Frugal Living Archives - Page 12 of 14 - MyLitter

How to plan a trip overseas – Part 1 – Who gets to go?

April 27, 2012 By Tiffany 16 Comments By clicking on our links, we might make a SMALL commission - Thanks for the support! See our full DISCLOSURE here.

The end of May, we have the opportunity to go to Beijing, China. My husband Paul, myself and our 3 oldest children ages 14, 12 and 10 will be going for a little over 2 weeks. We are going to Beijing because my parents live there and it is really the trip of a lifetime. It is not a vacation destination that I would have ever considered before they moved there last year. But as long as we have somewhere to stay free and personal tour guides we figured we had better go!

We are only taking the bigger kids for a few reasons. The cost being the biggest. Also, considering most people only have 1 child, the logistics of travel and space available for a large family are just NOT available. We would have to rent 2 vehicles or even a bus to get around and the safety issues are concerning with many small children. We decided to leave the 4 smaller children home with my brother and sister in law.

Our older kids will miss the last week or so of school. I have had to arrange for them to take any tests ahead of time and turn in projects early. Thankfully this has gone smoothly so far and the teachers have been understanding and excited for the kids.

Deciding to leave 1/2 my family home has been hard for me. This is going to be such a cool experience I want us all to share it together, but imagining my 20 month old on a plane for 20 hours is all I have to think about when deciding she would be happier with cousins! Plus, we will be able to move quicker and see more things without the “hassle” of small kids.

Finally, back to the cost. There are 9 of us. The cost of passports, plane tickets, immunizations etc. could really be just completely outrageous. Plane tickets alone would have been almost $15,000. I could barely even type that out let alone actually pay that!

Stay tuned every few days, as I take you through the mistakes and successes we have made planning for this trip!

Have you ever left kids home and taken other kids on a trip??

How to get wax out of cloth – Guest Post

April 26, 2012 By Tiffany 2 Comments By clicking on our links, we might make a SMALL commission - Thanks for the support! See our full DISCLOSURE here.

I saw this tutorial the other day and thought it was brilliant! I have wondered how to get wax out of a few things for a while. I have a favorite table cloth that has wax from a candle on it and have not used it for that reason.

This tutorial from Dollar Store Deals, check her out for more info, and also to look at the really cute Wizard Of Oz cupcakes!

If you spill wax, once you let it cool you can scrape the wax off, but there seems to always be a grease spot. This little trick will get it all out. Or at least enough so that the 18month old niece won’t notice It’s a little trick passed down from my Mom, who learned it from the little old lady who cleaned the priest’s robe. I’m sharing it with you because I love you.

This is pretty easy. Just pull a Scentsy night light out of the socket before turning it off and letting the wax cool.. while holding someone’s precious blanky.

Let the wax cool while you grab the iron, some paper (brown paper bag is best, but work with what you have!). Turn the iron on the cotton setting. Put the paper over the area that has wax, and start ironing! You will see the paper getting greasy very fast, keep shifting it to a clean section of paper. Eventually you will see less and less greasy spots on the paper. It’s that simple!

OUCH! I love the look on her face!

Real Men Coupon? Men who coupon ROCK!!!

April 25, 2012 By Tiffany 16 Comments By clicking on our links, we might make a SMALL commission - Thanks for the support! See our full DISCLOSURE here.

Real men coupon? The other day, I posted a question about whether you are embarrassed to be seen with your binder in the store. One of the comments was left by Michael and I think it is really interesting:

I am a husband and I do nearly all the shopping for my family groceries. I spent 3 years working for Kroger in high school and I kind of have the grocery game figured out a little. I am no expert but I know more than my wife. She will not even look at a price half the time. She could care less because milk is milk, eggs are eggs, etc. There is a large stigma for men couponing. I am constantly ribbed by my friends about it and I always respond that they can continue to pay full price but I will not. Recently I attended a coupon class taught by Paul and I was the only male there with about 25 women. It is just not considered manly I guess. I even coupon for makeup for my wife and daughter, especially when CVS runs a clearance and I know their colors etc. It can feel awkward but I keep telling myself I am saving money and I always carry my binder with me everywhere. But I made sure to get a masculine black and silver binder instead of hot pink or purple 🙂

This is my question; Do you think it is NOT manly for Men to coupon?

