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A dear friend informed me that she would be making homemade jelly this week and graciously invited me over to help. I can remember my mom canning when I was young, and I have dabbled in it myself, but the idea of making my own jelly is SO daunting- all that mess, and squeezing grapes and extracting liquid... no way! But then this friend, a true "domestic diva", told me that she would be making it out of juice rather than grapes- and I was intrigued! Juice? This was definitely worth learning about.

To my surprise, it was SO easy, not very messy, and FAST! Even better- it is frugal! There are other benefits as well:
-Knowing exactly what is in your food
-The joy of making it for your family
-Having your children help (my kids can't WAIT to do this!)
-Being able to use your coupons on juice to lower your cost even further

Would you like to hear how? I thought so.

Basic canning skills: (you can learn more about canning here)
-You need to have glass canning jars- this will be your biggest cost investment, but they are reusable, so that cost is easily recouped. They need to be clean and sanitized- you can use the dishwasher with the heated dry. My friend also puts her jars in the oven on 350 degrees until she is ready to use them.
-You need to get the lids for the jars- they should be the one-time self-sealing lids and rings. I believe that these are sold separately, but it has been a while since I have purchased them. All of this can be purchased at Walmart.
-The lids can be put in a pan of hot water until you are ready to use them. Making sure that your lids, jars, and liquid are all very hot is a great way to ensure that they will seal properly.

Grape Jelly recipe: (we doubled this, which you should easily be able to do with one bottle of juice and one bag of sugar)
-4 cups of 100% juice, no sugar added
-4 cups of sugar
-1 packet of pectin (found with canning supplies. Look inside the box for a coupon!)
*One batch makes 30 oz of jelly.

Using a large heavy pot, add pectin to juice and stir over high heat until completely dissolved. Stirring constantly, bring to a boil that cannot be stirred away, and then add sugar (you may need to reduce the heat to keep the mixture from boiling over). Keep stirring and bring back to a rolling boil. Boil hard for 1 minute, stirring the entire time, making sure that the sugar is dissolved and that the mixture is not "lumpy" or grainy. To check: using a cold spoon, dip into your jelly mixture and let cool for a minute. If it is a "gel" consistency, it is ready!

Reduce heat to low to keep it hot. Working one at a time, remove a hot jar from the oven (take care! These will be extremely hot! You can use special jar tongs, purchased with the other canning supplies, to help with this). Using a canning funnel (you can often get these for .99 at Kroger), ladle the hot liquid into the jars, leaving about an inch of space at the top of the jar. Wipe the rim of the jar- you don't want anything interfering with the seal and compromising your jelly! Using tongs, remove a sterilized lid from the hot water and place on top of your jar. Screw on a ring (remember that your jar is EXTREMELY hot!!) as tight as you can and set aside. Repeat for the rest of the jars. Set in a draft-free place and listen for the "pops" that indicate that your jar is sealed. You will be able to tell if a jar is sealed by looking at the middle of the lid- if it is slightly inverted rather than a slight bump, the jar has sealed! If it does not seal (wait about an hour to make sure), you can put it in a boiling water bath for 5-10 minutes, depending on jar size.

You will now need to wait for your jelly to set up properly- to become a solid rather than a liquid. This should happen within 24 hours, but if it has not set up within 2 weeks, you can reprocess it with more pectin (instructions for this should be included with your pectin).

That's it! We did 4 batches of jelly and had the kitchen cleaned in an hour and a half. (note: the apple jelly takes 5 cups of sugar per batch)

Once you have your equipment (jars, lids, etc), this can be a very cost-conscious way to make your own jelly! Be sure to buy everything on sale and to use coupons whenever possible.

Once you get the general instructions down, play around with different flavors of juice to make different flavors of jelly. If you use little jars, you can easily make gift baskets of jelly (and bake up some homemade bread to go along) for frugal and delicious Christmas gifts! Have fun!

To see other great tips for saving money every day, check out our Frugal Tips for Everyday Living section!
(thanks Robin for teaching me!)
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One of my friends posted these tips in the Discussions part of my Facebook page, and I LOVED them, so I thought I would share! Above and beyond couponing, these are some great tips to get the most savings for your every-day life.

1. Use coupons! I cannot stress this enough. Many people don't realize this, but you can often mix a manufacturers coupon with a store coupons. I combine Publix coupons with manufacturers coupons all of the time and I usually can get a lot of free items this way. You can even mix a bogo deal with coupons and get paid to shop!

