Book Giveaway

After my entry on the Amazon Kindle below, I also realized I have an offer for my loyal readers at Frugal Green Girl!

"The Penny Pincher's Club" by Sarah Strohmeyer, a new chick lit type book was released earlier this month, and I have two copies to give away to readers of Frugal Green Girl. Like "Confessions of a Shopaholic", it follows the story of a woman going through a financial strain and is forced to give up her material possessions to get her life back in order. Along they way, you'll learn some tips yourself on how to save money. I'm happy to trade one of my boring personal finance books for an adventure, and I hope to post more information on this book in the future as I find opportunities for it.

In the mean time, I will give readers until August 15th at midnight (Central time) to enter in the drawing for a copy of "The Penny Pincher's Club". Email me your name and a way to contact you (email address is fine) to frugalgreengirl@gmail.com. Join along with us, even if you don't get a free copy, and share the tips you find helpful.

Paper is so last year

For my husband's birthday this year, I decided to get him a not-so-frugal, but what I would consider a very "green" gift - an Amazon Kindle. They have recently dropped in price, but are still at a quite outrageous $299.

My big thing with gifts is that I want them to be practical. While this gift costs a lot of money, I think it will pay itself off in the long run. I spend a lot of time researching more expensive purchases and finding customer reviews, which is something I would advise to anyone. At first, I didnt think buying a Kindle would be worth it, but after learning more about it, I saw how practical and useful it could be for him. My husband really loves to read classic novels, ones written quite a long time ago. For a while, he was collecting the anthology books by famous classic authors from Barnes & Noble, which tend to take up a lot of space in our apartment (soon-to-be house this weekend). The great part about these books is that the copyright has expired on them for quite some time, and now you can get all of these books for free on an electronic book, like the Kindle. This is also the reason why they are so cheap in stores, you are merely paying for the paper and ink the book was printed with. There are also websites like freekindlebooks.org that have lists and lists of free books to read. So far, he has only really purchased one book (Eragon, for $6.99), which costs half price than buying a hard copy since you aren't paying for the components of the hard copy version of the book.

Additionally, this device provides a form of "free internet". By that, I mean you can search the Amazon.com Kindle store at anytime, anywhere. It utilizes Verizon wireless's "whispernet", but there is no data plan to pay. My husband was out with his parents this weekend driving in a large city and looking for a local store. He pulled out the Kindle to find what they were looking for. Be warned, this is a version of the internet that would look like what you would get on your mobile phone. Basically, it can do the job you are looking for, but is not a computer. You can search google or wikipedia, but don't look for YouTube videos on there.

Plus, and my favorite part, you are saving paper and saving space in your home! The Kindle can hold roughly 1,500 books, which I would think is very hard to fill (But I wouldn't put it past my husband). It also can give you your subscriptions to newspapers or magazines too. Another thing we loved is one of the newest features of the lastest version of the Amazon Kindle, it's text-to-speech function, which will read your newspaper, magazine, or book to you. While it is a somewhat creepy electronic voice, it does its job quite nicely. Publishers are also given the choice to not offer the text-to-speech feature, since this would likely hurt the audiobook sales.

There are other versions of "electronic books" available at other book stores, like Borders sells a version from Sony, however, I don't know if the features would even come close to the Kindle. Amazon.com also carries such great deals on books, that I don't know where you would get a better price.

If you have a special someone in your life who loves to read, a Kindle or similar product might be a more practical purchase than you think, and convenient! Books download to your Kindle in 60 seconds!

My adventure at Plato's Closet

First off, my apologies for being a while since my last post. Life has gotten chaotic recently and my internet connection has been bipolar lately.

Anyways, with our upcoming move into our new home in two weeks, I began going through all of my old clothes and deciding what I could get rid of. While I know we all like to hoard clothes, a good rule of thumb is, if you have not worn it in the past two years, you probably can get along without it. I ended up with a very large box of clothes to take over to Plato's Closet, a store that specializes in buying and selling used clothes for the young crowd. You may have something similar near you as well, that will pay you for your used clothing.

