While some lucky kids won’t be returning to school until after labor day, others like my children, are going back as soon as the second week of August. Last year, the National Retail Federation estimated that each family of school aged children would spend an average of $606.40 per family. That’s a pretty big hit […]
It’s not easy for me to save money when I’m bored. As many times as my mother told me to find something to clean when I don’t have anything else to do, I’m sorry to say that I never really fell into that habit and tend to want to go out and have fun when […]
I have five kids, but at times, I certainly don’t have five times the budget for them. This doesn’t mean that I’m negligent, but I’ve quickly learned throughout the years that spending money on kids has a risky return. Take toys, for instance. The hot toys this year will certainly not be the hot thing […]
I like having friends over on a regular basis. I even like having potlucks on occasion, but I get frustrated that the only suggestion for how to have an inexpensive or frugal or financially smart party is to have a potluck. If I want to invite a bunch of friends over and treat them, I […]
One of the popular topics of discussion right now is Extreme Couponing. This show, on TLC, highlights the efforts that some people make to get items for very cheap — or for free. The idea is to use coupons and sales (combining coupons and sales is especially important) to get multiple items, building up a […]
I baked my first homemade bread out of desperation. I had just arrived in the US. I was pregnant, far away from family and friends, and homesick. I missed home terribly – especially home cooking. I scoured the supermarket shelves for familiar items. One of them was pita bread. Great! I thought. This will be […]