2. You can get free music every week. Every Tuesday, Starbucks picks a new artist of the week. You can pick up cards at your local Starbucks for a special code that gets you a free Itunes download. In addition to this, Itunes offers a free song each week as well.

3. For those of you who love cappuccinos, order a coffee with steamed milk instead. This will save you a few dollars every time.

4. Instead of getting a manicure and pedicure each week, you can go to the nail salon and ask them to do your nail polish only. You can get your nails and toes done for half price just by not using the water tub thingys.

4. Sign up for the groupon.com deals. You will receive a coupon via email each week for restaurants, spas, and more. (Also check out Living Social, Tanga, kgbdeals, Plum District, and Tippr- remember that no matter what city the deal is in, you can get it if it is an online deal like Fandango, soap.com, etc!)

5. Pack your lunch. Eating out is way too expensive. If you must eat out, order water. Drinks can cost up to $2.00 a pop.

6. Save your ticket stubs after seeing a movie. Apparently it's good for a free chicken sandwich from Chick-Fil-A. (Call your local store to verify this).

7. Save your church bulletin after the service, many places will give you a discount on Sundays if you bring the bulletin with you.

8. If you are a student, ask local shops if they offer discounts. You can receive discounts at Starbucks, movie theaters, and other places.

9. If you feel like catching a movie at the theaters, check out what is playing at your local dollar theater. It's not a dollar anymore, but it is still a lot more affordable than paying $10.00 elsewhere.
 (Atlanta area: check out the Picture Show at Merchant's Exchange in Marietta! Tix are only $1.75, and I think that the matinees are even cheaper!)

10. Instead of paying tons of money for framed pictures, make your own. If you take pictures with your own camera, you can have them developed (pretty much anywhere) as a black and white photo. Buy a fancy frame and voila, you can decorate your bare walls! (I have to give credit to Charlene, she's the one who thought of this one).

11. Shop amazon.com. I haven't paid full price for books or dvds in years. (You can also check out www.paperbackswap.com for free books! I use it all the time to get rid of books I no longer read and to pick up new FREE books! When asked who referred you, tell them Katie-M!)

12. Switch from high speed dsl to economy dsl. My friend Rachael says she can't even tell the difference and she saves a ton of money each month.

13. Pay attention to special offers on items that you buy. I usually ignore these, but just last week I got 25 free music downloads just for buying a package of razors for $2.00 (I used a coupon). What a steal!

14. Look through the clearance bins at Kroger. I have found tons of deals in these each week. I just bought 3 packs of gum for 99 cents.

15. Shop for clothing at Plato's Closet. That store rocks and you can buy name brand clothing at super low prices.

16. Look in the creative loafing for free events. (Atlanta Area) Often times there are days when you can visit museums, concert and other events for free!

17. If you buy the daily paper, be sure to look for the Publix penny item. Every Thursday, Publix has a mystery item that only costs you a penny. These items are often things that you buy anyway like coffee and toilet paper.

18. Sign up for a gym membership in the summer. This is when their enrollment drops (because everyone would rather be outside). The winter months are the worst time to sign up for a gym membership.

19. Make your own cards. It will be more meaningful than a store bought one, and can save you a ton of money in a year.

20. If you are wine drinker, then you should definitely try two-buck chuck from trader joes. These wines are actually about $2.75 a bottle and are available in red, white, and blush. It's yummy wine at a price you can't beat!

21. For those of you with kids, take advantage of "kids eat free" specials at your favorite restaurants. Look on their websites to find out what day you can take advantage of those offers. (Fab Steals and Deals also has a page dedicated to Kids Eat Free- check it out, and if you know of any others, send me a message!)

22. Sign up for emails at your favorite stores. You may want to create a seperate email account just for this. You will receive fantastic coupons at places that you already shop. I receive emails from New York and Company, Victoria Secret, and Sweet Tomato, and they are SO worth having an additional email address.

23. Looking for a cheap way to spend your Saturday? Volunteer! Not only is it free, but you'll be making the world a better place. Spend a few Saturdays building with Habitat for Humanity or walking dogs for the Humane Society. It will keep you out of the malls and it will boost your self esteem!

24. Buy staple items on sale. Anytime laundry detergent, toilet paper, or paper towels go on sale, I stock up. You will use it eventually, and you don't want to pay full price for these items. They tend to be pretty expensive.

25. Don't ignore free offers that come inside of the items that you buy. I have gotten free music downloads from buying a pack of razors and free movie tickets from buying a box of tampons.

