Tips

How to Set-up and Organize your Coupons

Congratulations! You’ve already begun your first step on your couponing journey; you’ve clipped, printed, torn and ordered online every coupon that grabbed your interested. Now, it’s time to embark on your epic adventure into the world of savings and to become an advanced couponer to whichever degree you’d like. If someone asks you where to find coupons you’ll be able to tell them with ease since a part of your study material included this guide on where to find coupons.
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6 Ways to Waste Less Food in the Kitchen

Last week I had to throw away pears that went bad and it made me realize how rare it is that we need to throw away food in our house. In fact I think that we’re pretty good when it comes to managing what’s in the fridge and making sure that we don’t have to waste food.

Because some of my friends told me how they were having a hard time following the same non-wastefulness, I realized that it could be an interesting article idea to share some of my tips which I’ve been picking up over the years in order to be more green and frugal. So here are the best tips to waste less food in the kitchen that came from extensive research and also from my own personal experience. I hope you like it.

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The Frugalista’s Guide to Planning and Enjoying your Glamping Experience

glamping, n. Glamorous camping. Satisfying your craving for the outdoors and your penchant for a good meal, nice glass of wine, and a comfortable bed. (source: urban dictionary)

Recently, I talked about the exciting (and scary!) business of investing in a chalet, a cottage or a summer house. Even if you’re not currently on the market for one, there are still many ways to get away from the city and move closer to a bit of wilderness. Of course, traditional camping is always an option, but the increasingly popular camping trend known as “glamping” might be the frugal traveler’s next favourite activity.
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Thinking About Making that Chalet Dream a Reality?

Be it in the winter, for skiing purposes, or in the summer, to enjoy a little dip in a peaceful lake, many people appreciate spending their weekends or vacations in the countryside, away from the city’s turmoil. I have myself been regularly going to my parents’ chalet ever since I was 9 days old and, for me, there is no better vacation than returning week after week, even year after year, to my very own haven of peace.
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How to Boost your House Value for Cheap

Trying to sell a property can become a real nightmare if you’re in a hurry or if you’re not able to get a decent price for it. Everyone would like to be able to find buyers quickly and to have the price they want for it, but unfortunately it’s not always the case.

Here are some tips on how to boost your house value inexpensively and help you preparing the house for potential buyers. These tips don’t guarantee that you will sell your property quicker and at a higher price, but they can certainly help you.
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My Favorite Craft Websites

I’m a huge fan of arts & crafts, and I always have new projects that I would like to take on, but unfortunately I never have enough time to do them all. I normally work on most of my projects in front of the TV; this way I feel less guilty when I do the couch potato thing in front of the telly ;)

Anyway, there are loads of really interesting blogs about crafts out there and I wanted to share some of these with you. Since you may be one of the lucky Canadians that will be holiday next week, you may be looking for fun projects to do.
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How to Handle a Missed Flight Connection?

During our last trip, my boyfriend and I missed our connection in Toronto. And because it was a first for us both, we didn’t know what to do. We tried not to panic, but being stuck in an airport that is closed during the night without luggage or any Information counter available can be quite stressful — trust me.

So I thought that it would be helpful to everyone leaving on a trip soon that I share what I’ve learned from this experience, to make sure that if it ever happens to you, you’ll know what to do. Missing a connection or dealing with a cancelled flight is never something fun, but knowing all this will almost certainly make your life easier.
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Top 6 Air Purifying House Plants; How to be Green and Frugal

We’ve all felt it; our sense of smell getting assaulted by various odours and chemicals in the air. Although the smells may not be unpleasant or even noticeable, some can affect our overall health, so I wanted to talk about some natural ways to counteract this in your home.

An air purifier is a recommended idea by most people, but they can run anywhere from $100-$1200 depending on the make and model you choose. I’m trying to be frugal (to the letter) and I unfortunately don’t have that kind of money just floating around. So I set off on a search for an inexpensive alternative that would satisfy my need for cleaner air, but wouldn’t break the bank at the same time. The results of what I found were as surprising as they were interesting.
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Be Greener at Home…Besides Just Recycling

One of my friends was recently telling me how she would really like to be greener at her new condo. She wanted to start out on the right foot and get good habits in this new environment (like a fresh start).

