frugal underground

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MightyBargainHunter.com provides interesting tips on finance, saving, spending, and bargains. And who doesn’t like a good bargain blog? As mentioned in the tagline, this blog is about more than just bargains, though. Other categories discussed include banking news, debt reduction, frugal living, investing, real estate, green living, personal finance, and making money.

The Mighty Bargain Hunter, otherwise known as MBH, is a rather elusive fellow — try as I might, I was unable to find any information about him. Anonymity aside, he (I determined this after reading that he had a wife) posts every few days on a new topic. He seems to follow financial news very closely, so if that’s something that interests you, be sure to check out his thoughts each week.

Most of MBH’s posts are lengthy, so if you’re looking for a quick read, check out the bullet points — these generally highlight the most important information in each entry. Also, every Sunday, he posts a “Roundup” for the previous week, sharing blog posts from Money Blog Network and other blogs in his RSS reader.

Although the posts are well-written and generally quite interesting, I don’t think the information is always relevant to readers. I would like to see fewer posts about what MBH bought on eBay or at a yard sale (these types of entries are quite numerous) and more that are universal enough to apply to everyone’s frugal lifestyle.

If you really love eBay, estate sales, and yard sales, MBH has some interesting inside tricks and tips. He even has a four-part (maybe more to come) series on how to make money with an eBay store.

I also thought the MBH blog is a little cluttered — wall-to-wall text with very little breathing room. Granted, there’s a ton of information included in this blog, but the design could definitely benefit from some more white space and simpler navigation. Try not to be distracted by the color-coordinated Google ads on the left.

One thing I really liked about Mighty Bargain Hunter is the wealth (no pun intended) of worthwhile links to personal finance blogs, frugal living blogs, investing blogs, and debt reduction blogs. It’s quite obvious that MBH is an avid finance reader and does his homework on behalf of his own readers.

In addition, MBH provides the disclaimer that the advice presented on the blog is not to be construed as personalized advice. He recommends seeking professional advisers to address individual needs. It appears that he will occasionally answer e-mails and questions from his readers in the blog, so if you plan to ask MBH a question, keep the aforementioned disclaimer in mind.

Lastly, you can subscribe for a weekly e-mail “feed digest” and receive MBH info directly. If you look under the “Features” section, you’ll also find links to the Catacombs, which offer free bargain hunting articles, as well as links to the Carnival of Debt Reduction and MyPoints. If you have the time to read and explore Mighty Bargain Hunter, there’s plenty of valuable information to be found. Get hunting!

Have you ever gone to a yard sale? There are plenty of great things that people don’t want or need that could be perfectly useful to you. Here are some yard sale shopping tips.

Photo by abac077

First, you will want to have a plan. Make a list of things that you may be looking for a bargain price on. You might be looking for a gift for someone, furniture, toys, books, or clothes and all of those things can be found at many yards sales. You might be surprised at what you find. Find out where and when sales are happening, and show up early for first pickings.

When you get there, keep your eye open for the things that you listed. Also, look for things that you could resell for a profit.

The great thing about yard sales is negotiating. Use your negotiation skills to talk the seller down to a lower price. If they really want to get rid of the items, or there are damages or defects, you can use that as leverage to come away with a better bargain.

Not everyone offers a good discount at the sale. If you think you can find the item new for the same price or lower, the price is just too high. Try to negotiate if it is just an item or two that you really want. If everything seems a little over priced, try another sale.

If you truly want to begin a frugal lifestyle, you should strive to never pay full price if you can help it. For almost anything you need, you can shop around and find a bargain.

When it comes to children’s clothing, you definitely want to get things on sale. Since children are always growing, it doesn’t make sense to buy them expensive clothes or shoes. Unless you have several children to pass down the clothes to, it isn’t a wise investment.

Photo by Bargain Betty

The best time to shop is one month before seasons officially change. All of the winter clothes will go on clearance sales as spring starts, and all of the summer clothes will be on clearance sales right before the fall. Shopping on special holiday sales and back to school season will save you a ton.

Also, when it comes to groceries, appliances, DVDs, books, or just about anything you may want to buy, wait for the sale. Look for used ones in good condition and use coupons and/or club discounts.

If tongue-in-cheek finance advice is your thing, look no further than MakeLoveNotDebt.com, a self-proclaimed “relationship finance blog.” This blog presents interesting personal views on finance, relationships, and debt management.

When you log in, first time visitors are invited to learn more about the blog. After checking out that link, curious minds will discover that an anonymous Chicago couple, posting under the names “Him” and “Her,” created this blog to discuss how keeping secrets about debt from your significant other can spell disaster. “Her” admits that two years ago, she hid $154,000 in debt from her boyfriend, “Him.” The couple is now engaged to be married.

