Traveling to Hawaii is expensive. Add Disney’s Aulani Resort (twenty-one acres of Disney magic on O‘ahu’s western coastline) to the mix, and we are talking about crazy money. Having been there, I can say that it’s worth it! You don’t have to spend as much as you think, as there are a lot of ways…
frugal
How to Become a Financial New You
This post was sponsored, and paid for, by SunTrust. All opinions are my own. Money can be a tough subject for some people. A lot of people live paycheck to paycheck. Others have disasters or unfortunate events befall them (family death, divorce, natural disaster, etc.), some go through a time of incurring additional expenses (marriage,…
How to Upgrade Your Dishwasher to Stainless Steel for Around $100.00
I was upgrading my friend’s home and he loved the dishwasher he currently had—the only problem was it was out of date/black. All of his other appliances were stainless steel. We searched around and the equivalent dishwasher in stainless steel would have cost him over $450.00. I decided to see if we could change the…
How to Teach Your Toddlers to Work, Earn Money, and Become Frugal
Children thrive in environments where they learn to help, have skills to do things, and feel like they contribute. Children should be taught the concept of earning something through work at a young age. I have been learning by experience how to teach toddlers to work, earn money, and become frugal. My daughter, Aurora, is…
7 Extremely Effective Ways to Save Money Booking a Disney Cruise
Today, I welcome my friend and Disney Travel Expert Danielle who shares 7 extremely effective ways to save money booking a Disney Cruise below. The phrases “Disney Cruise” and “saving money” don’t typically go together! As a seasoned Disney cruiser (I’ve done 7) and as a busy, active travel agent I have…
How to Smoke a Papa Murphy’s Pizza
I was compensated for this review of Papa Murphy’s. All opinions are 100% my own. #DealsAt425 #Ad My boyfriend and I have a combined six kids. Eating out with 8 people is not only very expensive, it can also be somewhat disruptive to those around us. Although we all really love a variety of food and flavors,…
DIY Coffee Filter Banner
Are you looking for an inexpensive, easy, and versatile banner for a birthday party, gathering, or celebration? This D.I.Y. coffee filter banner is a great option! It can be customized in length, size, colors, and can be made for just a few dollars. My super creative friend Kim made these adorable DIY Coffee Filter Banners…
3 Easy Ways to Avoid Solicitors and Impulse Purchases
Solicitors often convince us to buy things we don’t really need, want, and/or items we often haven’t budgeted for. They are extremely effective, very convincing, and are usually hard to say no to—or don’t like to take ‘no’ for an answer. The very best way to avoid being solicited and impulsive purchasing is just avoid soliciting and…
Free Activities for Kids in Utah in the Winter
I feel like there are endless things to do with my children in the summer. We mainly hang out in the backyard, at parks, in the mountains, at free splash pads, at the lake, etc. This winter, with two under 4, I’ve been trying to keep them busy, entertained, their wiggles out, etc., all without…
Top 9 Tips for Saving Money at Disney World
A lot of families consider traveling to be too expensive for them. Mention the words “Disney World,” and most scoff at the idea of ever being able to take their family there. It isn’t going to be cheap, but planning and budgeting for such a vacation can make it attainable! Besides booking with my friends…
21 Delicious and Quick Canned Chicken Recipes
I was organizing my canned food the other day and found that I have A LOT of canned chicken. I realized that I need to make more meals with it—especially since it is a convenient and inexpensive way to add protein to a meal. I get a lot of my canned chicken at grocery stores but it’s also…
Garage Sale Haul 3
My daughter just hit a growth spurt and grew out of her 18 month clothes. I was looking online for garage sales that were selling girl clothes and came across this one. When I arrived, I found that they were selling high-quality girl clothes for .25-.50 cents each!!! This is one of the BEST deals…
15 Inexpensive Yet Quality Home Decor Projects…Part 2
Decorating doesn’t have to be super expensive. Using principals of thrift, creativity, and do-it-yourself resourcefulness, you can have quality AND affordable home decor! Below you will find 15 inexpensive home decor projects I really like… Popsicle Stick Hexagon Shelf – Add some mid-century charm to your gallery wall with this DIY wall art idea. All you need…
Garage Sale Haul 1
Early one Saturday morning I was searching on the local garage sale classifieds for good sales. I saw an ad from a lady who was selling, “a lot of designer clothes, bags, home decor, and more.” She mentioned she was a shopaholic and getting rid of clothes (many were still new with tags) at ‘garage sale’…
How to Save Thousands on a Bathroom Remodel
Most DIY bathroom renovations cost upwards of $10,000.00—especially when they include new plumbing and installing a shower, tub, vanity, toilet, and flooring. Here’s how I did mine for under 9% of that figure. The guest bathroom needed an entire ‘gut remodel.’ There was no tub, shower or plumbing for it. And no flooring. Everything was outdated and old. This is the…
How to Have the Honeymoon of Your DREAMS on a REALITY Budget
Today I’ve asked travel agent Danielle to write a guest post. She booked my family’s cruise to Alaska and was just awesome at everything she did. She is very communicative and helpful. She changed multiple reservations (there were 28+ of us going) with a smile. She knows her stuff. I’ve asked her to share ideas…
How to Save Thousands on Baby and Kid Books
I’ve always had a desire to read a lot to my children. I want them to develop a love of books, learning, and literacy. So reading aloud to them often is a personal goal of mine. We usually read for about 30 minutes after breakfast. Sometimes it is in the afternoon; and on occasion we miss a…
How to Save Money Renovating a Bathroom
According to houzz.com the average bathroom remodel can range from $3,000 to over $100,000! The average inexpensive DIY bathroom remodel is about $5,000. Here’s how we did ours for 10% of that. When we moved into our home, there was ugly vinyl flooring, an old toilet and countertop, and the vanity was broken. We wanted…
The Back To Basics Living Bundle—Save over $520!
