Adventures In Frugal Land

Simply Frugal. Simply Natural.

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The Best Podcasts of 2019

I am loving podcasts. I know they’ve been around for a while but I only got into them in the last 2-3 years. I definitely have jumped in headfirst though. My podcast queue is longer than what I normally have time to listen to!

If you do not know how to listen to podcasts or what they are (radio shows on your phone), leave me a comment or message and I’ll help you out.

Podcasts are a great way to entertain yourself while cleaning, working or exercising. You can listen to podcasts for free on your phone or computer. I’ve saved a lot of money on audiobooks since I listen to primarily podcasts now.

The following are the podcasts that I never miss an episode of. These are my absolute favorites and first on my playlist.

Cultivating The Lovely
Sorta Awesome
Jim Harold’s Campfire
True Crime Obsessed
The Crystal Paine Show
The Same Page
Aaron Mahnke’s Cabinet of Curiosities
Lore
The Popcast
The Bible Binge
Lighten Up With Melanie Dale

The following list are podcasts that I enjoy but don’t listen to every single episode. I skip the ones that done interest me and listen to the ones that do. These are my frequently listened to podcasts

Welcome Home
The Mom Hour
10 Things to Tell You
That Sounds Fun with Annie F. Downs
The Happy Hour with Jamie Ivey

Everything by The Parcast Network

I’m subscribed to just about every podcast by The Parcast Network. The following are my favorites but I suggest checking out their entire selection if you’re into weird or crime type of podcasts.


Cults
Unsolved Murders
Conspiracy Theories
Extraterrestrial
Female Criminals

What are your favorite podcasts?

 
 
 
 
 
 

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Planning A Frugal Wedding

Back in November 2017, something great happened. I finally tied the knot after over 5 years of living with Brandon. We’ve planned to marry for years and never got around to doing it.

I have a complicated history with an abusive ex-husband and really wasn’t in any hurry to remarry. My ex-husband wanting to sign off on his rights to my daughter to allow Brandon to adopt her was the kick in the pants we needed.

Originally, we planned on having a courthouse ceremony but my daughter had her heart set on being in a wedding. We managed to pull off a memorable ceremony with only a few weeks of planning. And the best part, it was super frugal.

Disclaimer: I am writing this post for those couples who either can’t afford an elaborate wedding or choose not.

 I’m NOT judging anyone who decides to spend more on their wedding. It is a special day and I know that for many couples, the expense of a fancy wedding is worth it. And that is great, it just wasn’t what we wanted.

I never dreamed of having a fairy tale wedding and don’t particularly enjoy having a ton of people staring at me. Don’t worry, we spend money of other things some people might find’ ridiculous (way too many books and video games).

We only had a few close family members and friends in attendance, if you have a larger ceremony, I recommend budgeting more money for food for your guests.

plan a wedding frugally

License

Cost $50

I couldn’t find any way to save money on the marriage license. It was fairly inexpensive, under $50.

Food & Cake

Cost $50

We chose not to have a reception. Instead, we had family members over to our home for pizza and cake. It was very low key and low stress. Family chipped in on the cost of pizza so our expenses were very low.

Venue

Cost $0

We got married at a local church. They didn’t charge us a fee to use the facilities.

Photography

Cost $0

Our family did our photography. We have a couple budding photographers in our family.

Dress

Cost $28

Funny thing about my dress, I didn’t pick it out. Brandon did. I was looking at other dresses when he found the perfect one. It was in my size, the perfect style for me and the price was great. I bought it from Goodwill for $28. Yep. I went to Goodwill for my wedding dress. Zero regrets. I was really planning on purchasing a long casual dress but I started looking at their strongly good selection of wedding dresses and I was sold.

My daughter’s dress we had found (for free!) months prior.

Rings

Cost $100

I am not a jewelry person. Don’t worry, I’m plenty expensive in other areas (like technology!). My wedding band and Brandon’s cost us under $100 combined.

Flowers

Cost $20

I didn’t carry a bouquet but my daughter did. She gave me away and walked down the aisle with me. She originally wanted to be a flower girl but didn’t want to throw her flowers, so, she got a bouquet.

