New look, new address

Free to be Frugal has packed its bags and moved.

It has a new name more reflective of the content on the site . And it has a new, easier-to-remember address.

Check it out here: www.ourfrugaljourney.com

Free beer for the tasting

Brew master Nathan Williams

We’re always looking for fun — and free — things to do as a family.  But typically, these events are geared to our youngest member of the family, 11-year-old Caroline.

So when my frugal friend Carolyn mentioned free tours and sampling at a local craft brewery, we jumped at the chance to take an adults-only field trip with our 21-year-old son, Andrew, who is home from college ever-so-briefly before heading out for a summer internship.

Not only did we get a behind-the-scenes education in craft brewing, but we got to sample the six beers that Carolina Brewery currently has on tap at its Pittsboro, N.C., location. The brewery’s original location is on Franklin Street in Chapel Hill.

Led by brew master Nathan Williams, the free tours and tastings are offered the second Saturday of every month at noon and 1 p.m. Click here for more information.

My guys were so excited you would have thought I had gotten them free tickets to see Dave Matthews in concert. This was their kind of freebie.

As the tour began with an explanation of barley and hops, the brew master poured us all generous glasses of a golden ale called Sky Blue. We sipped on that as we moved from the mash tun to the beautiful copper kettles to the fermenters and filters.

Father and son

After taking a peek inside the cooler, we each tasted the five other beers currently on tap:  Copperline Amber Ale, Flagship India Pale Ale, Oatmeal Porter, Alter Ego and to Hell n Bock.

I loved the Sky Blue, but most of the rest were too strong for me. A beer connoisseur I am not. But my guys savored each one. My husband gave high marks to the Flagship IPA, while my son put his stamp of approval on Alter Ego.

We are also now official members of Carolina Brewery’s “Brew Crew,” which will get us invites to special events and private beer tastings. Additionally, we are participating in the brewery’s frequent diner’s program, which will reward us with meal discounts and other perks.

I just love local businesses that go out of their way to make their customers feel special. 

While we don’t spend a lot of money on dining out, the Carolina Brewery’s casual, fun atmosphere — and, yes, the lure of a free beer now and again — has successfully won our business twice in the last month alone when special occasions cropped up in our family.

Never underestimate the power of the freebie.

Quick: Free 8 x 10 photo at Walgreens

Today only — Wednesday, May 6 —  Walgreens is giving away 8 x 10 prints of your favorite photo.

Best of all, you can order your photo online and pick it up at your leisure. Only the order must be placed on May 6.

To take advantage of the offer, register for an account here, import your favorite photo, use the code MOTHER at checkout and choose in-store pickup. One free photo per customer.

This would make a great frugal gift for Mother’s Day.

Reminder: Postage goes up May 11

Don’t be late mailing your Mother’s Day cards this year. Not only will you lose favor with Mom, but each card will cost you an extra 2 cents — thanks to a postage increase by the United States Postal Service.

Beginning Monday, May 11, the postage for a first-class one-ounce letter will increase to 44 cents.

If you want to save yourself a few cents, save yourself a bunch of hassle with 2-cent stamps and avoid those long lines at the post office, stock up now on a few sheets of Forever stamps.

Forever stamps can be purchased for the current 42-cent price and are good forever — just as their name suggests.

I bought 10 sets of Forever stamps the last time postage went up and still have six left. (Ifyou’re anything like me, you probably keep in touch with friends and family through email and you probably pay most, if not all, your bills online or through auto-draft.)

I will probably buy a couple more today or tomorrow, but I won’t go overboard. And I definitely won’t wait until Friday when the procrastinators will send lines out the door.

If you do slip up and find yourself stampless on Friday, check your local grocery stores to see if they sell stamps. In my area, Food Lion stores sell stamps without a surcharge, saving time and money.

Postage on other mailing services are also going up. For more information, click here.

I got Clark Smart today

I learned how to save more, spend less and avoid getting ripped off today.

