Guest post

Thanks to Frugal Girls for this Guest post,

If you’re looking for a simple way to turn fresh berries into tasty jam, try this recipe for Easy Freezer Jam!

What You’ll Need:

• 4 lbs. of Fresh Berries {use berries grown in your yard to save $$!}
• 1.5 cups of Sugar
• 1 Pkg. Ball Freezer Jam Pectin {can be found at most Wal-Marts}
• Freezer-safe canning jars or small tupperware containers.

The Recipe:

• Wash, stem & slice berries {I chose strawberries}, then place in a shallow pan.
• Use masher to crush berries {consistency will depend on how chunky you like your jam}.

• This is what the strawberries look like after they’ve been mashed…

• In separate bowl, mix together pectin and sugar.
• Add mashed strawberries into mixture and stir for 3 minutes.

• Scoop jam into small freezer-safe jars or tupperwarecontainers. {I prefer to use the 4oz. – 8oz. size.}
• Let the jam set for 30 minutes, then store in your freezer until you’re ready to use your tasty jam. Enjoy!
• Store in freezer for up to 1 year, or in refrigerator for up to 1 month.
• Recipe makes approximately six 8 oz. jars or twelve 4 oz. jars.

The Yummy Finished Product:

Thanks to Frugal Girls for this Thrifty Tip

Today I wanted to share with you one way I’ve personally found to really save money ~ making your own cleaning solutions!

It honestly took me awhile before I was willing to try this, but after I did a quick analysis of how much money I could save, I knew it was time to start making up some frugal cleaning solutions of my own!  These solutions literally cost about 40 cents or so to make, as opposed to the $3 – $4 price tag you’ll often see on cleaners at the store.

Following are some tried and true “recipes” for homemade cleaning solutions.  Just a few simple ingredients, and you’re on your way to some effective and thrifty solutions!

Homemade 409

2 Tbsp. Distilled White Vinegar

1 Tsp. Borax

1/8 cup Dawn Dishsoap

1 cup Hot Water

Pour vinegar, borax and hot water into spray bottle.

Then continue filling spray bottle with cool water.

Add dawn dishsoap last.  No need to shake.

This is a great cleaner, because the vinegar acts as a disinfectant!

Homemade Laundry Stain Remover

I was skeptical of this one at first, but I’ve got two boys that are dirt and grass-stain magnets, and this stain remover has never let me down!

1/3 cup Dawn Dishsoap

1/3 cup Ammonia

3 Tbsp. Baking Soda

1 cup Water

Mix all ingredients together and store in an empty spray bottle (I use an old “Shout” spray bottle)

*Note: Do not combine ammonia with bleach.

If you haven’t tried making your own cleaning solutions, I’d highly encourage you to try!  It’s easy to do, and you might be amazed at how much money you’ll save!

TheFrugalGirls.com is a positive and fun site dedicated to helping you save $$ and stretch your dollars by finding the best bargains, hottest coupons, thrifty meals and outrageous deals!

Thanks to Lori at Moms by Heart for this wonderful Guest Post,

From year to year, there are several fairly reliable seasonal sales centered around special events. During these times, stores will mark certain items down to rock bottom prices in order to get you in the doors. These items are known as loss leaders. Here is a schedule of monthly loss leaders, along with monthly clearance items. For those of you who are seasoned frugal shoppers, please leave a comment if there is something I missed.

January
Loss Leaders:
1) New Year’s Resolutions – low fat brands, healthy food and diet products
2) Super Bowl Party – snack food, soda, sandwich items
3) Storage items and organization products
4) Medicine – cold and pain relief, vitamins
5) White sales
6) Chili, soups, stews
Clearance items:
· Dated items: calendars and planners
· Christmas and New Year’s party items
· Winter clothing, jackets, hats, boots
· Christmas baking products (sprinkles, cookie/candy molds, etc)

February
Loss Leaders:
1) National Canned Food Month – special deals on canned goods
2) National Hot Breakfast Month
3) Valentines Day – candy
4) Chinese New Year – Chinese food products
Clearance items:
· Leftover Christmas toys are discounted up to 75%
· Winter clothing
· 2/15 on: Valentines baking products (sprinkles, special packaging, etc)

March
Loss Leaders:
1) Frozen food month
2) Spring cleaning items
3) Easter food items
4) Gardening supplies
5) National Peanut Month
6) March Madness – sports drinks, soda
Clearance Items
· Frozen novelties are repackaged, old packaged products are reduced

April
Loss Leaders:
1) Earth Day – organic and environmentally friendly items, energy savers
2) Easter items
3) Auto Maintenance
Clearance Items:
· Easter baking products (sprinkles, cookie/candy molds, etc)

