This cheesy hamburger potato soup is SO simple to make and is such a great winter comfort recipe! It’s a total crowd pleaser, too!
Recipe by my sister, Brigette.
Cheeseburger Potato Soup Recipe
I like soups that are rich, creamy, and full of veggies and carbohydrates (who needs meat?) My husband, on the other hand, only eats soups that are hearty, meaty, and not rich (veggies optional).
This recipe is our happy compromise!
Why you’ll love this Recipe For Cheeseburger Soup
- It’s inexpensive to make.
- It feeds a crowd.
- It’s full of ingredients you probably already have.
- It tastes amazing!
The type and amount of meat are flexible. I often use a mixture of ground turkey, ground beef, and venison in place of the ground beef. Sausage would probably work quite well, also. And I always scrimp on the meat in soup recipes – so feel free to do the same (or leave it out completely… which I could never get by with at my house).
The chilly fall evenings are the perfect time to serve this filling, warm-me-up soup. Add some fresh bread and a tossed salad or veggie tray and you have a simple meal that’s good enough to serve to company.
My picky 4-year old requests this for dinner every. single. night!
Cheeseburger Potato Soup Ingredients
- 3/4 – 1 pound ground beef (or less)
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped (or 2 tsp onion powder)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced (or 1 tsp garlic powder)
- 6-8 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
- 2 teaspoon basil
- 1 teaspoon parsley
- 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
- 2 cups milk
- 1/3 cup flour
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese*
- ½ cup shredded parmesan cheese
- Salt and pepper to taste
*NOTE: If you use mild cheddar, you will need to use more of it to get the same amount of cheesy flavor.
Does beef need to be cooked before adding to hamburger vegetable soup?
Yes, before you start making the soup, you’ll cook the ground beef with the onions and garlic to give it extra flavor. Then drain the grease off and add it back (cooked) into the broth with the rest of the ingredients.
Cheesy Hamburger Potato Soup Recipe Substitutions
Try ground turkey or even diced ham for a totally different flavor.
Feel free to substitute onion powder and garlic powder for fresh onions and garlic if you don’t have them in the house.
You can also use any type of broth (or water) and any type of milk or cream.
Swap cornstarch or a gluten-free flour for wheat flour if you need to make this recipe gluten-free.
And mix up the types of cheese you use for a little flavor tweak.
How to Make Hamburger and Potato Soup
1. In a medium-sized pot, combine ground beef, onion, and garlic. Cook and stir until meat is no longer pink.
2. Drain the meat and return it to the pot.
3. Add the potatoes, carrots, basil, parsley and broth and bring to a rolling boil.
4. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, for 15-20 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
5. Combine milk and flour until smooth (this only takes a few seconds in my Vita-Mix). Gradually pour the mixture into the soup, stirring constantly.
6. Cook and stir until the soup is thickened and starting to boil.
7. Add cheeses and continue cooking until cheese is melted (another minute or so).
8. Add salt and pepper to taste. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with additional cheese if desired.
Potato and Hamburger Soup Tips
Don’t cook this soup too long as the potatoes will start getting mushy.
Also, you’ll want to continually taste-test it throughout the process to make sure you’re adding the right amount of salt.
What to Serve with Cheeseburger Potato Soup
This soup is a very hearty stand-alone meal, so don’t feel like you need to come up with a bunch of side dishes… however, here are a few ideas if you want them.
- Bread or rolls
- Crackers
- Lettuce salad or raw veggie salad
- Fresh fruit
- More cheese!
How to Store this recipe for Cheeseburger Soup
Let the soup cool to room temperature and then transfer leftovers to an air-tight food storage container. Refrigerate for up to a week.
This soup does not freeze as well as other soups as the potatoes will be quite mushy after defrosting it.
Cheesy Hamburger and Potato Soup
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef or less
- 1 onion finely chopped (or 2 tsp onion powder)
- 2 cloves garlic minced (or 1 tsp garlic powder)
- 8 potatoes peeled and cubed
- 2 carrots peeled and chopped
- 2 tsp basil
- 1 tsp parsley
- 4 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth
- 2 cups milk
- 1/3 cup flour
- 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese* shredded
- ½ cup shredded parmesan cheese
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a medium-sized pot, combine ground beef, onion, and garlic. Cook and stir until meat is no longer pink.
