Cashmonkies Frugal Blog

Hey guys, with Halloween around the corner, this article will really help you all out. Yes you can be frugal even during Halloween time. Let’s face it, Costumes are pretty expensive. From $25 and up, for 1-2 days wearing time, usually only a few hours each day, it’s defiantly not worth it. So go frugal for Halloween this year. Here are some simple ideas to help get those brains flowing in the right direction, I’m sure once you read these your creative side will take over and the possibilities will be endless!

Princess- Head over to the second hand store and buy your little one a frilly party dress. Will cost you at the most $4. I’m sure she already has dress shoes at the house and tights. Head over to your local dollar store and purchase her a tiara. Cost you $1. Fix her hair and add some of your own makeup, and you have a very cute princess for $5

Farmer or Scarecrow- If your child has jean overalls and a flannel shirt, then your set to go. If not head over to the thrift store and grab a flannel shirt for $1 and some overalls for $3 at the most. Throw some plain tennis shoes on them. Have them carry a stuffed pig in their pocket. Go to your local dollar store and purchase a straw hat for $1 and for $5 you have the perfect little farmer. Follow the above steps for scarecrow. If you have extra straw around the house, use that, if not then while you are at your dollar store, grab two of their string style mops $2 and bright red lipstick $1. Come home and cut the mops in half. Tie the strings to the inside of each sleeve, and then hang some out of the pockets. Paint a red triangle onto their nose and for $8 you have a scare crow.

So there were some simple ideas, and now if you do some thinking and looking around your house, I bet you can create a great Halloween costume for a very frugal price.

Ok guys, here is the much wanted update for my shopping trip on Thursday. Sorry this was so late. I hope to get onto a better schedule with updating this blog. I like it and I know you all do also. This week, I spent a little more then I normally do, but this is because I purchased a few things for the kids that were on sale. So about $45 of the money is for misc. items.

Grand Total-$270.29
Total Sales- $51.29
Total Coupons- $16.10
Total Cash Actually Used- $202.90
Total Savings- $67.39

That was really hard this week, as it seemed like most of the stores did not have much on sale, so I had to pay full price for a few items, which I can not stand doing. But you have to buy some things if you cant live without.

Ill have some great tips coming in a few days and some good Halloween articles coming up very soon for all you frugal lovers out there! I want to try and dig up some good meal budget items as well for you all.

Hey guys, I just remembered I did not post my Thursday shopping trip stats. I will get them up tomorrow for you. I am also going to make certain days where I will update this blog, so it’s not forgotten about. I know you guys love being frugal, so I am going to have certain days where you can expect updates. I will let you know, when I look into my schedule some more, and work this in a few days a week. For now, some quick frugal Halloween tips. More great frugal Halloween articles to come just thought I would give you some heads up now 

Treats- If you’re staying home this year and passing out treats for the little ones, purchase something more then treats. Imagine how much candy one child gets? It’s going to be a lot of candy. My kids always have way too much. Candy is not good for them, we all know that. But its part of being a kid right? So here is a thought. Instead of giving them a few pieces of expensive candy, head over to the dollar store. You can purchase MANY small toys for them. If you go near the party favors, you can find things in large quanties. Rings, bracelets, cars etc. Purchase a few bags of candy and some toys. Give each kid a piece of candy and a toy. Another fugal way, skip the candy and just give them a toy.

Costumes- Go online and look for homemade costumes. You can make a great costume for a very low price and most of the time; you have the basic supplies at home already. I will be posting some great costume ideas this week also. This will help you while being frugal!

Ill write more tomorrow guys! Have a great night

So, it’s Thursday once again! That means, I have completed my shopping circle. I told you all I would post my totals once again! I have to say, I am pleased. I did spend a little more then normal, but I was able to catch more sales, so it made up for it.

I went to 4 different stores this time. One store, I didn’t really have sales or coupons, it was Aldi’s and as you know, they have their own brand of food, so there really are no sales and you can use any coupons. I just picked up a few things that we needed, that were not on sale and I didn’t have a coupon for them. So here is how it went.

Grand Total- $238.42
Total Sales- $47.91
Total Coupons- $18.98
Total Cash Actually Used- $171.53
Total Savings- $66.89

I have been keeping track for 3 weeks now. I posted my 2nd track record for you all, and this is my third. So in 3 weeks by planning my menu, making my list, matching coupons to sales, I have saved a total of $ 179.06, so I am basically getting my 4th week of food free!! Not really, but you get the point.

