Frugal Living

How to Throw an Awesome Birthday Party on a Budget

October 22, 2015

Last weekend, we celebrated Ryan’s big 30th birthday! A birthday party was a given because this was a big one. Ryan didn’t want a huge production, he just wanted a few of our closest friends to come over to cookout and watch football. Priorities. We are on a tight budget right now because we are saving money for a new house and trying to pay off our cars. I needed to plan a fun party that everyone would enjoy while also being budget friendly. Here’s how I did it:

What to Think About When Planning Your Party:

Choose a theme – for Ryan’s party, I mixed fall decor with 30th birthday decor. A lot of the decor I found in stores was girly, so I didn’t implement much. Our house was already decorated for fall, so this themed saved us a ton of money and time. I purchased balloons, a cheap banner and confetti and it turned out cute!

Focus on the Guests – You ultimately want to make your guests happy and ensure they have a good time. Invite people who are fun and don’t bring down the mood and make sure to keep the night moving along smoothly. For example, if there is a lull, it may be time to serve food, sing “Happy Birthday,” etc.

Plan Activities for the Kids – If you are panning on having kids over, you definitely need to have some activity for them so they won’t get bored and can be entertained while the parents visit. For us, this was easy. Our house is already set up for kids and the weather was so nice outside, so we let them slide, play golf, play with chalk, bubbles, etc.

Party Budget Tips:

Save Money on Invites – This day in time, there is no reason so waste tons of money on invitations. If this is a laid back party, invite them via email or Facebook! I do not recommend this method for weddings, obviously, but when you are just getting a few friends together, there is no reason to spend all that money on an invitation that will end up in the trash in a couple of days.

DIY Decor – I have a lot of fall decor throughout the house that I made myself to save money, however, I didn’t have time to get too crafty with 30th birthday decor this past week. Instead, I went to Party City and found a very affordable banner, confetti and balloons that I spent less that $50 on. If you have time to make decor yourself, you can probably make it for a little bit cheaper.

Shop at Dollar Tree for Napkins, Plates, Forks, etc.

Make Your Own Cake – I normally make our cakes, but I did not make Ryan’s this year. I wanted it to look good, so I ordered a cake from Publix and it was delicious and so cute! He is a 30-year-old man, so he didn’t want anything too cutesy, but I thought they did a great job incorporating fall and birthday! Best of all? It was only $23! Not bad at all!

Cook the Food Yourself and Scratch the Caterer – Again, there is no need to hire a caterer or purchase prepared food for a party! It can be very expensive. We kept it very simple and grilled hamburgers and hotdogs with chips and salsa. It was a hit with the parents and the kids loved it, too!

Use the Ibotta app to earn money back on the groceries you buy. This is something Ryan and I have been doing for about a month now and it has saved us about $10 so far. We haven’t used it every time we have shopped, but it will definitely add up over a year’s time. Don’t forget to also use coupons! Doing both of these together will save you a lot on groceries.

After it was all said and done, we threw a fun little party for around 20 people for under $125! Not bad at all!

Do you have any party planning or saving tips?

Tips and Tricks to Save Money

June 11, 2015

Post contains affiliate links.

Homemade laundry detergent.
-I started doing this about 2 months after I married Ryan. We were looking for ways to save money and I came across a recipe on Pinterest. Of course, I consulted my mom on whether or not it was safe and all that jazz. She said that people have used this forever. After using it for almost 3 years now, I can tell you that I love it. I haven’t looked back. It cleans the clothes just as well. I do add Oxi-Clean to mine and still use regular softener.

Coupons
– I’m not suggesting you become a crazy coupon lady, although I wish I had the time to become one myself. I do suggest that before going out to eat you look for a coupon or Groupon deal etc. This also applies to shopping. When shopping online, you can almost always find a coupon code for free shipping, a percentage off, or if you’re lucky, both! I also highly recommend you shop through Ebates when shopping online. They give you a percentage of your purchase back. I saved so much money Christmas shopping last year by doing this. There is literally no excuse not to use Ebates. You can also take these short surveys to gain access to great coupons and other deals. I love using this site.