When we first shared our tips and habits, I was wondering in reality how green I was myself and if I could also change some of my habits at home to be more eco-friendly. So I decided to do some research and I eventually came up with these top 10 tips of how to be more green at home, besides just recycling because everyone can agree that it’s a minimum.
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Frugal Globetrotting – How to Save up for and During a Vacation

Two years ago, I bought my first condo at the age of 25. Although I was quite proud of this achievement, and happy not to throw away my money on rent, I thought it was necessary to cut on many expenses, including those trips I liked so much. After a cheap move and a few months of very frugal living, I realized that I had a little money to spare, and that if I planned well in advance I could afford to travel. Since then, I have traveled (on a budget) to Côte d’Azur, Corsica, Hawaii, Denmark and Germany, and have done a few road trips to New England, New York and Toronto. Here’s how I made that possible:
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Show Them Some Love! Canadian Companies that will mail you coupons

Have you ever heard the following expression: a little kindness goes a long way? Beginner couponers and advanced couponers alike should all take a moment out of their day to show a little kindness to some of the people they like the most; the companies that supply them with their products. By sending a simple thank you email and expressing your gratitude and love, many companies will reciprocate by sending you high value coupons for free products or at least some well received money off.
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It’s a Trap! How Stores Make You Spend More

In 2012, Target found itself at the center of a huge controversy (which you can read about here) because of a formula that their ‘Guest Marketing Analytic’ department had figured out; they called it “Customer Segmentation”.
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Where to Find Coupons; a Treasure Hunt

In an attempt to become more budget-conscious and to put more aside in my savings account, I started to take a closer look at what I was spending money on and where it was going. I noticed a huge jump in how much I spent on groceries in the last few months and I was embarrassed, to tell you the truth (and I follow this list on how to save sans coupons to the letter).
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What to Buy for Cheap in Summer

Buying products only when they are on sale can make a huge difference in your budget at the end of the year. So being aware of when the sales normally happen (think of this like patterns we have noticed) could help you save a lot of money. The sales tend to be seasonal which means that products normally get discounted at the same period of time every year so understanding these trends means you can plan your shopping around them to shop savvy like a pro.
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10 Easy Tips to Save $10 a Day

Everyone likes to keep more money in their pockets, but not everyone is ready to spend the time trying to save a few bucks. And I get it, I like to save money every day, but I’m not willing to sacrifice too much of my free time or well being just to save a few bucks at the end of the day.
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Money-Saving Tips for Your Moving Day

Hi everyone! This is my very first blog entry and (since it’s that time of the year already) I thought I’d treat you with some time, money and headache saviours to help your moving day be a success.
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Saving Tip of the Week; Buy Tupperware in Yard Sales!

It was the weekend of yard sales in my neighbourhood last week and I had loads of fun wandering around and checking what was available. I think that one of the best purchases to make during yard sales are Tupperware containers. I found loads of them, and they were available for something like $1. Do you know how much a brand new Tupperware container costs? It depends of the size and other things obviously, but it’s about $20 each (that’s not even for a set, that’s really for each).
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How To Start Meal Planning; It’s Easier Than You Think

Recently, I’ve been noticing a lot of websites referred to something called ‘Menu planning’ or ‘Meal planning’ and it has inspired me. It sounds easy enough to start and like something I should try in the spirit of frugality (and probably for my health too), but that little devil that sits on my shoulder and encourages me to be lazy wins me over each time I even think about attempting it.

