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Frugal Gourmet Food Gifts
This is a guest post by Mel, the Gift Girl – Enjoy! With the cost of food rising, even the old idea of giving food for Christmas has made some of us think twice! But there are still plenty of yummy treats that can be made inexpensively and still seem elegant for the holidays. Here […]
Continue readingInexpensive Home Furniture
We badly need some new living room couches. The old ones we’ve had since we were first married (and who have made it through several moves) are starting to fall apart. Because I don’t want to spend an arm and a leg on new couches, I’ve been doing some research into inexpensive home furniture and […]
Continue readingHomemade Halloween Costumes – Ask Who, When, And How Much Before You Begin
What makes Halloween such a fun holiday? Is it creating the Jack O’Lanterns, the neighborhood raids for candy, the decorations, the parties, or is it something else? For many kids and grownups alike, the thing that makes Halloween the most fun is the costumes! Many folks want to make their own costumes at home in […]
Continue readingHalloween Costumes For Kids – Create Simple Frugal Costumes
I love Halloween, but I don’t love the expensive “designer” costumes that I see in all the stores. Even the discount stores have racks filled with expensive character costumes that kids know and want. I’m appalled at the prices of these much sought after costumes and can’t bring myself to fork-over my hard earned money […]
Continue readingHomemade Silver Cleaner
Here’s a quick and easy way to clean any and all silver items (silverware, jewelry etc. ) Homemade Silver Cleaner Get out a pan and line it with aluminum foil. I usually use my 9×13 cake pan for this. Make sure the shiny side of the foil is up. Now arrange your silver items on […]
Continue readingFruit Fly Trap – Homemade
One of the things I like best about summer is all the fresh fruit available. One of the things I like least is those pesky fruit flies that inevitably find their way into my kitchen. Over the years I have tried quite a few fruit fly traps (homemade as well as store-bought) and here’s what’s […]
Continue reading$70 Low Cost Menu for 4 to 6
My $45 menu has been so popular that I’ve taken a shot at another one. I tried to duplicate the $45 price tag, but it was just too hard. Instead I’ve developed a relatively low cost menu. This one has much more meat, a few more fruits and veggies and a greater variety. I hope […]
Continue reading4th Of July Dessert Recipes
With 4th of July just around the corner, I thought I’d share some of my favorite simple dessert recipes with you. Whenever we are invited for a cookout or family get-together on Independence day and I’m asked to bring dessert, I whip up one of these flag cakes. It’s simple to make but looks really […]
Continue readingControl Journal – Keep Your Household Organized With One Of These
I’ve gotten quite a few questions about control journals or household organizers lately. I’ve kept one for years and couldn’t imagine living without it at this point. It’s the one piece of organization in a midst of chaos. Inside I have everything I need to remind me of what needs cleaned and changed when, emergency […]
Continue readingFrugal Fun Activities For Kids To Do At Home
You knew it was coming. The kids are home all summer. You have your own work and chores to take care of and you can’t spend all your time running around from one activity to the other. You need ideas for quick and easy things to do around the house that won’t require a big […]
Continue readingWhere Can I Get Emergency Money?
We’ve all been in tough financial spots throughout the years and sometimes we need to raise some emergency money really fast to make sure we can make our house payment, pay rent or even just get food on the table. If you are asking yourself “Where can I get emergency money fast?” this article is […]
Continue readingSummer Vacation Time Is Here – Are You Making Plans?
Kids are out of school in most areas by now and parents are looking at each other wondering “now what?” If you haven’t already made vacation plans for the family, you may be wondering what you can do to make a vacation possible. There are several ideas about budgeting and scheduling a family vacation that […]
Continue readingHow To Freeze Apricots
I love apricot and right now you can find them in produce sections of grocery stores, fruit stands and even farmers markets across the country. Unfortunately these delicious little fruits don’t last very long on the counter. If you end up with more than you can consume in just a few days, I suggest you […]
Continue readingHow To Freeze Blueberries
A Hillbilly Housewife reader mentioned to me the other day that a neighbor gave her a huge box of blueberries…much more than she and her family could eat at one time. She was asking about how to freeze those blueberries. Since my in-laws have several huge blueberry bushes in their yard, we’ve had the same problem […]
Continue readingFrugal Living is Team Work
A couple of days ago my daughter’s school sent home their monthly newsletter. It always has some interesting facts and ideas in it and in this particular edition, it had a little article about team work. It included the T.E.A.M acronym. I have seen this before, but thought I’d share it with you today and […]
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