New Year resolutions offer people the chance to start over, start fresh. Most joke that they’ll never actually keep them, but if you keep goals simple and have support (a friend who’s joining you in resolution), you can easily meet those goals. And the best part is -- you can do it frugally. * If you resolve to save money, start small. A simple coin bank or empty peanut can where you throw pocket change can be the start of something big. If you increase your deposit to $10 a week, you’ll have $250 by mid-June! If you're saving up for something in particular, keep a photo of it next to the …

Shopping after the holidays can mean big savings. According to a poll from Consumer Reports, four in ten Americans plan on doing some post-holiday shopping this week with 80 percent saying the post-holiday sales are the biggest draw.  Dealnews, an online source for finding the best deals on the items you’re looking for, is reporting that consumers should expected post-holiday discounts on holiday items of as much as 88 percent from major merchants such as Williams Sonoma.  While most bargain hunters go out to the stores on December 26, sales are going on all week at local retailers where you …

Most people now-a-days will agree that times are financially hard.  If you're 55 and older, you can take advantage of savings offered by local retailers to those not only older -- but financially wiser. When dining out, look for early bird/senior specials, but many chains also have special deals: * Applebee’s offers a 10 percent discount with their Golden Apple Card, and Arby’s and IHOP also offers those 55 and older a 10 percent discount. * Wendy’s and McDonald’s offer free or discounted beverages and Perkins has a special 55-plus menu that’s good for all day, not just dinner. Planning an …

The holiday season is almost upon us, and with that, spending season. The two need not go hand in hand, however, even when planning Thanksgiving dinner with your extended family. Here's a few simple tips to help you spend less: 1. Accept help. If Aunt Margie wants to bring something, let her. Even if she’s just bringing glazed carrots or sweet potato pie, it’s one less dish for you to buy ingredients for and cook. 2. Check sales flyers. Redners has two, five-pound bags of Russet potatoes  for $4, and two Pepsi cubes for $11 this week. Weis has frozen turkey breasts for $1.89 per pound, if you…

One of the best tips for Halloween is to be creative. Anything can be a costume, and if you use your imagination, you can create something unique while being frugal.  * Boxes are a great start in creating a costume. You can paint them to make just about anything, from a carton of milk (to go with someone else dressed as a cookie) to an iPod. Head to Home Depot or Kmart for paint and various accessories. What about a robot or a haunted house? * Duct tape is another versatile item. For Halloween you can use it to make stripes on your little one’s sweat suit and voila! – a tiger! Make the …

A trip with the family to Strawberry Acres in Coplay over the weekend was successful on many frugal levels. First, there were kids' activities: animals to feed (50 cents), unlimited time on turbo tube slide ($1); and pony rides ($3). For less than $5, our little guy had a fun afternoon. Then, the apple picking. Jonagold apples were 25 cents a pound, and Bosc pears, 35 cents a pound. Family entertainment and frugal food shopping in one trip - bonus.  The bus ride to the orchard is always one of the high points for the little man. He chose to sit over the wheel because I told him it was the …

A while back I wrote about the great trails in the area to explore, but sometimes it takes a little push to get started. Lehigh Valley Heath Network offers their Get Out! Lehigh Valley program to promote a healthier community. What better way to make new friends, get the family into the fresh air and be healthy than to head out with a group. Best of all, it’s frugal. It’s free.  There are some important things to remember, as cited on the Lehigh Valley Health Network website: * Wear proper footwear such as walking shoes or hiking boots. * Consider a hat to provide shade in summer and keep you…

Giving a room a makeover doesn’t have to mean new furniture. Painting the molding, putting up molding or painting one wall an accent color can make a nice change to a room for little money. Those containers of paint they sell as testers may be just enough to paint a little here and there. Curtains can change a room, and they don't have to be an expensive purchase. You can even make your own. Head to the local Salvation Army, and if you find a cute tablecloth, you can sew that into cute and inexpensive new kitchen curtains. Children’s flat sheets are a fast and easy way to personalize their …

Since many readers seemed to enjoy a past article on Frugal Cleaning, here are some ideas for good clean savings on something we all deal with -- laundry. I first heard about making your own laundry soap on the popular show, "19 Kids and Counting," and as I’ve said before, “If anyone knows how to save, it’s a family with that many kids.” In the laundry soap aisle of the grocery store, you’ll find your necessary supplies: a bar of Fels Naptha soap, a box of Washing Soda and a box of Borax.  To make the soap: * Simply grate the bar of soap into a pot containing 4 cups of water. Cover that and …

By dehydrating foods, you remove most of their moisture, thus making the foods less likely to spoil over time, and you reduce their volume so they take up less storage space. I have nine tomato plants that survived the heat, humidity and rains of the summer, and slowly they’re ripening. What can be done with the weekly crop besides using them in salads and sandwiches. With a dehydrator you can make your own sun-dried tomatoes, and it’s simple! Get a fresh batch of Roma tomatoes from your garden. They’re meatier and do very well when sun-dried. Cut them into quarters and remove the middle ‘…

