Festival of Frugality #123 hits Sound Money Matters this week!  Scroll down past the book review to get to those meaty articles.  :)  There were 6 editor’s picks this week:

• Money Blue Book manages to find the upside to higher gas prices - less traffic and more use of public transportation.
• Mrs. Nespy’s World runs down the job benefits that can be a deciding factor for prospective employees. It pays to treat employees well.
• Cheap Healthy Good explains why diet foods are actually not good for your weight or health and suggests ways to eat more healthfully instead.
• Frugal Homemaker Plus discusses the importance of teaching children about frugal values early.
• Just Shoot Me Now shows you how to outwit the stores by always checking the unit price. Bigger isn’t always cheaper.
• Credit Addict explains how to combine the stimulus checks, grocery gift cards, and rebate credit cards to save loads on groceries.

Next week the festival travels to Frugal For Life, the queen of the festival, so get your entries in!

Cell phones seem to be a way of life - but make sure that your plan fits your lifestyle. Some of us use cell phones in emergencies or only occasionally, while others are constantly on the phone. What you select for a cell phone plan, and phone plans for yourself in general, should reflect your own personal usage.

If you are an occasional user, a prepaid cell phone plan can be a big money saver. The minutes themselves are more expensive than a traditional monthly plan, but it doesn’t matter how little you pay for minutes in a traditional plan if you aren’t using anywhere near the amount you are given. Explore the idea of prepaid, where you can pay as little as $20 every three months - or maybe even less.

If you are a constant cell user - think about ditching the landline. Do you really use the phone directly wired into your house at all? If you do, could you replace that with the cell phone? Getting rid of the line in your home could really save you some money every month.

Make sure your phone plans fit your lifestyle, and you are saving as much money as you possibly can. Don’t overpay for your talk time - consider what you need today.

This frugal tip was provided by paidtwice of I’ve Paid For This Twice Already…

On Financial Success brings us Festival #122, and in a break from the ordinary, he puts the entries into paragraphs instead of lists, as to not overwhelm with a huge list of articles.  Nice job!  As to not turn his effort into a list, I bring you one of the paragraphs from his creation in its entirety:

From Frugality encompasses more than just money:

The frugal super-stars among us combine their interest in thrift with a green thumb because growing your own greens saves you money and protects your health at the same time. You can grow potatoes in old tires or install a professional greenhouse, but everyone will benefit from collecting their rain water for irrigation which can be done quite simply. To learn more about gardening, just make a trip to your local library which is also another popular way to avoid spending money.

Next week the festival travels to Sound Money Matters so get your entries in!

Lose a button? Bust a seam? Need a little hem on the cuffs to make those pants look right? Learn basic sewing skills and you can save money on replacing your clothing by fixing them instead! And it doesn’t stop there - you can make your own curtains, napkins, placemats, and so much more! A sewing machine in the right hands is a very frugal investment.

Don’t despair - does sewing just never work out for you? I know how you feel, and I have the scars on my thumbs from wayward needles to prove it. Find a good tailor, and make them your friend. I am very short, and need both the sleeves and legs of every taekwondo uniform I have ever worn shortened. By finding a tailor to do it for me, I save myself a lot of frustration, and I don’t have to find a way to special-order tiny pants. A good tailor will cost less than replacing an item that isn’t quite right.

This frugal tip provided by paidtwice of I’ve Paid For This Twice Already…

I only saw one post that mentioned taxes (and it wasn’t about filing taxes) - Four Pillars discussed  Emergency Funds and Tax-Free Savings Accounts.  But there were an astounding 12 editor’s picks in this edition:

• Think Your Way To Wealth: How to Develop a Frugal Mindset
• Frugal Dad: The Ultimate Frugal Weekend: A 48-Hour Spending Fast
• Dorm Earning Blog: Saving Money During College
• The Digerati Life:   Frugal Tips: How To Make 10 Ordinary Things Last Longer
• Sarahspy:   Four ways to suck less at vintage & thrift shopping
• Frugal Homemaker Plus:  Frugality and Luck
• Cheap Healthy Good:  The Hour: How 60 Minutes a Week Can Save Hundreds of Dollars on Food
• Value For Your Life:  100 Frugal and Healthy Eating Habits
• My Dollar Plan:  30 Money Saving Tips
• Know The Ledge:  If You Don’t Need It, It’s Not A Great Deal
• Greener Pastures Personal Finance:  25 Life Tips and Tricks
• Consumerism Commentary:  The Frugal Lifestyle: Are We Missing Out on Life?

