1.  I’ve always giggled every time I saw the title of your web site, "This Wasn’t in The Plan".  For people who haven’t yet visited, could you elaborate a little on what "the plan" was?

I think mainly I thought that I’d graduate from college, get a job, and then have money to do whatever I wanted.  I’d see where my parents were at and forget all the time and energy it takes to build up wealth.  Reality hit pretty quickly though, I’d say my "plan" wasn’t really based in reality and moreso what was ideal.  The title also applies to the little things - the fact that my husband decided to go back to school unexpectedly (he’s since graduated), the fact that I live where I live is something I’d never have expected, and many other daily things that pop up that I just never planned on.

2.  It seems by a recent post that you too struggle with having a diabetic in the house who doesn’t like eating what they are supposed to.  Do you have any tips for frugal folk in the same predicament?

The post you are referring to was actually a guest post from the blogger who blogs at justshootmenow.wordpress.com.  I’m sure she’d have some great suggestions though!

3.  You are in your late twenties.  How long have you been practicing the frugal way of life?  What got it started for you?

To some extent, I’ve been practicing it as long as I can remember.  I’ve always shopped mainly off the clearance rack and for the most part really tried to save my money.  Right now, I’m frugal mainly out of necessity.  There is a lot of breathing room in our budget, so we could afford to be less frugal, but I’d really rather prefer large splurges later on as opposed to smaller ones right now.  And I definitely don’t want to go into debt.

4.  Your kids are still young.  Have you started teaching bug (the older of the two, if memory serves) about frugal living yet, and if so, how?

In subtle ways I believe I have.  I think the basics of frugality are doing the best with the resources you have.  I try and teach him to respect the things we have, to take good care of them so they last.  I try and make the most of the simple moments in hopes that he’ll learn that fun doesn’t have to cost a lot.  Currently, I’m really working on teaching him that things cost money and since our money is limited, we have to pick and choose what carefully what we spend our money on.

5.  What is your favorite frugal tip / trick / idea of all time?

It’s somewhat vague and rather basic, but my favorite frugal tip is to to think outside of the box.  Before I run out and buy something, I always brainstorm any alternatives.  Can I make what I need using things I already have?  Is there something else out there that will serve the same purpose for a smaller price?  It’s important to remember that you don’t have to be super creative in order to do this.  The internet and blogosphere in particular offer a wealth of ideas and inspiration. 

Thanks for your time, Alison!

Everyone visit Alison at her website, http://nottheplan.blogspot.com/ and tell her you saw her interview at Frugal Mania!

I’ve admitted in the past to possessing a bit of a sweet tooth, but one sweet treat that continues to confuse me as it always has is the popcicle.

I’m not confused about the popcicle itself per se, but more to the point I can’t for the life of me understand why it is that anyone would ever buy one.  Maybe it is because of the accidental discovery of a Tupperware popcicle mold when I was a child and the subsequent pouring in and mixing of my favorite Kool Aid flavors that led to the creation of the perfect summer treats of the day, but I never found the store bought versions to contain nearly so much flavor.  And they were smaller, too.

One of the simplest sweet treats to make is the popcicle and yet so few people do it that it bewilders me.  Homemade popcicles can be made from nearly any sweet liquid, and because you are making it you can control how much sugar is contained in them.  In fact, you can make the entirely sugar free if the mood strikes.

Here are a few of my favorite homemade popcicle recipes for your enjoyment:

Smoothie Pops
I love a good smoothie, and it made perfect sense to me to make them into popcicles as well.  Some pureed strawberries, blueberries, blackberries or raspberries (would you believe I never knew there was a ‘p’ in raspberry until this very minute?) mixed with a bit of juice.  Absolutely delicious and amazingly healthy!

Lemon and Limeade Pops
Make up some homemade lemon or limeade and freeze it up.  Seriously, this has got to be my personal favorite but then again, I am a bit of a lemon and limeade freak, so your mileage may vary.

Watermelon Pops
Puree some leftover watermelon and add in some apple or grape juice.

