Meeting Updates:

Tuesday, April 20th Meeting:

Frugal pal Kelly shared her experience at the “Extreme Couponing” workshop, sponsored by “Southern Savers." More info available at http://www.southernsavers.com/. Highlights of the workshop included coupon ethics, local coupon policies, understanding bar codes, shelf life/refrigerator life, & freezer life of specific products, and the anatomy of coupons – all of which she says we can read about on the WEB site. Let us know what you think and if you attend a workshop, be sure to share your savvy spending experience with the club!

Kelly also shared that the “All You” magazine, sold only at Walmart stores, includes on the inside front cover a directory of coupon locations in the issue and a “monthly value” that reflects the total of all the coupons contained in that issue. Aprils total was $81.55! More info is available on the magazine at http://instoresnow.walmart.com/enhancedrendercontent_ektid7886.aspx Check it out and share your success stories!


April Frugal Club tips:

Want some free music?
In honor of the Kokua Hawaiian Festival and in Celebration of Earth Day 2010, get a free tune from Stonyfield Farm: http://www.facebook.com/stonyfieldfarm?v=app_11007063052#!/stonyfieldfarm?v=app_4949752878 ** Free MP3 still available as of 5/17/2010!! Get your free-tune today!


Dining out on a budget?
For my savvy spending pals, here’s a great website that includes a comprehensive linked list to most major restaurant chains, provide details on current specials and promotions at national chains, and allows for feedback regarding the successful use of the different campaign offerings. A side note, for many of the national chains, you can sign-up for their e-newsletter and receive valuable coupons in exchange and still retain the right to “opt-out” of endless and annoying emails. http://www.eatdrinkdeals.com/

Check out this website for drastically reduced restaurant gift cards…they even include local establishments like the Uptown Grille and Lakis and would be very useful when traveling to a larger metropolitan area… http://www.restaurant.com/

Looking to start an edible garden this year? Then you might like this free gardening guide from seed-maker Burpee. (You’ll have to fill out a form to have the guide sent to you but, hey, it’s free!) **

**Thanks to the “Suddenly Frugal Blog” (http://www.suddenlyfrugal.com/ ) for these great tips and savings deals! It's a great site- check it out, too!

Enjoy!!

Meeting Reminder: We're back on schedule!

After a brief hiatus, the Frugal Club is back on schedule for meetings!

Please join us for the next Frugal Club Meeting on Tuesday, March 23, 12-1 p.m., Bldg.5, 2nd flr conference room.

Future monthly meetings are scheduled as follows (same location/time):

Tuesday, April 20th
Tuesday, May 18th
Tuesday, June 22nd

Along with your lunch, be sure to bring unwanted coupons (retail, local, grocery, etc.) to share, books, DVD's, and/or magazines you'd like to trade, your tips and tricks for frugal living, savvy saving, and stories of successes as well as ideas for upcoming meetings.

Is it that time again?
It's been a while since the Frugal Club hosted a "swap" meeting... With all the spring cleaning in the air, perhaps an upcoming meeting would be the perfect spot to help de-clutter your digs and offer a frugal pal some wonderful, previously adored stuff! Tell us what you think at the next meeting!

We hope to see all the savvy savers at upcoming meetings and, as always, if you have a fabulous tale of frugal success to share or just some really great penny-wise words of wisdom, send me an email and I'll be sure to post to the blog and share with all the Frugal Pals!

Meeting Reminder!

Please join us on January 26th, 12-1, Bldg. 5-2nd flr Conference Room, for the first Frugal Club meeting of 2010.

On the agenda: A meeting schedule- which would you prefer, meeting monthly or every other month?

Along with your lunch, be sure to bring unwanted coupons (grocery, retail, online, local, etc.) to share, magazines and/or books you'd like to trade, and your ideas for a frugal new year and future meetings!

Also, if you have a frugal success story, a bargain found, or just some fabulously frugal words of wisdom to share with the group, send me an email and I'll be sure to post your contribution on the blog!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, frugal pals!

