Free or Cheap Tax Preparation

Yes, in the midst of tax season while working extremely long hours, I am taking a minute to post some suggestions for frugal tax preparation. I am not offering any sort of tax advice, just letting you know some options that are out there for frugal filing. Perhaps having them all in one place to compare will make it easier for you. I have no affiliation with any of theses services mentioned below, and I do not endorse them, nor have I been compensated for mentioning them.

That said, I work for a CPA and two accountants. Honestly? It may be worth it to you to have your return done by a professional. They will usually back you up and stand behind you in case of an audit, and these professionals typcially understand the tax law extremely well. Tax law is very complicated, but I am not saying don't do your own taxes. Just offering the suggestion that sometimes it is cheaper to go to a local accountant than with one of the major tax preparation services across the country. For example, your accountant may not charge per form or have additional state filing fees like some services do. It's something that you need to ask. You also need to consider that if the fee you paid your accountant to do your taxes saved you more than that in reduced tax owed, then it was well worth the money you paid him/her.

Besides your local accountant, if you are looking for some free or other options or want to prepare your taxes yourself, here's some information that will hopefully be helpful to you.

The IRS offers free tax help. If your adjusted gross income is less than $56,000 you can file for free.

VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program) offers free tax preparation for low to moderate income families. Typically this applies to those individuals or couples who made less than $49,000. You may have to pay a filing fee, but most locations offer free electronic filing.  To locate the nearest VITA site, call 1-800-906-9887 or check this partial VITA site list online. (This list does not include every VITA site.) Juts click on your state and see if you can find a location near you.

Military families and personnel can get free tax preparation assistance:

The military also has a strong Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Program. The Armed Forces Tax Council (AFTC) consists of the tax program coordinators for the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard. The AFTC oversees the operation of the military tax programs worldwide, and serves as the main conduit for outreach by the IRS to military personnel and their families.



Airmen, soldiers, sailors, marines, guardsmen, and their families worldwide receive free tax preparation assistance at offices within their installations. These VITA sites provide free tax advice, tax preparation, and assistance to military members and their families. They are trained and equipped to address military specific tax issues, such as combat zone tax benefits and the effect of the new Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) guidelines.


Most service members file their tax returns electronically at their tax centers and, by selecting direct deposit, receive their refunds in as little as one week. This combined effort ensures that service members receive free tax assistance from well-trained and equipped military tax preparers.   (From the IRS website)

Click her for online tax assistance from AARP

"The AARP Tax-Aide Program is a volunteer-run, free tax-preparation and assistance service offered to low- and middle-income taxpayers with special attention to those age 60 and older. Our volunteers are trained and IRS-certified to understand individual federal-tax issues. Our volunteers provide tax assistance as a public service and cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information provided." (from AARP website)

Ask TaxGuru is a free tax resource that offers free tax tips and has multiple articles to guide you through preparation.

For those of you who are looking for free online software:

Click here for Free Tax Software Reviews on About.com TurboTax free online software. Free federal e-filing. To file your state return, you will pay an additional $27.95 per state return. Personally, I have used TurboTax for several years, though I always bought the actual disk and have never tried the free version.

H&R Block has free online software. Keep in mind that you will still have to pay a state filing fee of about $39 (per state return).  Also, I called H&R Block, and they base their in store services on your filing status. They also charge additional fees per form (such as dependents or itemized deductions). If you decide to go with a place like this, ask for hidden fees.

TaxACT Free Tax Preparation is available here.  Free federal e-filing. You will pay an additional charge of $14.95 to file your state tax return.  If you need to file more than one state return, it would be per return.

eTax.com also has free software. Free federal e-filing. State returns are an additional $29.95 per return and are not e-filed. They must be printed and paper filed, which will slow down any return you might be getting. If you have to pay, that might not be such a bad thing, but you would have to make sure that you postmark your return by April 18th. (Yep, this year you have 3 extra days, thanks to a holiday in Washington, DC that falls on April 15th this year. )

efile.com also has free software. At this site, you can file multiple state returns for a total fee of $19.95 (not per return, total).  Free federal e-filing.

FreeTaxUSA offers free software and the state return is an additional charge of $9.95. Free federal e-filing.

EsmartTax.com Free federal filing. State returns are $19.95 per return.

TaxSlayer.com has free federal filing. State returns are $14.90 per return. There is also a free military edition with free state filing included.

Express1040 offers free federal filing with state returns at $12.95 per return.

TaxBrain.com offers Federal 1040EZ for $14.05, with other filing forms starting at $19.95. This site offers free techinical support, as well as free live chat.

CompleteTax offers free basic federal filing with a state filing fee of $34.95 per return.

MyFreeTaxes offers free federal AND state filing. This site is sponsored by Wal-Mart.

My1040EZ offers free federal filing with the state filing fee of $9.95 per return.

