Welcome to the 92nd Edition of the Festival of Frugality.

Ideas For Saving Money And Increasing Your Income

• Around The House

Growing Up has written a fabulous article about dealing with fear when managing your finances. Great post!

Free Money Finance has ideas for how to save on realtor fees.

Blueprint For Financial Prosperity reminds us of the importance of setting finance-related goals.

Mrs. Micah has a very interesting take on “shopping from home”.

Fire Finance is saving money on trash can liners.

Clever Dude has moved away from Blockbuster and is renting movies for $1 a day, via Redbox.

Raising4Boys built a double desk on the cheap.

Five Cent Nickel is keeping track of increasing electricity costs - and is fighting the good fight.

Blogging Away Debt has managed to reduce the cost of electricity. (Trisha, give Nickel a call…)

Frugal Underground has ideas for delicious, inexpensive foods - that you can give as gifts!

MotherLoad has a quick tip for a charming gift for newlyweds.

Savvy Frugality has a top 10 list of frugal ideas.

Bryan C. Fleming started the Million Dollar Savings Club - and it’s now one year old.

Live-Frugal writes about ‘hidden expenses’ - leaky faucets and running toilets.

A Penny Closer is going through the “list” - you know the “list” - the stuff we have to give up or keep, like TIVO, when we try to be more frugal.

Everything Finance writes about saving money when buying homeowners’ insurance.

Juice Fairy has been analyzing Quicken - and it’s time for some changes in the budget.

Rather Be Shopping has been thinking about a frugal lifestyle - and realizing the benefits thereof.

The Happy Rock is thinking about money in terms of pre-tax instead of after-tax.

Stop The Ride found an interesting book at the library sale - and ended up with 13 tips for saving money around the house.

Opinion Mom reminds us to drink our water. Yes, mam!

Being Frugal lists several resources for frugal cooking.

AskDong has switched from Gatorade to water - checkout the savings.

ChritianPF has a collection of quotes about money management.

Fiveberries suggests that we sleep naked to save money. Seriously.

Frugal Hacks had a very unique conversation with a son - and taught him a lesson about frugality.

SavingAdvice reminds us - romance is free.

Edith Yeung has a system for maintaining your bank account.

• About Town

What Works For Us has found some deals at the local dollar store.

The Simple Dollar has several ideas for an enjoyable, fulfilling, money-free weekend.

My Two Dollars had an awesome, frugal, wonderful Sunday.

Moolanamy has a post about saving money and the environment.

My Wealth Builder points out an interesting tool for finding cheaper gasoline.

MoneyCrashers has an interesting post about saving money when buying groceries.

Piggy Bank Blues is heading to the library for a free book.

Mortgage Blog has suggestions for dealing with big corporation - can you do business with the “big boys” and still save money?

Watch My Money Maker has an interesting post about parents, the dentist, and saving money.

Life Lessons Of A Military Wife has tips for buying a newer car.

The Scratching Post writes about the cost of gasoline - and readers of the WSJ.

Consumer’s Corner has ideas for finding inexpensive second hand media.

The Financial Blogger writes about managing family finance while living on one income.

The Baglady says that we shouldn’t buy things on “launch day”.

• Away At School

Cheap Healthy Good has written a very nice post about nutritious dining while living in a college dorm.

• After Graduation

Debt Free has written an excellent post about government programs that can help you repay student loans.

The Frugal Law Student reminds us of the connection between saving money and saving the environment.

• On Vacation

The Good Life On A Budget says that the best souvenirs are inexpensive.

Millionaire Mommy has seven strategies for saving money when buying souvenirs.

The Frugal Duchess has some tips for buying refurbished items.

Money And Values writes about the decisions we have to make when we go on vacation.

The Digerati Life encourages us to be gracious and frugal house guests.

• When Online

Gather Little By Little has written an excellent post about using Craigslist.Increasing Your Income

Fabulously Broke wants to know how much you would pay for a pair of shoes.

• Increasing Income

The Wastrel Show is revamping the budget and tackling a new job.

Go To The Ant suggests volunteering as an usher - so that you can see shows for free - but I think it would be cool to work at one, as well, so I put this post here.

Paid Twice has ideas for selling your extra stuff.

Saving With Me has several ideas for business you can start - while still in college.

