20 Things Frugal People Do some tips and tricks that will save you money!

I'm cheap. You can call me frugal, thrifty or a good shopper.  Perhaps even a mindful consumer. If I had to pick a word to describe my spending style, I think I would like to be considered resourceful.  According to the dictionary, frugal means sparing or economical with regard to money or food. I suppose that's a good word to describe how we chose to live.  And it's one most people can relate to.

I really like to live well on less.  That's sort of my motto.  We started out married with a newborn at the ripe old age of 20 and 21, part of being frugal came out of necessity. Next year, our oldest son is starting college, and well, we are going to be going back to working with a pretty bare bones budget. However, through the years, we have found out just how far we can push our budget without really feeling like we are missing out on anything.  We really do live pretty darn well on less. 

I've written a list of 20 things that frugal people do every day to save them money.

Vintage tablecloth turned into Christmas tree skirt

I love Christmas! I love decorating for Christmas and I love unpacking my Christmas boxes every single year. Every year I add to the boxes with handmade ornaments like I featured all last week in my six days of handmade. Sometimes, I add big items, sometimes I add small items.

This year, one of the new items I added to my Christmas decor was a new tree skirt. But not just any tree skirt. It's a tree skirt that I made out of a pretty amazing vintage round tablecloth that we got from my husband's grandmother's estate just after she passed away this summer.

I actually see round tablecloths like this at garage sales and estate sales quite often, so in case you are like me, you can pin this or tuck this away and remember when garage sale season starts back up again to keep your eyes peeled for a round tablecloth to make a no sew Christmas tree skirt.

It took me under 5 minutes and I promise, there is really no sewing to make this tablecloth into a Christmas tree skirt. Want to see how?

How to save hundreds of dollars at the salon and color your hair at home-a step by step guide

It all started when I was 15. I was out with my best friend shopping at Target with money to burn{those were the glory days!}. Somehow I ended up in the hair dye section and picked up a box. 

I was walking the aisles of my daughter's jr. high a few weeks ago and man, I'm telling you, that time of life is full of experimentation with one's looks.  So it's not surprise, that I started playing around and started changing the color of my hair.

I can remember only two times in my life that I have actually paid someone to dye my hair for me and each of those times I couldn't believe how dang on expensive it was. 

Now instead of experimenting with my look and changing the color of my hair, I am dying my hair to cover the grey. 

Either way, with 22 years of experience and probably thousands of dollars saved, I am here to offer my expertise and give you a step by step guide on how you can dye your hair at home. I promise, it's not that scary!

Handmade cards made from something {free} you would never expect!

Do you ever see something and inspiration just strikes? That happened to me earlier this week on a coffee date with my littlest guy. We were literally standing in Starbucks and I immediately wanted to get home to start crafting.

I whipped up these handmade cards in a matter of minutes.  You wouldn't believe the {free} thing that inspired me to make them.

5 things to stop wasting your money on right now

It's easy to get into spending habits and not even think that what you are doing is a waste of money. The new year is a great time to reexamine your spending habits and start making easy changes. I have five things that you can stop wasting money on and start putting some more cash back into your wallet.

Vintage Airplane Boys room week 5 One Room Challenge

Welcome back to week 5 of the Calling it Home One Room Challenge. For the past 5 weeks I have been working on completing a vintage airplane themed room for my 8 year old son Owen. In case you missed it you can catch up here:
week 1 week 2 week 3 week 4

Last week I showed you the vintage airplane blueprint canvas that I worked on.

This week, we got the art hung on the walls and the room is starting to come together.

It all started with the poster frames that are seen flanking the window.

I bought those at a garage sale 2/$3 brand new.

They started out a pine wood color, I painted them blue like the rest of the furniture.

I found two vintage posters that I liked

{the New York one is actually paper from Cavallini I got for $4}

add added those to the frames.

I wasn't planning on keeping this United States poster, but my son loves it and it is his room.

 I didn't end up painting this dresser.