Obviously, this list could go on and on, but hopefully there's a few ideas here that will help benefit you. Again, I will put a disclaimer out there that how you choose to file your taxes is your own decision and I am not offering tax advice regarding your personal return.

GOOD LUCK and when you are relaxing and doing something you love on the 18th of April, please think of me as I slave into the night at my office. :)

I Need Suggestions

All right all you blog stalkers--

I need suggestions. What are you looking for? What brought you to this site -- I mean, you want to save money, yes. But what kinds of posts would benefit you? Which posts have helped you?

I am constantly trying to think of ways to save $$, and I am always interested in ideas that others have to share. If you give me some ideas or areas you'd like suggestions, I am happy to research them and post the results that I find or ideas I can think of. I feel badly that there hasn't been much lately in the way of new posting. I'll try harder. My husband is, once again, unemployed due to lay offs, so I need all the suggestions I can get.  Send me your comments or send a private message. We'd love to hear from you!

Donating Plasma

If you are looking for extra money, you might consider donating your plasma. You'd have to contact your specific local donation center, but many of them pay for plasma donations.  The one near me pays $20 for the first visit of the week, and $25 for the second visit of the same week. You have to pass strict screening regulations and it can take a long time, from what I hear. I have not donated plasma (yet) and I am not sure that I have the time right now. However, I have a few friends who do this regularly. It can take up to 2 hours per visit, depending on your size, so you need to consider that.

You're also providing a great gift for those in need of plasma donations, and that's an even better reason to donate.  Many people are in great medical need of donated plasma. It's a great thing to do for them.

Frequently Asked Questions about Plasma Donation

Who needs plasma?

Find a BioLife donation center

CSL Donation centers

Donation eligibility requirements (may vary from center to center)

Don't forget these are just a few places you could donate. Try going to a search engine and typing "Donating plasma in ________" and put your city in the blank space. I am sure you'll find out more information about where you need to go.

Crustless Quiche Recipe

I am posting this recipe because it's fairly cheap, and you can use up leftovers in it as well. Oh...and my kids love it, so I am hoping yours do as well.

Ingredients:
1 cup shredded cheese (optional -- you can omit this and it tastes fine, but it is better with it)
1 tsp. dry onion  (soak it in a little water and it will not be crunchy - or use a little fresh onion)
1 (13 oz) can evaporated milk
1/4 tsp. dry mustard
4 eggs
3/4 tsp. sugar
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

Optional mix-ins:
crumbled, cooked bacon
cooked ham
cooked chicken or turkey
chopped pieces of steak
pepperoni
spinach
mushrooms
green peppers
crumbled, cooked sausage
tomatoes
olives
basil
chives
asparagus
other vegetables
whatever else you can think of that you'd add to an omelet, basically

Directions:
Spray a 9" glass pie plate with cooking spray. Beat eggs, milk, and seasonings with a wire whisk or rotary beater until well blended. Add your mix-ins, cheese, and onions and stir well. Place a small glass cup or dish in the center of your pie plate. Pour the egg mixture into the pie plate, around the cup. Microwave on medium power (70%) for 13 minutes. When there's about 3-4 minutes left, pause the microwave and remove the glass dish/cup. Stir the quiche and let it cook the rest of the way. Let stand for about 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!!

-- NOTE--
I double this recipe to feed my family of 6. It works great. Just use a deeper pie plate, and cook it for about 18-20 minutes, still on 70% power.

Complete meal serving suggestions:
Juice
Fresh fruit or fruit salad
Toast with jam or butter
Fruit smoothies
Sausage links
Salsa

Feel free to leave any suggestions of what else you think sounds good to add. Enjoy!

21 Money Savers

Check out this article for tips on saving money on food, your mortgage, medical bills, clothing, pet care, and more!

http://shine.yahoo.com/event/financiallyfit/21-money-savers-you-may-be-ignoring-2398956/

Making Meals from Items in Your Fridge

Easy meals that are made from basic items that most people would have in their homes or by reinventing leftovers. Just get creative and inventive with the items that you have in your refrigerator or pantry.

Creative Uses for Leftovers

Watch the video for a few simple ways to stretch your leftovers into creative meals the next day.

Free Theatre Tickets

Reservations go online this weekend. Click on the link, see if you're in one of the qualifiying areas. Symphony, musicals, and live entertainment for FREE.

http://www.freenightoftheater.net/shows/index.cfm

A Few Frugal Websites

I have been spending time on the couch a lot because of my injured leg, and so what does any girl do when she's laid up like that? Surf the internet, of course! I am going to link to a few sites I found that have some fun ideas for your home, and they are super cheap.

Sassy Style Redesign
This girl is amazing with a can of spray paint. It's fun to see what she can come up with and a lot of her projects only cost a few dollars. I wish there was a "search" box on her blog, but so far, I didn't see one.  I didn't see projects by "label", either, but trust me. There's some fun ideas for nearly every room of the home and they are all inexpensive.

