A New Year’s Resolution that You Can Actually Follow Through With: Be More Frugal!

Tomorrow is already New Year’s Eve, can you believe that because I know I can’t! Weren’t we watching horror movies and handing out candy to trick-or-treaters last week? While a great deal of people are planning their annual New Year’s Eve bashes or making plans to celebrate with their friends and family, it is also the time when a great deal of people are making New Year’s Resolutions and frankly, most resolutions are not kept for very long despite the intentions behind them. I have never been one for resolutions but looking back on the past few years and particularly our finances, 2010 has to be a prosperous year and there needs to be a little more management there and so this year, I have made a resolution. 2010 is going to be a more frugal year for this family!

Saving money may seem like a very simple task to some. However, when you get in the midst of a busy week and you’re scrambling to get chores around the house done after working all day, the convenience of ordering out instead of bringing yourself to cook a meal really overcomes you. Saving money has become increasingly hard for many families out there because of the financial crisis and it’s subsequent job loss, when you have debt piling up on top of debt and you’re struggling to pay your rent or mortgage, monthly bills and car insurance, the act of trying to save money becomes extremely difficult.

Luckily, when it comes to the topic of trying to save money, there are a great deal of people out there who feel your pain and who are in the same boat and are sharing their experiences and pointers during the process. This article, 30 Ways to Save Money is one of the best list of pointers I have come across because it not only includes the average tips such as cooking more at home and avoiding impulse buying, although they do make the list, but also advising you to stay away from lavish friends who seem to have it all which will make you want it all by extension and also to go to the movie theaters before 6PM if you enjoy that sort of thing or want to have a date night with your partner because most theaters have early bird matinee showings for the first showing of the day. There are also a great deal of coupon codes you can find from several stores, companies and businesses so when you need to purchase something, a lot of the times you can find some promotional offers and when you do, you can then buy in bulk!

Living frugally can be a bit difficult to get used to, especially when you live in a country that celebrates rapid consumerism and when you are not used to having the mindset that you need to cut back on spending or telling yourself not to buy something if you do not really need it. I’m determined to eliminate the buy buy buy mindset for 2010!

Get in the Mood for Fall with Pumpkin Butter

The chilly nights and mornings are here and with that, we’re noticing the climate change as it becomes Fall here. Fall is my favorite season; the leaves change and everything is just beautiful and I tend to get in the mood for fall a lot sooner than I should. I’m already thinking of pumpkins, pumpkin patches, and children trick or treating. It’s just a beautiful time and the weather is perfect. So while I’ve been ready for fall since August, it is finally time to really get in that spirit and it’s time to mix things up a little bit and get your taste buds in the mood too!

Here is a fabulous recipe for pumpkin butter; perhaps a recipe to save for after Halloween and you have all of those extra pumpkins laying around. Don’t throw them away, use them in your cooking!

You will need:

• 2 pounds peeled, seeded, and diced sugar pie pumpkin (substitute canned if needed)
• 1/4 cup turbinado sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• Pinch of salt

1. In a stainless steel pot, combine pumpkin, sugar, brown sugar, and salt; bring to a simmer. (If using fresh pumpkin, stir until it’s tender, about 20 to 30 minutes.)

2. Continue simmering until the mixture starts to thicken, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and transfer to a blender; blend until smooth. Return mixture to pot and heat for 10 minutes on low until it reaches desired thickness. Remove, cool, and serve.

And that’s it! You can do a few things with this butter and probably a lot more if you start to think out of the box a little. Of course it can be used on top of breads and toast and also on top of bagels, muffins or even in muffins or in between layers of a vanilla cake; just cut the pastry in half, layer pumpkin butter on the bottom and put the top back on! Have fun!

Costumes for Every Party and Occassion

While Halloween is still a few months away, it is never too early to start planning; whether it’s costumes, party planning or home decorating, Halloween is the best time of the year–Or so was the motto where I was raised with a Halloween-obsessed grandmother that passed her love of Halloween onto me.

One key note about Halloween is that once September hits, all party stores go all out with decorating, carrying house decorations that by the time October rolls around, they don’t work anymore because of everyone “testing” the product out to see if it talks, plays spooky music, growls or cackles. To ensure that everything works and you get the costume, decorations and party favors and decorations as well as the time to effectively put everything together, a lot of people have turned to shopping online.

One of the most important things to take into consideration when buying anything online is price, especially when shipping and handling is involved. A great site that offers not only an extensive amount of Halloween costumes is Buy Costumes, a known and trusted retailer for all baby, child and adult costumes, party favors and decorations. Best of all, Buy Costumes doesn’t just specialize in Halloween items, but for all celebrations and parties including favors and costumes for the 4th of July, which is just around the corner.