I have a few reasons why, 

{it was the first piece of furniture we ever bought as a couple...it's been in every nursery for each baby we have had...it's in good condition...I didn't think it needed to be painted.}

I found a Phonetics alphabet print on-line for free

and this vintage United airplane at a garage sale for $8 from an old Boeing employee.

The wire basket was $1 and it has a vintage fire bell, pen case and movie reel canister inside, all purchased second hand.

It's hard to see, but there is also a vintage copper airplane up there too that I got at a garage sale for 50 cents.

Next to the dresser, I placed a faux gasoline canister that I bought from Hobby Lobby for $35,

a Flying Pig vintage print I found on-line for free, Owen's scrap monster that he designed and sewed 

{details here}

and a few knick nacks, again, things I found at garage sales for less than a dollar.

The pallet backed bookcase is still one of my favorite things I have ever made.

And next to it are a pair of faux binoculars that I got at Home Goods for $19.

 On the opposite wall you will find Owen's bed and the newly mounted vintage airplane blueprint canvas.

I think it's really starting to come together don't you?

 From the hallway, this is the view into Owen's room after week 5.

There isn't much more to complete. However, my husband has big plans for a propeller that I am hoping get finished before next week. Stay tuned!
Thanks for dropping in to see the progress.

Vintage box turned Dynamite storage box with simple distressing and painting technique

It's easy to take a plain vintage find and give it new life with a little paint.

I had this nice solid wooden box that was super plain.

It was screaming for some history.

Or a back story.

Something!

I decided that it looked like an old vintage dynamite container that I have seen at antique shops and garage sales before.  I used some simple techniques to give this plain box a little more charm.

It's hard to see, but if you look closely there is a clear stencil that I cut out on my Silhouette machine.

I used transfer tape to apply the letters where I wanted 

{I probably could have centered them better}

I used a very dry brush and painted over my stencil with white paint.

I didn't want a nice crisp line,

I wanted this box to look like it had some history so I used as little paint as possible to make it look authentic.

If you are a perfectionist, this isn't the kind of craft that will be good for you!

Once you have all of your stencil painted,

let it dry.

Remove your stencil and use sand paper to distress the letters and painting even more.

What do you think?
Think it was always a dynamite box?

10 minute skirt from a dress I paid for by the pound!

On Monday I shared with you my latest thrift shop excursion. One of the stops on our shopping trip was to the Goodwill Outlet.
If you aren't familiar with the Goodwill Outlet,  it's the final attempt at selling donated goods at Goodwill. Most of the items are priced by the pound. There are no fitting rooms or mirrors,  so you sometimes end up with items that don't fit or don't look right.
You may like the feel of a fabric, the look or the brand,  either way, you are usually taking a gamble.
When I gambled on a grey and black striped dress {I thought it would be cute with leggings, boots and a sweater} I ended up losing out on the dress but I won when I made this easy 10 minute skirt!

This is the dress. It had an empire waist with elastic, which actually ended up giving me more fabric for the skirt to work with.

I started by detaching the top from the dress bottom and cut just below the elastic on the top.

I folded the top over to make the casing for a waistband and to shorten the skirt to an appropriate length.

I pinned the fabric down when I had a consistent spacing all along the top.

I just eyeballed this measurement, but if you want, you can use a hem gauge.

I sewed around the waistband leaving enough room for my elastic and also leaving a small opening for me to thread my elastic.

I got out my elastic, measured it around my waist and cut the length I needed.

I used a safety pin to help me thread the elastic through my skirt waistband.

This step probably takes the longest, and really, it doesn't take that long!

One the elastic is in place, sew your elastic together and then stitch the hole closed that you left open in your waistband.

 The skirt literally took me 10 minutes from start to finish!

Check out that scarf.

Does it look familiar?

It should!

It was the infinity scarf that I showed you on Wednesday that I made from a twin sheet.

Do you ever remake your clothes?

Take ill fitting to awesome?

I want to hear about it!