May
Loss Leaders:
1) Memorial Day – think barbeque and picnic products
2) Cinco De Mayo – Mexican food
3) Mother’s Day items
4) Auto Maintenance

June
Loss Leaders:
1) National Dairy Month
2) July 4th promos begin – outdoor barbeque/picnic items
3) Camping supplies, sunscreen, insect repellant

July
Loss Leaders:
1) July 4th promos continue – best prices on BBQ, picnic items
2) School supplies
Clearance Items:
· 4th of July baking products (sprinkles, cookie/candy molds, etc)
· Summer clothing
· Toys
· Patio furniture & outdoor decor items

August
Loss Leaders:
1) Back to School deals – lunch foods, school supplies, backpacks, lunchboxes, cereal, peanut butter and jelly
Clearance Items:
· BBQ equipment, charcoal,
· Sunscreen
· Insect repellant

September
Loss Leaders:
1) Back to School deals continue
2) Tomato products – look for Ragu and Prego coupons and deals
3) Baby items
4) After Labor Day, deals on BBQ and picnic supplies
5) Soup
Clearance Items:
· Bikes
· Gardening supplies

October
Loss Leaders:
1) Halloween products
2) Baking season begins
3) Apples, pumpkins and related products
Clearance Items:
· Toy clearances make room for Christmas items

November
Loss Leaders:
1) Thanksgiving dinner foods
2) Baking goods
3) Coffee, tea, cocoa

December
Loss Leaders:
1) Holiday party food
2) Baking supplies
Clearance Items:
· Fall décor items 75%+ off
· Fall baking products (sprinkles, cookie/candy molds, etc)

Now my pie looks a little lumpy because at the last minute I added some cream cheese to the mixture because I thought it would be too thin, no matter how much I beat the sweet milk and cream cheese I couldn’t get all the lumps out… Oh well, still tasted great! A little tart you wouldn’t want a huge slice but really nice and refreshing and for the easy factor, I would defiantly make again!

I am thinking you could use any frozen drink mix, pina colada, margarita, or even juice. Nice summer pie!
Now, if you have not ever been to Bakerella’s Blog, you are really missing out! Sylvia S. has gotten me hooked and I love her blog! I love her photos and great ideas. I couldn’t pass up making this dish and I am soooo glad I tried it, so is everyone else in my house and all the people who were over for dinner tonight! It is a little labor intensive but well worth it. You can read Bakerella’s blog HERE with the recipe and see her really nice pictures. I wish I had been able to take better pictures and can’t even tell you how wonderful the texture is.

You’ll need a 9-inch springform pan. It has a latch on the side that helps you release the cake. Because there’s no turning this one upside down to get it out.

Place some parchment paper on the bottom so it hangs over. Close the latch to hold the paper in place and secure the sides. You’ll also want to spray the paper with some non-stick cooking spray just to be safe.

After your pan is ready, preheat your oven to 325 degrees.

Thanks to My Litter for this Guest Post,

I am literally going to chew my arm off, I am on a stupid diet and seriously hungry! I know, I know, you aren’t supposed to get this hungry but to save a long story I just am!

The kids are pulling some beautiful produce out of the garden every day and if I serve them sautéed squash one more time for dinner there is going to be mutiny!
So I thought I would torture myself and make zucchini bread and muffins, which aren’t allowed on my diet right now, no matter how ‘healthy’ I make them! I can’t tell you how good my kitchen smells right now… I am slobbering on my key board.

I took an o.k. recipe and made it fantastic ( if you ask me!) the kids gobble these up like cupcakes! The following recipe makes 1 loaf, 8 mini loaves, and 24 muffins. 
Tiff’s Zucchini Bread and Muffins:

Thanks to Budget Saving Mom for this Guest Post,

I have tons of inexpensive and free dishwasher detergent that I have been able to stock up on over the past few months. However, some of my friends who have just started couponing don’t. So, I researched and have tried an inexpensive dishwasher detergent that you can make on your own. I actually think that it works better than store brands.

Mix 1 tablespoon borax with 1 tablespoon baking soda. Add it to your dishwasher and you are ready to go.

Since it is equal 1 to 1 parts, you can make up a bunch ahead quickly and you can store it away from kids and animals so that it is just as convenient to use as your store bought dishwasher detergents. Also, this is phosphate free and doesn’t emit chlorine gas, so it is environmentally friendlier as well.

Hope this tip helps you to save some money!

Thanks to Tiffany for this guest post,

Guest Post thanks to Utah Deal Diva,

Like millions of other Americans, I hadn’t anticipated my husband suddenly being out of work. We’d always lived within our means and had little debt, but we didn’t have much in savings either. We were terrified at what our future possibly held. How were we going to pay our bills? Would we lose our house?

