Welcome to Tightwad Corner. I can see that you have made the first step to your own economic empowerment. Just signing up for the information listed in these pages tells me that you want to learn and share what you know about how to be thrifty. You want to learn the secrets from others that practice frugality, as well as share the tips and techniques you have learned.
Tightwad Tip Of The Day
Do you have a box of cake mix just hanging out in your pantry but no special occasion to bake it for? How about using it to make cookies?! Here's an easy recipe for yummy and moist cookies. This recipe makes 3 dozen cookies per box of cake mix and since you can find a box of mix at the dollar store for a buck or less, these are very economical cookies. You can mix and match flavors with nuts, chocolate chips, M&M's. Take all the packs of mini M&M's from the Halloween bag and used those. Have fun creating great cookies the whole family will love!
1 box of cake mix any flavor 2 eggs beaten 1/2 cup oil
Mix all ingredients together. Batter will be thick and chunky. Add chocolate chips, nuts, raisins, etc..whatever you like. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Makes 3 dozen.
Note my mother loves this recipe, however, she has discovered that if you use mini chocolate chips they will melt better. This will make the cookie more like a chocolate chip cookie.
Deal Of The Day
Are you like us, tired of the so called free deals so prevalent on the net, only to find out once you arrive that there are conditions attached? If you have to complete and offer or fill out a survey, then it really isn''t free, is it, is it?.
With that in mind, we search the net everyday for things that are really, really free. NO OFFERS to complete, no surveys to fill out, no free trial that kicks in, unless you cancel them first, (also know as a negative option). No Auto Ship trials. TOTALLY FREE.
As a subscriber to our website, you'll receive access to the special area in our website that has all of our free offers. You''ll also have access to our download areas where we make valuable programs, ebooks and other goodies available.
Today's Deal
Ever make a mistake and have to scratch it out, ruining your paper or having to start over? got to Ringtonica and snatch your free correction pen while it's available. Keep your papers nice and neat.
There are many reasons to being a tightwad. For me it was that I had children that depended on me for everything. I had to clothe and feed these children. I was 18 at the time and married to a man older than me. He had a child from a previous marriage, we also had my sister living with us, after my mothers death. So here I was 18 with a husband, 2 girls, ages 8 and 10. I was trying to work a full time job, go to college and take care of the house and all that entails. I thought this is crazy. There has to be another way. Well, I didn’t know at that time there was a thing call tightwaddery, or even thrift, much less how to go about saving money. I got started in being a tightwad after reading The Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyczyn. I got a copy of this book from my then sister in law in the early 1990’s.
I instantly wanted to learn how to save money. I was hooked. I like to see how much I can save. My children and I play a little game at meal time. We would see how little we had to spend to make a good meal. We try different recipes. We have a wide variety of choices. We don’t feel limited in any way. Here it is almost 20 years later. Those two girls are raised and on their own with a sense of who they are and where they came from. They are both educated and productive in life. They are good stewards of what has been given to them. I now have 2 teenage daughters at home. I have instilled the same values in them.
When my youngest one was still in elementary school, she carried a lunch box. She did not have all the store bought bags of snacks and chips in her box. Instead she had carrot and celery sticks, of course she had the “ranch” dressing, in a container from yogurt we saved. She had PB&J sandwich in a sandwich keeper, bought at a yard sale, she had frozen yogurt, that was just right to eat by the time lunch rolled around, a “thermos” more like a plastic bottle, with juice, and some homemade cookies. One day one of the little girls at her table asked why she always had such cool things to eat for lunch. My little genius just smiled and said “Because my Mommy is a tightwad.” Of course the little girl asked what a tightwad was, and my baby said she won’t spend money unless it is important. Now mind you my daughter did not tell me this story. The teacher called and asked for a parent teacher meeting. I was fearful she had done something wrong, my daughter not the teacher.
When I got to school, the teacher relayed this story to me. I had to laugh. This is a way of life for her. I tell you this story to make a point. That point is this. Only adults seem to give the names like tightwad, penny pincher, cheapskate, skin flint or thrifty a derogatory meaning. My children have never felt bad or even tried to hide that we are tightwads. They have the things they need to be happy. The rest of the stuff is just that stuff.
