Dollar Store

This is a great link about what to buy and what not to buy at your local dollar store. I wholeheartedly agree:

http://www.learnvest.com/2011/10/dollar-store-deals-which-ones-are-worth-it/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=lvdaily&utm_campaign=article-2

Dates on a budget

Yesterday, I saw a friend’s Facebook post lamenting that she and her husband didn’t have any money to celebrate their anniversary because things were tight. I responded to her comment very enthusiastically that you don’t need much money to celebrate. I don’t think she liked my ideas or my response, but I realized that perhaps our economic situation the first few years of marriage has really helped J and I realize this. :) If we had depended on money to celebrate, we’d have had a very rough few years!

Here’s what we’ve done on a tight budget:

--Plan ahead. I plan ahead for our anniversary and Valentine’s Day as much as I can…think MONTHS. Most of the time (last year’s V-day being the exception), we’ve been able to put away enough to either go out for a nice dinner or stay in a hotel in a nearby town (not both..yet).

--Use coupons/Groupon. The two “getaways” we had last year were due to Groupon. Both nights, we spent about $50 several months in advance for us to stay at a lodge or a B&B. In this day and age, that’s pretty reasonable. We also belong to several anniversary/birthday clubs. We get a $25 g/c for our anniversary every year from a pretty nice restaurant nearby, and that’s what we used this year.

The B&B we stayed in last year courtesy of Groupon

The area around our fall getaway in October

--Use the dollar menu. Yes, we’ve had date nights at McDonald’s. (Large drinks are only $1/ea.) Or Sonic’s happy hour. We’ll run through one of those places with spare change that we’ve scrounged up and go on a drive just to get away and treat ourselves. J

--Eat cheap. You can eat at nicer restaurants by ordering water, using coupons, splitting entrees, and/or just ordering appetizers/desserts. When we were on our honeymoon, we ate at the Cheesecake Factory…and each ordered a bowl of soup and water…and split a piece of cheesecake and an order of fries. It was more than sufficient, and the price was reasonable…and the atmosphere was much nicer and the food much better than McDonald’s. J We both love eating at restaurants and enjoying the atmosphere, so we’ve learned to keep the bill low to enjoy it.

Our cheesecake on our honeymoon

--Be creative. One of my absolute favorite memories is when I came home from work last year to find Jeremy had arranged a night “out” for me…at home. I came home to find a hot bubble bath waiting for me, and he let me soak with jazz playing in the background in candlelight while he prepared dinner (which did include mac and cheese). For dessert, he had sparkling grape juice ($1/at the dollar tree) in a bucket of ice with two small wine glasses (dollar tree).

Another time, I came home and he had set our table with all fancy with some crystal we had received as a wedding gift. It was just a regular dinner, but this made it special. :) (And the tablecloth? An extra shower curtain we weren't using at the time!)

What have YOU done? :)

Hi!

Sorry...posting about frugality stopped being fun for awhile. ;)

But I'm back! And many posts are upcoming...

...including a lot on a wedding on a budget (or a wedding with no budget?)!

And, no. I'm not getting married again. Once was more than adequate, thankyouverymuch.