Having homeschooled my son for preschool last year, this is the first time we’re being sucked into the joy of back-to-school shopping. We haven’t received our list of necessary supplies but headed to the store the other night for the obvious backpack, folders, pencils and erasers. It’s easy to see how parents can end up spending hundreds of dollars this time of year, so what’s a frugalista to do? * The first thing is the back-to-school wardrobe. My parents were fortunate enough not to have to worry about this part because I was in Catholic school and wore uniforms. Why do kids need a new …

Canning is described as just one step beyond cooking. So rather than let your bountiful garden go to waste this summer, you can make salsa or spaghetti sauce with those homegrown tomatoes and peppers. The food you preserve can last up to a year. If you go to local farms to pick fruits, you can make jams and jellies. Come September, head to the orchard to pick apples and make your own apple sauce, apple butter and apple pie filling. Apples seem to be very forgiving in canning, while strawberries tend to lose their color and flavor after six months. National Can-It-Forward Day is Aug. 13. …

Making your own baby food isn’t a new idea; my mom had a hand grinder that she used for that purpose. Nowadays, there are contraptions to grind, puree and store what my mom made by hand for me back in the dark ages and froze in an ice cube tray. When my son was born, I started making his food, but not to be healthy or to save money. I had tasted what came in jars, and aside from some of the fruits and desserts, I couldn’t stomach them. During Farmer’s Market season, typically May through November, you can take advantage of local fruits and vegetables to make your baby's food. The Macungie …

The Frugalista doesn’t throw things away – it’s all about reuse, recycle, repurpose. When you buy something, don’t you like getting your money’s worth -- 110 percent of it? Even items that you don’t buy but accumulate can be used in new ways. This week we’ll look at two common items: plastic bags and newspapers. I admit, I try to use my reusable shopping bags every week at the grocery store, but more times than not, I forget the darn things. Alas, what does one do with her collection of plastic bags? 1. Bring them back to the store and save money on your shopping trip. Target will give you 5 …

One of the best parts of summer is fresh produce, and you can’t get much fresher than picking it yourself. Our area has quite a few pick-your-own farms, each offering a selection of seasonal fruits and vegetables at prices lower than what you would find in stores. Even better – it gets the kids out of the house, so it’s not only saving money on food but it's also something fun for the family to do together. Grab a bucket or basket and head out. Most people in the area have heard of Strawberry Acres, which keeps its website updated with information on what’s available. It has a market where …

The great outdoors provides plenty of opportunities for free fun and exercise. Whether you bike, hike, or walk, there are quite a few trails to explore in our own backyard. Pack a few snacks, water to keep hydrated and set out to explore. Kids may enjoy bird watching, identifying trees or riding their bike with friends for exercise. The frugalista may not purchase a membership to a gym, so this is a great opportunity to get a workout for free. The Ironton Rail Trail  is a six-mile loop with a three-mile spur. (The Ironton Railroad was abandoned in 1984.) The trail passes through Hokendauqua …

Summer vacation. Kids long for it and parents dread it. What to do for those months while the kids are complaining about how bored they are? Thankfully there are plenty of options in the South Whitehall and Upper Macungie areas. The Kids Bowl Free program is a great option to escape the heat. When you sign your kids up (for free), they get passes every week that allow them to bowl two games every day for free all summer.  Check this website to see which bowling locations are participating and to sign up for a summer of fund. Every year more locations are added. What’s even better is that for …

As summer nears, thoughts of vacation come to mind. Where does the Frugal Family go and what do they do. One great idea is camping. While you may need to do a little shopping for necessities to get yourself started, camping can be a fun and frugal family adventure. Those starting out may get a tent, lantern, grill, sleeping bags and other important supplies such as marshmallows, graham crackers and chocolate while the more experienced campers may enjoy life in their camper or RV. We did our time in the tents but when our little one arrived we decided having an actual structure with a locking …

Summertime and the livin's easy, or so the saying goes. When you’re a parent, it may not be that easy trying to figure out what to do with the kids for those few months before school starts again. After a few trips to the playground, fish hatchery and the movies, what is left to do and what’s on the list of those frugalistas out there? The Lehigh Valley area is lucky to have quite a few attractions, and many offer season passes or memberships to help entice you to visit more. Are season passes really worth the money? Let’s find out. We’re basing all ‘families’ on two adults and one child 5 …

Finding little ways to save money here and there add up. Even if you have a coin jar on a dresser, that daily, or even weekly, contribution can accumulate into a little extra pocket money. Sometimes saving a little may also require a little work. One such example – starting a garden. It doesn’t have to be anything huge. Even a container garden can yield a decent amount of veggies/herbs to save you at the grocery store each week. Getting the supplies to get started are available at such places as the Home Depot, Kmart, Lehigh Valley Home and Garden Center, 4 Seasons Garden and Landscape Supply…