Recycled Gift Containers

I keep an eye out at garage sales for recycled gift containers.

During the summer I came across these little tins that jewelry had come in. I could see that they were in excellent condition and were the perfect size for an assortment of homemade Christmas candy, handmade jewelry, or the homemade lotion bars I like to make.  (You can see one ready to give on the right with a quarter above it for perspective.)

I also keep an eye out for baskets or glass jars that I could use for frugal Christmas gift giving.

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Swag Bucks

Are you earning free stuff with Swag Bucks? I am!

I have almost all my Christmas shopping paid for simply because I signed up for Swag Bucks a few months ago and have been using it for my search engine ever since.

It really is that simple!  Click the Swag Bucks logo above to sign up and start earning!

Here are a few additional tips for earning even more Swagbucks.

• After you have signed up, install the tool bar. It makes searching the web super simple and keeps you updated with how many Swag Bucks you have.
• Then, Connect Swag Bucks with your Facebook. This lets your friends know every time you earn some Swag Bucks and encourages them to sign up, too.
• Encourage your friends to sign up with Swag Bucks, using your referral code. Every time one of your referrals wins Swag Bucks, SO DO YOU!
• Check the Swag Bucks blog regularly. They are having a "Black Friday Blowout" that will last through January 1. Here is an exerpt about it

  "Every day of the week we will pick one Gift Card in our Swag Store and "blow it out"! Starting on Black Friday (November 27th) we'll drastically cut the price to much less than we normally have these cards at and you can scoop up as many as 2 for far less than their full price."
  

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Thanksgiving Recipes

I've been nominated for Funniest Homeschool Blogger. Vote for Smockity!

Since the big day is right around the corner, I thought I'd round up all the Thanksgiving recipes I've posted and put them here in one place.

You'll never find a simpler way to prepare the most delicious turkey ever, and turkeys are $.33/lb at Walmart right now!

Some of my children actually request this sweet potato casserole recipe for birthday dinners throughout the year.

And you know what makes it really frugal? When an 18 wheeler carrying a truck load of them overturns on the interstate and the trucking company is owned by a member of the church, so an email goes out that there is a ton (literally) of sweet potatoes that are in good condition, but can not be sold, and anyone who wants them can have them.

That means we have a lot of sweet potato casserole in our future and no one at our house minds that one bit!

Here is my super simple homemade pie crust recipe. It never fails to make a light and flaky crust. We'll be using it to make a few pecan pies with the free pecan bounty we have every year about this time.

Check out Money Saving Mom's Thanksgiving on a Budget and  Life as Mom's Frugal Friday for more ideas and recipes. And be sure to look at Amy's Finer Things to see what fine things everyone is enjoying.


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Be Frugal, Drink Water

I have written before about how we like to be frugal and drink water, but it was brought to mind when I was buying those cute little juice boxes for our Celebrate Fall party.

I was going for simple, so I didn't want to have to pour kool aid into cups, and I wanted the party to be something special, so I went ahead and splurged on something we normally don't have.

I thought of how much extra I would have to shell out if our kids were accustomed to drinking juice or soft drinks as a daily habit.

We offer milk to our children at meal times and tap water at all other times throughout the day.

If we are going out, say to gymnastics, I fill up these nifty stainless steel water bottles from the tap.

On the rare occasion that we eat out, we order water to drink.

It really is a simple way to keep your money in your pocket. Be frugal, drink water!

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Be Frugal. Don't Pay Full Price

I like to play a little game with myself to see if I can never pay full price for an item.

That's why I was so excited when I found this cute little thing recently.

Since it's red and beaded around the neck, I think it is perfect for holidays and parties.

Look at the retail price!  Who would pay that much? Not me that's who.

Check out the red sticker price! AND I got it for even less since the store was having a clearance with a percentage off all red ticket items!

That's what I call a frugal purchase!

I'm thinking of wearing this over a black top with nice jeans for my 25th high school reunion at the end of the month, but I don't want to look Christmas-ish.  What do you think?

