50 Frugal Fun Ideas for a Bored-Silly Saturday is a post from: LivingFrugalTips.com - Learn about: Living Frugal, Frugal Tips, Saving Money, Saving Money Tips

Entertainment costs typically tend to be where a lot of money is spent … almost unknowingly. Movies, dinners and more … all add up quickly. Being resourceful becomes an art form when it comes to frugal living and you’ve got to be creative in terms of finding ways to save and have fun. So, to help you out when you are bored-silly on a Saturday, or any other day for that matter, here are some Living Frugal Tips for frugal fun:

Act like a tourist.

1  Go to your local Chamber of Commerce or Visitor’s Center and find out about all the free stuff to do in your town. Most cities have complete brochures on fun, free things to do.
2.  Or, go online and check out the same Chamber or Visitor Center resources.
3.  Go to a local museum.
4.  Check out your city-center or downtown area.
5.  Visit the historical sites in your town. Most people know very little about the history of the town they live in.
6.  Take a ride on public transportation. You see things differently when you are not driving.
7.  Visit a state park.

Get out and play.

8.  Start a neighborhood game of kickball (it’s making a huge comeback).
9.  Take a walk.
10.  Walk your dog.
11.  Go to a local park.
12.  Find one of the local rails-to-trails areas in your town and explore your area by bike.
13.  Go roller-skating.
14.  Go ice skating.
15.  Go fishing either for the sport of it (catch and release)e or heck, catch your dinner.
16.  Go for a bike ride in your neighborhood.
17.  Have a picnic.
18.  Go bird watching.
19.  Hike through the woods.
20.  Go nature-watching.
21.  Go to the beach.
22.  Watch a sunset.

Volunteer!

23.  Whether it’s Habitat for Humanity or the Humane Society (two of my personal favorites), find a non-profit that you are passionate about and get involved. There are all sorts of local charities in need, especially given the current economic state with reduced donations. It’s a great family thing to do together. It teaches responsibility and allows you to embrace the feeling that doing good … feels good.

Nest inside your home.

24.  Play “Design on a Dime” and change up a room in your home – swap out towels, placemats, flower vases, etc. and recreate a room with stuff you already have.
25.  Bake something – cookies, a cake or a pie.
26.  Make crafts that can later be given as holiday gifts.
27.  Make a home movie.
28.  Make sock puppets.
29.  Have your kids put on a play.
30.  Write a letter to a friend or family member (preserve the lost art of hand-written notes).
31.  Plant an indoor herb garden.
32.  Plan an indoor picnic if the weather is lousy – complete with the blanket on the floor.
33.  Scrapbook.
34.  Play board games.
35.  Put a puzzle together.
36.  Make a pine cone and peanut butter bird feeder.

Chill out.

37.  Listen to music.
38.  Plan an at-home spa day.
39.  Rent a $1.00 movie at BlockBuster Express or Redbox.
40.  Read a book or magazine.
41.  Take a nap.

Play on the Computer.

42.  Find free games to play online.
43.  Connect with friends on Facebook.
44.  Reconnect with an old friend and send them an email.
45.  Catch up on your favorite TV shows online.

Other frugal fun.

46.  Find a $1.00 movie theater.
47.  Pile up in the car and go for a ride in the country
48.  Go to a drive-in movie theater (yes, they do still exist).
49.  Go to the library.
50.  Power walk through the mall if it’s cold outside (leave your wallet in the car).

My hope is that one of these Living Frugal Tips and frugal fun ideas will help make it a great day for you. Please continue to add to the list via the comment field and let’s see how many frugal fun ideas we can come up with.

Enjoy you day!

14 Fun Ways to Pass the Day Trapped Inside is a post from: LivingFrugalTips.com - Learn about: Living Frugal, Frugal Tips, Saving Money, Saving Money Tips

Photo by DigitalRedEye

If you find yourself trapped at home and on the brink of going stir-crazy due to inclement weather caused by rain, sleet, snow and ice — here are 14 things to do when trapped inside.

These Living Frugal Tips are low-cost or no-cost ways to have fun.

1. Have a movie marathon – curl up with pillows, blankets and popcorn and watch your favorite movies on TV or DVD.

2. Recycle garbage into art - grab the contents of your recycle bin, scissors, glue, construction paper, glitter and whatever else you have on hand and lay it all out on the kitchen table and get creative with your kids. They have amazing imaginations and can truly turn trash into treasures.

3. Clean out your clothes closets – The upside to this drudgery task is that you can then plan a clothes swap with your friends where you all bring in your discarded clothing items and trade them. Great saving money tips to update your wardrobe without spending a dime.

4. Break out the board games – Monopoly, Twister, Yahtzee, and good old fashion card games are making a huge comeback and bring families together.

5. Plan a treasure hunt – I did this for my nephews and it was a hug hit. Make up clues on individual sheets of paper, each leading to the next clue and then hide them. A sample clue might be: “Push a button and I run, you’ll hear a bell when your food is done.” This would lead kids to the microwave where they would find the next clue. You can vary the difficulty level by age. Of course there is a treasure that they find in the end. This can be a little box of spare change or a piece of candy or a little hand-made coupon entitling them to a special privilege like staying up one hour later.

