Articles on Frugal Living

The Ultimate "Green" Workout

Recently our own Xin Lu wrote a post on a motivating way to lose weight (a very interesting piece.) Imagine my surprise when a commenter spoke my mind by sharing the ultimate in “

Making Change Count

I brought a bag filled with quarters to pay for my meal at an Italian restaurant recently. I’ve been taking an informal survey of merchants to see who welcomes my coins. Having rec

3 Ways to Travel Free (Or At Least Really Darned Cheap!)

How would you like to get out and "see the world"? Visit the Carthage Ruins or spend a week just hiking across Europe. Paris, Italy or maybe the Bahamas... there's really just no e

Do You Really Need “Soft” Water?

Water is a necessity. Soft water may not be. Depending on where you live and how you use water, the cost of processing your water may not be worth it.

Is the Wii Fit a cheap workout?

I’ll be honest, I’m not a fitness nut. I don’t like exercising, it always seems like a chore. But what if it wasn’t? What if it were, dare I say it, almost a game? That’s what Wii

Travel on Amtrak

With each move by the airlines to claw back a bit of the profit that has vanished into the twin maws of competition and higher fuel prices, and with each move by the government to

The Benefits of a Walkable Neighborhood

Are you able to walk to your daily necessities from where you live? Or do you drive everywhere? Discover how walkable your neighborhood is and see if you can use your car less.

“Make your own Twinkies” and other secret recipes by the Food Cloner Dude.

Todd Wilbur is a name you may well have heard before. For lack of a better word, he’s a copycat…and a cool one at that. From homemade Twinkies to homecooked Big Macs, Todd can recr

Why "Buy One Get One Free" Is Usually A Bad Deal

Recently, I read about a promotion from a home builder in San Diego where consumers could buy a 4000 square foot house for $1.6 million and get a smaller home by the developer valu

Fill your tank

Last week I saw several reports about a sharp jump in people running out of gas on the highway. The stories attributed the increase to high gas prices, suggesting that people who

Miss the Big Sale? Claim Your Savings Anyway

Use these techniques to haggle your way to savings, even if you miss a sale.

A Prairie Farmer’s Meal Plan: Eat for a Buck or Two a Day

The economy and rising gas costs have consumed at least 60% of my regular news and public television broadcast programming. While I’ve heard all there is to hear about how bad foo

The Costa Rica Heist (Remix) A case for T.I.

The moral of the story: Getting travel insurance doesn't hurt. Cliff Notes Are in Italics.

7 tips to avoid watching a crappy movie.

How many of you do your research before you rent a movie or go to the cinema? I usually read a bunch of reviews and ask friends. Sometimes I’ll see a movie without reading any revi

The Costa Rica Lesson: Awwwwwww They Got Me

Get Travel Insurance before you go anywhere. Have and not need it. No really trust me.

Need To Lose Some Weight? Put Some Money On It!

Recently I wrote about the incentive my husband gave me to lose some weight . Basically he is willing to forgo half of his entertainment budget if I lose the fat I gained post co

New Ideas for Old Neckties

Recently, at an open mic night event my husband and I attended with friends, I noticed an interesting use of a recycled necktie. Seeing this reminded me of a skirt I saw years ago

Rural living in a world with expensive fuel

Rising fuel costs are hard on everybody, but one group gets hit especially hard: Rural folks--especially rural folks who work in town. On my previous posts on expensive fuel,

Don't Greenwash Your Holiday

From hybrid car rentals to carbon offsets, green hotels to conservation oriented vacation packages, the number of options now available to the environmentally conscious traveler ar

Cheap Way to Get Rid of Plastic Baby Bottles

Discovered online: A cheap way to use those Avent bottle nipples without exposing infants to the reported risks of Avent's polycarbonate containers. Mother of invention or mother o