Welcome to Tightwad Corner. I can see that you have made the first step to your own economic empowerment. Just signing up for the information listed in these pages tells me that you want to learn and share what you know about how to be thrifty. You want to learn the secrets from others that practice frugality, as well as share the tips and techniques you have learned.
Tightwad Tip Of The Day
Do you have a box of cake mix just hanging out in your pantry but no special occasion to bake it for? How about using it to make cookies?! Here's an easy recipe for yummy and moist cookies. This recipe makes 3 dozen cookies per box of cake mix and since you can find a box of mix at the dollar store for a buck or less, these are very economical cookies. You can mix and match flavors with nuts, chocolate chips, M&M's. Take all the packs of mini M&M's from the Halloween bag and used those. Have fun creating great cookies the whole family will love!
1 box of cake mix any flavor 2 eggs beaten 1/2 cup oil
Mix all ingredients together. Batter will be thick and chunky. Add chocolate chips, nuts, raisins, etc..whatever you like. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Makes 3 dozen.
Deal Of The Day
Are you like us, tired of the so called free deals so prevalent on the net, only to find out once you arrive that there are conditions attached? If you have to complete and offer or fill out a survey, then it really isn''t free, is it, is it?.
With that in mind, we search the net everyday for things that are really, really free. NO OFFERS to complete, no surveys to fill out, no free trial that kicks in, unless you cancel them first, (also know as a negative option). No Auto Ship trials. TOTALLY FREE.
As a subscriber to our website, you'll receive access to the special area in our website that has all of our free offers. You''ll also have access to our download areas where we make valuable programs, ebooks and other goodies available.
There are many reasons to being a tightwad. For me it was that I had children that depended on me for everything. I had to clothe and feed these children. I was 18 at the time and married to a man older than me. He had a child from a previous marriage, we also had my sister living with us, after my mothers death. So here I was 18 with a husband, 2 girls, ages 8 and 10. I was trying to work a full time job, go to college and take care of the house and all that entails. I thought this is crazy. There has to be another way. Well, I didn’t know at that time there was a thing call tightwaddery, or even thrift, much less how to go about saving money. I got started in being a tightwad after reading The Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyczyn. I got a copy of this book from my then sister in law in the early 1990’s.
I instantly wanted to learn how to save money. I was hooked. I like to see how much I can save. My children and I play a little game at meal time. We would see how little we had to spend to make a good meal. We try different recipes. We have a wide variety of choices. We don’t feel limited in any way. Here it is almost 20 years later. Those two girls are raised and on their own with a sense of who they are and where they came from. They are both educated and productive in life. They are good stewards of what has been given to them. I now have 2 teenage daughters at home. I have instilled the same values in them.
When my youngest one was still in elementary school, she carried a lunch box. She did not have all the store bought bags of snacks and chips in her box. Instead she had carrot and celery sticks, of course she had the “ranch” dressing, in a container from yogurt we saved. She had PB&J sandwich in a sandwich keeper, bought at a yard sale, she had frozen yogurt, that was just right to eat by the time lunch rolled around, a “thermos” more like a plastic bottle, with juice, and some homemade cookies. One day one of the little girls at her table asked why she always had such cool things to eat for lunch. My little genius just smiled and said “Because my Mommy is a tightwad.” Of course the little girl asked what a tightwad was, and my baby said she won’t spend money unless it is important. Now mind you my daughter did not tell me this story. The teacher called and asked for a parent teacher meeting. I was fearful she had done something wrong, my daughter not the teacher.
When I got to school, the teacher relayed this story to me. I had to laugh. This is a way of life for her. I tell you this story to make a point. That point is this. Only adults seem to give the names like tightwad, penny pincher, cheapskate, skin flint or thrifty a derogatory meaning. My children have never felt bad or even tried to hide that we are tightwads. They have the things they need to be happy. The rest of the stuff is just that stuff.
Frugality (also known as thrift or thriftiness ) is the practice of acquiring goods and services at minimum cost, achieved via economical restraints or creative measures. Frugality can be related to the idea of being conservative or conserving money.
One of the thrift websites I like to peruse is http://www.livingonadime.com.There are many great articles on this website.The ladies who write the articles are no nonsense and tells it like it is.I have a lot of respect for people who are honest and puts it all out front.
One of the items on the news letter I got today was about Valentine’s On A Dime.What wonderful ideas they have.One of them is:Mail your pre-addressed and stamped Valentines to Loveland, Colorado and they will postmark them and mail them for you. Send them to: Postmaster, Valentine Re-mailing, 446 E. 29th St., Loveland, CO 80538(If you do this, you'll want to do it soon! To arrive on time to a US Destination, your cards should be in Loveland by Feb. 9.)