I am not really sure where the stigma from using coupons has come from for either men or women. Why the very act of saving money was ever looked down on, is completely beyond me. I remember when I had my first baby and was discreetly nursing him in public. My Grandma was so embarrassed for me, not because of the physical part of nursing him, but for the fact that someone might think I was too poor to buy formula. She was raised that only poor people nurse because they could not afford to feed their babies better. Couponing I am sure got a negative reputation when someone at some point looked down on the fact that you HAD to do it to buy food for your family. Which would explain why it would be “worse” for a man to coupon, he should be able to take care of his family without having to use coupons. Plus, it probably seemed like woman’s work because of the transition from the men picking up the pre-ordered groceries, to woman going to the store themselves and shopping once in the store because the men were at work.

Remember the scene in Mr Mom, where Michael Keaton and all the neighborhood women are playing poker with coupons? All his friends look down on him for staying home and using coupons. That is one of the best movie scenes however!

Personally I think it is pretty dang HOT when a man will use coupons. Honestly, because it means that they had the forethought to even think about what we might need ahead of time, and that is pretty cool. It is cool, because they have to have enough self confidence to not care what people think and that is attractive in a man.

I love it when my husband comes home with something from the store and says, ” I saw this and thought you might like it.” WHAT? you were thinking about me in the store?? Wow! I really love you! Plus you used a coupon on it and paid $1 for lip gloss you thought would look good on me!! Let’s go make out! Wait? I am thinking that men who coupon are not only just WAAAYYYYY smarter financially, but are MUCH smarter at figuring out what what will make their wives happy!

It is the responsibility of both the husband and wife, or if you are single, your personal responsibility whether you are a man or woman to make the most of what you have IMO. Coupons are such a HUGE part of this, it just seems absolutely stupid and ignorant to not use them when possible. To look down on someone or think they are not “manly” for couponing is also stupid and ignorant and really needs to change, this is 2012, not 1912.

BRAVO to Michael and all the men out there that coupon and take care of their families, and have the self confidence to coupon no matter what people might say or the looks they might get!

What do you think?

Spring Break Report 2012 – Iowa, Nauvoo Ill. and Laura Ingalls Wilder!

March 24, 2012 By Tiffany 12 Comments By clicking on our links, we might make a SMALL commission - Thanks for the support! See our full DISCLOSURE here.

You might have already had spring break, or maybe you are going this week. So I wanted to give you my annual spring break trip review. *If* we go somewhere for spring break it has always been a frugal trip, there are too many of us to fly somewhere fancy, but we always have such a good time on a small budget I wanted to share what we did with you.

Past spring break trips:

Arkansas Diamond Mines – OMG this was the funniest trip! Who remembers Paul’s Coke bungied on the back of the truck, or my rant about cold nights in a tent with a baby?! Plus all the child labor laws we broke making the kids dig for diamonds!

Camping in Destin FL. – Oh man! That was a longer drive then we thought it would be! But it was beautiful! Remember the tick club? It was back! I still have a scar from the tick I had…

Sea World in San Antonio – Our first spring break we didn’t camp. Wow, that was weird! We had a really good time and still managed to keep it cheap. Plus we have been back to use our SW passes a few times this past year.

This is our trip this year… It has been the best one yet! You might have read the kid puking story last week, despite this little bump in the trip IT WAS A BLAST!

We were supposed to leave at noon on Friday. At about 4:30 we were getting on the highway, pretty typical Ivanovsky time! We drove to Oklahoma City and spent the night. I will give you that story another time, but it has to do with a cheap hotel room and my husband saying, “Sometimes the extra $20 for a room is worth it baby!”

We made it to my Aunt and Uncles house in Iowa the following evening. We spent the next 3 days there, hanging out with family, visiting the Amish and eating a lot of food!

We left Wednesday morning, had the puking episode and made it to my Aunts in Des Moines. We left Thursday morning for Nauvoo, Ill.

Nauvoo, Ill. is a beautiful old city on the Mississippi river. It is a very historical city with lots of significant meaning for our church (we are LDS or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints). The early members of the church had built a beautiful city (which rivaled Chicago at the time) and were driven out by mobs and made the trek to Salt Lake City.

