Each week, Guides across the About.com Parenting Channel participate in "Thrifty Thursday," which is a series of blog posts written on the theme of saving money. Here, you'll find all of the Thrifty Thursday blog posts written specifically for Grandparents:
I don't know what big changes you need to make in your financial situation, but little changes can give anyone's budget a boost. One of your New Year's Resolutions should be to identify and eliminate expenditures that seem small but that can really add up--what author David Bach calls the Latte Factor®.
When I was a young married, I would sometimes brag to my husband about some purchase I had made. "I saved $20!" I would say about the shoes or jacket on sale for half price. "No," he would say. "You spent $20." He was right, of course. Money that is truly saved resides in one's saving account, IRA or other safe place.
You probably know that you can take defensive driving instead of paying a ticket to protect your driving record. What you may not know is that you can also take defensive driving to lower your car insurance. A typical savings is 10% of your auto insurance bill, and the savings is good for three years. A typical online course costs $25.
You don't have to go to dollar stores to find stocking stuffers for a dollar, as I found out on a trip to the craft store Michaels. I am also a fan of the dollar spot at Target and probably would have hit it this year had I not happened upon the goodies in Michaels.
I enjoy nicely wrapped presents, but the cost of wrapping paper and accessories really hurts my frugal nature. Through the years I've done lots of things to save money on wrapping. I save by using kraft paper in brown or white. You can use stamps to decorate the white or the brown, and the brown paper is very attractive paired with natural items like raffia and pine cones.
It is my family's Thanksgiving tradition to use that gathering to draw names for Christmas giving. We've modified it a bit in recent years. The kids still draw names, but we recently instituted a "gift grab" for the adults. If you've been buying gifts for every member of the family, drawing names or having gift exchanges can reduce the expense and the stress of holiday shopping.
The British have a good idea for a variation on the classic garage or yard sale. It's the car boot sale. It requires a group of sellers and a parking lot. The sellers pack their goods in their car "boots" or trunks, then pull into a parking place, pop out a folding table or a blanket and set out their goods for sale.
If you don't clip grocery coupons, this holiday season you might want to glance through them before you toss them. You might save some money on gifts for grandkids. I found coupons for toys and clothing tucked in among the ones for cereal and shampoo. You can also use your coupons to put together low-cost goody bags of edibles or toiletries.
My local Kroger store offers a 10% discount to seniors on the first Wednesday of each month. Other chains have similar events. Call your local grocery stores and check their senior deals and discounts, or ask if they are matching Kroger's deal.
We know that thrifty people use their local libraries for books, CDs and DVDs, but here's a new money-saving wrinkle. Visit your library online and download free audio books and e-books. You won't even burn gas if you visit online, and there are no late fees or fines because there's nothing to return.
