Frugal Friday: Postage

Today's tip comes from my sister, Catherine. She recommends paying your bills online (saving the cost of a stamp) but still receiving your statements in the mail. By getting your statements on paper, you can also save the envelope they send you for other mailings! I think she also said, "Booya!" to emphasize her frugality. Be careful, though - some companies charge a fee for paying your bill online or over the phone!

Other ways to save postage (other than not sending any mail!):

1. Send a postcard. Postage for postcards are about half the price of an envelope. Twenty cents here and there adds up if you're sending birthday cards and holiday cards to family and friends all year long!

2. Mail it from work. Obviously you shouldn't take advantage of your workplace to mail thousands of flyers, but even strictly-run offices probably won't mind an occasional letter to Grandma slipped into the outgoing mail.

3. Media mail. Every so often I'll send a box of books to my nieces. Mailing these first-class would cost me more than the books did! Media rates are drastically lower, and though they warn of longer delivery time (up to three weeks!), I've found they usually arrive just as fast as first class mail.

Frugal Friday: Wall Art

Finding unique artwork doesn't have to be an expensive venture. If you're not interested in a museum-quality collection but just want something to enhance your room's decor, here are a few frugal ideas.

1. Paint something yourself. A cheap white canvas (Big Lots has several sizes for very reasonable prices) and a few tubes of acrylic paint could be all you need to make the perfect work of art for your space. Leftover wall paint from your other painting projects can help coordinate it perfectly with your decor. Get the kids involved, especially if it's for their room!

2. Framed wallpaper or fabric samples. I love fabric and wallpaper but have a hard time committing to one pattern for a large project. Throw a sample in a frame and hang it up! Or if you're a nail-hole-commitment-phobe, too, lean it against the wall on a shelf or ledge. It will provide a cheap, easily changeable accent to your room. Or instead of using a frame, use embroidery hoops to frame your fabric. If the hoops are smaller, group several together with a collection of coordinating fabrics.

3. Copyright-free artwork. There are lots of online resources for old artwork that can be downloaded and printed without worry of copyright infringement. Here are a few of my favorites:

Vintage Printable
The Graphics Fairy
NY Public Library Digital Collections
Clipart ETC
Boston Public Library Digital Collections

If you don't want to burn through your printer ink, take them to Staples or other print shop (be on the lookout for coupons!). It'll still be cheaper than the real-deal vintage items in your local antique shop!

Frugal Friday: End of season sales

A simple way of saving a few bucks is stocking up at the end of season clearance sales. Now that the back-to-school season is here, stores are liquidating their supplies of summer items. Now's a great time to pick up bathing suits, flip-flops, and beach towels for a bargain! If you steer clear of trendy clothing and stick to staples and classics, you can pick up almost an entire wardrobe for next year for less than half price.

Frugal Friday: Beat the Heat

If you're in a part of the world that isn't being lambasted with record heat and heat indices, consider yourself very lucky. The rest of us are desperate to keep cool any way possible. The thrifty among us are keeping that ticking electric meter in mind and trying to figure out how to slow it down - legally. Here are my tips:

1. Run a fan. Circulating air feels cooler than stagnant air. If you don't have a ceiling fan, get a box fan. You'll be able to set the thermostat a few degrees higher without feeling the heat. Bonus: Place a bowl or jug of water in front of the fan. This technique, called evaporative cooling, has been used in hot, dry climates like Turkey and Iran for centuries. Windcatchers on the roof would funnel breezes over pots of water, which cooled the air significantly before it entered the house.

2. Open some windows. This works better when it's not quite so stifling outside, but a few strategically opened windows can do wonders. You might have to experiment with the best combinations for your house, but in general opening windows on opposite corners of the house creates the best cross-breeze. Just be sure your A/C isn't on :) Put a fan, facing outward, in one window to force a breeze.

3. Adjust the thermostat. When I'm home during daylight hours, the thermostat is set to 78. If I leave to run errands, I either turn it off completely or set it 3 or 4 degrees higher. At night, the thermostat gets adjusted to 80 degrees. It sounds hot, but it's pretty comfortable if you forgo that cozy comforter and just stick with sheets. A programmable thermostat relieves some of the burden of daily adjustments.

4. Get out of the house. As I mentioned above, I'll often turn off the air entirely if I'm not at home. Hang out at the library, museum, art gallery, or other [free-admission] public area. The meat and dairy cases at the grocery store are good, too, but you can only hang out there so long without feeling like a creep.

