Happy Mother's Day!

To all of my Thrifty Readers out there who have the blessing of little people, I hope your Mother's Day is wonderful and full of love and laughter.

Share in the comments ways your family celebrated you.

100 FB Fans Giveaway!

Once the blog reaches 100 fans on Facebook, I'll be giving away a copy of my new favorite cookbook - Fix, Freeze, Feast - your choice of hardback, paperback, or digital version.

I've now added a handy-dandy button to the side bar and in this post for you to click on and it brings you straight to the fanpage. Wasn't that so nice of me? I only need 11 more fans, so get a move on it! Just visit the fanpage and click "Like."

Giveaway details will go up on Monday if we reach 100 before then. Enjoy!

Thrifty Reader Request: Saving with Your Dog

If you have a pet, you get to experience the joys of a friendly companion. They can become like members of the family. And like all members of the family, they cost money. Whether you have one or you are considering buy a dog, here are some ways you can save the cash but still enjoy man's best friend. I hope these help!

• If you are really strapped for cash and can't even pay your bills, now is not the time to buy a dog. This article discusses why pets are expensive and says that Americans spend $30 BILLION annually on their pets.

Me and my pup, Delilah

• Buy a small dog. - We are just THAT frugal. Lol. We have a chihuahua. I got her from a home that rescued one dog and bought a shelter dog. My pup cost me $75 before shots. When you compare that to the hundreds of dollars that other people spend just to buy a dog, I'd say we got a pretty good deal. Smaller dogs also eat less, use fewer toys, make less mess, and take up less space.

• If you already have a bigger dog, consider buying food in bulk. For my chihuahua, we buy 25lb bags when they go on sale. This one bag lasts over a year. Your bigger dog will go through it faster, but you plan on feeding them, so go ahead and buy it. You can keep the big bag in the garage and fill up a small container to store in your cabinet for everyday use.

• Do not buy food at your vet or go all fancy with the food. Check the ingredients the next time you're in the pet aisle. Many brands use the same ingredients and some are just cheaper than others.

• Also, to save your money and your dog's life, don't overfeed it. You go through food quicker and obesity in dogs can create problems for their joints and energy.

• Consider doing away with buying name brand treats and start making your own from scratch. This website has some awesome recipes, and the ingredients are likely already in your cabinets.

Another cute pic of Delilah

• Buy toys at garage sales. Gently used toys work great and cost a fraction of the price.

• Your vet will charge a ton for services that could easily be done elsewhere. You can get your vaccinations at pet stores or animal welfare agencies at a lower cost. 

• Make sure you get the shots done on time. Preventative maintenance is a great way to save money in the long run.

• If you think there may be something wrong with your pup, search the internet for home remedies first. If you are still concerned, call your vet. Be sure to price around as well.

• Groom your dog at home. For thicker coats, make sure you brush regularly. This will save you a headache for when you go to wash the pup. For small dogs or somewhat large dogs, your bathtub will serve a great place to do this. If you are worried about hair clogging the drain, invest $3 in a drain net. When it is warmer, you can wash/groom your dog outside. If you'd like a good tutorial, this video was helpful.

Drink More Water!

I was at lunch with some friends the other day at a chain restaurant. My friend's drink cost him $2.29. TWO. TWENTY. NINE. I'm sorry, but that is just ridiculous. I know he had free refills, but it helped me realize some math. Bear with me for a moment.

Let's give some restaurants the benefit of the doubt. Let's say the average soft drink only costs $1.50 and you get free refills. Think of how many times you go out to eat per year. I would render a guess at the average family eats out once a week. $1.50 X 52 weeks = $78! For ONE person.

Seventy-eight dollars is a lot of money, and that's at the low end for price per beverage and a low estimate for the number of drinks you order per year. Add in when you get fast food, the number of people in your family ordering, the amount you spend on groceries a year for soft drinks to enjoy with dinner, or the coffee you buy for your mornings.

You know how much money I spend a year on beverages? Zero. Nada. Nothing.

As I teen, I was drinking WAY too much pop/soda/coke/whatever-you-wanna-call-it than anyone should have ever been allowed to drink. It was easy for me to drink 8 cans of something without thinking it strange. Now, as a mother who doesn't let her kids drink pop, I am floored by this memory.

About 9 years ago, I decided to quit cold turkey. I did this during my first real job. You see, at this job, I had lunch breaks. It didn't take long to realize that my added beverage at lunch was taking up too much of my $7/hr wage. Pop was expensive, lemonade was cheaper, but a cup of water was free. I was sold. "Can I please have a cup/glass of water?" has become quite the natural question when I do go out to eat.

