Welcome to the 133rd Festival of Frugality: Bare Necessities Edition! If this is your first time visiting Squawkfox, welcome! Check out my best stuff under Top Squawks and be sure to get free Email Updates or free RSS Updates in your reader.
Let’s peel away all the extra layers in life. Let’s strip down to the essential, the needed, the indispensable. Let’s extract the excess, remove the redundant, and spare the superfluous. Once you strip away all the extraneous crap in life, there are only but bare necessities.
Living with the simple bare necessities is how the fruitful frugal flourish. The frugal minded expose the wasteful and lavish in favor of the spare and bare. By employing creative measures and thriving on thriftiness, one can embrace the bare necessities and never stand naked. The bloggers in this festive edition have gotten down to the nitty gritty of frugal living. Follow this frugal festival to find the fruitful ways to live simply with the essential bare necessities.
Tighty Whities: Editor’s Picks!
The tighty whitie undies. A type of men’s underpants without legs, fitting tightly and held together by an elastic waistband. Also called briefs, usually white. A spare pair of underwear for the frugal fellow. The tighty whitie wearer has whittled down the cost of living to the essential. Tighty whitie wearers are tight-fisted with spending and exhibit tightwad tendencies. Since I’m bananas over tighty whities, here are my Editor’s Picks!
- Frugal Dad struts his frugal stuff in 75 Tips to Survive a Down Economy. Frugal Dad outlines how to live well on the simple bare necessities by stripping away the extraneous. His list is anything but brief.
- Dorian Wales at The Personal Financier shows us why financial learning and education are more important than coupon clipping in My View of Frugal Thinking. Dorian says, “understanding common investing mistakes will save you much more than any homemade rain water receptacle.”
- Hayden Tompkins at PersistentIllusion attacks her cell phone bill with more ferocity than supermodel Naomi Campbell in Hype for Skype. Hayden is done with minute overages, growing charges, and cell phone companies. She’s run the frugal numbers and declares Skype deserves the hype!
- Money Ning just blew my frugal brain with an innovative idea in Setup Google Alerts to Get Coupons and Deals. The trick is to setup alerts for only the stuff you need.
- Mike at Quest For Four Pillars wants everyman (and woman) to earn some extra cash in Everyman’s Guide to $30 / Month in Passive Income. Earning $30 additional bucks is very possible given his guidelines. Perhaps use this extra cash to pay for gas!
- Chris at Financial Reflections is rethinking expensive gifts for children in What Makes Kids Happy?. Chris writes a touching story about taking his 8-year-old daughter out for a fun round of golf. He reflects on why spending time with your kids is the most rewarding (and frugal) gift you can give.
Underwire Bra: Getting wired for frugality
The underwire bra. A creative blend of fabulous fabric cups with thin wires sewn into the lower edges. An underwire bra shapes and holds the cup to a fixed diameter, which can benefit even the fruitfully challenged. These bloggers use creative measures and materials by getting wired and lifting their lives to bare fruit.
Weddings, Kids, Cleaning, Bugs, Utilities, and Plastic
- Moorea at Queercents offers frugal, yet planet friendly, ways to get hitched in Femme Economics: Finally a Bride – The Frugal Green Way. My favorite line: “They don’t often make white silky tuxedo pants for women.”
- Lisa Spinelli at Greener Pastures asks Are We Heading Towards a Four Day Work Week? Over the past 10 years Lisa has worked a four day work week. From her experience, she finds the cost savings are huge, both personally and environmentally.
- Penelope Pince at Our Fourpence Worth is done with creepy crawlers. She offers Economical Pet and Child Safe Ways to Repel and Kill Ants, Spiders and Other Insects. Penelope also offers helpful bug prevention tips.
- Grey at Frugal Fu kills bugs dead in Putting off Pests for Less. Grey’s bug beating strategies use kid safe, pet friendly, and environmentally green natural household ingredients, like: basil, baking soda, and vinegar. It’s time to Raid your buggy chemicals and try something safe!
