The Frugal Girl

SEPTEMBER 6, 2023

I did this one while I was still living with my parents, actually. I sanded it down in my dad’s garage. As with everything from this house, they were dusty, dirty, and reeked of cigarette smoke (with a hint of musty mildew). I tackled one of these last year, to serve as a nightstand in Lisey’s room.

Painting 221

Painting Furniture Toaster Ovens Lighting 221

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

AUGUST 30, 2012

Why in the world would a sane parent want to teach their child sales techniques? Intentionally teaching your child selling techniques may seem crass and miserly, but based on the fact that sales techniques are required for just about each every day transaction, it makes sense for a parent to want their child to excel at sales.

Garage Sale 234

Garage Sale Building Garage Money 234

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

JUNE 10, 2013

If you are like most parents, you want to raise your children well – to develop their mental and physical aspects completely. Garage sales – I found a guitar for $5.00 once at a garage sale and bought it for my grandson. Most people know that music education helps grow children’s brains. Find A Used Instrument.

Music 185

Music Musical Instruments Budgeting Budget 185

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

DECEMBER 16, 2013

My parents and their siblings were of the generation that grew up during the depression in the 1930′s. Dress it up with artwork or natural greenery as shown in this post from Parents. Shop garage sales and thrift stores and estate sales. Use paper from other sources. If you have old maps you no longer need, use them.

Thrifty 174

Thrifty Christmas Gifts Thrift Stores 174

Family Balance Sheet

JANUARY 21, 2014

My kids had a fun time looking at the hair styles and clothing choices of their parents through the years. The shoe shelf in our garage. I don’t print too many photos anymore, so many of these photos were pre-2000, before the age of digital. I purged a pesty cabinet in my kitchen. My family has a shoe addiction.

Thrift Stores 100

Thrift Stores 2014 Garage Goals 100

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

MARCH 19, 2014

Many of the other items I needed like cloth diapers and clothes for the baby in bigger sizes I bought from garage sales. Some people were very angry that these parents didn’t spend money on their kids. Some argued that the parents had nice clothes and accessories, so they must be spending money on themselves.

Friends And Family Sale 176

Friends And Family Sale Clothing and Accessories Kids and Family Clothes 176

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

FEBRUARY 13, 2017

You may not remember all the stuff you had as a kid, but if you are a parent, you are certainly aware how fast stuff gathers around you when kids come into your life! But, because we leave behind the accumulated stuff in our parent’s household, we really end up with less that we had at home. You want stuff.

Cycle 113

Cycle Kids and Family Friends And Family Sale Garage Sale 113

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

MARCH 17, 2013

He built his own garage. At garage sales, are you attracted to those still usable but slightly defective items that no one else wants? He made his own electric lawnmower. He fixed his own car. He was a trained radio and TV repairman, when those had tubes. I wish he was still around. I’ve got a lot of things that need fixing!

Repairs 214

Repairs San Francisco Radios Garage 214

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

NOVEMBER 13, 2013

Remember, there are lots of other parents out there in the same predicament of trying to manage a family budget while giving their kids as many opportunities and experiences as possible. Sometimes parents donate the goods but often you will get the price they sell for, with the club keeping a small percentage as a fundraising activity.

Sports 184

Sports Kids Kids and Family Musical Instruments 184

For the Mommas

DECEMBER 28, 2016

A lot of parents are going to be happy to find this deal, as are lot of kids! These are $20 more than the regular price, however we have seen some being sold at garage sales for over a $100. Hatchimals IN-STOCK at Toys R Us – Order NOW For $79.99 Toys R Us has select Hatchimals in-stock priced at $79.99 with FREE Shipping.

Toys 45

Toys Garage Sale Garage Parenting 45

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

NOVEMBER 21, 2013

There have been countless times I have seen nearly new, decorator pieces being sold for pennies on the dollar at garage sales because the homeowner decided to re-decorate. Our parents and grandparents were ‘green’ before green was cool. Avoid re-decorating your home every few years.

Making Do 219

Making Do Making Green And Frugal Friends And Family Sale 219

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

JULY 23, 2014

riding lawn mowers, garage door openers and many, many more things we take for granted today. Ours was smaller (about 700 square feet) – 2 bedrooms (my brother and I shared one and my parents the other), a kitchen and a living room, No basement or garage. There were no garage door openers. Neighbors knew each other.

Growing 180

Growing Home and Garden Radios Kids and Family 180

Family Balance Sheet

NOVEMBER 4, 2022

If you have the knack for your DSLR, a photo session would be a perfect idea for new parents, soon-to-be high school or college graduates, or a family portrait. If so, give the gift of organizing a closet (or 2), kitchen cupboards, a basement, garage, etc. Give your Gift of Organization. Give your Perennials. Are you a gardener?

