The Frugal Free Gal

Wait! Before you pay full price for kids books, read this list of 10 Places to Find Cheap Books for Kids!

Are you looking for the cheapest place to buy children’s books?

Brand new kids books can be expensive.

If you walk into any book store and pick a kids book from the shelf to buy, you can expect to pay a lot–sometimes up to $20+ (for one book!)

Prices on books for kids are outrageous, so I take the time to find books for almost 75%-100% off at the following places:

10 Places to Find Cheap Books for Kids

FREE Kindle Books for Kids at Amazon

Did you know that Amazon offers FREE Kindle Books to download for Kids?

Check this link out daily for new books to download! Prices can change any time, so snag them as soon as they are FREE!

50+ Kids Books Under $5

25+ Kids Activity Books and Flash Card Sets Under $3 Each

Garage Sales/Yard Sales

You can find great books for about $0.25-$1.00 at garage/yard sales.

I try not to pay more than that, unless the book is just that awesome. You can even try to talk the price down.

If you wait until the very end of the sale, you may walk away with free books that the family just wants to get rid of!

Related: 5 Easy Steps for Throwing the Perfect Yard Sale

Neighborhood FREE Book Library or “Book Nooks”

Some neighborhoods offer access to little free libraries placed around on certain streets.

Check to see if an area close to you offers one of these great little ways to find books!

Most ask that you kindly add a book that you no longer read if you take a book.

Dollar Stores/Dollar Aisles

You can find a few books at stores like Dollar Tree.

I recently found a great set of Daniel Tiger and P.J. Masks books for my son! I also buy coloring books there.

Watch my Dollar Tree Hauls on YouTube!

Related: Items Worth Buying at the Dollar Store

Thrift Stores

Depending on the thrift store, you can find books that range anywhere from about $0.50-$1.50.

Often times, hardback books are a little more pricey than the softback books. I have found several great books at thrift stores–in new to like-new condition!

Watch my thrift store hauls on YouTube!

Book Swaps with Family and Friends (hand me downs)

This is a good way to get books for free! Trade with family or friends. Some family or friends may even pass down their kids’ books to you

Local Consignment Stores

You can find inexpensive books, depending on the store.

The prices on books at a consignment store are usually higher than kids books at thrift stores, mainly because someone has consigned the books and are trying to make money off of a sale.

Related: Creating Extra Income Through Consignment

Once Upon a Child

This children’s consignment store usually has a great selection of gently used kids books, for $0.50-$1.00 or more.

If you have any gently used books you would like to sell, you can sell them to Once Upon a Child, getting cash or store credit (depending on their policy).

Ross Dress for Less/T.J. Maxx

If I need cheap kids’ books to give as gifts, this is the place to go.

You can find great board books here along with titles from popular authors like Eric Carle or Dr. Seuss.

Sometimes they put the books on sale, even when they are already at a low price.

Book Store/Library Sales and Closeouts

Book stores and libraries usually hold book sales when they need to make room for new inventory.

You can usually find some great deals on kids’ books at these sales and closeouts.

Online Reading

If you are looking for reading online for kids, check out Epic! Get access to 40,000 kids books–Plus get 30 days of FREE reading! Try Epic! Now! 

Or, try ReadingIQ.com! You can get your first month FREE! You’ll have access to over 7,000 books for kids of all reading levels.

Related: More Than Just Books: 8 Library Freebies to Take Advantage of Now

Do you have any other places to add to this list? 

If you are wanting to garden this year but don’t think you can afford the start up costs, think again!

Planting your own backyard garden or even just adding to the landscape of your home does not need to be stressful or pricey. In fact, if you follow just a few simple tips and tricks, you can grow a beautiful garden and add some color to your yard on a dime!

Don’t worry, I won’t suggest you pick your neighbors plants either! There are actually some very simple ways to get the yard you want without blowing your budget. Below, you will find some great tips for growing a garden on a dime!