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday break and is ready to make 2010 fabulously frugal!

A meeting schedule will be posted very soon- so be sure to save the dates and come join us for frugal tips, bargain sharing, and much more. Also, be sure to email me any ideas you have for frugal meetings and we'll be sure to work them into the calendar. Past successes include clothing and accessory swaps, hobby swaps, cookie exchange, regifting exchange, and magazine sharing!

Here are a few frugal tips to help you get on your way to a wonderfully frugal new year:

1. As you're clearing out and packing up holiday decor, fumbling around the attic or in your storage locker, be sure to set aside things that you aren't so thrilled by any longer and donate them to the local charitable organizations like Goodwill...
2. Did you end up with 12 boxes of stuffing and 9 cans of green beans after the holidays. Don't throw them out! Instead, bag up this bounty and make a trip to your local food bank for a donation... your cabinets will be leaner and your heart happier by the good deed!
3. As you pull out the winter clothes and prepare for the chill in the air, set aside those warm clothing items that no longer fit your fancy. Your charitable donations of items such as winter jackets and sweaters (including that oh-so-sweet Christmas sweater knitted by crazy aunt Tilda that you absolutely NEVER wear) will warm the heart of someone in need... 01/06/2010: THE OCALA STAR BANNER JUST PUBLISHED AN ARTICLE DETAILING THE CURRENT CRITICAL NEED FOR WINTER CLOTHING FOR ALL AGES AND SIZES AND BLANKETS AT LOCAL SHELTERS DUE TO THE EXTREME CENTRAL FLORIDA TEMPERATURES! PLEASE HELP IF YOU CAN! http://www.ocala.com/article/20100106/ARTICLES/1061009/1402/NEWS?Title=Homeless-and-cold
4. Did you get duplicates of DVD's, books, or other items as holiday gifts and can't return them? Perhaps another frugal pal in the same predicament has something you'd like in exchange. Mention it at the next meeting and perhaps a deal can be made!
5. Think frugally, act globally and locally: We are all feeling the pinch as consumer costs continue to rise while everything else seems to keep falling, so do your part to help lower everone's bottom line. Make it a resolution to take a resuseable shopping bag with you EVERYTIME you shop. Some merchants, inlcuding Target and Mother Earth offer a small $ incentive for bringing your bags and we all know how just a few pennies can add up! So, save a tree, save a landfill, and save a few cents, by being a sensible shopper!
6. Lastly, as we all begin to manage the plethora of resolutions we've assigned ourselves for 2010, be sure to include keeping yourself, especially your health, a priority! Impulse shopping without lists and coupons, pricey fast food instead of mindful meals at home, and being disorganized are all sure-fire ways to start out the new year with a thud and increase unhealthy stress. So, think frugally and be good to you...get planning, get moving, get saving, and make 2010 your year!

Holiday Meeting Reminder

Don’t forget, Frugal Pals, tomorrow, December 8th, is our first ever Cookie Exchange AND “re-gifting” party!

If you’d like to participate in the cookie exchange, just bring two dozen cookies and take two dozen home!!

We’ve all been given gifts that we’re never going to use, haven’t we? You receive them, say “Oh – it’s so lovely-thanks so very much!” and then put it in a dark closet never to be seen again. Well, here’s your chance to get rid of that white elephant!! Just bring as many of them as you like and take that same number of re-gifts home and to make it more interesting – wrap them up! You may end up with something you really like or a great frugal gift for that special someone on your holiday gift-list! No buying anything new for this party (that would defeat the frugal purpose) – re-gifts only, please!

Lastly, thanks again to all the Frugal Pals who participated in the October "Hobby Swap!" What a great success! Lucky attendees went home with BAGS of goodies including scrap-booking and crafting supplies, sewing stuff, and hobby enthusiast magazines galore!

Hope to see you all tomorrow (Bldg 5-203 at noon) and best wishes to you and yours for a frugal and fabulous holiday season!