About The Author:

Alise is a wife and mother of four living in WV. She love knitting, crochet, music, reading & zombies. She is afraid of killer robots. You can read her writing at Big Mama’s Blog, and can connect with her on Facebook and Twitter.

Our whole family is comprised of avid readers. (Well, I’m guessing about the animals. But the dogs have been known to literally devour a book or two and the cats like to climb in my lap when I’m reading, so I assume that they’re on board with the whole reading thing as well.) And if you read, you know that a book habit can be expensive. And if you’re a family of six, you know that a book habit for six people can be really, stinkin’ expensive.

Which is why I was thrilled a couple of years ago to discover PaperBackSwap.com. A friend referred me there and I was sure that it had to be a total scam. I send my already read books to someone else and I get a credit and that credit is good for any book? Definitely too good to be true.

Incredibly, it is absolutely true! I have exchanged hundreds of books at the site and nearly all have gone without a hitch. There are guidelines that should be followed (no writing or highlighting in books that aren’t textbooks, no liquid damage of any kind, no broken spines), but provided your book is in pretty good condition, you can trade it for something that you haven’t read. Media mail is relatively inexpensive, so each transaction costs you about $3, which is far below retail and often even sale prices for most books. When you join and post your first 10 books, you even receive 2 credits for free! And they have handy printable mailers that you can use to send out your books right from your home.

I originally joined so that I could get rid of some old books and make more space, but honestly, I’ve ended up bringing in many more to replace them! But honestly, it’s absolutely wonderful. Most of the people on the site are incredibly nice and my transactions have primarily been really positive. And don’t let the name fool you — you can swap both paperback and hardbound books. I have received gorgeous, like-new copies of the entire Harry Potter series in hard cover for my family from this site!

I do encourage you to check out the forums there. They have games where you can trade books without using credits (usually themed games with a specific genre in mind, but sometimes books on different topics or even something silly like a title with a specific set of words in it) and the “book bazaar” where people sometimes run deals where you can get more than one book for a credit. I have picked up a lot of children’s books that way (and unloaded a lot of books that my kids no longer read). I love that I’ve been able to put presents together for birthdays and Christmas using used books.

There are other book swapping sites out there, but I have found none to be as well organized or as helpful as PaperBackSwap.com. If you enjoy reading, this site can save you hundreds of dollars in books! If you happen to join, let them know that BigMama sent you!

About The Author:

Mrs Green runs Little Green Blog, which covers green technology, gentle parenting and eco friendly living.

One of my passions is living as lightly as I can on the earth. This doesn’t mean a life of deprivation or ‘going without’ some of the modern comforts and conveniences of 21st century life; neither does it mean having an unlimited budget for hybrid cars or big solar panels.

Living a green lifestyle can be very creative and *very* frugal as these tips will show you. Every one of these tips will cost you precisely nothing!

1- Love your leftovers

Instead of calling food leftovers, view it as ingredients. Left over cooked vegetables can be made into soup, while fruit that is past its best can be whizzed into smoothies. Putting old food into landfill produces methane; a potent greenhouse gas and you’ll get better value for money if you use up every last scrap.

2- Cooking from scratch

If you cook from scratch you know exactly what you are eating and can eat for a fraction of the cost. You’ll save heaps of money and be healthier too. Why not batch cook to save energy and freeze ‘convenience food’ for a later date?

3- Turn it off!

If you can see the red dot on your appliances, you’ve left them on standby. Ok, so it might be a few cents of electricity you are saving, but how many gadgets do you leave on standby and for how long? Do the math and you’ll see you can make quite a saving by turning things off at the socket.

4- Close the curtains

Once dusk comes it’s time to close the curtains; by doing this tiny step you’ll be keeping heat inside your home for free. If you line your curtains with old blankets you’ll conserve even more heat.

5- Reuse instead of dispose

Is there one disposable product you buy which you could swap for a reusable option? Kitchen towel is a great example – grab a pile of unworn t-shirts, cut them up into rags and you’ll save yourself money and trees throughout the year!

6- Green clean

Do you really need a separate product to clean the floor, another one to wipe the kitchen surfaces and yet another to shine the sink? By using white vinegar and baking soda you can successfully do most cleaning jobs in your home – it’s safer for you, better for the environment and cheaper too.

About The Author:

Faylee James is a Life Coach from Northeast Tennessee, who has an above average interest in people, cooking and living life to the best of her ability. She enjoys sharing her ideas and tips on savings with others. You can find more of her thoughts at www.HassiesKitchenTable.com or read her articles at http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Faylee_James.

We all have our favorite ways of finding small saving in our budgets, reusing or redoing things is one of mine.

I save the inner packaging liner from cereal boxes. I’ve used them as substitutes for plastic bags on occasion, but one of my favorite uses, is for pounding chicken cutlets. These bags are sturdy enough that I don’t break through the bag, and all the raw chicken juices are contained instead of being spread through the kitchen. When I’m done I just roll them up and throw them away, leaving counters or cutting boards to clean up.

As I live alone, I also divide my meats into personal servings, then I store those portions in my freezer. Each meat serving is wrapped, labeled, then placed into a waxed insert for extra protection against freezer burn, until I need it. A clothes pin can be used as a way of keeping the inserts closed. I use one for beef, one for chicken and another one for pork. That way I do not have to look through all the meat trying to find the chicken I need for a dinner recipe.

I use them for keeping my socks, undies and jewelry together when packing for a trip. I also, take a couple of different size empty ones in my suit case when traveling, in the likelihood I get something wet and do not want it up against my clean clothes. I simply place it in the waxed insert, fold down the top, holding the top in place with a piece of tape or a large rubber band.

I set a cereal box insert near my sink to place wet garbage into before placing it into my garbage can. It keeps flies and small animals from trying to get into the container.

The inserts can also be used as a means of transporting your leftover food items to your compost pile.

I save all sizes of these inserts and have come up with many ways to reuse them. They are durable, can be washed out and used several times before you have to discard them. Once you get into the habit of saving and using these inserts it will be hard to do without them.