You guessed it. I was among the crowd in Durham, N.C., today for one of Clark Howard’s road shows.

It was a couple of hours well spent on a beautiful Saturday afternoon listening to one of America’s cheapest guys — and I mean that in the most sincere, most admiring way. And I don’t think Howard would mind. He often refers to himself as cheap on his syndicated radio and TV shows.

At today’s event, which was sponsored by Coastal Federal Credit Union, Howard was dressed in his trademark casual dress of a blue polo shirt, khaki shorts and sneakers. He was equally down to earth in his advice to the crowd at the Durham Performing Arts Center.

I was struck by his optimistic view of the economy, despite all the difficulties we face as a country in these tough times. No sugar coating. He simply pointed out that Americans should see this time as one of opportunity rather than despair. 

If you’re ready to buy a house, he said, take advantage of bargain-basement prices and equally low mortgage rates.

If you’re thinking of opening a business, take advantage of  the vast amount of talent in the labor pool, take advantage of commercial vacancy rates.

If you have money to invest — and you are young enough — take advantage of low stock prices.

If you’re in the market for a car, buy a new car this summer when, he said, we’ll see the biggest bargains in history. This, by the way, is a huge departure from Howard’s usual advice on car buying. He has always been a big proponent of buying a two- to three-year-old used car, allowing someone else to take the huge hit in depreciation.

It was also great to see some of our home-grown frugal talent as part of Clark’s “pre-game” show. Among those offering advice were Faye Prosser, author and coupon guru from Clayton, N.C., who teaches workshops on using coupons and spending money wisely.

Handing out pens and nifty magnets was Dan Griffin of  SavvyDollar.org, a North Carolina-based deals forum that I check two to three times daily to keep track of deals. I highly recommend this site if you’re serious about lowering your grocery bills and live in North Carolina. Every state should have a SavvyDollar.org.

I think the best moment of the afternoon for me came at the very end when Howard was wrapping up his question-and-answer session. Someone mentioned something about First Lady Michelle Obama’s $540 sneakers and he revealed he was wearing the most expensive pair he had ever purchased. He paid $55 for them after his doctor warned him cheap shoes would ruin his feet.

He then went on to tell a hilarious story about how he recently went on a business trip and forgot the suit and tie he had intended to bring for a formal speaking engagement.

From his hotel room, he looked in the phone book for the nearest thrift shops. He ended up purchasing a $5.50 sport coat from Goodwill and a tie. When he told the story to the group that evening, they didn’t believe him until he pulled out his receipt.

You’re my kind of people, Clark Howard.

Don’t forget: 31-cent ice cream today

Here’s your friendly reminder to stop by Baskin Robbins today for a cheap treat.

Scoops of ice cream will cost you just 31 cents today, from 5 to 10 p.m.

Participating stores will sell small scoops for 31 cents in honor of the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) National Junior Firefighter Program. The company is donating $100,000 to the program. To find a Baskin Robbins near you, click here.

Free Blockbuster rental this weekend

If you’re looking for some free entertainment this weekend, Blockbuster is offering a FREE rental of one of its “favorites.”

All you have to do to snare this freebie is say the phrase “chicken little” when you are ready to check out. What’s a little humiliation for a free movie?

Thanks to the folks at freestufftimes.com for this one!

Fifty reasons to keep subscribing to the daily newspaper

Many years ago, as a reporter at The Miami Herald, I would periodically tick somebody off when I wrote a story that didn’t portray him (or her) in the best light. More often than not, the angered party would let me know that my story would be on the bottom of  bird cages across South Florida by the next day.

I started thinking about those intended insults lately as the bad news mounts in the newspaper industry. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer has ceased publication in favor of an online-only format.  And there is no more Rocky Mountain News — period. And papers across the country are shrinking — in page size, in the number of sections, in the amount of advertising and in the number of dedicated, talented journalists they employ. My own hometown paper, The (Raleigh) News and Observer, is a mere shadow of its former self. I can remember the Sundays of old when you practically needed a forklift to raise it off my driveway.

