Festival of Frugality #336 – Bee In Your Bonnet Edition

There have been 335 editions of the Festival of Frugality before this one, which is a very impressive number!  That is an astounding amount of financial knowledge being shared by some of the best writers around.  Because of this festival’s long and storied history, we were very impressed to see a holy ton of submissions!   If your article made the cut (or not), we strongly encourage everyone to promote this week’s edition on Twitter and Facebook, and please do mention the festival in your blog in the next few weeks.  That said, Michelle and I are honored to host this week’s edition of the Festival of Frugality, here at See Debt Run.

EDITORS CHOICES

• Free Money Finance posted “Get Rid of Your Stuff: Make Money, Declutter Your Life, and Help Others“, which talked about their old suggestion to make and save money by getting rid of our junk. The idea was to simply sell stuff you don’t need/use, make money off the sale, and save money by canceling outside storage.
• Ready For Zero Blog realized that swimsuit season is coming up, and shared some awesome thoughts about “Fun Ways to Workout and Get Fit Without Joining a Gym“.  They noted that if you don’t have time to work out every day, it can be easy to waste money on a gym membership! However, you don’t always need a gym to work out. Here are some creative and fun ways to get fit while saving money.
• 20s Finance waxed philosophical this week on his wonderful post “Why Cars are Destroying Our Society“.  Corey asks,  What kind of car do you drive? Are one of those people that worries about breaking down on the side of the road because your car is older than most high schoolers? Or are you someone who loves the smell of a new car. We all know that smell – it’s not just a sign of its recent production date, but is also about comfort, security, and assurances aka warranties.  Don’t miss this one.

More Fantastic Frugal Posts!

• One Money Design posted “10 Ways to Save Money on Gasoline this Summer“, where he discussed how you can avoid traffic jams to save money on gasoline this summer and also gave 9 additional tips.
• Dewey’s Treehouse posted “Ten Ways to Use Leftovers“, discussing the thought that most leftover ideas seem to fall into groups, and I think we’ve tried every group at least once. Here are the Ten Treehouse Leftover Categories.
• The Millionaire Nurse Blog posted “Food Fraud: What The Heck Is That?“.   Food accounts for 30% of most budgets. With the increasing number of imported foods that make it to the grocery shelves and our tables, food substitutions and dilutions are on the rise. Get the facts.
• Studenomics posted “How to Be Frugal Out of College“, which provided some excellent frugality tips for college grads
• PT Money Personal Finance posted the timely “Cheap Mother’s Day Gifts and Activities that Won’t Blow Your Budget” , which included 10 ideas to help you save money but still show mom how much you care.
• My Dollar Plan posted “Frugal Foodie: 6 Alternatives to Dining Out“, noting that just because you’re on a budget, doesn’t mean you can’t still have fun with food and make eating an experience and adventure without maxing out your credit card.
• Free From Broke posted “The Financial and Physical Toll Caused by Lack of Sleep“,  which explained that a lack of sleep doesn’t just mean being tired the next morning and grabbing another cup of coffee. Your lack of sleep could be costing you money!
• Everything Finance posted “How a Family of Two Can Save By Shopping at Costco“,  talked about the preconceptions about the place and how many folks think that  Costco is for those people with six kids? You may be surprised to find all the ways a Costco membership can save you money.
• The College Investor posted “Buy a Car, Save Money“,  noting there are ways to be smart about your vehicle purchase, while saving money right now and in the long run.
• Earth and Money wrote about how to “Planning a Green Frugal Wedding – Venue“.  When it comes to the venue, you can be both green and frugal without seriously defying standard wedding traditions.

• Totally Money posted “Quick fixes for home makeovers on a budget“, which provided some quick and cheap decorating ideas to improve your home.
• Step Away From the Mall posted “How much house is too much“, noting that buying a house is never a simple process… Nick offered his thinking about how to buy just enough house for my family.
• One Smart Dollar offered a take pointing out that sometimes you should “Rent, Don’t Buy“.  Do you have a home project that needs to get done, but a $500 tool is standing in your way? Save your monday and don’t buy it, just rent.
• Young and Thrifty thought it was “Time to Take a Step Back“, noting how far she has come with her personal finance blog. After all,  It was her dream to make it successful and show the world that a female voice could swing with the big boys in the personal finance blog realm (woot!).
• Smart Family Finance posted “Ways Your Family Can Invest In Gold“.  As many world economies continue to stagnate in todays weak global economy. Investors are looking to broaden their portfolio horizons and gold is one investment that is popular.
• Budgeting in the Fun Stuff posted “Build a Home Series: The Waiting Sucks“, which talked about waiting to hear back about pricing on a bunch of options for our new house, but it takes forever to get information!
• Start Investing Money wondered “Can Fun Money Fit into a Smart Investing Plan?”, and offered his take on why he thinks that it CAN!
• Money Smart Guides asked “Is Tipping Out of Control?”  The author notes that “Growing up, I would see my parents tip the waiter or waitress at the restaurant where we ate. I would see my Dad tip the barber for cutting our hair. Other than that, there wasnt much tipping done.”
• Provident Plan examined the “Seven Deadly Sins and how they lead to Financial Disaster“.  This is a sweet idea for a post, and the author certainly delivered.
• Frugal Confessions dove deep into the energy marketplace with “Sifting Through Energy Company Offers in a World of Deregulation: Part 1“.