- Amanda Milne at Value For Your Life deals with dogs and carpets in My DIY Steam Cleaning Experience. Amanda also found frugal side effects to doing the steaming herself.
- J. Savings at Budgets are Sexy knocks one out of the ball park in Sometimes you have to just grow a pair, and ask.. J. Savings tells the tale of how stepping “up to the plate” can pay dividends.
- Funny about Money Eeeks out a penny pinching plan in Throwing Money in the Trash. Is the copper in a coin worth more than the coin itself?
- Kaye at Mrs Nespy’s Frugal World is Teaching Children About Money – Part 3 – Saving. Kaye is raising her two-year-old son to have good frugal financial habits.
- Kelly at Almost Frugal compares the journey towards being frugal to the journey you go though when having children in It’s Easier With Help.
- Journeyer’s Chronicals finds frugal unplanned ways to keep the kids from “going stir crazy” this summer in What to do in the school holidays?
- Lexie Puckett at Budget Lexicon is not playing dumb in Don’t Waste Money On Stupid Things. Lexie asks, “Is it really worth $50 a week to eat lunch in an hour with co-workers or at your desk?”
- LAL at LivingAlmostLarge muses about Starbucks coffee in Latte Factor Gone? With the biggest contributer to the “Latte Factor” closing 600 stores, is it possible people have finally done the math?
- GBlogger at Can I Get Rich on a Salary declares The PLASTIC Made Me Do It! and discusses various studies showing how credit cards encourage people to spend more over using cash. On sneaky reward programs, GBlogger says, “I may not be saving anything through credit-card cash back!”
- Andy at Tight Fisted Miser is moving out of his apartment and Living in a Van Down by the River to save $400 a month. Andy is going frugal to the extreme. He’s got cooking and refrigerating food all figured out. Albeit, he didn’t seem to mention where his new bathroom is located.
- Terry at Savvy Frugality is getting hot over the cost of being cool in Have you had a tune-up…for your air conditioning? Terry says, “a little bit of maintenance on your home’s central air systems will save you plenty of money down the road on your utility bill.”
Sports Bra: Removing a bodacious bounce
The super supportive sports bra. Specially designed to eliminate the bodacious bust bounce from any activity involving lots of movement. The cotton-lined cups are high in front and at the sides for support. The sports bra boasts an elastic comfort band to prevent it from riding up. These bloggers have removed the extra bounce from their budgets in favor of protecting the fruits of their labor.
Food
- paidtwice is not in the mood in But I Just Don’t Feel Like It! Four Strategies To Fight The Takeout Urge. We all know that urge! Paidtwice gives us some good advice on how to keep our urges frugal.
- The Happy Rock gets cool with a Frugal Summer Treat – Homemade Popsicles. This fun frozen pop is kid approved! All you need is a popsicle container and some fruit juice!
- DJ at The Family Wallet loves to Make Eating Leftovers Fun for Kids. Her family declares one night a week as “Leftover Night!”
- Aryn at Sound Money Matters makes us aware of food manufactures repackaging food into smaller quantities for the same price in What Do You Think About Shrinking Groceries?. Aryn offers solutions for dealing with this sneaky price increase. I’m a fan of skipping packaged foods altogether.
- Jacob at Early Retirement Extreme offers strategies for saving money on produce. He suggests buying Cheap fruits and vegetables via loss leaders.
- Frugal Babe finds a fantastic frugal way to eat more veggies in Sprouts Are Sprouting!. Frugal Babe grows her sprouts in a jar, which takes far less space than a traditional garden!
- Jenn at Frugal Upstate stays grounded in Frugal Food-Part Four: Ground Meat. Jenn shares how to buy frugal ground and offers some recipes for families.
- valereee at Cincinnati Locavore is passing on pricey French’s and Grey Poupon mustards by making her own Garlic Mustard Dill Pickle Relish. I relish a good mustard.
Thong: Stringing it together
The thrilling thong. An underwear style for both men and women with a thin fabric back resting between the buttock cheeks. Sexy and relatively revealing. Bountiful bounty can be had on a thin budget by stringing together the right frugal fruitful mix. There’s no need to be thread bare with the advice from these sexy bloggers living on a string.
