FREE and Cheap Movies at Theaters this Summer!

My kids love going to the movie theater and I love having a nice air conditioned place to go during the summer, but I do not love the prices!  Luckily, there are quite a few theaters who are offering FREE and cheap family movie programs this summer! 

Passionate Penny Pincher has put together a great list of theaters offering these programs!  Also, be sure to check your local theaters if they're not listed to see if they have their own cheap/free movies.  We have a theater that offers $3 tickets all the time, and another that has new release movies for $4 every Sunday night -- those are our date nights.  =)

Easy DIY Homemade Laundry Detergent Recipe!

A big pile of laundry was waiting for me today, but when I went to start the first load I discovered that one of the kids had used the last of the laundry soap.  "Make laundry detergent" was on my to-do list for a few weeks, but I had been putting it off -- so now was as good a time as any!

I usually use All Free and Clear, but the first time I made this I was thoroughly impressed!  It's so easy to make and extremely cheap -- about 1¢ a load (from cost breakdowns I've seen on other websites) -- compared to Tide at about 19-20¢/load from what I see on the Walmart website!

My toddler "helped me" test out the first load by wetting the bed -- "pee sheets" are some of the worst laundry loads I think.  It took out the smell beautifully and they smelled fresh and clean with just one regular cycle - no soaking or anything!  I was instantly won over.  =)


So this morning I got my supplies and helper together and whipped up another batch! 

The basic recipe:

• 1 c. Borax
• 1 c. Washing Soda (not the same as baking soda!)
• 1 bar soap, shredded (many recipes use Fels Naptha, but I've heard that it really doesn't matter, so I picked one that smelled great and was on sale)

I also added these optional ingredients:

• 1 c. Baking Soda
• 1 1/2 c. Purex Crystals (they smell amazing and soften your laundry without oil - so it doesn't ruin the wicking ability of towels and exercise apparel)

I shredded the bar of soap into a bowl with a microplane, then Emma helped me add the rest of the ingredients.
(Since then, I've also shredded it in a food processor after drying the bar on the counter for a few days.  Or if you use Ivory, you can try this cool trick in the microwave instead of shredding!)

I stirred it all together and then put it into the now empty Purex Crystals container.

I was going to use a pretty glass jar, but I thought the plastic bottle might be safer for the kids to use.

• I use 1 Tablespoon per load -- but if you have a really grubby load, you could go crazy and use 2 Tbs. for only 2¢!  ;)  (it may seem strange at first to use so little, but it has no fillers - only what it needs to do the job)
• It's important to note that this does not get sudsy -- commercial detergents have things added to make them get bubbly and "look" like they're working, but it's not the bubbles that do the cleaning 
• From my research, I've found that this works great and safely in HE (high efficiency) machines because it doesn't suds up
• I found the ingredients in the laundry aisle at WalMart (but if you want them shipped to you, I've included links to the products above to be able to buy them online also)

Pin it, share it, and let me know how you like it!   =)

FREE eBook on Amazon.com: "A Fine Mess: Living Simply with Children"

Amazon is offering the "A Fine Mess: Living Simply with Children" e-book for Kindle for FREE!

• If you don’t have a Kindle, you can just download a free reading app from Amazon which will allow you to read this on your PC, iPad, iPhone, blackberry, android, Mac and more!
• Prices change often.....if it's still FREE the price will be listed as $0.00

 
Description:
A Fine Mess: Living Simply With Children is a memoir full of tips for living frugally and simply. Through humor, trial and error, the Hogan's have learned how to scale back, live frugally and have fun in the process. Between homeschooling, owning their own businesses and working at jobs they love, while on their Vermont farm, they learned how to stay debt-free and feed their family fresh organic foods for less than $400 a month.

(thanks Cents Less Deals!)

Friday Feature: Frugal Family Fun - Disc Golf (or Frisbee Golf)!

When we were on vacation visiting family, we had lots of outdoor fun since the weather was just beautiful!  We visited a few different disc golf courses and had a great time! I was thinking about how inexpensive and family friendly of a sport it is and thought I should tell you about it in case it's new to you!  And it's a great idea for a fun way to finish up the Summer with the family - although it can be played anytime!

