Thursday Bram's blog

Twitter Can Save You Money with Deals and Coupons

Want a coupon to try out Yoplait Whips for free? Bargainbriana shared one on Twitter. How about a buy-one-get-one-free deal at Denny's? Coupondivas offered one on Twitter, as well.

Cooking from Scratch: Where's the Work?

Over the past couple of years, I've moved more toward cooking as much from scratch as I can. I've tried to isolate the places where the biggest concentration of work is in cooking

Europe on the Cheap: Take the Train

When it comes to traveling through Europe, there's a lot to be said for taking the train. With just a little planning, you can see five or six countries in just a week — and for a

Restaurant Menus: Translating Cost and Taste

A well-designed menu is considered an easy way to separate diners from their dollars at a restaurant. Even mom-and-pop restaurants put a lot of time and effort into how they put to

Gardening in a Group: 6 Tips

The new White House garden is definitely a joint effort: it's 1,100 square feet that will be tended not only by members of the White House grounds staff but will involve students f

Five Frugality Hacks Straight Out of the Great Depression

During the Great Depression, simple frugality was the only way to get by. There was a saying that everyone lived by: "Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without." There's a l

The Piggy Bank: A Secret to Simple Saving

When I was a sophomore in college, my dad gave me a piggy bank for Hanukkah. I couldn't figure it out at first — had my dad forgotten that I was all grown up and didn't need a pigg

Last Minute Wrapping Paper: 5 Options

I've been known to wrap presents literally five minutes before the family has planned to open them — and that means there's no time for a last minute run to the store for a roll of

Get In Gear For The New Year: 5 Tips For Making Resolutions

The New Year is infamous when it comes to resolutions — not because most people manage to turn over a new leaf but because we declare big goals, work towards them for a few months

Flexible Holidays Are Much Cheaper (And Less Stressful)

My family doesn't exactly respect the calendar. We've held Thanksgiving on a Friday, moved Mother's Day to the last week of April and moved around just about every other holiday to

Holiday Gift Ideas Straight Out of Your Pantry

When it comes to thinking up creative holiday gifts, it's worth taking a look in your pantry. If you're looking for a way to make your own holiday gift from scratch, consumables —

4 Meals You Can Make With Thanksgiving Leftovers

With these tasty meal options, you'll never let your Thanksgiving leftovers go to waste again!

Giving Gifts That Will Save Money

I love the holiday season. I love being able to bake cookies and give them to my friends, put up decorations and — most of all — give gifts. But with only a couple of weeks left un

Going Back to the Root Cellar

My grandmother once told me about her parents' root cellar: it was just a story of something so different from modern day that she thought I would get a kick out of it. But root ce

Start The School Year Off Right: A Few Frugal Tips for Getting Through the Fall

School clothes, school supplies, sign-up fees and more: the cost of education, whether public or private, seems to go up every year. As long as it's for your son or daughter's educ

I'd Rather Be A Brunette: 10 Tips To Save On Hair Care

In high school, I watched a friend drop over $100 on a trip to her favorite salon. I'd always known that her hair looked better than mine, but I couldn't believe that it was simply

Fresh Fruits and Vegetables, By the Month

Not sure which fruits and vegetables are 'in season'? Here's a handy list to help you out!

Books on Uncle Sam's Shelf

I get free books in the mail every year. I don't have to review them, pay postage or do anything else with them. Uncle Sam sends them to me because I ask for them. These publicatio

Low-Carb: Less Carbon in Your Meals?

These days, it’s pretty much accepted practice to have a high carbon diet — the tomatoes in your salad may have ridden on a truck for days to get to you and the fish you’re grillin

The Best (Inexpensive) Souvenirs

As a rule, we don’t buy souvenirs for their usefulness. A t-shirt from the Hard Rock Café or a shell sculpture from Hawaii isn’t going to increase your productivity — in fact, dust