INGREDIENTS
•    1/8 cup butter or margarine
•    1/8 cup olive or vegetable oil
•    1 teaspoon finely minced garlic
•    1 teaspoon finely minced fresh parsley
•    1 ½ cups baking mix
•    ½ cup finely shredded  sharp Cheddar cheese
•    ½ cup milk

INSTRUCTIONS
1.     Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2.    Melt the butter in a small saucepan and add the garlic, cooking for about 30 seconds, just long enough to soften the garlic.  Stir in the parsley and remove from heat.
3.    In a bowl, combine baking mix, cheese and milk until well blended. (This will be a thick mixture)
4.    Flour your hands (using a bit of baking mix) and pinch off portions about the size of a golf ball. Roll it to form a ball and flatten just slightly.
5.    Dip the balls in the garlic butter mixture and place on a baking sheet about an inch apart.
6.    Bake for about 10 minutes before brushing the tops with the remaining garlic butter.
7.    Return to the oven for about 4 – 5 minutes or until golden brown.

MICHAEL’S NOTES
What can I say that this recipe doesn’t say for itself?  These biscuits are so tasty that you will probably want to double the recipe next time.

Since you are reading this, I’m going to go out on a limb and toss out the idea that you might not be either willing or able to pay for the latest European discoveries in skin rejuvenation. Even still there are people with special skin care needs or simply just those who want to make themselves feel pampered once in a while.

Is it possible to have frugal bath and body products that are actually budget friendly and still work well? The answer, my friends, is a resounding YES!

A Steam Bath for your face
A steam facial will rejuvenate your skin bringing you some fresh color while it helps to deep clean your pores. For a simple DIY facial in your own home, just boil water, toss in some lemon juice (a withered piece of lemon will work fine here) and perhaps some mint leaves (a mint tea bag will do just fine).

Remove the pot from the stove, cover your head with a towel and drape the towel over the steaming pot. Steam for five to seven minutes before allowing your face to air dry.

Simple Oatmeal Mask
For a simple oatmeal mask that will work wonders on your skin, mix about a tablespoon of dry oatmeal with one egg white. Apply to your face and allow it to dry before rinsing with warm water. If you suffer from dry skin, apply a bit of mayonnaise after your mask and rinse. Oily skin your problem? Replace the mayo with plain yogurt.

For more frugal bath and body product ideas that you can make at home, stay tuned to future posts at Frugal Mania!

Take the Worry Out of Watering Your Plants
http://www.frugalmania.com/tak…y-out-of-watering-your-plants/
In this post I show you a simple and cost-free way to make sure your plants are watered adequately even when you might forget about them or go out of town for a few days.

Frugal Friday Week in Review
http://www.frugalmania.com/frugal-friday-week-in-review/
A regular feature here at Frugal Mania, this post also mentions the Festival of Frugality, CVS Extra Care Bucks and frugal uses for coffee grounds.

Thirty Days
http://www.frugalmania.com/thirty-days/
Inspired by the Morgan Spurlock television series of the same name, in this post I challenge people to give me thirty days of their lives to try and live more frugally.  Several people have accepted the challenge and each one of them have admitted to being happy with the results.

Penne Carbonara Recipe
http://www.frugalmania.com/fru…d-made-simple-penne-carbonara/
My frugal version of this Italian favorite remains a favorite recipe on the site!  If you haven’t tried it yet, you really should!

Interview with Dawn from “Frugal for Life”
http://www.frugalmania.com/int…iew-dawn-from-frugal-for-life/
From my interview series with other frugal bloggers.

Frugal Savings – Part 1
http://www.frugalmania.com/frugal-savings-part-1/
From a series on how to save money without making major changes, this post covers credit cards and how to get the most without spending anything more

My Night With Apple
http://www.frugalmania.com/iph…-restored-my-night-with-apple/
In all honesty this wasn’t really a frugal topic to begin with, though I did save money by not having to spend it on tech support calls or visits to the iPhone store.