Q: What is Disc Golf? (also called Frisbee Golf)
A: "Disc golf is played much like traditional golf. Instead of a ball and clubs, however, players use a flying disc, or Frisbee®....A golf disc is thrown from a tee area to a target which is the "hole". the hole can be one of a number of disc golf targets; the most common is called a Pole Hole® an elevated metal basket.....Disc golf rarely requires a greens fee, you probably won't need to rent a cart, and you never get stuck with a bad "tee time." It is designed to be enjoyed by people of all ages, male and female, regardless of economic status." - from PDGA.com  (Professional Disc Golf Association)

{brother-in-law Mike "teeing off"}

There's a course directory at PDGA.com to be able to find courses near you - they're all over the place and almost always FREE to play at!

DG Course Review is also a great site to find courses and see lots of details about each one....like ratings from users, difficulty, condition, wooded or not, length of course.....etc.


First, we went to one in Newton, IA, called Maytag Park, which the guys seemed to like - but my sister-in-law and I took kid duty at the playground, so I didn't play it myself.  =)

 {*side note: just about the time the guys finished playing, my punkin' here fell down some steps and we had to rush to the ER.....all is well, but it was definitely a scare and a rough way to finish a fun evening!}

The next weekend we went to a couple courses in Ames.  We first tried the Carroll Marty Disc Golf Course at Gateway Hills Park -- we had kids and adults playing with us, and we all enjoyed it!  Each of the 18 holes had an option to start at the "normal" tees, or a more difficult professional tee to be a bit more challenging. 
*We returned to this one a week later and brought more family members because we liked it so much!

When we were done, the guys wanted to check out another nearby course called "Stable Run DGC" at Iowa State University since we were so close.  I was pretty whooped from all that sunshine (and late nights of "vacation"), so I just followed along while they played.  It was a lot less busy than the first one, and they liked it ok, but we all definitely preferred the Carroll Marty course.

{sister-in-law Amy taking a shot}

 {gathering the discs from the basket}

{hubzy's turn}

{this was a challenging hole!  It dropped off where you see the edge there!}

It's such a great and versatile sport...kids and adults love it, it's a cheap date, a great excuse to get some fresh air and exercise, and on top of that it's very inexpensive!  All you need is a disc and you're all set.  A few years ago I bought my husband a 3 disc set for about $20 for his birthday, and he's gotten hours and hours of fun out of that 20 bucks!

Discs are commonly priced anywhere from $7-$15.....you can buy them as individual discs or in sets.  From what I understand there are 3 main kinds of discs - driver, mid-range, and putter. Similar to golf clubs, they each are made for different things - some for short distance "putting", others for long throws....etc.  But, if you're just starting out, you can just pick up a basic disc and it will work just fine.  You can find them at most sports stores like MC Sports and Dick's Sporting Goods or online at Amazon or Ebay with some FREE credit from Swagbucks!  I would think WalMart might even carry them with as popular as the game is, but I haven't looked to be sure.

We're thinking about adding to our starter set and I just found a few cool ones online.....I believe this DX Starter 3-Packset is the same one I bought for my husband and it's only a little more than what I spent (+ shipped free to your house!).  This Innova Pro Katana Disc Golf Driveris very similar to my brother-in-laws' driver I played with most of the course and I loved it!  This Innova Disc Golf Starter Setincludes 3 discs and a disc golf bag to carry your discs in as you play (which I found very handy as my father-in-law had one we all used!), all for just under $40.



We had a lot of fun, with a lot of people, for not a lot of money.....it was a great time!  I'm becoming quite the fan (not necessarily good, just a fan, lol) and highly recommend it! 
It's fun to share bits of our vacation with you......now you tell me.......

Have you ever played (or heard of) Disc Golf?  Where's your favorite place to play?  Any tips, advice or resources you know of?

DIY: How to Save Money on Haircuts at Home!

