Mighty Bargain Hunter

Festival of Frugality: Free extra money edition

October 21st, 2008 | by mbhunter |

Welcome to this week’s Festival of Frugality!  Cutting back on expenses is more at the forefront of our minds with the ailing economy and the somewhat tougher job market.  Within the posts I’ve featured three money-saving sites that I use regularly which (a) are entirely free to sign up and use, and (b) don’t require me to purchase anything I wouldn’t buy otherwise.  I say “wouldn’t buy otherwise” because I pretty much have to buy groceries.   The three sites are just a small part of a big-picture plan to cut expenses, and come out of what might be a long economic slump in one piece.  I find them useful, and I hope you will too.

Many of the posts submitted this week will go a long way to filling in some of the other pieces to a frugal big picture.

The submissions are listed in the order that they were received, so here we go!

• My Dollar Plan takes the chill out of these brisk October evenings with a frugal chicken soup recipe.
• Save and Conquer takes the already-frugal library one step further and talks about the internet public library.
• Money Ning discusses frugality in terms of his buying habits.
• Save Your Sweat reveals where to get the cheapest spices.
• The Sojourner’s kids gave a raised eyebrow when they saw the dog-food tote bag.
• Free Money Finance is dead-on with this post on how to save money on a funeral.
• Bargain Briana tries hard not to shop with her children.
• Until Debt Do Us Part warns not to be penny-wise with health expenditures.
• Bible Money Matters lists seven things not to do if you want to stay out of debt.

Printable Coupons:  CoolSavings.com. Here you can get printable coupons, online coupons, free stuff, and free samples.  You can also compare prices and participate in a money-saving community.  CoolSavings has been around for 12 years (a long time in Internet years!) so it’s clearly found new ways to be useful to many people.  It’s free to join CoolSavings.

• FruGal admits that frugality is soooo hot right now.
• Cheap Healthy Good experiments with eating on only $25 per week.
• Living Almost Large really wonders if you should stay with friends when you travel.
• Sound Money Matters wonders if advertising really has a negative impact on frugality.
• Tight Fisted Miser educates us on do-it-yourself car repair.
• Stop the Ride! has a counter-intuitive solution to overspending: Get rid of your money!
• Two Pennies Earned finds that frugality is part of the plan to deal with the recession.
• Christian Personal Finance sums up some key Bible verses for dealing with times of scarcity.
• Chief Family Officer reiterates the importance of a price book.
• Almost Frugal shares 25 frugal things that she does.
• Wastrel Show writes a very tongue-in-cheek post on layaway.
• Single Guy Money found that one online movie rental service gave a better bang for the buck than another.
• Funny About Money plays the Luddite.
• Blueprint for Financial Prosperity bussed a move.

Free gift cards:  MyPoints.com. I’ve had a great experience with this site, and I’ve gotten close to $100 in gift cards mainly for reading e-mails and participating in other short activities like surveys, signing up for newsletters, or searching for airfare.  (You can learn more here.)  You can also get points for buying things online, but you don’t have to buy anything to get points!  The cards arrive quickly.  It’s free to join MyPoints as well.

• Prime Time Money discusses the trouble with the frugal lifestyle.
• My Wealth Builder is cutting way back on clothing expenses.
• Paisley Penguin takes stock, but with a catch.
• Penny Pinching writes about Canada’s cheapest man.
• Not the Jet Set scares up some tips on doing Halloween on the cheap.
• My Family’s Money writes a nice post on their first shot at subsistence farming.
• Military Finance Network shares how to get a free flu shot from the VA.
• Cash Money Life reminds that money in the bank is safe.  (I agree.)
• Out of Debt Again likes to harvest weeds.  (Read that carefully.)
• Uncommon Cents observes that it’s easier to save money when gas prices are coming down.
• Personal Finance Analyst says it pays to be uncomfortable on airlines these days.
• The Personal FInancier saved two grand by being creative.
• Miss Thrifty posts on wills, thrills, and thriftymobiles.
• Girls Just Wanna Have Funds suggests planning your meals around supermarket sales.

Free Money for College:  UPromise.com. This is a site that you can set and forget after you register.  You hook up your credit cards and grocery store shopping club cards to your UPromise.com account, and discounts are tracked automatically and posted to your account.  A couple of the local grocery stores in my area are affiliated with UPromise.  These savings are then designated for college expenses.  Like the others, it’s free to sign up for UPromise.com.

• Fiscal Zen lists sixteen free applications for the Mac.
• Greener Pastures thinks it’s a good idea to revisit your car insurance premiums.
• More4Kids discusses printable coupons and online promotional codes.
• Budgets are Sexy is loving these ten inexpensive ways to woo your better half.
• Happy To Be At Home gives ten ways you can save money right now.
• Low Sodium Frugal serves up a recipe for a cran-raspberry upside-down cake.
• GRACEful Retirement discusses the economics of a Tracfone.
• Dollar Frugal wants to get vending machines out of her head.
• Think Your Way To Wealth posts on printable coupons.
• Northern Cheapskate wonders about whether buying reward points is a good idea.
• Project Organic Eating shares tips for making organic food affordable.
• Fire Finance links to a free Entertainment Savers Guide.
• The Happy Rock got his first credit card rebate check.
• Saving Advice doesn’t want to be called a consumer.
• Money Matters Hub posts an easy gas-savings tip.
• Five Cent Nickel bought a used piano.
• Just Shoot Me Now: Faux fortune fosters frugal feelings.
• Home Ec 101 discusses three places you want to stay away from in this down economy.  (Very unfrugal places.)
• Iconoclast Investor talks about how kids deal with the down economy, including a discussion on frugality.
• Financial Wellness Project suggests taking advantage of your work perks.

Thanks for reading this week’s Festival.  If you haven’t adopted a frugal lifestyle, now is an excellent time to start. Happy Tuesday!