A few years ago, some of my relatives requested a gift card from a chain movie rental store for Christmas. I was happy to oblige, and as I was standing in the store purchasing the gift card, I realized my husband and I have not rented a movie from a traditional video rental store —…
There are a lot of ways to pay for entertainment, be it cable or a vacation. But sometimes you may not have the money, or you may not want to spend the money. Chances are, there are some free (or really cheap) entertainment options in your area and you may not even know about them….
I recently discovered Oui French Style Yogurt by Yoplait. It’s a smooth, creamy yogurt that tastes great and is sold in a glass jar or pot with a foil lid. A lot of consumers like the glass jars because they are novel and better for the environment compared to typical plastic yogurt cups. You can…
I’m frugal and conservation-minded, preferring to save money and resources — and reduce waste — whenever I can. As a result, there are some things I never buy or only buy on rare occasions. 1. Fabric Softener I find that often my clothes are fine without using fabric softener. I sometimes use it during the…
I once held a $200,000 lottery ticket. It was many years ago. A friend of mine ran a work pool that would regularly buy Powerball tickets … and one time, one of the group’s tickets matched 5 numbers in the Powerball lottery. At the time, the payout was $200,000. When he told me this story,…
My husband and I live a frugal lifestyle, and our children request some things that I say no to because they are not essential or because they are too expensive. However, I can bend our budgeting rules at several children’s resale shops in the metropolitan area where our family lives. In these places, often I…
At our core, most people want to be seen as good with words. Some people want to be valued for their kindness and compassion. Some people want to be appreciated for their knowledge and expertise. Other people want to be welcomed for their charisma and presence. And other people, still, want to be known for…
Your freezer is for more than just pizza. It’s a valuable way to preserve food, especially if you don’t know how to can, don’t like to can, don’t have the resources to can, or only have a small amount of food that needs to be preserved. Freezing is also a good idea when you stock…
Have you ever been in a conversation — maybe an argument, maybe just a talk — and felt like the other person was hearing something different than what you were saying? Worse still, did they accuse of you of not listening to them even when you were listening, and even when you could recite what…
I have a tall utility shelf in my basement that is dedicated to storing extra food. I’m not a prepper or otherwise preoccupied with apocalyptic thoughts, but I do like to be ready for emergencies that might realistically happen. I lean toward minimalism in many other parts of my house; I don’t have a lot…
