Frugal Joy

I love saving money and still being able to do and or have great things! Reading blogs is one of the ways that I save money! I love to read and reading FREE blogs instead of buy books saves me hundreds if not thousands of dollars every year.

I've recently come across several blogs that help us to be more money savvy. I though I'd take a minute to share them with you. Enjoy!

5 Dollar Dinners:

She has a goal "to make $5 Dinners for my family every night of the week. Be inspired to come up with your own “dollar amount” based on your family size and regional food prices, and challenge yourself to make frugal AND healthy meals!"

This blog is not only a fun read but full of great recipes. She also gives us links to print coupons. I know - many think that couponing is a waste of time, but when you have more time than you do money, it is a great investment!

Head over to 5 Dollar Dinners and see what's cooking tonight!

The Simple Mom:
"Happiness is making the most of what you have." is the motto of The Simple Mom. Encouraging us to step back and take a look at what we have. Her blog is full of great ideas for giving, simple living, getting the most use of your freezer and she has graciously provided a great check list for spring cleaning!


Festival of Frugality:
"Home of the weekly carnival that helps you pinch pennies out of dollars." This the place for tons of ideas! This blog is literally one stop place for all things frugal. They take the time to find blog articles so you don't have to go searching all over the Internet for them. As this economy continues to remain in a slump, this is the place to get ideas!


The Simple Dollar:

This is one of my favorite blogs! Trent pulled his family out of a horrible debt situation. He has remained focused on his family while doing what ever it takes to ensure that he can provide without going into greater debt. He even has published a book 365 Ways to Live Cheap. "It's filled with 365 great tactics you can apply to your personal finances, from frugal tips to great ideas for managing your money." His blog is full of ideas and tips to get you started!


Here are a 10 other tips for helping get the most bang for your buck:
1. Cutting coupons while you are watching your favorite TV program.
2. Have soup and salad for dinner once a week - quick, easy and delicious!
3. Have family night at home - play a board game with your kids. Enjoy simple meal with easy clean up and have fun sending time together. Play your favorite music in the back ground.
4. Breakfast for dinner. Very inexpensive and yummy.
5. Be on the look out for good books and magazines at yard sales and thrift stores.
6. Start a magazine swap. Find out who is reading what and swap. Gets more for your subscription dollars.
7. Save your change. We have a bank in our closet that we drop all of our change into everyday. We don't carry cash much, but every little bit saved helps.
8. Drink water when eating out. We try not to eat out if we can help it, but when we do we save close to $8.00 by drinking water. If you must have flavor, add lemons and a little sugar and have lemonade.
9. Turn off lights and computers when not in use. Really an age old tip, but it helps.
10. Keep a positive attitude when being thrifty. Making it fun will go a long way to keeping yourself on track.

I love being thrifty and I hope that these blogs and tips will bring you closer to your financial goals.

Have fun Spreading Joy today!