I wanted to buy some toys for my kids and with my frugal mindset, the prices for the toys at Wal-Mart just seemed ridiculous. It’s mainly the name brand licensed toys like Disney and Sesame Street. I don’t want to pay five dollars for some little die cast car just because it is from the Disney movie “Cars” for example. I knew I could find much better deals online. At ebay I can find a huge variety of toys, cheaper prices, in like new condition, and stuff you can’t ever find at stores. Plus I’m mad at Wal-Mart for having a whopping 2 lanes open when I went there and two very long lines of angry customers who spent the loooong wait in line griping about how Wal-Mart is too cheap to open up a few more lanes, so I would rather spend my money where I don’t have to wait in line forever.

So I was browsing around ebay looking for toys to buy and I found some really good deals, but when I looked at the shipping price I went, “Whoa!”. There was an auction for a lot of care bear toys and the price for the toys themselves was good, but when I saw the shipping cost was $30, I kept on looking. Adding in the shipping cost, it’s no longer a bargain.

If you are a collector looking for a specific item, that’s something else, but if you are looking for a bargain to get the most bang out of your buck then you really have to pay attention to shipping costs.

I did find some good deals on toys with fair shipping costs, but I had to skip over a few auctions that had really high shipping costs. Sometimes the size and/or weight of items makes shipping expensive and then there are a few people who try to make a little profit from shipping costs but adding several dollars to the actual shipping cost.

In all of the financial news articles, recession is a common topic lately. It seems that unfortunately, we’re nose diving into a recession.

Inflation has rapidly increased, the costs of living have increased, and there’s plenty of news of layoffs and unemployment.

Those financial guys are predicting a recession and say a recession is likely. That’s just depressing. But America has had recessions before and survived. The economy will have ups and downs.

The Feds are trying to ward off a recession by lowering interest rates and there are talks of tax rebates. But there’s no guarantee that those things would stop a recession.

With the inflation and layoffs, a lot of people will be looking for ways to cut back expenses and get more for their money. Even if we do go into a full fledged recession, it’s not the end of the world and we will come out of it eventually and things will pick up again.

Now is the best time to buy Christmas stuff like wrapping paper and candy, if you haven’t had your fill of sweets already.

Now Christmas is over the stores want to get rid of their Christmas inventory so they are slashing prices, 50-75% off the before Christmas price.

At Wal-Mart prices for Christmas items will be 50% off and anything left over the weekend will be 75% off.

This is the best time to grab that wrapping paper at deep discounts and store them in a closet for next Christmas. As fast as time flies, next Christmas will be here before you believe it.

If you love sweets, now is the time to grab that Christmas candy. Of course you can’t store it until next Christmas because it won’t be any good then, but if you like to eat sweets, get Christmas candy for rock bottom prices for your desserts.

When you go to stores, look at the Christmas items they are offering for 50-75% off and if there is anything you will use next Christmas, grab it up and save.

I was at the store yesterday looking for Christmas cards for a few people. I noticed on average the cards were close to $4 a piece. I would rather spend the money on the person’s actual gift than a card because most people don’t save their cards and end up tossing them out.

There are a few ways to save on Christmas cards.

1) Make Your Own Cards. I know a lady who is retired and to keep her busy she makes every single one of her cards herself. They are really beautiful cards and she gets the material from old cards. She simply buys a big pack of stock paper and glues pictures on them from other cards. Then she writes her messages on them. She’s crafty and makes them look really nice. You don’t have to be artsy or crafty to make your own cards though. You can get a big pack of stock paper for around $5. Just fold the paper in half and decorate it. It takes time, but it will save a lot of money compared to buying cards individually.

2) Buy cards in bulk. You can also get a bulk package of cards with a wintry scene on them but they don’t necessarily have to be for Christmas. They are blank inside and you can write whatever message you want to.

This is a really simple frugal idea. When you buy dryer sheets, cut all of the sheets in half and use one half sheet with every load you dry. That is like getting a free box of dryer sheets every time you buy one.

You’re not still using those energy wasting old fashioned light bulbs are you? If so, then it’s time to change.

They are called compact fluorescent light bulbs and they use about 75% less energy AND last 10 times longer. You can find them at any store that sells light bulbs. There really is no excuse not to be using these lightbulbs. You will be using less energy and won’t have to change the light bulbs so often.

The estimated savings according to Energy Star is $30 or more during the lightbulb’s lifetime. It’s all benefits and no downside to using the CFL’s.

Pay attention to the box of the lightbulbs, so you buy the right kind. CFI’s don’t go by watts, they go by lumens, but the box will tell you the equivalent in watts.  For example, 800 lumens would be 60 watts. You may want a 100 watt equivalent for your ceiling lights but a 40 watt equivalent for lamps.

Count how many lightbulbs you need in your home and then get to the store. Change each and every one of your old fashioned lightbulbs to the energy saving CFL.

If you have any relatives who still use the old fashioned lightbulbs, CFL’s will be a practical and money saving Christmas gift. Be sure to tell them how much energy and money they will be saving by replacing their light bulbs.

If you get any gifts this Christmas in gift bags, save them! If the tag is written on, cut off the tag. Then, the next time you give a gift, reuse the bag. On a small piece of paper, write the To: and From:, then cut out a hole in the paper with a paper cutter. Then attach the paper to the gift bag handle.

For every gift bag you save and reuse, you save at least a dollar, sometimes, several dollars.

If you forget to pay your bills on time, you are charged a late fee. Those fees can really add up, especially if you are forgetful or a procrastinator.

Sign up for automatic payment. Not all, but many companies offer to deduct your monthly bill straight out of your bank account or charge the bill to your credit card once a month. That way, your bill is paid on time every month, so you don’t have to worry about late fees.

Have you ever wondered why Wal-Mart has 30 cash registers but only 3 are open, forcing their customers to wait in long lines causing lots of frustration and annoyance? With all the money people are spending, you think they’d hire a few more cashiers so customers don’t have to stand in line for ages.

And it’s even more irritating when the cashier needs to call a manager for some reason, which will force all the people waiting in line to keep waiting…waiting…and waiting. Ugh! Or don’t you love it when you’re behind someone who takes a year to write out a check?

Thanks to the internet, you can shop from home, at any time. You can shop on holidays or at 3am when other places are closed. You don’t have to get out and use gas and fight traffic. No waiting in lines and no rude cashiers.

There are so many online shops to choose from. Whatever you are looking for, you’re sure to find it. Do some comparison shopping to find out who offers the lowest price. To save even more money, buy second hand from ebay or craigslist. You can find what you are looking for, for about the same price or cheaper than you could at the retail store. There’s also sites that offer coupons and specials.

Also, try out some GTP-get paid to-sites, where you get rewarded for shopping. You can get cash back or gift cards for shopping for stuff you will buy anyway. Physical retail stores don’t offer that.

There’s only one downside to online shopping and that is you have to wait to get your stuff, whereas if you by it at your local store, you get it instantly. But not having to get in traffic, in the snow or rain, or wait in long lines in the midst of closed registers usually makes up for that.

Here’s a tip to save a few bucks from your heating bill. Say you live in a house and your family spends most of the time in the living room. But you are paying to heat all those other rooms that no one is using. Get one of those electric room heaters, turn your thermostat down even lower, and use the room heater in the living room.

The electric heater will keep your living room nice and warm while the rooms not in use will be cold. This will make your heating bill go down. When it’s time to go to sleep in the cold bedrooms, get under nice and heavy winter blankets.