Nauvoo has been restored and is a beautiful tribute to the 1840’s. If you are NOT LDS, do not let the religious aspect scare you away from visiting this place. You will not be “converted”, grow horns, or otherwise be accosted by missionaries! 🙂 It is a REALLY COOL pioneer experience!

We stayed in the cabin above. There is a street in Nauvoo that has about 12 restored pioneer cabins that you can rent and stay in. Many were in disrepair in Utah, taken apart and restored here in Nauvoo. The stories of the families that built them are in the home and we spent an evening reading about our cabin, the Stephen Nixon Cabin, that was built in 1859 by Stephen Nixon, his 16 year old daughter, Margaret, and their friend, Henry Roper. Next door was a cool little museum.

There is also camping in Nauvoo at Camp Nauvoo that is inexpensive. We have stayed there in the past as well.

The best part? Everything is FREE to do all day long!! There is a large visitors center, where you can watch movies about the pioneers, see displays and get tickets (free also) for all the other activities you can do.

In the summer, there is a large pageant called The City of Joseph you can see for free that is very popular. Tour buses come from all over the midwest to see it. My parents and siblings were in this pageant a few times and it is AMAZING to watch. It is also very crowded, but still fun to see.

There are more then 40 historic sites, free entertainment, handcart treks, wagon tours, pioneer pastimes and more. AGAIN ALL FREE!

You can easily spend 2 full days trying to get in everything! It is really fun for kids, they can make bread, see how to make bricks (plus make one yourself) make rope and candles, do a few different hay rides, play all kinds of pioneer games and more. Paul’s favorite place was the Browning house. We are big fans of Pawn Stars and so the Browning guns were cool to see!

I have been many times to Nauvoo in the summer. It is a great time to go, but it can get hot and crowded. Spring break was PERFECT! The weather was amazing and no one was there! We got to do everything by ourselves and spend as long as we wanted talking to the people there and asking questions.

After 2 full days, we got up early and headed out hoping to make it to the Laura Ingalls Wilder homestead site in Mansfield Mo.

My poor husband, he has 5 daughters and 1 wife who are rabid Little House fans! We booked it through all the little MO towns and 2 lane winding roads to make it with enough time to enjoy the tour and museum.

That is the house that Laura and Almanzo build themselves and lived in for 60 years. Almanzo built the counters really short for Laura to kneed bread on comfortably because she was only 4’11 tall. It made me cry. 🙂 And Almanzo made the hook rugs all over the house in the winter when it was cold and they would sit by the fire. I was bawling at this point. I want my husband to sit with me by the fire and make rugs while I kneed bread on the perfect hight counter tops! O.K. my husband does put gas in my truck for me all the time AND listened to 36 hours of The Little House books on CD in the car…

This was one of the best trips EVER, because we had no schedule. We just did whatever we wanted to do, whenever we wanted. We ate at rest stops, with a loaf of bread, jelly and peanut butter. The kids refilled their water bottles from drinking fountains, and we made muffins and trail mix for the car when we would stop. We didn’t spend very much money at all for the amount of time we were gone. We saw good friends and family and some of our favorite places. But most importantly we were all together and that is what made it just perfect!

Where to find Organic Vegetables Locally + The Woodlands Organics and The Veggie Lady

March 23, 2012 By Tiffany 3 Comments By clicking on our links, we might make a SMALL commission - Thanks for the support! See our full DISCLOSURE here.

I am really trying to buy more organic meat and veggies. I find it really hard to do it because of the amount that we go through. Quite honestly if I had a smaller family I would buy a lot more. A 5lb bag of oranges, a bunch of romaine, apples, bananas, and more is just one day typically for us. In the summer it gets ridiculous and I hate feeling like I have to ration fruit and vegetables, that is just wrong!

How do you find local organic produce?

Many grocery stores carry a big variety now, so you can start there. Also check out Local Harvest to see what is in your area as far as farmers markets go. I LOVE farmers markets! The veggies and fruits always seem to taste better and look better! Let your kids pick out things they have never had before to try. There is also the Eat Well Guide, that can help you find co-ops, farmers markets and restaurants in your area.