Next week the carnival travels to On Financial Success so get your entries in!

Do you want to garden but don’t have a yard or other suitable place to plant it? Why not try square foot gardening! As explained by Frugal Dad, square foot gardening is planting fruits, flowers, and/or vegetables in a raised bed above infertile soil (or above really anything) in 1′ x 1′ square plots. When you harvest something, you can plant another crop in its place. He has pictures on his site of the 4′ x 2′ bed he planted and how he constructed it - his total cost was about $40. There are detailed instructions on his site for how to construct the garden framework as well.

Lynnae at Being Frugal followed his lead and constructed her own square foot garden with her son. A fun family activity and frugal too!

If you’d like to garden but don’t have the fertile soil in your yard (or don’t have a yard) to do it, consider this alternative. I think I might even try doing this on my patio!

This frugal tip brought to you by paidtwice of I’ve Paid For This Twice Already… 

A Penny Saved took on the challenge of hosting the Festival of Frugality this week, and since he did not pick editor’s picks, I shall give you a few highlights from the Transportation Tips at the end of the carnival. Just in case you didn’t read to the end.

• Handling Finances: Gas Prices Too High? Slow Down!.
• FIRE Finance:  Car Pool, Ride Share, Hitch Hike your way to Fun & Dollars!.
• Penny Nickel: Travel by bus: save hundreds of dollars, the environment, and your sanity!.

Next week the Festival travels to Rather Be Shopping so get your submissions in!

Last week I talked about baking soda and some of the many ways you could use it to clean, deodorize, and even unclog drains, as a frugal alternative to more expensive manufactured items.  Today I’ll discuss the other half of the frugal household helper pair, vinegar.  Vinegar, white vinegar to be exact, can be bought by the gallon for literally a few dollars, and a small amount of this handy liquid can really go a long way.  I use vinegar by itself for such chores as:

• Fabric Softener:  I use vinegar in the rinse cycle of our washing machine as a natural fabric softener.  It really works and since I am allergic to most commercial fabric softeners, is a great frugal alternative! Note:  Do not do this if you use bleach in your wash load.
  
• Cleaning the Toilet:  Put straight vinegar into a spray bottle and then spray vinegar on the toilet rim.  A quick wipe and you’re done!  Very important since I live with boys. 
• In The Dishwasher:  Pour 2 cups vinegar into the bottom of your dishwasher before running.  Put your normal dishwasher soap in and run.  Your dishes will come out even cleaner this way!

And don’t forget, baking soda and vinegar work together well too to clean out your garbage disposal!

This frugal tip was written by paidtwice of I’ve Paid For This Twice Already…

Flexo of Consumerism Commentary starts his hosting of the Festival of Frugality this week with the announcement he’s quitting his day job to blog full time!  But with the reminder of April Fools Day at the end of the post - is he quitting or isn’t he?  Either way, he’s done a fantastic job hosting and chosen 7 stellar editor’s picks:

• The Digerati Life: Rent Instead Of Buy, And I Mean Anything!
• The Frugal Duchess: presents Sell the Coach Bag? What I’m Willing To Give Up for Financial Security.
• She Laughs at the Days to Come:  Lovely Leftovers
• Gather Little By Little: Homemade car cleaning products
• 20saver: The beginnings of a frugal wedding.
• Sound Money Matters: Is A Frugal Lifestyle Always Environmentally Friendly?
• Money and Values: 10 ways you can use less artificial light—lower emissions and your energy bill!

Next week the festival travels to A Penny Saved so get your entries in!