Cheapo Groovo

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

Deal News

GimmeFreebies

Eat Drink Deals

60+ Frugal Tips

• Don't use the canned air method to clean keyboards - it's expensive. Plug in your hairdryer and blast away.
• Candles last longer if you freeze them prior to burning.
• Got an itchy mosquito bite, try rubbing soap on it.
• Use scotch tape to pull out a splinter.
• Wrap celery in aluminum foil then refrigerate. It will last for weeks.
• Cut you S.O.S. pads in half – no more rusty, smelly pads.
• To get a little more life out of worn out soles, try filling in the cracks and holes with hot glue.
• Covering a pot with a lid reduces cooking time and energy use. For extra energy savings, be sure to match the pot size to the burner size.
• If you’re shopping for appliances, check with the salesperson to see if there are any back room bargains. Sometimes a stove has a slight dent or a washing machine is scratched.
• Use GoDaddy to register a domain name (web site).
• Buy a battery tester and test “dead” batteries before tossing – lots of times its just one “dead” battery causing the trouble.
• When your printer says your ink is low, pull out your cartridge and shake it to get another few days out of it.
• White vinegar is a great cleaner.
• Drying your disposable razors (blades) extends their life – just use a towel.
• Why keep a porch light on for hours when you can buy a battery powered push light  and use rechargeable batteries?
• Use a Faraday flashlight. The ones you shake to light up.
• Increasing the deductibles on auto and home insurance can save hundreds of dollars on premiums.
• Buy prescription eyeglasses at zennioptical.
• To make your own miniature greenhouse, take an old egg carton; fill the individual sections with soil and seeds. Cover the top with a piece of plastic wrap. Before you know it, you will have the makings of a beautiful garden.
• Wad up some tinfoil and use it in your dryer instead of chemical coated sheets to get rid of static cling.
• "Feeder goldfish" cost less than 10 cents. Their food is around a $1 and lasts many months. One can use any type of glass bowl or antique canning jar to keep them in.
• Use honey for lip balm before you go to bed.
• Bring your own water bottle everywhere. Refill the water bottle at water fountains.
• Camping Cooler - buy bottled water and freeze enough to fill your cooler. You won’t have to buy ice until four or five days into the event (when everyone else is making almost daily ice runs).
• Take produce into your office and have a "Take Some and Leave a Quarter" cup next to them. Use proceeds to buy plants for next year.
• If the A/C goes out in your car, try the $20 can of recharge from an auto parts.
• Clean your windshield wipers with vinegar to extend the life of them.
• Always stop at a local pawnshop when considering a new tool purchase, bicycles, vacuum cleaners, etc.
• Slip those plastic grocery bags over your shoes when entering your garden, tie at the ankle. Keeps shoes nice and clean.
• Bigger isn’t always better, buy only what you need if it is a perishable product.
• Don’t bring the children shopping. You will accomplish the task quicker; you’ll avoid spending extra on stuff “seen on TV”.
• Shop secondhand stores for toys.
• Some fifteen states offer tax-free days or tax-free weekends, with most coming in August. That’s an automatic savings of at least five percent in most cases, so plan accordingly.
• Consolidate your student loan.
• Don’t use another bank’s ATM.
• Kick the (fill in the blank) habit. If you stop using alcohol, tobacco, and junk food, you’ll save thousands your lifetime and probably live longer and healthier!
• For cash gifts, consider a payment plan like 10 checks for $10 with each dated a different month.
• Ask you dentist, doctor, and hair stylist for their old magazines – read recipes, cut out coupons – then recycle them.
• Buy used eyeglass frames at thrift shops and then have new lenses made for you prescription.
• Have your kids make a homemade kite.
• Use local police auctions to get bikes, jewelry, cars, etc.
• For urban dwellers taking public transportation, ask your employer for a transit check, a subsidy employers get for alleviating gridlock.
• Use Styrofoam peanuts to re-fill a beanbag chair.
• Place wanted signs (instead of for sale signs) on bulletin boards for furniture, cars, and other big ticket items.
• Turn empty matchbooks into a portable sewing kit.
• Your bed mattress will last longer if you “spin in the spring, flip in the fall”.
• Bread tabs can be used to mark electrical cords at the outlet/power strip.
• Remove shelves from a dead refrigerator and mount shelves in the garage/basement.
• Use a wine cork to replace missing pot handles – attach with a screw.
• A broccoli style rubber band makes a great jar opener.
• Bubble wrap is great cushioning for people who must stand while on the job
• Use garlic powder to keep the varmints out, It’s a wonderful natural plant protector.
• Ask elderly relatives and neighbors who are unable to drive if they need a lift to the supermarket – they’ll offer to pay for your gas.
• Check rent – to – own stores for cosmetically damaged or otherwise non rent-able items.
• Call area attractions and ask if they have any “free to the public” events scheduled or regular “free admittance” times.
• If you re a senior citizen, always ask about senior discount everywhere you travel, shop, eat, or lodge!
• Check with local high schools that have shop classes. Often they sell wood scraps left over from student projects.
• Inquire with dry cleaners about left items for sale.
• Use mesh bags (the kind turkeys/onions/potatoes are packed in) as scouring pads.
• To get something out of a heat register or under the fridge, add an empty paper towel roll to your vacuum. It can be bent or flattened to get in narrow openings.
• Cut old bread bags in half and use the bottom half as sandwich bags.
• Old hangers make good pegboard hooks.
• If an envelope is over one ounce but under 2, you don’t need 2 first class stamps, have it weighed for exact postage.
• Your dog will love “dead tennis balls” left at public tennis courts.
• Serrated edges from aluminum foil boxes (or a wax paper boxes) can be made into picture frame hangers.
• Save you old pickle jars and the liquid inside. Slice up cucumbers and re-pack. In four days – pickles!
• Put a teaspoon or two of baking soda into the shoes before you wear them. Great odor eliminator
• Use 100% cornstarch instead of Baby Powder

Cook Without Gas or Electricity

Check out solar cookers. To do-it yourself, here is a great site with lots of plans. For folks who want to purchase one, try Google or look on Amazon for one!

