PT Money » Frugal Living

Cheap Workouts: Staying Fit Without Busting the Budget

Guest — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 17:10:25 +0000

Many families have been forced to review their budgets over the past 18 months, carving out excess expenditures and tightening their financial belts. Unfortunately some unforeseen side effects to budget cuts have ramifications to our health and fitness.

Reuters recently reported that the price of fruits and vegetables is actually climbing faster than inflation, while junk food continues to get cheaper. Exacerbating this issue is the fact many gym memberships found themselves excused from recent budgets overhauls as well.

Saving money has become a priority to so many families, mine included. However it should not take priority over your health and fitness. The great news is staying in shape, eating right, and feeling good doesn’t mean spending more money. It just requires creating alternatives to visiting the local smoothie stand and health club.

As a long time runner, a good jogging program tops the list of my favorite ways to stay healthy. I have also included several more ways to stay trim, both in the belly and the wallet.

The Frugal Sport: Running

A true purists sport, running is free and can be done anytime and anywhere. The weather makes this is the perfect time of year to start a running program. While you’re running you may find a set of bleachers to replace the Stairmaster. Find a running or walking club in your area to help keep you motivated and accountable. Check out these tips for new runners.

Hit Craigslist for Cheap Workout Equipment

Stationary bikes, treadmills, and multi-station home gyms start out at $35 on craigslist. The treadmill I run on every week is perfect and can be purchased used for less than $100.

Try Netflix for Free Exercise Videos

A subscription DVD service, Netflix is about the least expensive way to get movies at home. There are thousands of exercise, aerobic, and yoga videos with free exercise videos for women and men you can do in your living room. A membership runs about $9 a month; and if you stick with your program you can throw in a new release too. I won’t tell. See PT’s review of Neflix.

Make Your Own Healthy Drinks

My spouse has a certified smoothie addiction. Living at Jamba Juice isn’t in the budget this year. For about $20 we stock up on organic frozen fruit at Costco and make our own. No special equipment necessary, just a blender.

Workout Like A Pro Running Back

Hershel Walker was a fantastic running back in the NFL for 12 years. I rode a bike alongside him a few years back for 75 miles and I can tell you he still looks awesome. His workout secret – there wasn’t one. He never lifted a weight but had an incredible routine of push ups, chin ups, and sit ups; that’s it. Sometimes the simplest exercises are the best. Check out the hundred push ups challenge.

Getting involved in a fitness routine creates a virtuous cycle. You start looking good, eating better, and that motivates you to find more ways to stay healthy. Some of the best fitness activities are free so grab some sunshine and make living healthy a top priority.

This is a guest post from Joe of JoeTheRunner.com: A Place for the Every Runner. Check out Joe the Runner for daily running advice and training tips.

Question of the Week: Who Does Your Car Service?

PT — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 15:55:05 +0000

I’m taking our car to get serviced this afternoon. I really hate spending money on car maintenance. I’m not really a “car guy.” I just need something to get back and forth with. So when I have to shell out $30 to $50 to get the oil changed, it just doesn’t feel good. I know it’s better than the alternative though: running out of oil and having the engine implode.

I found a local service shop, at the recommendation of a friend, that only works on our type of car. We’re lucky in that the prices aren’t that expensive compared to other local mechanic shops or dealerships. However, I know I could probably save a bit of money by going to a quick oil change type place, or doing it myself. I just have a little more piece of mind knowing that the guy working on my vehicle has seen a million others just like it.

I know some people use their dealerships (with or without a service plan), others use a local mechanic, some of you may even do it yourself. I guess there are pros and cons to each approach.

So, my question today is, “who services your vehicles and why?” Oh, and a bonus question is “how often do you change the oil?”

Cheap Meals: Dine for Less but Keep the Great Taste and Healthy Foods

Guest — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 05:24:58 +0000

Cheap Meals Equals Cheap Health?

The first place people start to cut a budget is often on foods. If you think saving money by forgoing healthy foods for ramen noodles is your only option, it is not. It is critical to understand, your health can be affected by a poor diet, and poor health can mean illness. Once sick, you can lose more money than you saved, with doctor visits and lost wages from having to be off work. The bottom line is that being cheap can be bad for your health.