Decorations

Cost $0

Music

Cost $0

Officiant Donation

Cost $200

This was our most expensive part of our wedding. The pastor provided us with marriage counseling prior to the ceremony and we felt it was important to prioritize this cost.

Favors

Cost $0

Hair/Makeup/Nails

Cost $0

Final cost: $448

What did you do for your wedding or what do you plan on doing? What is/was your biggest money saving trick?

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That Time When My Own Money Saving Advice Failed

Many people are surprised to find out that I am not a fan of the cash only method of spending. I rarely carry cash and when I do, I spend it. I am much more likely to hand over a $20 bill than swipe a card.

That being said, this method became a slight annoyance when I was scheduled for surgery almost 3 hours away. The quickest route was taking a toll road. Guess what you need to pay tolls? Cash. Yes, there are systems like EZ Pass but you have to sign up for them ahead of time. You would’ve thought that I would’ve simply gone to the bank and pulled out the cash a day or two before. Nope, this never even occurred to me until the night before, after everything was closed.

Our only option was to stop by an ATM. Granted, this is not that big of a deal. But…I HATE paying ATM fees.

Obviously, I am aware that paying a small ATM fee is not the end of the world and this is basically a random rant but I did want to point out that everyone has these days. Everyone has something they stress about that the rest of the world doesn’t see as important.

Now, I’ve changed my thoughts about never carrying cash. I think I’ll keep $20 on me, just in case. Because that $2 ATM fee is really bothering me that much.

 

 

 

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10 Ways to Save on Gifts

I love giving gifts to other people. It’s my love language. I do try to stick to a budget though. If you aren’t careful, buying gifts can be very expensive. How many Christmas, Birthdays, Easter, Teacher Appreciate, Weddings, and Anniversaries gifts do you purchase every year? Use these 10 ways and save on buying all of those gifts.

Plan Ahead

Planning ahead is the number one way to save on gifts. Make a list of all the people you expect to purchase gifts for throughout the year. By having a plan, you can shop throughout the year instead of at the last minute.

Gift Closet

Do you have a gift closet? You should. No, it doesn’t have to be an actual closet. It just has to be somewhere you stash gifts for future use. When things go on clearance, stock up for future gift giving. Many stores have great sales on toys after Christmas, buy a few extra board games or Lego sets and you are all set for birthday parties that pop up through the year!

Don’t Buy “Extras”

You don’t have to buy fancy ribbons and bows to decorate your gifts. Skip the extras, especially on something that is just going to get thrown away.

Give Practical Gifts

When buying gifts for Easter baskets and Christmas stockings, think about practical gifts. I like to give things like flip flops, bathing suits, beach towels and other warm weather stuff for Easter. For Christmas, socks, underwear, gloves and hats are always needed.

Set A Budget

It’s tempting to overspend on gifts but setting a budget is crucial for your finances.

Use Reward Programs

If you are going to purchase a gift, why not get a few extra dollars back to put back into your gift budget? I use eBates and Swagbucks the most.

Give Non-Traditional Presents

Think outside the box when it comes to presents. That new mom in your life might enjoy a home cooked meal more than another (overpriced) baby outfit. Your brother’s family might enjoy season passes to the Zoo rather than toys. Magazine subscriptions are another cheap gift that I always loved getting.

Use Wish and Aliexpress

There are a few things I will only buy from these two sites now. Barbie Doll clothes and accessories, American Girl Doll outfits and hair accessories are a few. I recently bought 12 Barbie outfits for $1!

Since orders from Wish and Aliexpress come from China, it takes a few weeks to ship. I suggest giving an order a good two months to get to your house.

Secret Santa

Suggest a Secret Santa exchange for your extended family instead of buying for each individual person.

Buy Used

I am not saying that you should buy a pair of worn-out shoes to give to your nephew for his Birthday. But, if you find a really nice, name-brand hoodie in perfect condition, wrap it up! I am always on the hunt for good quality, lightly used items that I can put into my gift closet.

Also, check out thrift stores. I’ve found many items with tags still attached for a fraction of retail value. It’s really just silly not to check there first.