Oatmeal Pancakes Recipe
http://www.frugalmania.com/fru…-menu-monday-oatmeal-pancakes/
I’m not sure why this one has received so much traffic, but apparently I struck a chord by posting this absolutely delicious recipe for pancakes made with oatmeal!

Using Your Noodle
http://www.frugalmania.com/using-your-noodle/
My homage to the perennial frugal favorite, ramen noodles, has received a ton of visits from all over the world! Find out why!

This recent post on Tight Fisted Miser had me wondering about how people think about their spending habits and what frugal might mean to people in various walks of life.

In this post we are going to start at the beginning and take a good look at our spending habits and how we can better make decisions about what is and is not frugal and what areas we are willing to make changes on – or not.

The first step in the process of learning to spend less, live more frugally and eventually save money is to know exactly how much you are spending.  This is probably the most crucial step as well as the majority of people don’t have a true understanding of where their money goes.  The easiest way to accomplish this is to get a receipt for every penny to spend, every time.  Keep the receipts and put them in an envelope.  At the end of each week, take out your receipts and break down what you have spent into categories.  Some of the basic categories I use are:

• Entertainment
• Food
• Fuel and Auto Expenses
• Home Bills
• Reimbursable Expenses

HELPFUL TIP:  One suggestion that may help you better make this sorting idea work for you is to have an envelope for each category you are using and putting the receipts into the correct envelope as you bring them home.

Once you have your receipts sorted you should have a real idea of how much money you spent that week.  Now look deeper, especially into the negotiable expenses like food and entertainment.  Specifically you should look for items that you may not need or could spend less by buying in another way.  Fast food for example, should be eliminated in most cases.  Bite the bullet and bring your lunch from home.  Buy coffee on the way to work?  Stop.  It will cost you less to make it at home and bring a thermal mug with you.  Most offices have coffee and you will survive the commute with a mug you brought from home.

This is a tough sticking point for a lot of frugal newbies – they don’t seem to understand that spending five bucks at the local fast food drive thru every day adds up quickly, and that by packing leftovers or even a sandwich at home to have for lunch can save you a lot of money!

While I am on that particular soapbox, I need to tell you to stop buying bottled water.  Unless you live in third world country with filthy ponds as your only water source you are wasting money.  If you are worried about contaminants in your tap water, get a filter.  They’re cheap.  Work with me here, people.

In order to get a handle on our spending, we have to know what we are spending and make some tough decisions.  It takes dedication and most of all, will power. If you are truly dedicated to improving your financial situation though, it is entirely possible.  Thousands of people are doing it every day and you can too, no matter what your situation is.

Yesterday I bit the proverbial bullet and went to the eye doctor for a long overdue eye exam.  I write approximately 12 to 14 hours per day, sometimes 7 days a week and my eyes have taken a beating as a result.  I knew that I would need some sort of vision correction for the first time in my life and was just never truly willing to admit it to myself.  The constant eye strain and headaches finally forced me off my rump yesterday and though I did leave with eyeglasses, I am very happy I did.

Now, on with today’s reader question.

Michael,

Both my husband and I wear eyeglasses, as do two of our four children and because of an eye condition my prescription changes almost every year.  The frugal side of me wishes there was something I could do with the old eyeglasses but I have never really come up with a good idea.  What do you suggest?

Beth in Tacoma, WA

Beth,

While I don’t know of any frugal uses for eyeglasses that will help around the house, I do have a good recommendation for you and for everyone else who might be reading as to what to do with old glasses when they are no longer useful to you.

Donate them!

Here are a few ideas for you:

Lions Club – The local Lions Club will accept donations of old eyeglasses and has done so for years.  Visit the web site to locate a nearby center for more information.

Ask at your optometrist’s office.  Most of them accept used eyeglass donations and will distribute them appropriately to people who cannot afford glasses on their own.

I was about to cry.

