Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Festival of Frugality: A Carnival of Money & Poetry

Welcome to the 66th Festival of Frugality. If you're new to the Frugal Duchess, please take time to look around my site. But reserve most of your attention for the Festival. I had originally formatted the Festival with snippets of economical poetry. But a last-minute technical glitch forced me to change my plan.

All this week, I will single out different posts from the Festival. I'll make additional comments about the posts.

I'm grateful to Jim of BluePrint for Financial Prosperity for letting me host the Festival. Thanks to anyone who submitted. Next week's carnival will be hosted by: Debt Hater.


"ever been kidnapped
by a poet... "
--Nikki Giovanni --Kidnap Poem


Editor's Pick

Ben presents 10 Ways College Students can Save Money on Spring Break posted at Money Smart Life. These tips are great for anyone planning a vacation. For instance, I really connected with the first tip about looking beyond the brochure when booking a hotel. On one vacation, we were burnt by a hotel that looked great online and in the brochure, but was horrible when we actually checked in.

Sagar Satapathy presents Live without Credit Cards: 77 Tips posted at Credit Card Lowdown.
This is a helpful list of money-saving tips for the home, work, the car and other areas. Here's a sample:

"Forgo unnecessary insurance. Card companies will try to
hard sell theft insurance for their cards. Don't fall for it-it's not really
needed. --Credit Card Lowdown.

Stephanie presents A Frugal Balance posted at Stop the Ride!.

"Being frugal is about saving money, but it is also about prioritizing how you
spend your money. You don't have to give up everything you enjoy. You don't
always have to buy the cheapest option. Of course, butter, milk and bacon are
examples on a small scale, but finding a frugal balance, with in your budget,
applies to all levels of our time and finances. A Frugal Balance

The Bargain Queen presents The B(argain shopping) Team posted at The Bargain Queen blog.

"You can often get great deals by buying something that's
been minimally damaged and fixing it up (plus it keeps things out of landfill),
but not all of us have the skills or equipment to make even minor repairs.
Here's the service providers you need to know to be able to buy damaged clothing
and have it fixed up." --The Bargain Queen blog

Other Favorites:

Silicon Valley Blogger presents Help! Could I Have Bag Lady Syndrome? posted at The Digerati Life. This post asks a very thoughtful question: "Could being exceptionally frugal be a sign of bag lady syndrome?"

Bryan C. Fleming presents 6 Percent Online Savings Accounts posted at Bryan C. Fleming. This article addresses this issue: "Can you and I get 6 percent interest on our money?"

ispf presents Watching Movies For Cheap (The Sequel) posted at Grad Money Matters.


Grocery & Food Shopping

Jim presents Saving: Not Always About Unit Price posted at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity.

Roast chicken or how to pinch a penny ’til it screams posted at Home Ec 101.

"Here at Home Ec 101 we get a lot of questions on how to
stretch those grocery dollars. One of my personal favorites is to buy a whole chicken. You can get a lot of bang for your buck with one of these, just make sure you don’t buy one injected with anything over 5% sodium solution; it burns
me up to pay for water." --Home Ec 101.

****correction: Post written by Heather of Home Ec 101****

Yan presents Browse coupons from local grocery stores online at ProBargainHunter.com posted at ProBargainHunter.com.

Home Stuff

Spending on Warranty to Save Money: His television went black, but he saved with the extended warranty. The equation of warranty math, time and home appliances works for this writer. I also enjoyed reading the comment from Tim.

Amy Allen Clark presents Ask Frugal Momma: The Amazing Dishwasher posted at Amy Allen Clark. This is a super piece about getting more out of your dishwasher.

Melanie Rimmer of Bean Sprouts presents Frugal Mindset Summary:

"One of the most difficult things about becoming more frugal is
breaking out of the mindset that you must have the right product for every need. The article discusses creative ways to make do without specialised gadgets, and challenges readers to come up with lateral-thinking (and thrifty) solutions to three hypothetical problems."

Jenny Blackburn presents Overdoing Easter posted at Adventures in Parenting.

Car
Savvy Steward presents Car Freshner Tip - Glade Plugins Refill posted at Savvy Steward: "A frugal tip for car fresheners."

FMF presents Buying a Car Using the Web posted at Free Money Finance.


Entertainment & Hobbies

Shannon Christman presents 10 Smart Ways To Save Money On Your Hobbies posted at Personal Finance Advice.

KevinL presents She's Crafty posted at Weekends With Dad. This post offers a creative and frugal source of fun with kids. A lot of stores have craft programs and Keven presents his kid-friendly and pocket-friendly day of craft.

Jenn @ Frugal Upstate presents Columbia DVD Club-Good Deal or Not? posted at Frugal Upstate.

story3girl presents Eating out for cheap posted at story's blog. I loved these tips. Very helpful

ispf presents Watching Movies For Cheap (The Sequel) posted at Grad Money Matters.

3 Things About Money:Presents:frugal Travel Tips

Brett presents Free Magazines For The Rest of Your Life posted at Brett.

Banking, Money & Personal Finance

nickel presents How to Avoid ATM Fees posted at fivecentnickel.com.

Phil presents Think Before Donating « Phil for Humanity posted at Phil for Humanity. This post raises the question: "How can people, who are in debt, feel comfortable donating?"


Pushpa Sathish presents Talking Dollars: The 100 Most Famous Quotes about Finance posted at Debt Consolidation Lowdown.

Jon Morrow presents Why Paying Down Your Mortgage is a Good Idea posted at Real Estate Mega Book.


Shadox of Money and Such presents The Bait and Switch : This post is about how companies to "re-neg, ignore and not honor offers, discounts and rebates." Shadox offers strategies for dealing shady bait-and-switch policies.

Sagar Satapathy presents Starting Early: The Young Adult’s Guide To Personal Finance posted at Debt Consolidation Lowdown.


Health & Personal Needs

Erin presents There's Money in the "Monthlies" posted at Queercents. Erin at Queercents calculates the amount of money a typical woman will shell out for the "Monthlies" in her lifetime as well as provide us with alternatives to save money and the environment.

MFJ presents Frugal cure for a sore throat posted at My Financial Journey.
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9 comments:

Stephanie Appleton said...

Well done! Thanks for hosting and for selecting my entry as an editors pick!

Chance said...

Bravo -- great group of posts. Thanks for including me in, it's the first time I have tried a festival so I am honored. Thanks.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for hosting, and including my article. Looks like there are a lot of really nice articles to read in this edition!

Frugal Duchess said...

thanks for all of your comments.
I had fun putting it together, despite a last-minute/do-it all over glitch.

The submissions were so much fun to read.

Anonymous said...

Thanks so much for the link! I'd like to make a correction, though, Home-Ec101 is a team blog, and that particular post was written by our very own Heather. :)

Frugal Duchess said...

Hi Ivy:

Thanks for the correction. I've changed the attribution.

Your name was on the submission form at the Carnival.

I appreciate the feedback.
Best wishes,
Sharon

Anonymous said...

Sharon, thanks for highlighting the spring break tips! You're right, some of them can apply to any trip. I guess I need to plan a getaway to test out my tips!

Anonymous said...

Sharon, good job with the festival!
Unfortunately I wasn't able to participate this time...but I will link back to you before the week ends.
Keep it up. :)

DEBTective said...

Dollface, just wanted to say a big-time thanks for spreading the word about being smart with the dough and getting on a budget. Here's looking at you, kid ... great job! And good luck on the festival, baby. www.debtective.com