The couple says they created this blog to “discuss the intersection between relationships and finances” in a lighthearted way. And they certainly do — sarcasm and clever quips are scattered throughout each entry.

Before I get into the contents of the blog, I wanted to note one other interesting facet of this site: “Him” and “Her” keep a running tab of their net worth in the right-hand navigation. As of today, it’s listed as negative $41,303.44, and “Him” recently posted a table calculating August’s net worth with itemized assets and liabilities.

Now, moving on to the entries. The topics up for discussion are seemingly endless, and it appears that Make Love, Not Debt attracts a number of chatty readers who comment extensively on most entries. The category tags range from 401k to groceries to student loans and utilities. Basically, any topic that would come up in daily life is discussed in this blog.

Entries are added every couple of days, and they always include links to other entries and related topics. You could easily get lost in reading about the comical trials and tribulations of financial life for “Him” and “Her.”

Some of the most recent entries discussed “Keeping up with the Joneses’ Husbands” as well as raises, handling work expenditures, and paying for laundry service (a huge rip-off, in “His” opinion). I was particularly amused by an entry titled “Damn You, Washing Machine!” — a humorous dialogue between “Her” and “Him” about accidentally washing an iPod. Also, many of the entries conclude by asking the readers their opinions on the subject.

I really liked the “Featured Books” section, which included guides to financial management for couples as well as how to enjoy daily life without getting in debt. Several of the titles listed were also reviewed by “Her.”

Lastly, you can subscribe to MLND, as it is lovingly dubbed by loyal readers, via e-mail and RSS so you’ll never miss a humorous “episode” in the life of the Chicago duo. More than anything else, this blog provides honest, personal advice and anecdotes. If you’re looking for a list of instructions or money-saving tips, Make Love, Not Debt might not be for you. However, if you want a good laugh and some worthwhile “relationship finance” advice, be sure to check it out. You’ll certainly never be bored!

Quality time with family is so important. When money is tight, it is sometimes difficult to figure out how to make a worthwhile vacation on a budget. Here’s how you can get the most out of a family vacation without spending all of your savings.

Photo by elephantsgerald

Take short trips. You can visit amusement parks, local carnivals, local fairs, museums, aquariums and zoos for very little money. Small children will appreciate getting out of the house, and are easily entertained with animals and rides. Site seeing is also a nice change of pace, and you can have a family picnic.

If you want a real get away, drive. Saving money on flight costs will allow some flex in the budget for admissions and food. Also, if you have your own car, you won’t have to rent one. You may also want to find out how much the public transportation in the area is between the hotel and the attraction.

A three night stay in a hotel is just long enough to relax and enjoy a break. If you plan a shorter trip, always budget for the cost of an extra night, just in case. Shortening the stay will save some money, and if you save enough for a longer stay, you can use the extra money for special dinners or souvenirs.

Photo by wild friday

First and foremost, plan well in advance. Survey a few different places to go, and do some quick online searching to get a feel for the costs. We went to Park City, Utah last summer because summer is their off-season, and had a great time in the sun. Check the hotel prices, look into other accommodations, and discount options. Plan the travel method (drive, plane, train, bus). Decide how long you will stay. Also plan what you will eat. Food is one thing people often forget to budget for.

The next step is budgeting the trip. How much will it cost to travel there and stay for x days? How much will the food cost? Will you need transportation to get around in the area? What about souvenirs? Finally, come up with a ball park figure, and set aside a small amount of money to start saving up.

Try to put in some extra hours at work, or cut some luxuries like eating out for several months in advance. Set aside money as “vacation cash” into an interest- bearing account, and don’t use any of it (unless there is a real emergency). You might have to make a couple sacrifices, but it will be worth it if you plan it well.

All things fashion abound at The Frugal-Fashionista, located at frugal-fashionista.blogspot.com. The Fashionista delivers a daily dose of celebrity fashions suited for conservative budgets.

Each day, the Fashionista posts a full-length photo of a celebrity, as well as separate photos of her clothing, shoes, purse, and other accessories such as jewelry, sunglasses, and belts. Each fashion item is presented with a price and a website where shoppers can piece together their favorite celebrity outfits.

The Fashionista does a fantastic job re-creating the elements of each outfit for reasonable prices (at least when compared with what the celebrities pay for the “real deal”). Some of the blog’s most common web sources of “celeb” fashions include Urban Outfitters, Girl Props, Old Navy, Victoria’s Secret, MNG by Mango, and Target.