I love giving gifts, especially when I know I didn’t spend more than I can afford. How do you make sure that you don’t spend too much on gifts? Do you keep a set budget for the year or do you take a more relaxed approach?

 

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7 Ways to Stick to Your Grocery Budget

I used to have a much smaller grocery budget. Those were the days when I had the time to coupon hardcore. I was also single, in college, childless and had a much higher eating out budget. These days, I am not single, I have one child, hardly ever eat out and don’t have time to coupon every day. I have to make my grocery budget stretch for 2 adults and one child. I am happy with where we are with our grocery budget but I know I could lower it more if we absolutely had to.

If you are wondering what the number actually is, it’s $300 total. I do not include household goods into my grocery budget. Those come out of my household budget. By household goods, I mean things like toilet paper, cleaners, laundry soap, medicine, ect. I recently had to up my budget from $250 to $300 due to my daughter having a yeast allergy. We know have to spend a lot more on certain food items than before. For example, pasta. I used to be able to find it for $.88 per box consistently. Now, I pay almost $3.00 per box for Quinoa pasta.

$300 is about $3.34 per person, per day or $1.12 per meal (assuming 3 meals per day and 30 days in a month). $1.12 per meal doesn’t seem like that much but it’s very doable. We don’t eat beans and rice for every meal. I don’t use a giant stack of coupons every day. And, I don’t have a garden or animals to offset the cost. What I do is plan. That’s really what saving money is all about. Planning ahead.

Shop Sales

I used to only shop once a month. It was just easier for me as I lived a good half an hour away from any grocery store. Now, I live much closer and shop once a week. This means I can purchase the loss-leaders every week. I don’t purchase much else at regular grocery stores than the specific products that are on sale. Each week, I look through the sale ads for each local grocery store and plan my list based on that.

Bulk Purchases

I don’t buy all of my food in bulk. I don’t belong to any warehouse clubs either. Don’t thing that you have to join a club to save money on bulk purchases. I mainly purchase my meat in bulk. I have a local store that offers discounts on bulk chicken and beef purchases. This week, I purchased a 40-pound box of boneless, skinless chicken breasts for $42.00 and a 40-pound box of chicken leg quarters for $20! By purchasing the 40-pound boxes of chicken, I saved a lot more than I would have just purchasing them one pack at a time.

I’ve found that many areas have stores that offer bulk meat discounts. If you don’t know of one around you, try asking in a community online group or your friends. Chances are, someone knows where the best meat deals are. If you still can’t find one, talk to the managers at different stores and/or meat markets and ask if you can receive a discount on bulk meat purchases. This usually works better with local businesses rather than large chain stores. It might take a little bit of searching to find the best places to purchase meat in bulk but once you do, it will all be worth it.

I don’t only buy my meat in bulk with advertised bulk sales. If I find a really awesome deal on meat in individual packs, I purchase several packs at a time. A local grocery store frequently offers buy one get two free deals on pork. I wait to buy pork until these sales and then I buy enough to last until the next sale.

I will also use Amazon subscribe and size to purchase bulk non-perishable items. Just this past week, I was able to order individually packaged chips for cheaper than I would have bought the big bags!

Keeping a Pricebook

A pricebook is simply a list of products with their average cost from store to store. I keep my pricebook in my bullet journal but any notebook or electronic note app would work.  I don’t list every single product I’ve ever purchased. I only keep track of the items I purchase constantly. It does take a few weeks to know what the best price is, so have a little bit of patience with yourself. Stay consistent and write down the cost of products from week to week and soon you will be able to see the lowest amount. I’m going to go back to my pasta example. $0.88 was the lowest amount I knew I could purchase pasta for without using coupons. When I saw it for that price, I would buy enough to last my family a few months. By doing this, I never had to pay full price. This way of shopping can be applied to any product.

Stockpiling

I am a wanna-be minimalist. I hate clutter and am constantly purging items from my house. I do have exceptions to this. I don’t see my stockpile as clutter. I see it as a money pile. It does help that I keep my stockpile out of sight. No, I don’t have walls of toilet paper stacked all over the house. Although that would be nice, toilet paper is expensive! When I say stockpile, I simply mean a pantry and freezer that is full of products purchased at sale prices. You don’t have to go overboard. Most sales happen every month or every other month.