Cutting hair at home is a great way to save money.  It tends to make people a little nervous since we're not all "professionals", but it's nothing to be scared of!  There are so many resources available to learn how, and hair grows back, so it's not all that risky.

I have a few very talented friends who cut hair professionally, and do a wonderful job, but at $10-40 a pop with a family of 7 it's just not in the budget.

We recently had family pictures taken and I realized the day before, that my oldest two boys had both nearly turned into "Cousin It".  They both like their hair a little "beachy" long, but I knew it was getting too long. 

I normally cut the family's hair myself, but since I had very little time before pictures, I thought real seriously about taking them somewhere to get it done.  I tried to convince myself that it would be worth it to spend the money (2 boys haircuts + tip + gas to get to the mall = $35ish)......but then I remembered a couple times we took them somewhere to get it done "right" and it......um, wasn't.  I always thought that you can't hardly mess up a boys haircut, and I was proved wrong!  So, I decided to risk it - I don't do a bad job (IMHO), but family pictures are a bad time to possibly make a mistake that you hope will "grow out", but have no time for!

Here's my oldest before:

{11 days before family pictures - cute, but I wanted to see his eyes!}

 {beginning of the haircut, after spraying it to get damp}

After:

 

This cut was a little bit of a challenge, because he wanted it to stay long-ish, but I needed it out of his face.  I've done better, but I thought it was definitely good enough for pictures.  Of course he ended up wearing his favorite hat for most of them, but you could at least see his eyes, haha!

The phrase "Practice makes perfect" definitely applies here!  I've gotten better at cutting hair by simply practicing.  My sweet dad used to let us cut his hair when we were growing up to get some scissor time.......my mom stood by and gave us tips, but I'm sure we butchered it a time or two (now that I think about it, she probably just fixed it once we were out of sight, lol)!  

Then when I was a young woman I gave my husband and his brothers a few hair cuts, and for the past 12 years I've been the hair cutter of our home - at least for the boys!  I haven't braved the girls yet (except an occasional trim)......but I'd like to save some money there too - and watching the videos below on cutting womens and girls hair/bangs has really encouraged me to try it.  =)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Edit: Since I originally wrote this post, I've ventured into cutting girls hair and it's been great!  I started with just little trims here or there, but my youngest daughter, Emma, wanted shorter hair (6-7 inches shorter!) and I stepped up to the challenge of a "real" haircut, (shown below) with very pretty results, IMO.  =)
And a couple times now she's taken her hair into her own hands and I've had to "fix" it by cutting many inches off - frustrating to lose her pretty hair, but I'm happy to not have to shell out a lot of money to have a salon fix it.  My oldest daughter, Grace, has also asked for bangs and layers and it has turned out beautifully - and the last time we took off 10 inches because she wanted to donate it.

Things I've learned along the way:

• Always remember that you can cut more off, but you can't add it back.
• You want to cut your hair when damp - it's easier to cut, and cutting dry hair causes it to fly everywhere.  Hair does shrink when dry though, so keep that in mind - especially with bangs. Cut off less hair than what you want the finished length to be.
• Go slow as you're learning, but don't be afraid - it will grow back.
• Watch a professional.  When I have gone to get my own hair cut at a salon or taken the kids in, I've watched how they cut, hold their hands, point the scissors.....to get a better understanding myself.

Supplies:

• Clippers - Clipper kits are wonderful for the boys haircuts. We have a Wahl Set similar to this Wahl 79900B Clip-N-Trim 23-Piece Complete Haircut Kit that I think we got at WalMart years ago for about $25.  Ours includes clippers, guards (for cutting different lengths) scissors, combs, clips, a cape, blade oil and cleaning brush, a storage case...etc. We've definitely gotten our money out of it!  The blades are a bit duller now, and I'm thinking about upgrading, and this Wahl 79524-1001 Deluxe Chrome Pro with Multi-Cut Clipper & Trimmer, 27 Pieces looks like a good value!  I've got a good amount of Amazon credit from Swagbucks, so getting it for free would be a really good deal.  =)
• Scissors - You need good quality, sharp scissors for precise cuts and easy trimming.  Regular household scissors will make it much more difficult to get a good cut.  Haircutting scissors are beveled so that they cut down and through the hair where as other scissors will just push the hair forward and munch it in small clumps. Clipper sets will usually include a pair, but if you don't have one, consider a pair of professional scissors like these Tweezerman Styling Shears.
• Thinning Scissors - Not a necessity, but I've been considering getting a pair of Thinning Shears to help blend and texturize the layers when I cut the kids hair. It's very hard to make a mistake using these - bonus!  =)

