7 Tips for a frugal roadtrip

1. Plan ahead. We mapped out our route and booked our hotels ahead of time, rather than looking for a place to stop. This allowed us to budget more clearly because we knew exactly how much we were going to spend. In one case, we even got a discount for pre-paying for the hotel. Also, because we booked ahead of time, they were able to block our rooms for us with our crib and my husband's feather-free pillows, so we could be sure to get them.

2. Use points. We had accumulated several hotel points from our relocation and my husband's business trips and were able to use them to get one of our nights of hotel completely for free. This is the first time we ever had enough points to do that, but we have been diligent anyway about always using our numbers, and now are close to being able to book rooms at several different hotel chains. I'm also a fan of Free Frequent Flyer Miles for accumulating points and miles without traveling.

3. Look for promotions. When we were at the wedding, we used the wedding block code to get a great rate and a free breakfast. I also checked the hotel website before we left and found a promotion for one free night after every two stays, which I registered for. After our trip, we should have a free night to use next time we want to go away.

4. Consider giftcards. Our grocery store gives gas discounts for giftcards purchased, so we bought a giftcard to use for our hotel stay and for some of the restaurants along the way.

5. Find restaurant coupons. If you've planned your stay, you know where you're going to stop. Search each of those towns to find out what restaurants are there, and sign up for mailing lists to get coupons to those restaurants. It's also a good idea to pile up coupons for fast food and coffee places for stops along the way.

6. Make good use of breakfast. Mid priced hotels are most likely to offer free breakfast. Many of these breakfasts are so good now that you can eat well enough to skip lunch and just snack in the car. This saves you time as well as money.

7. Pack food. We always pack a bag full of snacks from my stockpile - things like poptarts, granola bars, cookies, crackers - as well a cooler with some bagels sandwiches and drinks. You could also pack cereal and milk, and even some microwave meals to eat in your room. Be sure to bring your coupon folder to go to the grocery store once you are there and restock for the trip back.

Saving in 2011

So one of my goals for the year is to trim the budget a little bit so that we have a little more breathing room and can start making progress on some of our savings. I thought I'd briefly break down some areas where we can save money and which I will be attacking in the months to come.

1. Utility bills. One area that I would like to trim the budget a little is my utility bills. My water bill in particular has been running pretty high, but I could also cut back on my gas and electricity. This is an area I would love to trim because it's both frugal and green.
   
2. Other household bills I'm not sure how much leeway I have on the cable, internet, phone, etc. because we just switched to a new promotional bundle a few months ago, but these are things that are always worth keeping on top of. Also, I should check our cell phone bill for any extras we could cancel.
   
3. Groceries At one point, I was quite the coupon queen (or at least the coupon princess), but with less time and all my life changes I have let this slack. While I don't think I'll be on Extreme Couponers any time soon, I would like to cut this to a level that is in balance for my family.
   
4. Restaurants This has been our Achilles Heel for a while. I would like to cut back, but I'm not sure how well that would go over, so I'll try to explore some other ways to save.
   

Does anyone have any other suggestions for budget areas to examine, or anything you'd like to hear my talk more about?

Ways to be frugal when you're busy

Sometimes in life we all go through periods when we are ready to crash, when we are completely overwhelmed and can't do more. During those times, it can seem hard to buckle down and frugal up. Fortunately, there are lots of frugal things you can do that rather than taking up more of your energy and time, actually take less.

1. Wash less. Don't wash your clothes every time you wear them. If they aren't dirty, hang them back up or throw them in a basket for tomorrow. Ditto for towels. My husband and I each have a different color towel that we just hang back up and I wash a few times a week. By not washing stuff every day, you save yourself time as well as the money for detergent, energy and water. Oh, I also don't wash my hair every day, but that might be a different issue.

2. Eat easy. Planned leftovers or clean out the fridge night can save you a lot of hassle and pretty much give you a free meal once in a while. Other great easy meals that just happen to be cheap include sandwiches, salads, scrambled eggs. I also like to keep a few convenience meals around that I get for free or cheap with coupons. We don't eat that way all the time, but it is nice to have in a pinch.

3. Watch less TV. Spend your small amounts of free time resting, sleeping, or meditating rather than watching TV. You'll feel better for it, save energy, and not be exposed to so much marketing.