Learn to Cook Cheap Meals

A better option is to learn how to cook cheap meals at home on a budget and find budget friendly meals when you dine out. The first step is look at how you eat. Junk food is called junk food because you are eating empty calories and these are not often inexpensive foods. Now is a great time to cut back on the snack cakes and colas. As a rule, if you read a label and find more chemical mixes than names you know, leave that food on the shelf. Buy ice cream that reads, milk, cream, sugar, and use a coupon rather than buying a cheaper product.

A great place to start is eatingwell.com. Cook cheaply, but cook fast, easy and healthy foods. Read the recipes and make a grocery list from the meals you wish to try. Print off coupons, check store sales and shop when you are not hungry, to make the most of your shopping trip.

Healthy staples to keep on hand are rice, frozen vegetables, dried beans, pastas, sauces and chicken stock. Make your own supply of chicken stock and freeze to keep on hand. Need to learn how; there are several good sites on the internet to get you started. Here’s a video with some nice tips for eating healthy for less:

More Tips for Making Cheap Meals

Buy meat on sale and freeze or cook and freeze to have on hand. If you find whole chicken at rock bottom prices, bake as many at one time as you have freezer storage room for. It cost no more to bake six at a time as it does to cook one. Making more than one meal from a cut of meat will help stretch the food budget. Baked ham can be served with vegetables on Sunday, ham and macaroni cheese dish made from the left over ham can be frozen or eat it later in the week. Cook the ham bone with dried white beans. Take ham sandwiches to lunch, the more you stretch a bargain meat you find on sale, the further your money goes.

Fruits and vegetables are an essential part of healthy eating. Buy what is in season, as imported produce is more expensive. Shop smaller ethnic markets, the prices are usually lower than the bigger chain stores for in season produce. Farmer markets, pick and pay locations are other options. Freeze what you can or dehydrate fruits for snacks. Shop the frozen food vegetable isle. Due to the fast freezing process of frozen vegetables and fruits, you may find frozen seems fresher when thawed. Again use coupons for name brands and stock up when they are on sale.

Finding Cheap Meals Outside the Home

Everyone needs a break from making their own French fries and burgers at home. When it is time to eat out, do it wisely. Choose lunch meals out over dinner in expensive restaurants. Prices are usually lower. If you need to take the kids for pizza, choose pizza places with combination meals that include drinks for a low fee. Use coupons and ask about the current specials. Take home leftovers; never leave any food behind.

Choose fast food places with bargain or dollar menus. Choose a sandwich and skip the fries or share a few fries between the family. Fries are high in fat and calories, so this is a win, win to cut back. Choose water over soft drinks. Skip the milkshakes and make them at home. Not only are you controlling price, but you are assured that the drink you make at home has only top quality products.

The more you practice cooking, the more you will see you can eat at home for a much lower cost than you can when you eat out. Because of the savings, you can have a better quality of food. When you do need to eat out, take a few minutes to plan where you are going and what you want before you get to the restaurant. Make a plan and stick to it.

Food is an important part of our life. With a little careful planning it does not have to be a budget breaker. Plan and shop with the attitude that you are doing something positive for your body and budget. You will enjoy the cooking more when you know you are doing what is best for you and your family.

This post was contributed by a guest blogger.

Use Free Online Tutorials to Do It Yourself

Tiffany — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 05:28:27 +0000

This is another post from Tiffany, a newly single mom. I thought it would be good to follow up my do-it-yourself post today with this article from Tiffany which lists some nice resources for finding online tutorials.

My friend Allison has been unemployed for ten months. Like most job-seekers, she is navigating her way through challenges that she’s never faced before. Unlike most job-seekers, Allison owns her home outright, which is a blessing. But it doesn’t exempt her from the inevitable needed repairs to her home.

No Handyman in Sight

One of the aforementioned never-before-faced challenges is that of working through a “home crisis” alone, without a partner or the resources to hire a handyman. The unexpected WILL happen and repairs WILL have to be done. But for many of us, the day of calling the professional honey-do for every little problem is gone. Basically if there’s a way to do it ourselves, we are learning to do it.

Allison has recently had a couple of major plumbing issues. Like my home, hers only has one bathroom. So having the bathroom faucet or the inner toilet assembly break can quickly escalate into an urgent matter.

When both of these things happened to her in the same two week period, Allison felt overwhelmed.

A Quick Faucet Fix

The faucet went first. Because she lacked confidence in her ability to repair it, she went to Home Depot and bought the least expensive faucet that she could find. Following the instructions on the package carefully, Allison was, to her surprise and delight, able to install it quickly and easily and she felt utterly empowered by this accomplishment. She even expressed to me “I wish now that I had bought a nicer faucet!”.

