going on a chilly night. Also, I love having my fireplace as an outlet for reusing cardboard rolls from inside toilet paper. As I discovered last year, if you stuff these rolls with dryer lint, you’ve got an awesome firestarter.

While I could always just recycle the toilet paper rolls with my cardboard, I really like the notion of reusing them instead. I mean, when it comes to the 3 Rs of reduce, reuse and recycle, reuse is the one that you should really be shooting for. Yes, recycling items is great, but if you can reuse what you’ve already got in new and creative ways, you keep items out of the waste stream and you might just save yourself some dough.

With that in mind I started to brainstorm additional ways you might reuse cardboard rolls from toilet paper and paper towels. It’s a topic I’d covered before but, like with Freecycle etiquette, I thought it would be a good idea to revisit it. So here are my 7 ways to reuse cardboard tubes like you’d find inside toilet paper and paper towel rolls.

1. Cord control. You can buy these fancy cord contraptions in the store that funnel all of your electrical cords in a single line so that you don’t have tangles under your desk. Well, a cardboard tube can do the same and for free. True, the cardboard version isn’t as pretty but at least it’s free and functional.

2. Art projects. I’m sure someone with a young and creative mind can figure out a way to turn cardboard tubes into a robot or guitar or another kind of musical instrument. I would recommend maybe stockpiling these rolls for awhile, then giving them away to a teacher your know or via an “offer” listing on Freecyle.

3. Seed starters. With spring right around the corner, you can use old cardboard tubes as seed starters. This article on eHow explains how to transform these tubes into little pots for your future garden.

4. Holiday decorations and storage. I’ve heard of people making Christmas wreaths from toilet paper rolls, creating Christmas crackers out of them and, as I wrote about previously, using them as a frugal storage idea for holiday lights.

5. Plastic bag storage. Yeah, I know, we’re all supposed to be bringing our reusable bags to the supermarket, but sometimes you forget (slap on the wrist) and you end up with a plastic bag or two. So why not take an old cardboard tube, stuff some plastic bags in it, then place it in the trunk of your car? Now you’ll never be without a go-to garbage bag when you need to clean out the car or take the dog for an impromptu walk.

6. Eyeglasses case. OK, so I don’t expect that a cardboard roll is really going to protect my eyeglasses from getting destroyed (though this craft project on Green Daily is quite pretty). But you know what? If I had a toilet paper tube on my nightstand–and I slipped my eyeglasses in it each night before turning out the lights–I would probably have an easier time finding my glasses in the morning. You see, my glasses are frameless and when I’m not wearing them and am looking for them, they blend into my nightstand. But a cardboard tube? That would probably stand out. Speaking of stand I would recommend standing the tube on its end to hold your glasses. Otherwise, they might roll off and onto the floor and then it will be CRUNCH in the morning.

7. Rodent playground. I don’t own any rodents, but I understand from people who have them that toilet paper and paper towel rolls make great makeshift Habitrails for gerbils, hamsters and mice. Then, I guess, when they tire of their playland, they can chew them to bits.

Have I missed any reuses?

Share

Recycle Ink Cartridges, Get Cash Back

February 6, 2009
By

For the longest time Staples had a deal with Hewlett-Packard and a few other companies that offered this: if you brought in an empty one of that brand ink or toner cartridge to Staples for recycling, Staples would give you a coupon for money off your next purchase of an ink or toner cartridge.

Now it seems that Staples is giving you $3 back on any brand cartridge you bring in for recycling. Of course the catch is that you have to be a Staples Rewards member to get this $3 “refund”, and that refund arrives in the form of a rewards check. And you’re limited to recycling 10 cartridges per month.

But signing up for Staples Rewards is free, so why not do it? And even if you did have 10 cartridges to recycle, that would be $30 back in your pocket (eventually) just for doing right by Mother Earth.

Share

8 Simple Rules For Using Freecycle

February 6, 2009
By

One of the fun things about running a blog is keeping track of stats. That is, the statistics that show not only how many people read my blog daily but also what websites are linking to my blog–and leading readers here–and what search terms people used that eventually had them showing up at Suddenly Frugal.

I’m guessing that lots of folks have been cleaning out their basements, attics and garages, and giving stuff away on Freecycle and Craigslist. Why? Because I’m seeing lots of traffic from search terms having to do with Freecycle etiquette.

Last year I did a do’s and don’ts post about using Freecycle and Craigslist. Now seemed like a good time to revisit the topic of Freecycle etiquette but with a slightly different take on things.

