Forced Frugality.

On Monday morning, my husband called me on his way home from work. He'd been laid off. I was on the way to Walmart, to get pictures taken. I decided to wait, as it didn't need to be done that day. Now, while Hubby occupies his time searching for a new job, I brainstorm ideas for saving money. Fortunately, Hubby did have the foresight to save up a bunch of money, but since we don't know how long he'll be without income, we want to make it last.

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Friday night is our pizza picnic night; we eat pizza in the family room and watch a movie. Usually, the pizza is Digiorno, since ordering pizza is crazy-expensive these days. In an effort to be even more frugal, this afternoon, I made pizza crust dough in the bread machine, and the kids helped me put on the toppings. It was a little funky-looking, but it tasted really yummy! We borrowed a movie from the library (FREE) rather than renting it from Blockbuster.

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I baked bread the other day, and it was really yummy, even though I baked it a little too long. I'm planning on doing a lot more baking, rather than buying cookies and treats like that. More fun for the kids (more work for me, but that's okay) and yummier, more nutritious snacks for all of us.

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At the thrift shop today, I found the boxed set of the original Star Wars trilogy, and snagged that for a Christmas gift for the girls. Coincidentally, they like the movies with "Luke" better than the ones with "Anakin", so that'll work out well. I've done the shoulder decreases on Dolly's cape, now I just need to increase and knit the hood, and make some mitts to match; that'll take care of her Christmas gifts. I'm planning on handknitting and/or sewing all the Christmas gifts. Just because we're being frugal doesn't mean we can't still have a great Christmas.

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Hubby canceled his gym membership, and we brought our Bowflex in from the garage. We bought it when they were first invented about 8 years ago, but we haven't used it much. We will now! Now I just need to get him some new innertubes for his bicycle, and he can use that for cardio workouts.

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I'm going to weed through some of the clothes the kids don't need and see if any of them are nice enough to sell on ebay, to help bring in a little extra money. They tend to be pretty tough on clothes, so I'm not sure whether that'll help much.

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These days, even if you are fortunate enough to have income, frugality is a good idea. So tell me your favorite frugal tips in the comment section below. ☺