Festival of Frugality: All Messed Up Edition

From personal experience this past week (both as a carnival submitter as well as the person who runs the Best of Money Carnival), I know that Blog Carnival (the site most bloggers use to submit their posts) was all messed up. Entries weren't being forwarded for much of the week. So this week's Festival of Frugality was a bit lighter than normal. But it's still full of many great posts on how you can save money.

After weeding out the posts that weren't about frugality (nice try, some of you), I listed the posts into two groups below. First, here are the submitters who included a bit of information on their posts when they sent them to me:

• TLC's Extreme Couponing: If You Don't Use It, It Is Still Wasteful Even If It is Free - While I wish I could view TLC’s Extreme Couponing to learn more couponing skills myself, that appears not to be the focus of the show. Rather than helping other Americans who are struggling and would love to learn how to lower their grocery bills further with coupons, this show seems to be focusing on creating a freak show like atmosphere. Several of these featured couponers state that their lives are out of balance and that their relationships are suffering because of their dedication to extreme couponing.
• Laughter: The frugal survival tool - Looking on the sunny side will not automatically fix whatever's wrong with your life. But you do need a break from all that's dismal, even if the break lasts only a few minutes. Sometimes a funny video or a light-bulb joke will give you the boost you need to return to the fray.
• Build and Live in a Shipping Container Home - Don't want a mortgage? Give this idea a try. Build your own home out of old shipping containers. Many people are doing it and these homes are surprisingly nice.
• Our $117 Playstation 3 - A man will do so much for a game system!
• Spring Clean...Your Windows for just pennies - No need to buy expensive chemicals, when you probably already of this ingredient in your kitchen.
• 7 Ways To Control Your Spending - Ever wonder where your money went at the end of the month? Here are some ways to control your spending and to watch where your dollars are going.
• Is a House Cleaning Service Worth It? - It cost us a bit, but we sprung for a house cleaning service for the first time ever. Was the money well spent? See what we think in this article.
• Paying NO Taxes: How? - There are areas of life where you just shouldn't try to cut corners for frugality sake. Taxes aren't one of them! There are legal ways you can get out of paying taxes entirely!
• Sharing Joy: Ten Happy-Making Things to Do on a Sunny Saturday that Don’t Cost a Dime - Fun things to do whether you're single, coupled, or have a family.
• 5 Unusual Ways To Save On Your Apartment Rent - Rent is often one the biggest monthly expenses, making it even harder to save. Here are five ways to save money on rent for your apartment.
• Is it trendy to be frugal? - Frugality has become more socially acceptable. Too many people live beyond their means so it's great to see that ‘frugal’ has become trendy.
• 5 Top Tips for Cooking at Home - Cooking at home is generally less expensive than eating out and can be healthier as well. Use these 5 cooking at home tips to simplify the process.
• Reheeling Shoes - Reheeling shoes can double their lifespan at a fraction of the cost of new shoes. Plus, I show the results of taking my very worn out boots to a cobbler.

And here are the other submitters who didn't leave any explanation of their post:

• Four Audiobooks That Will Help You Get Out of Debt
• Save Money On Amazon By Watching Price History
• Spray bottles

Enjoy!

Comments

[Glen]

Thanks so much for hosting this week's Festival!

[Tim @ Faith and Finance]

Thanks for including my article and for hosting it this week!

[Money Beagle]

Thanks for including my article. Just curious why you never mention the actual blog names when you host a carnival or do a roundup.

[FMF]

Money Beagle --

Personal preference. Been doing it this way for six years. I like to focus on the posts.

[jim]

I recorded one episode of the Extreme Couponing show and was also a bit disappointed. They don't go into the 'how' too much at all. The one woman bought 60+ bottles of mustard for some reason... that seemed like a lifetime supply of mustard. Hopefully she donates stuff to the food bank bu they didn't mention that.

[Kristia@Family Balance Sheet]

Thanks for hosting and including my post.

[Donna Freedman]

Belated thanks for hosting, and for choosing my piece.