26. You can download free audiobooks from your local library. All you do is check them out, download them to your computer and then put them on your ipod. They delete the file from your computer, but it will stay on your ipod indefinitely. I got the whole Twilight series for free!

Thank you, April, for these awesome ideas!
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I LOVE consignment sales! One of the frustrating things about trying to dress small children is the fact that they outgrow all of those expensive, super-cute outfits really quickly! Consignment sales are a great way to not only save money buying kids' clothes, but MAKE money as well!

Every spring and fall I get all of the clothes my kids have outgrown ready to sell. They have to be washed, ironed, tagged, hung, and sized- a lot of work, I'll admit- but when it is all said and done, I get a great check that I then put back into their wardrobes. The money I make selling their clothes is, for the most part, the money I spend buying new ones. My husband admires this because it is like my first initial "clothes" investment gets recycled twice a year, which REALLY saves us a ton of money! I like to buy a mix of new items and consignment sale items.

The great thing about consignment sales is that you find a lot of name-brand clothes in great shape at a fraction of the cost. Since kids outgrow items so quickly, they don't have a lot of time to ruin their clothes. Most consignment sales are also very picky about what they accept- clothes that are ripped, stained, or out-of-date are typically not accepted. This ensures that you find a lot of great clothes at a very reasonable cost.

When you sell at consignment sales, you typically get 70-80% of your sales back, while the hosting church/ministry/organization receives the other 20-30%. You pick your own prices, label your items, and drop them off- and they do all the "selling" work for you. You also typically make more money back this way than a regular consignment store- and definitely more than a yard sale.

Things to remember about shopping at consignment sales:
-Go early for the best selection!
-It's okay to be choosy. If I don't love it, I don't buy it.
-Try to think if what you are purchasing is actually a good price for that item. Many people overprice their items, when you could typically get those items for close to the same price at a regualr store sale, brand-new.
-The sales are done seasonally.
-You can often find clothes for juniors as well as maternity clothes, making this a great way to shop for back-to-school items as well as expensive pregnancy gear.
-If you are buying large items and baby gear, keep in mind that many items get recalled, and some of them get sold at consignment sales anyways. Be aware of current safety standards and recalls- otherwise, stay away from cribs and car seats.
-Many sales also offer books, DVDs, toys, and homeschool curriculum in addition to clothes!

Things to remember about selling at consignment sales:
-Your clothes need to be in like-new condition- don't waste your time tagging items that have stains or look dated. Many times they will be pulled off the rack- if not, they probably still won't sell.
 -Don't try to sell summer clothes in winter sales and vice versa. They probably won't be allowed, but they definitely won't sell. 
-Be reasonable when pricing your clothes, Yes, you want to make a profit- but if you price them too high, they won't sell! A good rule of thumb is 1/3 of the original cost for name-brand items, but it differs for each article of clothing. You can charge a little more for good name-brands. I try to think, "Would I pay this much for this item, used?"
-Some sales charge administrative fees in addition to their 20-30%.
-Register early to sell! Spots are limited and fill up quickly!
-Sometimes volunteering is a great way to not only ensure a spot, but can also get you "passes" into pre-sales as well as  other perks.
-You have to be available to pick up your items, but you can also choose to have them donated to another ministry- most sales have this option. Once they have been donated, though, they are gone.
-Many hosting churches and organization let you write off their 20-30% on your taxes as a tax-deductible donation.

A great place to see all of the current and upcoming sales in your area is the Bargain Watcher. There might be others for others areas of the country. I would check it often, especially in early summer and in January/February for upcoming sales.
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One of my awesome readers wrote this post about how she made over $600 from bank incentives last year. Check it out and find out how YOU can get paid to bank!

"A frugal tip I worked on last year was when we were sent incentives for opening checking accounts (Chase offered $100 and Bank Of America $75) we opened the accounts and kept them open the minimum amount of time needed to get the incentive. It varies by bank, but we made $650 last year doing this.  I recently got one from SunTrust that was a bill pay incentive that if you paid 3 bills for 3 months out of your account ( by signing up for bill pay) they would credit you $100 after the 3 mos and 3 payment minimum was done.  Watch your mailbox for these incentives, and make sure to read the fine print. One caveat, the incentives are taxable , so just know that they will be sending you a form and you will need to claim it on next year's taxes, but that's almost half of our Disney trip for last year!"

What an awesome way to help pay for those extra expenses or fun vacations! Thanks Robin for sharing this fab frugal tip- I can't wait to put it to good use!