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Twelve Ways to Raise Cash in an Emergency

The world changes, and our personal situations are not exempt from this. Sometimes bad things happen and we need money fast. From losing a job to being hospitalized, there are thousands of reasons why someone may need to free up some money. I’m going to lose my usual jovial sense of humor for this post, as serious topics deserve a serious voice. 2008 was a big year for a lot of people, fortunately in Canada we avoided some of the harsher consequences that were seen (and are still happening) in the U.S and parts of Europe. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t prepare for the worst and hope for the best.
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Swag Bucks; a way to earn Free things?

While aimlessly browsing the internet the other day (because I refused to spend hours refreshing Facebook as I usually do), I somehow managed to navigate my way to a site called Swag Bucks. I figured anything with Swag in the name had to be interesting but unfortunately (for me at the time), I was greeted with a sign-up page which didn’t give that much information on what exactly the site was about and how it worked. But then I saw the magic word listed multiple times on the front page and I just couldn’t resist anymore so I signed up.
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Extended Warranties: An End to the Discussion?

Here’s a story for everyone to enjoy: back in 2009, I made my first move towards independence and bought my very first car! Not a used car, mind you, but a brand new, right off the lot one that still had that amazing new car smell. I had signed all my papers and thought all the sales pitches were over….until they brought me upstairs to a separate room to talk about what they originally described as financing. Little did I know, it also meant that they were going to be pushing a bunch of added features and extra warranties on me just to make me spend even more money.
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26 Free or Cheap Activities for the Kids this Summer

My girlfriend asked me to research and write this article as her 2 nieces are gearing up for their summer holidays and her sister has asked for some ideas (and for us to help out a little). This topic got me super excited. I can’t wait to try some of them out (with or without kids involved).
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Making Your Own Home Air Freshener

I’m frugal. Not because I have the time, the energy or the inclination. No, but because I hate paying more for something than I think it’s ‘worth’. You’re probably thinking: “Well, Stephen, isn’t that going to be everything?” And my answer would be something like “Hell no!” There are loads of products and services out there that I think are either undervalued or spot on.
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Shave Money off your Razor Blade Bills

A few months ago, I, like the rest of the internet, watched the video about $1 razor blades (an instant classic) from dollar shave club. And it got me thinking, and consequently researching the best way to save money and be frugal within the realm of shaving. Let me break this down into topics for some easy-digestible-toilet-reading learning.
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A Beginner’s Guide to Stockpiling

You have to admit; seeing those gigantic stockpiles that some people have accumulated (also check out the video at the end of this awesome article) over the years of supplies can be impressive and intimidating at the same time. If you’re like me, you’ve most likely always wanted to try and make one (you know, to try and save money and all), but don’t know where to start.
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How to Stack Coupons; for Newbies

So here’s a term I bet most of you have heard of before: “Coupon Stacking”. To make it easy, it means taking two (or more) coupons and putting them towards the purchase of an item. In the most extreme cases, people will save up multiple coupons, wait until the item is on sale, and then stack the coupons to make the item free!
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Mother’s Day: Frugal Gift Ideas

Are you running on a low budget this year, but you would still like to offer to your mom a little something special for mother’s day? Find all about our best frugal gift ideas for mother’s day here.

These ideas are based on the principle that moms, well mine at least, love to spend time with their kids and they appreciate more a gift that we made ourselves. It’s true, just investing time in a gift shows that you truly care I think.
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8.5 Tips to Save on Groceries without Couponing

With the recent popularity of TLC’s Extreme Couponing, spending hours of clipping coupons from our weekly flyers has become the hottest new way of saving money at our local supermarkets. Let’s face it; food is expensive and I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one looking to save a dollar or two.
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Pinning is Winning; Using Pinterest to Save Money

One of the newest websites that has caught our attention is Pinterest.com, a virtual pinboard where users can share cute pictures, funny videos and become creatively inspired. The user interface is easy to navigate once you familiarize yourself with the functions available to you.
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How to Choose your First DSLR Camera?

“Hey, Ocean, I like your photos! Which camera did you use? I am thinking about buying a DSLR too, but don’t know which one to get :( “It seems that my photos are well received amongst my friends, thus I’ve been asked this question several times, even though I know nothing about photography.
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