In the North Houston area:

The Veggie Lady–
Join The-Veggie-Lady and friends each week to purchase Locally Grown Produce, Free-Range Pasture Chicken Eggs, Home-Canned Items and LOCAL HONEY! Hours are 8-5 on Saturdays and 10-6 on Tuesdays. 25515 Glen Loch Dr. 77380. If you can not make these times, you can call her and set up an appointment. The Veggie lady delivers and you can sign up for her newsletter HERE to get sales and specials.

The Woodlands Organics –
The Woodlands Organics is a healthy food co-op that provides local, fresh, organic produce and groceries delivered right to your door. Delivery is on Wednesday’s and you have a TON of options as far as what you want delivered. You can also shop their sister co-op Open Market at 2515 Waugh (inside Grace Lutheran) from 9am to 6pm on Wednesdays. (Central City Co-op) They also carry organic meat. I am currently getting a large box delivered each week (my 3rd week) and we are loving it!

Where do you shop in your area?

Spring Break Frugal Travel Ideas

March 5, 2012 By Tiffany 13 Comments By clicking on our links, we might make a SMALL commission - Thanks for the support! See our full DISCLOSURE here.

Spring Break is quickly coming up on us. Last year we went to Sea World San Antonio, and had a BLAST! We were able to do it cheap and with 9 people that isn’t always easy!

I wanted to give you some ideas of things that we have done in the past to still be able to take the kids somewhere and not spend a lot of money.

Camping. We have camped a LOT in our marriage with our kids. It is a TON of work for me before and after but it is fairly inexpensive and really a lot of fun for the kids and yes, even me once we are there. Reserve America is where we make our reservations normally. If you are interested I could write up a post on how I pack and what food we make?

Visiting Relatives. Yuck I know, that can be scary! But it is so good for the kids to see family that is far away. Plus, if you are able to stay with them you save the big expense of where to sleep at night. We have family that will even let all 9 of us stay with them! I always bring sleeping bags so the little kids can sleep on the floor, Paul and I have often done that as well. There are so many things that you can busy kids doing during the day that you dont have to be trapped in the house with “Uncle Bert” all day. Take them to the local parks that they have not seen before, new museums, walk around the old part of town. Kids don’t have to know that you are not spending a lot on vacation, they just want to see new things.

Staycations. We have done this a few times and the kids LOVE it. We make up a plan of things we want to do in our own city that we are always too busy for. Then we plan each day as if we are out of town with no distractions and spend the day as a family. We go to parks that are “in town” or down to the beach, or see historical sites that we had no idea about. Just google “things to do in….” and make a list of places you are interested in. We have also gotten a great deal on a hotel room only 40 minutes from our house ( make sure it has a pool!) and spent the night there and did a few things during the day and came home. It didn’t cost a lot, but the kids felt like they had a vacation because sleeping in a hotel “is soooo cool!” Plus, they got to swim in the pool all night!

What are you doing for Spring break? Have you done any frugal trips before?

HUGE Consignment Sale {The Woodlands} March 2nd

February 29, 2012 By Tiffany 2 Comments By clicking on our links, we might make a SMALL commission - Thanks for the support! See our full DISCLOSURE here.

The nation’s largest children’s and maternity consignment sales event is coming to The Woodlands! Join Just Between Friends (JBF) at its first sales event of 2012 at Legends Sports Complex, 602 Pruitt Road in Spring, TX on March 2-3 for deeply discounted prices on children’s toys, games, clothing and other baby and maternity items. Doors are open 9 a.m. – 9 p.m. on Friday, March 2 and 8 a.m. – 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 3. Admission is $2 on Friday (or free with coupon available on the website) and free on Saturday.

How to do a “short” haircut – Save yourself some money!

February 7, 2012 By Tiffany 20 Comments By clicking on our links, we might make a SMALL commission - Thanks for the support! See our full DISCLOSURE here.

One of the ways that you can really save some money at home is to give your family haircuts. This might seem a little scary, but the more you practice the better you will get. Plus, if you start when they are little by the time they are bigger and care more you will be awesome at it! 🙂

I figure that I save $300 alone by cutting the 3 men in the houses’ hair each year. If not more!