Do you have a frugal tip that you would like to share with the Fab Steals and Deals community? Let us know- it could appear here and help out all of our other readers!
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So after a week at the beach, with all the sunscreen and salt water and sweat, my skin is a MESS. I have been thinking that I need to use some sort of exfoliating scrub to help, and thought I would check online to see if I could make one. It opened up a whole WORLD of possiblities concerning  do-it-yourself bath products, using many products you have at home or can procure quite easily from drugstores, natural food stores, and craft stores. Even better, the cost per use of these items is very low, AND many of them would make GREAT and heart-felt gifts. Since you control the ingredients, those with sensitive skin need not fear harsh chemicals and long product lists. Here are some of my favorites! Have fun!

Bath Salts
Fill a small jar with Epsom salts so that you know how much you need. Dump them out in a bow, and then add a couple of drops of food coloring. Stir until mixed. Then add a couple of drops of your favorite essential oil (you can buy these at health food stores). Mix again. Spread out on a baking sheet and let dry for a couple of hours. Pour back into the jar. You can use these right away, but the scent will be stronger if you let it sit for a week or two. 

Bubble Bath
Use 1 cup of baby shampoo, 1/3 cup glycerin (can be found at most craft stores), 2 tablespoons of water, and essential oil. Mix first 3 ingredients, and then add 10-25 drops of oil (depending on how strong you want the scent to be!). 

Bath Fizzies
Sift together 1 cup baking soda, ½ cup cornstarch, ½ citric acid and 1/8 cup Epsom salts. Add 10-20 drops of essential oils and stir. Spritz with witch hazel (a spray bottle works best) and mix, spritzing until the mixture starts to clump together (but don’t overspray and make it wet! It needs to be dry!). Press into ice cup trays or soap molds and let sit for 1 minute, then remove and let sit for 24-48 hours, covered, until totally dry. 

Shampoo
Basic recipe: Mix ¼ cup distilled water, ¼ cup liquid castile soap (found at natural food stores), and ½ tsp. jojoba oil. For dandruff relief, add 10-20 drops of tea tree oil to basic recipe. For extra clean and bouncy hair, add 4 tsp. of baking soda to the water before mixing with other ingredients. For dry hair, use avocado oil instead of jojoba, and add 1 tbsp of liquid honey while mixing the basic recipe. For oily hair, use 6 drops of lavender essential oil and 2 tbsp of witch hazel to basic recipe.  

Deep Conditioning Treatment
Mash 1 peeled avocado, 1 egg yolk, and 1 tbsp of olive oil. Leave on damp hair for 30 minutes, rinse, and then shampoo normally.  

Chocolate Body Scrub
Mix 3 tbsp cocoa powder, 1 cup of brown sugar, and 1 tsp vanilla extract or oil. Add olive oil, a little at a time, until it forms a thick paste. Apply on moist skin after bathing, rub in a circular motion. Rinse off with warm water.  

Chocolate/Coffee Body Scrub
Use 2 cups of coffee grounds, ½ cup raw sugar (or sea salt if preferable), 1 tbsp of cocoa, and enough olive oil to make a paste. Apply on moist skin after bathing, rub in a circular motion. Rinse off with warm water.  

Chocolate Lip Gloss
You can find small containers for this at most craft stores. Use enough petroleum jelly to fill up the container. Put the petroleum jelly in a microwavable bowl and nuke for 30 seconds. Stir. Keep nuking in 30 second intervals until it is totally melted. Add 1-2 tbsp (or more, depending on taste) of cocoa powder and stir until totally mixed (no lumps!). Nuke for another 30 seconds and then pour into container. Let cool completely. If you don’t want chocolate, you can use fruit drink mixes instead! 

Deodorant
I found a very interesting recipe here. Go check it out and see what you think!

Different essential oils have different health properties and aromatherapy benefits. Here is a great chart listing many of these benefits by category.
Here are some great combinations to use in the above recipes:

Relaxation/Sleep-Inducing: 6 drops of lavender and 4 drops of patchouli
Cold Relief: 6 drops of eucalyptis, 3 drops of spearmint, and 3 drops of peppermint
Energizing: 6 drops of orange, 4 drops of lemon and 3 drops of grapefruit
Romantic: 6 drops of jasmine, 6 drops of ylan-ylang, and 3 drops of vanilla

You can use any scents that smell good to you! Be advised, however, that there are some oils that pregnant women are supposed to avoid. Ask the salesperson at the natural foods store if you have any questions.