- Drain the meat and return it to the pot.
- Add the potatoes, carrots, basil, parsley, and broth and bring to a rolling boil.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, for 15-20 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
- Combine milk and flour until smooth (this only takes a few seconds in my Vita-Mix). Gradually pour the mixture into the soup, stirring constantly.
- Cook and stir until the soup is thickened and starting to boil.
- Add cheeses and continue cooking until cheese is melted (another minute or so).
- Add salt and pepper to taste. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with additional cheese if desired.
Nutrition
Love this recipe?
Make sure to share and save it on your favorite platform below!
More Yummy Soup Recipes You’ll Love
- White Bean Chicken Chili
- Crockpot Taco Soup
- Best Ever Black Bean Soup
- Cheesy Hamburger Potato Soup
- Hamburger Vegetable Soup
- Barley Chicken Soup
- 3 Bean Chili Chowder
- Dave Ramsey Soup
What are your favorite soup recipes?
Brigette is a full-time wife and mother who is blessed with three amazing bundles of energy. She enjoys music, experimenting in the kitchen, homeschooling her children, finding great deals, long-distance running, and anything chocolate.
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31 Ways to Earn Extra Cash Before Christmas: Sell on Craigslist (Day 27)
31 Ways to Earn Extra Cash Before Christmas: Sell on Craigslist (Day 27)
Welcome to our 31 Ways to Earn Extra Cash Before Christmas series. In this series, I’m highlighting simple and legitimate ways you can earn extra cash in the next two months for those of you who could use a little extra cash to help you pay for Christmas — or just for your living expenses if you’re in a tight spot right now.
If you’ve found a great way to make extra cash before Christmas that doesn’t require an outlay of cash upfront, please email me your tip. I’d love to hear it and possibly share it during this series!
Guest Post by Carrie from SpringsBargains.com and DenverBargains.com
Have you been to Craigslist? It’s like the ultimate online garage sale! We’ve used it for several years now and have bought and sold pretty extensively. It’s a great way to make a few extra bucks and de-clutter at the same time.
In all the transactions we’ve done, I’ve learned a few tips on selling that I hope are helpful to you:
1. Post good photos.
Use a “real” digital camera, not your phone or otherwise poor quality camera. A fuzzy photo makes people wonder what you are trying to hide, even if you’re not trying to hide anything!
Take several different photos (the maximum is four) from various angles. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen a horizontal photo and a vertical photo taken from the exact same angle.
2. Write an accurate description and price accordingly.
Your leather couch that your dog has chewed on is not going to go for the same price other leather couches without teeth marks are going for.
Disclose any flaws that you know of. Don’t say, “I paid $1,000 for it 5 years ago and I only want $750!”
If you think you can get that great of return on something you’ve used for 5 years, please don’t say how much you paid for it. In my opinion, it is rarely a good idea to quote the original price. It can almost always be used against you.
3. Note what area of town you are in.
There is a place on the form to do this. Are you north, south, east, west? What neighborhood? “Rockrimmon” gives a lot more information than “West Colorado Springs.”
And by the way, everyone else in the world is not a zip code geek like you so putting only your zip code down is silly because very few people are going to know what part of town that is!
4. Be ready to respond to inquiries.
It should be obvious that you should not leave on vacation an hour after posting your ad. But you may post it and be gone for a few hours. In that case, it’s not a bad idea to include your phone number. If you’re not going to be able to check your email for some reason, include your phone number.
5. Don’t waste time on difficult prospective buyers.
If your item is in high demand, you will often get ten or more emails in the first hour or two. If someone is already trying to ask for a lower price, or wants to know a hundred things more about it, I don’t waste time on them unless they are the only inquiry.
Although it is considered courteous to offer the item on a first-come, first-served basis, if there are more than a few responses I usually skip over anyone who gives any indication they will be difficult to work with, such as wanting a discount before seeing the item, difficulty in arranging a time to pick up the item, or asking a myriad of questions that are irrelevant for a used item that’s being sold for a fair price.