After giving them all of my items and doing some looking myself for about 30 minutes, they had my offer for me. They showed me the basket of clothes they wanted to buy, which out of the 30-35 items I probably had in there, they only took about 5-7 I would say. I'm not going to lie, they are pretty picky since the trends change so quickly. They told me they will typically not buy anything more than a year old, and do not take higher than a size 15 (for women). However, it was something that I was expecting to hear. They aren't going to buy things from you they cannot sell. I was happy to get whatever money out of this that I could, since they likely would give me as much at a rummage sale or from donations to Goodwill. I ended up getting about $15 from what they wanted, and I used some of it towards some clearance tank tops they had for $2 each. I got one American Eagle Outfitters top, one from Hollister, and another top I could use for my work, all for $6. Can't beat that!

Although it is tough to sell stuff to them, I think they offer a lot of good deals in stores like this. It was a weird experience for me because you are used to seeing racks with the same item in different sizes. Here, everything is categorized by size, then color. I remember last year wanting to find a specific color of blouse to go with a pair of pants I had, and going to a place like this would have been a lot easier than searching a typical store. If you have clothes that you should get rid of, or you haven't gone through your closet in a while, consider minimalizing your wardrobe and get some money for it.

Recent Struggles Update

Well, my husband and I are officially homeowners! We are still renting our house to our seller, due to the fact we also need to complete our lease at the end of July. We were completely thrilled that everything worked out okay and our closing went, well, as smooth as it could have gone.

Anyways, I'd also like to take this time to tell you about a recent struggle with consumerism that has been a problem with getting a new house. I have such an awful compulsion to fill it with new furniture. For some reason, since this is our first home, I find myself wanting it to look like a "real house". While I bought the previous piece of furniture in the last post on Craig's list, this has been one of my most difficult battles with consumerism in a while. Additionally, while I switched my major 7 times in undergrad, one of them was interior architecture, also known as interior design. When you know about all the colors, gadgets, and furniture that you have been staring at and learning about for years it is so hard to not think about putting it in your own place. I don't know how interior designers keep any money in the bank! I am artistic by nature, and enjoy projects like this where I am suddenly given the freedom to paint walls and exercise the other freedoms that come with being a new home-owner.

As I have likely said in a previous post, its so much better to replace items in the house one at a time, then they are more affordable, and I am using this post mainly to reaffirm that to myself. I keep telling myself our savings needs to stay put. Even when looking at used items, like I was considering a sewing machine so I could make throw pillows and curtains rather than to pay a high price for them, however, I haven't used a sewing machine since the 7th grade. I would really want to take a refresher class, which is an additional expense. I would like to think skills with a sewing machine would pay off in the long run as an investment, however, I am still debating about whether the class and sewing machine would be worth it or just wait to afford the appropriate home accents and decor.

It's that time of the season

We have a strange tradition in my family, its been there as long as I can remember. My parents are incredibly frugal, and they have done so via the yard sale. We have both run them each year, and a frequent shoppers of them. When they come to visit me, it also seems to be a tradition, in addition to a game of who can find the best deal. Sometimes we try to find the goofiest things as well.

My husband and I just closed on our first house this past Monday (hence why my posts have been behind), and now we are amidst looking for some new pieces for our new home. Craigslist, which in my opinion, can be comparable to a rummage sale, has been a new haven for me to search. I just got this year old lounger for only $150 (after talking them down from $175 of course). Especially when we are moving into a new place, its tempting to fill it with new furniture we can't always afford. Here are some good tips to follow when we find ourselves in this situation:

1. If looking for new pieces, fill your home slowly by replacing pieces one by one as you can afford them. A few months ago I posted on creating an account that puts a small amount of money in it every pay check. Before you know it, you'll have some money for a new piece.
   
2. Rummage sales can be your best friend in this scenario. The best times to hit, especially when you live in a college town like myself, is during May and July when the summer is providing great weather and college students' apartment leases are close to being up. Many live on another side of the country and won't be able to take some of their things with them. If they are selling a lot of their items (mine was trying to get rid of everything in the house), there is a good chance you can probably get a better deal by talking them down in price. If you can't, don't be afraid to walk away - they are likely more despirate than you to get rid of their furniture since they will be charged if it still in their apartment after their lease is up.
   
