Archive for Thrifty Thursday

Make Your Own Cosmetics – Thrifty Thursday

A friend sent me a link to a website this week because she thought I would like, which led me to www.MakeYourCosmetics.com I do not use a lot of cosmetics, however, I do like to use organic as much as I can. I never really thought of making my own before. I have heard of the kits available to reuse the leftover lipstick in lipstick tubes, but have never actually bought one.

Anyhow, MakeYourCosmetics.com offers a variety of recipes and lots of great tips! Enjoy exploring the idea of making your own cosmetics.


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Free e-book – Saving Money And Time Without Losing Your Mind

Got this in my inbox….

For those serious about saving money, this FREE ebook will enable you to save money and time without losing your mind!

http://www.livingonadime.com/free-e-book-saving-money-and-time/

I haven’t read it yet, but let me know if you like it or not.


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Easy Ways To Have Fun This Summer!

Summer is here! And most of you are on a budget. So here is a list of cheap ways to have fun with your kids this summer.

Visit a park-

Local parks are free and provide your children with entertainment while you and your spouse/partner can talk.

Visit a local lake-

We have several free local lakes in our area. Take advantage of these!

Use coupons-

If you find a fun family outing such as a water park try to find some coupons to use to cut back on costs.

Cut back on spending-

Cut back on your spending this summer. Grow your own garden veggies. Make your own prepared foods. Don’t buy your meals make them!

Cut back on junk food-

Junk food isn’t as cheap as it seems! Bottled water is just as cheap as soda, and organic snacks are becoming more and more cheaper. Buy these instead of fat and high-fructose saturated snacks.

Just stay home-

Instead of going out alot this summer just stay home! Play in your pool, go for a bike ride, take walks, play games, garden together, and just have fun as a family!

Happy summer!


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Cut Back on Food Waste

I got an email this week giving some great ideas on how to cut back on food waste from FreshtheMovie.com. It is sad some weeks what can get thrown out just due to lack of planning and preparing. One of the comments on the post gave some great organizing tips on how she (her name was Virginia) went from spending $400 month on food to $80-$130!

A couple of suggestions were make the most of your leftovers, when you can’t eat it, freeze it and other practical reminders on how to cut back on throwing out all that wasted food on garbage day. :-(

You can read the article in full here.


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Paper Products Sabbatical: Thirfty Thursday

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Recently I went to the library to find a tip I had published in a magazine (shhhh….no I do not subscribe to it) and told the circulation desk about my search as I was checking out. She went on to share one of her tips and that was to cut out buying paper products! Yep, a paper products sabbatical. She said she’s been meaning to cut back just to see how much money she saves because every time she goes to Walmart she plunks down $80 on paper products.

I know we use a lot of paper plates. A friend years ago suggested it just to make life easier with so many little ones. Now we use them to have fewer dishes to wash, although we notice our silverware going missing at a much faster rate by using paper plates, so there is that down fall to consider especially with young children.

Any one want to take the paper products challenge just to see how much we save?

Something New

Submit your own Thrifty Tips for publication here at Faith and Family Reviews. You will be credited with a byline and a link back to your site, if you have one. If not your name will still appear on the post.

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Happy Thrifty Thursday!


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Liquid Soap Saver: Thrifty Thursday

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Maybe some of you do this already, maybe some of you don’t, but I am going to share it anyways. If you use or buy liquid soap, one way to make it last longer is to add water to it once it is about an inch down. Keep doing this until it is gone and you make one container of liquid soap last at least 5x as long, if not longer depending upon the strength of the soap. This one has already had water added at least 3x and the soap is still as foamy as it was when it was new.

The second soap is a newer pump and has had water added only once. It is due for another dose.

All I do is add the water and shake up the soap dispenser and I usually do not have to shake it up again until I add more water. The idea behind the shaking is to get the soap along the inside walls of the dispenser.

Something New

Submit your own Thrifty Tips for publication here at Faith and Family Reviews. You will be credited with a byline and a link back to your site, if you have one. If not your name will still appear on the post.

Your Name (required)

Your Email (required)

Your Blog URL (if you have one)

Your Thrifty Tip (required)

Happy Thrifty Thursday!


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Simple Kids Craft: Thrifty Thursday

Last weekend when I had the three younger ones, I did an inexpensive craft with them. It is just a simple kids craft that they loved. My daughter had these little foam-like stickers that she wanted to use. I thought they required glue, which is the whole reason why I thought of doing this craft to begin with.

Inexpensive Materials

Left over fabric pieces from sewing, from rags or simply use construction paper.
Scissors
White Glue
Optional foam stickers
Optional Felt pieces (at least 1 per child)

Simple Kids Craft

I cut out two pieces of white flannel material. I chose flannel because it is a little stiffer. I cut it into a rectangle and gave each child their own piece.

Then I proceeded to go through our fabric scraps and cutting different shapes and sizes. Since we had brown fabric and a green fabric I did direct the children to make a tree, but that is the only influence I had over them. I allowed them to choose their fabric pieces to make their “collage”. They glued all their scrap pieces onto the flannel material.