Living Well on Less series-saving money on your lawn and garden

It's another month, and another opportunity to share with you  a few ways that our family is able to live well on less. In case you missed the previous posts in this series, you can find them here: Saving money on travel and entertainment Save money on clothes for the whole family 15 tips to save money on your food bill saving money on your cell phone how to survive without cable I've had a few blog readers suggest that I offer up some tips for ways to save money on your lawn and garden, and I am happy to oblige! My husband and I bought our first house when I was 22 and we have learned a lot through the years! There are lots of extra expenses of home ownership that are inevitable, but over time, we have found some tips and tricks to keep the costs low. I don't know if the yard waste bin is a west coast trend or if it happens all over the country, but every month our trash collection agency charges us an extra $10 for our yard waste bin.  We usually only fill up our yard waste bin in the summer when we are weeding and putting in grass clippings, so around October every year, I call our trash collection agency and tell them to cancel our yard waste service.  I just recently restarted the service this month, so from October-April we save $70.  Many people don't realize they can do this.  Look into it if you aren't using your bin. While we are talking about garbage collection, when we bought our first house, our trash service already had a large 60 gallon container that we were being charged for.  I quickly learned that we could get a smaller can and a lower garbage bill {we saved $10 a month switching to a smaller can}.  We rarely filled our garbage bin full and our family of five can easily make do with a 30 gallon container.  
When we bought our first house, the homeowners were downsizing to a condo and didn't need their nearly new lawnmower.  We purchased it from them for $100.  It served us well until my husband mowed over a boulder, and a replacement lawnmower was found at a garage sale {again, a nearly new lawnmower in great condition}.  That said, garage sales and second hand are a great place to buy like new lawn equipment.   Mowing your own grass can save you upwards of $100 a month or more! The only lawn maintenance I hire out is once a year {usually in March or April}, I ask the lawn service that is already in the neighborhood servicing our neighbors lawn, if they can edge my lawn for me.  I pay them $20 cash.  My husband hates doing it, and it's important to me to have it done.  I know some people edge their lawn every time they mow it.  I bought my husband a commercial grade lawn edger {at a garage sale of course!}, and he promptly broke it {coincidence?  I think not!} so it continues to sit broken in my father in law's garage {he's waiting for help to fix the problem...or something}, even though an edged nicely cut green lawn makes his wife happy.  $20 once a year to get my lawn edged keeps me happy...ish. Several of our neighbors hire out their lawn care maintenance.  You know, the guys who come along in their official looking trucks, reel out their long hoses and start spraying chemicals all over the lawn.  When we first moved in, I had the neighborhood service give me a quote.  I was appalled at how much it was!  After I got that quote, I quickly rationalized that I could get a lawn fertilizer spreader {at a garage sale for $3} and pick up a bag of the best fertilizer in spring, summer and fall, and still not even come close to one lawn application!  So that is what I did!  I spend around $20 on fertilizer each year by looking for sales and rebates and I spread on fertilizer in the spring, summer and fall. I shared with you a few years ago how we hired a landscape designer at our old house when we re did our yard.  For around $100 a plant expert drew out a plan for our yard and gave us a plant by number version for us to use.  Since I had tried and failed, this advice was priceless.  It gave me the confidence to try my hand at landscape design at our new house. So with favorite plant names in hand, I headed over to Wal-Mart.  Not my favorite store, but cheap plants with a year long guarantee had me sold.  If you are buying plants, check with the store or nursery that you are buying them at and see what their guarantee is.  Sometimes you buy a plant and it just doesn't like it's new home.  It's nice to know that you can return it for the full price {just keep your receipts}.  Speaking of which, I have a few that need to head back this year! I know a lot of people like to plant annuals each year. Annuals can get pretty pricey, so I like to keep the area that I plant them contained to just a small front pot. If you plant perennials, over time they grow and then can be divided. You can even find a friend or neighbor and ask them if you can divide their plants for them. Most people are happy to oblige, especially if you do the dirty work!
 