Utilizing Reward Programs & Coupons

I am loving reward programs. I don’t have a capable device to use Ibotta but I do have a few others that I can use. I mainly use the reward programs for their produce offers. It’s not much, usually only a dollar or so a week, but it adds up! The two I’ve listed below are not referral links. I don’t believe either one of them offers referral credits. I’ve chosen these two based on the offers they list and ease of use. There are many other reward programs out there but I don’t use them, don’t have a capable device or don’t like how their system is. I’m basing this on simplicity, and the following two win that award.

Checkout 51

Checkout 51 is easy to use. They have an app but I use the website. I check their offers once a week when I’m making my grocery list. When I get home from the store(s), I scan the receipt immediately so it doesn’t get lost. I upload it to the website when I get on the computer that night or next day. A check is sent once you get $20 in the account. Only selected stores are able to be used with Checkout 51, mainly larger chain stores. They do allow more than one account per household but each receipt can only be claimed once.

Saving Star

With Saving Star, the offers are linked to my store rewards card. Once a week, I select the offers I want. The rewards are automatically deposited once Saving Star processes it. It usually takes a couple days. You can also upload a receipt from their selected stores that don’t have store reward cards

While I don’t have the time to think of elaborate coupon scenarios at this moment of my life, I do use coupons when I can. I quickly scan a few coupon blogs to see any good match-ups and pull the coupons out from my inserts or print the ones I need. I pretty much only use coupons this way now. Also, many grocery stores offer e-coupons now. I add them my store card and they are deducted automatically. This saves me from having to remember a bunch of paper coupons.

Using My Freezer

I use my freezer a lot. I freeze leftovers if I know we won’t use them up before they go bad. When I find a really good deal on product, I cut a bunch up and freeze it for later use. I prepare some meals ahead of time and freeze them for busy nights. We also keep shredded chicken and stock in the freezer for easy meal preparation. Always make sure you label everything and take some time each month to inventory what you’ve got. You don’t want to have a bag of freezer burnt mystery meat a year from now! That sure won’t save you any money.

Meal Planning

I am a planner. I have to plan everything out or I feel frazzled. Each week, I plan a list of meals. I also make sure we have enough food to prepare a few different breakfast options and lunch options. I don’t plan snacks, they are whatever happens to be on sale or what we have stockpiled. I do plan for leftovers. I have two set days each week that are leftovers night. This helps me to cut down on food waste and it also means less cooking. Meal planning allows me to plan meals based on what I already have and what is on sale. This saves a ton of money. There have been several times that my meal plan had to be switched up due to an unexpected event. This is when freezer meals come in handy. Always have backup options available to prevent emergency pizza runs. Note: there is nothing wrong with planning a Pizza night occasionally. I fully support that. Just budget for it and plan ahead of time.

I understand that it’s difficult to start bulk purchasing or even just shopping sales in the beginning. Allow yourself a few weeks or months to get into the swing of things. If you can, allow yourself an extra $10 or $20 to purchase stockpile/bulk purchases and then lower your budget once you have enough staples that you can only shop sales. Or, if your budget doesn’t allow for that, plan cheaper meals to free up some extra cash to bulk purchase with. Focus on one or two items at a time. Do not try to build a stock of every kind of meat, pasta sauce, canned food, cheese or snack foods at one time. It takes time. If I find a really amazing sale on meat that I just can’t pass up, I will “borrow” money from another part of my budget. I do not recommend you borrow from bill money. Rather, take it from the portion of your budget that you plan for entertainment, “blow” money, household expenses or clothing. I rarely have to do this anymore now that I’ve gotten into the swing of things again. We did have a really rough financial patch last year that wiped most of our food stockpile and caused a lot of credit card debt. It took me a good 6 months to build it back to where I’m happy with it.

 

Are you able to stick to your grocery budget? What is your number one grocery shopping tip?

 

 

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Other Reusable Menstrual Options

Last week, I shared what you’ve always wanted to know about cloth pads, reviewed some cloth pad companies and showed how much you can save by switching to reusable options.

If you aren’t into the idea of using cloth pads, there are still many other options for you!

