If you’ve decided to undertake a frugal lifestyle, you may find yourself in the same boat. It’s easy to procrastinate when you are ready to undergo a major overhaul of your life. Finding a way to break this huge task down into simple steps could help you get started down your new path.

Create a budget that allows you to live within your means. Your budget should include all of your regular expenses and your monthly debt payments. Remember to only plan to spend the money you bring home each month. If you run out of money before you run out of expenses, you’ll need to increase your income or decrease your expenses.

Vow not to use debt to finance purchases that don’t fit into your budget. A key component of any frugal life is the absence of debt (or a decreasing amount of debt). Once you eliminate debt from your life, you’ll find that living within your monthly income will be much easier.

Find extravagances that you don’t need in your budget. At first glance, you may think that there isn’t any wiggle room in your monthly expenses. I suspect, though, that a closer inspection will reveal plenty of ways to save money. Cutting cable or satellite television, for instance, can be an easy way to save money. Don’t take anything for granted as you evaluate your expenses, and you’ll find the fat in your budget.

Use cash or debit cards for all of your purchases. The temptation to use a credit card (with the hope to find a way to pay the bill later) is far too great when you’re just starting down the path to frugality. Pay with cash or a debit card to make your purchases feel more “real.”

Have a family meeting. Now that you’ve decided to live a frugal life, you should share your decision with the entire household. Tell the kids what you’re doing, why you’re doing it, and what the decision will mean to them. If you can get everyone on board to the plan right away, you will find it easier to encourage them accept the impending sacrifices that will be coming.

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Since entertaining is so important to us, we have always known that we would need to make room in our budget for entertaining costs. A budget that didn’t include these costs would just be unrealistic for us.

We also knew, though, that we would have to set some limits to our entertaining budget. We didn’t want our entertainment spending to be out of proportion with the rest of our expenses, so we started hunting for ways to save on entertaining costs.

Go potluck. The real fun of entertaining doesn’t come from physically preparing meals for all of your friends and family. The fun comes from interacting with the people you care about. Rather than spending the whole day in the kitchen, why shouldn’t you share the work of entertaining? If everyone contributes a little something, no one will feel a pinch in their wallets.

Plan some type of entertainment. What types of things do you and your friends like to do? Are you board game people? Ask everyone to bring their favorite game so that you have a wide selection of games to choose from. Do you like sports? A game of touch football in the backyard may be the perfect way to spend an afternoon. Just be sure to plan entertainment ahead of time so that you are not tempted to run out and buy something at the last minute to entertain your guests with.

Skip excessive decorations. With the exception of Christmas parties (and possibly Halloween parties) most adult gatherings don’t need a lot of décor. Don’t spend a lot of money of cheesy extras. Instead, focus your energy on cleaning and preparing your home for the big day.

Forget paper invitations. Most family gatherings don’t require you to send out formal invitations. (There are a few exceptions, of course.) Rather than spending money on invitations and postage, why not invest a little time and call or email all of your prospective guests.

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Don’t rush to the nearest home organization store the next time you decide to organize all or part of your home. There’s no need to spend an exorbitant amount of money to make your home organized and attractive. With a little hard work, some creativity, and frugality (always!) you can keep the clutter at bay.

Purge the things you don’t need. De-cluttering your home is one of the most powerful things you can do to help you get it organized, and it doesn’t cost a dime. Clearing out the things you don’t use or want anymore will allow you to see and use the things you do want. Throw away things that aren’t useful to anyone. Sell things that others might want, and donate whatever is left.

Sort and display things where you can see them. Many of my unnecessary purchases have been caused by my inability to determine what I need. For instance, as a crafter, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve bought a new bottle of craft glue simply because I wasn’t sure if I had any at home. Create attractive (and free) displays from your collections or supplies by sorting them and arranging them in groups together.

Use items you already have for storage. Ordinary items like glass jars and shoe boxes are like gold when it comes to home organization. Soak the labels off glass jars to create great display storage. Small items like paper clips, buttons, ribbon scraps, and even kitchen utensils can be attractively arranged within these stylish, classic containers. Shoe boxes fill in nicely for larger storage or storage that isn’t as attractive. You can always cover the boxes with fabric or paper to help them coordinate with your room’s décor.