3. Craiglist can also be resourceful for links to both furniture, rummage sales in the area, or anything, as you may know.
4. I have also been finding websites like overstock.com to be helpful in the search for new furniture at decent prices. If any of you know of other great websites, please let me know or share them in the comments!

Its amazing to find the big deals, plus there is even a greater sense of satisfaction when you know how much money you saved - brag to your friends!

My friend over at Green & Cheap has also just recently written on this subject, so be sure to check it out as well.

Hair Cuts for Cheap

When I was a kid, my mother or grandmother always cut my hair. In fact, my mom did, and still does, cut many of my cousins' hair. However, both of them were also licensed cosmetologists. But for many families you don't have to be one to give haircuts. There are always commercials on for the next set of clippers to use on the men in the family. But what can women do?

I'm lucky to find that local beauty academies are great ways to save money on haircuts. Today I got my haircut for $7. When I go to my normal salon, I pay $25. If you are willing to sacrifice cutting the ties with your current salon or stylist, and perhaps not having a usual one either, consider going to get your hair cut by students. I've also read that if you are willing to get whatever style they choose, to be a model, you could get a hair cut for free.

Another issue for me is that I keep my hair very short. I struggle with it because to keep it at the desired length it has to be cut almost every 2 months, if not sooner. Shelling out $25 each time that frequently pained me a lot, but now, I can get them as often as I need, and I can keep the short hair that I love.

Honeymoons

This post is a part of a weekly section for the month of June on how to save money for weddings.


This is what I believe many people think of when the word "honeymoon" comes up. It is a conventional, prescribed way of seeing things, given to us by the many vacationing commercials from places like Sandals, etc. In fact, this is a photograph from my honeymoon, in Puerta Vallarta, Mexico. I thought this was what I wanted, but in fact, I often say the wedding was for me and the honeymoon was for my husband. I found out I was not so fond of the excessive heat and humidity (especially in one of the worst months, August), and I was also stung by a jellyfish while swimming in the ocean off of the shore of our all-inclusive resort.

The recommendation of the all-inclusive resort came from my parents, who come to a place like this every year during the winter. While you can get your money's worth, if you aren't into drinking a lot, or eating a lot, you might want to reconsider your options. However, where we DID save money was the fact we did take this honeymoon in the off-season. We also took a package deal through Apple Vacations to save some money, which I don't know if I would recommend again, but technology keeps expanding every year and we now have great websites like Priceline.com, and Orbitz.com, that can offer stellar deals. I have been actually watching cruise line deals with Priceline for a while now, and last week there was a deal for a 4 day cruise to the Caribbean for $199 a person!

Booking through a travel agent you will come across extra fees, booking fees, etc., so I would recommend booking a trip for yourself if at all possible. The real deals will be online if you know the right places.

The other thing to note, as I was saying earlier, is make sure to find a place that both of you can have some fun. The tropics are just one place where people go. My parents went to Yellowstone Park, and my husband's parents went to Niagara Falls and Cooperstown, NY (My Father-in-law is a big baseball fanatic). If I could do it all over again, I would have considered a cruise. While they are all-inclusive too, I found myself bored sitting at a resort all day. I am someone who needs an adventure everyday, while my husband was content just reading a book on the beach. Find what is fun for the both of you! And while my parents recommended this to us, be sure its what YOU want.

Also, honeymoons do not have to be an extravagant expense, it is another thing pushed onto us by society. A couple of years ago my friends did a road trip of the state, another one of my friend's getting married next month is staying at a cabin for their honeymoon. Weddings are so much about prioritizing, because it is likely that everything you want will not be there. If you can live without a fancy honeymoon, than go without it. The important part is that you have fun and enjoy the special time to bond with your new spouse.

Free Redbox Rental

Looking to rent a movie for the weekend?