6. Specify when you want to get rid of it.
We had over 25 inquiries the Sunday afternoon we posted an ad for a mattress. I promised it to the first person I emailed, and they were going to pick it up that night. They called later and wanted to know if they could pick it up the next day, which was fine but then they didn’t show up.
We were finally able to sell it to someone else on Monday, but it was maddening to sit at home thinking someone is going to come by our house to buy something and then they don’t show. We started putting something like: “The first person who’s able to come get it by tonight gets dibs!” on the ad to prevent something like that from happening again.
7. Save your “back-up buyers” emails.
Sometimes you will have someone not show up, or cancel, or decide they don’t want it. In that case, you could post it again, or if you’ve saved the emails other people sent, you can just email them all directly and and re-offer it to them. If the item has already been promised to someone but hasn’t been picked up yet, I will usually email any further inquiries and tell them it’s pending pick up, but that if there is a no-show or something I will email them back.
8. Meet at a location other than your home.
There are two reasons for this. One, you never know what kind of person is going to show up to buy the baby crib you’re selling. Two, it is easier to tell someone to meet you at the McDonald’s at a certain intersection than to give them directions to your house. Be sure to pick a place that is convenient for you.
9. Follow the rules and be courteous.
If your item doesn’t sell, re-post it according to the guidelines. If you’ve posted it twice with no response, it probably means no one wants it or you are asking too much.
As a buyer, it gets really annoying to see the same exact postings get posted every couple of days with no change–no new pictures, same description, no price adjustments. I have seem people post the same thing every day for a month, and I have to wonder if they really want to sell it or if they just like posting stuff!
Carrie Isaac blogs about deals in Colorado Springs at SpringsBargains.com and deals in Denver at DenverBargains.com.
10 Apple Recipes You Should Try
Homemade Apple Butter in the Crockpot (plus printable gift labels!)
Double Apple Whole-Wheat Scones With Caramel Glaze
Homemade Applesauce in the Crockpot
Do It Yourself: Tiered T-Shirt Dress
Blooms and Bugs shows you how to make a cute tiered t-shirt dress.
Do you have a fun and frugal DIY idea to share? I’d love to hear about it! Read the submission guidelines and submit it here.
31 Ways to Earn Cash Before Christmas: Start Your Own Cleaning Business (Day 26)
31 Ways to Earn Cash Before Christmas: Start Your Own Cleaning Business (Day 26)
Welcome to October’s series on 31 Ways to Earn Extra Cash Before Christmas. In this series, I’m highlighting simple and legitimate ways you can earn extra cash in the next three months for those of you who could use a little extra cash to help you pay for Christmas — or just for your living expenses if you’re in a tight spot right now.
If you’ve found a great way to make extra cash before Christmas that doesn’t require an outlay of cash upfront, please email me your tip. I’d love to hear it and possibly share it during this series!
Guest post from Lindsey of Faithful Homemaking
A couple of years ago, an acquaintance called me and asked if I would like to take her cleaning job while she was in the South for the winter. I hadn’t cleaned professionally before, so I didn’t know what to expect. But once I started, I quickly found that cleaning can be a wonderful way to earn extra money.
Since then I have acquired three more cleaning jobs and have passed a few others on to my friends.
How to get started:
Talk to someone you know who cleans office buildings or homes. See if they have any jobs they can refer to you. If you aren’t able to clean regularly but need a little extra money, perhaps they would let you sub for them when they are sick or on vacation.
If you don’t know anyone in the cleaning business, make ads and flyers and pass them out to friends, neighbors, and local businesses.
Purchase some supplies:
Office buildings usually stock the cleaning supplies, but my residential clients prefer that I bring my own. I look for BOGO sales and coupon deals on cleaning solutions and stock up.
I make sure to have clorox wipes, clean rags, toilet bowl cleaner, Dr. Bronner’s soap, glass and window spray, bathroom cleaner, and disinfectant spray on hand. I also carry a little bucket for mopping and my Norwex cloths, which I LOVE!
Also, there’s no need to spend a fortune on cleaning tools. I use my faithful old Dirt Devil vacuum that I’ve owned for 10 years and it works great.