How about this idea, also from http://www.livingonadime.com, If you don't have money to go out, have a picnic on the floor. Use some candles and lay a soft blanket on the floor. Put on some soft music and have a romantic Valentine's dinner on the floor. Use some white Christmas lights for additional romantic lighting!
Another great idea: Leave "Why I love you" message all over the house. Buy a package of the cheap Valentines. Leave a message on each one and hide them all over the house for your honey. They will get to enjoy the gift for months!
Here is another: Leave "Why I love you" message all over the house. Buy a package of the cheap Valentines. Leave a message on each one and hide them all over the house for your honey. They will get to enjoy the gift for months!( We did this last year, with the cards we bought on sale the year before on sale– 90% off).
One of the thrift websites I like to peruse is http://www.livingonadime.com.There are many great articles on this website.The ladies who write the articles are no nonsense and tells it like it is.I have a lot of respect for people who are honest and puts it all out front.
One of the items on the news letter I got today was about Valentine’s On A Dime.What wonderful ideas they have.One of them is:Mail your pre-addressed and stamped Valentines to Loveland, Colorado and they will postmark them and mail them for you. Send them to: Postmaster, Valentine Re-mailing, 446 E. 29th St., Loveland, CO 80538(If you do this, you'll want to do it soon! To arrive on time to a US Destination, your cards should be in Loveland by Feb. 9.)
How about this idea, also from http://www.livingonadime.com, If you don't have money to go out, have a picnic on the floor. Use some candles and lay a soft blanket on the floor. Put on some soft music and have a romantic Valentine's dinner on the floor. Use some white Christmas lights for additional romantic lighting!
Another great idea: Leave "Why I love you" message all over the house. Buy a package of the cheap Valentines. Leave a message on each one and hide them all over the house for your honey. They will get to enjoy the gift for months!
Here is another: Leave "Why I love you" message all over the house. Buy a package of the cheap Valentines. Leave a message on each one and hide them all over the house for your honey. They will get to enjoy the gift for months!( We did this last year, with the cards we bought on sale the year before on sale– 90% off).
Want a different idea for Valentine’s Day?Why not try a personalized romance novel?These are really fun.You can pick anything from mild to wild.Just fill in 26 personal details and you can give your loved one a great gift.Now just so you know they are not exactly cheap.The paperback book is $50 and the hardcover book is $119.If you want to let someone else do the work the address is http://www.yournovel.com.
If you are creative you can write your own.It is easier than you think.Any who has read a romance book can tell you that they have the same ingredients in them.They describe a person so that you can almost see them.They have great settings or time in history.A good story of how 2 people fall in love.Finally they tell you how they will spend the rest of their lives.If you follow these ideas and add your own details you can create your own story.
You can type it out on your computer and print it on your printer or you can take it to a printer in your town.If you print it out yourself, you can either staple the pages or use a hole punch and put it in a three prong folder you can purchase at the office supply store.Or a printer can print and bind your book for you.There are a couple of ways they can do this, a spiral bound book or they can use a glue just like they do on the books that you buy at a book store.Either way your book will turn out great with just a little imagination.
I was thinking about entertainment for Valentine’s Day.I want to have a day at home with my husband and girls.My husband suggested that we rent/borrow videos.There are some good ones that has come out lately that he thought we might enjoy.This could be a very inexpensive way to entertain the group.So I am incline to agree with him.
So here is what I am thinking,after dinner is over andhubby and girls are cleaning the kitchen, (now you didn’t think it was all one way did you), I will set up the movie.Over the summer we bought one of the old fashion popcorn makers.I swear my husband makes the best popcorn.So I will put bowls of popcorn on the coffee table and end tables in the living room for those that want it.
Now this might take a little research to find out what everyone has not seen and what they would like to see.We will probably get a few movies.This seems to work best for us as everyone seems to have different tastes in movies.And because we have teenagers now it should be okay to get an “adult” type movie, like a love a romantic comedy.If you have smaller children, you could set up another player in either a bedroom or a play room for them.This will allow you, as a couple, to watch something that isn’t animated, unless that is your type of movie of course.
This is a nice relaxing time at home with the family.You see this will work best for us.We have 4 birthdays back to back.Michael’s, my husband, birthday is on the 25th of January; Morgan’s, our oldest daughter, is on the 2nd of February; Taylor’s, our youngest daughter, is on the 12th, and mine is on the 23rd.So you can see with all the celebrating of birthdays all I want is some quiet time with the family.
You know you don’t have to have a fancy meal or elaborate entertainment to make the day memorable.It is the time spent together they are going to remember. One year we had sandwiches and played board games.My children remember it fondly.I gave each of them a small box of homemade chocolates and a card I had made.They loved it.
So if you are not a good cook or you don’t have time to prepare that gourmet meal, don’t worry.Just make what you know your family loves and spend the evening with them.They know you love them and the most important gift we can give our family is time.
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