4. Get some tools. A programmable thermostat will put your energy savings on autopilot, requiring absolutely no frugal input for you. You can also get devices that turn off your whole power strip automatically when you shut down your computer or turn off your lights after a certain amount of time. When you're busy, it's good to know that you can keep being frugal while you're not around.

5. Pay your bills automatically. Take a few minutes to set up all your bills on autopay so that you never accidentally have to pay a late fee, and you can save time every month.

Trying to keep my frugal cool

So even though I moved to a much cooler part of the country this year, I still can't seem to get away from the heat waves. Temperatures here are tipping 90 this week, and I am definitely feeling the heat. Because I'm worried about the effects on my body of overheating at this particular moment, I'm not sure I can keep the air off as long as I have been, but here are some strategies I'm trying to use to hold out a little longer:

1. Keep an eye on the outside temperature. When it drops into the low 70's, open up the windows and air out the apartment. The movement of the air makes a big difference in how cold it feels. However, when the outside temperature is above 80, it's much better to keep the apartment sealed and try to keep the heat out.

2. Turn everything off. Okay, so my laptop is on, but the TV and lights are off, chargers are unplugged, and I'm avoiding running laundry or washing dishes during the hot part of the day.

3. Drink lots of cold water. I have a pitcher in my fridge, but I'm trying not to open it too often, so I am keeping two tall stainless steel water bottles alternately in the fridge. The water stays cooler longer in the bottle than it would in a glass so I can enjoy cool water longer without wasting energy. When it gets even hotter, I may keep a glass of ice too and just pour the water from the bottle over the ice every few minutes.

4. Take cold showers. Normally I shower at night, but if I'm home it's better to take a cool shower at the hottest part of the day and then leave my hair wet to keep me cool a little longer.

5. Air dry clothes. The dryer puts off a ton of heat, and when it's this hot, the clothes dry pretty fast. I don't have a clothesline, so I just drape things over chairs and set the chairs on my deck.

6. Wear seasonally appropriate clothing. I wore a tanktop and my husband's shorts (I don't have any I can fit into anymore) and only got dressed more than that when I had to run errands.

7. Relax. This is not the weather to do any labor intensive chores or to try to do a lot of exercise. I mostly am just sitting around, reading, writing, getting my little hand chores done (like fixing a seam on some pants and filing my papers). When it cools off this evening, I may try to get a more intense house cleaning session in.

8. Eat light and cool food. I absolutely will not turn my oven on once it starts getting hot in the summer. Mostly I rely on my crockpot and toaster oven, neither of which put off as much heat, and sometimes my stovetop, but on days like today I prefer to just eat salads and sandwiches anyway. Cold food won't raise your body temperature, and lighter fare is easier to digest.

Back to Frugal Basics

Around this time of year, a lot of people start to think about ways to save money and live better. I consider myself a pretty frugal person, but even so January is a good time to re-evaluate some of my choices. These days I don't feel nearly as frugal as I used to, and it seems that there are more failures than successes. Somehow, even with more time to do things, I'm spending more money and going overbudget in a number of categories.

So I've decided it's time to get back to frugal basics. I'm going to start from scratch, remake my budget and reevaluate everything. I'm hoping to be able to cut some money from some budget categories to be able to put into savings or debt reduction, or even into other priorities, but my main goal is not necessarily to get things back to how they used to be. It's to re-evaluate everything and decide what elements of my budget are worth spending money on, and which ones aren't.

I'm hoping to motivate myself to do more projects and make more things from scratch, but I know that that's not the real key to frugal living. The key to frugal living is to be deliberate about where you spend your money and where you don't. Here's to being more deliberate.

Frugal Christmas shopping: Deals and Points

Around this time of year, everyone is looking for ways to save money without skimping on purchases. I'm hoping this will be the first of a series on the ways I save (or even earn!) money on my Christmas purchases.

1. Coupons. Most online sites have coupon codes available. You can often get coupons by signing up for email lists, but you can also just do a google search for the name of the store and the word “coupon” or “free shipping.” Lots of brick and mortar stores have coupons available too. Bed Bath and Beyond famously accepts those 20% off coupons they send out in the mail, even if they’re expired and you have one for every item in your cart. They also have a 20% coupon available for signing up for their email list. Old Navy also has great in store coupons available, just search around the site for new coupons added every day. JC Penney and Kohls will also send you high value in store coupons if you sign up for their mailing lists.