Whether I go out to eat, drink at home, or take something with me to the park or whatever, I don't buy anything aside from food. I haven't come across a single place that has denied me a cup of water. The very worst case scenario was when I was dying of thirst and ran through a drive-thru. Because I wasn't ordering food, I was informed that I'd have to pay $0.16 for a small cup of water. Big whoop.

Want to be really frugal? Ask for no ice. Most restaurants have their drinks ready to serve cold. Since ice cubes take up more space than water, you'll get more water in your cup AND it will still be cold.

And please understand that I am not advocating drinking bottled water. If that is your solution, you've missed the point. Bottled water costs money and produces a ton of waste.

I have a water filter on my fridge at home that pumps out ice cold clean fresh water to me whenever I want it. If you don't have a fridge that does that, you can get a water filter for under $30. You can also purchase a thermos to carry water with you if you see fit. You can find those for under $13.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but putting a $30 investment into a water filter and $13 into a nice reusable water bottle is still LESS than that original amount we added up earlier.

These products would last for years, work out to be infinitely cheaper, reduce an unlimited amount of waste, and it's all completely healthy for you.

Click here to read some reasons why water is not only thrifty, but how it has a ton of great health benefits.

For the skeptics, I know you're considering how high my water bill must be because of how much I drink water at home... Well, for one, it isn't even a noticeable increase in our water bill, but furthermore, we conserve water like crazy at home. But that post is for another day.

If your wondering where I get my caffeine fix, I don't have one. I don't drink pop, tea, or coffee (coffee and tea costs money too, you know). I've learned that a human CAN survive without pumping caffeine into their system.

Eliminate Dryer Sheets and Minimize Fabric Softener

Want your clothes soft and static free AND cut back on costs? This tip is great.

Ingredients:

• A bottle of your favorite fabric softener
• A 2 gallon bucket
• A few sponges
• Water

Directions:

1. Pour the fabric softener into the bucket. 
2. Fill the empty fabric softener container with water. Pour into bucket.
3. Repeat Step 2.
4. Stir
5. Throw in sponges
6. Cover with lid or towel.

To Use:

1. Wash clothes without fabric softener.
2. Put clothes into dryer.
3. Wring out a sponge (or 2 - depending on load size). Toss in with the load.
4. Dry as usual.
5. Return sponges to bucket.

Your clothes will still be soft and static free. You are using a mere fraction of the amount of softener you'd normally be using AND you are eliminating your cost on dryer sheets.


Additional tip:

Find small container to store the sponges and a smaller amount of the liquid. This way, you can store it handy and you don't have the bucket in your way. Keep the remaining in the bucket, but out of the way.

Feel Green:

If you use this tip, you'll be eliminating the waste of your added fabric softener containers, the dryer sheets, and the dryer sheet box AND you will be using fewer chemicals in your clothes.

Another use:
Does your dog ever act strange when a thunderstorm is approaching? Some believe that they act this way because the canine feels an increase of static electricity in their fur. Wipe a little bit of this liquid on their fur and it will help remove the static, making them calm and fresh smelling all at the same time!

Let me know if you try it!

Guest Blogger: Thrifty (and Effective) Skin Care Tips

It's time for our very first guest blogger. Thrifty Reader Lynn wants to share her secrets on thrifty (and effective) skin care.

Take it away, Lynn:

I have really oily skin. It wasn't always like that, but I think with age it's gotten worse and worse. Face abuse or what have you. I always had mild to bad acne as a teen and I prayed and hoped that it would dissipate when I graduated to adulthood.

I have tried nearly every face wash from your local drug store. I even used Proactive, which worked for a couple months then it was back to what it was; oily and pimply. An esthetician had told me many of her clients that use Proactive have very dried out skin. I quit using it after that!

Mary Kay has an "Oily TimeWise" skin care line which I really do like. I think my skin was far too gone by then. 

The worst part? Everytime you go out to try something new, you end up sinking $25+. This, in end, will cost less than $20 if you buy generic.

What most people don't realize is that the oil our skin produces is healthy! When we use cleansers, we're stripping our skin of good oil which it is trying so hard to produce. This causes a vicious cycle. We try to keep our skin as non-oily as possible, while our skin is producing more oil to protect our skin. Thus oily skin.

So after a lot of research, I had a modge podge of different face regiments. Some of them were really expensive, I'm not spending $50 on a 5oz bottle of face wash that will HOPEFULLY work. Uncool. I found a couple that I was willing to try for a low investment. This is the first one I tried, and it's worked incredibly well for me. I noticed a difference within a few days. For some people it will take longer, it just depends how long it will take for your PH to balance out.