Cook at home.
-We see a dramatic increase in our spending when we eat out more one week than when we eat at home. Groceries are expensive, but they are so much cheaper to buy and prepare at home than if you go pay $25 a meal. It is also a lot healthier.

Set a budget.
– I’ll be honest. When we first got married, we budgeted for our bills, but didn’t have an allotted amount for food/groceries or for our “fun” spending. Since we set a specific amount of how much we can spend on food and extra fun things/ gifts, we have saved a lot more money. I’ll save you my budgeting rant, but that is the biggest budget tip I can give you that has helped us.

Check out this post on other money saving tips!

What do you do to save money?

Baby Announcement Ideas Using GraphicStock Free Images

May 11, 2015

Thank you to GraphicStock for sponsoring today’s post. Opinions are 100% my own.

Ryan and I have been making some lifestyle adjustments over the last few months in order to prepare for Sophie-Rae’s arrival. We have been trying to save money any where we can. When it came time to make SR’s birth announcements, I wanted something simple and cheap. That’s where GraphicStock comes in. They have over 250,000 stock photos to choose from. It is so simple to use! All you do is sign up and stat downloading photos! That easy.

I found an adorable baby announcement design and simply used picmonkey to add the wording in there. I love the way it turned out, and best of all? It was totally free! You can’t beat free!

I can’t wait to continue using GraphicStock for other blogging purposes in the future as well. I have a feeling it will really come in handy. I’m so thankful I discovered this great site!

Giveaway Time!

One lucky reader who signs up for the 7-day free trial and shares their GraphicStock project will be selected to win a free 1-year account with GraphicStock ($88 value). All you have to do is:

1. Sign up for the 7-day free trial
2. Visit GraphicStock website and locate an image they would like to use on an innovative project of their own.
3. Comment on my blog, sharing a link to the image that you would like to base your project around if you received the 1-year account.

That’s it!

If you don’t want to use it past the free trial, please cancel your subscription so you won’t have to pay for the membership.

Good Luck!

Homemade Laundry Detergent

May 8, 2015

I began making my own laundry detergent right after Ryan and I got married. We were looking for ways to save money and this was such a blessing because it saves us about $200 a year! I love that you can make one simple lifestyle change and it helps you so much financially. The recipe is simple and has been used for many years. Everyone has their own way of doing it and their special little additives, but mine is pretty simple.

Ingredients:
2 Fels Naptha Bars
1 box of Arm and Hammer Washing Soda
1/2 box of Borax
Optional: Oxi-Clean

Directions:
Grate the Fels Naptha Bars very well. Blend all ingredients in a large tub. Use 1 tbs per load.

This mixture lasts us about 3 months. I love it because it doesn’t take me long to blend it and it saves us so much money! It works really well. We have never had any trouble with it. Our clothes are just as clean as they were before, AND bonus points: it’s safe for babies!

Have you ever made your own laundry detergent? Do you add anything different to yours?

Benefits of Eating Breakfast + Cheerios Publix Coupon and Giveaway

March 17, 2015

Print your Cheerios Publix coupon and Florida OJ Publix coupon today!

As a WAHM I totally get how hard it is to make time to eat breakfast every morning. It is so easy to get caught up in getting ready for the day, starting on your daily tasks and chasing a 16 month old around the house. Honestly, I am usually so worried about making sure Hampton eats his Cheerios for breakfast that I forget to eat myself. Do you know the benefits of eating breakfast? After you read these, you will not want to skip any more. I know I don’t. After all, it truly is the most important meal of the day.

Here are some benefits of eating breakfast:

-Improved concentration and performance
-weight control
-lower BMI
-lower cholesterol
-increased energy
-kick-starts your metabolism
-improved mood

With all of these amazing benefits, why is it that most Americans are skipping breakfast? Is it our busy lifestyle?