Sign up for emails from Red Box and you'll be offered a promotional code good for one free rental.

After using my free rental code from Red Box, I got an additional free rental for signing up for emails. So, you might get two free rentals from Red Box when signing up for promotional emails.

Weddings Galore!

Its getting to be that time of the year...June (and the rest of the summer for that matter), the most common month to be getting hitched. This next month (and this week) features an additional weekly post on ways to save on wedding expenses.


I was married not too long ago, in August it will be 3 years. I grew up with very "frugal" or "thrifty" parents, and since weddings are no friend to anyone's wallet (except maybe the bride and groom if its very traditional) we were stuck with finding ways to cut back on wedding expenses. There were some actually good solutions in my opinion, and one I took up again recently after being asked to stand up in a wedding.

The dress can be by far one of the most expensive parts of the wedding. After watching shows like "Say Yes to the Dress" on TLC, women are willing to spend thousands, sometimes tens of thousands, on that one special dress that will make them feel like the beautiful woman that they are. I recall my dress shopping trip with my mom to a nice bridal shop in a nearby town. As I walked upstairs to where all of their bridal dresses were, it was there, on a mannequin. It was the first dress I saw. My mom was not so pleased by the $800 price tag, but I actually thought it was not so bad. Later that night, I started exploring on the internet, determined to find my dress for a price my mom could not refuse. And it was on ebay that I found the same dress for $630. I know it sounds crazy, but if you know the style and size of the dress you want (and tried it on in the store), look for it on auction sites like ebay. Sometimes, the savings are quite astonishing.

Women who are standing up in weddings can also follow suit. I am standing up in a wedding this summer as a "groomswoman", which was nice because I was given the freedom to choose my own dress as long as it was black and floor-length. Again, I went to ebay and found a Jim Hjelm dress, selling from $250-$355, for $47. Brand new. As with any ebay purchase, look through the seller's feedback and check what the fitting sizes of the designer are. Bridal wear is such a tricky business because for some reason they all seem to run small. Typically, whatever size you are in jeans, you need to up it by one or two sizes. Strange, I know, but since you aren't buying it from a shop, either check your measurements or try on a dress made by that designer in a store if you can't get the actual one. I would also say your best bets are the ones selling from New York, which is where both of my dresses came from. With all of their shops and being the high-fashion city they are, they always seem to have plenty to give to the rest of us.

Additionally, after getting my dress in the mail, my mom had a friend who was a seamstress. As any bridal magazine doing an article on budget-savers will tell you, having friends who can provide services for you will save you big time. My aunt did most of the flowers, a family friend made our wedding cake, a family friend (with a professional camera) did our wedding photos, my bridesmaids and I put together wedding favors and service programs...I could go on. But if you're on a budget, these are some of the best ways to save money.

Remembering Life Before...A Commentary

Recently, a new Wal-Mart opened in our town. We already have a "supercenter" version on one side of town, and after a long battle between citizens and the city, the second Wal-Mart was built and opened this past month. I'm not about to get into the politics of shopping at Wal-Mart - I know many people who refuse to shop there due to personal reasons, so putting these beliefs aside, just follow me on this. Anyways, I went to this new Wal-Mart, and I was shocked to walk in to see how small it was. Its less than half the size of the typical supercenter version, but yet, I stood remembering back to the time when all Wal-Marts were this size. Now, I cannot think of one Wal-Mart in my life that did not upsize or start off as the Supercenter. At this new Wal-Mart, I could see both the back/front and both sides of the store from where ever I was. It still had a small grocery store section on one side as well. And you know what the funny part was? I didn't miss anything. I had an assortment of odds and ends that I needed (including food), and found them all, and faster since the store is so much smaller. So what is taking up all of the space in these gigantic Wal-Mart, K-Mart, and Target Supercenters? I can only fathom that the variety of the same product might be it. However, this experience has helped me realize that the point of these large stores is to make money, raise consumerism, and have you realize you can't live without it. But the point is, there was a time before Supercenter stores and we did live without them, just fine in fact.