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Here is a great tip I got from a reader, Rachel F.,  last night as part of an entry into our giveaway- I like it so much that I asked if I could use it! (See? I told you that your tips could apear here! ;) ) So here it is:

I make all my own baby food for next to nothing! I invested about $2 for a steamer insert for my pot. I start when I'm pregnant, buying fruits and vegetables in season at their rock-bottom prices. I wash the veggies, then throw them in the steamer in my pot with about an inch of water and steam until the veggies are tender. Then toss them in the blender and puree until smooth. Pour into ice cube trays and let freeze. Remove the cubes and seal in a freezer bag. Two cubes is one serving. I let the fruit ripen as I usually would, and when it's very soft, throw it in the blender, then freeze it in ice cube trays. Since I start when I'm pregnant, by the time the baby is ready to eat solids I've made baby food from fruits and veggies in every season. My kids have devoured peaches, strawberries, green beans, pears, peas, blueberries, plums, bananas, apples, squash, pumpkin, etc. To make all the "stage 1" baby food, I typically spend less than $10, and it is about a six-month supply. When your baby can eat chunky food, I don't buy the pre-packaged meals. I take whatever we eat for dinner and if there are leftovers I throw them in the food processor, pulse a few times, then either store it in the fridge or freeze it in the ice cube trays. And it costs me nothing, because I'm using just little bits of leftovers of food that I've already made. When I first started making my own baby food, I thought it would be a major hassle, but it really wasn't. Most of the stage 1 food is made before the baby is even born, and the rest of the stuff takes less than 5 minutes during after-dinner clean-up once a week or so. It's nice to know your baby is eating healthily, and I love to save the money!

Thanks you so much, Rachel F., for sharing this tip with our Fab Steals and Deals community!!
Do you have a tip that you would like to share? Let me know, and it could appear here!
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While it is possible to get cleaners for pretty cheap using coupons and sales, harsh cleaners are not always the best choice. Read these tips to learn how to use items you already have to clean your house!

1. Who needs a Magic Eraser??
You can use a new tennis ball to erase scuffs from walls and floors- even wood and painted surfaces! You can also remove crayon and marker from walls quite easily. Spray hairspray on marker immediately and then wipe away. For crayon, use toothpaste and a crayon or baking soda and a microfiber cloth!

2. Laundry Tips
Cut a potato in half and then rub it over a muddy spot on clothes. Soak it in cool water and then wash normally. You can also use vinegar instead of fabric softener- it won't make your clothes stink, and it WILL work just as well! Use 1/2 cup of white distilled vinegar. (there are so many laundry tips that I will save them for my next Frugal Tips post!)

3. Vinegar!
There are many, MANY uses for vinegar, and it is super cheap! Use it to cut grease on dishes; clean chrome and stainless steel;  (disinfect fridges, counters, etc. (use full-strength); deodorize the kitchen drain (pour down the drain and let sit for 30 minutes before rinsing); clean your dishwasher, iron (use with water in the water reservoir on the steam setting), and even your washing machine; clean windows and glass (dilute with water, and add lemon juice for a refreshing smell); use to remove stains on laundry; and you can even spray it on plants as an insecticide!

4. Baking Soda!
Baking soda is even MORE versatile! You can use it with vinegar to unclog drains (1 cup baking soda and one cup of vinegar, let sit for a bit); eliminate odors in fridges and freezers; eliminate odors from carpets (sprinkle all over and let sit), use it to clean your house (mix 1/4 cup with 1 quart of warm water in a spray bottle); use in the bottom of your trashcan to eliminate odors; remove burnt-on food (sprinkle on pan, fill with hot water, and soak overnight); and remove grease stains from clothes by adding to the wash or soaking the clothes!

5. Lemons!
As well as being great for cooking, lemon has amazing disinfectant and cleaning properties. Use them to deodorize your garbage disposal; remove stains from a countertop (squeeze over the stain and let sit, then scrub with baking soda); use them as a bleaching agent on white clothes (pour over white clothes and dry in the sun); use in bathrooms to dissolve soap scum! You can also use lemon Kool-Aid to clean your dishwasher- use in detergent dispenser and run without dishes!

Got a frugal tip? Let us know- it could appear in our Frugal Tips for Everyday Living blog (with full credit to you, of course!) and you will be helping out our Fab Steals
 
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If you know anything about couponing, and if you have read the info on this site about Stockpiling, you know that one of the best ways to save money is to wait for items to hit their rock-bottom price and then stock up on what you need until it goes on sale again. This keeps you from having to run to the store and buy something when it is not sale, costing you a lot more $$.