Frugality (also known as thrift or thriftiness ) is the practice of acquiring goods and services at minimum cost, achieved via economical restraints or creative measures. Frugality can be related to the idea of being conservative or conserving money.
Our girls are now teenagers.I have asked them to compile a list of things they like to do that don’t cost much money.Below are some of the things they have come up with.They are not the typical teenage girls as in they don’t hang out at the mall with their friends.Their idea of the perfect weekend is to invite their friends over to the house for movie night, make homemade pizza, and popcorn.
1.Go swimming.Chances are you know someone with a swimming pool, if not most places have lakes.If you are lucky enough as we are and live near a beach, not only is it good exercise but it is fun.
2.Have a water fight, if you have some of those intense water guns they're actually a lot of fun.If you don’t you could use the water hose or water balloons.Check out your dollar store for some great prices on water toys.
3.Camp in the Backyard all you need is a tent.One year when we didn’t have a tent so we used a sheet and some stakes.We put the sheet over the trampoline and the girls camped under it.
4.Sidewalk chalk, may seem immature but with friends it is lots of fun, try drawing exaggeratedly funny pictures of your friends
5.Bonfires.Make sure there is an adult to supervise the fire.Check craigslist to see if anyone is giving away wood.It is a great source for cheap or free supplies for your bonfire.
6.Ask your parents for a spot of the yard or if you know someone who has a piece of land that they will let you dig it up, you could try your hand at gardening. You may find that it is more fun to do with friends. There are several things you can do with the vegetables.You can either supply the veggies to your families, sell them, or grow them to donate to a food bank. And seeds aren't that expensive and can ask your parents to help you pay for them. You can get books from the library about gardening, or look up articles on the internet. And it's a great skill to have.
7.You and your friends could write a play, practice it and perform for your families.Or you could make a video.
8.Take a nature walks remember to bring along a camera.Bring some paper and sketch trees or take rubbings of their bark.
9.Decorate your room. Be sure to get your parent's permission first. Painting is easy once you get the basic tools and check out different techniques.Look on the Internet for ideas. Try doing stripes or different colored walls, then think about what you can move around and use to create new looks.
10.Take walks. Not only is the exercise good for you, but you'll see things you'd never notice while whizzing by in the car.
11.Learn a new skill like dance routines, cooking/baking, tie-dying or woodwork. A new hobby can eat up hours!
12.If you have a digital camera, you could take pictures of things outside and then create a website to show off your pictures. There are lots of photo sharing websites so you don't have to do the set-up work. You could put them on photobucket or just use your facebook.
13.If you live in a city that offers mass transportation like bus lines or trolleys,you can plan to take a random bus and just explore the city. Look for all sorts of neat little shops. Don't forget your camera. You can take neat pictures.
14.Go to your local library and volunteer to help with a kids reading program. They will love you for it and you will feel good. This is also a great opportunity for you to check out some great books of your own to read.
15.Take a free class. Michael's and Hobby Lobby usually have free classes on things like beading projects, scrapbooking, etc. They also have free instruction sheets on doing all sorts of crafts.
16.You could make a CD of all your favorite songs and title it "Soundtrack of My life".There are some great sites on the web that will allow you to download music for free.If all else fails there is youtube.
17.Plan a picnic.This time of year the grocery stores have a great selection of picnic items on sale.This is something you can do with your mom or with your friends.Make simple items like sandwiches, potato salad, chips, bottled water (made from bottles you have recycled and filled up) or lemonade, etc.
Remember "fun" is in your attitude. Think about this quote "Do what you love and you'll never have to work." I think it is great advice.
Our girls are now teenagers.I have asked them to compile a list of things they like to do that don’t cost much money.Below are some of the things they have come up with.They are not the typical teenage girls as in they don’t hang out at the mall with their friends.Their idea of the perfect weekend is to invite their friends over to the house for movie night, make homemade pizza, and popcorn.
1.Go swimming.Chances are you know someone with a swimming pool, if not most places have lakes.If you are lucky enough as we are and live near a beach, not only is it good exercise but it is fun.
2.Have a water fight, if you have some of those intense water guns they're actually a lot of fun.If you don’t you could use the water hose or water balloons.Check out your dollar store for some great prices on water toys.
3.Camp in the Backyard all you need is a tent.One year when we didn’t have a tent so we used a sheet and some stakes.We put the sheet over the trampoline and the girls camped under it.