This is a postcard that was just posted on this week's Postsecret blog. If you haven't yet seen the blog or books on Postsecret, I highly recommend them. A couple of weeks ago I left for school without my cell phone, and realized it once I got there. I suddenly had feelings of confusion and loss...what if someone calls me?! Note, I probably only receive 1-2 calls a day, but for some reason I think today may be an exception. My supervisor at my job, as understanding as she is, lets me go home to go get my phone (approximately a 3 minute drive). She understood because she knew she couldn't live without her phone either. Cell phones were not really a part of my life until I was 16 years old, and even at times in between then and when I got married, I didn't have a cell phone...and some how I got along without one. What are we so afraid of in leaving our cell phone behind? Sure, we have families and times of emergency, it certainly makes sense, but what does this promote? If we disconnect ourselves from the world, will that benefit us? I think many of us would say "yes", and others who might say "no" or "possibly". Either way, I am amazed at the feelings of panic or stress that we get from leaving electronic items like cell phones at home, and we don't know how to cope. Its like an addiction.

That being said, I would encourage you to think about what your life was like before luxury items like cell phones were a "want" and not a "need". Some how, we all survived.

Frugal Green Girl Returns!

Well, its 12:33am, and I have finally finished my last paper for the semester, yay!

Now, its graduation time for many, and I was happy to order some "recycled" gifts for some people I know who are graduating. I know its hard to believe there are any things that are worthwhile in ordering, rather than just giving plain old money, which I am sure most graduate would enjoy. However a lot of the gifts out there are very unique, artistic, and can be more personal. Plus, most college graduates, or even high school graduates, are looking to move out into their own place, why not look for something that could be a cool conversational piece, or something that just has a "more-expensive-than-college-dorm-posters" look. You'll be amazed at what is out there!

Eco-Artware.com is a great place to get some ideas and have some really cool items and designs. There are also many ideas that you can make yourself, from ReadyMade magazine to plenty of videos on YouTube. Nothing is greater than when you can say you made it yourself (then they'll HAVE to keep it). If you are looking for something in particular, try googling the item along with "recycled". You may find either instructions or a place to buy, or both!

Happy hunting and congratulations to all the graduates this month!

That time of the semester again...

Hi everyone,

My apologies again on the lack of posts these past two weeks...it is finals time and my weekends have been spent doing the kind of writing I don't like to do - writing papers. Anyways, I will be back after this weekend.

Stay Green!
-Frugal Green Girl

Happy Earth Day!

Happy Earth Day everyone! Luckily I have a beautiful day outside to watch from my office window to observe (I'm trying to be positive here).

Although I know its a little late in the day, there have been some awesome giveaways today that I thought I would share with you in case you still have some time. Reusable totebags seem to the popular giveaway, and I think you will find them quite useful. This information has been gathered from other websites, like inqusitr.com, and ehow.com.

• All Disney Stores are handing out free Mickey Mouse totebags today. Bring in three plastic bottles to any location to get yours.
• Head here to get a mail-in rebate form for Reynolds Wrap’s recycled foil wrap. Then, you can go buy a roll of it and get your money back (up to $3.99).
• Walgreen’s is giving out free recyclable tote bags today. All you have to do is print out the coupon here and buy anything in the store to get yours. The coupon will also give you 15 percent off most items in the store.
• You can get a free reusable tote bag from The Body Shop, too. No coupon needed — you just have to spend at least $30 and they’ll give it to you. The store will also donate $2 from all purchases today to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence
• Target stores are offering $2 coupons for GE Energy Smart compact fluorescent light bulbs for the first 1 million guests to check out in each store. They’ll also hand out free reusable tote bags.
• Check with your local Subaru dealer or Whole Foods store, but the two have been putting on a "eco-tour" for Earth day, where if you test drive a Suburu, you will receive a $20 gift certificate to Whole Foods, and a potential tote bag.
• Earthbound Farms is also giving away a free tote bag if you are the first 10,000 people every week in the month of April to request for it. You just have to read and do a little pledge.
• For our Canadian friends, Starbucks in Canada is offering free coffee on April 22, 2009 if you bring in a travel mug. They will fill it up with a complimentary brewed Pike Place Roast!
• Not to vote for more consumerism, however, Old Navy is one of my favorite places to shop due to moderately low prices and nicer clothes. They are currently running a special when you buy a $1 tote you will receive 10% off your purchase and may find more on ways to save (i.e. coupons) on their website.

