My Thoughts on Couponing

Photo by Carol Pyles, OOingle.com. When you hear the word "frugal," what is the first thing that pops into your head? For me, it's "couponing." Or at least, it used to be. Have you ever watched "Extreme Couponing?" I watched a couple of episodes and just ended up feeling baffled. Because I used to coupon pretty religiously, and...

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Kids Skate Free

I subscribe to this little freebie message center, which usually sends me a lot of information about junk I could get for free. Actual junk, like free magnets, samples of stuff I would never use and free issues of magazines I would never subscribe to. I have received a few cool things for nothing though. I got a completely free one year...

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How we saved on a day out at the Sacramento Zoo

Sacramento Zoo Flamingos. Photo by David Grimes. This spring break we decided to treat the kids to a mid-week day out. We live in Grass Valley, which is about a 90 minute drive from Sacramento--it's an easy day trip and one we've done many times. In the past we've saved by packing a lunch, which I still think is a great way to go when...

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How to live rich and be frugal

I love having a big family but I will not lie to you, it's hard to afford. And what I don't want is for my kids to ever say that they feel like they missed out on childhood because we never had the money to take them anywhere. Shortly after my fourth child was born, I resolved to always live richly even though I'm sort of forced to be frugal. And I do a pretty good job of it. I spend a lot less on groceries than a lot...

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