5. Befriend someone with a pool. Probably my favorite strategy :) Tom can't swim and sinks like a stone in the water, but he still likes hanging out in the shallow end. If you know someone with a pool who is going out of town, offer to take care of the pool and plants in exchange for use of the pool. They won't have to hire anybody, and you'll have a place to stay cool - a win-win!

6. Keep your blinds and curtains closed during the day. I don't have blackout liners, so I usually still have enough light to accomplish most tasks without having to turn on lights. The less heat that enters the house, the less work your air conditioner has to do. Open them back up at night to take advantage of the cooler night air.

7. Reduce the use of heat-creators. Dryers, dishwashers, TVs, stoves, toasters, computers, and lights all create heat. Wait for cooler nighttime temperatures to run these appliances. Even better, air dry your laundry and dishes when possible, and read a book rather than turning on the TV or surfing the internet (except if you're looking for Frugal Friday tips, of course.) Crock pots have to stay on longer than a stove when preparing a meal, but the temps stay much lower, so use a slow cooker if you want a hot meal. But don't forget cold foods like salads, sandwiches, raw fruits and vegetables, and yogurt either.

8. Drink up. Water's best, of course, but a tall glass of tea is pretty good, too. Presumably an ice-cold beverage prevents you from acclimating to the heat, but I never let an iced beverage sit around long enough to get truly ice-cold.

9. Keep a cool cloth at hand. Sometimes a wet washcloth is all it takes to keep the will to live.

10. Take a cooler bath or shower. You'll be saving money on your water-heating bill, and you won't be sweating the second you step out of the tub.

What are your favorite strategies for keeping cool without cranking up the air conditioner?

PS: Why is spellcheck telling me that "indices" is not a word, but "indexes" is? Gah!

Frugal Friday: Laundry detergent

I'm always on the lookout for bargains on staples for my stockpile, but I usually come up empty-handed in the laundry department. I can never seem to find high efficiency detergent for less than about 15 cents per load, even on sale and with coupons. So naturally I wondered if it was something I could make myself. With Google's help, I discovered it's quite do-able! When I mentioned to my mother-in-law that I had started making my own laundry detergent, she told me she was going to buy me some Tide. My own mother just said, "Now that's interesting." Neither were convinced that a homemade detergent would work very well, yet both asked what I used to make it. It really couldn't be simpler. Just combine equal parts of:

Soap shavings (you could buy laundry soap, but I just used leftover scraps of Tom's bath soap. Hotel soaps would be good for this, too.)
Washing soda
Borax

And that's it! So far, the detergent is working really well, and I can't tell the difference between it and a commercial product. I also added OxiClean to the mix for extra whitening power, but that's optional. It's a low-suds solution so it's safe for front-loading washers, and it only costs a penny or two per load! You don't need very much - only need a couple of tablespoons per load. I use the scoop that came in my OxiClean container.

If you prefer liquid detergent, you use the same ingredients plus water. Basically you boil some water in a big pot on the stove, then melt your soap shavings in the water and add the washing soda and borax. Pour the mix into a 5-gallon container and fill with water, or until it's the consistency of your favorite commercial liquid. Use up to 1/4 cup per load.

Frugal Friday

Regardless of the state of the economy, being frugal is always wise. I'll leave the big items to Dave Ramsey and Suze Orman, but every Friday I'll share one small thing I do that eases the purse strings a little bit. It's not house progress (yeah, we're working on it), but maybe it'll keep my mom from assuming I'm dead because I haven't updated in weeks.

The inaugural Frugal Friday tip is an easy one: cook! Even if you're buying groceries at full-price (ha! Who does that?) you'll still come out ahead over eating out. The recipes I use are generally written for 4-6 servings, but I usually don't halve them. Instead, I make the whole recipe and eat the leftovers for lunch during the week. We've always got a steady rotation of yummy homemade things in the refrigerator. This week we've had Spanish rice and enchiladas, Thai curry with chicken, chicken lazone, and chicken and broccoli stir fry. (Can you guess our meat of choice?) My meals work out to about $1 per serving but are often even less than that! An added bonus of cooking at home is that you know exactly what's going into your food and can make healthier substitutions as desired.

Are you the kind of person that burns water? Frozen skillet meals or even microwave meals are still cheaper than grabbing fast food at the end of the day and probably faster!