Finding Your Frugal Way. Staci M.D. Gerardi

      

      Finding Your Frugal Way

      Learn how to save money, live a frugal life, and fit it all into your busy lifestyle.

      No Dumpster Diving Required.

      Written by: Staci Gerardi

      Edited by: Judi Moss

      Finding Your Frugal Way

      by Staci Gerardi

      Copyright 2011 Staci Gerardi,

      All rights reserved.

      Published in eBook format by eBookIt.com

       http://www.eBookIt.com

      ISBN-13: 978-1-4566-0561-2

      No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.

      Dedicated to my Kids, Little Miss and The Boy, and my husband, my best friend and always my strongest supporter.

      Special thanks to Michelle from OneVoicePublishingSolutions.com for all her expertise.

      What people are saying about Finding Your Frugal Way

      Thanks to Staci’s advice, I joined a points earning website, and I’m loving all the rewards that have come with it. I've turned my points into gift cards, which have helped me afford to buy things that I would never have been able to get normally. Also, with the grocery coupons available on my point earning site, I've saved, at least, $25 when grocery shopping every time. Thanks to Staci I'm becoming fabulously frugal... and I'm loving it! – Jennifer, Coast Guard Wife, Mother to two, and Student in the great state of Ohio

      I have been a loyal reader of Staci's blog (www.NovemberSunflower.com) for quite some time and I have learned so much from her. I have only been applying a handful of her techniques, and not even as diligently as she does! In just one month, I received over $100 in cash and gift cards by redeeming points that I accumulated over several months. This does not count what I have learned from her about saving at least 50% off of my grocery bill every week.

      Staci generously shares her wealth of knowledge on her blog on a daily basis. She has essentially taken students on for free, and helped so many families learn how to stretch their money beyond what any of us could imagine doing on our own. When people are asking themselves "How can I feed my family?", Staci is asking herself "How can I help others feed their families?". I can only imagine how she has positively impacted the lives of families who are struggling during these tough economic times. – Sofia Sugiarto, Wife, Home Schooling Mother of 6, and fellow blogger at Sofia’s Ideas, from Florida

      Staci and her blog, November Sunflower, have helped me realize I can save money by doing simple, easy things that I do online everyday, anyway. When doing searches online I use my point earning website’s search engine to earn points. I also do the daily survey, watch their TV section and do hunts for codes. I have been saving my points to buy gifts for the holidays. Thank you Staci for keeping me frugal! – Danielle Giglio, Wife, Mother to 2, Photographer (ZF Photo) and Writer on Long Island

      Introduction

      We’re all busy. We all have to fit a lot into our days, and the last thing I want to be doing is spending 40+ hours per week “shopping” bargains. I put time into it, but I don’t stress over it. I’m organized, work with lists, and make sure I “work the system” to get the most out of my money. Is it a perfect system? No. It works for me with two kids, a blog to write, a house to keep, a husband to “deal with”, a business to run, and always keeping it frugal (regardless of how much money I always made – or make – I was, and will always be, SMART with my money).

      When I started my blog I wanted to share how a normal, everyday woman, with a family, saved money. Along the way I learned a few things about being frugal, and how different it is from being cheap.

      I'm not the expert. I'm just like everyone else out there living the American dream. I just manage to live it BELOW my means.

      My tips and tricks will help you to save money without having to become "extreme ". There's no dumpster diving for coupon books, no spending 40 hours planning a trip to the grocery store, and no stockpiling.

      With me, you get my “non-extreme” approach to saving money, one purchase at a time. I like to keep it frugal and help others find their own Frugal Way.

      Before I delve into what I’m going to cover in this fabulous book, I’d like to define what Frugal means. Many people ask me “what’s the difference between cheap and frugal.”

      Many people hear the word “frugal” and their brains automatically register “cheap”, synonymous with “stingy” or “of low quality,” and it doesn’t paint the most flattering picture.

      In actuality, being frugal is not a negative quality at all – it merely means to get the best value for the price you are paying. Being frugal means that you weigh all of your options, and utilize tools available to you in order to purchase your item while spending the least amount of money without skimping on quality.