If you’re serious about frugal living, it might be time to ditch your night hawk habits. You see, unless you’re sitting in the dark each night, the fact that you stay up when it’s dark means you’re using more power.

When you’re turned on to a ‘regular’ schedule of sleeping when it’s dark and working or playing when it’s light, you can save power much more easily. During the day, you can minimize your use of lights by using natural light whereas this just isn’t an option at night.

Sure, you won’t notice a huge difference in your energy bills when you reverse your night hawk habits, but over the course of a year or even a couple of years, this will add up.

*Photo from Flickr, courtesy of Mattastic!

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A picky eater can not only be frustrating, but it can also be costly in terms of time and money. Just think about it: every time you toss something your child didn’t eat or you prepare a separate meal, you’re using more time and money.

For the sake of your frugal living efforts, the best case scenario would be to nip this picky eater thing in the bud as soon as possible. With that being said, you can’t rush these things and sometimes you’ve got to just let it run its course. There are, however, more frugal living friendly ways to deal with a picky eater in the meantime:

*Don’t force a child to eat something they claim to not like: you’ll only waste time and money preparing other food and tossing what they wouldn’t eat.

*Especially with small children, give small portions first so that they’re not overwhelmed and turned off by the sheer amount of food they ‘have’ to eat. Start small and then, if they eat everything on their plate, they can always have more.

*One popular mealtime solution for picky eaters is to cut prepared foods up into small, bite-sized portions. So, for example, if you’re having trouble getting your child to eat their lunch at school, try cutting a variety of healthful foods into bite-sized pieces for a more snack-like lunch. Small pieces of meat and cheese, crackers or squares of bread or pita, cut up fruit and veggies and dip all work well.

When you find a way to fill your picky eater’s belly with nutritious foods—the first time--you will watch as your food cost declines and you suddenly have more time to do other things than fight with a three-year-old over broccoli.

*Photo from Flickr, courtesy of CarbonNYC

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You’re getting ready to go on a vacation and just pulled your suitcases from the closet or basement only to find they’re terribly musty; should have aired them out before you put them away after your last trip!

There’s a good tip for how to clean musty smelling luggage, however, and the good news is that it’s totally frugal living friendly.

All you need to do is dilute one part white vinegar in four parts water and brush the solution in and around the suitcase. Of course, you shouldn’t clean a leather suitcase in this manner, but you should be able to leave the suitcase to dry (completely!) once the vinegar-water solution has been brushed on. The best case scenario is the weather is glorious and you can put the suitcases outside to dry.

Then, when you come home from this vacation, remember to let your suitcases air out for a few days before packing them away again.

*Photo from Flickr, courtesy of Phineas H

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Money is tight and you just found out that it will cost $1500 to repair your car at the local mechanic’s shop. They’ve given you a break down of the cost of parts and labour and there’s just no getting around these car repairs.

If you’re looking for a more frugal living friendly route to getting your car fixed, consider contacting a local vocational school where, under the direct supervision of a trained mechanic, students in an auto mechanics class can do the repairs for a LOT less.

You will likely need to know ahead of time what parts they will need to do the repairs. You can then pick these up, for a fraction of the cost, at an auto supply store or order them online—both great ideas for frugal living!

At a vocational school, students are learning their trade so there is a chance your repairs could take marginally longer than they would, had you gone to a regular mechanic’s shop. The good news is, there will be little if any extra cost for the repairs outside of the cost of the parts.

Do something great for your community and save your money!

*Photo from Flickr, courtesy of alexkerhead

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