With the holidays around the corner I am on the lookout for inexpensive presents (I have a looooooooooong list, do you, too?) When I found this deal I just had to share it with my frugal friends! Create a photo calendar for FREE. All you need to pay is shipping. I have created other great FREE gifts with this business in the past and was pleasantly surprised with the results.

To start working on your custom photo calendar, simply click the image above.

Did you know that for every degree you push back your thermostat for an 8 hour period you will see a savings of 1% on your heating bill? Yes, even that little bit makes a difference!

That's why it is so important to be sure to lower the temp when you are off to work or otherwise out for the day. Buying a programmable thermostat will set you back around $80-100 but will save you in the long run (and keep you from having to remember to turn down that heat.

I suggest turning down the temp at least 10 degrees cooler when you are out or sleeping at night.

I am always on the lookout for reputable online surveys companies. I have been doing these surveys since my son was born five years ago, and though I have not made millions in this endeavor I have cashed in my fair share of checks. The latest company I have come across is Valued Opinions. A friend suggested them to me and I sure am glad I tried it out! They send you an email when a survey opportunity fits your profile and you earn points for each one you take. When you build up a bunch of points you can redeem them for gift cards at your favorite stores. I love using mine for Amazon.com cards.

Interested in trying out Valued Opinions? Click on the image above and start getting paid for your opinions!

Do you dismiss new recipes because they call for pricey ingredients you rarely buy? Before you pass it over, think about what you might substitute it with. A pasta dish that calls for asparagus might be just as tasty with a cheaper green veggie like broccoli (and it's so cheap frozen!) Recipes that call for red wine could do just as well made with grape juice or broth.

The possibilities for substitution are endless. Get creative!

This post is linked to Frugal Friday.

If you have been searching for the perfect Christmas present, your search is now over. Canvas People is an awesome company that takes your personal photographs and turns them into a work of art! And for a limited time, they are offering new customers the chance to make one free (yep, FREE!) 8x10 sized canvas. You only pay shipping and handling. This is a gift valued at $55. Wow, talk about savings! Lots of bloggers are buzzing about this fab promo.

To take advantage of this offer, simply click the image above to get started.

Are your kids shampoo hogs? Do you find yourself buying children's shampoo frequently? Squeezing out just the right amount can be tricky to do for some kiddos. Here's a hint that will make it easier for them and save you some money at the same times:

Save a bottle with a pump (from baby bath wash or lotion). Rinse it out well, then fill it with whichever shampoo suits your fancy. Teach kids how many pumps it takes to get the correct amount of shampoo for their length of hair. Easy peasy, right?

Are you a couponer? Then you should be a member of Right@Home! They give away sample packs of products from the S.C. Johnson Company lines every month and even send out coupon booklets for all the products that you use and love. Click the image above and sign up today.

As of today, there are 58 days until Santa comes! This year our family will be sending out fabulous photo cards from Shutterfly. Andy why not? Shutterfly has the highest quality digital prints I have seen and they have a wide variety of festive designs (over 700 of them), and some cost as low as 32 cents! I am still trying to decide which is my favorite.

Everybody knows that most stores have online shopping on their websites. But did you know that the prices vary? Next time you are planning on heading out to shop, check the store's site first and see if they have a better deal online. They frequently do! If so, ask a salesperson in-store if they will honor the online price for you. Many will be happy to honor it for you to get the sale (and you won't have to pay shipping!)

This post is linked to Works for Me Wednesday.

Have you ever noticed those price scanners throughout the stores, like at Walmart and Target? Ever used them? You should!

Often times items do not ring up what is marked on its price sticker or for the price the sign near it says. Check ahead of time so you know exactly how it will ring up at the register. This will save you time and money. So many people don't even notice in-store that they got charged a different price than they thought they were getting. Don't be one of them.

One pleasant surprise at stores who are constantly rolling back prices is that the item might even be cheaper than it is marked. In that case you might want to stock up on as many as you can get your hands on!

This past weekend I joined the effort to find a cure for Breast Cancer. Free 2 Be Frugal teamed up with the good people at Pssst...Network and and Yoplait to support breast cancer awareness. Over the past 12 years, Yoplait has donated over $25 million to the cause. They continue to support the cause with their Save Lids to Save Lives program.

