Happy Holidays Everyone!!

We wish you a cheap and wonderful new year!!!

As summed up by Ann Oldenburg of USA Today, Oprah’s annual Favorite Things program was very different this year. There was no grand unveiling of fabulous appliances, gadgets, sweaters or other pricey presents to be given to all the lucky audience members. This year, “Bringing real meaning back to the holidays is my favorite thing,” said Oprah on today’s show.Viewers offered ideas for homemade gifts including salsa and hot chocolate. Oprah suggested writing heartfelt notes and presenting them in pretty boxes to friends, family and co-workers.

Kristen Bell, star of Veronica Mars, was seen wearing a $45 dress from Target at a hotel opening in San Diego. The beautiful strapless dress was designed by Behnaz Sarafpour for Target and was an off-the-rack special for a limited season.

Mark your calendar for Saturday, January 10, 2009 for our speaking engagement at the Penn Lake Libary.  How we became cheap, why we decided to write a book and how we got published are among the many topics will be discussing at this event.

How appropriate for us to speak at the ultimate cheapo enabler…a library!  Although we would like everyone to buy our book, borrowing books is the ultimate in frugality and of course, we encourage such behavior.

We hope you can join us at 1:00pm on January 10th!  The Penn Lake Library is located on 8800 Penn Avenue South in Bloomington, Minnesota.

We hope you all have a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving!

Keep it cheap!

According to Kyle Hepp from www.stylelist.com, The Queen of England won’t be buying a new dress for the state banquet in Slovakia. Instead, she’s opted to use the material from an old gown given to her over 20 years ago, to create a new outfit.This is all in keeping with a royal tradition — being thrifty. An official statement reads, “The Queen has always been thrifty and she is well-known for her culture of saving energy around the palace. Wherever possible, members of the Royal Family try to re-use what they have in order to save money where they can. They always make sure they switch off lights before leaving a room. The Princess Royal is well-known for recycling outfits and the Duke of Edinburgh has been reported as wearing the same pair of trousers that he had made 51 years ago.”

I just heard that “Meh” is a word that will be added to the 30th edition of the Collins English Dictionary next year.  For those who don’t know what Meh means, well let me tell you: it’s an expression started from the Simpons that means an expression of indifference or boredom.

So…if a cartoon character’s expression can become a word added to the english dictionary, I believe that a more profound word such as “Cheapism” should be added:

Cheapism - the act of saving money by the innovative use or non-use of material and talents without regard to society norms.

Use it in a sentence:

Sally told me about a new cheapism that I had never heard of before; she has small feet so she buys her shoes from the children’s shoe section because they are cheaper.

Oscar winner, Hillary Swank, demonstrated her frugality by wearing a cheap halloween costume on The Ellen Degeneres Show on October 27, 2008.  Hillary dressed up just like Ellen by wearing jeans, a button-down shirt, sneakers and a tie.  Mimic Ellen’s dance moves and audience greetings and she pulls off a fantastic thrifty costume!

Rocco DiSpirito’s new cookbook, Rocco Gets Real (Meredith Books), has recipes that spare your wallet and your waistline.  “Healthy and affordable doesn’t have to mean bland and boring,” he says.  His top tips:

1. Pick Produce at it’s Peak - fruit and veggies that are in season taste best and are less expensive, DiSpirito says.
2. Pay less for proteins - spending time processing the food (e.g. cutting up a whole chicken instead of buying more costly prepackaged parts) will result in big savings.
3. Stretch your leftovers - bones from a roasted turkey can be the building blocks of a tasty stew or soup.  Add fiber-rich ingredients such as chickpeas and spinach and you’ll create a feel-full, and frugal, meal.

According to Frugal Panda, legendary musician and song writer, Eric Clapton, was seen washing his own clothes at a West Hollywood Laundromat in LA.