Funky Frugal Mommy

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!  So Halloween is here and it is going to be fun. As I was carving my pumpkins last night I realized that they will get all of their use just sitting there looking good. What if you could get some better uses out of your pumpkins? The kids absolutely loved my idea to make a pumpkin puzzle.  Simply cut out some simple shapes in your pumpkins and let the kids pop them back in. My kids sat at the table for hours playing with their pumpkin puzzle.  The truth about tampering with Halloween candy! When kids start wolfing down their Halloween treats, there’s always one grim specter lurking in the back of parents' minds: what if some madman had filled their candy with poison, razor blades, needles, or some other decidedly terrifying foreign substance? But has this ever actually happened? Let’s take a look at how realistic these fears are. Has anyone ever really handed out poisoned Halloween candy? To random children? Not that we know o

Free is the best price, here I have compiled a list of free Halloween printables to keep you and your little ghouls and goblins busy all week long! Halloween Paper Toys Disney Printables and more! Spooky Banner Halloween Bingo Bat Treat Bags Skeleton Hand Treat Bags Party Printables Fun Mazes Educational Preschool Worksheet Stand Up Cat Craft Pumpkin and Ghost Wreath Pumpkin Patterns and Templates Halloween Word Search 31 More Printables 10 Additional Printables 4 in 1 Activity Sheet Fun Code Breaker Well I hope you enjoy this list of fun and have an excellent time playing with your little ones! I love Lovable Labels, they have the highest quality labels for every need imaginable. It is their 5th birthday this month and to celebrate they are having a sale every day for the next 5 days, 50% off the selected product! All you have to do is visit their website to find out the deal of the day!  http://ww

We all want to look our best, but have you seen the prices of top of the line face cream?!? There is no way I would ever spend 70-100 dollars on a face cream, wash, scrub, etc. I enjoy looking good while not spending a fortune and I think everyone should have the opportunity to do it as well. So here I have a couple simple recipes that cost a few dollars to make for yourself. Anti-wrinkle Eye Cream This cream is comparable to the highest quality face creams and can be made for a small fraction of the cost. 2 TBSP Jasmine Oil 1/4 Cup Avocado Oil 2 TBSP Almond Oil 3 TBSP Wheat Germ Oil 2 TBSP Lanolin 2 TBSP Glycerin  2 Drops Geranium Oil 1 TBSP Olive Oil 1 Vitamin E Capsule  1. Begin by warming the jasmine oil in a saucepan on low heat. 2. Using a double boiler, warm the avocado, almond, and wheat germ oils and then stir in the lanolin until melted and combined. 3. Add the jasmine oil to the double boiler as well and stir until well c

That is a giant stack of diapers! I won all 460 of those Huggies Pure and Natural diapers through Terracycle. For those of you that don' know about Terracycle they are an absolutely amazing company that recycles all kinds of different packaging and materials and they make it so easy for you to get involved. They give you printable shipping labels for whichever item you signed up to recycle and give you points and chances to win stuff in return. TerraCycle is a proud triple-bottom line company. Founded in 2001 by Tom Szaky, then a 20-year-old Princeton University freshman, TerraCycle, Inc. began producing organic fertilizer by packaging liquified “worm poop” in used soda bottles. Since the inauspicious start, TerraCycle has become one of the fastest-growing green companies in the world. Today, TerraCycle is a highly-awarded, international upcycling and recycling company that collects difficult-to-recycle packaging and products and repurposes the material into af

Cold and flu season is here early and that means you need to be prepared to fight it off, treat, and prevent which means you need to make sure you have what you need to survive comfortably. Nobody likes waking up feeling sick and being completely unprepared to handle the symptoms, I don't think any of us like shopping while we are sick. So stock up before it's too late and here are my favorite items: Ester-C® is a unique and patented form of Calcium Ascorbate, which is created when ascorbic acid (vitamin C) is buffered with calcium. Ester-C® takes Calcium ascorbate and, using a proprietary, water-based manufacturing process, produces a pH neutral product that contains active Vitamin C metabolites (that do not exist in any other form of Vitamin C, including Calcium ascorbate). These natural metabolites provide quick absorption. Ester-C® also functions biologically like other forms of Vitamin C, providing benefits for skin, joint and vision health, cardiovascul

I am in the middle of my very first bankruptcy and have learned many things from the mistakes I had made. I never had credit cards or anything but I did have loans and payments that just never got made due to terrible circumstances that changed many things in my life. I am now recovering from my poor decisions and had wonderful words of wisdom brought to me by my counselor. He taught me how to rebuild from my bankruptcy and begin climbing up the ladder to being a responsible credit holder. And now I get to share this information with you. The Secured Credit Card Once you are getting close to the end of your bankruptcy you can look into getting a "secured credit card" which is a card where you put down a deposit and the credit card company keeps it as collateral in case you decide to stop making payments. The deposit is usually around 300 and they will give you a credit limit of around the same amount varying by card of course.  The trick to rebuilding with this me

This is my second year taking part of the Swapoween and I have to say I am one lucky girl to have gotten such an amazing swap partner. My partner this year was Cindy Smith and she is amazing, a bit of a rule bender (in a good way) with an amazing blog: http://cindysloveofbooks.com/ !  So why do I call this wonderful woman a rule bender? Well the budget for the swaps is between 20-30 dollars before shipping and Cindy went so far off budget I was shocked! Check this out! The "beware" sign was the very first item in the package as well, I cannot believe how above and beyond Cindy went with this swap! Someone is getting a very nice Christmas greeting from me this year! Cindy thank you for spreading the love and making our Swapoween so special!

My latest goals are quite a challenge. They involve a lot of discipline, money, and budgeting. My goals are very realistic and possible but they are going to be very challenging due to the fact that I am on an extremely tight budget with very little wiggle room for temptation or emergencies. When I thought about it that way it scared me into thinking I need to save money while reaching my goals just in case something should come up while I am climbing the stairs to my goal. The last thing I want to do is dip into my goal money in an emergency. Here is how I am saving while reaching my goal: 1. Split extra earnings between goals and savings. Here is what I mean, when I do jobs on Odesk or make money writing posts or additional babysitting above my regular shifts I put half of the money into my goal jar and half the money into my savings jar.  2. Use my creativity to create gifts, as well as fun surprises for my kids. When I think of all the birthdays and special occasions coming

There is nothing better then reading some seasonal stories just before bedtime, my kids absolutely love getting into the Halloween spirit with some great books. These are our top 5 picks for Halloween children's books! 1. I Like Pumpkins 2.The Haunted House That Jack Built 3.Clifford's Halloween 4.The Berenstain Bears Trick or Treat 5.The Berenstain Bears go on a Ghost Walk These are our top 5 picks for the month of October, alongside our usual stories of course. What are some of your favorite Halloween stories?

Halloween is approaching and crafting is always good for the family. Here are some of my favorite crafts and activities I enjoy doing as the wicked fun holiday approaches! Mummy Votives Tombstones Spooky Ghosts Pretty Fall Branches Garbage Bag Rats Ghost Lanterns Candy Corn