“Is There a Plumber in the House?”

But when I called her a week later to tell her that I have a nice male colleague and I’m eager to play matchmaker for her and him, she literally growled into the phone and said “I’m not interested unless he’s a plumber”. She proceeded to tell me that her toilet had stopped working and that her research on AskAPlumber.com indicated that the fill valve and flapper needed to be replaced.

Her earlier confidence in her ability to make basic plumbing repairs had waned. As she talked, I could hear the panic in her voice begin to increase and I remembered suddenly that I had found a solution to a recent computer problem by watching a YouTube video.

Online Resources to the Rescue

While still on the phone with her, I did a quick YouTube search on “fix toilet”. The search netted me pages upon pages of videos on toilet repair. When I relayed this information to her, she growled (again…yikes), “OK, I’ll check it out….gotta go”.

She called me four hours later, and I could hear the elation in her voice. “I did it! I found two ladies in a video on YouTube and watching them, I was able to fix mine”.

She gave me the credit, but of course, I’ll give the credit to the wonderful world of resources that the internet offers us. With sites like YouTube and Video Jug, a person can learn to do nearly anything.

I researched the more popular tutorial sites to see exactly which sites offered the most results for my key phrase “fix toilet” (without quotation marks). I didn’t peruse many individual videos or articles. I’m posting here, for the purpose of illustration, the number of results my searches netted for “fix toilet”.

How Stuff Works 57 articles and specifically a wonderful graphical drawing on the intricacies of the toilet’s ballcock assembly (I like a graphical visual)
This Old House 11 videos and articles
About.com 1,230 videos and articles
Video Jug 349 videos
WikiHow 117 Wiki articles (cool that users can edit the articles on this site)
eHow 16,200 articles
YouTube 1,640 videos
DoItYourself 450 articles, videos, and forums
DIY Network 17 videos
5Min Videopedia 18 videos (this site limits video length to 5 minutes)
SuTree had more videos than I could count, but I noted that their search engine isn’t very refined and not all were how to actually “fix toilet”.

I want to point out that in addition to videos, tutorials, and articles on “fix toilet”, all of these sites have tutorials on everything imaginable.

If anyone is aware of more great “how to” sites on any topic, I’d love to have them to add to my list.

Happy learning!

Photo by Andreia

Fun, Frugal, Family & Friends Outings

Yasmeen — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 22:46:20 +0000

Once again, I have a few tips to share on how my frugal fetish has helped to put the word “quality” into quality time. About two years during tax season, I decided to add up all of my receipts in my “entertainment spending” Pendaflex folder. Much to my surprise and horror, I was spending like a Manhattan socialite without the Wall Street income.

This is when the frugal patrol said “No More!” and “Yes We Can!” still have a social life but for less money. So I started planning weekend outings with two criteria in mind: quality time and bargain experience.

Instead of meeting at the latest hip café with my girlfriends, I started suggesting a walk around the Rose Bowl (three miles) or going for a hike at the nearby canyon to explore waterfalls. My friends quickly caught on and actually love my new social planning strategies. So now instead of spending money I really could and should be saving, I am putting an element of exploration and adventure into my social life all at a fraction of the cost of a mundane munch down. Not only has my pocketbook benefited but my waistline too! Since starting this new social outing habit, I have lost ten pounds.

Here’s how you can too:

Check out your local neighborhood newspaper’s calendar section. Small local newspapers and Family magazines often list free community events. Whether it’s the Farmer’s Market or a Street Fair, there’s usually no admission, you get some walking in and some sunlight! All of which are very kid and stroller-friendly activities.

Visit the website of your local mall. With the downturn in the economy still having some carry over into this year, many shopping centers are developing community and entertainment programs to lure nearby residents. From free salsa dance lessons, live musical bands to face painting for kids, the mall is morphing into a destination not just shopping.

Explore a new park! I remember as a kid, my parents always took us to the park. Parks seem to be forgotten these days and are starving for attention. Google map the parks in your neighborhood and plan to visit each one with a new friend. I have found parks with lakes, ducks, neighborhood centers with computers, walking trails and more that I never knew about. Also, try local universities, which often have beautiful grounds and are very quiet on the weekends. You can even find arboretums on many campuses that are free.