Content provided by Not Made Of Money: Budget Home Organization Tips

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If you’re looking for a fall craft to keep you and/or the kids busy this season, I think I may have found a few options for you. Let me know what you think!

Apple Printing – Remember the potato stamps you made when you were a kid? Well, you can use an apple, too. Slice and apple and apply your favorite color of paint or ink to the exposed fruit to create a cool, graphic stamp you can use for wrapping paper, card making, or even artwork. Slice your apple lengthwise to get a stylized apple shape or slice your through it’s midsection to create a round shape embellished by dots (from the seed holes).

Faux Stained Glass – Bright fall colors can adorn many different projects by using tissue paper to create a stained glass effect. Use watered-down craft glue to apply vibrant scraps of tissue paper to a simple, glass votive holders to create sparkling candle holders or arrange the tissue paper within a border cut from card stock to create a piece of “stained glass” art.

Fleece Scarves – Are you looking for a sewing project that anyone can complete? With cooler weather right around the corner, creating playful fleece scarves is something you and the kids will enjoy. Sewers can cut two lengths of fleece (any color or pattern that catches your eye) and sew them together with one long seam down the middle. Then use your scissors to create fringe by cutting slices into your scarf every inch or so. Non-sewers can use slightly wider lengths and tie the slices into knots to create a no-sew version of these scarves.

Hand Wreath – What fall season would be complete without some type of “hand” art? If you can’t stand the thought of making one more “hand” turkey with the kids, you may be ready to move on to the “hand” wreath. Trace your little ones’ hands many times (thirty or forty) and cut them out of varying shades of green construction paper. Then let the kids layers the hands onto a ring of paper or cardstock. The end result will be a fun wreath that you’ll love to hang in your home.

Content provided by Not Made Of Money: Frugal Crafts for Fall

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What you may not realize, though, is that using casseroles in your meal plans can also help you stretch your food budget. By using inexpensive ingredients or even leftovers from another meal you can put entrees together for next to nothing. Here are some of my favorite options:

Beef and Macaroni Bake – I think of this casserole as a home-made version of hamburger helper. Begin by cooking a bag of your family’s favorite pasta. We like macaroni, but you can also use shells or bow-tie pasta. Then combine the pasta with brown hamburger (we use leftovers from the previous night’s taco night) and your favorite spices. You can use Mexican seasoning for a spicy casserole or stick to salt and pepper for a more traditional meal. Finally add some chopped onion and two or three cups of shredded cheese into the mixture. Stir everything together and then place into a casserole dish. Bake at 350 degrees until the cheese bubbles.

Chicken and Cheese Casserole – Nothing can be simpler than this delicious chicken casserole. Begin by placing thin, boneless chicken breasts into the bottom of a baking dish. Cover the breasts with bread crumbs. (Flour will do in a pinch.) Add a cup of marinara sauce and your favorite spice to the dish. Then, sprinkle cheese over everything. Bake at 400 degrees for thirty minutes or so.

Tuna Noodle Casserole – Cooked egg noodles, tuna, and cream of mushroom soup come together to create this comforting dish. Begin by combining the soup, a cup of milk, and salt and pepper. In a separate bowl, mix your cooked noodles with two cans of drained tuna. Pour the soup mixture over the noodles and tuna and stir until it is well-mixed. Finally, pour the entire concoction into a baking dish. Sprinkle ½ cup of crushed saltine crackers over the entire dish and bake at 350 degrees for thirty minutes.

Turkey Casserole – This casserole is great for using some of that turkey leftover from Thanksgiving. Place leftover turkey chunks into a baking dish sprinkling in chopped onion and celery. Add a cup of Alfredo sauce, some shredded cheese and bread crumbs over the top of the dish. Bake at 350 degrees until the cheese is melted and beginning to brown.

Sausage and Egg Casserole – Who says casseroles are only suitable for dinner? Brown your favorite sausage, breaking the sausage into small bits as you cook. Drain any fat or grease from the sausage on paper towels and lay it aside. Now you can focus on preparing the eggs. Prepare the eggs as you would prepare scrambled eggs, adding milk and any seasonings you like. Then, sprinkle the sausage and a cup of your favorite shredded cheese into the mixing bowl. Pour the entire concoction into a baking dish and bake at 325 degrees until the eggs are cooked all the way through.

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