Are you looking for great frugal living resources? Or maybe you like the way something is done on my blog and you are wondering how I did it. Then this page is exactly what you are looking for! Below are some of my favorite resources for different things. (Some links are my affiliate links and I do earn a percentage when you buy through my link. You can read more about that here. But mostly, these are just the things I use and love.)
Frugal Living Resources
Printable coupons– Printable coupons are one of my favorite ways to save money. It’s so easy to go online before going shopping and print out what you need. You can find some by going straight to the manufacturer’s website but Coupons.com is my favorite first stop.
Newspaper coupons– You certainly can buy a newspaper but I prefer to use a coupon clipping service. I am able to get exactly what I want that way and it often ends up being cheaper than buying a paper or two. Klip2Save is my favorite.
Food processor– I love my food processor. It makes doing things like making brown sugar, making a graham cracker crust, or making homemade baby food so much easier. There is no need to purchase a baby food maker when you have a stove, microwave, and food processor. Plus, you can use the food processor for so many other things.
Ebates– I never shop online without checking Ebates first. Cashback on things I was already going to purchase? Yes please!
Slow cooker– I cannot even tell you how much the slow cooker saves my budget. Between being able to make “oven” meals in the summer to cooking dry beans, it is a big tool in my kitchen. I have a simple one and a more complicated one. Both get used for different reasons and sized meals.
Printer– Yes, there are a lot of different printers out there and maybe some don’t consider it a frugal tool. However, I have a printer that also scans and copies. It has saved so much money and time over the years. I prefer an HP printer as the ink is affordable and they last a long time for me. I love having wireless one as it is much simpler to print things.
Swagbucks– This one is big for me. I am able to earn money to help buy things on Amazon. Since I live rurally and most things end up having to be ordered, this is very important. Doing a few Swagbucks tasks every day adds up quickly and helps provide things my family needs and wants.
Blogging Resources
Blog design– I cannot recommend Monique at Fantastique Designs enough. She was great to work with, did a great job, and was reasonably priced. (Note: As of 2016, I started doing my own blog design but I still highly recommend Monique.)
Web hosting– I am currently using SiteGround. So far, I really like them. They were great when I had questions before making the switch from my old host and came highly recommended. There was zero downtime during the transfer and it was super fast! They have great customer service and are very affordable.
Picture editing– I beyond love PicMonkey. It is very worth the small yearly fee. There are so many other overlays, fonts, etc. Very user-friendly. I also use Pixlr when I need something similar to Photoshop. Pixlr is free but not as user-friendly as it is a more robust program.
Pictures– Most of my pictures for free from Pixabay. But when I do need to pay for a photo, I often go to Photo Dune. For the size I need, I generally only have to pay $2-3. There is no monthly fee, just pay per photo.
Cloud drive/file storage- I use a few different cloud drives but Dropbox is my favorite. It is so easy to use for file storage and I love, love, love it for accessing my phone’s photos from my computer. I also love that you get 2GB free before you have to start paying for an account.
Pinterest scheduling- I used to think that scheduling Pinterest pins was unnecessary. Boy, was I wrong! I’ve seen some growth from it but mostly my time is cleared up greatly. Tailwind is very much worth it to save that time and sanity.
Money Earning
Izea– Izea is one of my favorites for how easy it is. You won’t earn a lot all at once but the little bits add up. I use them for sponsored tweets but they also have blog posts, Instagram, etc. Basically, you see opportunities you are interested in and you bid on them. I generally make $5 per tweet. Some months I do one or two, some months I don’t do any, and other months I do five or more.
ShareASale– ShareASale is basically the middleman for affiliate programs. It is how companies and website manage their affiliates. Think of it like a property management company but for companies to pay their affiliates. I am an affiliate through them for: Checkout51, PicMonkey, Shutterfly, and Craftsy. That’s only a small selections of the companies available. No matter what your genre or niche, you should be able to find companies through ShareASale that will appeal to your readers.