Free Printable 4th of July Crafts and Activities for Cheap Holiday Fun

I love to save money. One of the easiest places to cut costs is by using free printable kids' activities. You can print games, crafts, lesson plans, learning activities, puzzles, greeting cards, party decorations and gob more online. Just in time for Fourth of July Free Printable 4th of July Cut and Paste Paper Crafts and Activities

Affordable Father's Day Gifts Dads Will Love All Price Ranges

Father's Day shopping is tricky if you don't know what dad wants. And some dads don't like you spending money on them. And holiday gift-giving can get expensive. So you'll want the most bang for your shopping buck. Here are top 20 affordable Father's Day gifts in different price ranges--starting at free. My husband enjoys these and your dad will love them too!  Affordable Father's Day Gifts at All Price Ranges That Dad Will Love

Budget Homemade Memorial Day Party Fun for All Ages

Holiday party planning is easy when dealing with one age group. Planning for young and old is more challenging. Easily-bored kids want to romp while grandparents want to sit (quietly!) and visit. Here's a cheap, easy backyard Memorial Day party--crafts, food, parade, patriotic games and activities--everyone from toddlers to seniors, yes even parents, will love! High on fun, easy on the budget! Lots of recycled and homemade fun. Cheap Homemade Memorial Day Party Fun for Toddler to Grandparent

Free Printable Easter Baskets and Homemade, Cheap Gift Basket Ideas for Kids

This Easter, why not save money on baskets and make your own homemade. Store-bought baskets are usually cheap and flimsy and break. And you can't personalize. The toys and candy costs are inflated. Buy your own Easter basket fillers and save a bundle. Make paper baskets using these printable templates.  Free Printable Easter Baskets and Homemade Gift Baskets 

Free Printable Easter Cards for Children to Color

Easter comes very late in 2014. It's been a long, cold winter for many of us. Parents are your children getting restless? Do you need some new, fresh activities to get them through till Easter? Here are color-your-own Easter cards to make and share. I've listed websites to print free secular (non religious) Easter cards for kids in any public setting. Save money and print cards.Free Printable Easter Cards

2 Die 4 and To Diet for French Toast to use up Stale Bread

 I adore French Toast. Literally, I kiss its arm like Gomez did Morticia and murmur "Caro Mio..." Okay, that's weird. Anyway, French toast or Eggy Bread as it's called in Great Britain, is a great way to use up stale bread. Here are two Eggy Bread recipes, a 2 Die 4 and To Diet for Eggy Bread

2 Die 4 and 2 Diet 4 kind (since poor Mar is dieting).

Work At Home Parent Multitasking---Save Time and Money with Craft Table

Remember, my penny pincher pals, saving money is earning too. That's why I feel for you online work at home parents who have small children. I can't speak to the online part as we didn't have computers when mine were young. But the WAHM juggling, I get. I homeschooled four children in a tiny home. I can identify with that feeling of being constantly torn between children and work, school and work. Here are some ideas to help Work At Home Parent Multitasking---Magic Multipurpose Table

Free Printable Winter Crafts and Activities for Snowbound Kids

Uh-oh, winter skies promise snow and more snow. Another snow day. Kids love to play outside, but you don't dare let them for too long when it's super cold. What was fun in November is getting a little old by February. So Teacher Mama is here with printable winter-themed crafts for bored, winterbound kids.


First, clear a spot on the table. Or better yet set up a separate craft table. Bust out glue, scissors, markers, glitter, your nifty scrapbook edging scissors, stickers, pom poms, fake gems all your crafty goodies.Next, go to these websites and free   Printable Winter Crafts and Activities for Kids

Baked Bean Soup with Holiday Leftovers

 Are your holiday leftovers glaring at you, saying "eat us!" Are the sweet potatoes threatening to go sour? Are you fed up and out of recipe ideas? Well before those leftovers go bad, stage a refrigerator coup and take the other food hostage, here's a healthy, lowfat, high protein recipe to use them up. Baked Bean Soup
   Baked Bean Soup with Holiday Leftovers and Veggies Galore

Curtain Doorway to Prevent Drafts

Title isn't a CCR "Put a Candle in the Window" mashup. It's a solution I invented to combat our incredibly drafty back mud room. Drafty is an understatement. It's a frigid arctic ice station. The "walls" are a patchwork of drywall, panel, and Styrofoam, presumably for insulation. There are inch wide gaps between seams. I'm surprised the cat can't squeeze through. Put a Curtain in the Doorway Cause I Feel I Am Going to Freeze

Meals on a Shoestring, Think Outside the Box

I just read a post by a recent college grad living simply. Our eldest son lives and goes to school in Detroit and echoes that need for inexpensive meals. We've always tried to keep to a minimalist lifestyle. Here are ways to eat cheap,

* Go vegetarian, preferably vegan. Savings galore in money and health.

* Skip packaged foods. Boycott corporate buy-buy mentality. Live and eat simply. Read moreCollege Student Meals on a Shoestring, Think Outside the Package

Domestic Goddess Tips--Multitasking Recipes, Cooking Shortcuts

I am a Domestic Goddess--kingdom: cheap meal-time management. Being a busy mom, I have to budget time and energy as well as money. I make 2-for-1 meals, doing the
bulk of preparation on Sunday when I have the most time. Here's a meal-planner.