Hone your cleaning skills:
If I’m not sure how to clean something, I ask my fellow cleaning friends for tips or google it. I also occasionally watch cleaning videos on YouTube.
After cleaning sinks, counters, and toilets I will buff with a clean, dry cloth to make them extra-shiny. I prefer to dust with my Norwex dusting mitt and mop most floors by hand to be able to get the corners of the floor. I also try to be smart about my cleaning. If the building/home doesn’t truly need dusting every week, then one week I will dust, the next I will clean blinds.
Be choosy:
Some office cleaning jobs require that you carry insurance. Some residential homes are too filthy to handle. Some employers may expect more hours out of you than you can give or may not compensate you fairly.
Consider carefully each opportunity that comes your way. Will you have childcare during the hours you need to be cleaning? Will you be required to clean during late hours in areas that could possibly be dangerous? Will you be expected to be “on call” or will it be a set weekly time? If you have a baby keeping you up at night will you have the energy to handle even one cleaning job?
Most office jobs require that you come in when their business is not open, which means early mornings, evenings, or on weekends. Most residential clients want you to come in during daytime hours to clean when they are away at work. Figure out which option works best for your schedule. I only take jobs that allow for my husband to be home with our kids so we don’t have to pay childcare. I also don’t want to clean lonely office buildings when it’s dark out, it creeps me out!
How much to charge?
You don’t want to charge too low and be taken advantage of. After all, cleaning is hard work, it takes a lot of energy, and you are giving of your time to do it. But neither do you want to charge too high and lose all your possible-clients to other cleaners who charge less.
Figure out what the going rate is in your area. In my area people will pay at least $20 an hour. Office jobs generally pay $25-$30 an hour. Some businesses prefer to pay by the job. This is really nice because if you are motivated and fast you can get even more money per hour.
My friend, who also cleans, takes her teenage son with her and he helps gather all of the garbages. So she is able to do a 3 hour job in 2.5 hours and make really good money to help feed her 3 teen boys! Cleaning provides an excellent wage considering the flexible hours and the fact that you don’t need a college degree to do it!
If you are committed to excellence in your work, the jobs will continue flowing in via word-of-mouth recommendations. At this point I work 3-4.5 hours a week and bring in $60-$95 per week.
The kids get to spend time with Daddy while I’m gone and that little bit of extra money helps our tight budget out so much! I also enjoy being able to get out of the house and listen to music or have some quiet time while I clean.
Lindsey Swinborne is a homeschooling mom of four who lives in Wyoming. She loves photography and is thankful for her cleaning jobs which helped her fulfill her dream of having a DSLR camera. She blogs at Faithful Homemaking.
An Epiphany at Hobby Lobby
Testimony from Elizabeth of The DC Boeses
The other day I finally convinced myself to drive 20 miles and check out Hobby Lobby for the first time. Many blogs I read talk about how amazing Hobby Lobby is — not only for their craft supplies, but also for their home décor items.
I’ve seen some beautifully decorated homes with items from Hobby Lobby, so I thought I should check it out and see if I could find some cute things to decorate the little apartment we had just moved in to. I had a coupon in hand and some of my designated “spending cash” ($60 to be exact). The coupon was good for 40% off a regularly priced item.
When I walked into Hobby Lobby, I was immediately overwhelmed. There was so much stuff!
I grabbed a cart and started walking around. I saw some things that were cute and would look nice in our apartment. My favorite was a $19.99 cross that was the same shade of blue as our comforter. I threw it in the cart and kept walking.
But as I was walking, I realized something — I didn’t need anything. Why was I here? There was a ton of stuff that I liked, but nothing that I loved. I kept trying to force it. Kept trying to find something that would work.
I called my husband guessing he would tell me to buy a few things and I could always return them. He didn’t, though.
He made me think back to Crystal’s post about not having a lot of things on the walls at her home. “Honey, we don’t need stuff for the walls. I’m happy that we have some wedding pictures and I’m happy living there with you”.
When he said that I put the cross back on the shelf (in the right section, I promise!) and headed to the car.
On my 20 mile drive home, I had an epiphany: Our home is our home. Yes, we want to be comfortable (and we are), but it doesn’t need to look like a Pottery Barn catalog. I keep our apartment clean, organized, and it smells just like fall. And to us, that is just perfect.