Shopping and Entertainment
- Merlene Paynter at Frugalous ponders sexy time with a Frugal Dilema – Should I Buy a New Bed?. Merlene is downsizing her house in favor of apartment living.
- Dana at Not Made Of Money shares her frugal shopping tactics in Getting the Goods When You’re Shopping at Thrift Stores. If you want designer names, Dana suggests hitting the thrift shops in affluent areas.
- The Financial Blogger prepares for the phenomenon known as The Garage Sales Season. Get ready to do the “Garage Sale Rumble!”
- Three bloggers share how they use sexy rebates to save big bucks at various drug stores.
- Chief Family Officer shows How I paid zero dollars out of pocket at CVS in June.
- Paula Wethington at Monroe on a Budget outlines an Example of advanced drugstore shopping.
- Tiffanie at We Like Money shares Why pay if you can get it for free?
- The Family CEO uses her eyes and spies some dealios on contact lenses in Using Ebates to Save Money on Contacts.
- Amy at The Q Family gets coupon clipping in Attention Organic Shoppers!. Amy reminds us not to get suckered into buying organic lollipops.
- Coupon Artist contemplates how much house can be afforded with a a 100K down payment in Ways to Pay Down Your Mortgage Faster.
- Shannon Christman at Saving Advice Blog wonders Should We Cut Out Entertainment During Difficult Financial Times? Shannon makes a solid case for finding more frugal forms of entertainment. She says, “leaving some room in a budget for a little fun isn’t a bad idea. Making a budget too tight can easily lead to frustration. ”
- Pete at Bible Money Matters is a self proclaimed movie buff. He and his wife are Saving at the movies this summer by following these 10 frugal entertainment tips.
- Broke Grad Student is frugally grooving to his favorite tunes in 7 Ways To Save Money On Music. Video may have killed the radio star but the internet makes music super affordable!
- Roshawn Watson at Watson Inc frugally offers 20 Ways To Dine Out Inexpensively. Lemon water anyone?
- WhereDoesAllMyMoneyGo goes up in smoke in Smoking a Pack a Day Can Cost You Millions. WhereDoesAllMyMoneyGo does the smokey math. By his calculations, smoking can cost you over 3 million bucks.
Push-Up Bra: Pumping up the volume
The posh push-up bra. An elevating garment whose sole purpose is to add size and definition to a smaller, less fruitful, bust line. The push-up bra uses padding and wires to push the bosoms up, thus enhancing the cleavage and giving a fuller look. The padding is usually removable. A flexible garment who’s changing look can frugally expand the wardrobe of the wearer. These bloggers know how pump up the volume, making the most of the fruit they’ve got.
Gas, Cars, and Travel
- Ryan Suenaga at Uncommon Cents shares his quest to consume 5 percent less gasoline in The Truth: Gas Prices Have Caused Me to Make Changes. Ryan is spending less on fuel by stripping out weekend drives and experimenting with routes.
- Cash Money Life is fumed over fuel prices and looks at How to Save Money on Gas. Firmly pumping up your tires is a surefire way to plump your wallet at the pump.
- Andy at $aving to Invest deals with fuel jacking in Frugally protect yourself from gas siphoning thefts. Those with big SUV gas tanks are primary targets!
- Bryce at Save and Conquer gets his motor running in How Long Can I Keep My Motorcycle Going? Bryce weighs the costs of repairing a 22-year-old bike against the expense of spending his emergency fund on a newer vehicle. The results are a bit of a catch 22.
- Free Money Finance suggests Five Ways to Fly Cheap. Hint: Flapping your arms really fast isn’t one of them.
- Jim at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity questions, Does Marriage Affect Car Insurance Premiums? Jim compares how various insurers will discount premiums for married persons. Being over 25-years-old can save you some bucks too.
- ChristianPF writes a road map for Hypermiling 101. He goes the distance outlining which “hypermilling” techniques are “worth it”.