2.Gift cards. The grocery store where I shop gives you a discount on gas based on how much you spend in their store, and Discover Card gives you 5% cash back on grocery purchases this month, so if I am buying someone a gift card I will generally see if they have it at my grocery store to maximize my rewards. Sometimes I even go there to buy gift cards for purchases I know I will make. This way I get the rewards and can spend the gift cards like cash. If you’re getting a restaurant gift card, though, check the individual restaurant first. Many have much bigger gift card bonuses than I would get at the grocery store.

3.Points programs. Swag Bucks is a great way to earn Amazon gift cards. I also tend to save up my My Points credits and some of my survey credits for this time of year and use them to buy gift cards. It’s a great way to get some free money while you shop.

4.Amazon Associates. If you are going to do a lot of shopping on Amazon, it makes sense to sign up as an associate and add the items you are going to buy to your own zstore. Then you make money off of your own purchases. You can also have your friends and families set up zstores in lieu of wishlists, and all earn a little extra money from buying each other what you wanted anyway.

5.Ship to store. If you can’t find free shipping coupons, it’s generally much more frugal to select ship to store. You can pick up the item at a store near your home, or near your destination if you are traveling. This way you can shop from home without having to pay for shipping, and can even avoid having to carry gifts in your luggage.

6.Cash back. If you’re shopping online check out EVReward first. It lists all the big cashback portals and lets you know which ones offer the highest rate of return for your purchase. If you haven’t used cash back portals before, sign up for several to maximize your sign up bonuses.

7. Store Rewards. Sign up for all the free store rewards programs available. Stores are giving you free money to shop at their stores. Often they will run promotions where you will get bonus points for your first purchase with the program. I will often sign up, buy something, and then come back to the same store to use my points. This is a bit time consuming, but you can always just save your points for later in the year when you need something.

8. Read deals sites. Slick deals, Fat Wallet, and Hot Coupon World constantly post promotions with very limited time frames. If you don't check often you will miss some of the best deals.

9. Win it. This time of year, many companies offer sweepstakes or instant win games to promote their brand. A good sweeps site like Sweeties Sweeps is a great place to learn more about this. While you may not win the car or vacation, many of these contests have smaller prizes like gift cards or free products which are much more winnable - and somebody has to win the car after all. Unfortunately since there's usually a delay (8-10 weeks sometimes), much of what you win now will get to you after the holidays. There's always next Christmas!

If you have any other ideas on ways to find great deals (or secret deals) at the holidays

Apples!

My husband and I went to a local apple farm yesterday and picked a peck of apples (haha, yeah, it makes me laugh too). For only $9, we got about 15 pounds of fresh, local, unwaxed apples.

I'm not sure what to do with them all! I have been peeling and cutting all morning and have a pot of applesauce on the stove and a dehydrator full of apple slices. My fruit bowl is already overflowing with apples. Time to look up more recipes.

If I get a chance, and can find my camera, I'll post some pictures later. Right now though, I'm just glad to feel normal and productive again.


Applesauce

Peel and slice approximately 3-5 pounds of apples. Dip in lemon juice to keep them from turning brown. Put in a pot on the stove with 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer. Cook for 20 minutes, then transfer to a mixing bowl and beat until desired consistency. Add cinnamon as desired.

(Not much of a recipe, I know, but that's how I do it)

Frugal Friday: Carpet cleaning

I have a giant dirt stain in the living carpet of my apartment from a plant I overwatered about a year ago (oops). I tried to clean it with carpet cleaner at the time, but it seemed a futile pursuit, so I just repositioned my furniture to cover it. Foolish, I know, and shortsighted because now as moving day fast approaches I am realizing that a stain in my carpet may prevent me from getting my security deposit back (not very frugal). I considered renting a steam cleaner (still not so frugal), but decided first that I'd give it one more shot on my own.

First, I attacked it with carpet cleaner, following the directions on the bottle. I sprayed, I waited, I blotted. Dirt was clearly coming out of my carpet, but it wasn't making much of a difference.

Then, I realized that I could spray plain water on my carpet and achieve nearly the same results. Again, I sprayed, I blotted. I used rags, old towels, paper towels. I tried stepping on the cloths to get more dirt out. Dirt continued to come out of my carpet. Clearly this was working, but it seemed like it would be a nearly endless process.