I think sometimes everyone needs a little epiphany like I had last weekend. It puts everything into perspective and reminds you that you may not really “need” something!
Elizabeth is a 22 year-old newlywed living in our nation’s capital. She’s a recent college graduate and mom to two miniature poodles. She blogs at The DC Boeses on life as a new young wife!
The 21-Day Self-Discipline Challenge starts tomorrow (November 1, 2012)!
The 21-Day Self-Discipline Challenge starts tomorrow (November 1, 2012)!
Are you interested in participating in the 21-Day Self-Discipline Challenge? It begins tomorrow (November 1, 2012), so head on over to ServingJoyfully.com for all the details.
By the way, have you gotten a copy of my new ebook, 21 Days to a More Disciplined Life? I’ve been so blessed and encouraged by your excitement and sweet comments about this ebook!
If you want to join in the challenge but there’s no way you can afford the ebook right now, please email me and I’ll make sure you’re taken care of!
31 Ways to Earn Extra Cash Before Christmas: Sell Items on Etsy (Day 25)
31 Ways to Earn Extra Cash Before Christmas: Sell Items on Etsy (Day 25)
Welcome to October’s series on 31 Ways to Earn Extra Cash Before Christmas. In this series, I’m highlighting simple and legitimate ways you can earn extra cash in the next two months for those of you who could use a little extra cash to help you pay for Christmas — or just for your living expenses if you’re in a tight spot right now.
If you’ve found a great way to make extra cash before Christmas that doesn’t require an outlay of cash upfront, please email me your tip. I’d love to hear it and possibly share it during this series!
Guest post from Amy of Gabriel’s Good Tidings
Many of us can walk through our homes and find items to sell on Amazon, Ebay, or Craigslist, and we’ve read some excellent posts about how to make extra money from such items. However, if you are creative or have an eye for vintage items, consider selling on Etsy.
What can I sell?
Although I didn’t truly start selling until 2010, I have been a member of the Etsy community since 2006. Etsy requires all items to fall into one of three categories: handmade, vintage, or supplies.
- Handmade = obviously any item handmade by you, but it can also include digital items such as printables, website enhancements, etc
- Vintage = must be at least 20 years old. I’ve had good luck selling vintage clothing, fabric, sewing supplies, and books.
- Supplies = anything you would use to make something. This includes fabric, paper crafting tools, patterns, beads, etc.
I have successfully sold items in all three of these categories, but primarily focus on the handmade items.
Let’s say you have a creative bone (or two!) in your body. Think about items you’ve made in the past. What have friends requested from you for birthdays, weddings, new babies, or holidays? Are family members asking you to make them a gift instead of purchasing one? Consider making several of these items and listing them on Etsy.
Perhaps you have an eye for vintage items. Maybe you love going to estate sales and finding vintage clothing. By replacing a button or repairing a frayed hem, you could list items on Etsy in the vintage section and see a large return on investment.
When my husband’s great-grandmother passed away, we inherited a house full of vintage goodies. While I kept some sentimental items for our family, many of the items were sold in the vintage section of my Etsy shop.
Or maybe, as you’ve been cleaning your home, you’ve found some crafting supplies that are no longer being used. List them on Etsy and pass them on to someone who will bring new life to the items.
How do I sell?
Once you’ve chosen a product to sell on Etsy, set up a shop. Etsy allows each seller to have their own shop name, which correlates with a web address that allows others to type in the search bar of their browser. For example, my shop name is Gabriel’s Good Tidings, and my Etsy address is gabrielsgoodtidings.etsy.com.
I highly recommended designing or purchasing a logo for your shop as this will help familiarize others with your brand, but it is not mandatory for selling on Etsy. I would also encourage a Facebook page for your Etsy shop, as many of your Facebook friends will be interested to learn about your shop. Having a Facebook page has increased my sales and traffic tremendously. Etsy’s seller handbook and help section are outstanding resources to both the new and experienced seller.