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Make the Kiddies Pay

Edited to add: Holly has a great post about Kids and Money, too. Be sure to read it!
I have been thinking for a while about how to word this post so that it doesn't sound like I'm a big fat meanie, but I'm at a loss, so I'll just lay it out there and let the big fat meanie chips fall where they may.

We make our kids pay for stuff.

Really.

If the youth group is going to Six Flags, we tell them that sounds like a fantastic time. And then we ask them if they think they can afford it. (They decided they couldn't.)

If the youth group is going out to eat after a devotional, our kids know they can either eat at home or pack some cash. Their own cash. (They decided to eat at home.)

If they wish and dream for an American Girl Doll, we drool with them over the catalogs and then help them count their money.

If we go to a carnival and they want to ride more than the two or three rides we have bought tickets for, they dig into their own pockets for the money.

Don't get me wrong. We have plenty of fun together. We love visiting amusement parks, enjoying nature, and going to museums.

But if any of our children chooses to do extra activities that we have not budgeted for, they must pay for that themselves.

They know and understand this and they plan and save and consider very carefully what they would like to spend their money on. At the Fourth of July parade we attended, a couple of the children brought their own money and decided to buy the very pricey $5 ice cream cone some of the street vendors were selling. A few of the others thought that was a waste of hard earned cash, though, and held onto their savings.

We try to provide plenty of opportunities to earn cash, and we try to make sure the work is actually work . The seven year old picks up dog, er, leavings out of the back yard for $5/month. The nine year old cleans my bathroom and bedroom for $3/week. The twelve year old mows the yard and the 14 year old weed eats and edges.

We also try pretty hard not to decide for them whether they are spending their money wisely or foolishly. We talk it over, point out the pros and cons and, for the most part, let them decide for themselves. It's amazing the time they put into considering whether to part with their cash!

We feel like this philosophy accomplishes several things.

1. It curtails a lot of money from flying out of my purse every time I turn around and there is another activity to pay for.
2. It drives home the association between work and pay. You work, you get paid. No work, no pay.
3. It teaches them to consider whether a thing is worth the work they have put into the money the thing costs. An American Girl doll costs an awful lot of picked up poop. It'll make a girl think twice about shelling out that hard earned money.
4. It squelches the spoiled attitude of entitlement. When they see how hard they must work to earn their money, they know how hard Daddy works to earn the money we use to run our family of nine.
5. It encourages an appreciation for the activities and possessions we do get to enjoy.
   

So, how do you handle kids and money?

Pack a Lunch

**Have you entered my apron giveaway?


Before we moved last October, no matter where we went in our small town, we were never more than about five minutes from home. In our new home, though, making a trip to "town" is a 22 minute venture.

Since we've become accustomed to going to "town" several times each week, I had also fallen into the habit of running through a fast food drive through to grab lunch whenever we were away from home during the noon hour. This is quite a chunk of change when there are seven growing kids and a hungry mama to feed.

After discussing how those trips through the fast food line add up and in an effort to cut expenses, our family has committed to avoid any and all eating establishments for the month of August (and hopefully beyond).

What this means is we do a little planning ahead and pack our lunch in an ice chest if we intend to be away from home for the day. Bologna sandwiches, carrot sticks, home popped popcorn, and water do just fine.

It's not as convenient as a drive through and it definitely isn't a Sourdough Jack with curly fries and a Coke (num-num!), but we are getting into the routine of throwing everything together in a snap and I feel good about the money that is no longer flying out of my purse.

On Gymnastics and Socialism

We just signed six of our children up for gymnastics at a local gym and they all started this week.

At first, I only signed up three of the oldest ones, and I got a fantastic rate, because the gym gives discounts for siblings. When they finished their first session and were SO excited about it, my husband suggested that maybe we could sign all of them up, except the baby. He wondered if we could suggest an amount that we could afford to pay and see if that would fly.