Finally I had a breakthrough. I sprayed the carpet with water until it was really wet, then I sprinkled baking soda over the entire area. The baking soda quickly became brown as it soaked up the dirt and water. I waited a few hours until the baking soda had completely dried then picked it up with my vacuum. Wow! For the first time I could actually see a noticeable difference in the stain. It's not completely gone, so I'm repeating the process, but it's a heck of a lot easier and more frugal than anything else I had thought of!

For more frugal ideas, check out Frugal Fridays at Life as Mom.

My top 15 frugal tips

1. Wear clothes more than once before washing them. Unless you are incredibly dirty, pants should last at least two days. This is my favorite because it lets me be lazy, frugal, and green.
2. Use less soap, detergent, shampoo etc. Most of us use way more than is necessary.
3. Unplug things that use phantom loads, like anything with a clock that you don't use.
4. Use reusable containers, lunch boxes, and water bottles.
5. Use cloth napkins (even if no one else in your family will).
6. Plan your meals around what's in your pantry first, then around the sales.
7. Use the library. Most have not only books, but movies and music too.
8. Sign up for freebies. I generally read Freebies for mom about once a week.
9. Look for balance in your life. Don't go crazy pinching pennies if it means you can't have a chocolate croissant once in a while, but don't buy things that don't bring you joy.
10. Take care of yourself. Not doing so will cost you down the line.
11. Use your food in the order that it will go bad.
12. Pay down your debt. Interest will eat up a huge chunk of your monthly income if you let it.
13. If you like eating out, make it an event. Really enjoy it. Don't waste your money on junk you scarf down in your car; just pack some sandwiches.
14. Give. There are plenty of ways to do this without spending a lot of money.
15. Be conscious of everything you use and do. Is there a homemade or reusable alternative? Can you do without altogether?

15 Frugal Ways to Pamper yourself this summer

1. Read a good book. There's nothing good on TV anyway, so curl up in the evening with a good junk-food type novel that is purely for enjoyment. Or sit on your porch or by the pool in the middle of the afternoon and soak up some vitamin D while you read.

2. Pull out all the bottles of various bath and body stuff that gets buried in your closets and use it.

3. Take a nap. In the middle of the day. You know you want to.

4. Find a local winery and see if they have free tastings. Grab your honey or your friends and go spend a frugal and extravagant afternoon.

5. Go to the pool/lake/beach/park, or whatever you can visit inexpensively in your area, and pretend you're on vacation.

6. Serve sandwiches for dinner. Or a cheese plate and fruit. Anything that saves you time, keeps your house cool, and is fun to eat.

7. Go to the bookstore and browse the books or magazines. Spend an hour in a comfortable chair reading a book, while your children and honey (if you have them) do their own browsing. Watch for free coffee coupons to make this even better.

8. Three words: Starbucks ice cream

9. Put on some music and dance. Research shows that dancing is one of the top two things that really make people happy.

10. Have a cup of tea in your nicest tea cup or a glass of lemonade in your prettiest stem glass.

11. Find some free yoga videos online and get your ohmmmm on.

12. Don't forget to play. Whether or not you have kids, schedule in some time to play a board game or throw a ball or frisbee around.

13. Take a walk. It's 104 degrees out here, so I tend to skip this one, but once it cools down, a walk really calms my mind.

13. Find your favorite "guilty pleasure" TV shows on hulu and watch them while dinner cooks or you fold the laundry (Gilmore girls is on abcfamily.com if anyone shares my preferences ;) )

14. Pull out some stationery you like and write a nice letter.

15. Put cucumber slices or mint leaves in your water, soak your feet in any old basin, and rub some kind of a mask (storebought or homemade with wacky grocery ingredients) into your face, and pretend you are at a spa.


For more great ideas, check out Frugal Friday at Life as Mom

Festival of Frugality recap

This week's Festival of Frugality is up at Personal Finance Analyst, and it's a great one.

Some of my favorite posts:

Frugal Tips from America's Cheapest Family is a great book review that takes apart a book I've been meaning to read.
55 best ways to Save Money is a huge list of great frugal tips from readers. Most of them are things we already know, but it's always good to hear them again.
Ten Ways to Save Money when you fly on your family vacation is a great rundown on ways to save on trips. I do most of these, but there are a few new takes on things that I wouldn't have thought of.

