Festival of Frugality #1

Welcome to the first ever Festival of Frugality, where we seek to show you the best of the best in frugality in the past week. The purpose of the festival is to spotlight the best posts of the past week that show you how to squeeze an extra penny, nickel, dime, or quarter out of each dollar you spend. Does the cable company really need all eighty of your dollars just so you can watch your favorite shows? Does your cell phone company really get hurt if you get 600 or 800 minutes this month? Read on for tips on saving a few bucks for the things you’re already doing.

• FMF leads the charge with some Energy Savings Tips from Energy Star, which is chock full of tips from the experts at Energy Star, a government-backed program helping businesses and individuals protect the environment through superior energy efficiency.
• Dawn of Frugal For Life has started a “The Many Uses For…” series where she writes about alternate uses for many household items. For example, did you know that you can use salt and lemon juice to remove mildew?
• Amanda at Young and Broke has a post titled Even Millionaires are Frugal where she talks about the frugality of the affluent.
• Seattle Simplicity at Seattle Simplicity presents Simplifying Christmas: The Card List
• Jane Dough of Boston Gal’s Open Wallet writes about some frugal uses for candle stubs. Don’t throw away those burned down candle stubs and read on to find out how to make use of those last waxy bits.
• Wenchypoo from Wench Wisdom suggests that you should skip saving the nickels and dimes and go for something bigger.
• Mighty Bargain Hunter has discovered that some people’s definition of frugal doesn’t quite jive with penny pinching.
• David Gross at The Picket Line has a very good article titled How could I possibly live on $________? “How can you possibly live on $15,000 a year,” says someone who lives on $40,000 a year. “How can you possibly ask that question,” says someone who lives on $800 a year. Why do people have such a wide range of values for how much money they think is necessary to get by on? (You’ll have to scroll down the page for it)
• Madame X at My Open Wallet writes about her concerns over missing her company’s FSA deadline… and throws in a gross money saving tip for good measure.
• Sarah at Crafty Geek has very easy to follow instructions on How to make a rice bag.
• EarlyRiser at Early Riser writes about My Best Tax Move for 2005 - The Kiddie Tax, a good idea but remember to consult a tax professional.
• Nick of 2c worth has some simple ways to save more daily.
• Jonathan at MyMoneyBlog recently reviewed his his monthly expenses and switched to Sunrocket VoIP Phone Service, read his thoughts on the pro’s and con’s of the service.
• Caitlin at Clutter2Cash has some good ideas on Lowering the Cost of Holiday Shopping.

I look forward to seeing week two of the Festival, to be hosted by Mighty Bargain Hunter; you may find this handy submission form very useful if you’d like to be involved.

Image is courtesy of atropos7200, listed in TTLB’s ÜberCarnival.