Becky Higgins
Again, great with a can of spray paint. Click on the "DIY" label for some great projects for your home. She also has some good organization ideas, and her photos are beautiful.

Somewhat Simple
Instructions and ideas for people who sew.

Tales from Blogaritaville
She posts about Thrifty Thursdays and there looks to be quite a few posts in this category. I haven't spent a ton of time on this site, but it might have some great suggestions for you.

You'll find links to other sites from these, and you could spend hours reading blogs....hmm...not that I have done that......haha.....

I have an excuse, right? I have to rest my leg. Yeah, um, that's it......

What websites do you frequent or particularly like? Where do you go for inspiration and frugal ideas?

Saving Money on Your Showers

Necessity is the mother of invention, right? (Or in this case, an idea, lol).  My shower at home is in need of repair. Right now I don't have the money to fix it, so my other option is taking a bath, as I don't have another shower at home. I'm not a big fan of baths, but I am a fan of cleanliness, lol.  It occured to me that I am regularly at the gym and I could shower before I come home, which is something that I have never bothered to do because I didn't like the idea of dragging all my stuff down there.  But I got to thinking. Would it be more frugal of me to shower at the gym? Ok, hear me out. This might sound like a weird tip.  It's not for everyone, and it won't save significant amounts of money, but every little bit counts, right?

Showering at the gym might sound like an odd suggestion. If you are not already paying a monthly membership, then this might not be a frugal tip that works for you. Through my husband's employer we have access to a discounted rate at a local gym. I recently tried this out. It's really not that bad. The showers at my gym are quite nice. And let's face it. You're not likely to actually take a 10 minute shower at the gym. That just seems like a long shower when you know other people also need the showers, so if it helps you shorten it, that's also good for the environment. :)

How much water per minute do you use in a shower? It really depends on your shower. The National Standard in the United States is 2.5 gallons per minute. Most showers vary from 2-4 gallons per minute (gpm). However, according to this website, if your bathroom was designed before 1992, your shower head likely puts out 5 or 5.5 gallons per minute. Keep in mind that each shower head varies, and you might have a low flow shower head. You could do the math on your own shower if you would like to. For sake of example, we'll go with the 2.5 gallons per minute.

A few tips:

1. Shorten your showers. This will save money and water.

2. Now...you could take a bath instead. Keep in mind that the average bathtub can hold about 80 gallons of water. If you have a larger tub, this number will increase. If this is a solution you choose, then you probably don't want to fill up the tub very far. Half full, the bathtub would still hold 40 gallons, which is equivalent to a 16 minute shower.  Showers really are more economical.

3. Install a low-flow shower head that uses fewer gallons per minute.

4. Shower less often. (Whatever that is for you, but still, please be clean and hygenic, lol.)

5. Shower at the gym or YMCA (or wherever you workout).

6. Lower the temperature on your water heater to 120 degrees F (or lower).

Examples:
Let's assume that you take a 10 minute shower. That's 25 gallons per shower (based on the national average of 2.5 gpm, listed above). A 15 minute shower would result in 37.5 gallons per shower. According to this website, the average cost of a 10 minute shower is $2.10 if you have an older shower head. However, if you have a low-flow shower head, the cost is only $0.91 per 10 minute shower.

Let's stick with our example of a 10 minute shower. I figure if I were to shower at the gym 5 days per week, I'd save 125 gallons of water weekly at home. That's 6500 gallons of water yearly.  If we stick with the $2.10 per shower math, that would result in a savings of $10.50 per week ($546 per year) . That seems kind of high to me, but I guess it just depends on where you live, what you pay, and your shower head.  However, again, if you have a low-flow shower head, then at $0.91 per 10 minute shower, you'd save $4.55 per week by showering at the gym 5 times weekly ($236.60 per year).   Another website lists that an average 10 minute shower costs about $1.12. If we go with this number, showering 5x a week at the gym would save you $5.60 per week ($291.20 per year). Is anyone else shocked by these numbers? I'm quite surprised, I must say. Again, I am basing this on information I found on the interent, so if it's wrong, I'm sorry.

I can't say for certain how much you pay per gallon of water for utilities. There's a lot of varying information out there, and each location is likely different. It also depends on how hot you keep your water and how you heat it, with electricity, propane, or natural gas. Also, how efficient is your water heater? It's not something I can say for sure, and I wish I could. I wish I could just say, hey, you'll save "x" amount if you do this, but I can't.   However, I did find this cool Water Heating Cost Calculator  that might help you. Just get out your bills and plug in the numbers. That might be the easiest way for you to figure it out.

PS..... If it motivates you to get out the door to the gym, you'll be more healthy and fit in the long run and you're getting your money's worth out of your gym membership. Bonus!

(I will try to figure out some great ideas for toting my stuff back and forth easily and I'll post how-to's when I do. If you have suggestions, please send them my way!)

frugality 101

here at i'm frugal we took a break. obviously. but i'm recommitted to sending out frugal vibes and ideas to fabulous women out there who are also being frugal.

so get excited.

posts coming soon.