I will tell you, it takes me about 2 hours a week to save this much. I sit at the kitchen table every Wednesday night. With my sales ads, coupons and pieces of paper. I make my weekly menu from the meats that are on sale. So that helps a lot. I noticed by doing that, many things follow. Like if they have roast on sale, they will also have potatoes, carrots and broth on sale. So if you can plan your menu from the meats that are on sale, you should start off pretty good. I live in a large city. So I have a lot of options. My three main stores are all 5 minutes from my house, each way. So nothing is far. If I was in the country, my shopping habits would be different. So judge what/when/how you buy, by where you live, how much time it takes you to get to the store and most important, how much gas you use.

Ill post next Thursday my savings again. If any of you are doing this also, I would love to hear your total savings as well!

I will have some shopping tips for you all tomorrow. Working on some good ones that will hopefully help me and you all!!

How many of you get frustrated every time you fill up at the pump? I know I sure do, and I don’t have to fill up that often, but it still frustrates me. Here are some great tips to help you save gas and cash!

Tire Pressure- I never thought this would matter much, but it does. When your tire pressure is low, your car has to use more power then it should to keep your current speed. This makes your engine work harder and when your engine works harder, you use more gas.

Weight- The weight of your car plays a large impact on how much gas you use also. Eliminate all your extra weight by cleaning out your car often and not using your trunk as a storage space.

Combine Trips- This is what I like to call my Circle. I do my circle every Thursday. Everyone around me knows what I mean when I say it’s my circle day. I do all my errands and grocery shopping on one day. I plan my trip out before I leave my house. I plan it so I am driving in one big circle. I don’t back track my driving at all. By doing this, I eliminate a lot of back tracking and wasting gas.

Oil and Air- Get your oil changed on a regular schedule. While having your oil changed, have them check your air filter as well. Dirty oil causes your engine to work harder and a dirty air filter restricts your air flow to your engine. If you have both of these, chances are your car is working almost double what is should be. This means you are using a lot more gas for normal daily routines then you should be.

We all want more ways to get cash into our pockets and out of other people’s hands. There are so many ways you can do this. I have given you a bunch throughout this blog already. Here are some more great ways to get more cash in your hands and not into someone else’s hands.

If you use credit cards (even though you should be very careful) make sure you use one that offers really good rewards. If you can pay your statement each month in full, use your credit card with good rewards so you can save your points for something that you really want. If you can not pay the balance in full each month, then don’t bother with this, as the interest will eat up the rewards and you won’t be gaining anything.

Pick one item a month to do it yourself. Anything that you happen to do a lot of. If you drive through star bucks each morning for a large coffee, brew it at home instead. If you pay someone to mow your grass each month, do it yourself. Find something that you can do each month, and place that money you would normally use each time into a jar. At the end of the year, count how much money you saved, just by changing one habit each month.

Shop Around for Insurance. This means, life insurance, car insurance, homeowners insurance or any other type that you buy. Write down on your calendar twice a year, that you have to shop around. Places change their prices all the time, in hopes to drive in new costumers. If you bundle up these polices, you can save a ton of money with discounts. Every 6 months, I bet you will find a better deal.

Hey guys, Sorry, I haven’t updated this in a little while. I have just been really busy lately. I hope to have some good entrees for you all again though. I wanted to set everyone up for a challenge. Something I am doing myself here. For a few weeks, I am docking all my grocery spending. We all know that I go to the stores for my grocery shopping Thursday and we all know, I have my weekly list and menu planned out. I typically go to 3-4 stores. I catch all the sales and match up all the coupons. Well I started writing down all my spending. I write down what I spent, how much I saved with sales, how much I saved with coupons and how much actual cash it cost me. I do this for each store. Then I total them all up for grand totals. I am going to try and beat my savings each week. So I will dig further for coupons, and better track them sales. So how about everyone try this for a few weeks. See how much you can save.

Today I went to three stores. My grand total would have been $ 216.10. I had $41.54 come off for sales. I had $13.70 come off for coupons. So I actually spent $160.86 for a grand total savings of $55.24

Next Thursday I will post my grand totals again. So how about you all try it with me. I hope to get more sales in there, and more coupons also! Wish me luck