To list an item on Etsy, it will cost $0.20. When the item sells, Etsy will charge 3.5% of the selling price. Payments are accepted by PayPal or by direct checkout (selected shops only). Listing on Etsy is easy and quick — I find it much faster than Ebay.
Photos are essential, and each listing is allowed up to five photos. Quality photos will boost sales quickly, and will likely get your items featured in a Treasury or on Etsy’s home page. Make sure to minimize background items, have good lighting, and portray accurate colors.
In the item description, write freely as if you were in a store, describing this item to someone on the phone. Give as many details as possible. Help buyers understand why this item is useful to them. Share a story behind the item.
4 Tips to Increase Your Sales on Etsy
1. Think Seasonally
Make sure that your shop follows the seasons. Although Etsy purchases can be made worldwide, 90% of my purchases are in the USA. Therefore, my accessories and clothing items follow the North American seasons.
I list leg warmers in August when the weather starts to cool off (in some parts of the country!). I list reusable snack bags in July, when back-to-school season is in full swing. I make sure to always have enough items in October and November for the holidays.
2. Keep Your Store Stocked
The biggest lesson I have learned about Etsy is to keep your store filled. The more items you have, the more you will sell.
I try to keep my shop at 100 items, and when I do, I consistently sell 10 or so items per week. When I let my inventory drop below 50, I see a major drop in sales. When others ask me the secret to selling on Etsy, I respond with this tip: Stock equals sales.
3. Price Your Items Fairly and Competitively
Etsy sellers are growing by the day, so the competition is steep. Make sure your items are not only high quality, accurately described, and include clear photos; but also make your prices reasonable and competitive.
Research similar items and how they are selling. You don’t have to be the cheapest item in a category, but a sale will be more likely if you aren’t the priciest item. Make sure your customers know that they can purchase with confidence from your store because you will provide outstanding customer service and high quality items.
4. Add Personal Touches to Your Packages
When you shop at Target, you expect the cashier to put your items in a white plastic bag. In the same way, shoppers expect a handmade item to be packaged nicely.
I wrap items in glitter tissue paper and include a personal note with each order. I’ll say something like, “Thanks for purchasing this clutch, Suzy. I hope it makes your next evening on the town extra special.”
I also always include two business cards — one to keep and one to share. Adding these personal touches help customers to connect with your shop, and makes them likely to purchase from you again!
How much will I make?
I can’t say that you will make a full-time income on Etsy, but I can’t say you won’t either. There are certainly sellers who have thousands of sales per year and support their families from Etsy alone.
But for most of us, it’s a nice supplemental income that helps to pay for Christmas or other savings goals. I was recently able to pay cash for a kitchen update thanks in part to my Etsy sales. I have also purchased a new sewing machine from Etsy sales.
While many readers of this blog get a “coupon high” when they see a receipt that shows 75% (or more!) savings, I get an “Etsy high” when my phone makes a “cha-ching” sound and I know that means another Etsy sale!
Between loads of laundry and dirty dishes, Amy can be found at her sewing machine creating items for her Etsy shop. She loves her husband, her two kids, being a nurse, and of course, selling on Etsy. Find her at her Etsy shop.
Do It Yourself: Homemade Honey Candy
TheNerdyFarmWife.com shows you how to make homemade honey candy.
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Follow Money Saving Mom® on Pinterest!
Over the past several months, we’ve received many requests to create a Money SavingMom® Pinterest account in order to compile all the non-deal posts from MoneySavingMom.com in one convenient location.
So I’m happy to announce that we now have a Pinterest account and, if you’re on Pinterest, I’d love for you to follow us! (If you’re not on Pinterest, you can create an account for free here.)
We’ve created several Pin Boards to organize a many, many of the most popular MoneySavingMom.com posts and series.
For example, there’s one board specifically for bread recipes, another board for home organization, and another board for money-saving ideas.
You can follow individual boards, or you can can simply follow the entire Money Saving Mom® Pinterest account to assure you never miss one of our pins!
Frugal Photo Friday (on Monday!): Anything Goes!
Welcome to Frugal Photo Friday! All this month I have been partnering with Rebekah from SimplyRebekah.com. Each Friday we’ve been sharing pictures of simple ways that we save money. This week’s theme is: Anything Goes! For our last week, we want to see any kind of savings you have to share.