Don’t valet park or pay for parking. This is a challenge if you live in a big city like New York or Los Angeles. But driving just a few blocks away from your destination and walking is money-wise way to save anywhere from $5-20 bucks.

Attention moviegoers: I like a good flick and there’s nothing like seeing Avatar in true 3D IMAX, which was NOT cheap. So I penny pinched by getting all of my family’s favorite candy and refreshments before hand at the grocery store and packing them into the giant purse I carry anyway. We normally spend $30 on jumbo Cokes, popcorn and pretzels, but with my frugal planning we cut down our tab to about ten bucks.

We tend to think that socializing means spending money, when it really should mean spending quality time being and experiencing the gifts of our family and friends. Hopefully by incorporating some frugal creativity into your weekend outings, you’ll invest more into the people you love and into your savings account.

This post was contributed by Yasmeen Muqtasid, a fanatic for of all things frugal and fabulous.

How to Find Free Stuff Online Without Getting Spammed

Guest — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 21:07:33 +0000

Many people don’t believe in freebie hunting – they say if something is giving away for free, it’s most likely to be worthless. However experienced freebie hunters will tell you that by taking advantage of free offers you can get a hold of very useful staff and besides you become a smarter shopper because you keep an eye on new products, test their quality and compare pricing.

There’s only one huge problem with freebie hunting: there’s a lot of scam that can get you into trouble: you risk being added to some spam lists or (which is even worse) losing your money.

So if you ever consider freebie hunting, here are some essential tips to help you do it right:

Rely On Your First Impression

Just once you are at the site, give it a quick look and answer the following questions:

How did you learn about the offer? (If it came to your email box as unsolicited mail, this is scam. Spammers have nothing of value to offer!)
Does the overall design look professional? (“Yes” should be a good sign of a trustworthy website)
Is there any poor spelling or grammar used on the page / in the email message (A trusted resource will make sure to get rid of all mistakes before making an offer public)
Is the site stuffed with ads? (If there are many of them, this must be a scam)
Is there any irritating pop-ups? (A pop-up is a new window that opens on itself while you browse the site. It is a huge no-no for reliable sites)
Is there any valid contact information? (Be sure to check if the site has an address and a phone number)
Is there any valid privacy policy? (Especially if the site requires a login)
Which info do they require to send a freebie (If a website requires that you enter your credit card number to get your freebie, think twice!)

Use Online Forums That Discuss and Archive Scams

419eater is a popular forum discussing recent scams as sharing well as essential tips on avoiding them.
FraudWatchers aggregate scam-related news and articles throughout the web as well as have a good forum for people to share their experience.
Scam.com is an active discussion board for people to join and share scam news and tips.

Use Trusted Freebie Aggregators

There are plenty of websites reporting on daily freebies, you can pick those that best fit your needs and interests. Here I am sharing the one I personally prefer:

ListFreeSamples.com is a neat online freebie aggregator that is organized in multiple categories including drinks, pet samples, food samples, make-up, etc.

You don’t have to spend the whole day searching on the internet looking for free samples of your favorite brand. Get to try all kinds of products before purchasing them! All offers are obtained from legitimate websites. We will never post anything that is suspicious or spam-alike.

Buxr is another trusted source of freebies. All deals are added by real shoppers there, to make it even more reliable, each deal is verified, voted and commented by the administrators and other members, so you can rest assured that the offer is valid and legit.

Freebies are marked as “FREE” in the overall stream:

Track Freebies on Twitter

If people talk about something on Twitter, they may have first-hand experience in that, so you can try to connect to those people and ask about the details. Seesmic is my personal favorite when it comes to tracking anything on Twitter:

First, use the tool to search Twitter for [freebie];

Now, do whatever you want: Seesmic will be updating you of new search results with handy little pop-ups:

Check the Freebie Provider Reputation in Google

Search Google for the [freebie provider name] or the [freebie provider domain name]. Be sure to try the following:

Look through at least 5 pages of the search results (top ten results may be manipulated but they cannot fake all the search results);
Try to use some additional phrases: [freebie provider name] + [scam], [freebie provider name] + [experience], etc;
Try using Google’s advanced search to view most recent mentions (found behind “Show options” link in Google):

Rules of Thumb

No matter how careful you are, if you start hunting for freebies, spammers will sooner or later get a hold of your email address. So it is usually advised to create a separate email address on any free services (Gmail and Yahoo! are two obvious choices);

If the offer seems to be to good to be true, chances are it is really not. Treat such offers with even more caution.

