Shop at the cheapest store first (like Food 4 Less or the 99 Cents store) then work your way up to the more expensive stores. By the time you are around the costlier stuff (if you haven't gotten everything you needed already), you will be so sick of shopping you just grab what you need and go.

I love an App I have on my iphone called RedLaser-Barcode Scanner. If I am buying something and want to know if other stores around have it for less, I can scan the barcode and it will tell me where else it is available and what it is priced at. I have only used it once but it does really work.

b

Why do we need to have Frugal Fridays if the Economy is getting so good again, as the other Lib Reporters are Crowing? You people are so full of Bull@!$%# that you don't even realize that another one of your articals today says everything is looking up and the Economy jumpin up. Totally Incredible.

We fallow K-I-S-S-

Keep

It

Simple

Smarty

You see if you are doing something that makes you go over your budget you change what you do. Don't set yourself up for failure. Budgeting and being frugal is 10% math and 90% mental.

Never, never, ever spend more than you earn per month. Pay off everything each month in full and carry zero balances on credit cards.

Save a little, at the end of the day empty the pockets of change. Keep it in a jar, roll the coins when full. Keep all one dollar bills and make a habit of rubber banding them together. Use only for special situations and don't cheat your simple system. Move up to five dollar bills when able. Have a much bigger saving plan with a bank that auto saves on your checking account. Leave it alone and use only in great need.

Mortgage is a burn rate. Always there every month, hence do not think of skipping payments or other short range ideas. This is the long range plan for yourself and will return part or more than the total cost some day in the future. Rent is a hole in water like a boat. Always wanting more and returning very little if anything.

Eat out as little as possible. Why on earth pay for huge markups when cooking at home is much cheaper. Beer at the bar is an example of markup when the price of one bar drink would usually pay for a whole six-pack at home with the buddies.

Shopping? buy local, buy once, don't go all over town looking for a deal while burning up $5 buck gasoline. Coupons? balance the cost saved against the cost of the daily paper.

Hardest one is to KNOW WHAT HAPPENED to your money. Make a data computer sheet. (learn Excel) Keep tabs of all expended money (keep sales slips) and look at costs every year. What cost more, what cost less. Do you really know how much was spend on any one line item unless you keep good records. Make a buget (spending plan) and really stick with it.

Own everything outright. The only thing that you may not own outright is the house/ranch/farm you live on and that is that burn rate with the bank. Paying on time for a car usually means you don't have a good budget made. Small purchases like that should be outright. DON't buy new unless you can pay cash. Those cars & pickups dump too much value right off the lot.

Children follow their parents lead. If you are careless with money. Odds on they will be also. Teach them "your books" and make them understand everybody everywhere wants the money - keep as much as you can.

Good Luck and buy American

Shop Goodwill. No "regular store" sale is as good as getting a shirt or pants for under $4 each. Jeans for $6. Brand names. VERY GOOD quality items. You just have to be prepared to look.

I'll never forget this one I once heard - once you spend a dollar it is gone - you can never get it back. I think of that now whenever I shop. I also ask myself is this going to land in the junk drawer, a charity or a yard sale? Should I hold out and hope for a free one on Craig's List. I'm older and my working years are mostly behind me and I don't make as much as I once did, so no frivolous purchases now and no overly generous gifts either.

We've always spent less than we earned, it's something I learned in college when I got my first credit card and figured out how long I'd be paying for something completely unnecessary if I charged more than I could pay off with my waitressing job. That helped curb spending quickly (the Credit Card was for me to establish a credit history for later and "for emergencies"). We don't buy things we don't "need" (ex - a big flat screen tv, iPhones, etc...). I also figured out that for the amount of money it would cost to have two iPhones and data plans, I could have a cleaning lady come twice a month which IMO is soooo much more worth it. Seriously wasting time on Facebook or WWF on my phone OR having my entire house cleaned while I'm at work - no contest, clean house! We have wifi at home, wifi at work, wifi at most coffee shops in town - for the few places we don't have wifi, I can live without being connected to the Internet on my phone. We go to restaurants that have BYOB options b/c I can bring a really decent bottle of wine that I bought myself instead of paying a small fortune for one at the restaurant. For "meals out" with the kids, we usually do take out which saves my sanity and everyone else in the restaurants - it's more relaxing to get good food and eat it at home than to try to entertain young children in a confined space. We barter babysitting with neighbors (you go out this weekend, we'll go out next weekend....) which saves a small fortune and is more fun for the kids anyway. It also saves on drinks and tips (we still tip the counter person but not as much as you'd tip a waitress). My husband and I also go out for lunch together instead of dinners out because we work near each other, we don't have to pay babysitters (kids at school), and lunch is usually much cheaper than dinner.

I actually want to just make a suggestion and ask a question. If you could put the tips from the segment online in some other form than the video that would be great. I watched the segement, but they don't really go into depth about them and it would be nice to have links or more information about any restrictions or whatnot that apply to each deal, that would be really helpful. Also we do not have the internet at home, which I guess is one way we stay frugal. I do however have internet access at work, but cannot view the videos to rewatch the segement.

My question is about the Papa Johns offer. Is the code 2papa or twopapa? Can I only use it for ordering online or can I call in with the code? These are the kind of things that I know they don't really have time to explain during the live segement, but would be easy to find if they listed all the information on the site after the show. Thanks :)

We’re not rich people, far, far from it actually but to help out we started to keep a jar in the house that we each put $ 20 in every week. It doesn’t seem like much but over a few months the amount in the jar really adds up and after doing this for years, I can say it’s worth it. It helps pay for big purchases without having to touch our own bank accounts, such as vacations, a 40" flat screen TV, snow ploughing, a canoe, camping supplies, chaise lounges & appliances. I recently decided a good family present for Christmas would be an IPad since our laptop is getting old/slow and my son has recently vowed his love of IPads. Unfortunately we just used our jar money in September to pay off our August vacation therefore we won’t have quite enough by December for the one I want, so I’ve upped the amount to $60 a week and if we don’t really notice the extra amount missing from the bank account, I think I’ll continue this past December. This is not our complete savings; we also have RSP’s and an RESP for my son (we’re Canadian) but the jar money is what we use for the “fun” purchases. It’s also teaches our son that saving pays off.