Being Frugal: Diapers

“Having a baby costs so much money!”
How many times have you heard this statement? Some may answer that a newborn baby needs very little aside from loving parents. But some of the simplest necessities cost the most: diapers, clothing, a car seat, and food. Join us over the next few weeks as we share some ideas for saving money on baby basics.

First my diaper story… many of you know that I have twins.  Thankfully they are 5 and out of diapers but my two year old is not there yet.  For the twins I attempted cloth diapers out of sheer desperation and then I lost my mind (seriously).  We weren’t couponing at the time so I did the next best thing always buying house brands.  They did great but we spent a ton of money.  The cheapest house brand I liked was still around $7.50 a pack and we could go through a pack a day!  Currently though my two year old has it great.  With coupons and store sales we usually end up with free diapers or at most paying less than $5 per pack for name brand diapers.

1. Choose cloth diapers

It may seem old fashioned or even gross to some, but when you start doing the research you will find that choosing cloth is by far the best way to save on diapering. The average family spends anywhere from $1,500 to $3,000 to diaper one child to age three, depending on how good they are at finding the most economical disposable. This price doesn’t include disposable wipes (which are sometimes almost as much as the diapers), a special diaper pail, all those little plastic baggies to minimize smell, etc. Multiply these numbers by three (or more), and we’re talking about nearly $5,000-$10,000!
Families who choose cloth diapers (even the most expensive all-in-ones) rarely spend over $500 on diapers and associated gear. Even when you add in the cost of laundering, the total doesn’t come close to the amount spent on disposables. Don’t forget that quality cloth diapers can last a family through several children. To further reduce start-up costs, you might even consider buying gently used diapers (check Ebay or Craigslist) or making your own if you have the talent. Once you have the diapers, you can save on laundering by letting your diapers line dry, which also helps them to smell fresh and remove stains.
Finally, many choose to cloth diaper because they feel it is a superior product that is more comfortable for their child or because of the environmental impact. Don’t forget, this doesn’t mean that you can’t use disposables for convenience on occasion.
Simple Mom has a comprehensive guide to cloth diapering in her archives.

2. Use Coupons!

If you have done the research and have decided cloth diapering is not for you and your baby, there are still ways to save. There are some amazing deals on disposables at drugstores and grocery stores.   Many of grabbed Huggies for $2.99 a pack at Harris Teeter a couple of weeks ago, or Pampers for $3.49 at CVS.  Look out for those rock bottom prices and stock up, even before baby is born. Make sure to sign up for newsletters from your favorite (or all) brands as they will often send you coupons through the mail or email.
I will not detail the drugstore systems in this post, but if you are new to Southern Savers, check out our Getting Started Guides.

3. Bulk or House Brand ??

I know several moms who swear by Walmart diapers, and several more who use their membership at a wholesale club (i.e. BJ’s, Sam’s, or Costco) to save on diapers. Still, I know others who use only the top brands because of a bad experience with store brands be it leaks, blowouts, rashes, or just overall quality. Some even go so far as to say that the top brands help to stretch your dollar even more because they don’t fill up as fast as cheaper brands, and therefore you use less diapers overall.  In my opinion, it is more advantageous to spend a few minutes clipping coupons and buying Huggies and Pampers at rock bottom prices.   Here’s a math breakdown to help you see this better:

Pampers Cruisers Size 3 - 204 ct
Current Sam’s Club Price: $37.98

This equals 6 jumbo size packages.

Pampers jumbo packs a few weeks ago at CVS after coupons and ECB were $3.49 each
Buy 6 = $20.94
For the same amount of diapers you save $17 to buy them in smaller sized packages with coupons for each package.
Again, just my opinion, but I think that buying house brand or wholesale is best saved for those times when your stash runs low, or you’re out of town, and you just have to buy diapers now! Especially since one must include the cost of a wholesale membership in the cost of wholesale diapers. However, there is one bulk source that could be useful - diapers.com. They are constantly running deals for free shipping, offering $10 off for new customers, giving special codes, and offering rewards.  Plus you can mail them coupons and they will apply them to your account!!

4. Take advantage of reward systems

You aren’t going to save enough to pay for your child’s first semester of college, but every little bit counts right? You can earn anything from gift cards (some for more diapers), toys, baby gear, or photo albums. You can find codes on manufacturer’s products, but there are also general codes to be found on the internet (here or right here on Southern Savers).
Check out Pampers’s Gifts to Grow program and Huggies Enjoy the Ride program.

