The 75th Festival of Frugality was hosted at Get Rich Slowly. This week’s festival covers a wide range of topics - from saving money in the kitchen to frugal investing. I enjoy reading a variety of frugal articles - it gets me inspired to try new frugal strategies. Here are a few posts from the festival that I enjoyed the most:

Mom Advice has a wonderful post about frugal wedding gifts. I especially liked the idea of giving Christmas decorations to a newly married couple!

I really enjoyed “Know Thyself: Why Money Saving Gadgets Often Don’t Save Money” from SavingAdvice.com. This article rings so true - sometimes things that are supposed to save money just wind up collecting dust.

The Simple Dollar shared a frugal Saturday and proved you don’t have to spend a lot of money to have a memorable weekend.

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The 101st Carnival of Personal Finance is up over on FIRE Finance. There were a lot of very helpful posts included in the carnival - here are a few of my favorites:

My Two Dollars writes Does Bundling Your Cable, Phone & Internet Save Any Money?. This is a great example that you really need to “run the numbers” when determining if a deal is really a good deal.

Everybody Loves Your Money discusses What Drives The Craving To Spend Money?. Practicing fiscal self control requires you to identify your spending triggers.

Money Smart Life shares The Simple Secret of Investing. Very helpful for someone who is new to investing.

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I’ve written a lot about the great deals I find at the dollar store in my area. I recently received a comment from a reader who wondered about the quality of some of the items. I’ve found many items for sale in the dollar store that are exactly the same quality (and sometimes even the same brand) as other discount stores such as Target or Walmart. It really depends on the dollar store that you visit. I checked out all the dollar stores in my area to get an idea of the merchandise they carried, and then decided which dollar store I would visit most often. I’ve found the best bargains at The Dollar Tree store. From my past experience shopping there, here are five items I’ve found that are essentially the same quality but at a much lower price:

1. Gift wrap. Year round you can find a great selection of rolled gift wrap at $1 per roll. On occasion I’ve found cute theme based paper (such as for a birthday or a baby gift) but I can always find a nice selection of solid color wrap that is perfect for any occasion. Similar rolls of wrap at discount stores are priced anywhere from $2.99 to $3.99. The gift wrap choices are even better during Christmas when all sorts of themed paper come out including wrap with popular characters.

2. Gift bags. You can find a large selection of gift bags for any occasion and all are only $1. Some of the smaller bags are 2 for $1. This is a great deal as compared to the gift bags in discount stores which can run from $1.99 for a small bag all the way up to $4.99 for a large bag. Again, at Christmas time I’ve found really decorative gift bags with a variety of Christmas themes.

3. Party supplies such as plastic table covers, plates, forks, and solid color napkins. A package of colored napkins or plates will cost you between $2.99 and $3.99 at Target or Walmart. You can definitely save a lot when shopping at the dollar store versus a party supply store! I wrote a while back that when I throw a birthday party, I purchase the majority of the party supplies at the dollar store and then get one or two themed items from a local party store.

4. Kid’s Coloring Books. At $1 per book, you can’t really go wrong here. I’ve found all the popular character books including My Little Pony, Disney Princess, John Deere, etc. These coloring books are $2.99 and up at the local discount stores.

5. Mylar balloons. My local store has mylar balloons for all occasions including birthdays, new baby, and seasonal balloons for graduation, July 4, and Memorial Day and other holidays. Can’t beat a buck for a mylar balloon!

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