Festival of Frugality #128 Highlights

This week's Festival of Frugality is being hosted by No Debt Plan. Lots of posts here, so it took me a while to get through the list. Great stuff though, as always.

• Preparing for a Disaster - Sometimes, some very simple steps can help a lot.
• Wash and reuse plastic baggies - I never knew this was a super frugal tip. I just thought it was what people did. Note that propping the bags open over the kitchen sink faucet works great for drying them out.
• First Frugal Grocery Shopping Trip - I really need to start a price book.
• Eating Healthy While Clipping Coupons - Great advice for me, since I'm working on getting better at couponing.
• Coupons - Making Them Work For You - Even more great advice.

Festival's up!

The 125th Edition of the Festival of Frugality is up, and my article on Couponing is included. If you don't visit the festivals and carnivals that go through the blogging world every week, you really should, and you should also really consider submitting. It's a great way to find new blogs and to bring new readers to your site as well.

And here are some of the articles that I enjoyed:

• Frugal or Cheap - Here's a Test - I got 22. I'm happy with that, but I think I could be more frugal... I do love my cable though!
• When are you a brand name shopper? - If it's a consumable, I'm more willing to try a generic brand, on the theory that if it's not great, I'll just use it up and buy a different brand the next time. Except, like Kyle, with beer. And perhaps a few other things.
• Why I Like Being Frugal - I really like this idea. Living a simple, grounded life is a good feeling. And it's nice to have that chunk of cash set aside thanks to your frugal ways, so if you decide to take a less than frugal vacation, for example, you can do that. At least in my opinion.
• Jump Start Your Frugality - Good ideas here. Little things add up!
• Renters Insurance Basics - It amazes me how many people don't have renter's insurance. Also, for condo owners - do you have extra insurance for your possessions? Don't just rely on the insurance on the building - frequently that's just the building structure, not always even including interior walls.
• Top 5 Ways to Trim Our Grocery Bills - I am constantly amazed with how much I spend on groceries, and I don't feel like I buy a lot of splurge items. Once I'm back from vacation, I'm going to really try to step up the savings.

More festival links

It's been such a crazy week that I have yet to post about this week's Festival of Frugality! I'm still surfing through all the links, but the below are just some of my favorites.

• Recession Proofing Your Diet - These are some great ideas for saving money while grocery shopping
• Thoughts on Clutter: How to Get Rid and Move On - Great ideas for decluttering. I need to do more of this.
• Why We Are Committed to Living Debt Free - I hope to live debt free (except for mortgage debt) the rest of my life as well.

Presidents and Prison

Since yesterday was a holiday, I opted not to post and take the day to celebrate the presidents. Or to go running and enjoy the beautiful weather. Either way, that means that today, you get a recap of both the Carnival of Personal Finance and the Festival of Frugality!

This week, The Financial Blogger is hosting the Carnival of Personal Finance, Prison Break Style! My entry about Emotions and Money is included, and following are some of the entries that I enjoyed:

• Lessons I Wish I Learned Earlier - I'm in the middle of my late 20's (it sounds better than my late 20's), and a lot of these things really rang true to me as things I should be doing or things I should have been doing already
• Breaking Down the Details of the 2008 Economic Stimulus Plan and Your Tax Rebate Check - There has been a lot of talk about the economic stimulus plan, and Money Blue Book does a great job of breaking it down and giving you the information you need. And helping you figure out if you're getting anything from the plan.
• What One Area of Your Personal Finance Management Would You Like to Improve? - This is a call for responses. I plan to write a post on this in the upcoming week, I just need to figure out which area I would most like to improve

The Festival of Frugality is being hosted by Mighty Bargain Hunter, and in true holiday style, features the U.S. Mint's new dollar coins. My entry on "necessary unnecessaries" is included. Lots of great content here as well, but here are some of my favorites

• Do's and Don'ts of Choosing a New Cookbook - I am so easily suckered in by new cookbooks, and yet ask me how much I actually cook. I always say I'm going to cook more, but essentially, what I need are cookbooks that have recipes that are easy, fast, and make good leftovers. Or ones that come with a free chef.
• No More Deprivation in the Name of Being Frugal - I think this is an important point. While frugality is great, and saving money is wonderful, if you have the money to spend, and you want to spend a bit more on groceries one week, why not? You've earned it.
• How Americans Spend Their Money - A link to a very interesting post about how people spend money, broken down by income. It's not what I would have expected.
• My Clutter is Making Me Fat! - I also dream of cutting back on the stuff I own and buy.
• Five Inexpensive Things You Can Buy Today That Will Help the Environment - I struggle to balance saving money, saving the environment, and staying healthy. This is a great list!
• Ode to the Humble Handkerchief - I've been thinking of going this route. No more destroyed tissues in the bottom of my purse and no more bits of tissue all over the laundry after accidentally leaving one in a pocket.

Carnival - V-Day Style

It's Monday morning, and you know what that means. Time for the Carnival of Personal Finance and the Festival of Frugality! My post on credit reports is in this week's Carnival of Personal Finance. Check it out, it's a Valentine's Day edition!

I'm still going through the Carnival, and haven't gotten a chance to look at the Festival yet, but here are some of my favorite posts so far:

• Struggling on a Six-Figure Income - I live in the Washington, D.C. area, and am well aware that six-figures here means something very different than six-figures in the midwest where I grew up. The discussion in the comments on this post is fascinating.


• What Women Wish Men Knew About Money - I absolutely agree with number 3. Day to day actions do speak so much louder than gifts!


• How the Federal Reserve works and why the interest rate on my savings account dropped - I was frustrated by the recent rate drops on my ING Direct account. This helps explain why it happened. Doesn't ease my frustration though!

Festival of Frugality - Super Bowl Style

I participated in this week's Festival of Frugality, hosted by BeingFrugal.Net.

Some of my favorite posts are:

• The Importance of Delayed Gratification - I'm getting much better at this, but it's always a good lesson.
• Buy Nothing New For a Year - I couldn't do it. But it's an interesting theory. Maybe for a month.
• How to Downsize Your Kitchen - At first, I thought this didn't apply to me. But then I thought about the crazy number of glasses and cups that I have filling my cabinets. Perhaps it is time for a downsize.

The whole list is great though. Check it out!