It’s a troubling time in our democracy — not to mention in the households of the frugal-minded. What will folks in Denver and Seattle do when their recycle bins are emptied and their bird cages need changing? Seriously.

I’ve started compiling a list of all the useful ways we use our newspapers after we are finished reading them. After exhausting my own ideas, I turned to the Internet, where I found dozens of lists of how to put your old newspapers to work for you. There’s something for everyone — pet owners, crafters, kids, clean freaks. So think twice, frugal friends, before canceling that subscription.

Here are 50 of those ideas — 50 reasons why we all need to keep subscribing  — if not for the democracy, then for your wallet.

1. Line your bird cage, hamster cage, any small critter cage.

2. Layer several sheets of newspaper on the floor when you’re training your puppy.

3. Wash your windows with newspapers, saving money on paper towels, and avoiding streaks.

4. Use the Sunday comics to wrap gifts. The funnies are my favorite, especially for children’s presents. I’ve also heard of folks matching the section of the newspaper to the interests of the gift recipient. Sports pages for the sports enthusiast; the theater listings for a movie buff; the classifieds (what’s left of them) for the garage sale lover (or unemployed). You get the idea.

5. Making seed pots. I recently read about this on a site dedicated to frugal gardening. Click here to read Mr Brown Thumb’s instructions on his very funny gardening blog.

6. Use sheets of newspaper to wrap breakables for moving.

7. Shred newspapers for packing materials.

8. Give a newspaper to your kids along with an egg of  Silly Putty. Wow them with tales of your childhood spending hours  flattening the Silly Putty on newspaper images and then stretching them into grotesque abstractions, then making them magically disappear.

9. Make your own pinata, using strips of newspaper, flour paste and a balloon.

10. Lay newspapers down in your flower beds and cover with mulch for weed control.

11. Crumple and place inside wet shoes to absorb moisture and eliminate odor.

12. Crumple and place in luggage to eliminate odor.

13. Use as an emergency umbrella.

14. Use as an emergency dust pan.

15. Roll and use as an emergency fly swatter.

16. Fold and use an an emergency fan.

17. Fold and use as an emergency pot holder. I personally would not recommend this unless you’re interested in having the fire department at your door.

18. Make party hats. Click here to read Skip to My Lou’s directions for two types of newspaper head wear.

17. Make paper chains.

18. Make paper dolls.

19. Make dress patterns.

20. Use under cars to keep oil leaks from staining the garage floor.

21. Place under baby’s high chair to protect the floor.

22. Place under children’s art projects to protect your table.

23. Roll into a log shape and use as a fire starter.

24. Use as a mat when polishing shoes.

25. Stuff under doors and in cracks to keep the cold out and the heat in.

26. Use the daily black and white comics as a coloring sheet for your kids. Staple several together and you’ve got a coloring book. Add crayons or makers and you’ve bought yourself enough time to make dinner.

27. Make a scrapbook of articles on a topic of interest to you. Like the death of newspapers. No shortage of material there.

28. Cover plants in case of a late frost.

29. Wrap green tomatoes to ripen.

30. Use as a knee pad when kneeling in the garden or scrubbing floors.

31. Place on the car windshield to prevent icing.

32. Use as a mat for wet or muddy shoes and boots.

33. Stuff in purses to keep their shapes while in storage.

34. Use the plastic sleeve that newspapers are delivered in these days as a pooper scooper. Simply slip your hand all the way in, pick up your dog’s doo, then pull through and knot. I have done this myself and can attest to its usefulness. That is, of course, unless your carrier sends the paper skidding across your driveway, leaving tears in the bag. Ewwwww.

35. Use the brown bag advertisements that are often inserted into the Sunday paper as book covers for your child’s textbooks.

36. Collect the crossword puzzles and other games from several papers, assemble into book form. Use it yourself or give it as a gift, preferably to a frugal-minded friend.