Christmas 130

Christmas Gifts Home and Garden Flowers and Gifts 130

Family Balance Sheet

JUNE 4, 2015

When my own parents were the age that I am now, I was graduating from college. When my parents were my age, they were empty-nesters and converted my bedroom into a sewing room for my mother. Today, my husband and I can’t park a car in our garage because it is filled with 5 bikes, 2 scooters, 2 wagons, and a big wheel.

Goals 100

Goals Debt Renovation Daughter 100

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

AUGUST 2, 2011

Parents already know that back to school time is the second most expensive time of the year (right after the holidays). I love to shop garage sales. Use cash (yours, your parents or other cash that can be had). They actually went in together with another parent to buy the house. Learn to love hand me downs from relatives.

College 192

College Money Personal Finance Student 192

For the Mommas

JULY 28, 2016

If your garage, attic, closets, and surfaces are filled with clutter, all that extra stuff can get in the way of a full experience of life as it was meant to be lived. Parenting: Baby: What To Expect In by Robin Forest. Minimalist Living: Decluttering for Joy by Genevieve Parker Hill.

Fryers 40

Fryers Do It Yourself Fry's Garage 40

Saving Cents With Sense

AUGUST 28, 2013

Talk to the parents of children older than yours. Hit up fall garage sales. Even in the fall months, garage sales can still be found. You don’t need to sacrifice quality in order to get some great clothes that will last you all year for less. Take a look! Find Back to School Clothes for Less: 1. Look for hand me downs.

Clothes 90

Clothes Clothing Finds Swap 90

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

MAY 23, 2017

A smile or a word from a parent or teacher, seeing someone enjoying their savings, a chance combination of a happy conversation, a sun shiny day and an increased amount in the piggy bank – all may result in one child’s brain being wired towards the pleasure of saving. Over my life, I have been primarily a saver.

Making 124

Making Recession College 401K 124

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

JUNE 22, 2011

She loves to write education, career, frugal living, finance, health, parenting relating articles. With PrimoSpot you can enter the address of the place you are planning to go and have it search for on-street parking, garage parking, and bike racks. 7 Ways to Save Money As New Parents. Please share.

Phones 184

Phones Money Friends And Family Sale Gas 184

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

JUNE 15, 2014

Make puppets and stage a show for the parents – letting the kids come up with the story line, the kind of puppets they want to make, the puppet stage (it can be as simple as an ironing board with a tablecloth over it!). Hold a garage sale together. Make a video documentary on a topic that interests the grand-kids. Go Frugal'

Grandchildren 191

Grandchildren Building Backyard Inexpensive 191

Family Balance Sheet

DECEMBER 9, 2015

If you have the knack with your DSLR, a photo session would be a perfect idea for new parents, soon-to-be high school or college graduate, or a family portrait. If so, give the gift of organizing a closet (or 2), kitchen cupboards, a basement, garage, etc. Give your Gift of Organization. Give your Perennials. Are you a gardener?

Christmas 100

Christmas Gifts Wall Art Home and Garden 100

Saving Cents With Sense

AUGUST 8, 2016

Talk to the parents of children older than yours. Hit up fall garage sales. Even in the fall months, garage sales can still be found. You don’t need to sacrifice quality in order to get some great clothes that will last you all year for less. Take a look at these Back to School Clothes for Less ideas! Look for hand me downs.

Clothes 40

Clothes Clothing Swap Garage Sale 40

For the Mommas

MARCH 8, 2013

Each issue explores social issues, parenting, marriage, and finances. even shutters, garages, and home gardens. Redbook – Love Life, Home Life, Your Life. Redbook is a contemporary magazine for working mothers who care about life and the world we live in. Love your life with a magazine subscription to Redbook. per year (74% off)!

Magazines 45

Magazines Furnishings Home and Garden Outdoors 45

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

OCTOBER 30, 2015

Now decorations range from creating entire ‘haunted’ garages to carving scads of pumpkins from your trip to the local pumpkin farm (to which admission is charged, rides to spend on are available and of course food and drink consumes funds as well). Louis suburbs but had similar experiences with Halloween.

Halloween 100

Halloween Thrift Stores St. Louis Thrifting 100

Nicoles Nickels

JANUARY 1, 2013

I remember as a kid watching home movies on a large screen at my parents and wanting to watch a regular movie on it like in the theater. The garage door also provides an outdoor arena for watching! My dad explained we didn’t have that capability but we definitely do now in 2013! There are so many possibilities!