5. Ask for them!

Crazy thing - people love to buy stuff for a new baby! If you are expecting your first baby, don’t forget to include diapers (all sizes) and gift cards on your registry. When a relative or friend calls and asks “Do you need anything? We’d love to come visit!” Say, “Sure! You can stop by and bring us a pack of diapers.” If you are a veteran momma who already has all the gear and clothing, ask your friends and family to throw you a diaper shower instead. Also babies grow fast, leaving their mommas with a surplus of diapers that are too small or cloth diapers that are no longer being used. If you have a friend (or two or three) with older children, ask her to save you her extras or gently used cloth diapers. Even your church nursery might have unused diapers lying around. One of the many joys of motherhood is the community that comes with it, so don’t be afraid to lean on your fellow frugal mommas.
Resource to check out:
Baby Cheapskate provides an extensive list of diaper reviews.  If you are going with a store brand at least see how they compare.

reposted. original post found here. 

Reusable Shopping Bags

Some retailers are starting to provide a monetary incentive to get you to bring your own reusable shopping bags. This is a great way to save the environment and keep all those plastic bags out of the landfill.  Other retailers, however, are actually charging for plastic or paper bag use.

Some states are also considering legislation to ban the use of plastic bags. San Jose, California has banned the use of both paper and plastic in grocery stores.  Citizens of Washington, DC now face a charge of 5 cents per plastic bag, and Ireland imposed a bag tax and now charges 15 cents per bag, providing an incentive for customers to bring their own resuable bags with them. This trend of charging for plastic bags seems to be popping up in countries and cities all over the world, including Hong Kong, and Toronto, and other stores in other parts of Canada. Click here to see what other governments around the world are doing to combat the problem of plastic shopping bags in their landfills. 

Bags typically cost about 99 cents - $1.50 each, and are available at many retailers, particularly grocery stores.  In searching the web, here's a few articles I found regarding SOME stores that offer a discount on your purchase price. This is likely only case in locations where retailers do not charge for the use of plastic. The discount will be taken off of your total and be reflected on your receipt. Occasionally you might have to remind them.  If you don't know if a store has an incentive program, just ask!  I've asked several times, and the typical response is 5 cents per bag.

For example:

Albertson's grocery store offers 5 cents per bag.

Smith's/Kroeger offers 5 cents per bag. (Some locations) It used to offer 10 cents, but some locations have done away with the program completely. 

Macey's grocery store (Utah only) offers 5 cents per bag.

Target offers 5 cents per bag

Ralph's offers 5 cents per bag

CVS has a different program. You must join their ExtraCare rewards program and purchase one of their 99 cent bags. They will give you a Green Bag Tag card that you hook to the bag. Each time you use the bag, they will scan the card. After 4 purchase, you will receive a $1 Extra Buck coupon which is good towards your next purchase.

Click here for an article about what other stores are doing.  Also, if you know of other stores that offer incentives, be sure to comment so that we can all benefit by knowing!

Making Your Own Reusable Grocery Sacks

If you'd like to make your own reusable shopping bag, here's a few links to some free patterns that are available on the web.  Use old bed sheets or tablecloths, or pick up fabric from a thrift store to reduce the cost of making your own sacks.

Wallet-Sized Fold-up Reusable Shopping Bag (pictured above)

Lunchbox Inspiration 2: Fabric Grocery Sacks

Morsbag Free Downloadable Pattern. There's also an animation of how to construct the bag.

Pie and Coffee: How to Make a Canvas Bag Canvas is stronger than cotton fabric, but this blog also shows how they used oil-based ink to print a custom design on the canvas.

All-Free Crafts: How to Sew a Fabric Shopping Bag

Curved Bag within a Bag  This site shows how to make a bag that closes up within it self into a tiny cozy.  This might be great for always having at least one bag in your purse or car, for those quick trips to the store. The bag itself doesn't look very big.  

Sew a Durable, Reusable Grocery Bag (from About.com)

Tutorial- How to Sew a Reversible Grocery Sack in Under an Hour

If You Don't Sew or Prefer Knitting or Crochet:

Reduction Tote Bag  (crochet)

Large Market Bag Crocheted from Plastic Bags

Felted French Market Bag (Knit)

Personalizing a Bag that You Purchased at the Store:

For those of you who don't sew or want to just personalize a pre-made bag

Personalizing with Iron-on Photo Transfer Paper

Sack Lunch Ideas in a Printable Document

Thanks to my bff, google.com, I think I have figured out how to upload a document to blogger and you can print it from your computer. Yay!  Click here for the uploaded  document for the sack lunch ideas from this post. It seemed like an easier format. And, once again, thanks to my awesome friend Jen for creating this document and sharing it with me. Love her.

If it works, comment and let me know! Yay for google. I knew she wouldn't let me down. :)

Free Photobook

My friend, Erika, posted this on her site Celebrating Today.  

Get a free 8.5x11 Hardcover Photo Book (up to $39.99 value) with 20 pages from Picaboo using the code AFFLGB if you are a brand new customer. You do need to pay $8.99 shipping. I've never used Picaboo so I am not sure how user friendly the site is, but $8.99 is a good deal. This offer expires on March 31, 2010.

