1. Pasta and Pasta Sauce – Spaghetti and other meals like lasagna are so easy to make. Boil some noodles and throw in some pasta sauce. This meal is great because it is more versatile than you might think. You can add all kinds of extras into the pasta sauce. We love to add sausage, ground beef or turkey, and all kinds of veggies. It is easier than you think to add carrots, onions, broccoli, or mushrooms to the sauce. Just chop them small enough that no one notices that they are there! My favorite veggie to add to pasta is zucchini and is probably one of the easiest veggies to add that your family will love!

2. Hard and Soft Tacos – Just brown up some ground beef or turkey and cut up some veggies for an easy dinner. Cut up the taco fixings and make the meat (with the taco seasoning already mixed in) the day before if you know your going to have little time to make dinner. Make sure that there is more lettuce, onions, tomatoes, and olives for your tacos than sour cream and cheese.

3. Macaroni and cheese – Macaroni and cheese is loved by many, is easy to make, and it is usually a family favorite. I can’t have dairy so I will often make dairy free butter noodles instead (not healthy!). Add tomatoes, tuna, or chopped hot dogs to the macaroni and cheese to mix it up!

4. Pizza – Homemade pizza is easy and tasty but it doesn’t necessarily have to be made completely from scratch. Keep prepared crusts on hand or make and freeze your own to thaw for later. Add some pizza sauce and let everyone top their own pizza and throw them in the oven. You can have dinner on the table in less than thirty minutes.

5. Kebobs – Kebobs are so easy. Make kebobs with your favorite meat or fish and add veggies like onions, peppers and mushrooms to the skewer. You can prepare these the day before, along with a salad to go with the kebobs. Place on the gas grill for easy clean up!

6. Hot dogs – Hot dogs, regular, tofu, or turkey, are so easy. Just boil or grill them and add some toppings like onions or opening a can of chili, not to mention ketchup and mustard. Keep chopped veggies on hand to go with the hot dogs instead of a bag of potato chips.

7. Salads – Salads are easy and are very healthy if you don’t drown them in cheese and salad dressings. Salads are also a great way to use up leftovers. Make a salad and add leftover grilled chicken, deli meat, or shrimp. Make sure that you have large amounts of veggies available.

8. Sandwiches – Dinner doesn’t have to be fancy. Make everyone a sandwich, such as deli meat, grilled cheese, or tuna salad, and add a salad or cut up vegetables with it.

9. Tortilla wraps – If you have leftover chicken or beef in the fridge, use them for wraps. Add some lettuce, veggies, and a little dressing for a quick and easy meal.

10. Soups – Many soups are often easy to make. You can throw the ingredients in a slow cooker in the morning or make some OAMC soups and freeze them to thaw on nights when you need a quick meal.

What quick and easy frugal meals do you make on busy nights?

An easy aspect of Thanksgiving planning is to prepare many of the dishes ahead of time. Side dishes such as dressing, sweet potato pie, and mashed potatoes can all be made ahead of time, some several weeks in advance.

Have your husband and children help you prepare these meals in advance as well as putting them to work getting the house in order before the big day. If you need to get the dressing prepared and the kids area underfoot, give them a closet to clean out or have them go through their toys for items to donate to get ready for Christmas.

A few days before Thanksgiving, keep your planning in place. Have each member of the family clean a certain area of the house or set the table so that the entire house is clean and ready for the big day.

For Thanksgiving Day plan out how you will finish cooking the meal. Make a list so you know when the turkey goes in, when the sides go in, and when everything comes out. I prepare note cards ahead of time and tape them to the cabinet above the oven. The note cards give a time line of the day along with how long each dish should cook and at what temperature. This is a good way to make sure you have all the ingredients and dishes you will need so that you don’t have to run out the day of and spend money on the only green beans available when you could have bought the generic the week before.

Thanksgiving planning extends to the day as well. Family and friends will be crowding into your house and while many will be socializing or watching football games you want to have jobs for those who wish to help. For those who come very early you can have them put together appetizers or set the table if it isn’t already done. You may also put someone on pre-dinner dish duty so that dishes are not piling up.