4.Sidewalk chalk, may seem immature but with friends it is lots of fun, try drawing exaggeratedly funny pictures of your friends
5.Bonfires.Make sure there is an adult to supervise the fire.Check craigslist to see if anyone is giving away wood.It is a great source for cheap or free supplies for your bonfire.
6.Ask your parents for a spot of the yard or if you know someone who has a piece of land that they will let you dig it up, you could try your hand at gardening. You may find that it is more fun to do with friends. There are several things you can do with the vegetables.You can either supply the veggies to your families, sell them, or grow them to donate to a food bank. And seeds aren't that expensive and can ask your parents to help you pay for them. You can get books from the library about gardening, or look up articles on the internet. And it's a great skill to have.
7.You and your friends could write a play, practice it and perform for your families.Or you could make a video.
8.Take a nature walks remember to bring along a camera.Bring some paper and sketch trees or take rubbings of their bark.
9.Decorate your room. Be sure to get your parent's permission first. Painting is easy once you get the basic tools and check out different techniques.Look on the Internet for ideas. Try doing stripes or different colored walls, then think about what you can move around and use to create new looks.
10.Take walks. Not only is the exercise good for you, but you'll see things you'd never notice while whizzing by in the car.
11.Learn a new skill like dance routines, cooking/baking, tie-dying or woodwork. A new hobby can eat up hours!
12.If you have a digital camera, you could take pictures of things outside and then create a website to show off your pictures. There are lots of photo sharing websites so you don't have to do the set-up work. You could put them on photobucket or just use your facebook.
13.If you live in a city that offers mass transportation like bus lines or trolleys,you can plan to take a random bus and just explore the city. Look for all sorts of neat little shops. Don't forget your camera. You can take neat pictures.
14.Go to your local library and volunteer to help with a kids reading program. They will love you for it and you will feel good. This is also a great opportunity for you to check out some great books of your own to read.
15.Take a free class. Michael's and Hobby Lobby usually have free classes on things like beading projects, scrapbooking, etc. They also have free instruction sheets on doing all sorts of crafts.
16.You could make a CD of all your favorite songs and title it "Soundtrack of My life".There are some great sites on the web that will allow you to download music for free.If all else fails there is youtube.
17.Plan a picnic.This time of year the grocery stores have a great selection of picnic items on sale.This is something you can do with your mom or with your friends.Make simple items like sandwiches, potato salad, chips, bottled water (made from bottles you have recycled and filled up) or lemonade, etc.
Remember "fun" is in your attitude. Think about this quote "Do what you love and you'll never have to work." I think it is great advice.
Are you looking for something to take your children to do this summer that is free and out of the heat.Trytaking them to a free movie.The following is a link where you can go and find the theater nearest you that is offering this program.
We have planned a fun-filled summer of select movies for kids and parents. Regal has proudly offered this free summer fun since 1991. Oh, did we mention that it’s FREE!
Selected G or PG movies start at 10:00am every Tuesday and Wednesday during the festival. Tickets and seating are first-come, first-served and are limited to theatre capacity.
The Free Family Film Festival is safe, lots of fun and a great way for kids to spend a weekday morning in the summer. Tickets for our 2010 Free Family Film Festival are exclusively available at select theatres’ box office on the day of the show.
You can also select a state from the list below to find participating theatres in your area along with what films are playing each week!
Go ahead give it a try.We love this program, it is great when you are on a budget.If you are planning a vacation, check and see if the city you are going to offers this program.It will save on your entertainment budget.
Here is a listing of phishing sites, scam sites, and address harvesters.This list came from Cafemom.com.The ladies spent a lot of time researching these sites and compiling them so you and I don’t have to.We certainly appreciate their efforts.Thank you ladies.Thanks to JHanc968 for permission to post their hard work.
Login or Register
![[News Feed]](images/powered/feed_20_news.png "News Feed"){kind=small}
![[Forums Feed]](images/powered/feed_20_forums.png "Forums Feed"){kind=small}
![[Downloads Feed]](images/powered/feed_20_down.png "Downloads Feed"){kind=small}
![[Web Links Feed]](images/powered/feed_20_links.png "Web Links Feed"){kind=small}
![[Validate robots.txt]](images/powered/valid-robots.png "Validate robots.txt"){kind=small}