FYI, I really do know what I’m talking about when it comes to the etiquette of anything–I’m a certified etiquette and protocol consultant, courtesy of the Protocol School of Washington, and I’m the author of The Everything Etiquette Book.

That said, here are my 8 Simple Rules for Using Freecycle (or Craigslist):

1. Freecycle isn’t about window shopping
It’s easy to think of Freecycle as a bargain, free-f0r-all. I mean, everything is free, literally. But that doesn’t mean that you should respond or window shop with every “offer” post that shows up on your Freecycle list. When people do this, it ends up making it difficult for everyone involved to get rid off their stuff. Case in point: recently we cleaned out my office, got me a new desk, and put the old one up as an “offer” on Freecycle. When the first person responded, I let her know that she would need to get to my home within 24 hours to pick up the desk. Guess what? 36 hours later when I still hadn’t heard from her and she hadn’t shown up, I gave the desk to the second person who’d responded to my Freecycle ad. I guess she was just window shopping for a desk.

2. People who use Freecycle are not your personal shoppers.
When you respond to a Craigslist “for sale” ad or something being given away for free on Freecycle, it is your job as the interested party to get the desired item in a timely manner. To respond to an ad, then say, “Oh, I’m going out of town tomorrow; can you hold it for a week” or “Gas is too expensive; can you meet me somewhere halfway?” is just not cool. These people are not your personal shoppers and shouldn’t be at your beck and call. You should be bending over backwards to pick that item up in a timely and hassle-free manner.

3. There’s nothing wrong with putting time limits in your “offer” ad
Recently, we were getting rid of some pretty big pieces of furniture, and I did not want them cluttering up my house any longer than they had to. That’s why when I posted them on Craigslist, I put in my ad “Only respond if you can come to my home by Friday of this week.” Twelve hours after I posted the ad, I got an email from someone who wanted to come by to get one of the items in the ad. Six hours later, he was here, the piece was gone, and my house was a little less cluttered.

4. Freecycle doesn’t mean trash so don’t give away crap.
While the thinking behind Freecycle is that one person’s trash can become another person’s treasure, that doesn’t mean that you should waste people’s time putting actual trash out for grabs. Sure, there are so-called “curb alerts” that people post from time to time, which basically is carte blanche to go dumpster-diving when someone puts out the trash. However, most people assume that others will have good intentions when using Freecycle and will only offer up decent items that someone can truly use or at least find useful.

5. When posting an offer, it’s a good idea to include a picture.
When you shop online, you really want to see something before you buy it. Well, Freecycle and Craigslist are no different. I’ve found that when I’ve been in a rush and posted an offer without a picture, I didn’t get a lot of responses to my Freecycle offers. However, if I was able to upload a picture–especially if I’m using Craigslist–stuff just flies out the door. Think about it this way: if you sell stuff on eBay to make some extra bucks, then you know that having a picture always ends up with your item getting more bids.

6. Price responsibly when trying to make some cash by selling on Craigslist.
Before we moved I sold all of my kids’ toddler toys, which had been taking up space in our basement but surely didn’t need to move with us (the girls were 10 and 12 by then). When I put an ad on Craigslist for a Fisher-Price toy box, I didn’t expect to get anything near what I paid for it. So I priced it at $10 and, bam, it sold. I also sold file cabinets ($10 each) and a worn-out leather couch (a college student got it for $30 for his frat house). Craigslist ≠ estate auction.

7. There are not givebacks or returns with Freecycle or Craigslist.
Have you heard the phrase caveat emptor? It means buyer beware. That saying applies perfectly to getting stuff for free on Freecycle or for dirt cheap on Craigslist. You get something, it’s yours. You don’t get a return policy or a warranty. And you’ve got to live with the outcome. For example, last year, I figured out how to get gardening goods for free by posting a “wanted” ad on Freecycle. That had me going to people’s yards with my shovel in hand, and digging up plants and bushes that they no longer wanted. Like this one family that was putting in a fence and was going to have to pay someone to take out their Rose-of-Sharon bushes. Nope. I did it for them. Now, is it their problem that when I got home, replanted the Rose-of-Sharon, and they all died? Nope. It was the risk I took in getting plants for free.

8. Just be nice in whatever dealings you have with people.
You know that little thing called karma? Yeah, well, I think that in situations like Freecycle, it really is important to keep karma in mind. You are doing something good for someone by giving them something for free–or taking something off their hands for free–and there’s no reason to be high-maintenance about the transaction. Smile, say, “Thank you,” and I’m confident that karma will come back to reap her rewards on you in one way or another in the near future.

Share