Halving To Save Money

Often we use too much of some cleanser - thinking that's how much we need. Examples include dish soap, shampoo, shaving cream (you get the picture).

Try using half as much, if that works, try halving it again. Ultimately you'll find just the right amount to do the job but not be wasteful!

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

Extreme Couponing Exposed

What money you might be saving, you are wasting two-fold in the amount of time it takes you to properly shop with coupons. It's downright complicated. You have to subscribe to the newspapers, clip, sort, and store the coupons, find the store's deals that week, figure out what coupons can work with the deals, go shopping (often times having to visit multiple stores), and then, additionally, plan out and shop for the things your coupons don't work for (but you still need).

Coupons are meant to bring down the price of name-brand items. But, have you noticed that name-brand items are typically more expensive to begin with? One of my favorite frugal living secrets is that store-brand items are usually made by the name-brand factories.

Most coupons are for pantry items. It's next to never that you'll find a coupon for fresh produce, dairy, or meat ... which is typically the stuff that we go through the fastest, and costs us the most.

Just because something is a good deal -- whether you use it regularly or not -- doesn't mean you have to buy a three-year supply of it.

Stores across the nation have tightened up on their coupon policies.

And most couponers realize their addiction and stop!

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Beer Bottle Tiki Torch

Frugality is all about re-using things in new ways.

I punched a hole in the bottle cap (using a hammer and phillips screwdriver), filled with torch fuel, pushed the wick through the hole, and used pliers to re-tighten the bottl cap!

The Natural Way To Do Laundry & Save Money

Soap Nuts!

I first saw these at Green Fest and I love them. They are also called soap berries. They contain large quantities of saponin in their shells. It acts as a natural, gentle detergent when it comes into contact with water. If you buy the big bag, your cost is about 6 cents per load. I found this site has the best deal.

You can also use the the berries as a natural insect repellent, and when the saponin is gone, just throw them in your compost pile.

Spirit in the Sky Airlines #cheap #travel

Spirit airlines offer ultra low cost flights. We paid $123 for 2 round trip tickets to Denver! They also offer a $9 Fare Club for exclusive access to Spirit's lowest fares!

Bucket List of Frugal Websites

• Ready to start seeing the world? It's smaller than you think, when you go via the COUCHSURFING Project. Use this site to find people who are willing to host you on their couches!
• Get the face value for hard-to-get sports, concert and theater tickets at cashortrade.
• Live Music Archive offers thousands of live shows for free.
• SIMPLEDOLLAR hasa step-by-step guide to getting your credit card interest lowered.
• Are you renting? This neat tool lets you see if you are paying too much. It is called RENTOMETER and is so simple to use!
• Want to cut back on your household expenses? THISOLDHOUSE.COM has a list of 50 DIY tips for your house, each of which can save you between $50 and $500 apiece.
• When is the best time to buy …? Learn the day at the cheapest day to buy certain items.
• Tired of buying toys only to see your kids get bored with them? Try RENTAL TOYS for a low monthly membership fee.
• Discount women's, men's, and kid's shoes, plus clothing, handbags, & accessories can be found at 6PM.COM.
• WOOT is an online store that offers 12 products each day at substantial savings.
• GOODSEARCH.COM is a search engine that donates half its revenues to the charities its users designate. Yahoo powers it, so results are pretty good. Just 500 people searching 4 times a day can raise about $7,300 in a year!
• THEHUNGERSITE is another great way to give to charity just by clicking.
• Look for money a relative left you or perhaps an account you simply forgot about at MISSINGMONEY & UNCLAIMED
• Get cash for old or unwanted gadgets at GAZELLE.COM. The site pays for any tech item, no matter how old, and provides free shipping. UK residents try envirofone.
• The FREECYCLE Network is made up of many individual groups across the globe. It's a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns. Their goal is to reduce waste by connecting individuals who are throwing away goods with others who are seeking them.
• BIRTHDAYFREEBIES is the premiere place for finding birthday freebies, birthday offers, birthday specials, birthday deals and even birthday party venues from local and national businesses.
• Want to save tens of thousands of dollars? Read how you can save $20,000 In 1 Year.
• Be sure to visit the PROPERTYROOM for incredible savings from this police auction online.
• Get all the information you need on federal recalls at RECALLS.GOV. A joint project of several government agencies, the website lets you search for product recalls and sign up for email alerts.
• Avoid speeding tickets by utilizing this cool DATABASE OF SPEED TRAPS. 
• Check out the E-Justice Blog at CRIMINALJUSTICEUSA. The website has a list of 100 free do-it-yourself legal resources that can be found on the web.