I was pretty sure that the gym didn't take suggestions since the prices were clearly posted and our suggestion wasn't even in that range, but my husband urged me to just give it a shot.

At first the gym owner thought I was JOKING when I told her how many kids we have. When she finally believed that they are all mine, she stated the price that is posted at the gym. I told her that the figure I asked about was as much as we could afford, so we wouldn't be able to enroll anyone else, but thanked her for her time. That's when she told me that she would be able to meet our figure!

I was stunned! I guess it never hurts to ask.

Anyway, today was the first session with all the kidlings and I sat outside the two way glass with the baby and giggled and stifled full fledged guffaws at the flailing arms and legs and cute little feet running by me. The little bitty guys are DARLING!

The teacher of the little bittys tries to get them to run to the other end of the gym by telling them, "If you beat me, you'll get a Skittle. Hurry, now. Run!" and then she pretends to try her best to beat them, but they, of course, win. After a few times, though some of the little guys catch on and begin to take their time getting down to the other end and the teacher still gives everyone a Skittle.

MaddieLynn says that reminds her of socialism. Everyone gets the prize and pretty soon no one is trying to win. Why try your best when even the slackers get the prize?

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Save Big on Batteries!

OOPS! Thanks to commenter Michele for alerting me that this is a hoax. I should have checked it out first and I'm sorry I didn't.

A friend sent me this video in an email and I immediately called my son to watch it.

He uses lots of batteries for remote control cars and airplanes and flashlights, plus I knew he would dig the part about taking apart a huge battery.

And I dig the part about saving money!

If you would like to get 32 batteries for the price 4, check out this video.



Go to Biblical Womanhood for more money saving tips.

Make It From Scratch

When I was in the hospital for a month long stay during one of my pregnancies, I read The Complete Tightwad Gazette from cover to cover.

Have you ever seen how thick that thing is? Hey, I didn't have much else to do and it turned out to be the best use of a month in bed that I have ever spent.

The author, Amy Dacyzn, does some cost comparisons for several items that come prepackaged at the grocery store.

Bisquick, cake mixes, muffin mixes, pancake mixes, etc.

She discovered, almost without fail - and that only happened with extremely marked down mixes - that it was always cheaper to make it from scratch.

If you think about it, it really makes sense. When you are buying those shiny, colorful envelopes of muffin mix, you are paying for the photograph of the muffins, the packaging, and the advertising, right along with all the preservatives that have to be added to keep those so called "blueberries" from spoiling.

I keep flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in my pantry so there is really no reason for me to buy the mixes unless they are marked as a clearance item.

Using a mix may save a few minutes of prep time, probably less than 5, but it can add up to big bucks if mixes are all that are in a pantry.

It may not seem like a big deal to pay 50 cents or a dollar extra for a mix, but if you are feeding a large family three meals a day every day it really makes a difference.

Let's say I use two packages of muffin mix every day for breakfast instead of making the *muffins from scratch. I would estimate that extra cost to be only a dollar. In one year's time, that dollar becomes $365 that could have been saved.

If I serve Lunchables for lunch and use Hamburger Helper for dinner, I can multiply that figure (at least) by three, and that is over $1000 that could have been saved!

Make it from scratch and save that money! (See our recipe for Funfetti Cake from scratch.)

Be sure to check out Biblical Womanhood for more frugal tips.

*Make Your Own Muffins

1 Cup flour
1 Cup oats
1/4 Cup oil, peanut butter, or butter
1 Cup milk or juice
1 egg
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 Cup sugar
3 tsp. baking powder
Up to 1 1/2 Cups of fruit (blueberries, strawberries, pineapple, applesauce, banana, etc)

Bake in 400 degree oven for 20 minutes. Makes 12 muffins.

Albertson's Grocery Stores Going Out of Business

My husband remarked last night that our local news had reported about several Albertson's grocery stores that would soon be going out of business.