No more newspaper

I cancelled my newspaper subscription this week.

The truth is, I don't really read the newspaper. Most of my news I get from the Internet. The newspapers would just pile up and every couple weeks I'd have to take them to the recycle center without even reading them.

A few months ago, I cut back to just weekends, but I kept getting the newspaper mostly for the grocery coupons. With a good grocery couponing strategy, I know I can save a huge chunk of money on my grocery bill. The truth is, though, that between using up my stockpile and my CSA baskets, I haven't been buying as much food lately anyway. I don't use more than 2 or 3 different coupons. So, instead of having to sort through a whole newspaper, I'll just buy multiples of the few coupons I use from a clipping service or trade for them on a message board.

By cancelling my newspaper subscription, I'm saving $50 over the next three months, as well as saving time, stress, clutter, and waste. Woo hoo! I feel freer already.

The frugality of being a homebody

Lately I've had quite a few posts that involved, in some way or another, not going out. Before people start to think I'm a monk, or that I am extremely self-sacrificial, let me just clear the waters and explain how much I prefer staying home.

Now don't get me wrong, I do enjoy the occasional adventure and it's lovely to have friends over or to go to the park once in a while, and I do all those things and I do eat at restaurants and see movies too, but most days the place I'd most prefer to be is home. In my pajamas. Either in bed or curled up on my couch. Preferably alone and most often with the house quiet (or with a softly read audio book playing). And so, while it would be nice to have some books, a few DVDs (because really, I like movies), and gallons of coffee, I don't require much. Pretty cheap, eh?

Not everyone is made like this, though. My husband for example looks for constant entertainment or stimulation. If I leave to get the mail, he makes a phone call to keep busy while I'm gone. He needs music on his phone to tide him over between the music in his car and the music on his computer. He doesn't mind running errands: the post office, the pharmacy, the bank (all of which give me massive anxiety) because, hey, it's something to do right?

While extroverts thrive in social situations, introverts are drained by them. Now, while it's very possible for an extrovert to be frugal, I wonder if somehow it isn't harder. So, I ask, how many of you frugalites and frugalistas are homebodies and how many of you are socialites?

Frugal Principles: Do without

It's time for another Frugal Friday, and the last in my prolonged series on how to save with frugal principles. In the most famous adage of frugal principles, Use it up, use less, make do, and do without, "do without" is definitely the hardest for most people - although, of course, it is the most frugal of all the frugal principles. I think the reason for this is very simple: while the other three steps all have to do with creativity, with finding more efficient ways to still get everything that you want, doing without implies deprivation. You don't get to have what you want. You have to give up the things that you want:

Give up cable.
Give up lattes.
Give up going out.

And this is of course very hard for a lot of people. They'd rather a list of 100 ways to "make do" or to get more for their money, then a single suggestion that they do without something they want - even if that one suggestion would save them more money than the rest combined. None of us want to feel deprived, to feel like we can't have what we want. So one of two things happens: we either ignore the doing without part of the equation completely, or we go whole hog - and generally burn out.

The key as always seems to be to find a happy medium, to reframe the question. What are the things in my life that I'd just as soon do without? What do I own or regularly pay for that brings me no joy? What can I cut out without hurting, or while even making myself happier in the end?

But I know, the frugal among you will say "Well, there's nothing. There's nothing more. My life is already pared down and I need to cut back more." So you need to reframe the question again: How can I turn the space in my life into more joy? Can I do without cable if I let myself rent a movie once in a while? Can I do without going out to dinner if I have friends over for coffee more often? What is it that brings you joy about the latte? The caffeine, the foam, or the trip to the coffee shop/break from work? How can you replace whatever you like about it with something else?

So, what are you willing to do without?

Festival of Frugality wrap up

This week's Festival of Frugality is up over at Frugal Homemaker Plus and includes my article on Lazy Green Living.

Lots of great information this week, so be sure to head over there and check it out. My favorite articles include:

The finer things in life
37 hacks to save on electricity
Counting my pennies' 30 day plan

Enjoy!