Voila, they created their own fabric collage! They had fun doing this activity and I am going to remember it so we can do it again. As a matter of fact they took it upon themselves the other night to do it again…thankfully there was not too much mess. Could have been a lot worse!


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Thrifty Thursday: Create Cards with Melissa from Itty Chic

Editor’s Note: This is a guest post. While we appreciate our guest writer’s submissions, this does not constitute endorsement or agreement to the opinions expressed in the articles featured.

My name is Melissa Correll with Itty Chic! You can create cards, scrapbook pages, and anything else that you set your mind to with things you already have around your house!

Today, we are going to create a simple card out of:

Cardstock

Buttons

Cotton Twine

Glue

A stamp with your favorite saying

Ink in your color of choice

Step one: Take your page of card stock and cut it in half. Then fold your half in half to create a blank card.

Step two: Choose your buttons and cut your twine. I had a bag of random buttons sitting around and I chose my colors out of that. You will need 6 buttons for the petal of each flower and a color for the center. Then you will choose buttons for your leaves. Use cotton twine just like what you use to sew up your turkey on thanksgiving! Cut it long so that it will be easy to handle

Step three: Lay everything out so that you can see how it will turn out. Play with the arrangement till you like how it looks!

Step four: Bring out the glue! Now it is time to make your creation a reality. Start by putting down the centers of your flowers and building the petals around them one at a time. Next, you are going to want to glue down the twine. The easiest way to do this is to either lay a thin line of glue directly on the paper and lay the twine over it, or run your glue down the twine and place the twine down that way. Once your twine is placed, you should still have the ends hanging off the end of the card, leave these until the twine dries! Place your leaves and let the glue dry.

Step five: Time to finish it up! Cut your loose ends and choose your favorite stamp, I chose simply Smile! With a bright lavender ink. Something important to remember when you are stamping, push straight down and pull up, or you will end up with uneven ink, or a double image!

Step six: Bless someone else. Now that your card is finished, all you need to do is find someone to give it too!

More about Melissa and Itty Chic: I started my business in Mid July of 2010 with the sale of cards, and memory boards. I grew up poor and loved turning nothing into something. I started my business because my goal is eventually to quit my day job and be a stay at home mom. I want to raise my future children, not have them raised by a daycare. To see this and more, go to http://ittychic.com and http://ittychic.com/Blog!


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Cheap Fun With Kids Over Spring Break – Thrifty Thursday

Spring Break is a wonderful opportunity to spend time with your kids while having fun in a variety of ways. These outings can be expensive, but with some advanced planning, these extra family activities can cost next to nothing.


New and Different Food


Stop by new places, broadening your children’s experiences and respect for food from a variety of cultures. Try sukumi wiki or chapati at an African restaurant, then try out authentic wood-fired gourmet pizza at a place similar to this restaurant in West Linn, Oregon.

Eating in restaurants is a luxury for families with strict budgets. However, there are ways to expose your children to foods from cultures around the world without running out of funds. Use a coupon for the restaurant you’d like to try, or go on a night where kids can eat free with paying adults. Instead of eating at the restaurant itself, get a take-out order of something special and eat it at home with a variety of vegetables, fruit and bread.

Nature-Loving Field Trips

The outdoors offers many opportunities for exploration. Take your children on a simple hike at a local park, using a field guide to identify local flora and fauna. Once this has proven successful, take them on a more strenuous hike, packing a lunch and stopping for a picnic.

If the weather in your part of the world is warm enough, consider taking your children camping for a few days. Hiking can then become a traditional part of your camp-out experience, along with s’mores around the nightly campfire.

Your Inner Artist

Use spare cardboard, paper and other craft items to unleash your inner artist with your kids. Take advantage of the time of year and give these crafts a spring or Easter theme, decorating your home in honor of the season. Experiment with different mediums and techniques, such as oil pastels, watercolors, clay and wire to make truly original works of art.

Neighborhood Play Date

Spring Break is a great opportunity to connect with family, friends and neighbors. Schedule a play date or potluck dinner and invite those who are part of your larger community to share the time with you. Enjoy food and adult conversation while kids play indoors and outdoors. For your kids’ best friends, a play date can turn into a sleepover for some free Spring Break fun!

Rollin’ Along

If you’d like to have more fast-paced family fun, consider a local skating rink. Generally, if there’s a local community center in your area, they charge less to rollerskate or rollerblade, especially during Spring Break. This fun activity can provide your entire family with valuable exercise and wear your kids out at the same time!

Kelly Wilson is a busy mom and freelance writer. For delicious, authentic gourmet Sicilian-style pizza, visit BJ Willy’s, a restaurant in West Linn, Oregon.


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Promo Codes, Promo Codes, Promo Codes

Being a single income family we do whatever we can to save money.  I do most of my shopping online and will never pay full price or pay shipping.  After all my items are in my online cart I go to checkout, then open another tab on my computer and search for promo codes that pertain to the store.  There are lots of websites that offer promo codes, some are good and some eh, are no so good.  Most stores will offer promo codes, Kohl’s you can use two (2) promo codes at a time!  By having two (2) browser windows open at the same time you can check which promo codes will best serve you.  Yea, it takes a few more minutes to finish your order, but it’s worth it to save a few bucks.  Better in your pocket than theirs, right?!


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