37. Cut headline-sized words out of the paper, mount on index cards and use them to teach your kids how to read. Use discretion here so junior doesn’t learn the word murder before the word mom.

38. For older kids, have them cut words out of the paper — hundreds of them — and then use the words to write an original poem or message –kind of like those boxes of magnetic words you can buy at fancy bookstores to leave messages on your fridge.

39. Use it as a doodle sheet when nervous or bored, coloring in headline letters with a pencil. I once had an uncle who routinely did this to my grandfather’s paper before he had finished reading it. Not a good thing. Do your doodling on yesterday’s paper.

40. Use newspapers to make a homemade kite.

41. Use a section of newspaper to catch potato or carrot peelings in the kitchen. Clean up is a breeze.

42. Line the vegetable drawer of your fridge with newspaper, making clean-up easy and absorbing odors.

43. Use a thick pile of newspapers as an emergency cutting board. Thickness should equal one Sunday paper of days gone by.

44. Shred and add to compost.

45. Use to line shelves.

46. Tape over windows when painting.

47. Line your trash bin with a layer of newspaper to keep odors down. I’m definitely going to try this. My current method of taking the trash out, which involves holding my breath while hurling the bag in as quickly as possible just isn’t working for me. 

48. Cut into small pieces to make confetti for a birthday or New Year’s Eve party.

49. Ball up a sheet tightly and use as an emergency wiffle ball. Now that’s an emergency.

50. Keep a few copies stashed away as relics of our past.

Yet another Earth Day freebie!

Whole Foods grocery is giving away lunch-size reusable bags in honor of Earth Day. Click here to print your coupon for the bag, which is made from 80 percent post-recycled P.E.T. plastic bottles.

You can thank Oprah for this Earth Day freebie. She’s doing a whole show on Earth Day today and sponsoring the promotion. Click here for highlights of the show.

The coupon is valid today through Sunday, April 26. Click here to find a Whole Foods near you.

My garage sale finds

Just for fun, I thought I would post a photo and show you what I found on my treasure hunt inside the garages and on the driveways of perfect strangers this past weekend.

This was my first time out shopping this spring at the “Saturday morning boutiques” as my frugal friend and I like to call garage sales. And it was my first time out shopping with “my list” as I blogged about here.

I was pretty proud of myself for typing up a list of items we actually need, which helped me focus my search. It came in handy right off the bat when I walked up a driveway to find two air filters. I took out my handy list and was thrilled to discover these 25-cent filters were one of the sizes we use. These were cheapy filters that won’t last long, but a bargain none the less.

My other purchases were not on my list but I deemed them items I would use and they were bargain priced. Here is what I got:

*four brand-new North Carolina Tar Heels gift bags that play the school fight song when opened. I paid $1.50 total for the four bags, which still had the original $4.99 each price tags still on them. Since my son is a junior at UNC-Chapel Hill I know these will be put to good use.

*three spools of decorative fabric ribbon (one with dog bones on it) to use on various craft and gift-wrapping projects. I paid 50 cents each for the large spools and a quarter for the small one.  At the craft stores, these can range in price from $2 to $4 each.

*two packages of scrapbooking stickers for 25 cents each. These are $2 each at the craft stores so a great deal for an avid scrapbooker like me.

*a good-sized piece of plain red fabric for a frugal and green craft project I have in mind that I will blog about at a later date. I paid 50 cents, which is a steal, considering that you pay $2 and up for the remnants at the fabric stores.

*an old hardback book, Hiking the Appalachian Trail. This came from the FREE pile at a sale in my neighborhood. Since my husband and both boys have all hiked on the AT, I thought this was something they would enjoy reading. When they’re done, if my book collector son doesn’t lay claim to it, I will pass it along.

Not a bad way to spend a Saturday morning. I saved a bunch of money and didn’t bring home a lot of clutter. Mission accomplished.