Each piece of the outfit generally runs between $20 and $70, but some items can be found for much more or less. For example, the Fashionista recently profiled an outfit seen on Katie Holmes: the sweater from Old Navy costs $29.50, the ruffled blouse from Victoria’s Secret costs $39, the shoes from Nine West cost $59.99, the wide leg pants from the Gap cost $59.50, and the scarf from The Pashmina Store cost $35.99. Grand total: $223.98. A little expensive for one outfit, but if fashion is your thing, it’s worth it.

The Fashionista selects most of the celebrity outfits to profile, but the blog occasionally features reader requests. Some of the most popular celebrity fashion plates include Cameron Diaz, Jessica Alba, Lindsay Lohan, Nicky Hilton, Nicole Richie, Rachel Bilson, and Reese Witherspoon, to name a few.

The Chicago Sun-Times recently noted The Frugal-Fashionista as one of fashion’s best blogs, while NBC San Diego named it in its list of “Dress Like a Star” links. In addition, the Fashionista has built an extensive list of fashion-related links that can be accessed directly from the blog. If you have the time and the curiosity, you can browse through the archive of entries dating back to March 2006.

The Frugal-Fashionista also has an e-mail subscription option, so the latest entries can be delivered directly to your inbox. This blog is great if you don’t have time to read through entries — it’s almost entirely photographic! You can quickly scan through and find the specific outfits or individual items you like.

The only thing that would be an improvement to this blog would be direct links to the featured items. Currently, you have to search for the items yourself once you reach the source’s site. However, that’s a small price to pay for the great fashion advice the Frugal-Fashionista dishes out every day!

If you’ve ever seen your favorite celebrity in an outfit you’d die to have (but you’re afraid the cost just might kill you), then Frugal-Fashionista is the blog for you.

Photo by Plates&Packs

Edible presents can be a real treat for some people. Good food, desserts or snacks can definitely say that you care. Here are some gifts of food ideas.

1. Home baked bread (recipe included)
2. Chocolate bars with fancy wrapping
3. Home baked cookies
4. Pancake or waffle mix with genuine maple syrup
5. A home-baked cake personally decorated
6. A home-cooked ethnic meal
7. Home-made cinnamon buns (with extra frosting on the side)
8. Home-made ice cream
9. Gourmet popcorn
10. Coffee beans

A nice basket, bow, ribbon, or nice wrapping paper can dress these gifts up nicely. Add a little note card with a special message, and your gift of food is complete. It is also a nice idea to give the recipe if the item is homemade. Plenty of people would love a gift they can enjoy inside and out. (Just make sure you aren’t ruining someone’s diet!)

Photo by Megan Troyer

Gifts don’t have to cost you a fortune to come from the heart. Here are some nice ideas for gifts that shouldn’t cost you more than ten dollars. They are sweet, and would probably be more meaningful to that person than the money.

1. A child’s artwork in a frame
2. A coffee mug with a special message (you can add a box of herbal tea)
3. A collage of significant pictures (special memories with that person)
4. A decorative basket of fruit and cheese
5. Cloth napkins with napkin rings (great house warming gift)
6. A decorative container of candy (make sure it is their favorite)
7. Create a simple but fun board game to play with them
8. A nice stationery set (choose a design that shows their personality or favorite animal)
9. An elegant box for keepsakes or jewelry
10. A decorated and hand written recipe book (original recipes are always well-received!)

The more thoughtful you are with the gift, the more special it will be. Remember, it is the thought that counts.

The Frugal Cuisine blog, which can be found at frugalcuisine.blogspot.com, provides readers with recipes for a $3 per day budget, as well as Chinese street food and small snacks. The author, the anonymous “Pepper,” blogs from Sichuan, China. The sunny yellow and orange blog seems to be updated every two weeks or so, and each blog entry focuses on a single recipe (from all types of cuisines) or an individual Chinese dish.

The blog posts fall into several categories, including main dishes, sweets and snacks, featured ingredients, breakfast, salads, basics, and street food (xiaochi). Each recipe is accompanied by a nice photo of the featured dish. Some recent posts include onion rings, Jiaozi (dumplings), potato and green vegetable stew, and stir fried greens and bacon over grits.

Pepper does a good job describing the Chinese snacks and street food that American readers might not be familiar with. Pepper also gives translations of Chinese words, which could prove interesting to the linguist. If you’re fascinated by how things are made, Pepper describes some unique street vendor cooking techniques, as well as ingredients native to China.