Menstrual Panties

Have you heard about menstrual panties? I didn’t till a few months ago. Once I heard about them, I really wanted to try them out. They sounded good for backup but they were very pricey. I recently found them on wish.com and decided to test them out. Menstrual panties are supposed to be able to be used in place of a pad or a tampon. I tested the panties the same way I had tested cloth pads. It soaked through immediately. The only thing that made them menstrual panties was a super thin extra piece of fabric.

I took the chance on another pair from aliexpress.com and am pleased. The fabric is much thicker and not as cheap feeling as the other pair. They help up to my test. They are the equivalent of a moderate cloth pad, absorbency wise. I do not like the fabric, though. I have issues with certain textures. But, I guess this just goes to show that sometimes, you get what you pay for. Like I did with the first pair I bought.

In the picture below it is just water on them. I can control my bladder, thank you very much. I am amazed at how much they hold! That’s about a quarter of a cup of water. The back is totally dry.

Sea Sponge Tampons

I only found about these when I was researching this post. I’m upset that I didn’t get the chance to order any before writing. They are definitely on my list of things to order in the future. I love that they are all-natural, which greatly reduces the risk of toxic shock syndrome. I’m not sure how they would be comfort-wise though. I would love any opinions you have on them.

Menstrual Cups

I absolutely love my menstrual cups. They have saved me hundreds of dollars in the past few years. Don’t be afraid of the upfront cost of cups. I’ve tried some of the expensive, name-brand options and didn’t like them. I’ve found that the cheaper ones work just as good. I use one that I ordered from Amazon for very cheap and another that I received for a review. You should be aware that it’s important to get one that’s the right size and shape for your body type. I have so much to say about menstrual cups that I’m dedicating an entire post to them later this week. I store my cups in a mason jar that doubles as a cleaning jar.

Cotton Tampons

Cotton tampons are perfect for those who want the convenience of a tampon with the cost saving aspect of cloth pads. I bought a sample pack from Cloth Junkies (full review later this week) to try but haven’t had a chance to yet. I will share my thoughts about them when I do. They are pretty much just a small bit of fabric with a string attached. You roll it together and then insert.

Intra-Labial Pads

I never heard of this option till I saw it listed in an Etsy shop. These are great for women who have very light flows. They are quite small but does the job. They are also good for a backup when using tampons or a menstrual cup.

 

Are you reading this series but have to use disposable menstrual options? Don’t worry, I’m not leaving you out! I will be sharing my favorite, non-toxic disposable options later this month.

 

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How Much Can You Save By Using Reusable Menstrual Products?

Figures below are estimates, your amounts may be a little more or a little less. I’m going to call her Eve because I don’t like not naming things or people, even hypothetical ones.

On average, a young woman can expect to start her period around age 12. Let’s say she enters menopause at age 52. That’s 40 years of menstruating! Of course, if she has children, she won’t have as many months of menstruating. I’m going to assume Eve has 2 children and got her cycle back 3 months after delivery (which is when I did even though I breastfed, not fair!). Now, Eve can expect 38 years or 456 months of menstruation.

Cost of Menstrual Products 

Let’s say Eve uses 20 tampons and 10 pads per cycle. Her cost per period would be around $8. Each year, she will spend $96 just on pads and tampons.

Eve decides she is sick of throwing away her money and invests in some reusable options. She decided to buy a menstrual cup and cloth pads. She bought enough pads to get through her entire cycle. She purchases 5 overnight pads that cost $14 each and 5 moderate pads that cost $13 each. Upfront cost: $135. She also buys a menstrual cup that costs $15, bringing her total upfront cost to $150.

That sounds like a lot of money, doesn’t it? Well, the pads and menstrual cup should each last at least 5 years, possibly more. If Eve continued to purchase disposable options, she would have spent $480 in five years. By purchasing reusable options, she is actually SAVING $330!

But what if Eve doesn’t use and only uses pads? We can assume she goes through 5 pads a day if she’s changing every 4 hours and 1 overnight each day. Eve purchases Ultra-Thin Heavy Flow Pads for daytime use and Ultra-Thin All Night Pads for nighttime use. Her daytime pads cost $0.36 per pad while her nighttime pads cost $0.27 per pad. Over the course of her cycle, she spends $10.35 on pads.