I did a quick internet search and found a list here of which stores all around the country are closing. Oops! This was an old link. -Thanks, Jen.- Check your local newspapers. We have three closing in our area.

(Of course, I used my Swag Bucks search engine. I'm only a couple of searches from earning an Amazon gift card!)

I noticed some discussion in that link that indicated the savings weren't all that great yet, but if you love a bargain, keep your eye on the store near you if it's due to close because you just might get a grocery cart full of vanilla extract and antibacterial clean for $2.77 if you time it just right. (Oh! How I fondly remember that day!)

Be sure to visit Biblical Womanhood for more frugal tips.

Be Frugal, Stay Home

I know this has been said many times, but I am going to say it again. The best way to be frugal is to stay home.

I have reasoned that this must be true, because if you can't see what everyone is standing in line for at the mall, then you can't wish you had one too. Right?

We lived in a small town, one hour from a city with a mall, for the past six and a half years. Our little town had a Wal Mart Super Center and an Albertson's grocery store.

And that is it.

If Wal Mart didn't carry it, I didn't need it, because if you think I would pile seven children in a car and drive for an hour to then shop with them in tow, well then, you hardly know me.

Now that we have moved, we live in a small town once more, a little closer to a much larger city. Our small town has a Wal Mart Super Center, but it doesn't have a fabric department, so I was forced this week to drive to town to find some fabric for our traditional Christmas pajamas.

Wow.

There is lots of... stuff in the city.

As I drove toward my destination I couldn't help thinking, "Ooooh! Garden Ridge Pottery! I haven't been there in years. LOOK at all those cars in the parking lot. There must be something I neeeeeeed there. BED, BATH, AND BEYOND!!! That is where I can find four matching comforters for the girls' room! STEINMART!!! I LOVE YOU, STEINMART!!!"

It took all my will power to drive past all those places, even though before I saw them I hadn't given a moments thought to needing anything they had.

Then, when I got to the fabric store, I noticed the ladies shopping there all seemed to have manicured nails and trendy purses and trouser jeans.

So, it got me to thinking that maybe my GINORMOUS bright floral diaper bag is just a touch past its prime. Not to mention out of season. Hello? Spring? You mean you have left me?

I did break down and buy myself a purse that doesn't scream, "SPRING!" and "I GOT THIS AT A BABY SHOWER! IT'S A GIRL!"

It did amaze me to think of all the money we can save by simply staying home.

And being out of style.

For more frugal tips, be sure to visit Biblical Womanhood.

Eat More Fish!

**Don't forget to vote!



My 11 yr. old son gave me the idea for this week's Frugal Friday post.

He went fishing at the river near our house a couple of days ago and proudly came home with a big grin and 4 fish, enough to feed our whole family. He used chicken liver for bait.

I whipped up my famous hush puppies and french fries, and we had a delicious dinner for the nine of us reeeeeeal cheap.

Be sure to check out Biblical Womanhood for more Frugal Friday tips. Then, go on over to see what Holly and Amy are saying about being frugal.

Frugal Furniture

We have a lot going on here, at Smockityville, so I forgot it was Friday.

And I forgot that on Fridays, I like to participate in Frugal Friday.

I also forgot my middle name for a few minutes today, but now I have come back to my senses. Hence, today's Frugal Friday post.

Ahem.

We have some chairs that were very badly in need of recovering. Trust me when I say the original upholstery was a sight you should be glad you do not have to behold. There were all manner of food and drink stains and mysterious filthy feet prints that, to this day, have not been claimed by a single member of our family.

So I took a staple gun and some fabric that I had purchased to coordinate with the wall paper in our dining room and set to work.

I didn't bother taking off the original upholstery. I just wrapped the seat like I would wrap a gift.



Then, I trimmed the excess.



Time to put it back on the chair frame.



Just in case any kids with dirty feet decide to stand on a chair...



Here is the chair in its place with the coordinating wall paper.