Frugal Mission for Monday: Check your prescriptions

Mission for Monday is a new series I'm going to try out: every Monday I'll give you (and myself) a quick mission to help save money. These are meant to be one time things that take maybe 15 minutes. For newbies they'll probably be great advice; for veterans they might still be good reminders.

Today's mission: Check your prescriptions.

I wrote a post last year about Saving money on prescriptions, but it's been a long year since then, and my husband takes a lot of different prescriptions now, so I recently did another quick search for available discounts. Out of the four he takes monthly, one has a $20 coupon that can be printed 12 times a year, 2 have monthly $20 rebates, and the fourth mails out periodic coupons and vouchers. My savings? At least $60 every month. I'm almost embarassed that I waited this long.

Your task: go online and search for all the prescriptions you take. See if the manufacturer's website has printable coupons or rebates, or at least a mailing list you can get on.

While you're at it, talk to your doctor and pharmacist about available generics. With the $5 generic programs, which most stores will price match, it's a better time than ever to switch.

20 reasons frugal living makes me happy

1. Having more money in savings quells my anxiety about financial emergencies.
2. Having less stuff makes my house easier to clean.
3. Cooking from scratch gives me yummier food.
4. Finding ways to re-use or repurpose things is a fun and creative challenge.
5. Spending less time shopping means I have more time to eat, sleep, and read.
6. Being counter-culture is soooo cool.
7. Frugal living is green living, which eases my conscience and makes me feel good.
8. Coupon shopping gives me tons of free shampoo, toothpaste, and Cheerios which I can donate to the foodbank - and philanthropy makes most people feel good.
9. Saving gas means I have to fill up less often and I don't smell like gasoline.
10. When I slow down, turn off my computer and TV, and stay home for a day, I enjoy things like a cup of coffee on my porch more.
11. Eating out less often makes it feel more special when we do.
12. Less laundry. 'Nuff said.
13. Drinking water with meals and cutting out fast food and junk makes me thinner and healthier.
14. Shelling peas feels more productive and worthwhile than opening a can.
15. Stretching things means I have to run errands less often, and I avoid the driving, the shopping, and the waiting in line (which drives me stir crazy).
16. I like wearing t-shirts I've had since college. Or high school. But those just to sleep in, I swear.
17. Cloth napkins make my table look prettier.
18. Free samples in the mail are like presents when it isn't even your birthday.
19. I have more money in my budget for the occasional splurge, and I can enjoy it more because I know I can afford it.
20. I get to be part of the amazing frugal blogging community.

Please share your reasons!! For more frugal inspiration, check out Frugal Friday at Biblical Womanhood.

4 Lazy ways to be more green (and frugal!)

There is really nothing I enjoy more than being lazy. Sitting with a cup of coffee and a book or taking a nap in the middle of the day are my kind of entertainment. Sometimes, though, I get overwhelmed by all the things I know I should be doing in my journey to make my life more green, and to save a bit of money (so I can work less of course, what other goal would a lazy person have?). The good news is that there are lots of green changes you can make in your life that don't take any effort: in fact, many of them actually require less effort than what you are already doing.

1. Do less laundry. Unless you are exercising or have a job where you have to work in dirt all day long, do you really need to wash your clothes every time you wear them? Instead, assess your clothes and hang them back up if they are still clean. Then, when they are dirty, wait until you have a huge old pile of laundry and do a gigantic load of laundry in cold water, no sorting required. Easy peasy!

2. Cook less. Especially in the summer, it's a good idea not to cook every single night. Turning on your stove uses energy, and heats up both you and the kitchen. Plus, it's a pain. So every so often (or more), have a salad night, a cold sandwich night, or even eat cereal for dinner like you did in college. And once a week have a free-for-all leftover night to make sure none of the good food you paid for ends up in a landfill.

3. Pay your bills automatically. Sure this takes some effort upfront, but it will be one less thing for you to do and to worry about every month from now on. Go online and set your bills up to autopay. This will save paper, save gas for shipping, and save you time and the money for a stamp. While you're at it, make sure your paycheck is direct deposited and your bank statements are paperless.

4. Stay home. Probably the greatest lazy green tip of all. If the mere thought of figuring out bike routes or public transit makes you tired, just think about whether you need to go out and spend your money at all. Stay in, play a board game, eat from your pantry and just chill out on your couch for a while.