Mending Holes in Blue Jeans

When you find that perfect pair that fits just right, don't you wear them until they are threadbare & have a hole or two? I have been thinking that I should try patching a few pairs of my favorite jeans, but I don't personally like the iron-on patch look for adults (or older teens).  It's ok for little girls, since there are some really fun decorative patches that can be added to the denim.

However, I found this awesome tutorial on patching holes in denim jeans.  Ragged, holey jeans are sold in high-end department stores, so here's a great way to duplicate the look for next to nothing and repair your favorite jeans in the process. Abercrombie & Fitch sells "destroyed" jeans for $90-100 a pair.  Here's an example from their website. These shorts retail for $50 a pair.

Abercrombie & Fitch Destroyed Denim Shorts

Why not make your own knock-off from the pair you love so much you just don't want to give them up?  If the legs are beyond repair, you can may your own version of "destroyed" shorts, and save yourself $50 in the process.  You're also helping to save the environment and learning/practicing a great skill at the same time.

So, I decided to head to my machine and see if it really was as easy as Suzannah makes it look in her tutorial. It was! Here we go.

To patch your jeans, you will need:

1. A sewing machine

2. A pair of jeans with a hole torn in them, or just starting to wear thin in a few places.

3. Thread.

I used a blue that was close to the color of my denim, but a neutral tan for the bobbin. When the bobbin ran out, I replaced it with the same blue. Either way, you can't tell. If you want the patched holes to show more, and have more of the "destroyed" look, you'll probably want to use white thread.  You could purchase some denim-colored thread if you want it to match exactly. I just used what I had.

4. A piece of soft iron-on interfacing or a scrap piece of denim. 

You can cut your denim scrap from another pair of jeans that is too small or beyond repair.  You could also use an iron-on denim patch, but it won't be as soft, so you probably want to use the interfacing or soft denim if you are patching the crotch area.

Directions for mending blue jeans:

Cut a piece of soft interfacing that is slightly larger than the hole in your jeans. Iron it on to the inside of the jeans. Head to your sewing machine and on the outside of the jeans, start stitching back and forth -- like a zillion times. You can use a tight zig-zag stitch or you can use a straight stitch. Both worked. I kept my hand on the backstitch knob and just went back and forth over and over until the hole was filled in. That's it! It honestly took less than 10 minutes to repair one hole.

For more detailed instructions, click on the Essential Blue Jean Mending Method from Adventures in Dressmaking.  

Example #1-  Holes by back two pockets of my son's shorts:

Before

Ironed-on piece of soft interfacing on the inside of the jeans.

Another view of the ironed-on interfacing

After: Outside of the back of the shorts after they have been repaired (blue bobbin thread)

Another view of the back

Example #2: Hole next to the bottom pocket

Before: Small hole starting next to the pocket

The inside of the pocket showing the taupe bobbin thread and the interfacing

After: the outside of the pocket (with blue thread & taupe bobbin thread)

It was really easy to patch these jeans! Her tutorial will show you some other examples of ones that she has repaired. The hardest part was when the hole overlapped with a belt loop or pocket corner, since the fabric was much more bulky.  Go slowly when you hit sections like this. I broke two needles because I was a speed demon. What can I say?

Seriously, this is an easy project, and I believe that a beginner sewer could do it. You can't really mess it up too much, and even if you do, they were jeans with a hole in them that you were going to throw out. So, now I am off to scavenge through my drawers for more beloved jeans that need a bit of tender loving care. Happy sewing!

Watching Free TV and Movies Online

Disclaimer: Imfrugal.blogspot.com is not being compensated for any endorsement listed below and is not affiliated with any of the following mentioned companies or websites.

Why do this? Because it will save you a lot of money. (I can't know exactly what you pay, so you do have to do a bit of homework). Here's an exercise for you:

DO THIS FIRST:

1. Take the total amount you spend monthly for cable or satellite TV and multiply it by 12 to get what you pay annually for television.
2. Make sure to include the monthly price of each DVR you are renting from the cable or satellite company. DishNetwork is $6 per month and DirectTV is $7 per month per DVR.  If you have this from your cable company, include that, too. 
3. Make sure to include the regular price if you are looking at an "introductory offer." For example, DishNetwork offers an introductory rate of $19.99 for the first 12 months, with free installation if you have a 24 month contract. So, after the first 12 months, the rate goes up to $34.99 a month plus $6 per DVR. DirectTV has an introductory offer of $29.99, but that goes up to $58.99 after the first 12 months. Cable companies do the same thing, so make sure you are thinking of what it will cost you in 2011, 2012, etc. 

Now that you have your annual total,... breathe. lol  My annual total for just televsion (not internet) through the cable company was $852. That doesn't include my TiVo subscription for $120, for an annual total of $972. GASP!