Any more security tips for newbie freebie hunters? Share them in the comments!

The guest post is by Ann Smarty, a search geek, social media enthusiast and experienced online shopper. Ann has recently started the community of guest bloggers which aims at connecting guest bloggers to blog owners who seek high-quality content and fresh perspective. I definitely recommend using this community if you’re looking for guest bloggers, or if you are looking to do some guest posting yourself.

The Plan: Making Every Dollar Count

Tiffany — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 17:35:25 +0000

This is the second post from Tiffany, a newly single mom. Tiffany discusses what I describe as going hardcore frugal. This is exactly how you should treat your finances if you’re going through a transition time like hers.

My previous blog post, Single Mom Redux, discussed the challenges my family will be facing in our transition to a one-income family. While I was always the primary bread-winner, my ex-husband’s contribution will be missed. What will really help us is having a solid plan in place.

We had our family meeting last night and put our thoughts and ideas onto paper.

I. Complete Analysis of Spending

A printed bank statement gave us a visual of where we are spending (debit card and check spending). While it’s easy to remember when the car payment is due, I did not have a strong grasp on when all of the “little stuff” came out of my bank account. In some cases, I was even unsure of exactly how much was coming out per month (Netflix is how much per month?).

We have minimal cash spending, so it was very easy for us to see at a glance where most of our money goes. This also gave us a glimpse of our impulse spending. I was completely taken aback by how many $1-$3 fast food breaks I had on there.

II. Is There More Money to be Had?

Can I do some freelancing? Sell some of our stuff?

The determination was made that our primary goal is to make better use of our current resources. In other words, Mom doesn’t really have time for a second job! I’m going to do a little freelance work (writing mostly), and most certainly get back into the groove of selling some of our stuff (de-cluttering is a bonus!).

My daughter is 14 and can do some babysitting work. She has occasionally turned down babysitting opportunities because she preferred doing fun things with her friends. We’ve agreed that money making opportunities for her do not often present themselves, so when they do, she will accept them. This will give her some spending money for her outings with friends and the extra “stuff” she wants.

III. Where Can We Make Big Cuts?

Do we need satellite TV? My 9 year old son is the only one of us who watches TV and it’s agreed that he is happy to spend his time doing other things.

Land line phone? We all have cell phones, and we also have internet-based options that can be explored.

Close examination of our cell phone bill and a phone call helped me to determine that we have a minutes plan that can be reduced to save us about $75 per month overall.

IV. Where Will We Have to Add Expenses?

We live in a rural area and my ex-husband took care of the trash by burning it and making a haul once a week to the local dump for other items. This is not something that we’re prepared to take on, so we will add trash service to the expense of $20 per month.

Minor repairs to home? We may have to contract out some things, but we don’t expect this to be a major expense. My daughter and I will learn to do a lot of things and make an adventure out of it. Also, the kid’s dad (the first ex-husband) and my father will help us as needed.

V. Small Ways to Save that Will Add Up!

Netflix and Gamefly unlimited rental plans will cut down the trips to the video store where we rent games and movies.
Save the “big show” for really special occasions and go to the dollar movie instead.
Start buying the Sunday paper again, or “clip” coupons online for things that we buy consistently. Doing this will save us an estimate of $20 per month.
Making sweet treats from scratch. Just as easy and healthier. Plus the added benefit of fun family memory creation!
Whenever possible, anything that can easily be bought used will no longer be bought new.
Minimize dining out.
Kids and Mom can both pack a lunch at least half the time.
We will barter out services with a stylist friend who needs a babysitter.

We felt very positive at the end of our meeting. Doing all of these things will help us to break even and not miss the extra income. Most are minor tweaks and will be relatively painless. We may even end up saving money. But that’s another article….

What ideas do you have for immediate changes that can make a big difference?

How to Cook a Better Steak for Less

PT — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 20:37:37 +0000

As I was thinking about this weekend, I thought it might be nice to cook up a nice steak for Mrs. PT and I. I did some searching for how to cook steak, and discovered a method of cooking steak that can be less expensive and possibly make a better steak. The good thing is, if you’ve got a basic cast-iron skillet and an oven, you don’t need to spend a dime, beyond the steaks of course, to make this work.

Broiling: A Cheaper, Cleaner, (Better?) Way to Cook Steak

I’m not going to argue whether grilled or broiled is better. But what I do know is that broiling can be less expensive than firing up the grill. It’s definitely less of a hassle and less of a mess. No fancy grill needed. I honestly like both methods of cooking steak.