If you have the space, you can also save money by planting and growing your own vegetables in a garden. At our old house we had room for a raised bed, at our current house, I'm pretty sure the dog would dig up anything she thought was food or might turn into food in about five seconds!

I love my fresh produce though, so I visit my local farmers market, fruit and veggie stands, my cousins grocery store {Harbor Greens shout out!} and I join in buying bountiful baskets.  I don't think fresh local produce has to be expensive.  You just have to know where to buy it.
Speaking of gardening, you can also compost your lawn clippings, and fruit and vegetable scraps. Compost makes a great addition to any garden and will help those plants grow like wild fire!

Planting trees or making the most of the trees that are in your lawn is another way to save on your utility bill. Most houses in our area don't have air conditioning, so if you have the shade from trees your are quite lucky! Plant a tree and in the first few years you can already start to reap the savings on your energy bill.
source
Patio furniture can get pricey.  It goes quickly at yard sales, but if you are persistent you can find it. Nearly 10 years ago, I bought a set for 75% off in late summer from Fred Meyer. Stores don't want to keep patio furniture around in the winter {unless you are in a warm state}, so keep your eyes open for sales.
And speaking of seasonal sales, you can also find seasonal sales on plants. Most nurseries or garden centers don't want to carry plants through the winter, so they deeply discount them. If you don't have a green thumb, stick with the hardy plants and as always, keep your receipt just in case your plant doesn't make it through the winter!
Those are a few of my tips to save some money on your lawn and garden. Do you have any tips you can share with me?