6. Turn old cards into gift tags – If you saved your Christmas cards or old birthday cards, you can take your pinking shears, hole punch and ribbon and turn them into gift tags for future use. See my post on Creating Gift Tags from Old Cards.

7. Cook make-ahead meals – Another Living Frugal Tip is to go to your pantry and see what you have on hand that you can use to whip up some make-ahead meals for the coming week. Crockpot soups, pulled pork, meatloaf, lasagna, and baked spaghetti are all great options. Simply make, bake and store in the refrigerator or freezer for quick meals later.

8. Get out and play – Depending on the weather conditions, you can certainly still get out and play in the snow. I have fond memories of sledding, skating, and making snow forts. But the best part of all was coming back inside to a warm fire and homemade hot chocolate!

9. Creative snowman contest – Each family member can make a snowman and then use different household items to dress and decorate it. Take pictures and share on Facebook or via email with friends and family.

10. Take a trip down memory lane – Watch old home movies or go through old photo albums and reminisce.

11. Make a fort – We all remember the fun we had making forts as kids. A cozy, creative place where we could hideout and play. Do it again, with or without your kids.

12. Read a good book – You can curl up and read your favorite novel or if you have kids you can create a reading circle where you read together from your favorite book, each taking turns to read a page or chapter out loud.

13. Make gifts from the heart – Get creative and make a gift for an upcoming holiday.

14. Have an at home spa day – Perform a series of “at-home spa treatments” with your little girls or girl friends. Style each others hair, do a facial mask, paint your fingers and toes, take a bubble bath. Have fun with it and relax.

Please add to these fun Living Frugal Tips and saving money tips and share other fun things to do when trapped inside. Regardless of what you do, have fun and make it a great day no matter what you do!

Photo Credit: DigitalRedEye (License)

Ways to Save with Gifts from the Heart is a post from: LivingFrugalTips.com - Learn about: Living Frugal, Frugal Tips, Saving Money, Saving Money Tips

Gift giving is something that a lot of people stress over a bit, especially with the Valentine’s Day holiday approaching. Admittedly my husband and I have never once bought each other gifts (in 20 years) for Valentine’s Day. It’s a holiday about expressing and sharing your love and I guess we have never measured love based on material gifts. Like I’ve said before … make it memorable and not material … and you will be off to a great start in terms of keeping your financial orders in check, as well as enriching your life with wonderful experiences.

With that said, I thought that I would share some of my favorite gifts that I have given and received in a hope that I will get your creative juices flowing just in time for that “Hallmark holiday”. But certainly, when you get the gist of what I’m saying it will take gift giving to a whole new level for future holidays too. These are low cost or no cost ideas that come from the heart … what better gifts for Valentine’s Day or any holiday.

Create a Photo Book

We took a trip to Colorado and Mike took some amazing pictures. I used My Publisher and made a photo book that incorporated the pictures with quotes and poetry. It was a spiritual photo journey that I entitled “Miracles of Nature.” There are several companies that offer this and all have deals and coupons.

My Publisher
Shutterfly
Picaboo

Create A Family Tree Album

I did this for Christmas and made one for everyone in my immediate family. I found the album at Target, and made copies of the pictures at Snapfish. I then typed up the historical information that I had that corresponded with each photo and organized it accordingly.

There are plenty of extra album pages to add new things as we discover them about our heritage. Everyone loved it!

Make Creative Stationery

I receive this as a gift every year from my crafty sister. She buys blank stationery that she catches on clearance at Target or Michaels and then either runs them through her computer or stamps them. The hands were actually something that my nephew drew. So useful.

Create a Memory Box

I did this one year for our anniversary. I took an old cigar box and decoupaged it. You could do the same with a shoe box or gift box and you can wrap it versus decoupage. I then filled it with pictures, cards I had saved, mementos from trips and fun times together. We sat for hours going through it and reminiscing.

Make Creative Coupons

My husband knows I like a clean car, but hate washing it. He made a coupon book with 12 car wash coupons in it. All I needed to do was redeem the coupon and he would wash my car. You can get creative and do this for all sorts of things.

Plan a Special Day

I did this for Mike’s 40th birthday. I planned a day of all his favorite stuff and typed it up like an itinerary that I gave to him in the morning. It included his favorite homemade breakfast, a fun day outside doing what he loves, I made his favorite dinner and a cheesecake for dessert.

Get creative and give gifts from the heart … they cost less and mean more. Remember. Material things will not satisfy your soul.

Another frugal living tip from Living Frugal Tips.

Create Gift Tags from Old Cards is a post from: LivingFrugalTips.com - Learn about: Living Frugal, Frugal Tips, Saving Money, Saving Money Tips

In the spirit of recycling and reusing things as much as possible, this is a great idea from Living Frugal Tips to save you money and make use of old Christmas cards or any old cards for that matter. Instead of throwing them away each year, cut off or cut out the front of the card and use them as gift tags. I’ve been doing this for as long as I can remember.