So um, I was speaking at a conference on Friday. And I was just a wee bit distracted by all the wonderful people who were there.
People like Rebekah from Simply Rebekah, who is hosting this series with me. Here’s photographic proof we were together — I just wish we had gotten her adorable little Noah in the photo, too!
In the process, my Frugal Photo Friday post never went up. Because I never got it finished. 🙂 But I figured you probably wouldn’t mind if I posted it on Monday. So here goes:
As I’ve mentioned many times in the past, we’re huge fans of oatmeal at our house. It’s quick and easy, it’s filling, and it’s nutritious. Best of all, it’s very inexpensive. I got a 25-pound bag of organic oats from Azure Standard awhile back and we’ve not gotten to the bottom of it yet!
We love to make our own homemade instant oatmeal packets as it makes it so easy for the girls to make their own oatmeal. Plus, it’s just more fun to have it all pre-measured out in a little packet.
The freebies that come in our mail are always fun. You never know what will be showing up next in the mailbox. And every once in awhile, it will be a pretty fantastic freebie like a free razor, or a coupon for a free bottle of Herbal Essence, or I’ve even gotten free Starbucks gift cards before!
The best thing about the mailbox freebies is that they cost me absolutely nothing — just 15 seconds or so a few times per day to sign up for the freebies that are available. It’s totally worth that to me for the surprises that arrive in our mailbox on a regular basis!
Head over to Simply Rebekah to see her Frugal Photo Friday post. And thanks so much for participating in this series; it’s been fun!
Now it is your turn to share the simple ways that you save. Share your link below or on Twitter and Instagram using the hashtag #FrugalPhotoFriday. All of the link-up details can be found here.
Reader tip: Earn money by teaching classes at your local community center
Reader tip: Earn money by teaching classes at your local community center
Here’s a great income-earning tip from Alisha:
I have made some extra money by teaching couponing classes at my community center. It requires no money up front and is a great way to share something that I am passionate about.
My community center pays $20/hour that I teach and will provide copies of any handouts I submit to them for free. They provide the classroom and projector for free, as well.
They also reimburse non-paper materials by having students pay instructors directly for the cost. For instance, I provide each of my students with a couponing binder, and the students pay me the cost of the binder, dividers, and baseball card inserts.
While there is no upfront cost, teaching does require some planning. I spent 2 hours laying out a lesson plan for a 2 hour course and another 2 hours putting together handouts for students to take home. I had never put together a lesson plan before, but the community center was very helpful and reviewed every detail of my class.
If you don’t have the time to plan a course, look into tutoring at the community center. Many people are interested in tutoring in Excel, Photoshop, and various blogging platforms. Tutoring requires no upfront cost and minimal planning. -Alisha
photo from Big Stock
31 Ways to Earn Extra Cash Before Christmas: Sell Items on Facebook (Day 23)
31 Ways to Earn Extra Cash Before Christmas: Sell Items on Facebook (Day 23)
Welcome to October’s series on 31 Ways to Earn Extra Cash Before Christmas. In this series, I’m highlighting simple and legitimate ways you can earn extra cash in the next two months for those of you who could use a little extra cash to help you pay for Christmas — or just for your living expenses if you’re in a tight spot right now.
If you’ve found a great way to make extra cash before Christmas that doesn’t require an outlay of cash upfront, please email me your tip. I’d love to hear it and possibly share it during this series!
Guest post from Ashley of The Thrifty Wife
Yard sales and Craigslist are both great ways to make a little extra money and clear the clutter from your home. However, I’ve found that small items don’t sell well on Craigslist, and selling at garage sales means I need to sell things for next to nothing.
Thankfully there is an alternative: Facebook. Facebook is not only great for catching up with old friends, but it is also a wonderful way to make money by selling items you no longer need.
While you can list things for your friends and family to buy, the real profits are made through local buying and trading groups. Chances are you have one or several of these groups in your area. To find a group, just search for your city in the search box and then ask to join any of the groups that look interesting to you. If you cannot find a group, you can always start one yourself, though this can be time-consuming.