If you’re just scanning quickly for a recipe, Pepper puts ingredients in bold type so they are easy to find. The recipes are very short and simple — perhaps a little too simple if you are an experienced cook. However, the recipes have all been tested in Pepper’s kitchen, so I’m sure the end results are delicious. The photos certainly look great!

Although the recipe suggestions were quite varied and interesting, I noticed that the blog, with the exception of its name, rarely mentions “frugal cuisine” or budgeting anywhere. I expected more of a focus on stretching your budget at the market, or how to turn inexpensive ingredients into impressive meals.

It might be helpful if Pepper would include how much each recipe costs to make. Some of the blog posts had a breakdown of how much each ingredient cost (in both Chinese and US currency), but this information isn’t consistently present. I also wonder if it’s possible to buy some of the ingredients in American markets.

If you’re looking for a lesson in Sichuan street foods or some unique recipes, the Frugal Cuisine blog is well written and very interesting. Older blog posts have links to other food blogs and sites, but if you’re in search of a blog truly dedicated to frugal cooking, Frugal Cuisine is a bit limited.

Instead of spending money on games that other people have created, you can create your own. Here’s how.

First, choose a theme or subject. If your family has watched a lot of movies together, for example, you can make a game about movies, or about a single movie.

Photo by Camille Panzera

Second, decide what the object of the game should be. For example, in the movie game, the object can be naming the movie a certain line is from or naming as many movies as you can with a certain letter of the alphabet.

Next, decide on the rules. For the movie game, the rules could be that only the team captain can speak, television films don’t count, or points off for talking out of turn. Write the rules down so that you can address them later if there is a conflict.

Now decide how you will keep score. You can use points, candy, or pennies to tally up who is winning. Will you be playing by teams, or individually?

You can also choose a reward for the winning person, or team, but that’s optional. Be creative! You might find that you have as much fun creating your game as you do playing it!

Have you heard about the cheapest family in the United States? There is a 20/20 special about a family of seven that lives debt free on a household income of $35,000! They don’t use credit cards.

This family owns a home and two cars, and by stretching every dollar, they have saved the thousands and thousands that most of use waste. They stick to the hard and fast rule that you shouldn’t buy anything that you don’t have the money for. Easier said than done in our country, right?

They meticulously plan grocery shopping using coupons and sale fliers. The husband and wife use walkie-talkies to communicate sale options and prices on certain items. They also purchase clothing and furniture used. They never go over budget, and don’t buy things that they can’t afford.

This family proves that financial discipline can truly pay off. You don’t have to have a high salary to make a good living for yourself. It is just important that you use what you do have wisely. They published a book called America’s Cheapest Family and it is in stores now.

The central focus of the FreebieCreditReport.com site is, not surprisingly, credit reports. When I first visited the site, the thing that caught my eye was “Herbie,” a nerdy-looking guy that makes me think of that guy that’s always yelling obnoxiously about free grants (I can’t remember his name for the life of me!). Not necessarily the best first impression, but at least there’s no obnoxious yelling.

Next to Herbie is a central offer of the site: answer 10 simple questions and get an estimate of your credit score. I couldn’t remember all of the exact information requested, but I’m pretty sure my guesses were close, and sure enough, Herbie gave me an estimate of my credit score. Handy!

The only thing is, I have no idea how accurate it is, because the last time I knew my actual credit score was in 2002 when we bought our house (that’s the last time it’s actually mattered to me for financing purposes). Herbie’s numbers were about 75 points lower than my 2002 number, but that’s likely the result of my credit card games (signing up for the joining incentives, then closing the account, etc.).

One thing that seemed oddly missing from the results page was any indication of how good or bad my credit score is. There is a link in the sidebar to an informative article about credit scores, but it’s not linked from the results themselves and is kind of hard to spot. It would probably be more useful if the link was prominently displayed with the results, or better yet, the results included some kind of relative assessment like “above average” or “excellent” or “needs work”.

The revenue model for the site seems to be passing visitors on to sites that will (eventually) charge them money, and pay a commission to FreebieCreditReport.com. This is a very popular business model for financial sites, and FreebieCreditReport.com does a good job by providing useful information on their site, particularly the articles on the sidebar. If you’re looking for clear explanations of credit-related concepts, their articles are very helpful.

If you follow the links through to MyFICO or the other partners, read the fine print carefully. Many of these services will give you a free report but automatically enroll you in a subscription to their services. Make sure you know what you’re signing up for. If you just want a general idea of your likely credit score, FreebieCreditReport.com is a good resource.

This is a sponsored review, but the editorial content has not been altered in any way for payment.