A while ago, Lori posted this great idea for watching TV online with an Xbox 360. Here's a few more ways to watch TV online. If you use a search engine, you'll find that there are a lot of different websites for watching TV online. I looked at several of them, but I have tried to list the ones that didn't have scantily clad women in advertisements on the sidebar. If that doesn't bother you, then you can search for different websites, but I have kids in my house, and that is something that choose to not invite (if I can help it). Now, I can't promise that these websites I list won't end up using the similar advertising, but at the time I posted this, they were "clean."

Alternatives to Cable and Satellite:

Watch TV on Your Computer via High Speed Internet:

If you have high-speed internet, you can watch most cable/satellite channels online for free. Check out these websites:

www.hulu.com Most of you are probably pretty familiar with hulu. It's a great way to watch TV and get caught up on past episodes for free. 

www.spreety.com  So far, this one looks to be my favorite.At first glance, it looks to have a lot more titles than Hulu does. Basically Spreety has done the work for you and the format is very user friendly. You just type in the name of your show and it will link you to wherever that show can be watched on the web. You don't actually watch the shows on Spreety. For example, if you want to watch Dora the Explorer, it will take you right to the video for Dora on Nick Jr. Simple! 

www.fancast.com

www.casttv.com

www.freetvonline.com

Also, remember that you can watch TV online at the websites for most channels, such as abc.com, nbc.com, fox.com, history.com, cbs.com, usa.com, cartoonnetwork.com, etc.  Just type in the name of the channel. Can't find your show? Type in "____ free episodes online" at google and you'll probably be pleasantly surprised. 

If you decide to only watch TV online, your savings will be significant. You can simply cut your money spent for the television portion of your budget entirely. For my example of what I pay of cable, this would net a savings of $972 annually. Sweet!

 *    *    *    *    *    *    *   *    *    *    *     *    *    *    *

Antenna & Converter Box:

Purchase an antenna and converter box (if you need one) & run some coax cable.  If you have a newer TV, you may not need a converter box. Going with this method will cost about $100-200 for 2010, and nothing annually after that. It would be cheaper if you don't need a $50 converter box.  You can still watch TV online, but you could watch your local channels on your television. 

 *    *    *   *    *    *    *     *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *

Antenna & Netflix:

The cheapest Netflix package is $4.99 a month. This allows you to have one DVD at a time, but does not allow for instant streaming. So, while you can't watch Netflix instantly, you could watch TV instantly over your computer using the websites listed above and still have regular TV through your antenna (& converter box if you need one).  Keep in mind that you can rent DVDs from Netflix that are whole seasons of television shows such as Lost, 24, The Office, etc. 

 *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *     *    *     *   *    *    *    *

Antenna, unlimited Netflix & a Netflix-Ready Device:

For $8.99/month you can get one DVD at a time from Netflix and you can have unlimited instant streaming to your computer or a Netflix-ready device.  (There are other Netflix packages to choose from that allow more DVDs at one time).  I believe all of these devices require a high speed internet connection. Some TV shows are not available for instant streaming over Netflix, but you could get the season on DVD or you could watch those epsiodes online using one of the websites listed above.

Netflix ready devices include:

• Xbox 360 - ($199 MRSP) You must also have a high speed internet connection and a subscription to Xbox LIVE Gold (about $39.99 a month).
• PlayStation3 (PS3)- You need a PS3, an unlimited Netflix plan and a Netflix PS3 disc, which you get for FREE from Netflix. Retails for about $299.
• Wii (this should be available via Netflix sometime in Spring 2010). You don't need anything else besides your Wii and a free instant streaming disc from Netflix to make this application work.
• Roku Digital Video Player ($79 MSRP)
• Insignia Connected Blu-Ray Players ($179 MSRP), LG Network Blu-Ray Players ($299 MSRP), Samsung Network Blu-Ray players ($299 MSRP) and Sony Network Blu-Ray players ($249 MRSP).
• LG HDTVs with Netcast Broadband, Sony Bravia LCD HDTVs featuring Bravia Internet Video, and VIZIO XVT Series HDTVs with VIZIO Internet Apps (VIA). 
• TiVo HD DVR - you also need to pay an annual subscription fee which is about $120 a year. There's a video on how this works if you click the link and scroll down a bit.
• LG Network Blu-Ray Home Theater Systems & Samsung Network Blu-Ray Home Theater Systems.

*   *   *   *   *    *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *    *    *   *   *   *   *   *

An alternative to Netflix is the Playstation Network.

Playstation Network 

You need to have a PS3 for this. Through the Playstation Netowrk TV and Movie Downloads, you rent or purchase TV and movies through your PS3. So, you need to keep in mind that you still have to pay for the shows you watch. If you rent the video or movie, you have a limited time to watch it, and then it removes itself from your PS3 system memory.

