Two Frugal Chicks

Running out of money before the month’s out? Stop overspending, dipping into savings or driving up your credit card balance to make ends meet. Instead, tighten your belt ever-so-slightly with these 8 simple austerity measures.

1. Eat out less. Limit how often you visit restaurants. When you do go, save by choosing BYOB locations and having dessert and coffee at home.
2. Reduce memberships. Get rid of or downgrade DVD-rental or gym memberships as well as cable, cell phone, Internet and plans.
3. Trim transportation costs. It might be time to start a carpool routine with neighbors or co-workers, or consider using public options a couple of days a week.
4. Stretch your grocery dollars. Create a price book and buy food only on sale; cook double meals and freeze them; go meatless two meals a week; make your lunches at home.
5. Save on health care. Ask your doctor for generic medications and fill them through a mail-order pharmacy. If you have a high-deductible policy, use retail family-care centers such as MinuteClinic whenever possible, instead of visiting the doctor.
6. Boost your income. Options include getting a second, part-time job, baby-sitting or selling items online.
7. Lower your living costs. If you can’t bring your expenses below your income, you might need to ditch the second car or rent out a room for a while.
8. Put retirement on hold. It’s OK if you need to reduce or eliminate contributions to your retirement to pay off a credit card or build up emergency funds. But if you have a company match, maintain the minimum contribution so you’re not missing out on free money.
Courtesy of allyou.com .

B-town blog posted a great story about recycling unused drugs. Read about it here.
This is a good opportunity to go through your medicine cabinet and safely dispose of expired/unwanted medictions.
Saturday, April 30, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

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Aww, there’s nothing better than the smell of sheets hung out on the line to dry!  I happen to have a huge rosemary bush that I hang the pillowcases over and they take on just the tiniest hint of rosemary. As soon as the weather starts to warm up just a bit, I’ll be hangin’ the clothes out.  I love the fact that I’m saving on the electricity bill, helping the environment and prolonging the life of my clothes. I read a great tip the other day….hang your shirts on plastic hangers, then put the hangers on the clothesline.  You can fit more clothes on the line and taking them down and putting them away is much quicker. Jeans and towels hung out to dry will become quite stiff but if you put them in the dryer for just a bit they will soften up again.  Another great tip…if you have the type of clothesline like me where you are stringing it across the yard, take it down when you are done.  My son literally “clotheslined” himself one year when I forgot to take it down.  Poor kid, I’ve never forgotten since!.

Common Misconceptions About Couponing

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Frugal living has the most comprehensive guide
Understanding the Lingo-thanks to dealseekingmom

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Read an interesting tip on America’s Test Kitchen this morning.

http://www.cooksillustrated.com/howto/detail.asp?docid=23405&Extcode=L1DN2AA00

I love this show. I’ve heard Christopher Kimball speak a couple times in person and he is a genuinely nice guy..

When I tell people that I am a couponer, they sometimes give me that “deer in the headlight” look.  So, I thought I’d clear up a few of the misconceptions about couponing:

1.  Coupons are only for junk food or for products I wouldn’t buy.  I think this may be the most common misconception.  While there are coupons out there for junk food, the majority are not.  The beauty of it is you get to pick and chose what is right for your own family.  Just because you can get Fruity Pebbles for free doesn’t mean you have to.  I only use coupons for products we already use or for products I’d like to try.  There are coupons being offered for organic products all the time.  Plus, there are tons of coupons for everyday items like toothpaste, deodorant, laundry detergent, hair products, etc., etc.

2.  Couponing is too time consuming.  I will admit that when you first start couponing it can be a time vampire.  Once you find your groove and start learning the lingo and become familiar with your store and the cashiers, it goes much smoother.  ORGANIZATION IS KEY!  You must have everything clipped and know exactly what it is you are going after.  What I do is look at my favorite couponing blogs to see what the deals are.  I also open a Word document in another window.  Then I cut out of the blogs only the items I am interested in and paste them in to my Word doc.  I print my list, gather and clip coupons then head out.

3.  It’s a waste of gas.  That all depends on how much you are saving.  I wouldn’t drive five miles to save a dollar.  But I will drive 10 miles to save $50.  I don’t run around chasing every store’s best deals.  I generally choose the store that has the most/best deals for the things I want.  I also try to kill two birds with one stone by going to stores that are close to each other.  Where I live, Albertsons is not convenient for me, but there happens to be a Rite Aid right next door.  So if I choose to go after Albertsons deals, I also make sure I check out the deals for Rite Aid as well.

4.  Coupons expire too quickly. Coupons have varying expiration dates.  Generally the higher value the coupon, the quicker they expire.  Most coupons last for weeks, sometimes months.  Coupons also tend to expire towards the end of the month.  There is always plenty of time to use coupons before they expire.

5.  Couponers are hoarders.  The Extreme Couponers show has given some people that idea.  As with most anything in life, there are always a few fanatics, but they are by far the minority.  Most of us shop just for our families or donate their excess to their local food banks.  I only buy what my family can use up within a few months.  Most products are on schedules where they go on sale about every three months.

Couponing is like a game, where you get to win every time!.

Interesting article on how to get cheap meat from couponconnectionsnw guest. I get my meat from a farmer in Kent and put it all in my freezer.I love knowing where my meat comes from. But, if you don’t have a farmer you trust or a freezer, then check out the priced to sell items at your grocery store.

Guest Post: How to get Meat for cheap!.