Resources:

• "Haircutting For Dummies" - I haven't read this myself, but have heard it's a great reference to learn how to cut hair.  I'm thinking about checking to see if I can get it at our library.
• Here's a blog about How to Cut Your Own Hair with some good practical tips - I think I might try this "Ponytail Trick" for "How to Cut Layers" for my daughters hair! (All the comments sound like it works great!)
• HairFinder.com - lots of great information on styles and cuts (it is a little ad heavy, just don't click on those)
• How-to article - read this article from Dollar Stretcher on how to cut your hair.

Helpful Videos:

• YouTube - there are tons of videos on how to cut hair - amazing resource!
• How to Get Side Swept Bangs - with scissors. I'm thinking of using this tutorial to do my own bangs soon - my sister does hers all the time and they look great! 
• Cutting Your Hair at Home - Introduction to cutting hair at home (click below video to go to supplies needed, women's cut, men's cut...etc.)
• How to Cut Women's Hair (simple cut and bangs) - Great video tutorial! Covers how to cut a guide and follow that to make sure your length is even.  (Learn how to prep hair and section it for the women's cut)
• How to Cut Men's Hair
• How to Cut Your Hair with Layers - this girl makes it look soo easy and her hair is beautiful!
• How to Easily Cut/Trim Hair Nice and Even
• How to Cut Layers using the "Ponytail" method - I mentioned the "Ponytail Trick" above. This video is actually a commercial, but imagine using a ponytail holder instead, and you can easily see how to get layers - easy peasy!
• How to Cut and Layer Long Hair - she explains the kinds of scissors she uses and cuts her own - then shows how to thin thick hair.
• How to Cut and Style Side Swept Bangs - with a razor
• How to Cut Boys Hair
• How to Cut Girls Hair

Don't be afraid to try - it's not as scary as you might think.  What do you have to lose? You could save SO much money (and time) by cutting your own/your families hair! Hair grows back and you could always get it fixed if you really need to.

Have you ever cut hair yourself, or someone else's hair?  How was it?  Was this helpful?  Is this something you think you could try out and save some moola??

Save .10¢/gallon of Gas at Murphy USA stations!

I know we all would love to save money on gas (especially during Summer vacation and traveling for the holiday), and it can be a tough item to find a deal for, so here you go!!  If you have a Murphy USA gas station (often attached to WalMart) near you, this is a great deal.

Through September 30th, save .10¢ on every gallon of gas when you pay with a reloadable Walmart gift card, reloadable Walmart MoneyCard® or Walmart credit card.  It would be pretty easy to grab a Walmart gift card and load it up with funds before pumping your gas to save some moola.
*If you're buying a gift card right before fueling up, make sure to ask about a waiting period, as some gift cards take 15 minutes or so to 'show' the money on it.

Check this out for more details and a list of participating states.

(thanks Family Friendly Frugality!)

Easy Father's Day Recipes - Cute Cupcakes, Great Grilling Ideas, Fab French Toast and More!

Looking for a way to "wow" Dad's tummy this Father's Day?  Check out these super cute ideas for meals and treats right up his alley!  They all look delicious and easy - bonus!  ;)

{Like these adorable "grilled" cupcakes}

{Or these delicious looking fajitas - I think my hubs would love this!}

{what a cute remote control cake - yum!}

I think I might be making those fajitas for lunch on Sunday, but for breakfast I just came across these french toast recipes on Six Sister's Stuff that look outstanding!  I can't decide between these two.....

{Stuffed French Toast}

{Creme Brulee French Toast}

Are you cooking up anything special for Father's Day?  Does your family have any food traditions?