You can make them as simple or as embellished as you wish. The easiest thing to do is simply use pinking shears to cut off the front or cut out the card image, punch a whole in the corner, and string a ribbon through the corner. If you want to jazz them up a bit more you can add glitter, buttons, or bows to the front of the gift tag.

This is a very quick and very easy project to create gift tags from old cards and save you money too. If you want more ideas on how to reuse your old cards you can also go to ehow.com.

With that said, save your holiday cards this season and turn the old into something new for next year. If you have kids, this can turn into a fun post-holiday craft session on a rainy or snowy day.

Quick and Cheap Christmas Door Decor is a post from: LivingFrugalTips.com - Learn about: Living Frugal, Frugal Tips, Saving Money, Saving Money Tips

Christmas Door Decor

Christmas Door Decor

If you find yourself wondering what you can do to spruce up your front door for the holidays, here is a quick and cheap Christmas door decor idea that will also save you money.

After last years holidays I pitched my old door wreath and fake poinsetta plants that had survived far too many years of wear, but was then left wondering what to do for this years holidays. Not wanting to spend the money now on new items when I can get them 1/2 price the day after Christmas … I got creative.

It’s a beautifully wrapped present — unique, fun and unexpected … and dare I say the hit of the neighborhood.

Instructions:

Step 1 – Find a sturdy cardboard box. .

Step 2 – Poke two holes in the top corner of the box and insert a plastic tie, string or wire which will serve as the hanger. I used a little plastic zip-tie.

Step 3 – Tape the box shut and then wrap it up in your favorite gift wrap. Make sure to cut a little slit in the back to expose your hanger. Then add a beautiful bow.

Step 4 – Now it’s ready to hang. I used another plastic zip-tie and secured it to my door.

Quick and easy Living Frugal Tips idea that will save you money. I saved money and used stuff that I had to make this homemade door decor. I color-coordinated it with the house color and added a few lights to a plant that I had on the front porch and that was it.

A minimalist approach.

Be creative. It’s fun!

Reuse Old Things to Make a New Centerpiece is a post from: LivingFrugalTips.com - Learn about: Living Frugal, Frugal Tips, Saving Money, Saving Money Tips

While decorating for the holidays I wanted a little something to put on my coffee table. But I didn’t want to spend money buying something new that once the holidays were over would just take up space and collect dust. So, in the spirit of turning something old into something new, I wanted to share this quick and easy centerpiece idea.

I rummaged through the house and came across the silver charger that I bought last year after Christmas at Target for 75% off. Next I grabbed my beautiful glass bowl that normally holds my match collection. After emptying the matches and neatly tucking them away until after the holidays I had a start.

Next I needed something to fill it with. I started with the candle and then used some festive cloth napkins and some fun glass bead napkin holders to complete the look.

It’s nothing special, but at night when the candle is lit the beads sparkle  and it brings great joy in knowing that it didn’t cost me a penny.

It’s fun and easy to be resourceful and remix or reuse old things to create something new. Give it a try

How to Make Dog Biscuits & Save Money is a post from: LivingFrugalTips.com - Learn about: Living Frugal, Frugal Tips, Saving Money, Saving Money Tips

Maggie Waiting for the Homemade Dog Biscuits

Making things yourself saves money. That’s the plain and simple truth. And, there is also so much satisfaction with being self-sufficient and doing something yourself.

We have two dogs that are our “children” and we love to spoil them with toys and yummy treats. We often go to the nearby dog boutiques and love to look at all the unique pet items and delicious gourmet goodies, but we always leave empty handed as we can never justify paying the high prices.

With that said, yesterday I decided to try my hand and baking some homemade dog biscuits. I researched some recipes online and then modified accordingly based on what I had on-hand. They turned out doogie-delicious and I thought the name I came up with was cute too. Here’s the recipe.

Peanut Butter Flax-abulous Dog Cookies

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1 cup water
• 2-1/2 cups whole wheat flour or soy flour
• 1/2 cup Flaxseed

Directions for Making Homemade Dog Biscuits:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Combine oil, peanut butter, and water.
• Gradually add flour and Flaxseed, one cup at a time, then knead into firm dough.
• Roll dough to 1/4″ thickness and cut with cookie cutter.
• Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. For baking harder bones, roll bones thinner or leave them in the oven while they cool.
• Makes 3 dozen.

I happened to have a bone shaped cookie cutter, but any shape will do. They were super quick and easy to make and I figured the cost was about $1.35 – $1.50 total for 3 dozen cookies. If  I bought these at the store I would have paid $9.00 – $12.00 or more. The dogs loved them and I tried them too. Peanuty goodness. There was no sugar which is the biggest difference versus our cookies. Next time I may add a bit of honey or experiment with some decorative carob icing.

Happy baking!