Those were the thoughts running through my head as the reality of our situation began to sink in.  I am a stay at home mom for our three young children; my husband was the sole breadwinner and then suddenly he was without a job. How were we going to make it with no income?! I was overwhelmed with our sudden change of circumstances. Thankfully, my husband and I quickly resolved that we would not let this situation break us. We had worked too hard to let this ailing economy make victims out of us. We made a plan and prayed hard that God would help us. Little did we know how abundantly our prayers would be answered.

Here we are three months later and I’m happy to report my husband just started a new job! The truly amazing thing is, due to the changes we quickly made in our lives, not only did we not have to touch our savings, but we added to it! No, this isn’t some “get rich quick” gimmick- it’s a true story of how my family survived being unemployed and living on a part-time retail income. 

Lessons I Learned from Being Unemployed

Being unemployed is hard work. My husband and I are both hard workers, but never before have we worked so hard to stay right where we were at. Our only goal at the time was to pay our bills and stay in our home. Within 2 days of being out of work my husband secured a part-time job working retail. When he wasn’t working there, he was spending hours and hours every day searching for a new job.  I helped him search before the kids woke up and after they went down for naps. We worked with recruiting firms and friends to find new employment. In one word I would describe it all as exhausting.

The companies you pay your bills to are more willing to help if you ask.  Within a week of being unemployed, I called all of the companies our bills were through, telling them our situation and asking what they could do. I was so grateful to find that every company I called was more than willing to help us. We switched phone plans, downgraded our cable and cancelled services. Suddenly our meager income was stretching a lot farther.

I didn’t miss luxuries nearly as much as I thought I would. By luxuries I mean eating out once a week, buying a new pair of shoes, or taking the kids to the zoo. Sure, it would have been nice to do those things occasionally, but right after my husband lost his job, we declared a spending halt.  We bought nothing unless it was absolutely necessary, and even then, we most often bought second hand. We re-discovered the value of family time and truly enjoyed spending it together.  We made meals from scratch and had a new-found appreciation for the items we already had. Our lives became very simple and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it.

Meal planning and cooking from scratch saves a lot of money. This is something I’d known for a while, but I gained a huge testimony of it while unemployed. Being as I’d used coupons for some time; we had built up a nice food storage. Since eating out wasn’t an option, I found planning for our meals was critical. I regularly assessed the items in our pantry and planned meals accordingly. We made our own bread and found joy in creating yummy treats ourselves. I also got very creative in seeing how far some food items could stretch. A member of our church dropped off a whole ham one night and I stayed up late slicing and packaging it so as to use the entire thing. I even boiled the ham bone in soup! We were able to feed our family over 7 meals with that one ham!

Using less of everything really didn’t affect our way of life. And when I say everything, I mean everything! One of the areas we strived to use less was in gas & electricity. We wore sweatshirts instead of adjusting the heater and used the warmth of the oven to heat the house after we baked something.  We were mindful of even the little things from the length of showers we took to how much shampoo we used. We turned our water heater down and adjusted our dishwasher to the lowest settings. As a result of changing our actions we didn’t freeze, our clothes and dishes were still clean (as were we!) and we ended up shaving 25% off our utility bills!

We didn’t really need many of the items we already had. So I sold them. Well, a lot of them at least. I regularly walked around the house assessing what our family could live without and I sold the items online. I sold books, clothes, and electronics. Anything we didn’t need that I thought might have value was suddenly on the market!  My husband scoured the garage and cashed in a load of scrap metal. I’d been couponing for years and had quite a supply, so I assembled coupons and sold them in groups. We spent $20 to cosmetically fix up an old car we’d had for years and hung the “For Sale” sign on it, unsure if we could even sell it in this economy. We sold it for our full asking price a month later.  The earnings were quickly transferred to our savings. Each time I sold something I’d calculate what bills that item could pay for or how long it would enable us to live in our house. Tens of dollars turned to hundreds, and hundreds turned to thousands. It was incredible and we felt so blessed.

Our trials give others the opportunity to serve. As difficult as it might be to be on the receiving end, it’s necessary at different times in our lives. We saw the Lord’s hand in so many small acts of service given to us by neighbors and friends. People wrote us kind letters with thoughts of encouragement. Others sent small amounts of money anonymously. It was all very much appreciated and we are grateful for the services rendered.

We grew accustomed to this new way of life. After a few months, my husband found a new job. I do think it will take a while for my type-A personality to recover from the stress and uncertainty that was so prevalent during those few months. I’m grateful for the outcome though and understand many others are in situations far worse than ours. If I can pass on one piece of advice for others who find themselves suddenly unemployed it’s this: even in this economy, you have more influence on your personal & financial situations than you think. And never forget the power of prayer!