Do you plan to share the work for Thanksgiving? Do you have any Thanksgiving planning tips? Share them with us!

You may want to hang lights everywhere that you can, but you may also want to think about how many you are using and how you go about using them.

Think about reducing the amount of lights you use. While you may want to, you don’t necessarily have to light up the entire neighborhood or double as a landing strip for the nearest airport.

When you do use lights, trade in your old ones for some new LED lights. Not only do these lights reduce the chance of a fire because they do not give off any heat, but they also use very little energy compared to the old style of outdoor lights.

While you’re changing to LED’s, you might want to pick up some compact fluorescent light bulbs for your home. These will cost you more upfront but they will last years longer than the regular tungsten lights.

Purchase an electronic thermostat, pick a temperature, and keep it there. The amount of energy you use by moving the thermostat up and down is huge. Use heavy thermal curtains to keep your house warmer and throw on a sweater and socks when you get cold instead of turning the heat up.

Have an energy check performed on your house to get a good idea of areas in which you are losing heat. A bit of silicone around an old window may make all the difference in a drafty room.

Take a look at budget billing in your area so that you have a set amount to work with each month.

Save energy this holiday season to save money and the earth.

What are you doing this holiday season to save energy?

Planning ahead is your best friend when it comes to reducing holiday stress. Anything you can get done ahead of time, and any people you can recruit to help you, will give you a head start on the day. Making a list, delegating chores, and making a Thanksgiving Day time line will go a long way towards getting rid of holiday stress.

When money and time are scarce do not feel guilty about calling for a potluck Thanksgiving dinner. Give everyone a dish that they are to make and bring while you can take care of preparing the turkey or ham. Making a checklist of what everyone is bringing will help reduce duplicate side dishes or desserts.

Thanksgiving dinner does not have to be a gourmet feast nor do you have to cook a 15 pound turkey when there are only a few of you. Choose simple Thanksgiving dishes such as turkey, green bean casserole and mashed potatoes. Holiday stress often comes from doing too much so reduce how much food, and how many varieties of food, you will prepare to reduce your holiday stress levels for the day.

While we have never had the problem in our family of Uncle Bob always arguing with Aunt Suzy, I do understand that keeping harmony is important when you have a large group of family and friends together. Create place cards around the table and separate those who may tend to get on each other’s nerves, even if they are married! You may also have two areas set up in your house, perhaps a social area in the kitchen and one in the living room and you can keep those who disagree in two different areas of the house.

It is Thanksgiving, so whatever happens, be thankful. Be thankful that your family is there to make a mess, argue with each other, and eat too much food. Holiday stress may not fun but the holidays are a great time to spend with your family and build memories you will have forever.

In order to even begin reusing, you have to be organized. Organizing your home for free, even organizing your closet, and everything around you will be a big help when it comes to reusing items. How many times have you bought something only to find the same item in the back of your closet a week later? This won’t happen if everything has a place and is clearly marked. Declutter so that you know what you already have so you don’t go buy it again or what you don’t have and can stock up when it goes on sale.

Gifts that you keep on hand in case you can’t make it to the store should be stored in one place, with gift bags within easy reach. If you forget to purchase the wedding gift until fifteen minutes before you are set to leave, you will know exactly where to look and can easily throw a gift in a bag and go.

Keep your pantry as organized as you can. Purchase kitchen organization items if you need to so that you can see everything that you have, they will save you money in the long run, especially if you tend to lose a lot of food in your cabinets. You don’t want to buy green beans when there are three cans in the back of the pantry behind those yams you only use at Thanksgiving.

Getting organized will help you find things in your home so you can reuse them, recycle them, sell them, or give them away.

Are you getting organized?

While you can purchase more organic or natural beauty products many of these products come with price tags that don’t often fit into a narrow budget.

Instead of purchasing natural beauty products make your own natural recipes for beauty. It’s easy to do and it will cost you next to nothing!

Natural Beauty Recipe for Your Face

Mash a carrot and an avocado and mix with a beaten egg and two tablespoons of honey. Mix it all together and lather on your face for a skin nourishing face mask. Let sit for 15 minutes and wash off with cool water. Refreshing and almost good enough to eat!

For a toner, apply grated cucumber or diluted lemon juice after the face mask.

