Frugal Fun - Host a 'Swap' Night with Friends (Jewelry, Pantry Swap, etc)

Need some fun new jewelry or accessories? Or, do you feel the urge to go shopping and load up on new makeup and beauty supplies, but your wallet is telling you otherwise?

Why not have a Swap Night with friends? You can choose the theme:

• Pantry Swap - swap products that you don't really need for ones you do
• Beauty Swap - hair care products, skincare products, perfume, etc
• Fashion Swap - Clothing that you no longer wear (or maybe that no longer fits properly) can be swapped for brand new to you clothes! (You can also swap shoes that you no longer wear, jewelry and/or accessories like belts and scarves.)
• Kids' Clothes and Toys Swap - Children's clothing and toys are a great theme for a swap night! You'll save a ton of money, and so will your friends.

Have everyone bring a refreshment, and your frugal swap night will be a lot of fun for a very few pennies. And, this is also recycling at its very best!

Use this Instead of That: Oil as a Makeup Remover

I did a little experiment earlier today...I had run out of eye makeup remover (I often use the presoaked make up remover pads for convenience, and because they even take off waterproof mascara.) What could I use instead?

We had a small bottle of all-natural massage oil in the medicine cabinet. It had ingredients like jojoba oil, soy oil and sweet almond oil, and said it contained no irritants. Hmmm! I'd read in a woman's magazine that eye makeup remover should be a bit oily, to successfully remove all traces of makeup from your eyes, without having to tug (and cause wrinkles! Boo!)

I poured a little bit onto an oversized cotton ball and - it worked amazingly well! In fact, it removed every trace of mascara, even better than the specialty remover does. I think any all-natural oil blend (or even regular olive oil!) would work just fine too. Keep in mind, though, that if you want to use an oil like this, you'll need to take off your eye makeup first, and then wash your face as normal to remove all traces of oil.

Let me know if you try it and like this tip!

How Taking a Lunch can Save You $1600+ a year!

Phew, eating out really adds up! Look at how some typical lunches can hit your bank account over the course of a year:

• Fast food x 3 meals a week = $18.00 = $900
• 'Nice' lunch once a week with coworkers = $15 a pop = $750
• Bagged lunch 1 time a week = $0 additional (paid for with grocery budget)

Let's take all of these numbers and multiply them by 50 weeks...and you get (gulp!) $1650 a year! And that's just on lunches! This is a really low estimate too, as some lunches can be a lot pricier than this.

Make a firm and determined goal for yourself to simply NOT EAT OUT AT LUNCH. Leftovers from last night's meals, or a simple sandwich and a piece of fruit are healthy options that are a frugalite's dream.