• Money Q&A tackled the age old question “Which Is First: Paying Off Your Debt Or Investing For Retirement?”.  Should you pay off debt, or should they start a retirement account first? This is a question that has plagued experts forever.
• I loved My Broken Coin’s angle on her article “Curb Your Spending with Pinterest“.  You should certainly take the time to see how she thinks that this can work.
• Money Reasons posted “Learning Versus Watching TV As Entertainment“.  Learning can be very rewarding! Why not try to learn something simple and quick, instead of plopping on the couch tonight!
• Smart on Money wrote about “Finding Alternative Methods of Getting What You Need“.  They note that we live in a society where it’s fairly easy to simple to just head over to the store and buying something when we want it. Indeed, we often pay money for things without stopping to think that there might be a better way to acquire them.
• Married with Debt discussed what it means to be “Addicted to Debt“.  This fantastic post mentioned that we dont really think of debt as an addiction. Its not as though you have a burning desire to get debt if you dont have it. You dont hear about the car owner who recently made their last payment and started to crave making those monthly payments again.
• Broke Professionals discussed “How Playing Monopoly Can Improve Your Financial Knowledge.”  If you haven’t played Monopoly before, you should download it to your phone or buy the board game.
• Work Save Live presented some great advice in the form of, “How to Retire Comfortably: Start With the End in Mind“. This was the fourth and best (I think) of an awesome Understanding Retirement Planning & Investing series!
• Master the Art of Saving wrote “I Hate Housecleaning…But I Love Earning Opportunities“.  She noted that she is not one of those people who enjoy cleaning; In fact, she absolutely hates housecleaning.  But there is no way that sticking to her routine was worth passing up an earning opportunity.
• I couldn’t agree with Free Money Wisdom more, than we they posted “Do Your Kids a Favor and Open a 529 Plan“.   Did you you can benefit from a 529 college savings plan if you open one? You can avoid taxes and shelter your money for future expenses!
• Personal Finance Journey asked readers, “Do You Take an Honest Look at How You Spend Your Money?“.  When you see your friends buying nice things such as a new car or a second home, do you automatically think that they have gone deep into debt for the purchase or do you secretly envy them and think they must have come into some money? Do you think, some people have all the luck?

• Sustainable Personal Finance wrote about one of my favorite topics with “Recession Gardening to Save Money.”  Read on to learn more about this new take on the home garden.
• In true Festival of Frugality spirit, Prairie Eco Thrifter wrote “How to Save Lots of Money by Making a Few Simple Drink Changes.“ The included list features some common drinks and how to save money when you buy them.
• Money Spruce posted “Hitting a Financial Knowledge Peak and What Really Matters“.  The author has spent the past 2 years absorbing all the personal finance knowledge that he possibly can. He doesnt know everything, but still feels like he has hit a knowledge peak.
• The sly Financial Fox wrote that “I Filed My Taxes, I’m Owing and I’m OK With That!”  This weekend he got around to completing his taxes, and without much surprise he is owning the government $1,800 in taxes.
• The Penny Hoarder brought the heat with “How to Make $24/Hour Teaching English Classes Online“. If you know how to speak a language, you qualify for this freelance job. There’s a world full of people that are trying to learn how to speak English.
• The ever-clever Thousandaire discussed “How to Save Money on Vacation“. They note that you can use frequent flyer miles, buy your hotel from groupon, and eat cheap foods if you want to save money on your vacation.
• Daisy from Add-Vodka really got me this week with her post “Letting Go Of Ideals“.  She finds that in the PF blogosphere, there is a lot of intertwining with self improvement blogs and she think that by tracking our spending, budgeting, investing, and working toward financial goals leaks into other parts of our lives as well.
• Modest Money spoke directly to us bloggers with the “Importance Of Diversifying Online Business“.  In the blink of an eye, your online business can get turned on its head. It is incredibly important that you diversify both your traffic sources and income streams.
• Lazy Man and Money wrote “The Super Fantastic Mega-Baby Post“.  Over the weekend they put in a lot of time researching baby products. There’s so many of them. It seems like a vast majority are used for very specialized cases too.  It makes them appreciate the simplicity of having a dog.
• Bargaineering offered up some super frugal advice with “How to Make Homemade Cleaning Products“.  Make cleaning products at home to be greener and more frugal!

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