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *  * *  *   *   *  *  *   *

So, do a bit of homework, add up your totals and see how much you can save.  My husband was very resistant to the idea of changing from cable TV until I created a spreadsheet to show all the different options and how much each method would cost/save. At first he was in denial about how much we actually spent for cable TV, lol.  But once he saw cold, hard numbers, it was hard to not give it some serious consideration.  He was resistant to giving up Dora the Explorer for our daughter, but I convinced him that I can purchase some Dora DVDs for a lot cheaper than we spend paying for cable. :) 

If you know of other great sites for watching TV online or you have other methods for saving $$ on television, please comment and let us know. I'd also love to know how much you saved if you cut your cable/satellite.  Here's to being frugal!

Using Up Stale Cake or Cookies for a Crumb Crust

After my husband's birthday, we were left with about 5 pieces of stale cake. The tops were dried out, but the main cake portion was still moist.  I decided to scrape off the top part of the cake and the icing and I crumbled the remaining stale cake into a baking dish. 

Note: I made this whole recipe up as I went along, so feel free to do the same and change whatever you want to suit your own personal tastes. Use any pie filling that appeals to you. Also, stale cookies would definitely work for this instead of cake if that's what you have.

Don't forget that after you create your stale cake or stale cookie crumbs, you can put them into an airtight container or Ziploc bag and freeze them to use on another day.

Because the pieces were still moist, I put the dish in the oven and baked it until the pieces were pretty dried out.  In this case, if your cake was more dried out to start with, you could skip this step. When the cake was more on the crispy side, I took it out of the oven and dumped the pieces into my food processor. Then I turned it on and crushed them into fine crumbs. 

If you don't have a food processor, you could put the pieces into a gallon-sized Ziploc bag and crush them with a rolling pin or kitchen mallet. 

This is what it looked like after I was done with the food processor:

It looked a lot like crushed Oreos or chocolate cookies.  The crumbs were dry and tiny.  Then I mixed the crumbs with a bit of melted butter (or margarine would work too), and created a chocolate crumb crust, which I pressed into the bottom of the dish.  I guess I could have just smashed the cake from the very beginning. That would be another option, but your crust would have a different texture. It's up to you.

I used my electric mixer to beat one (8 oz) package of cream cheese and 1 tsp of vanilla until smooth and creamy. Then I folded in one container of whipped topping. I think I did add a dash of milk to make it more smooth, but I don't know how much it was. I eye-balled it. ;) 

I then smoothed my new creation into my dish and drizzled it with a tiny bit of melted caramel ice cream topping, because that's what I had. This is optional and you could use any flavor you like. I chilled my creation in the refrigerator and voila!  A yummy no-bake cheesecake for about $1.50 - 2.00.

Here's a picture of the side of the dish so you can see the crust. It actually was really, really tasty, and nobody in my family knew that I had used up stale cake for the crust. It was really easy and cheap and didn't take much time at all. My family ate the entire thing. I will definitely do it again. 

Disposable Snow Pants

Need a solution for some quick, inexpensive snow pants for your kids? 

(Keep in mind this idea is disposable; it's not a permanent solution). 

I ran across this article titled "Cheap and Easy Disposable Snow Pants" on Meckmom.com and I thought I would pass it on.  Certainly, you would want to invest in real snow pants if you live in a climate where it snows regularly, like I do.  Meckmom used this method for traveling and intended for it to be completely disposable because she didn't pack snow pants on her trip. 

She wrapped her kids legs with Glad Press n' Seal, and it worked! Obviously, these aren't going to provide the warmth and padding of regular snow pants, but they would keep your kids dry.

Some of you live in a climate where snow pants are just not needed, but you do occasionally get a snow storm and excited kids who want to play in it.  This solution just might work for you.

Trades = The New Payment System

Remember in the olden days when you paid with potatoes?  Or your specific services?  Well, those times can come again! Hear me out.... 

In the last 4 months I've "gotten" the following things for free trading for my talents, skills, or time:

-haircut
-babysitting
-lawn service
-food
-clothes sewn (i can't sew)
-furniture
-toys

Now, it may seem rudimentary.  But, think about it... there MUST be a talent you possess or service you can offer that would be beneficial.  Currently, I am enrolled in an online course which requires me to study at least 15 hours a week.  That doesn't sound like much, but throw in being a stay-at-home Mom with kids who don't nap and I'm hard pressed to find 3 hours a day to do it.  I try to do it at night, but I'm generally so tired that the material doesn't stick.  So, I've traded my services of providing piano lessons in exchange for babysitting time once a week - rather than making money I'm making time.  (ha, I guess it's an example of my neighbor saving money then....).

Another example: my friends had a bunch of furniture they were getting rid of.  We needed furniture but didn't have any money to pay them.  So we came to an agreement of babysitting and other needs to "pay" for them.

Other talents or services that could be beneficial:

-sewing
-crafting
-any sort of musical lesson
-wood shopping
-cooking
-babysitting
-tutoring

Might be an "out there" idea, but definitely a creative way to save some dough!