Each year, she will spend $124 on pads. Over a five-year period, she would spend $620 on pads!

She purchases. 5 overnight cloth pads at $14 each and 25 moderate cloth pads at $13 each. Her total upfront cost is $395. She just saved herself $225.

But, Eve doesn’t have $395 right now. She goes to Party In My Pants Pads and chooses the “surprise party” print options. Now, the cost per large pad is only $10 and the cost per overnight pad is only $11, bringing her total down to $305. She then uses the coupon code frugalland to save an additional 10%, bringing her final cost to $275.

Of course, there are other ways to offset the initial cost of reusable menstrual products.

Buy Slowly

Many women choose to purchase their reusable menstrual products over a period of time rather than all at once. If you choose to use cloth pads, you can buy enough to get through three days and do a load of laundry halfway through your cycle. This method allows you to purchase less pads but does mean you are washing them twice as much which can wear them out quicker. You might choose to buy two cloth pads each month. You can build up a stash over a year this way.

Find Cheap Options

There are cheaper options when it comes to cloth pads. Some women really like the pads available on Wish.com. I’m not a big fan of them but they are a cheap and viable option. There are also several sellers on Etsy that have lower prices. Be aware that buying the cheapest option really isn’t the best deal if the pad is poorly made. This is not a case where cheaper is better. My advice is to look for a coupon code or wait for sales to build your stash.

Make Your Own Cloth Pads

If you are handing with a sewing machine, you might want to think about sewing your own. This is a great way to cut down on the initial costs of purchasing cloth pads.

Regardless of which option you choose, using reusable menstrual products will save you quite a bit of money over the years. I believe the cheapest option is the menstrual cup but that’s not a good alternative for women who can’t use anything internally. But, if you can, it’s a great way to save a lot of money. I will be posting a full menstrual cup review next week.

Are you surprised at how much disposable pads and tampons cost over a five year period? 

 

 

 

 

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What You’ve Always Wanted to Know about Cloth Pads

If you are anything like me, the first time you heard about cloth pads, you thought “Ew, gross. I will NEVER do that.” I surprised myself when I decided to try them out. I didn’t jump into using cloth pads with both feet at first. I slowly crept in.

A few months ago, I was preparing a busy few months at work. Knowing that I was already in extreme pain from endometriosis and adenomyosis, I visited my gynecologist to find out what I could temporarily do to try to ease the pain. I knew I couldn’t afford to take off time to have a surgery done then, so, I opted to try a round of the depo-vera shot. I regretted that decision within a week. TMI Alert: I began to bleed and continued to spot for three straight months. Which meant I had to use disposable pads and panty liners. This led to some unpleasant side effects. Like ahem…chafing. (I was not able to use tampons or a cup due to the pain during that time).

Desperate for some sort of relief, I turned to the internet. And after diagnosing myself with all sorts of diseases, I kept reading about women who used cloth pads. I thought they were crazy but I decided to give it a try. I honestly thought that I would try one, write a review here about the horrible experience and never look back.

I started out by ordering a sample panty liner from Party In My Pants Pads. When I tested it out, I was shocked. Ladies….it was so different than disposables! I quickly ordered more from a variety of companies. I will be reviewing each company one at a time in the following days. I picked four of the more well-known companies, four of the cheaper ones from China (ordered on Wish and Aliexpress) and four from Etsy.

Before I get into the reviews, I want to answer some questions I’m sure you have. These are the questions I had when I started.

Isn’t It Gross?

Honestly, no grosser than dealing with a period any other way. At some point, a woman will have to wash blood out of her panties. It’s just part of being a woman. Dealing with cloth pads is not any grosser than that.

How Do You Wash Cloth Pads?

It’s really up to you. You can rinse them out and soak in a pail till wash day. Or, you can just throw into the washing machine without soaking. That option is more likely to result in staining, though.  Some women (like me) prefer to wash a small load of just pads rather than mixing with the other laundry. Some pads are able to be dried in the dryer but I prefer to hang them up to dry, this helps them last even longer.

