Yard Sale Saturday

This weekend we not only went to several yard sales, but also to the Sweet WeePeets semi-annual consignment sale. 
Yesterday most items were 75% off because it was the last day of the sale. 
We went when they opened the doors and found some really great stuff. 
Here are the items I picked up yesterday.

Pottery Barn Pillow Shams Was $5 ~ paid $1.25  

Pyrex Bowl   Was $1.50 ~ paid 40¢

Sistema Snack Container Was $2.00 ~ paid 50¢ Sells for $19.99 on Amazon

Cynthia Rowley File Folders Was $6 - paid $1.50

Marjolein Bastin Soap Dispenser

Originally sold at Hallmark

Was $3.00 ~ paid 75¢

Brand new unopened magnetic notepad 

North Pole Christmas

Was $1.00 - paid 25¢

This will go in my Christmas gift closet

Rug 

Was $1.50 - paid 40¢

Will use as liner for cat bed

And of course I found a lot of books, which you know I love. All were 75% off the price listed. 

Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them

Was $1.50 - Paid 40¢

The Kitchen Table Book:
1,427 Kitchen Cures and Pantry Potions
for Just About Every Health and Household Problem
Was $3.00 - paid 75¢

Top Secret Recipes

Step by Step

by Todd Wilbur

Was $3.00 - paid 75¢

Better Homes & Gardens 

Cooking with Cheese

Was $1.00 - paid 25¢

Better Homes & Gardens 

Fix It Fast Cookbook 

Was $2.00 - paid 50¢

All Recipes Dinner Tonight

Was $1.50 - paid 40¢

Electric Eats: 

Cooking Under Pressure

Was $2.00 - paid 50¢

Miserly Moms 

by Jonni McCoy

Was $2.00 - paid 50¢

The Tin Whistle Tune Book 

with Tin Whistle

Was $7.00 - paid $1.75

This was a great consignment sale, which they hold two times per year. I spent $14 and some change and had a great time. 

Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~ My Linktree

From the Frugal Workshop's Bookshelf

Here are two books, which I've been reading recently. 

The first one is called Living on Less and is written by the authors of Mother Earth News. This is an older book, written in 1984, but does have some valuable information. You can look at the Amazon page for more information on the book. 

I've also been reading Trent Hamm's book, 365 Ways to Live Cheap. Trent is the owner and writer of  The Simple Dollar Blog. This book is a list of 365 ways to live cheaply. You can also look at the Amazon page for more information on this book as well. I was lucky enough to find this book at McKay's Used Book store when we were there last time. It always tickles me to find a book there written by one of my favorite personal finance writers.

I would recommend borrowing both of these books from the library and see what you think about them before you consider purchasing either one of them.

What good books have  you been reading lately?

Belinda
© Belinda Richardson and Frugal Workshop, 2012.
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do, do without”

Summer Reading List

Reading is one of my favorite pastimes and my daughter, who is also a bookworm, and I have spent many enjoyable hours at the used book store in Chattanooga. My favorite books to read are books where I actually learn something like how to books or cookbooks.

These are the books that I've been reading this summer:

Be Thrifty, How to Live Better with Less, written by Pia Catton and Califia Suntree. I have to admit I like the fact that this book comes with penny imbedded in the cover. This book has been a really informative book to read and is somewhat like the Tightwad Gazette in many regards.

The Best of Mennonite Fellowship Meals by Phyllis Good.  I had been wanting this book for the longest time when I happened to find it at a yard sale for $1 this summer. I like the fact that many of the recipes in here are made with just a few ingredients and are pretty simple to put together.

The Plan Ahead Cookbook and Eating Well for Next to Nothing, both written by Ceil Dyer. I first learned about the Plan Ahead Cookbook from Carol at CT on a Budget. I bought this book on her recommendation because she mentioned that it was a great tool for using up leftovers and she was right. 

The Plan Ahead Cookbook reminded me of the book that Amy D. wrote about in the Tightwad Gazette called The Use-It-Up Cookbook: A Guide for Minimizing Food Waste by Lois C. Willand. In fact, I think the Ceil Dyer book is even better that the Lois Willand book. The Eating Well for Next to Nothing book also has some good and basic ideas for saving money on eating, although the majority of the book is recipes. Both of these can be found at Amazon for less than $1.00.

 The Old Time Art of Thrift written by Ken Tate. This is not your ordinary thrift book. This is a collection of stories from people who either grew up during the Great Depression or had parents who grew up during the Great Depression. While this book can be found at Amazon for just  a few pennies, I would not recommend it for someone who is wanting to learn how to save money and be frugal as it is not an instructional guide, but rather a collection of stories. 

Those are the books that have caught my attention this summer. 

What's been on your summer reading list?

Belinda

© Belinda Richardson and Frugal Workshop, 2012.

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do, do without”

Free Fugal Books

Amazon is offering at least two free books on frugality today on Kindle. These free books are not free for very long and usually only for 24 hours, so if you want a copy of these, be sure to get them today. Remember, you do not need a Kindle to take advantage of these free books. Amazon has the Cloud Reader that allows you to read these books for free online.

The Art of Frugal: Feeding a Family on a Budget

Kaylee Cole provides an extensive review of frugal eating in the Art of Frugal: Eating. The average family spends the majority of the monthly budget on meals. Kaylee takes us through frugal tips which cover shopping at grocery stores, coupon use, gardening and much more to uncover and reveal methods to save money while feeding a family with quality food. Kaylee's approach is grounded in common sense and makes the challenging subject of frugal eating easy for the reader to digest. After reading this book you will be able to save more per month and provide yourself and your family with higher quality meals at home, work and school.

2012 Family Guide to Groceries under $250 a Month

 Melissa Burnell presents a 2012 Grocery guide for struggling students and families of all sizes and income ranges. The average family of 4 in the United States spends more than $700 a month on groceries alone. In the “2012 Family Guide to Groceries under $250 a Month" the author outlines how and where to cut grocery expenses to get spending under control while opening the consumers eyes to little known dirty manipulation tactics employed by retailers to seduce unsuspecting customers into spending sprees.

 Hope you enjoy these free books! :)

Belinda

© Belinda Richardson and Frugal Workshop, 2012.

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do, do without”