Stay-at-home mom and writer blogs bargains at www.shopliftingwithpermission.com and family life at www.myfunnyfunnyfamily.com.
Carrie Kirby's profilePosted 1 day 13 hours ago by Carrie Kirby
The best thing about public school is that it keeps kids occupied and not spending money for six hours a day or more. Now that it's summer, here re seven ideas for free or very cheap activities to keep the kids from driving you crazy (or to the poorhouse).
Posted 3 days 10 hours ago by Carrie Kirby
In my supermarket angst series, I've been researching questions that have puzzled me at the store. This time, I'm tackling poultry. Is organic poultry worth the price premium? What about "natural"? Or is it enough just to look for a label that says free-range or perhaps hormone free? Are meat chickens and turkeys treated as badly as laying hens on conventional factory farms?
Now that I know the answers to these questions, alas, this is an area where I'll most likely be spending more.
Posted 4 weeks 5 days ago by Carrie Kirby
Once upon a time, eggs came in medium and large, white and brown, and which one you chose wasn't of much consequence. Nowadays, this cheap source of nutrients and protein comes in many designations at many price points. We take a look at which "upgrades" may be worth the eggstra money and which are unnecessarily draining your nest egg.
Posted 10 weeks 1 day ago by Carrie Kirby
I spent my Earth Day burning electricity -- by researching online some of the questions that have been nagging me when I try to buy earth-friendly and healthy foods. In this first installment of my look straight into the eyes of grocery questions that haunt me, I ask -- is it worth it to buy hormone-free milk? What about the waaaaay more expensive organic stuff?
Posted 10 weeks 3 days ago by Carrie Kirby
As the economy falters, gardening looks better than ever this spring. But as the daughter of a veteran gardener, I've seen too much heartache to believe seed companies' promises of tenfold payoffs. I predict that a lot of new gardeners who are in this to save money will give up or lose their crops before harvest time.
Posted 16 weeks 2 days ago by Carrie Kirby
As Main Street small businesses disappear, it's nice that we can still order from small companies online. However, spoiled consumers take heed: Not all small companies are created equal, and many are not as willing to decree the customer always right as big businesses are. One entrepreneur just responded to a complaint by calling me the B word!
Posted 17 weeks 6 days ago by Carrie Kirby
Even if you live the all-digital lifestyle, don't put away those scissors yet. Some Web sites are now taking manufacturers' coupons.
Posted 22 weeks 5 days ago by Carrie Kirby
Have you mastered using coupons on regular grocery deals, taking advantage of clearance sales and buy-1-get-1 ofers? Then it's time to try some graduate-level deals: Catalinas.
Posted 26 weeks 5 days ago by Carrie Kirby
The free things in life are few -- but one of them, it turns out, is yeast. It's floating all around you, and getting it out of the air and into your bread is easier than you might think.
Posted 33 weeks 1 day ago by Carrie Kirby
Want to turn friends on to the frugal lifestyle without scaring them away? Ease them in with my favorite books that are not in-your-face anti-spending books, yet teach a lot of great frugal tactics.
Posted 36 weeks 14 hours ago by Carrie Kirby
For awhile I have been pondering whether Amazon's Kindle reading device can really pay for itself. But something happened today that got me off the fence: Oprah shared a coupon code that knocks $50 off the price. Consider my excitement kindled.
Posted 36 weeks 6 days ago by Carrie Kirby
When money is tight and you can't buy every single thing organic, how do you choose? Fortunately, the Environmental Working Group has separated the veggie nasties from the veggie OKs. I'm keeping a copy of this list in my coupon file.
Posted 39 weeks 3 days ago by Carrie Kirby
Wouldn't it be nice if you could get (nearly) everything shipped free from Amazon this holiday season? Without having to spend $25? You can -- with a three-month Amazon Prime Free Trial!
Posted 40 weeks 2 days ago by Carrie Kirby
If you're a hard-core sports fan, you're pretty much stuck paying for cable every month. For the rest of us, a raft of technological and entertainment offerings -- including digital TV converter boxes -- are making cable increasingly, delightfully unnecessary.
Posted 41 weeks 2 days ago by Carrie Kirby
As we watch the markets sink and gyrate, it's a scary time. There's talk of a major recession. While the downsides of a downturn are obvious and very real -- lost work, lost investments, lost homes -- there are also some very real upsides to downturns, both on the personal scale and economy-wide.
Posted 43 weeks 1 day ago by Carrie Kirby
Sometimes reading about frugal phenoms can be discouraging instead of inspiring. The lady who raises her own laying hens on her balcony, the family that gets hundreds of dollars in toiletries for free with coupons, the dude who rides his bike 37 miles to work. It can make one think, I would never have time to do all that, so I can't be frugal!
But if you really need or want to cut back, there's a secret to getting started. Figure out which frugal options you might actually enjoy, or at least wouldn't hate too much.
Posted 45 weeks 1 day ago by Carrie Kirby
We've all been warned of the increased health care costs resulting from obesity. But what about all those other things you pay more for, like transportation, utitilities and clothing? Now, that's not healthy.
Posted 46 weeks 44 min ago by Carrie Kirby
If watching the Olympics has piqued your appetite for travel in China, don't despair: After the airfare, you can see a lot of sights in this country for not a lot of coin -- if you avoid the tourism industry.
Posted 48 weeks 3 days ago by Carrie Kirby
Get 15 e-books and courses on saving money for less than the price of one.
Posted 48 weeks 4 days ago by Carrie Kirby
Making and sticking to a grocery budget hasn't just helped our finances -- it's taught us a thing or two about money, food and life.
Have more to say? Join the discussions at Wise Bread's Finance and Frugality Forums.
| Posts | Cmts | |
|---|---|---|
| Andrea Dickson | 5 | 5 |
| Carrie Kirby | 2 | 1 |
| Frugal Duchess | 2 | 0 |
| Jeff Yeager | 4 | 3 |
| Julie Rains | 3 | 7 |
| Linsey Knerl | 12 | 20 |
| Myscha Theriault | 5 | 24 |
| Nora Dunn | 3 | 7 |
| Paul Michael | 6 | 14 |
| Philip Brewer | 9 | 21 |
| Silicon Valley Blogger | 2 | 0 |
| Torley Wong | 3 | 4 |
| Xin Lu | 8 | 14 |
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