Cheapo Groovo

Can You Eat Healthy and Save Money?

Natural Grocers is the way to go. A local grocery store offering:

Digital Coupons

Clip to load directly to your account. Just present your phone number each time you shop for instant savings!

Two easy ways to clip coupons to your account:

1. The {N}power dashboard
2. Personalized email offers

Coupons are available to use immediately once selected. Automatically applied with the next applicable purchase.

Personalized Offers

Deals that make sense for you, straight to your inbox.

You will occasionally receive personalized offers from {N}power via email. These offers may contain instant dollars off, free items or select manufacturer coupons based on your interests.

Heebie Jeebie Freebies

I use free stuff sites. Nothing better than an email coupon or a free sample arriving via USPS. Here are my favorites:

Freestufftimes

GimmeFreebies

Eat Drink Deals

Free Education Sites ~ Don't Pay For College

I'm going to save you from $30,000 to $100,000 on this one.

The Internet is full of free learning tools - from online videos, to wikibooks, to PDF documents. 

1. Khan Academy
2. Goodwill is providing free education
3. Listen to thousands of lectures from the world’s top scholars at Academic Earth
4. 10 Sites to Learn Something New in 10 Minutes a Day
5. Free Yale University Courses
6. Instructables
7. MERLOT
8. How Stuff Works
9. eHow
10. Learn to Speed Read

Cheapo Fix Its

Paper Clips
Use as a hook  - drapery, pegboard
Use as cotter pin to hold lawnmower wheels
Use to replace a broken or lost door hinge pin
Use as a zipper pull

Fishing Line
Kite string
Toilet flapper chain
Sew into screen door hole

Safety Pins
To fasten new upholstery onto existing cushions
Replaces missing eyeglass screws (the ones that back out at the arm hinge)

Baking Soda
Toothpaste
Pour one cup into clogged drain; follow with one-cup vinegar, flush with hot water

Clear scotch tape
Use to replace the plastic tip on shoelaces

 

Cheapo Food Dehydrator

Your car in the summertime! Put food in front dash or the rear deck when the sun is out. Leave window cracked to let moisture out.Just another example of using things in creative ways so you can save money!

 

 

Save money by doing it yourself (free resources)

Here are some really nice video sites to teach you basic repair, woodworking, landscaping, and craft making. Best of all, they are free and do not require registration to watch anything!

Instructables  |  DIY Network  |  Expert Village  |  Electronics

Free Food = The Easiest Way to Become Frugal

• Start you own garden indoors or out
• Barter with neighbors who have large gardens
• Use the Leftover app
• Take up hunting/fishing
• Work at a hall that hosts weddings and funerals - or get friendly with someone who does – take home salads, leftover chicken, etc.
• Go to the grocery store and take advantage of free food demonstrations since they usually give samples
• Take up Freeganism

Being Frugal @ Food Festivals

I know lots of people are turned off by the high price of food festivals. So here is what we did this weekend during Pierogi Fest. We walked over there Saturday just to scope things out. Then, 2 hours before closing on Sunday, we returned to haggle and make purchases at deep discounts. Food and merchandise vendors do not want to drag stuff back with them!

7 pierogi for $5 (was 6 for $5 all weekend)

$1 slice of pizza (was $3.50 all weekend)

A dress that was $35 was purchased for $25!

And we also had some luck too. We found 5 beer tickets (a $15 value) on the walk up and our neighbor gave us some left over BBQ chicken when we got home!

Foraging For Food

The other day I was watching the news and they had a Chicago chef, along with an expert forager, picking up food along side a Wisconsin road. Happy hunting!

• Mushroom Guide (PDF)
• Apple Picking
• http://www.ediblewildfood.com

BEST BETS ==> Cattail, Inner Pine Bark, Purple Clover, Dandelion,  Acorns, Squirrel, Rabbit, Trout, Crayfish, Snakes, Frogs,

Free FICO Score

 

The Fair Issac Corporation created the FICO score, and they are the folks that run myFICO.com. In fact, myFICO.com is the only place you can go to get your official credit score.

You can get a free estimated credit score at Quizzle.