Take a look at how easy it is to get a colorful yard for pennies. You may have a greener thumb, and wallet by doing so!

Tips for Growing a Garden on a Dime

Keep an eye on marketplace or other sales pages

Many gardeners need to thin out their plants in the spring, and hate to toss what is still good. Keep an eye on Facebook marketplace or other groups and sales pages to find gardeners giving away free plants.

Many are happy to give starts away for free as long as you come and pick them up. This is a great way to score free plants.

Visit your local Library

Local libraries may often free gardening clubs and plant swaps.

Be sure to call yours and see if they are offering any this season. This is a great way to not only get some free info, but score some free plants and other gardening supplies.

Save your Seeds

Don’t toss those produce and veggie seeds, save them!

You can even swap seeds with friends so you can all have a variety.

You may need to store different varieties of seeds in a special way, so do your research first so you’ll know how to store them properly.

Offer to thin plants for the starts

Maybe your elderly neighbor has a beautiful lily patch but can’t thin them out each season.

Offer to do it for her in exchange for keeping the starts you pull.

When lilies cost $3.00 a plant at your local gardening center, this can really add up to be a great deal for you!

Attend home improvement workshops

Many home improvement stores offer free workshops for kids where a make and take activity is done.

Check out your local stores and see if there are any available this spring.

Your child might get a free seedling, tree, or birdhouse to accent the yard.

Look for natural, free accents

Don’t pay big bucks for expensive borders and yard decor.

Instead, look for free river rock, old brick, discarded wood, etc. that you can use for your borders. Place old colorful dishes or shabby old painted furniture in the yard for some cottage decor.

Add a little paint to spruce up what you already have!

As you can see, there are so many great ways to get plants and supplement your lawn and garden for little to nothing.

You just have to be creative and think outside of the box. When you do, you will see how easy it is to develop your yard and keep money in your pocket at the same time.

Happy gardening!

Related: Save Money: Grow Your Own Herbs – 7 Herbs You Can Grow and Eat

Do you have a low income but want to save money? Learn how to budget when you have low income with these tips below.

Many families live on a low or fixed income rate. This can make it exceptionally difficult to save money or spend wisely! It seems every time your funds arrive, it’s time to put them all out towards bills.

If you’re living on low income and want to find a way to budget properly, then continue reading to learn more about how you can budget when you have low income.

How to Budget When You Have Low Income

Review Expenses and Income

Your first step to budgeting on a low income is to figure out what you have coming into the home for income and what’s going out for expenses.

Evaluate all of your spending habits and subtract that from your net household income.

This will give you a general idea of where you can cut costs, and how much money you have left after spending on the major bills and needs for your household.

Keep Housing Costs Under Control

It’s easy to say keep housing costs under control when the cost of renting is increasing, while the chances of buying are going down.

Whether you rent or own, it’s important to do your best to keep housing costs under control. Consider ways to be more efficient with your energy bill, heating bill, and other utilities since you can’t exactly adjust your household rent or mortgage payment.

The general rule of thumb is to keep your household expenses at no more than 35% of your income.

7 Ways to Save on Home Heating this Winter

Get and Stay out of Debt

Living on a low income is hard enough, but having debt on top of it is is even harder. That’s why you must focus on getting and staying out of debt.

Focus on one old debt at a time and work to pay that off. This will help free up some of your funds and allow you to be able to budget your low income easier.

Print out all of your debt and rank it from most important to least important, start choosing one debt at a time and toss money at it any chance you can to lower your debt to income ratio.

7 Ways to Build an Emergency Fund

Stop Eating Out

It may be convenient to order take out or delivery, but dining out is going to cost you a lot more than buying a quick meal you can cook at home.

Try to cut all spending on eating out and go grocery shopping once a week to keep your overspending on food options under control.

You can enjoy eating out later on when you get your low income budget under control.

How to Cut Back on Eating Out

Get a Handle on Grocery Shopping

Now that you’ve decided to stop eating out, you must get a handle on your grocery shopping expenditures.