There are more awesome deals for you out there, so be sure to look around at what is in your area!

Enjoying the Great Outdoors...

My apologies for the tardiness of this post...its getting to be that point of the semester when many large papers are due, so the next month may be more sparse for new posts. I'll let you blame my teachers too.

A couple of months ago I created a post on checking out gyms before buying membership. Well, here would be the first place to go - outdoors! Not only is it free, its also a great way to utilize nature's (or your city's) beautiful scenery. The money that can be spent on a year gym membership can be quite extravagant, and the machines also use a lot of energy to help you do something people can do out in the real world - walk, run, or bicycling. Now I understand gyms have many other uses, like strength training and other valuable equipment, but many people do go to gyms to simply use the treadmill or exercise bike. I personally found myself at gyms for a few reasons: a) cold weather/time of day, b) the ability to control pace and distance with a machine, and c) the personal safety of a gym. For me, a and b have been resolved, but the security of a gym environment in comparison to running outdoors can be a challenge, especially for women. I think the key is to be smart about it - Don't run in the dark, stay on routes with heavier "traffic" (i.e. more publicly used areas), and don't run the same route all of the time. [However, as a side note, I also think this is an illusion that can be created in our mind. A gym can be just as a dangerous place as running routes in your city or town, don't be fooled.]

Anyways, about a month ago, I was planning to start doing some marathon training outside, but I was left very frustrated with methods of measuring the distance of runs. I didn't have the money to afford a fancy GPS running watch, which can track your routes, and I was finding difficulty calibrating my iPod Touch with Nike+ program (i.e. a type of accelerometer mechanism). After much time spent on the internet scoping out potential tools to help me figure out the distance of my runs, I came across a website that utilizes Google Maps to help you figure out your mileage. All you have to do is click points that follow your route on the map to start. Using the satellite view, I was even able to calculate off road routes, like my local dog park. Its available at Run.com, and its been an absolute god-send for me to keep me running outside. If you are looking for a better way to document your routes rather than just driving them with your car to use the odometer first, please give this website a try, a great resource to getting more runners outside. You can also see routes people have documented doing in your area!


Even if you aren't into the whole exercise thing - now is the time to start getting outside to absorb some vitamin D from the sun! Enjoy what the outdoors can bring to you or your family.

Recyclable Style

My mother-in-law is very much into Diet Coke. She has the shirts, memorabilia, but first and foremost, keeps gallons of it at her house. Over this past Christmas I had really wanted to make her a very cool hand-made project by using Diet Coke wrappers, in particular, a purse. She had loved the afghan I crocheted for her during the previous year, and lets face it, its much cheaper (and more personal) than buying a gift. However, I failed to realize that collecting these wrappers can take a long time. I have been meaning to try to collect these over the year, but I thought it would be cool to share this project's instructions with you, in case you might know of someone who would like this as a gift.

I found instructions for this project from another blog, on the candy wrapper purse blog by Mylinda Agler. Once you learn this folding technique, you can pretty much use any type of wrappers, from potato chip bags to candy wrappers. The colors, the style of the bag, the material, and any other editions provide you with an awesome amount of creativity to work with.

If you aren't into the arts and crafts scene but would still like to get one of these bags for you or someone you know, check out Ecoist bags. With over 50 styles of bags in tons of colors, they provide a great eye catching bag while saving the Earth. Even if you know you wouldn't buy any of these, they can be a great source of ideas on what kind of bag you might like to make.

Finally, if you are more of a visual learner, there are a couple of good videos on You Tube showing the methods of candy wrapper folding. Some of the better ones (in my opinion) can be found here or here.

Who would have thought you could make an awesome gift out of garbage?