I hosted a get-together as part of their program to share the message of risk reduction and early detection. Some friends gathered together at our home for some fall fun with a bonfire with all the fixin's: hot dogs and marshmallows to roast, fresh apple cider, and hot cocoa! And while we were at it we tried out some fabulous fall recipes from Yoplait's new Recipe section on their site. Here's a look at some of the yummy yogurt-infused goodies we sampled:

Gingered Caramel and Yogurt Dip with Pears and Apples

Of course all the pink lids to the yogurts purchased to make these goodies will be sent back to Yoplait, who will donate 10 cents for each one received to Susan G. Komen for the Cure! Why don't you send in your lids, too? Yoplait will be excepting them now through December 31st.

Like it or not, the cold is coming. Here are a few things you can do now to make sure you won't need to replace your outdoor goods come next spring:

A cold snap is coming to town here in Jersey. It may not have gotten very cold yet in your neck of the woods, but wintry weather is a-comin'! Make sure you check and replace the following in your home:

Congrats! I will be contacting you shortly to get your mailing info.

While you're checking out the frugal tip of the day, latest deals, and freebies you can ALSO print out the coupons you need to save big on your next shopping trip. Get great money-saving coupons from Coupons.com right here on Free 2 Be Frugal! Simply click on the image above to visit the gallery of coupons, (looks like there are 239 today!) click on the offers you'd like, then print.

Easy to do, easy to save!

It's all fine and good when you are making a budget to say you are going to really buckle down and not waste any money. But is it realistic?

If you deprive yourself of any little treats or niceties whatsoever you are going to burn out on the budget bandwagon fast. My suggestion? Give yourself an allowance. Yep, just like you had when you were a kid. Make it a line item on your budget (make sure to put one in for hubby, too). Give yourself a set amount monthly or weekly, and when it is gone it is gone.

This post is linked to Frugal Friday.

Okay, it's been awhile since my last Frugal Confession. So here I go...

I have a love affair with bacon. I could eat it every single day and I wholeheartedly believe that any dish is better with bacon added to it. But bacon is a pain in the derriere to cook. It's greasy...and messy...it splatters everywhere. I've tried so many techniques to cook it (stovetop, baking it in the oven, microwaving, etc.) but I am never satisfied with the results. Too much time, too much cleanup, and it never is quite the way I like it either. I like it super crispy.

But then I discovered Oscar Mayer Ready-to-Serve Bacon. It's already fully cooked. It's not shriveled up. Pop a few pieces in the mike and you have the best ever bacon in less than a minute. Less than a minute, people.

Convenience foods always cost a bit extra. I typically avoid most of it. But seriously. Bacon is worth it!

Our family has been officially been budgeting for a month now and I thought I would give you all an update. Budgeting is really changing the way we live! We are learning what we can and cannot afford on a monthly basis in different areas of spending. It can be a bit tricky to remember to forecast what our needs will be, especially now that we have a kiddo in elementary school. So many opportunities to attend events for his school and his extracurricular activities keep popping up, as well as our own social events. We are learning to pick and choose and turn people down graciously.

We might be saying no to some fun times, but we are saying yes to our future!

I mentioned before that we decided to go with YNAB for our finance tracking, but I received many, many emails from people singing the praises about Mint.com. Mint offers free budgeting online. And it's not just my frugal friends advocating this handy, free tool. Money Magazine as well as PC Magazine named it as the Best Online Personal Financial Tool!

Click on the image above to try it out for yourself.

Hey coupon clipper, wanna know what coupons are gonna be in this Sunday's paper..right now? Click the image above and you'll never have to wait 'til Sunday morning again!

Do you have any unused sporting goods, exercise equipment, or skates cluttering up your garage, basement, and attic? If so, you might be sitting on some unclaimed cash! Gather it up and head on over to a used sporting goods store like Play It Again Sports. You can trade your stuff in for a cash or store credit for new-to-you sporting goods.

Click here to read a list of their most-wanted items.

Everyone likes to organize things a little differently, and that is why I loved loved LOVED this Master Menu Planning Kit the instant I came across it at Simple Organized Living. It has a variety of formats for people who want to menu plan weekly, bi-weekly, and monthly. The best part is that it is free. Y'all know how I feel about free.

Treat yourself this week. Carve out a tiny bit of time this week and plan what your family will eat for the next week. Or two weeks. Or month. Whatever suits your fancy. Now buy only what you need to make that plan happen. And enjoy not making last-minute trips to the grocery store on a daily basis.