I’m so excited about The Back To Basics Living Bundle. It is a huge collection of eBooks, eCourses, and memberships to help you live a ‘richer’ life—all for an amazingly LOW price! The books are awesome and my sister’s and my own eBook, Living a Rich Life as a Stay-at-Home Mom, (which was highly endorsed by Dr….
Top Retailers Offering Price Match Guarantees
Many major retailers offer a price match guarantee in their store’s policy. Price matching saves you money and is particularly handy when you would like to make a one-stop shop, when you have a gift card for a store that will match a competitor’s lower price, if you have a discount code or coupon that…
How to Save Money on Gift Giving
Holidays and gift giving can be very expensive but they don’t have to break the bank. Here are some of the things I do in order to save over 50% on gifts each and every year. 1- Draw names. This is the single most beneficial way of slashing a ginormous-gift-giving-bill. Just draw names in the…
How to Save Big on Online Purchases
There are at least 7 ways to save while shopping online. I recommend using many of them at the same time to really stretch your hard-earned money. Here are a few: Using online coupon codes is one way to maximize your money. Another way is to earn cash back through Ebates. Shopping sales Buy clearance…
11 Inexpensive Quality Home Decor DIY Projects
You don’t have to spend a fortune decorating your home beautifully. Below is proof of this! Check out these amazing ideas of how you can create quality home decor items inexpensively. 1. Frame Fabric– This is such a gorgeous idea. I have a bunch of frames I picked up at a yard sale. Now I…
11 Inexpensive Fall Decorations
Fall is one of my favorite seasons (I love them all actually). The crisp fresh air, the colorful leaves, and the wearing of boots all make me very happy! I also love Autumn/Fall decor and decided to round up some amazing inexpensive crafts that you can make and decorate with—if desired. Enjoy! 1. Dining Table…
DIY Custom Curtains (Easy Sew)
I love making my own custom curtains. They are very easy and can be customized to fit the window size and the decor of the room. Further, I’ve found they are most often much less expensive than buying pre-made curtains (I purchased the fabric for $10.00 on sale with a coupon from JoAnns-couponing tips here). Here…
11 Inexpensive Beauty Hacks I Learned in College and Have Been Using Ever Since
As a college student, I was blessed to have some pretty amazing roommates. We had so much fun together. We talked about boys, hobbies, school, experiences, and of course shared our helpful beauty tips with each other. Many of my roommates are gorgeous women who had learned a lot about looking their best. We gave…
17 Fun, Creative, and Useful Teacher Gift Ideas
When I taught English in Taiwan, I loved it when I was given a gift. It showed me that the parents appreciated my teaching and working with their children. It also reminded the children that their parents respected me and treated me well (and they realized they should too). I’m a big fan of giving…
How to Paint, Decorate, Furnish, and Light a Dining Room for Under $200.00
I’m continuing my remodel series (finally). Sometimes as a blogger I get too caught up in new ideas and forget about the old ones I’ve started. I recently promised myself that I would continue on with my remodeling our home series… So, today’s feature is my dining room and how I was able to decorate…
11 Inexpensive DIY Projects
There are a lot of great DIY projects that are inexpensive. Below you will find eleven awesome ones. 1. Rope Wrapped Candle Holder DIY – Easy and inexpensive and very beach chic DIY. 2. DIY Paper Lanterns – No matter what color scheme or theme you’ve chosen for your special day there is nothing quite like…
Teething Inspired Easter Basket
Part of living a rich life on any income is being frugal. One way to be frugal is to dual-purpose gifts or as the old saying goes—’kill two birds with one stone.’ Our daughter is beginning to teethe, so for Easter I made her a teething inspired basket. This covers both the want to…