Where Do You Store Cloth Pads?

Anywhere you normally store menstrual supplies. I have mine in a drawer in the bathroom.

How Many Cloth Pads Do I Need?

This all depends on your unique flow, how often you change your pad and how many times you want to do laundry in a week. I don’t mind having to wash them so, I bought enough for 3 full days. Other women like to have enough pads to get through their entire cycle. I didn’t choose this option because I wasn’t sure how they would work for me. Take note of how many disposables you use and purchase the same amount of cloth pads.

Will They Leak?

Cloth pads are just as, if not more, absorbent than disposables. They shouldn’t leak if used properly. Common sense plays a part here. You need to be aware of how heavy your cycle is and plan accordingly. Obviously, you don’t want use a light day pad as an overnight pad. Not all pads are made the same way. You will find that different companies/sellers have different standards. This is one of the reasons I chose to review different companies.

Isn’t It More Expensive?

You can offset some of the initial cost by looking for clearance deals or seconds. Also, many companies allow you to get a free sample pad to test out (you usually have to pay the shipping fees).

Longterm wise, it’s actually cheaper to buy cloth pads than disposables. The initial cost can be expensive but they should last 3-5 years.

What are Seconds? Are They Used Pads?

Seconds are just pads or pantyliners that have a slight cosmetic defect that shouldn’t affect usage at all. They are definitely not used pads! They are priced lower than other pads/liners. This is a great way to build your stash while on a budget!

What are the Best Ones?

I can’t answer that question as it depends on what you want, what’s important to you in a pad and several other variables. I did try to help you all out by testing and reviewing several different cloth pads. I will be posting several reviews (12!) of different cloth pad companies and Etsy shops in the next two weeks. All of the pads I review went through the same review process.

About My Cloth Pad Review Process:

I tested the absorbency of all of the pads the same way to be able to accurately give these reviews. I used water as it is easier to measure than menstrual blood. I based it on the amount I typically have in my cup on a normal cycle day. I’m sure there is a more scientific way of testing but this worked for me.

I laid each pad out one by one with a piece of paper underneath to catch any water that might leak through. Then, I put about a 1/4 oz of water onto each one and let it soak for 10 minutes.

I did NOT perform an absorbency test on any of the pantyliners.

Notes About These Reviews:

I did want to make sure you all are aware that NONE of these companies were aware that I was going to be reviewing their pads before they were shipped to me. I wanted to make these reviews honest and fair. I know that sometimes, companies pay “extra, special attention” to bloggers who are writing reviews and I didn’t want that. I was determined to get the “real” experience of each company to be able to pass along that knowledge to my reader.

I did contact some of the companies after my testing process to see if they would be willing to pass along any discounts or savings to you. Some of the links in the reviews are affiliate links but I was not compensated for my review at all. All of the products were bought with my own money. Sometimes as a blogger, I am blessed to receive products to test but that was not the case with these reviews. I am not opposed to the idea of free cloth pads to test out though if any company/seller is reading! LOL 🙂

Come back tomorrow to read my review on Party In My Pants Pads, also known as PIMP pads. I find the name quite funny! Plus, I’ll tell you how to save 10% off your order!

Do you have any other questions about cloth pads? Feel free to ask me them!

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That Time I Maxed out My Credit Cards and Didn’t Regret It

Credit cards are evil. That’s what everyone says, right? I’ve even said it myself. I would hear about “those people” with thousands of dollars of credit card debt and immediately jump to the conclusion that they must not be good at managing their money.  Or, they were shopaholics, living far beyond their means. Well, life has a funny way of showing you when you’ve been a judgmental dingbat.

That’ll Teach Me to Judge Someone Else’s Financial Situation

Last winter, I was in a bad place financially. Brandon, my other half, had major surgery with several complications. While he was in the hospital, our only vehicle completely and utterly died on us. After the hospital stay, he required home nursing and several doctor’s appointments with costly co-pays. At that time, I was unable to find a steady job. I had costly prescriptions of my own to pay for. Not to mention, bills still needed to be paid.

What About Savings?