- RC at Think Your Way to Wealth makes a huge IF statement in If Gas Prices Dropped Suddenly, Would You Stop Trying to Conserve Fuel? RC believes, “frugal habits developed when you have to save money should be carried forward even if the necessity of saving is no longer present.”
I hope you enjoyed the stripped down and scantily clad 133rd Festival of Frugality: Bare Necessities Edition! The next host for the Festival of Frugality is On Financial Success, don’t forget to submit for next week!
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Your two cents:
Thanks for including my post! Cheers
BEST THEME EVER. Awesome job. Thanks for hosting!
Thanks for giving my husband ideas. He wanted to know where the WATERMELONS were. :sigh: I can’t take him ANYWHERE.
The theme rocks.
Whoa! is all I can say.
Great job hosting. Thanks for including my post.
Thanks for hosting and thanks to all the submitters. So many ideas here to help your cup to runeth over (couldn’t resist, sorry). I’ll be reading till late into the night tonight.
Thanks for hosting and for including our post!
Penelope
Thanks for the laugh as I’m eating my breakfast!
LOL. Nice theme
Thanks for hosting!
Great theme – i chuckled at your pictures.. hilarious!
Ditto – “Best Theme EVER”! Lol.
Four “Tighty Whitey” Pillars
Cool theme!
Thx for including my article!
Thanks for making my article an editor’s pick! And for giving me prime real estate directly under the tighty whities (at least, I think that’s a good thing…LOL!).
Awesomely creative! Great job hosting!
LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL! Anyone who thinks PF types have no sense of humor has gotta see this!
Thanks for including Funny’s squib on pennies saved & earned.
Hey Fox,
This is hilarious-I LOVE the theme! Thanks for your hard work, and for including my post about my DIY steam cleaning experience!
Sincerely,
Amanda
thanks for including me! you’ve got such a wonderful list of entries here
What a great job! Love the photos! Thanks for including me.
WHEW!
I thought twice before launching this theme, so I’m thrilled you all likey! At Squawkfox I try my best to make Personal Finance sexy, delicious, and fun… and this was indeed my intention with the Festival of Frugality: Bare Necessities Edition
WHEW!
Thanks for including me and for doing a great job hosting. Loved the theme!
I was deeply offended by your theme….not! It is nice to see personal finance and frugality with a funny twist. Thanks for including my post and great to discover your blog. Add it to my reader!
Thanks for including me. Love the pictures!
The question is: do you then eat that fruit??
Thanks for hosting! You’ve got a great carnival theme!
Oh my gosh. Greatest photos ever for a festival!
Did you do those yourself or find them on flickr?
@Grey Good question. I ate all the fruit! It would be unfrugal otherwise.
@Greener Pastures I photographed the “Fruit of the Loom” whities specially for this festival.
@DebtKid These are all my own photographs, my fruit, and my bras. The tighty whities I had to buy specially.
I really enjoy photography and tend to post my photos with my blog articles. I’m so happy you likey.
I think this has been the most creative presentation of a carnival I’ve seen yet. They say sex sells… Thanks for choosing my article as and editor’s pick! much appreciated.
What a fun festival!!! Love the pictures.
Thanks for including my post as part of this great festival.
I have posted about my participation here.
http://the-q-family.blogspot.com/2008/07/around-blogosphere.html
WOW! Great festival! Thanks for putting me down at the bottom- near the melons (At least i think they are some kind of melon!)
I just added your blog to my RSS reader in case you decide to include these types of photos in the future!
J/K- I added your blog b/c you have some great articles (the written kind)
What an awesome festival and creative theme! Thanks so much for including my posts. I have stumbled this post, bookmarked it, and blogged about this carnival.
Friendly Regards,
Roshawn
Is it wrong that I am totally turned on by this post? My two passions, finance..and underwear?
@Jesse These are my passions as well.
Ohh, and melons. I love melons. 
This post made me chuckle for a while… Fruit of the Loom? Classic
Did you take all the pictures yourself? If so, who’s underwear did you borrow/steal?