Book Review: How to be a budget fashionista

How to Be a Budget Fashionista by blogger extraordinaire Kathryn Finney of The Budget Fashionista is a fun little book on how to dress well without spending too much money. Targeted at young professional women, this book carries off it's casual, slightly irreverant tone without ever coming across as silly or offensive. Instead, it breaks down buying clothes to its most basic components so that the fashion-challenged (like me!) can learn to dress well for less.

Budget Fashionista is broken down into three parts: Know your budget, know your style, and know your bargains. It begins with a simple discussion of budgeting and ways to save and earn a little extra, to scrape up a good pot with which to update your wardrobe. While this may be useful for a lot of women, and while it was quite pleasant to read, I found it a little basic. The heart of the book is in the section on style. With lighthearted quizzes, descriptions, and exercises, Finney helps the reader to define her personal style and then gives recommendations of what to buy for each style type. This gets down to specifics (with a chapter called "Clumpy, Frumpy, and Lumpy: The importance of good undergarments" how can you go wrong?), explaining what articles of clothing are staples and what are just extras. The overall message is to invest in some good basic timeless articles and then to buy a few trendy items for fun, on clearance or deeply discounted, since these items are less likely to last in your wardrobe.

The third section on where and how to find bargains gets into the detail and nitty gritty about everything from sample sales to yard sales, and how to get the best deals at each. These are really practical tips, no hypotheticals just actionable points ("join the mailing list," "shop in the children's department").

I think this book would be particularly great for young women who are just out of college and trying to figure out how to wardrobe themselves for new professional jobs - without going into debt trying to do it. It's also got useful tips that just about anyone could use, along with fun tools, resources, and quizzes. It's a great, quick read for anyone who wants to know how to buy great clothes for less.

Summer energy saving tips for the kitchen

Since summer tends to be the time when my energy bills are the highest, I thought I'd start sharing some of my best summer energy saving tips, and the easiest place for me to start is in the kitchen. The kitchen has the potential to both use a lot of energy itself, and to heat your house significantly, causing you spend even more on energy to cool it back down. By employing these energy saving tips this summer, you'll keep cool, eat well, and keep some of your money in the bank.

1. Don't cook. The most efficient way to keep your kitchen cool and green is by eating raw or cold foods. Try to eat more salads and cold sandwiches, more fruit instead of baked goods, and cold beverages in place of hot ones. This serves double duty: you don't spend energy on the cooking process, and you keep both your house and your body cooler. Bonus: higher water content foods like fruits and vegetables will be more appealing and refreshing to your dehydrated body. Who wants to eat heavy foods when it's 100 degrees out anyway?

2. Cook outside. If you are going to cook, try to move it outside and away from your house. You'll spend some money firing up the grill, but it will keep your house cool. Besides, nothing tasts more like summer than dinner off the grill. Bonus: I can't remember where I read it, but last summer another blogger suggested putting your crock pot on your porch. While they don't give off that much heat, this can't hurt. Plus, if you are eating outside, it will be more convenient to have your side items outside with your grill.

3. Use smaller appliances. Don't turn on your oven if you have a toaster oven that will do the trick. Use a microwave whenever possible. The smaller the appliance, the less energy it uses and the more heat it gives off.

4. Mind your refrigerator. Your fridge has to work harder and use more energy in the summer anyway, so be extra careful to keep the door closed. Before cooking, plan everything you need so you only have to open the fridge door once (in one monstrous trip, like Rachel Ray does where she always likes like she's thisclose to dropping something). When putting things away, stage them next to the refrigerator for the same reason. Put the things you use most often in convenient locations so you can get to them quickly. And I shouldn't even have to mention standing in front of the refrigerator deciding what to eat.

5. Keep your dishwasher closed. In the winter, I like to open my dishwasher to vent (I always have it set to air dry). In the summer though, I leave it closed during the dry cycle. The steam that goes into the air during the dry cycle will both heat up your home and add a lot of moisture to the air, which makes it feel hotter. Instead, dry the dishes with a towel if they are still wet.

6. Be careful of vent fans. If you are running the air conditioning, turning the vent fan on will vent all your cooled air out into the world, so use it sparingly. Of course, if you are a champ and keep your AC turned off, the vent fan will vent the hot air from your kitchen and may actually help.

For more frugal tips, chek out Frugal Friday