Sit down and evaluate how much you’ve spent on groceries for the last three months. Evaluate what you’ve been buying and how long that food supply has lasted you.

Determine a good, solid grocery shopping budget by figuring out what you need to buy weekly and where you can buy these items for a lower cost. Don’t forget to use coupons!

How to Stock Your Pantry on a Budget

Establish a Zero-Sum Budget

The most important and probably most difficult part of budgeting when you have low income is to learn that you’ll have to establish a zero-sum budget.

This means you’ll already have your weekly income set aside towards the various bills and needs for the household. You won’t have any extra money lying around to spend frivolously.

This will take a lot of motivation and self-preservation to not spend money on unnecessary items, but you can do it.

These are just some of my tips I have to help you learn how to budget when you have low income.

Low income happens to many of us, whether it’s a new circumstance or simply a way of life that you’re going to have to deal with, living on a low income doesn’t have to be stressful.

Use my tips to start budgeting your low income today so that you can slowly start to climb up towards financial stability!

Are you tired of high heat bills? Are you wanting to save money on heating your home? Learn ways to save on home heating this winter!

While there’s nothing better than snuggling up in a warm house as the snow falls outside, keeping your home a warm and cozy temperature can become costly quickly.

Don’t spend a fortune heating your home!

Here are ways to save on your home heating this winter.

Ways to Save on Home Heating This Winter

Dress Warm and Use Blankets

Wait! Before you turn up the thermostat, put on warm clothing and dress in layers. Consider wearing warm socks and a sweater or cardigan when lounging around.

Leave cozy throw blankets out where they’ll invite you to snuggle up. Put an extra blanket on your bed. You’ll be able to turn down the heat and still be comfortable.

You can also invest in an electric heated blanket to keep warm!

Use a Space Heater

If your family spends the vast majority of your time in one or two rooms, it doesn’t make sense to heat the entire house.

Instead, turn the heat on as low as you can and then use a space heater in the rooms you frequent. You’ll stay nice and warm at a fraction of the cost.

We currently use a space heater in our living room area and my office area! It’s one of my favorite investments.

Check for Leaks

Common places for air leaks include around doors, windows, fireplaces and sockets. Go through your home looking for leaks.

Check out window insulation kits or weather stripping for doors and windows to make sure you limit cold air coming through.

Draft stoppers are a great idea to use at the base of doors to keep cold air from coming in. A simple way to test for this is to place your hand at the base of the door and see if you can feel the cold air coming through!

I currently use draft stoppers on our set of French doors that connect my living room and office area. We also use a fireplace blanket when it’s not in use to keep cold air from coming in from our fireplace!

Invest in More Insulation

In addition to small leaks, your home may have large areas that are not well-insulated as well. While the heat may not seep out as fast in these areas, if the areas are large, you could still be out a substantial amount of money.

Insulation is relatively cheap, and putting it up isn’t too difficult. Even a roll or two added to the attic can help.

Open the Blinds

If you’ve ever opened your blinds wide to enjoy the sunshine, you know that letting the light in can really heat up your home. Wintertime is the perfect time to use this to your advantage.

Open the blinds during the day, especially on the side of your house that faces the sun. You’ll feel warmer in no time, and it doesn’t cost a thing!

Adjust Your Ceiling Fans

Did you know that you are supposed to switch the direction your ceiling fans turn seasonally? It’s true. In the winter, your ceiling fans should run clockwise in order to gently push the warm air that floats to the ceiling back down again.

Get Regular HVAC Maintenance as Needed

For those of us trying to live frugally, putting off home maintenance and repairs can be very tempting. Yet, some amount of regular HVAC maintenance is necessary to keep your system clean and running well.

Otherwise, you’ll be wasting a ton of energy because the system is too dirty and inefficient to heat your home properly.

