Decorating on the cheap

I'm always trying to find new ways to decorate my house.  Most of the time I don't want or have extra money to spend.  So I try to use things that I already have around my house that have seen better days.  My latest project has been our living room coffee table.  We've had the coffee table for over 17 years and has seen alot of action.  When we got the coffee table it was a nice square pine table.

Here's the table looking oh so nice 10 years ago.  Well after my kids used the table to color, dance on, hit golf balls from it was looking pretty darn shabby.  So I decided to paint it.  I figured if I didn't like it I could always repaint it or set fire to it.

So I painted the table red and inside square black.  Then I decided to make the inside square a checker board.  I graphed that out.and painted every other square brown.

So this is my finished checker board game table.  I still have to do some touch up and seal it with poly. Not too shabby if I do say so myself.  So basically this cost me my time since I already had all the materials.  So being frugal isn't  about doing without it's about making what you already have better.

French Quarter Art Walk

Want to get out of the house and see some great works of art.  Tomorrow night from 5pm to 8pm is the French Quarter art walk.  Galleries often have wine and other snacks for those who attend.  There's around 30 local galleries participating.  Click on the following link for your map of the participating galleries.

http://www.frenchquarterarts.com/

Go to the Movies for $1.00

This weekend you can go to the movies at the new Citadel Mall Imax for $1.00.  This is a benefit for the March of Dimes.  Click on the link to see what movies are playing and times.  Hope to see you at the movies.



http://www.southeastcinemas.com/charleston-imax.htm

Quick Halloween class treats

Don't feel like baking Halloween cookies for the class party?  Here's a standout treat that can be done ahead of time so you won't have stress over any last minute details.

Halloween Snack Mix

6 Cups caramel corn

2 Cups peanuts ( substitute sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds or soy nuts)

1 1/2 Cups candy corn

1/3 cup raisins

Mix all together in a large bowl.  You can now put your snack mix into individual treat bags. This recipe should yield about 2 quarts.  For peanut allergies you may want to substitute the peanuts with something else.  Also if your not a fan of raisins why not try another type of dried fruit.

Super Doubles

Starting tomorrow Harris Teeter is offering super doubles on coupons.  There is alot of great coupons for $1.00 and up on the coupons link.  Check it out and happy shopping.

Free day at the Museum

Are you looking for something to do this weekend with the kids?  Well why don't you take them to the museum.  This Saturday, September 26 is free museum day.  The Smithsonian magazine is sponsoring the event.  Click on Free day at the Museum and check out which museums in your area that are participating.

Frugal Cooking

I'm a cookbook junkie.  I have over 100 different cookbooks from making Tapas to Casseroles.  But my favorite cookbook is Not Just Beans by Tawra Jean Kellam.  Her cookbook is full of great recipes and tips on how to save money.  So if your like me and want to keep a little extra green in your pocket. I would recommend checking out this cookbook.

Price Book

If you are like most people these days and are watching every penny you spend.  I have a suggestion for you and that is for you to keep a price book.  You'll need to write down the regular price of commonly used products that you buy at your local stores.  Then when that product goes on sale put it into your price book.  By doing this you can create a goal that you would never spend more on that item than the sale price.  You can keep your list in a small notebook that can easily fit into your purse or pocket.  If you shop at more than one grocery store like me.  You can check your price book to see if that item you want to buy is cheaper at another store.

YES, I did it!!!!

Drum roll please!!!! I went back to the grocery store today and I saved 87% off by grocery bill. Again I purchased mostly snacks for the kids. But if you have kids you know that's something they are always want. Using coupons I got from the Sunday paper and printing coupons from the coupon link on my blog I was able to save $61.27.

The total before coupons and discounts was $70.74 my total after all the coupons was $9.47.
Right now I have enough snacks for the kids lunches and for after school for several weeks.

How I did.

Well I don't feel like I did as good as I could have with the triples. Most of the stuff I got this trip was snack food for the kids. The bill came to $90.04 before discounts and using my coupons. I ended up spending $35.54 after all the coupons. Not too bad but I definitely could have done better. Hopefully the next trip I will.

Here's a list of what I got.
- 6 bags of Chex Mix
- 6 boxes of fruit snacks
- 4 Pillsbury Grand Biscuits
- 1 Pkg Angel soft double roll
- 1 Coffeemate flavored creamer
- 1 Land o Lakes buttery spread
- 2 Pkgs of Green Giant frozen Corn
- 1 Pkg of Green Giant frozen chopped spinach
- 3 Boxes of Betty Crocker Blueberry muffin mix
- 1 Pkg Eggo frozen waffles
- 1 Edge x protection shaving gel
-1 Butler toothbrush
-1 Betty Crocker frosting
- 6 Pkgs of Old El Paso taco seasonings.

Triple Coupons Baby!!!!

It's a big day today. My local grocery store is offering triple coupons this week. So yesterday I spent my day getting my coupons ready. So my big plan this morning is to drop the kids off at school then head to the gym. Then after the gym it's off to the grocery store with my coupons in hand. I'll post my results when I get home. Wish me luck!!!!

Why a frugal blog???

Why a frugal blog that is a good question. Well for several years now my friends have been telling me that I should write a book or have a class on being frugal. So I finally decided to take their advice and try blogging. So my plan with this blog is to write about the different things I do to save money. Am I frugal all the time? Probably not, but I would say I'm 88% frugal. Like most people there are things that I just can't live without. One example would be my high speed inter net So I look at things as a trade off. In order for me to have the high speed inter net connection we generally don't go out to eat. Of course on those rare occasions that we do go out to eat a coupon is generally involved. So hopefully you'll join me in my frugal journey. I look forward to your comments. Have a super frugal day!!!!!

Kelly