The weekend's almost here so why not make plans for a date night or to catch up with an old friend? Start your outing right with a FREE appetizer at Chili's. Click the image above to print out your coupon for Chili's famous queso and chips. Yum!

Well, the kitchen gods must be in his favor today. I started to pull out the ingredients for the pie and lo and behold I do not have 2 cans of cream of whatever soup. Now what?

After a quick search of my bookmarks I found a link I saved for a rainy day. This is a recipe for a substitution for cream of soups. And I can easily trade in the dairy for the soy versions. And it was pretty darned tasty! Thanks, Thrifty Pals!

I think I will always make it this way, with these substitutions. Why should I spend money buying canned soups when I always have the stuff on hand to make my own white sauce?

When the kids have all gone back to school the appointments start filling up day planners everywhere. Trips to the dentist are one of those dreaded appointments, and not just because of the cavities. The costs of going to the dentist can be a real pain, too.

Did you know that most dental schools offer appointments to the public? All dental work is done by a student and supervised by a trained dentist, and can cost up to 70% LESS than visiting a traditional dental office.

We recently had the chance to check out some really cool toys from the Backyard Safari line. I have to say that this is the coolest collection of toys I have seen in a long time. They are so realistic and yet lightweight and simple to use. We received:

Land & Water Mega View Periscope

Bug Wrangler's Extreme Suction Bug Vacuum

The Essential Cargo Vest

All three were awesome. My son was delighted to get a chance to try these out. He immediately suited up and headed out back to find some unsuspecting insects. And find them, he did! We were so impressed with these that when we saw them at Walmart we picked up the Field Binocs, Campfire Glow Lantern, Bug Podz Habitat, Field Compass, 6-in-1 Field Tools, and Super Grabber. Yeah, it was a lot of stuff, but the kiddo had a lot of birthday money leftover waiting for an occasion like this.

I will also say that my son is not big on toys. He would rather use his imagination and engages in a lot of pretend play. Toys are typically acquired and then long forgotten in our house. But this stuff really captured his fancy. I've had an explorer on my hands ever since its arrival and I suspect Santa will be bringing more of it (how cute is the headlamp?)

How do you buy your juice? In drink boxes? Bottles? Cartons? Frozen from concentrate? If you said the latter choice, then you are buying the cheapest juice available. The frozen ones (that come in the can in the freezer section) can be up to 60% LESS than juice in other containers. Pick up a pitcher from the dollar store and mix up some juice on grocery shopping day and enjoy the savings.

Squeeze Bottle, where have you been all my life?

I am perpetually miserable with sinus congestion, sinus headaches, and general misery. The fall is usually my worst time of the year. The congestion typically builds and builds, no matter what I try, until I get a sinus infection. The sinus infection from H-E-double hockey sticks! And it sort of cycles through the winter like that.

THIS fall I am feeling good, and I owe it all to my beloved Squeeze Bottle. At the first sign of congestion and headache I started using this twice daily. The results have been awesome. I am not miserable with sinus pressure this fall. And I feel totally in control of how much of the solution I am taking in my nostrils, not like I am drowning myself (which I honestly felt like using the original Neti Pot). And though I got mine for free, I see the retail price is $14.99, which is not too bad for preventative health.

Click here for a coupon for $2 off the purchase of any product from the Waterpik SinuSense line. You won't be sorry!

This version does a great job of that. It is written in plain ole modern English and tells the biblical stories so they are easily understood. This bible also features some awesome artwork. The colorful pages show bible characters like you have never seen them before. They remind me so much of the graphics you see on video games nowadays, which is a real appeal to many kids. My 5 year old son and I are enjoying reading through this bible and I plan to purchase a copy for my nephew (who's 6) for Christmas.

The only thing I did not like about this book was that I felt a book intended for children 6 and up should really be hardcover. It is a great big book and would be better off not published in paperback. Something sturdier or that comes in a case would fit the bill.

If you are thinking about buying a cell phone for you or someone else who is not a bigtime cell user, why not try a prepaid wireless phone like TracFone? The cells themselves are relatively inexpensive (typically $10-30) and there are no contracts, no monthly bills, and no credit checks to start service. You simply buy phone cards in increments of 60 minutes, 120, 200, or 450. And they have added a neat thing you can buy for just $19.99 and it will double your minutes for life. Very cool.

This could be a very good option if you are purchasing a phone for one of your kiddos or an elderly relative.