Everyone should have an emergency fund, right? It’s great if you have one but know that it is possible to quickly go through the fund when an emergency strikes. It got to the point where we wiped through all our savings, even after cutting every possible expense. It was then that I decided to start using my credit cards. This is the part of the story where I should tell you what a horrible idea that was and how much I regret it. But, I can’t do that because I don’t regret it.Having access to the cards allowed me to get the prescriptions I needed, helped to put food on the table, paid for co-pays and kept the lights on. For a few months, we were pretty much living off of credit cards until I was able to find a job.

That Time I Maxed out My Credit Cards

Why I Don’t Regret the Credit Card Debt

I don’t regret having the credit card debt. I can’t, knowing what how much it helped us. That being said, I want it gone. We are now in a better position and have been aggressively paying down the debt. My goal is to have it paid off by the end of the year. When I added up the total amount, I was shocked. Not at how much it was. No, I was shocked that I didn’t regret it. I see the debt as something that truly helped my family when we needed it the most. And for that, I’m thankful. (and for the fact that I didn’t have interest until the last few months!)

Why Am I Sharing This?

I’m not sharing this to encourage you to take on huge amount of credit card debt. I am sharing this to let you know that sometimes, it’s ok to have to use credit cards when there is no other choice. I can blog about emergency funds and savings accounts (and I do encourage that) but the truth is, not everyone is able to live that way. Sometimes, it’s impossible to build an emergency fund when you are barely able to keep food on the table. If that is where you are at right now, know that you aren’t alone. You will pull through this. Do what you need to do for your family and ignore what everyone else (even me!) has to say about saving money.

 

Have you ever had to use credit cards to survive? Were you able to pay off the debt?

 

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Tried It: DIY Wool Dryer Balls

On Sunday, I shared that wool dryer balls are one of my favorite things to use as a fabric softener alternative. When I first learned that they existed, I didn’t have the money to purchase any. So, I decided I would make them myself as I had some wool skeins already. I didn’t have high hopes as I am not very crafty. But, they turned out pretty well. Read on to learn how you can make your own.

Supplies:

1 Skein of wool yarn, or more if you want. You will need about 1 skein per ball.

Old pantyhose. This is only going to be used to wash the balls.

Crochet needle.

Patience. This is not a DIY for someone without patience.

Instructions:

You can start your ball by either wrapping your yard around a piece of wool or by “balling up” some of the yarn. I used the “balling up” method. Either way, you’ll want to have about a finger length of starter material for the beginning of the ball.

Then, start to wrap your yard around the starter until a ball shape begins to form.

Once you have the shape, begin to criss-cross the yard lines over one another. This helps the ball from unraveling when you use it.

Make sure you are wrapping the yard VERY tightly.

Here’s the hard part, keep wrapping the yarn around and around until the desired size is reached. Can you tell I don’t have much patience?

To finish the ball, use your crochet needle to push the yard under a few layers and back out into a knot. Wrap the yarn around a few times and repeat until it’s secure. There’s really no right or wrong way to do this as long as the yarn is tightly secured into itself.

After you are done with your ball, put it into a panty hose leg, knot the leg and throw it into your next load of laundry. If you are doing more than one at a time, make sure there is a knot between each ball. Do not take the ball out of the pantyhose when you dry it.

You are going to repeat the wash/dry step a couple of time. Keep the pantyhose ball in your laundry for the next few loads. I believe I washed mine five times or so before I started using them. The washing and drying helps the ball really conform to itself so it doesn’t unravel in the dryer later on.

To find out if your ball is ready to use, untie (or cut) the pantyhose and remove the ball. It should look smoother than before. As if the yarn is molded together almost. Run your fingernail lightly over the top. Do the strings easily separate? If not, the balls are ready to be used!

To Use:

Simply throw the balls into your dryer with a load of wet clothes. You can add a few drops of essential oils to the balls if you want your laundry to be scented.

My Thoughts:

They did hold up pretty well, one of them had an unfortunate end when it met a hook on a sweater. The whole ball unraveled! But, other than that one ball, I am impressed with how well they held up. That being said, I found making my own to be tedious. I think I will stick to purchasing them in the future.

 

Have you ever used wool dryer balls? What is your opinion of them?

 

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