I’m not an early adopter of technological greatness by any stretch, and the gift of an iPhone just weeks before the latest version was to be released didn’t change that. I wasn’t going to be one of those freaks standing in line at the Apple Store for two days to get the iPhone 3G.

I even wrote an article on a marketing web site two days before the release warning people to sync and back up their phones before trying to upgrade their iPhone software to v2.0 because part of the process would wipe everything stored on it.

And then yesterday came.

And I backed up my phone.

I downloaded the iPhone v2.0 update and I cried when I got the message "iphone could not be restored error 1604".

That was 6:01pm.

I tried everything I knew to do and was met with a refreshing variety of new errors:

iphone could not be restored error 1

iphone could not be restored error 6

iphone could not be restored error 2003

iphone could not be restored error 9

There are actually a few errors I neglected to write down as a matter of fact, but I am writing this because I want other people who had similar errors to learn from the seven and a half hours of work I put in to getting my phone restored and upgraded to iPhone v2.0.

Before you try anything else, if you are on a Windows machine, create a new user from the Control Panel:

Start > Settings > Control Panel > User Accounts

Start up the new user and go through the process with iTunes by opening iTunes with your iPhone in the cradle.

The reason this process works is because the new user fools the Apple servers into thinking that you don’t already have the update software and therefore downloads a fresh (and probably less buggy) copy.

Using this process starting as a new user on my computer, I was able to restore a bricked iPhone beginning at 1:02am and finishing at 1:31am.

More useful links on this topic:

Apple Support – Restore Error Messages

By now everyone has heard of Dreamgirls, but even before Beyonce, Jamie Foxx and Jennifer Hudson made it a household name, superstar Will Smith (who was then known only as the Fresh Prince of Bel Air) was doing a hilarious rendition of the musical turned movie’s signature tune, “And I Am Telling You (I’m Not Going)”.

Bob Nelson is pure comedic genius, and this appearance at Dangerfield’s quite a few years back will hopefully introduce some of you to a comedian that you may have never even heard of before.  He is a master of comedic impressions.

In closing this edition of Frugal Friday Funnies, I thought I would leave you with the song that has been stuck in my head for the past three days, just because I can.  I am a huge fan of Scissor Sisters and for some reason their song “Kiss You Off” has been the earworm that just won’t go away this week.  Here’s hoping it isn’t quite as severe for you!

I sure hope you all have a wonderful weekend!  It is Friday – have some fun and remember to always make the most of life no matter where you are or what your condition.  There is always someone, somewhere who is just a little worse off than you are and you need to take just a minute to be thankful for what you do have instead of always being upset about what you don’t.

Try to take life a little less seriously from time to time.  It will keep you on your toes and keep you feeling much younger.  It also just may help you keep your blood pressure down and keep you from ending up in the obituaries quite so soon.

Here are a few simple ways that you can save quite a bit of money over the course of a year by altering your lifestyle and behaviors only slightly and with a minimal impact on how you already live your life.

1.  Make absolutely sure that you pay each and every bill you receive by the date it is due.  Late fees and other associated penalties not only suck, they add up.  Would you not rather spend that extra five, ten or twenty dollars on groceries or put it into your savings account?  I know I would!

2.  If you have a dishwasher, you should probably use it.  I know that is possibly not what you would expect a frugal guy like me to say, but the majority of people waste a ton of water when they wash dishes.  If you aren’t the type who fills both sinks once and washes everything that way you are better off using the dishwasher and only then when it is full.

3.  Fix the damn sink!  Even a slow drip on a faucet can cause you to lose as much as a gallon of water every hour – most often it is even more than that!  Do I really need to do the math for you?

4.  If you are not using it, turn it off.  That goes not only for lights, but televisions, radios and even that precious home computer.  Electronics that are not in use can be unplugged for even more savings.

5.  If you have central air conditioning, get a programmable thermostat!  They don’t cost that much but you could save quite a bit by setting the temperature a little higher when the house is empty.  By raising the temperature a few degrees while you are at work you can realize a power bill savings as high as 10 percent or more!