Frugal Living Column

Whether it’s hunting for the best deals around or growing your fruits and vegetables, living a frugal lifestyle is a challenge that can bring a great sense of accomplishment. Spending cents while others spend dollars, embracing this lifestyle has benefits beyond your checkbook.


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Square Foot Garden

by Jim Wang on June 22, 2009

Square foot gardenReaders of Bargaineering probably are aware that my wife and I grow a garden every year. We live in a townhouse without much land so our garden consists of vegetable plants put into a variety of containers. Every year we grow tomatoes, eggplants, peppers (hot and regular), some spices (oregano, basil), and then some random ones we think would be fun.

If I were to do it over again, one option I would consider is building a square foot garden (inspired by Mel Bartholomew’s 2006 book by the same name), instead of buying all these containers. Container gardening is perfectly fine, but the containers themselves are often very expensive and they take up a lot of space. The pots themselves are usually wider up top so you lose a little space in that tapering. Square foot gardening avoids that loss and looks like a lot of fun. In fact, after a quick search I found that fellow personal finance bloggers Lynnae at BeingFrugal.net and Frugal Dad built their own square foot gardens already!

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BVC #15: Repair or Replace Rule of Thumb

by Jim Wang on June 18, 2009

Don’t you hate it when something breaks before it’s “supposed” to? You spent hours researching the best product for the job, the one with the best features, the longest life, and it has the nerve to break down before it’s supposed to? Well, it happens to us all and the hardest decision to make is whether it’s worth fixing or whether you should just pitch it.

What’s the rule of thumb you usually use in determining whether you should repair or replace something that’s broken before its expected “useful” life?


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Print Postage Online

by Jim Wang on June 15, 2009

Post Office in TobermoryI hate going to the post office. It doesn’t matter what day I go or what time of day I go, there is always a line and there’s always only one or two tellers working. I’ve gone to post offices that serve a large residential zip code and post offices that serve a smaller residential zip code, there is always a line and never enough tellers. If we’re near a holiday, forget it, I’ll be waiting in line for at least half an hour. If you visit the PO with any regularity, I bet you understand my pain.

The worst part is watching people struggle through a process that is otherwise fairly straightforward. People show up with packages they haven’t even finished packing! I understand not knowing how much postage is needed but to not have your package taped up and ready to go is inexcusable.

So, that’s why I try to do as much as I can at home so I can shorten the time I’m stuck in the post office. Recently, with all the shipping I’ve been doing related to contests and auction winners in the Bargaineering Bucks store, I’ve been considering printing my postage online. Here’s what I’ve found.

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Make Your Own Dog Food

by Jim Wang on June 11, 2009

Spilled Dog FoodSimplyForties made a comment in the forums about how she made her own dog food, an idea I had never considered. Naturally, I turned to the power of Google to help enlighten me how whether making our own dog food made sense. I know a lot of people that feed their dogs human food but we wanted to avoid that because it’s difficult to regulate nutrition through human food. With dog food, it’s a lot easier because you know almost exactly how much nutrition is in each serving.

Always consult your veterinarian before making your own dog food. You’ll want to be absolutely certain what you should and shouldn’t put into your food. Never put in onions, chocolate or grapes as each contain things that are dangerous for your dog. You might also want to talk to them to get a better sense of which supplements and vitamins you might want to include in your dog’s food.


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5 Easy Ways to Save Money Going Green

by Elena theEcoDiva on June 04, 2009

Going green can seem like a mammoth chore when the reality of life includes an already eventful schedule. For many of us, making huge changes to turn EVERYTHING green can seem overwhelming and quite frankly impractical. The best way to advance towards living a lifestyle that is a brighter shade of green is by taking baby steps. Each day, or each week, (or even each month) you can choose something that is important to you and simply give it a try. No pressure, no expectations…just give it a whirl and see what happens. You might find that you’ve had fun, saved a bit of dough and possibly inspired others around you to join in and bite off a bit of green as well.

Here are a few ideas to get you rolling on your ride to a life that features a slightly lighter footprint and adds the benefit of a slightly fatter wallet. So, choose one or two, or all and let me know what you think.

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Buying Discount Postage Stamps

by Jim Wang on June 03, 2009

Tons of postage stamps on a box.Did you know that you can buy postage stamps at a discount? It’s 100% legitimate and there’s nothing unethical or dishonest about it.

Stamp collectors often buy collections at a discount and sell all the non-collection quality stamps at a discount to be rid of them. You can buy postage stamps at a discount by buying these non-collection quality stamps from them. The savings aren’t astronomically huge, usually around 10%, but every little bit counts.

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Save Money By Going Local for Flowers, Balloons

by Martha on May 18, 2009

Handful of BalloonsThis past week one of my best friends had the unfortunate experience of her mother needing emergency care. I spoke with Jim and we wanted to send her some “Get Well Wishes” in the form of a Mylar balloon bouquet. She is a wonderful woman and we hope that they will bring a bit of cheer during the remainder of her hospital stay!

I started to price out the balloon bouquets by looking at the usual suspects, 1800Flowers.com and ProFlowers.com. Both had comparable costs of about $33 + taxes and a $10 delivery fee. It seemed overpriced for six balloons, which you can get at a local grocery store for about three dollars each.

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Six Ways to Get Green & Gorgeous For Under $20

by Elena theEcoDiva on May 06, 2009

Applying MascaraGrowing up, my mother was pretty strict when it came to wearing makeup. In fact, I was not allowed to wear even something as benign as lip gloss until I was 15 years old. All the while, my girlfriends were glossing, blushing and getting made up in NYC style. So naturally, by the time I was 14, I began wearing it on the sly. Having an older sister, it wasn’t that difficult to find spare eye shadow or lipstick around the house. In the dim lighting of the high school girl’s bathroom I applied the forbidden fruit. Looking back, I can thank my mom for keeping me from harming myself with unnecessary chemicals even earlier than I did.

I’ve learned a lot since then. I no longer have to sneak around to apply my eye-shadow or blush. Instead, I make sure to go organic every step of the way and avoid ingredients which have been proven to be bad for our skin and our health. Here are a few finds that won’t hurt your wallet and help you turn your makeup bag green, one step at a time.

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Frugal and Convenient Breakfast Recipes

by Lynnae McCoy on April 29, 2009

Breakfast can be a very frugal meal, if you have time to prepare it. Unfortunately, time is a big problem when it comes to breakfast. My kids get up at 6:15 every morning, so they can catch the school bus at 7:15. If I were to get up to make them breakfast every day, I’d have to get up at 5:45. And that idea doesn’t appeal to me at all.

When I found myself turning to expensive breakfast cereals day after day, I started looking for a better solution. I began making my own convenience breakfast foods. They’re much more nutritious, and frugal, than their store bought counterparts. I’ll start you off with a couple of ideas, but the possibilities are endless.

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How to Become a Coupon Ninja in 15 Minutes A Week

by Jim Wang on April 27, 2009

I love a good deal.

Coupons VendorFor years, I’ve seen all the grocery store coupon sites out there listing wonderful combo deals, how you can get free this and free that, but I never did it because I didn’t want to spend the time it takes to clip, sort, and manage coupons. I didn’t want to try to match them up with the sales circulars and double/triple coupon promotions to get the best deal possible.

I have nothing against people who do this, in fact I’m very envious of their organizational ability. I know that’s what it took to be a coupon ninja, I’d probably last a week or two, then it would fall by the wayside the first chance it could. That’s just how I am (I don’t bother with new year’s resolutions either!).

However, there’s a much easier way to be a coupon ninja and it involves the power of the internet.

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