I am a part of five different groups, two geared towards baby and children’s items, one towards women and men’s clothing, and two others for general stuff. I have had the most success selling home décor items.
After you find the group, just follow these steps to start selling your items:
1. Gather and take pictures of your stuff.
Chances are you have a lot of stuff that will sell. All you have to do is gather it all up and take a picture of each item. If you have several smaller items, try grouping them. I know I wouldn’t meet someone just to buy one onesie, but ten of them for $9-10 sounds like a deal.
I have listed everything from curtains to coffee mugs to baby items. I can usually sell my baby and children’s items, as well as home items. However, when it comes to selling women’s clothing and men’s clothing, I have not had much success.
2. Write a good description.
In your listing, you should include applicable sizes or measurements, the condition, the color (sometimes cameras don’t pick up colors clearly in dim lights), as well as the price and the location you want to meet at.
For example, my listing might say:“Like-new boy’s Gap coat in dark blue – size 3T – $6 – Pick up/Meet up in ‘this side of the city’”
3. Private Message the important details.
It is not wise to give out your phone number for the whole community to see, just in case there are untrustworthy people in the group. If someone wants to buy something from me, they will either give me their cell phone number and ask me to text them, or I will private message them my number.
4. Exercise caution.
Use the same amount of caution as you would with Craigslist listings. If the person looks or seems shady, you do not have to sell to them. Your safety and the safety of your family are more important than temporarily offending someone.
Ashley is a freelance writer based in California. She loves to write about everything from finances to fashion, you can check out her blog at The Thrifty Wife. When she is not writing, she is taking care of her husband and baby girl.
Save Money on Christmas Gifts by Entering Contests
Guest post from Beeb of Contest Corner
These days, it’s extremely rare that I spend money out of pocket for birthday or Christmas presents. I have a variety of frugal strategies which I use to achieve this, but the most unorthodox one also happens to be one of my favorite pastimes: Entering sweepstakes, or “Sweeping”.
Yes, I’ve been able to utilize my hobby of entering contests to win a variety of great gift items over the years — everything ranging from camcorders to toys to MP3 players and more!
My “wins” have made for memorable and appreciated presents. But this isn’t the result of being especially “lucky”; it’s about using simple strategies to improve my odds of winning.
Here are a few tips for any novice who would like to try their hand at entering contests – and maybe even win a Christmas gift or two:
1. Think statistically.
People often dismiss giveaways thinking they’ll never win anything, but this simply isn’t true. If you enter consistently, odds are that one of these days you’re going to win something. And if you narrow down your options to sweepstakes with fewer entries, your chances increase exponentially.
2. Increase your odds.
Did you know that there are hundreds of blogs hosting giveaways that receive 200 entries or less? I’ve won so many prizes by focusing my attention on giveaways with low entries. For example, I won the computer which I am typing this from in a blog giveaway that had less than 100 entries.
So how do you find these giveaways in the first place? There are a variety of websites that list “Low-entry” giveaways – my favorite is Tight Wad in Utah, which maintains a daily round-up of giveaways with few entries.
3. Make a plan of attack.
Head to a reputable contest directory such as Online-Sweepstakes, where you can filter giveaway listings by prize and type of giveaway. For example, you could quickly conduct a search for current electronic giveaways hosted on blogs. Focus your attentions on contests for either products that your family would love or gift cards that you could use to buy presents with.
4. Use your time wisely.
You don’t need to sit around all day entering contests to win. Nowadays, I usually check out a low-entry link-up list such as the one I mentioned above, scan quickly for giveaways that I really like, and enter one or two. By focusing on more “winnable” giveaways, you make the most of your precious time.
5. Be realistic.
You are not guaranteed of any outcome when you enter giveaways, so you can’t plan on anything specific. Sweeping is one tactic that I use as part of an overall frugal lifestyle to reduce my expenses, and while I can’t plan for a specific prize the way I can plan for a coupon sale, using it as a part of my savings strategy has helped me save big over the years.
Do you enter giveaways? Have you ever won a present for somebody? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Beeb Ashcroft is a British journalist and “Sweeper” who lives on the Oregon coast. She teaches others the basics on how to enter sweepstakes and find “Winnable” giveaways on her blog, Contest Corner.