Natural Beauty Recipes for Your Hair

Mix egg yolk with one tablespoon castor oil and apply to your hair. Leave in for ten minutes then rinse out to condition your hair.

Natural Beauty Recipes for Your Hands and Feet

Massage a half cup olive oil mixed with sea salt into your hands and feet. Leave on for a few minutes then rinse off.

The biggest tip for healthy skin and hair doesn’t even involve a recipe! Just take care of your body, get your vitamins and minerals, drink water, and stay away from all those foods you know you don’t really need!

There are so many natural beauty recipes that these are just the tip of the iceberg! What do you use?

Thanksgiving begins the holiday season and begins the family get-togethers, parties, shopping and general over-eating. Save money this Thanksgiving by planning ahead. The first thing you need to do for Thanksgiving planning is to plan your meal early.

Reduce your stress and save money by planning your meal ahead of time. Don’t wait until the week before Thanksgiving to decide what your Thanksgiving dinner will include. Start planning today.

Decide what your Thanksgiving meal plan will be ahead of time. Make a list of each dish, appetizer, and dessert you will prepare then make a list of all of the ingredients you will need. Think about any food allergies you must watch out for and plan accordingly. You may also plan for those who do not like turkey and prepare a small brisket or ham as well.

Once you have your list then plan what you will pick up each week. You will not have to come up with all of the money for the Thanksgiving meal the week before and you can watch for sales and pick up items as they go on sale instead of having to just take what you can get. This kind of Thanksgiving planning will save you money and will keep you from fighting the crowds the few days before the holiday to purchase all of the food.

Do you shop early for Thanksgiving? What are your Thanksgiving planning tips?

Check out these last minute Halloween costumes if you need something quick!

The hulk – tear up t-shirt and jeans and paint yourself green

Big bird – yellow boas and plastic beak

Peacock – glue peacock feathers to back of belt with blue skirt or tutu

Bat or butterfly – take apart old umbrella and glue to inside arms of hoodie

Rubik’s cube – cardboard box with squares of construction paper

Transformers – several cardboard boxes drawn to look like your fave

Robot – several cardboard boxes drawn to look like robot parts

Bumblebee- add black duct tape to a yellow dress

Charlie brown – add black duct tape zig zags to yellow shirt

Referee – black duct tape to white shirt with black shorts and shoes

Chef – chef’s hat, apron, and a wooden spoon or spatula

Men in black – black suit, sunglasses

Blackmail – dress all in black and place an image of a large stamp on your shirt

Grapes or Blueberries – dress all in purple or blue and attach purple or blue balloons all over you and go as grapes or blueberries

See examples of some of these costumes here.

There are many supposed benefits of homeopathy over modern medicine. Most remedies are natural which can cause them to give less side effects, they have less drug interactions, and are often better for your whole body.

You should always contact a doctor before beginning a homeopathic treatment but it may be a better option for someone who would like a more natural treatment or who does not have health insurance and cannot afford prescriptions.

As with anything you ingest into your body, you could have adverse affects or it could not work. Also, since homeopathy is not regulated you may find one brand works while another doesn’t.

If you do take any alternative form of medicine it is important to tell your doctor.

• Are you a married couple with two incomes?
• A pensioner?
• An individual with multiple jobs?
• A dependent?
• Do you receive social security and still work?

You may not be having as much withholdings held back as you like. As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 the Making Work

Pay credit gave taxpayer’s more money in their pocket from their paychecks.

The IRS adjusted the federal tax tables so that less federal tax would be withheld. A $400 credit for individuals and $800 credit for married couples will be given on your 2009 taxes to balance the extra money in your payroll. However, for all the aforementioned taxpayers too much may be given back because of multiple jobs, or something like a pension not being taken into account. If you fall into these categories you may want to have extra held back from your pay to make up the difference. This can be done by lowering your withholding number or if you are already at single and zero by having an extra set amount taken out every paycheck, all by changing your W-4.

If you’d like to calculate whether you will be covered or not so you can make a change before it’s too late check out these excellent tax calculators.

http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=96196,00.html   

http://hrblock.com/cmpgn/making_work_pay.html