Sunday--Chicken dinner. I roast a jumbo chicken, cook 2# rice, 1 # pasta, 3# ground beef, 5# potatoes and 3# pre-cut veggies (broccoli and cauliflower crowns, carrots). I pare and bake butternut squash. I make five cups of my mirepoix--two large green peppers, one big onion, 8 ounces mushrooms, 4 large carrots, one stalk celery. Serve chicken, potatoes, veggies. Package and refrigerate leftovers and extra food.   Domestic Goddess Tips--Multitasking Recipes, Cooking Shortcuts 

Skip Younkers Community Days Coupon Fundraiser Books

Typically I write money-saving do's, but today's tip is a don't. Do not buy a Younkers Bonton Stores Community Days fundraiser coupon booklet. Unless you like paying more for things. Last year, I took my youngest back-to-school shopping for a coat. We hit a mall in another town some distance away. After hunting through racks of tacky, cheaply made junk, we tried Younkers. At the door, we were approached by kids selling Community Days coupon books for $5. Read on...Skip Younkers Community Days Coupon Fundraiser Books, Save Money - News - Bubblews

Tightwad Mama Saves Money Back to School Shopping

Back to School--how merchandisers and retailers love those three words. And how they love to upsell. Long lists of school supplies your kids supposedly can't live without. And I'll admit, I love BTS shopping. What's not to love about $.25 crayons and scissors? But tightwad mama is also a teacher. She knows kids don't need half the stuff stores pad the list with. Here's a different kind of BTS shopping guide--one that saves you money. Tightwad Mama Saves Money Back to School Shopping

Penny-Pincher Tip: Beware of Hidden Costs

I write money saving tips and an experience got me thinking about hidden costs and how to avoid paying them. Our youngest son just came back from a weekend camping trip. He stayed at a recommended private campground. He didn't know if he could get time off so couldn't reserve a spot in advance. He had to take what he could get. And he learned some things about hidden costs and how the sneak up. Read more atPenny-Pincher Tip: Watch for Hidden Costs

How Tightwad Mama Get Bargains

We raised and four kids in an 800-square-foot mobile home. We were solvent and debt-free on one income while I homeschooled the children. I know all about pinching pennies. Here are tightwad mama's tips to stretch your family activity dollar. Use these ideas year-round. We did! We still do! This is us with the youngest at Silver Lake State Park on our most recent budget vacay.

* Make money multitask. Pay with the payment form that saves most and earns best rewards: store credit cards, debit card. Save points for better rewards.

* Get admission deals. Use buy-one-get-one-free deals from vendors like Daily Deal Superstore. Save on concert, museum, amusement park, restaurants and vacation tickets. Look for events offering free kid admission with paid parents. Contact event websites for deals. I got half-price student opera tickets from the box office. An air fair distributed free tickets to school kids. They send me tickets to distribute to our home school group. Read more at Cheap Summer Family Fun Ideas from Tightwad Mama

Bargain Hunter Deal of the Day--Cheap Veggie Burgers

Today's Deal of the day is bean burgers at the dollar store! I've got two daughters who flirt with being vegetarian-vegan. I'm dieting and don't eat much meat. Veggie burgers are a low-calorie protein alternative. So we buy a fair amount of them. Now if you buy organic or health food, you know it's expensive. And less is definitely more, price-wise. A 10-ounce package of MorningStar Farms or Boca burgers sells for about $4 full price. And that's at Meijer and Walmart. Whole Foods, Trader Joe's and Fresh Market would be more, likely. Even on sale, I still pay $3. Very irritating when your would-be vegetarian turns up her nose at your veggie burger choice. Here's where to get'em!Bargain Hunter Deal of the Day--Veggie Burgers, Cheap!

Detroit's New Whole Foods Market Gets Mixed Reviews

Mighty food giant Whole Foods Market opened its doors in Detroit at 115 Mack Ave. on June 5, says the Detroit News. The city, called a "food desert" for its lack of access to fresh food markets, now offers locals more food choices. But the expensive, upscale vendor is getting mixed reviews. Here's a look at the big picture on Whole Foods in Detroit. Detroit's New Whole Foods Market Gets Mixed Reviews

Cheap Summer Family Fun Ideas from Tightwad Mama

We raised and four kids in an 800-square-foot mobile home. We were solvent and debt-free on one income while I homeschooled. I know about pinching pennies and cheap family fun. Here are tightwad mama's tips to stretch your summer fun buck. Make money multitask. Pay with the payment form that saves most and earns best rewards: store credit cards, debit card. Save points for better rewards. Cheap Summer Family Fun Ideas from Tightwad Mama

Dad-Inspired, Kid-Friendly Mother's Day Party, Homemade and Cheap

As a 25-year mom of four, I've been the guest of honor at many kid-inspired Mother's Day and birthday parties. Our children learned to throw a budget, homemade bash from me and my husband. For a guy, he's great at party-planning. Dads, here are tips from the master's knee, on planning an inexpensive Mother's Day party with your kids, that your wife will love! Dad-Inspired, Kid-Friendly Mother's Day Party, Homemade and Cheap