Financial Tips For WAHMS is giving away $15 for your best grocery money saving tip.

Money and Values will host next week’s Festival of Frugality.

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I would like to say thank you to all of the bloggers who contributed articles for this week’s festival. If you are looking for even more tips for saving money, check out this series of posts I’ve written - 33 Days And 33 Ways To Save Money And Reduce Debt.

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• 41 Comments

I hate when I open the refrigerator and find spoiled food. A week or so ago, I purchased a couple of cantaloupes, an extra gallon of milk, and some chicken breasts. This morning, while getting ready to go to the grocery store, I opened the refrigerator, to see what we needed, and as I was going through the various drawers and bins, I quickly realized that the cantaloupes had gone soft, the milk was out of date, and that the chicken breasts had been put into the refrigerator - instead of going into the freezer, where they belong.

I need to work on a better system for organizing the fresh foods and vegetables that we eat. In the past, we consumed large quantities of ‘junk food’ - and ‘junk food’ lasts and lasts. But, now our goal is to eat healthier foods. So, we need to pay more attention to the amounts we buy and how we store those amounts.

Any suggestions for keeping food fresh, longer?

• 22 Comments

I was doing a search for music from one of my favorite artists, Laura Gibson, and I came across IndieFolkForever, a website for reviews of independent folk musicians.  Here’s the link to an article Laura wrote about her music.  The article is filled with links to her sites and her music.  If you click around IndieFolkForever, you can find dozens of free mp3 downloads from various “undiscovered” bands.  By the way, my favorite song that Laura sings is “Wintering”.

• 4 Comments

Click here to read all of the 33 Days And 33 Ways To Save Money And Reduce Debt posts.

If you have a credit card with a balance, you might be paying more interest than is necessary on your debt.  Perhaps you’ve considered “surfing” your balance from one card to another.  Well, this can be a great way to save money, but before you transfer a balance from one card to another, be sure to do the math and consider the following:

1.  Will I be able to completely pay off the debt before the introductory rate goes away and is replaced by the standard rate of the new card?

2.  Is there a balance transfer fee?  Will I be better off leaving my debt where it is or moving the debt and paying the balance transfer fee?  Do the math!

3.  If I move the balance from card A to card B, will I put card A away and focus on paying off card B?

4.  Do I fully understand the balance transfer’s terms and conditions?

5.  Have I called my current credit card and asked, once a month, for a reduced rate?

6.  Am I kidding myself or am I really committed to rapid debt reduction?

If you can answer the above questions and go into it with “eyes wide open”, surfing a balance from one card to another card can be a great way to save money.  But, if you are unsure, worried, or if you feel like you are being taken advantage of, leave your balance where it is.  I would rather pay a little more in interest and avoid making a foolish, detrimental mistake.

Have you dealt with a credit card balance transfer? Leave a comment and let us know. If you are a blogger, write a post about surfing credit card balances, and contact me. I’ll be more than happy to link to your post.
Click here to read all of the 33 Days And 33 Ways To Save Money And Reduce Debt posts.

• 6 Comments

Click here to read all of the 33 Days And 33 Ways To Save Money And Reduce Debt posts.

Day 16: Enjoy Being Frugal

Saving money can be fun. Lighten up just a little bit and realize that you probably have more stuff than you need, and that you can afford to skip the next purse, gadget, tool, service, whatever. Seriously, take a deep breath, open your eyes, and look around your house. You have to clean, maintain, move, and insure all of that stuff! Do you really need more? Probably (definitely?) not.

Here’s the deal. Most people are not ready to go from “normal spending” to “radical simplicity”, but we can all move from one side of the spectrum to the other. So, instead of “learning to do without”… let’s “learn to do more with what we have and enjoy the freedom of owning less”.

My favorite frugal living sites?

Checkout: Frugal For Life, The Festival of Frugality (which I’ll be hosting next Tuesday), Thrifty Mommy, Boston Gal’s Open Wallet, and the Frugal Babe.

Have you found that you enjoy living the frugal life? Leave a comment and let us know. If you are a blogger, write a post about frugal living choices, and contact me. I’ll be more than happy to link to your post.
Click here to read all of the 33 Days And 33 Ways To Save Money And Reduce Debt posts.

• 3 Comments