Living well on less-how to save money on entertainment and travel

It's a new month, and another opportunity to share with you how our family is able to live well on less. In case you missed the previous posts you can find them here: Save money on clothes for the whole family 15 tips to save money on your food bill saving money on your cell phone how to survive without cable If you are a family with children still living at home, many of you will be having spring break in the next few weeks.  This is a time of travel for many, and for others a time of scheduling activities that your family doesn't usually have time for when school is in session.
This month our focus is on saving money on travel and entertainment. Our family has taken some amazing vacations. We have visited all inclusive resorts in Ixtapa, Mexico, visited Disneyland not once, but three different times, gone to Legoland, taken a 7 day Mexican Riviera cruise and skied the slopes in Whistler, BC to name a few.   My husband and I have had time to get away to Puerto Vallarta, Cancun, and taken a Mexican Riviera cruise (yep, 2 cruises, 10 months apart).  We hope to spend a relaxing week away in November this year to celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary.   With friends {with flight benefits} I have been able to travel to Maui, Cancun, Puerto Vallarta, and Washington DC. I mention these trips, not to make you jealous, but to let you know that you too can travel with your family on a budget.  I will also take this time to make a disclaimer.   We have been fortunate enough to travel with our extended family, with them covering some of the travel expenses for us.  Several of our family vacations wouldn't have happened without their financial support.  My  dad had a job for years in Southern California, so a visit to his place always included a trip to Disneyland.  We love to travel and appreciate the times that we get to experience a family vacation with more than just our immediate family. The easiest way to save money on travel is to not go anywhere or do anything. But then life would be pretty boring now wouldn't it? One way that we are able to travel is to plan ahead. We may not always know where we are going, but if we plan ahead for a time period {say June of 2014}, we can spend time searching for the best flight and hotel deals and then can narrow our search from there when we find a good deal. With three kids and a dog, it's hard to be spontaneous, but I will often times search last minute travel sites {it's how we were able to book a cheap family cruise on Royal Caribbean}.  If you find yourself itching to book last minute travel you can check the last minute deals on expedia.  I've also used vacations to go 90 day ticker to look for resorts and cruises. Another tip to saving money when you travel is to   go when no one else is going. Spring break is not only an incredibly busy time to travel, it's also quite expensive. Airfare to many locations usually doubles if not triples over breaks and popular travel holidays (Christmas, spring break, Thanksgiving).   I know lots of families tend to head to Disneyland for spring break.  In our experiences, I would rather take the kids out of school then face the lines and long waits that occur at popular destinations like Disney.  If we are planning a trip to a popular destination like Disney or Legoland, we try to book our trip when no one else is going to be there.  It makes our visit more enjoyable with less waiting and we are able to experience more of the park and attractions making more bang for our buck. This graph is a great indicator of lower crowds at Disney World (and I find it true with what I have seen for Disneyland as well).  Go in the green, not in the red. Try an all inclusive I know hearing the term all inclusive may sound expensive, but you can often times get great deals at all inclusive resorts and sometimes kids stay and eat free.  Last year, I wrote a few tips on how to make the most of your all inclusive vacation.  My husband and I love visiting all inclusive resorts because you don't have to worry about food costs and going out for all of your meals.  You can eat as much as you like and you don't have any hidden costs while at an all inclusive.
Watch for the best deal, even after you have made reservations. Many airlines and hotels are offering the best price guaranteed.  A few years ago, we booked a trip to Puerto Vallarta months in advance, but when we saw that the flights had decreased in price, we were able to get a refund on the difference of the price we paid and the price that was available.  With the internet, many hotels will match the best price that you find, even if you have already booked your reservation.  Just know that after you have booked your vacation, your job isn't done yet!  Keep checking on those prices to make sure you get the best deal. If you are flying, travel light Most airlines charge an extra fee for checked baggage.  Learn to travel light and save yourself some money.  Lets be honest, you probably over pack anyway.  When I took my two younger kids and myself to San Diego for four days, I managed to get everything that we needed packed in a carry on and a backpack.  It is possible!
Plan your meals If we are traveling, we try to book a hotel that provides a free Continental breakfast.  When I went to Maui with friends, I brought along bowls and instant oatmeal.  I also packed protein filled snacks to keep me full until dinner, which was the only meal that we would eat out.  When we travel as a family, I try to pack as much food as I can or we visit a grocery store while we are in the area so that we can keep food costs low.  If you can, stay at a hotel that has a few conveniences like a mini fridge and microwave to make life easier. Be creative When we took our cruise, we found that the bus transfer for our family of five from the airport to the cruise terminal was actually more expensive than hiring a limo.  When we are traveling this summer for two weeks, we looked into hiring a shuttle to take us to the airport, but actually found that it's cheaper {and more convenient} to leave our car at a nearby lot for the time that we are gone.  When we travel to Mexico, I do lots of research about the average van transfer rate to our resort so that I know how best to negotiate for prices, because as we have learned, everything is negotiable in Mexico! Be flexible If you are flexible with your travel days, you can often book cheaper airfare and hotel rates.  Leaving mid week usually saves you some money on travel. Research When you travel, you probably are visiting somewhere people have been before.  With the power of the internet, many people are writing about their experiences and are happy to give you their tips and tricks.  Many resorts and cruise lines are happy to book your excursions for you, but these will cost you.  Spending some time doing research ahead of time will save you lots of money and will sometimes give you a better experience.  I've found a wealth of knowledge on cruise forums {even if you aren't going on a cruise} and tripadvisor. If traveling too far isn't in your price range, or if you just want to save some money by being a tourist in your own city, consider subscribing to groupon, living social and amazon local deals. Since we try not to travel when most people travel, we usually stay at home during spring break.  I try to find things to occupy our family and groupon deals are great for that.  As a side note, if you do plan on traveling and have plans to be in a certain area, signing up for notices for the areas that you are traveling in and buying living social deals or groupons for the city could save you tons of money as well. Our family doesn't spend a lot of money on entertainment. When we first got married, we redefined date night.  Most of the activities we do as a family now are because we have a groupon deal for them.  Just last week we went bowling as a family on a deal we bought at a school auction.  We go out for ice cream, but only with a coupon or groupon.  Movies at the theater?  Not unless it's at the dollar theater!  The deals are worth it.  Just make sure you read all of the fine print and are aware of expiration dates before you click buy. How does your family save money on travel and entertainment? Any tips I didn't mention?