At the very least, you should change your furnace air filter every couple of months, or as often as every month if you have pets or allergies in your family.

If your heat doesn’t seem to be keeping up, however, or if you are spending way more than you should, larger maintenance and repairs may be in order.

My Three Step Plan to Save 25% on Home Heating Costs

Garage sale season will be here soon! And while you should definitely use garage sales to find great deals on furniture, toys, books and all sorts of other stuff, you should also consider throwing your own garage sale.

You’ll not only get rid of some of your unwanted stuff, you make a few dollars (or several hundred dollars), too! And while throwing a garage sale can be fun, it also takes a lot a planning to get it right.

Here are five tips to help you do exactly that.

Tips for Planning a Garage Sale

Treat Shoppers Like Friends

If you’re nice to people, they’ll be nice to you, which means they’ll be more likely to buy something and more likely to buy it for the price you asked.

When shoppers arrive, don’t just sit in your lawn chair. Walk up to them, smile, greet them, and make small talk. Just like you would if a friend were visiting your home.

Related: 5 Ways Decluttering Can Actually Save You Money

Offer Freebies

Have you ever noticed that garage sales that offer free coffee, soda and snacks (doughnuts are a good choice) usually have the most people?

That’s because people like free stuff. And even if they only stop by for the free soda, they’ll still take some time to look around and they might even buy something.

Make Sure Your Stuff Looks New

Okay, you might not be able to make it look “new,” but you should at least take some time to dust it, clean it, or repair it as much as possible.

This seems like common sense, but you’d be surprised how many sellers skip this step – and then wonder why no one wants to buy that barely used (but very grimy looking) toaster oven.

Start Early

Garage sale shoppers get up early, which is why the peak garage sale hours are between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m. With that in mind, you should definitely resist the temptation to sleep in until 8 and then take an hour to set up your garage sale.

Wake up at 5 (on a Saturday? Yes!) and be set up and ready to sell by 6 a.m.

Related: 5 Ways to Get Good Furniture at a Good Price

Grab a Friend

Waking up at 5 a.m. and standing around your front lawn for four hours is a lot more fun with friends. For that reason, you should definitely invite a friend or two to bring some of their unwanted goodies and join you.

You’ll not only have a companion to talk to during the slow periods, but all of your stuff put together will make your garage sale look bigger, and when it comes to garage sales, bigger is better!

The holidays are filled with tips for how to save money on gifts, decorations, Christmas trees, and meals, but as we get closer to the big day, the most important thing to save on might just be your sanity. After all, it’s easy to get overwhelmed, what with all the decorations, gifts, Christmas trees and meals (and trying to save on all of them).

These simple steps should help you reduce holiday burnout and, hopefully, restore a little bit of sanity to a sometimes stressful holiday season.

1. Set Realistic Expectations

Repeat after me: Not every gift will be perfect and not every party will be, either. There will be burnt cookies (don’t worry, the dog – or your husband – will eat them). The sooner you realize that your December won’t go exactly how you had hoped, the sooner you can nip holiday stress in the bud.

2. Treat Yourself Right 

You may gain weight during the holidays. That’s okay. But don’t go crazy and throw your diet out the window for five weeks, because that’ll only add to your woes. Stick to your diet as much as possible (it’s okay to cheat often this month) and try to squeeze in some exercise now and then. And at the end of each day, don’t forget to get some sleep!

3. Get Organized

Take a few minutes to make a plan for the following day. It’ll help you sleep better, and it’ll help you tackle the next day’s tasks in a calmer, more organized manner. Just remember tip #1 — set realistic expectations – which means you’re not going to start and finish your Christmas shopping all in the one day.

4. Take A Break

You have to catch your breath now and then, so set aside some time each day to do something relaxing. Take a nap, read a book, watch a movie, or call a friend and de-stress together. You might even designate an entire day each week as a “no holiday stuff” day. Hard to imagine, I know, but it’s possible.

Do you have any tips to add for beating holiday stress?