Welcome to the Frugal Friday Blog Hop 1/7/11 hosted by Living on Love and Cents, Mom On Dealz, Madame Deals, The Coupon Challenge and Stretching Your Budget. We are moms on a mission to save!
  

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Each week we will feature a frugal blogger. This week’s feature is by Madame Deals. She has a fabulous post on Fashion to share!

I love Fashion but I hate paying tons of money to look great. I believe you need two things the knowledge of what looks good on you and the skill to find it for less. I encourage you to get rid of all the items in your closet that you do not wear. They cloud up your options to make really great outfits because you can’t see your clothes! If they are in good condition sell the at a consignment store or a place like Plato’s closet, or host a clothing swap. Clothing swaps are a blast!

Hurry to the mall or the salon and snatch up those leftover hair care gift bundles! You can stock up for gifts for next year if you also know a beauty product junkie.
I have $20.00 “all about me cash” each week. You can follow me on Fashion Friday to see how I score designer products below my budget. I only wear name brand clothing but I do not pay designer prices for anything.

Thanks Amee! Be sure to stop by and follow her blog!
Would you like to be our featured blogger? All you have to do is follow these steps.

1) Follow the first 5 in the linky. These are our hosts. Be sure to comment so that we can follow back!
2) Link up a to a frugal tip, freebie list, creative diy, savings tips, etc. from your blog. (YOU DO NOT HAVE TO DO THIS TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS HOP! Feel free to just link up your blog.)
3) Post our button in a post or sidebar!
For more followers- Grab the linky code and post this on your blog for your followers!

Be SURE to leave a comment so that we can return the follow.

You don’t have to completely renovate a room to give it a new, updated look. These are my tips for modernizing a space on a limited budget.  Plus, a  few of the tips won’t cost more than a bit of elbow grease!

– Paint: My favorite way to change the look of a room is painting.  The expense is relatively low & you can do the work yourself.  I love color, but remember neutrals are always a great choice, especially for resale.

• Be mindful of the colors in adjoining rooms
• You want the colors to compliment each other & the rooms to flow
• Primer is your friend-particularly over dark or dirty walls

– Loose the Clutter:  Highlight your favorite pieces & have less stuff to dust!  Remember: Less is more!

– Rearrange Furniture:  Change the look of a room by rearranging your existing furniture or using pieces from a different room.  In my old house (larger master) we would move the location of the bed about every 6 months just make it look like a “new” room.

– Accessories: Incorporate new or forgotten accessories to add a splash of color or give a unified look

• Accent Pillows
• Bedding
• Throws
• Artwork
• Matching picture frames

– Let there be light: Remove heavy drapes or change out damaged blinds.  Don’t forget to clean the windows inside & out to brighten a room & make it shine.

– Update:You can update key pieces in a room to make it more modern & give a finished look

• Light fixtures
• Ceiling fans
• Door knobs
• Light switch & electrical outlet covers (simple white covers are less than $0.50 each)

What are your tips for updating a room on a limited budget?

This post is linked to Madame Deals & My Coupon Teacher.

Welcome to the NEW Tuesday’s Trips Blog Hop hosted by The Coupon Challenge and Mom on Dealz! Instead of a shopping trip linky we’ve decided to change over to a traditional blog hop.

Each week we will be visiting a new social network. Make sure you check back each week to see where we’ll be!

• Follow your hostesses in the #1 and #2 spots
• Leave a comment, so we can follow you back
• Only link up to the network we are visiting for the week
• It’s always appreciated that if someone follows you, you follow them back (we all love to find new friends!)

I actually had fun stuff in my mailbox this week!  I didn’t even bother with pictures the past couple of weeks because I only received magazines.  Boring!

-Kashi Go Lean sample & coupons from vocalpoint
-Ideal Sugar samples & coupons
-Starbucks Natural Fusions sample & coupon
-Coupon for FREE Excedrin
-Always samples
-Gift Card for a FREE slice of Cheesecake Factory Cheesecake!   Giveaway win from Thankfully Thrifty (not shown)

Ebates wants you to earn Double Cash Back for the New Year!  A few of the stores included:

• Eddie Bauer 6% back
• GNC 10% back
• Macy’s 6% back
• Kodak 20% back
• Sears 4% back
• Snapfish 10% back