Thankfully my girls have a little longer hair and so I don’t have to do theirs as much. When I was 17 I left home and went to live with my Grandmother to go to school to do hair. I knew that I had wanted to do this for a long time. I have aunts that do hair and always loved to be in the salon with them. I am also a “planner” and knew that I wanted a good job while I was in college that was flexible and where I could make more money than selling frozen yogurt ( like I was currently doing) . It was one of the best decisions that I have ever made. Not only did I get the chance of a lifetime by living with my Grandma and getting to know her, but I learned a skill that I will have forever! One that will save me $1,000’a and $1,000’s of dollars!

This is a short 2 part series on how to do a “short” haircut. My photographer is 11 so cut her a little slack 🙂 My model was also running a fever and I wanted to toss him in the bath but he has needed a haircut for a while, so I figured it was as good a time as any!

If you are going to take them in anyway for a haircut you might as well practice first. I can’t hurt… you mess it up, either “buzz” it, or take them in and have someone fix it 🙂 I saw enough of those when I was working in a salon, and always helped show the parents what to do next time.

Part 2

If you can spend about $40, you can get a good pair of scissors. I recommend Sally Beauty Supply (get 15% off with coupon code 555943) because most everyone will have one if you have any questions they can answer. Amazon has a GREAT deal today on a set too.

You can pick up this 30 piece set for only $39.99 (was $59.99) and get free shipping. This is a good one because you get the little clippers for the neck as well as the big ones with all the attachments. Plus scissors and I see a flat top comb. Go HERE to take a look.

If you have any questions leave a comment, if you live by me and messed up your kids hair I might be able to help… if you messed up your husbands before a big meeting I FOR SURE will help 🙂 Just kidding, you got this! Give it a try, you will do great!

Heating Assistance Programs

January 23, 2012 By Tiffany 1 Comment By clicking on our links, we might make a SMALL commission - Thanks for the support! See our full DISCLOSURE here.

If you are having a hard time this winter keeping your home warm the following are links to places that can help. There are benefit programs available in many states to assists low-income families with the cost of heating their homes.

Here is a list of organizations and resources by state. Click on your state for more details

(Thanks A Proverbs Wife)

How to find and USE the Coupon Database!

January 12, 2012 By Tiffany 12 Comments By clicking on our links, we might make a SMALL commission - Thanks for the support! See our full DISCLOSURE here.

There are some great resources on MyLitter and I want to make sure that you know how to use them and where to find them! Many of these actually cost me money to have on my site and so I want to make sure that you take advantage of it!

One of the coolest tools to help you save some money and make your meal plans is the Coupon Database. What that is, is a place where all the unexpired coupons are listed. There are over 4,000 coupons cataloged at a time in this baby! You can find Target coupons, sort by brand, or item or even value.

First thing to do (see picture at top) hoover over the “Printable Coupons” tab in the navigation bar at the top of my blog.

After you “hover over” the “printable coupons” tab you will see the drop down in the picture below:

From here, just click on the “Coupon Database” image.

Did you know that you can even add coupons to it? If you find a great coupon that is not listed you can have it added to the database for others. This is a great way to share and help others coupon. Just go HERE to add a coupon.

Once you are in the Database, go to the “search” and type in anything you are looking for. It can be ANYTHING! If you don’t find it the first time, try another brand.

Lets say for example that I am making spaghetti for dinner. I can come to the database and look for all the coupons I will need for dinner before I go to the store. I might type in:

Pasta
Barilla
Tomato Sauce
Hunt’s
Garlic
Olive Oil
Garlic Bread
Diced Tomatos

Just type in your recipe and see what coupons you can find. As you can see, I typed in both the item I was looking for AND a name brand, just to make sure that I found the best coupon! Obviously, just type in 1 thing at a time.

In this search I needed diapers, so I typed in “Huggies” 33 different coupons matched. It breaks it down into the value of the coupon, where to find the coupon, any restrictions, and if it is a printable coupon the link to where you can print it.

Just because I always get this question! NO, you can’t print every coupon that is listed. Only the coupons that say “Printable” and have a blue link can you print from here.

What it does, is show you where you can find ALL the Huggies coupons out right now. Both printable and ones that come in the Sunday paper, in the mail, tear pads, blinkies, and peelies plus in the magazines!

If you have any questions, please ask them! I want this to be as easy as possible and for you to save the most money. Also, take advantage of the resources that are free on here for you!

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