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A Frugal Queen’s Experience At McDonald’s

Ever since I started this blog, I have been preoccupied with jotting down ideas about earning extra money or being frugal whenever I hear about them or experience them firsthand so that I can share them on this blog. Sometimes I think of myself as the Frugal Queen and wonder if maybe I am a bit extreme, but I guess it all boils down to the fact that I work really hard for the money I earn, and as a Canadian I pay a lot of tax, so I want to make sure that the money I spend is being stretched to its limit. I guess there’s nothing wrong with that.

To further emphasize my frugal queeniness ( I know that’s not a word!), I want to tell you about my experience eating breakfast at McDonald’s. Once a year for some reason I crave McDonald’s. I am not sure why, but I always do, and when I finally give in to my temptation and eat there, I end up feeling ill for a few hours, and then I regret spending my money on something that makes me sick.

July 1, 2010

Travel & Entertainment

5 Ways To Save Money At National Parks

During our travels this summer, my husband and I stayed at various national parks throughout the U.S. We have also stayed at many national parks in Canada over the past couple of years. We have found that you don’t have to spend a lot of money while staying within these parks. Here are a few ways we have saved money:

1. Some national parks provide free shuttle bus service. We took advantage of this service whenever possible. It was much easier to see what the park had to offer without having to drive around in our car, and it was cheaper because we didn’t have to pay for the gas.

2. If you are able to time it right, you can sometimes get into national parks for free. During our most recent vacation, one of the parks we stayed at was promoting their park by allowing free entrance for one weekend. We just happened to be there at the right time. If you are thinking of taking a vacation at a nearby national park, check out the park website to see if any free entrance weekends are being offered and book your vacation around that time. The neat thing is that entrance fees are usually very reasonable and are often valid for 7 days. In all the U.S. national parks we visited the entrance fee was just $25.

June 29, 2010

Travel & Entertainment

Our Frugal Summer Vacation

In response to the Summer Road Trip Challenge I posted earlier this month, I wanted to fill you in on how it turned out.

We had a fantastic time visiting several national parks throughout the southwestern U.S. As planned, we camped along the way, and because we spent most of our time in the desert, we didn’t have to deal with a lot of rain. Instead of rain, we experienced extreme heat with temperatures up to 43 degrees Celsius.

We brought along $2200 and we ended up spending $1030 for our trip. We also did a bit of shopping and spent $263 on shoes and a few other items. We were happy to discover that gasoline is quite a bit cheaper in the U.S. than in Canada, and when you are driving more than 8000 kilometers, it makes a huge difference.

June 27, 2010

Travel & Entertainment

Our Summer Road Trip Challenge

My husband and I enjoy taking a road trip every summer. We have traveled across Canada as well as part of the United States. This summer is no exception, but as we do every year, we set a vacation budget and we are determined to stick to it.

This year we are bringing $2200.00 with us, but hope to spend less than that. We usually only budget for $2000, but we’re bringing along some extra cash this time in case we want to do some shopping.

June 11, 2010

Travel & Entertainment

An Inexpensive Girls Night Out

A few weeks ago I had the greatest time with two of my girlfriends. Right after work we went to the cheap theatre and saw a matinee chick flick. Amazingly, the movie only cost us $1.50! It was so cheap because we went on a Tuesday and it was a matinee. Matinees are always cheaper and most movie theatres offer discounts on Tuesdays. In order to avoid the temptation of buying over-priced popcorn at the theatre, I ate a granola bar at work before we left and that kept me satisfied until the movie was over.

March 19, 2010

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