Projectors 63

Projectors Movies Home DVD Players 63

Couponing 101

AUGUST 6, 2019

You can find secondhand sports gear at thrift stores, garage sales, Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, and sports resale shops, like Play It Again Sports. Secondhand gear should work just fine and will give your child an opportunity to try the sport out before you invest a lot of money.

Sports 40

Sports Kids Craigslist Kids and Family 40

The Frugal Girl

NOVEMBER 13, 2023

C with Finn, my parents’ dog Our daughter is 12, and very into the arts and science. I biked to the library, to the mall, to the TCBY, to visit my parents at their offices in the university, to the pool, basically everywhere a kid would want to go. K and Finn (my parents dog) 12. K in her dance costume 2. Yes to both!

Kids and Family 191

Kids and Family Parenting Cars Car 191

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

APRIL 11, 2016

Garage sale and thrift store furniture bargains abound. My daybed mattresses were previously used by a young girl, in her growing up bedroom, then stored by the parents for years. But there are ways to save – consider used furniture. Ways to save on furniture. The sun bakes out. They smelled musty and perfumy.

Re-use 100

Re-use Used Furniture Furniture Recycle 100

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

APRIL 3, 2013

In many parts of the US, people learned to sew as part of their life skills – from parents or family or schools. I bought out a lady at a garage sale long ago, made several dresses, shirts, shorts and cover ups out of some of the material and still have a gob left over. Sewing today has dropped out of main stream life.

Sewing 201

Sewing Sewing Machines Machines Saving Money 201

Saving Cents With Sense

JANUARY 19, 2013

As an expecting parent, it’s tempting to buy that beautifully detailed changing table or the crib you saw last week in the window of an upscale boutique. Buy a dated, smooth-gliding rocker at a garage sale for next to nothing and customize it with several yards of fabric and a staple gun. Reupholster Second-Hand Furniture.

Budgeting 94

Budgeting Budget Painting Hardware 94

The Frugal Girl

JANUARY 29, 2024

Now-I’m a single parent who works part-time, cares for my elder mother, homeschools & runs a farm. When college was looming, my parents offered to let me live at home cost-free while I was in college, as their contribution to my higher education. There’s always been garage sales/flea markets, library, state parks, fishing.

Arkansas 181

Arkansas Frugal College Kids and Family 181

Saving Everyday

APRIL 16, 2024

Best Ways To Make Money As A Kid Depending on the child’s age, it may be necessary for the parents to assist. You can start by mowing your own lawn to get some practice, and I’m sure your parents won’t mind ha! You could also ask your parents, friends, and family to help spread the word.

Money 52

Money Making Kids Kids and Family 52

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

MAY 12, 2016

My parent’s generation (the WWII gen) had homes with around 900 – 1000 square feet – typically with 2 bedrooms and a bath. We have ‘game rooms’; media rooms; home offices; kids play rooms; dining rooms; The entire home and sometimes the garage or outbuildings are climate controlled for hot and cold weather.

Home 100

Home Plumbing Garage Home and Garden 100

Savings Corner

DECEMBER 27, 2023

You might start working weekends out of your garage, but as your business takes off, you’ll be well on your way to your own shop and a brand new, full-time career doing what you love. Take a page from Harp Design Co. in Waco, Texas (of “Fixer Upper” fame), and start your own custom woodworking business. are independently owned.

Real Estate 52

Real Estate Re-use Podcasts Work 52

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

APRIL 8, 2014

What was a want or a luxury to parents or grandparents may have actually become something most of us consider a need. Here are things that most in my generation would now consider a need, but that most of our parents didn’t have when we boomers were growing up in their households. Two car garages. We have three.

Phones 204

Phones Parenting Kids and Family Credit Cards 204

Saving With Shellie

APRIL 5, 2011

While I think the shopping trips featured on the show are a little over-the-top, you can still be Extreme Couponer without having a garage full of salad dressing. Parents magazine, Better Homes and Gardens, Kraft Food and Family and Woman’s Day also have coupons in them fairly regularly. Extreme is the opposite of ordinary.

Magazine and Newspaper Subscriptions 96

Magazine and Newspaper Subscriptions Betty Crocker Newspaper Red Plum 96

Saving With Shellie

NOVEMBER 27, 2014

8:00 am: Fisher-Price Little People Wheelies Garage. 6:00 pm: Beat The Parents Board Game. Also ALL of today’s deals are Prime Early Access Deals so if you are Amazon Prime member, you get to shop 30 minutes early! 8:00 am: Monopoly Board Game. 8:00 am: Neat-Oh! ZipBin 160 Dinosaur Collector Toy Box & Playset.

Toys 45

Toys Amazon Fisher Price Games 45