Category: Frugal Living Tips

I know I’ve posted before about how I give away some of the great deals I find to charity. But I came across a great blog called Coupon Cravings. She had this great giveaway about how much could you buy at CVS for just $5 for charity. I wanted to post about it earlier, but I was kinda busy so it ended before I could.

I think this is an awesome idea so it inspired me today. I already had plans to get the Pert Plus shampoo and Sure deodorant that is B1G1F this week. I bought 18 bottles of Pert Plus and 6 Sure and my grand total was a -.63! I had to buy a candy to get my total over 0, and it was a whopping 20 cents! I have NEVER done that well before. I normally have a $1 or right around a dollar total or higher. I was psyched! I promise I didn’t clear the shelves and left plenty for other shoppers so please no nasty comments. This was $85 worth of items before sale prices for FREE! I didn’t post this to brag, but to show that a lot of good can be done getting these great deals. If I gave the shelter $20 then that money wouldn’t go very far. Instead I can take that same $20 and buy $100 or more of items to give to them.

Today’s thrifty tip is if you get sugar ants then spray a mixture of vinegar and water. You mix half vinegar and half water in a spray bottle and shake. Then just clean the surface as you normally would and just spray the infested area. Don’t wipe it but let it dry on it’s own. It takes a day or two but it works for me.

I have a nice size walk-in closet with lots of shelves. I love having an older home since there is so much space in the house. I’m actually going to move my gift closet to the spare bedroom soon. I have a box filled with body wash, lotions, candles, shaving cream (usually the smaller travel size ones), razors, and so on. These are items I collect from sales and free items I get in the mail. I give out several gift bags filled with these items for Birthday and/or Christmas presents. I usually spend less than $50 for all these items in the box. I give out close to 10 bags per year which makes them around $5 each or sometimes a little more. But never more than $8 each. The recipients love them, and look forward to getting one each year.

I also buy toys that I find on clearance for those last minute invitations to a party. All of my nieces and nephew are too old for toys so I don’t buy as many as I once did. I give all my nieces the gift bags, and my nephew will now get either a DVD or a game for his system. I also like to buy really nice picture frames that I find on clearance for wedding presents. Now that I’m selling Tupperware, then I am giving more of it for presents. I can get sets much cheaper with my 25% discount. I might break up a big set of many items, and just give a few items to one person, and the rest to another.

Having the gift closet has been a really big money saver for us. Many times we get last minute invites for something. Instead of stressing about having to shop and spend money we might not have, then all I have to do is go shopping in my closet for the right gift. I also have a couple of gift cards if all else fails. I get these from several pay to click programs I do daily. It might seem like a lot of work but it’s really not. I shop all year long so I don’t have to spend a lot of money at once. I would suggest putting even $25 a month to the side to stock up on great sales when you find one. I spend less than $400 a year on gifts and that includes presents for ourselves.

Today’s thrifty tip is use vinegar as a fabric softener. I started using about 1/4 cup with each load and have noticed that the towels and clothes are softer. They also smell fresher. Vinegar is a great way to neutralize odors. If you have dark colors that would bleed like red or purple, then soak them in a sink or basin of vinegar. It locks in the color so it won’t bleed on your other items.

Today’s thrifty tip is use an old toothbrush to clean your sink faucet. I do this weekly and it really does get all the grime out that is hard to reach with a bigger brush. I also use it to clean the lip on the inside as well as around the drain opening. You can even buy a cheap 50 cent one to use just for cleaning. Just make sure to keep it with your cleaning supplies.