The 254th Festival of Frugality – It’s Hard to be Frugal During the Holidays

Can you believe it’s already the second week of November? Thanksgiving is just a few weeks away and then we’re full-swing into the holiday season. It’s a wonderful time of year, but it’s probably one of the most difficult times to be frugal. We’re entertaining, taking time off of work, visiting family, and often pressured into buying gifts. This can create a big drain on the bank account or credit cards if we’re not careful.

Even though it’s harder to save money this time of year, that just means this Festival of Frugality couldn’t come at a better time. This week you’ll find tips that range from saving money immediately to planning your finances for a frugal 2011. So, get ready to save some money and if you are on Twitter, be sure to follow me for even more money-saving tips.

Editor’s Picks:

• Joe Plemon presents How to Live Frugally Without Being an Extremist posted at Personal Finance By The Book – I really enjoyed this piece because a lot of people associate being frugal with being extremely cheap. That’s not the case at all, and you don’t have to go to terrible extremes just to live a frugal lifestyle.
• J. Money presents The No Restaurants in November Challenge posted at Budgets Are Sexy – Like I mentioned above, it’s tough to save money this time of year. It might be more difficult, but it isn’t impossible. That’s why I like J. Money’s challenge of not going out to eat at all in November. Can you do it?
• Jason presents 6 Ways to Stretch a Meal posted at Live Real, Now – I love this because food is near and dear to me. I’m a huge advocate of saving money by learning how to cook great meals at home. This is a great roundup of some staples to really stretch your grocery budget.

vh presents Calculating the next year’s budgeting posted at Funny about Money.

Stephan Marks presents How to Lower Shipping Costs posted at Promo Code Center.

FIRE Finance presents 15 Financial Failings That Will Prevent An Early Retirement! posted at FIRE Finance.

FMF presents How to Find Great Deals on Airfare posted at Free Money Finance.

Rachel presents Hidden Money: How to Find Miscellaneous Fees posted at MomVesting.

Craig Ford presents 10 Ways to Save Money at the Movies posted at Money Help For Christians.

N.W. Journey presents Money Management 101: How to Create a Budget posted at Networth Journey.

MoneyNing presents Should We Shield Our Kids From The Economic Reality? posted at Money Ning.

Lauren presents 3 Reasons Why We Keep & Buy Crap posted at Richly Reasonable – Money, Saving, Living, Playing.

Money Beagle presents Do You Ever Leave Coupons Behind? posted at Money Beagle.

Kristina presents A Financial Burden: Do Children Equal Debt? posted at Dual Income No Kids.

Lindy presents Step Two: Question Mark posted at Minting Nickels.

Odysseas presents Store Credit Cards and Bad Credit posted at Wallet Blog.

Neal Frankle presents Private Career Colleges ? Calculate the Value posted at Wealth Pilgrim: Money Management Advice, Financial Stess Management, Addiction Recovery Plan & Resources.

debt kid presents Real Costs of a Car posted at Debt Kid.

Ray @ Financial Highway presents Will You Have a Frugal Holiday Season? posted at Financial Highway.

Kay Lynn Akers presents Plan for Black Friday Shopping posted at Bucksome Boomer.

Donna Freedman presents A cheaper Entertainment Book posted at Smart Spending.

Silicon Valley Blogger presents 3 Things To Do With Your Online Cashback Earnings posted at The Digerati Life.

PT presents Cars Under $1000: How to Find Them posted at PT Money.

Roshawn Watson presents Good Old Middle Class or Wealthy – You Decide Redux posted at Watson Inc.

freefrombroke presents Getting Free Premium Cable Channels ‒ How Paying Attention Netted Us HBO, Cinemax, And More posted at Free From Broke.

Tom @ Canadian Finance Blog presents Making Smart Hobby Decisions posted at Canadian Finance Blog.

Miss Thrifty presents My 80-year-old wedding dress: behold! posted at Miss Thrifty.

Ken presents Buying a Town house: What You Should Know Before You Buy One posted at Spruce Up Your Finances.

Jason presents Time for Cheaper Electricity Bills | Save Money! posted at One Money Design.

Tim Chen presents How Will a Charge Card Affect My Credit Score? posted at NerdWallet Blog – Credit Card Watch.

Kate Kashman presents Saving with Smarty Pig posted at The Paycheck Chronicles.

Miss T presents 8 Ways to Save Money on Clothes | Prairie EcoThrifter.com posted at Prairie Eco-Thrifter.

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