If you’re going to do either method, it’s important to do it right. What I discovered in my searching is that I haven’t been broiling properly. When I broil, I use the wrong kind of dish and I don’t place the steaks in the right place in the oven.

Here’s how you should cook your steak if broiling:

Place a Cast-Iron Skillet in the Oven
Pre-Heat the Oven to 550 Degrees
Turn on the Broiler
Place the Steak(s) on the Skillet 2-4 Inches from the Broiler*
Wait 8 Minutes for Medium Rare
Remove (no flip needed)

*Adjustments may be needed depending on the power of your broiler. But basic ovens need to be this close.

The added benefit to broiling right now is that you don’t have to go outside (too cold) and you get to warm up your kitchen using the oven.

How to Prepare Your Steak to Cook

I’m a steak purist. I like nice, quality cuts of meat. No marinades. No sauce. I only do this (cook steak) and few times a year, so I make sure I get quality meat. If you’re going to spend a little money, spend it on the steak itself. Rib-eyes and sirloins are great for broiling. I also like Filets. Look for a nice bright red cut with the fat marbled consistently throughout the meat. Rub some salt on the steak, wrap it in plastic wrap or a zip-lock bag, and place in the fridge for at least a few hours. Never do salt right before you cook. It will draw out the juices.

When you’re an hour away from cooking, pull the steak out of the fridge, dry it, and let it sit. When it’s room temperature, you’re ready to cook.

I’m going to try it out this weekend and see if I can cook a steak that tastes great and doesn’t break the bank to prepare. Let me hear from you if you’ve ever tried this broiling method. Or please share your steak cooking tips in the comment section below. Enjoy!

Here’s a photo of how our steaks turned out. We used the directions above and results were excellent. These are $7 organic filets from Sprouts. Just salt. 8 minutes. Broiled. Turned only after removed from the oven. Results were medium well to well done.

Have you ever tried OmahaSteaks.com? Now may be a good time to see how their steaks taste. You can currently save up to 65% on your order, plus choose a FREE gift. These 6 (6 oz.) Bacon Wrapped Filets look incredibly tasty. See more Omaha Steak Coupons.

Photo by Michael Berch

Sweet Valentine’s Day Gift Ideas

Guest — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 11:25:56 +0000

Valentines Day has become so commercial that we have been sold a bill of good telling us we must spend to win the hearts of our loved ones. Reality is, that is simply not the case. Valentines Day is a day to share time and feelings of love with others, and that, can be done on a budget without sacrificing the day.

For children, many schools have policies against sending gift and flowers to the children. If you are ask to send valentines or treats to the school for a class party, visit the local Dollar Tree or other dollar store for valentines. Make cookies and cupcakes at home rather than stopping by the bakery for baked goods.

If you desire to shower your child with balloons and stuffed animals, consider a dollar bag of balloons over the dollar a pop mylar ones and blow up the entire bag of colored latex balloons. Some stores will blow up balloons with helium for a low fee. A small stuffed animal from the dollar store works just as well as the high priced toy from gift shops or toy stores. Children need your time more than material goods any day. A day with you means more that store bought gifts. Spend the day playing games and having fun making Valentines cookies will mean more than expensive gifts.

Adults often scramble to spend money on expensive flowers and dinners. There are countless ways to share the day without going broke. Look at local specials advertised in your area. White Castle has the classic dinner for two, great for a date night; just pretend you are a couple of teenagers and go. Need a more expensive and grown up meal deal, try going to lunch rather than dinner. Most restaurants offer a lower price lunch special than the price of dinner. Use coupons and buy one get one offers for entrees and desserts. Go out for coffee and dessert at a very up scale place and skip the expensive meal.

Editor’s Note: Mrs. PT and I are going to order our favorite again this year: a heart-shaped pizza.

Go to the grocery store and buy the supplies for a dinner. Use your coupons, shop specials and cook a special dinner at home. Add a few candles, dim the lights and enjoy.

Discover your city. Spend the day visiting local landmarks and museums. Depending on where you live and the weather in your area, plan a day outside. Go ice skating and carry a thermos of hot chocolate. Pack a dinner and go to the lake, build a fire, and star gaze. Check out a book about astronomy from the library and take with you as you study the heavens.