One of the things I love to stock up on is meat- especially when Family Packs are even LOWER in price! But what do you DO with all of that MEAT??

I generally will wait for meat prices to fall under $1.99/lb- for anything except steak, which I don't usually buy, and bone-in chicken breasts, which I only buy if they are under 99 cents/lb. I will buy the biggest packs available, usually several of them. For BSCB, I put one or 2 in a ziploc bag (not touching), separating the entire pack this way. Some of them I will cut into strips, like chicken fingers, and freeze 3 or 4 in a pack (not touching). This makes it very easy to defrost only what my family needs for a meal instead of a whole pack, and makes them easier to store in limited space. I do the same with pork chops and fish.

When it comes to bone-in chicken breast, I will go ahead an cook those by boiling them (I don't often use bone-in chicken for anything else, but they can be frozen individually as well). After they cool, I cut the skin and fat off and then shred them or chop them up (and don't forget to freeze that broth!), and put the shredded chicken in ziploc bags in the freezer. That way I have them cooked and ready to add to soups, chicken pot pie, etc.

As for ground beef and turkey, I will usually go ahead and brown it completely, drain it, and let it cool for a while. Then I will measure it out (into 1 lb. increments) into ziploc bags. This way, when I am making spaghetti or tacos or anything else that needs ground beef (anyone eat hamburger helper?), it is cooked and ready to go. Nuke it in the microwave for 2 minutes to defrost, and a! It is quicker and easier on busy nights, and a lot cheaper than buying the 1 lb. packs from the store. :)

Be sure to label your ziploc bags with whatever is in it and the date that you freeze it! I hope this tip helps you- it saves us a lot of money and a lot of time on busy nights!
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I'm sure we all know the basic concept of making chicken broth, right? However, I know that I quite often forget to do it when I am cooking chicken. Well, here is a great reason why saving that broth is a great frugal tip: It makes a lot of broth in very little time for very little money!
Think about this: A carton of chicken broth can cost upwards of $3. That is for about 4 cups of broth! Sure, we can get it on a BOGO sale- and that is fine, stock up when it is cheap. But it is SOOO nice to have broth that didn't cost you any extra $!
Here is what I did tonight: I bought a rotisserie chicken on sale at Kroger for $3.99 for dinner. I cooked that, a bag of Birds Eye frozen white corn (FREE) and cut up a cucumber (50 cents!). Dinner for my family of 5 (keep in mind that my kids are 5 and under) cost about $4.49, or 90 cents/person. Here are my steps for making broth out of that chicken:
1. After I cut up the rotisserie chicken, I filled a pot with water and stuck the carcass in there, covered it, and let it boil while we were eating dinner.
2. It boiled for a while, and then I let it cool a bit and poured it into some glass measuring cups (I poured through a strainer so that none of the fat/skin/etc. was in the broth- only the broth went through).
3. I measured it out  (1 cup increments) into ziploc bags, closed them, and stuck them in the freezer.
 
I got about 8 cups of broth for the cost of 1 chicken that we ate for dinner anyways! That is almost equivalent to 2 cartons of broth, or about $6 in savings! So, we saved more cooking the chicken for broth than we actually SPENT on tonight's meal! (And when you add up the savings from everything else we ate for dinner...that's a pretty huge savings!). Now we have 8 cups of broth in the freezer, divided into small portions for easy defrosting, and ready to add to soups, mashed potatoes, rice, or a million other dishes that could use some flavor. :)
Anytime you boil chicken (I often cook chicken and shred it for homemade chicken pot pie) you can reserve the water for broth. Add some onions or leftover veggies for added flavor. Easy! Cheap! Go for it. :)
(oh yeah, and the ziploc bags were 50 cents/box, so those were cheap too!)
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Welcome to our new series! We are already dedicated to helping you understand "extreme couponing" and to bringing you the best freebies and deals we can find online to help you save some money. We would like to help you save some money in other ways as well! We are starting the new series Frugal Tips for Everyday Living to help you do just that! We will be posting new frugal tips and tricks that will make everyday life a little cheaper, a little more organized, a little more peaceful, and a little more joyful! We want to hear from you- if you have frugal tips that you use that you would like to share with the community, please let us know! We would love to post it here (and give you credit!), and you will be helping out so many other people! Thanks for joining us!
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