Here is a cornice board that was in our house when we bought it. At the time, it was covered with a nubby burnt orange and brown fabric. I recovered it and I like the way it turned out.



Here is a closer look. You can see where I pieced it together.



I was only out the cost of the fabric, staples, and a little thread, and I have a room that is bright and cheery!

Be sure to visit Biblical Womanhood for more frugal tips.

Discounts on Hotel Stays

My husband has to travel to out of town golf tournaments several times each year.

He has used Expedia to get discounts on hotel stays in the past, but this time he tried Hotwire.com and the difference was substantial.

He was looking for a 3 star hotel (out of 5 stars) in a major metropolitan area within 10 miles of the golf course. All of the hotels were listing for over $100 per night with Expedia, so he tried the same search with Hotwire.

One came up for $59/night, but the name for the hotel would not be given until he confirmed the reservation. (I'm not sure why this is the procedure with Hotwire.) He wondered what he would be getting for that price, but went ahead and reserved it.

After he confirmed the reservation, he was notified that he would be staying at the Hyatt! (Notice the regular rates start at $180!)

He took my son for a special Smockity Men's Weekend and they had a ball staying in a swanky hotel and eating bologna sandwiches, all on the cheap!

Be sure to visit Biblical Womanhood for more cheap frugal tips.

Apricot Recipes

Since we had oodles of free apricots, I needed to find some yummy ways to deal with them. Here are some of the recipes we have used.

Candied Apricots

4 quarts plus 2 cups water
2 Tablespoons baking soda
30 apricots
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar

In a large bowl, combing 4 quarts water and baking soda. Add fruit and soak 10 min. Drain.

In large saucepan, combine sugar and 2 cups water. Bring syrup to boil; add fruit and simmer 20 min. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Simmer mixture 20 minutes each day until syrup is absorbed.

Dry fruit on waxed paper on trays in the sun. Dredge fruit with sugar and store in an airtight container.

Fresh Apricot Pie

1 double pie crust
1/2 cup granulated white sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
6 cups apricot halves
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
2 Tablespoons butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1 teaspoon granulated white sugar

Preheat oven to 425 F. Place half of the pie crust into a pie pan.

Whisk together white sugar, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a small bowl.

Place apricots in a separate large bowl and stir in lemon juice. Add sugar mixture to apricots and toss gently to mix.

Pour apricots in a separate large bowl and stir in lemon juice. Add sugar mixture to apricots and toss gently to mix.

Pour apricots into partially-baked pie crust. Evenly distribute the tiny butter cubes on top of the apricot mixture. Top with remaining pie crust and crimp to seal to the bottom pie crust. Cut slits in the top for vents.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until golden and apricot filling just begins to bubble through slits. Sprinkle the top of the pie with 1 teaspoon white sugar as soon as it comes out of oven.

We have also dried quite a few apricots with our food dehydrator and made a whole lot of apricot jam.

See Biblical Womanhood for more frugal tips.

Apricot Jam

Recently, as we've driven around town on various errands, I have noticed an apricot tree a couple of blocks from our house. The tree and the ground around it are covered with ripe fruit. We have seen birds and bunnies nibbling on the fallen fruit and I've wondered why nobody is gathering it.

Today, on an impulse, I pulled over and rang the doorbell. An elderly gentleman answered and I asked him if we could gather a few apricots. He smiled and said I could take as much as I wanted. I thanked him and told him we would bring him some apricot jam.

We ran home and gathered up some baskets, buckets, and bags and set to work.


(Click on the photos to see all the apricots!)




Thanks to Google, I found a great site with detailed instructions on how to make apricot jam. We still have the basket and the large blue bucket left to process.



The moral to this story is, "It never hurts to ask." We have some wonderful, apricot jam to share with others and enjoy ourselves, made from scratch, for free! If I had never asked for permission to gather the fruit, I would have missed out on this great opportunity.

See my post on making wild plum jam and then go to Biblical Womanhood for more frugal tips.