Flowers, it seems like we cannot have Valentines Day without flowers. Consider a potted plant, one that can be kept. Some stores offer potted miniature rose plants, or other flowering plants. These last long after the flowers fad, but if you need cut flowers, consider buying them from a discount or grocery store. Shop thrift stores, Salvation Army or Good Will for a special container to use as a vase for the flowers.

Thrift stores often have Valentines Day themed coffee mugs, red and white or pink dinner plates and other decorations. Buy them there and recycle buy filling with candy, or other treats. Wrap with colored cellophane from the dollar store and you have a Valentines happy for less than half the cost from a gift store.

Send cards from dollar stores, some offer cards for as low as fifty cents each. They will mean just as much as an expensive card. Go to the library and check out romantic movies (or consider $1 DVDs from Redbox). Check out books about Valentines Day and read with your children.

It really is what is in your heart that counts. Count your dollars saved as part of helping keep your budget in line while making the day special. The values you teach your children about sharing without over spending is an act of love. Couples are a lot happier when not in debt. That counts when you make Valentines Day special without making each other over spend. Have a happy and frugal Valentines Day.

This post was contributed by a guest blogger.

Use Google Docs to Save Big and Make Life Easy

Austin — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 14:29:14 +0000

Two weeks ago Google Docs unveiled a new feature which allows users to upload any file type to their account, essentially making Google Docs your flash drive in the cloud. We all have emailed a file to ourselves for quick access, but this is Google’s way of clearing your inbox and organizing your life for free.

Since it was first introduced in 2006, Docs has shown that it is the future of word processing. With its tight integration with Gmail, Google is in for the long haul when it comes to how average people like you or I write, present, and organize our lives.

Google even has an answer for those people who are afraid of relying on the internet to hold their files. Google Gears allows you to have access to your files when offline by syncing them with your computer’s hard drive.

I’ve been a Docs user for almost two years now and I suggest them to all of my friends for the speed, easy Gmail integration, and cloud computing capabilities. In college I would create a Presentation (Power Point) for a speech and instead of putting it on a flash drive, I would just open it on the computer in the classroom. I could use Docs Document (Word) to start a paper in the library, edit it in my dorm room, and then finalize it that weekend when I visited my parents at home.

3 computers, 1 document, and no worrying about a faulty flash drive.

Right now, Google Docs offers uploads for any file up to 250 MB and you’ll get 1 GB of storage for non-Docs files like pictures, videos, or original files you don’t want to convert.

The best part? You can get more storage for dirt cheap. $0.25 for 1 GB every year.

With Google’s growth it’s also more than possible that the amount of free storage won’t dramatically increase over the next couple of years. When Gmail started in 2004 it offered 1 GB and now it’s at 7400 MB.

Google Docs could do away with flash drives in the near future.

So how can Google save you money?

- Does away with word processing software

Savings: $150 (Microsoft Office 2007)

Docs has the capabilities to save and send files as Word documents (.doc), Open Document formats (.odf), Rich Text format (.rtf), and PDFs. This way you can send a file to a friend, colleague, professor, or boss and you can customize it to their computer standards. You don’t have to spend time worrying about compatibility issues.

Microsoft Office includes Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Google Docs has their own version of each of these programs. They’re stripped down, efficient versions of Microsofts, but they’ll fit the needs of 98% of people who need to use these programs for their daily lives.

Would I write a manuscript on Docs? No. But you’ll be hard pressed to find situations where Docs won’t fill your word processing void.

- No need for flash drives

Savings: $50 (assuming 5, $10 flash drives)

Flash drives are like Pringles, you can’t eat just one. But in the case of flash drives, “you can’t have just one”.

I have at least 3-5 flash drives in my apartment at any given time. They’re cheap and easy, but they’re becoming unnecessary for the types of files that Docs can handle. I don’t see there being any reason I’ll ever buy another one with the new Doc’s upload capabilities. They accept any file and it’s even easier not having to worry about losing the flash drive, getting it damaged, or it breaking.

Docs may take some getting used to for people who have relied on desktop word processing software for decades. Regardless, the Docs team is innovating online word processing at a rapid speed and pushing out exciting features almost weekly. If that’s not enough for you, at least you won’t have to buy any more flash drives or software that sets you back a couple hundred bucks.

Check it out here: Google Docs

This article was contributed by Austin, who lives in Japan where he teaches English and writes about personal finance for twenty-somethings at Foreigner’s Finances.