I’m not sure why I skip breakfast so often. Breakfast foods are my favorite. There is nothing better than eating a big ole bowl of Cheerios with my favorite Florida Orange Juice first thing in the morning. I’m trying to do a much better job of eating breakfast every morning, especially now that I am pregnant. I know my body (and baby) needs those extra healthy calories.

Did you know that Cheerios are made from whole grain oats and have only one gram of sugar per serving? Also, Florida Orange Juice is so full of vitamins – like Vitamin C, B, and potassium – which helps support a healthy heart.

Get excited, because I am giving away $15 paypal cash to one lucky winner to buy your own Cheerios and Florida OJ! Just enter in the rafflecopter below. I will choose a winner around April 5th. Disclosure: This giveaway is not conducted my General Mills.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck! Also, don’t forget to print your coupons from Publix!

Saving Money with Simply Prepaid™ From T-Mobile

March 13, 2015

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #ChangingPrepaid #CollectiveBias

At the beginning of the year, Ryan and I discussed our budget and decided we really wanted to save more money. With a new baby on the way and all of the added expenses, we have had a hard time saving as much as we wanted. Last week, we looked over our budget again to see where we could cut costs. One thing we were both surprised about was how high our cell phone bill has been with our current network plan.

We recently heard about the T-Mobile Simply Prepaid™ Plan. They claimed they offered unlimited data, talk and text for only $40 a month. Unlimited for $40? I pay way more than that for a set amount of minutes on my current plan. There is no way. I laughed and thought, yeah right. The only pre-paid plans I had ever heard of always had very spotty networks, second rate phones, and data speeds slower than a tortoise. But, Ryan had researched it and said that wasn’t the case with Simply Prepaid™. They offer 4G LTE data speeds on the T-Mobile network. So, unlimited talk, text, and data, plus 4G LTE speeds. All of that without having to worry about overages, credit checks or annual service contracts? Off to Walmart we went!

I purchased the Samsung Galaxy Avant and activated my new phone. I have been so happy with the coverage in my area thanks to T-Mobile’s Nationwide 4G LTE Network and high speed data. This is going to save us over $100 a month, and I couldn’t be more thankful. We discovered the Simply Prepaid™ plan just in time before we are slapped with a nice bill at the hospital.

I love that it offers unlimited data because for the last few months, Hampton has started using a couple of apps that have been very handy when we are out in public. I don’t know what we would do without them sometimes. It definitely makes my life a lot less stressful while grocery shopping. T-Mobile Simply Prepaid™ has definitely changed the way I think about wireless and prepaid plans.

Other Ways We Have Saved Money This Month:

-Turn off all lights when they aren’t being used.
-Shop bargains and use coupons (especially for groceries)
-Eating at home for most of our meals.
-Saving loose change
-Planning our errands so we don’t waste excess gas.

I’m so thankful for the money we have saved this month and will continue to save by making this simple switch. Why didn’t we do this sooner?

Now that I’ve shared my money saving tips with you, what do you do to save money? Have you cut back this year?

Zulily

March 5, 2015

Post may contain affiliate links.

It’s no secret I have been so excited to dress this baby girl! I have been to a few consignment sales and racked up on a few essentials, but thanks to a close friend of mine, I have rediscovered Zulily. I say rediscovered because I have looked on their site several times for Hampton, but it’s true that girls are way more fun to shop for than boys. Don’t get me wrong, I love shopping for Hamp, but there is just something abut a frilly little dress.

I recently bought her a dress from Jelly the Pug and I bought myself, Ryan and Hampton some TOMs for a fraction of the price. I love this site because everything is so marked down. I even scored Hampton an adorable Easter outfit for $15. I mean, you just can’t beat that. I think it’s safe to say we will definitely be shopping on this site more often now that we are on a tighter budget.

Do you shop on Zulily? Check out today’s deals here!