The $5 Dollar Dinner Mom feeds a family of four every night. She has a great cookbook, updates her blog frequently with new recipes and offers some great links and information. You can even contribute your own recipes! Thanks $5 Dollar Dinner Mom!

7.27.10.5.Thrifty Tuesday $5 Dinner Mom

We live in a capitalistic society. Many say this with a sigh and a shake of the head, but there are some upsides that shouldn’t be overlooked. If you start early enough, it is possible to rise to unfathomable heights of success. Unfortunately, it’s also possible to destroy your credit and your life quite early in the game by not having a clear conception of how to manage your finances.

American young adults and children are notorious for their lack of financial know-how. In a society that practically forces you to get a credit card when you turn 18, this ignorance can be deadly. Here are five ways to teach your children how to excel in a competitive economy and to avoid the pitfalls along the way.

Click here to read the whole article.

How Swaptree works

Anti-static dust wipes: The anti-cling chemicals in dryer sheets make them perfect for dusting television and computer screens and other electronic dust-magnets.

Lint brush in a pinch: Used fabric softener sheets can be used to remove pet hair and lint from clothing and upholstery.

Pot scrubbers: The softening chemicals in dryer sheets help loosen food particles stuck on pots and baking dishes; place a used sheet in the dish, cover with hot water, and let soak overnight. Rinse thoroughly after cleaning. (Editor’s Note: this one may not be for the chemically squeamish.)

Soap grime-fighter: The same softening chemicals make used dryer sheets good wipes to use in removing soap scum from bath tubs, showers and tiles.

Sweet feet: Stuff dryer sheets in your shoes overnight to keep them smelling fresh. They’ll also freshen closets, dresser drawers and cabinets.

Dust-free blinds: Not only do spent dryer sheets make a handy wipe for metal and plastic blinds, but the chemicals in them help to repel dust.

Click here to read more!

6.29.10.2.Thrifty Tuesday

Give yourself a time and money raise using Alice.com and Drugstore.com, as well as other great sites for shopping online, to save time and money.

6.22.10.1.Thrifty Tuesday – Give Yourself a Time & Money Raise

 From Frugal Dad, one of our favorite blogs, we found this fabulous idea!

Many businesses close the books on their fiscal year June 30th, and July 1st begins a new fiscal period. That’s the approach we are taking in our house as well. So what’s the big idea? We plan to write down all income and expenses in a ledger book…with a pen.That’s right; every single transaction, from the monthly electrical bill to the Sunday afternoon run for an ice cream cone, everything goes down in writing. We got the idea from fellow blog reader, and frequent Frugal Dad commenter, Mrs. White, who blogs at The Legacy of Home.

Why A Household Ledger Account?

Here lately, we’ve recognized that we are a little detached from our household spending. We have all utilities and recurring bills going directly to our credit card. Occasionally, we use the credit card for other types of spending if we are low on “walking around money” – my description of cash.

This makes things pretty convenient. We get one credit card bill at the end of the month and pay it off. The problem is, we rarely know exactly what that bill represents. I’m not prepared to go to an all-cash basis because to be quite honest, it is a bit of a headache scheduling all the various household bills (electric, water, cable, etc, etc) online and/or writing checks.

Read the entire post here.

6.15.10.1.Thrifty Tuesday – Keep a Household Ledger

It’s easier than you think to preserve fresh, locally or home grown fruits and veggies.  Not only will you be feeding your family better food and reducing your carbon footprint, you’ll save money!

Fresh Preserving provides a number of great benefits which are relevant to today’s lifestyles.  While home canning has been around for generations, the reasons why people can today are different than the reasons why people canned products years ago.

Gardening and home canning can lower your grocery bill.  Burpee Seed Company  www.burpee.com) estimates that for every $50 spent on seeds and fertilizer, a gardener can yield $1250 worth of produce. As it’s not feasible for a family to enjoy all of that fresh produce all at one time, home canning allows you to preserve that fresh, home grown flavor from your garden for use all year long, and saving on your grocery bill.

Home canning supports sustainable lifestyles.  Canning locally-grown produce reduces the carbon footprint created by transporting vegetables around the world in off-seasons.  A study by Carnegie Mellon found that 11% of the average American’s household food-related greenhouse gas emissions come from the transportation of foods.  You can reduce that by growing your own produce or purchasing it locally, and then fresh preserving the harvest and re-using Ball® Jars year after year.

Fresh preserving allows you to manage your family’s nutrition.  Many canning enthusiasts enjoy the versatility and control they have with fresh preserving recipes.  When you fresh preserve foods, you can avoid additives and preservatives found in many commercial products, and you may even opt to use organic ingredients.

According to research from The National Gardening Association, 48% of consumers’ garden to ensure their food is safe.  Canning is a perfect way to manage the ingredients in your recipes to ensure that your family not only gets the garden fresh flavor of fresh produce, but that they also avoid any undesired ingredients.

Express yourself through unique and creative recipes. For generations canners have used fresh preserving to showcase their own unique style with creative canning recipes. Impress your friends and family by creating unique jams, jellies and other culinary creations.

For tutorials, videos and other information on how to can visit the Intro to Canning section here.

Search this database of fresh preserving recipes and start your culinary adventure now!

Find fantastic deals wherever you are!

Throw Out Fifty Things: Clear the Clutter, Find Your Life. According to the author you should follow these four rules when clearing out the clutter:

1. Rule No. 1: If the item, memory, job or even person is weighing you down, get rid of it.
2. Rule No. 2: If the thing is not contributing something positive, let it go.
3. Rule No. 3: If it takes you a long time to decide whether something needs to be tossed, throw it out.
4. Rule No. 4: If you’re afraid to throw out something, get rid of the fear.

Click here to read more.