$0-$10: I use Mary Kay's TimeWise 3-In-1 Cleanser (combination to oily). I've read that Cetephil works wonderfully too. Try whatever you already have first!
$4-$9: Benzoyl peroxide acne cream (I use the strongest stuff I can find, which is usually 9%)

$5: The secret weapon - Vitamin E pills (Yes, like the kind you take in the morning. Walmart has them on sale occasionally - 2 bottles for $5! FTW!)

When you wake up in the morning, splash your face with cold water. It'll help waken up your skin and and take down the inflammation. Works better than cucumbers. Wash your face, you can use warm water. My biggest mistake was SPOT treating my acne, and not treating it like a war zone. I use a little bigger than a pea size and slather it on to my jaw line (my problem area). Do this wherever your areas are. Take a thumb tack and poke a hole in the Vitamin E pill and squeeze about half on to my finger. You can replug the pill with the thumb tack. Using a thumb tack helps you locate it as well if it drops on the floor. I dab it on both cheeks and one line across my forehead then I make sure to spread it everywhere. Don't forget your neck! Try to lay off the SPF and makeup for a while as it tends to inflame acne. Reintroduce it slowly after you feel your skin is ready. If you can't lay off all makeup, skip foundation at least.

It'll feel a little weird for the first couple days, but if your face is oily like mine you won't notice unless you touch your face (and if you're like me, you try to avoid touching at all costs anyways). And be forewarned, it does not smell like roses and peaches. Hopefully no ones getting that close to your face throughout the day though, and the one that is won't care. Hehe!

I've only been doing this for a few weeks. Not only has it cleared up immensely (and while PMS-ing? Miracle!), but it's glowing. I haven't used foundation in 2 weeks! I'm getting a lot of compliments too.

Once I feel like my PH has stabilized, I'm going to switch to using Vit. E only at night. When I switch to using the Vitamin E once a day at night I'll be using a moisturizer.

No one's skin is the same, so play around with it. Use the Vit E. once a day, every other day. Maybe it's the cleanser you're using. Maybe you have sensitive skin? Try that instead.

Here's an article with a list of the benefits of Vitamin E and skin!

"There are a variety of other benefits of vitamin e for skin care:
it helps maintain the skin’s oil balance during the cleansing process."

Another little trick? If your burn yourself apply Vitamin E to your burn. It'll help it heal quicker and you won't blister. =)

That's all, folks!

 These are great tips! Vitamin E promotes healing, so it is no wonder that you can use it for acne, scrapes, and burns. I hope you find these tips helpful to you!

10 Thrifty-Friendly Mother's Day Gifts for Under $15

Alrighty, Thrifty Readers, you have less than a week to come up with something for your mama for Mother's Day.

You want to get her something, but don't have much money? The biggest piece of frugal advice I can give you is to be creative, and put your effort into it.

Dads of small children, I am mostly talking to you. Don't drop the ball. Read this and do something for your wife on behalf of your children. These gifts can obviously be given to your own mom, but let's not forget the moms whose kids are too young to do this stuff on their own. If you just plan on saying, "Happy Mother's Day" to her, I will smack you.

On with the fun!

1. [free] Let her sleep in. Especially to the dads small children, even if this is the only thing you do for her all day, she will be glad she married you. She might not even find herself with a headache tonight, if you know what I mean.
2. [free] Spend time with her! Just treat her like the queen she is. Don't make her lift a finger.
3. [<$1] Make a card with a special message from the heart. Show her how much you appreciate everything she does. Even if it looks like you designed it with your eyes closed, it will mean so much.
4. [<$15] Make her a meal. I don't care if you have to open every cabinet in your kitchen to find something and dinner ends up being at 3 hours late, the effort you put in will be noticed.
5. [$13.75] I found this great zipper wallet by Bumble Sweet Designs that sells for $10.50. Even with shipping, you're still under $15. It's so cute, and who wouldn't love something new and handmade. This won't arrive in time, but you can make an IOU in that great card you made.
6. [$8] Etsy really is a great place to find amazing stuff. I found these earrings for $6 by Alililly. Shipping is only $2, so you really can't go wrong.
7. [$9.99] Walgreens has great photo gifts. You can make your mom a calendar of the most awesome people in her world: her kids! This calendar only costs $9.99 and you can start it at any month you want.
8. [$14.88] Does your mom already have photos printed from your special event but neglected to put them in frames? You can get her this great 5-piece frame set from Walmart.
9. [$8.79] And what woman doesn't love to be pampered? Target has these great bath sets that smell great!
10. [$11.25] Kohl's has a great sale going on right now. You can get this great FAMILY frame for less than half of what it regularly is.

 I hope these ideas help you find something for that special lady in your life. Make sure you treat her well. She brought you into this world; she can take you out of it.

To the moms reading this, feel free to leave it open for your children (or husband) to read. :-)