Frugal February: A Weekend of Fun and Frugality

Happy Monday, followers!  It has been a while since the last post so we are looking forward to catching you up on all of the frugal escapades over the weekend.  

Friday night we decided to utilize one of those Christmas gift cards that was beginning to collect dust.  The gift card was for Mitchell’s Tavern on Center Ridge Road just west of Clague Road in Westlake, OH.  Although Mitchell’s is known for their summer nights and back patio volleyball, we decided to stumble in on the teeth-chattering Cleveland winter night.  We proceeded into the crowded dining area and were lucky enough to find a table for two! With 2 dollar domestics and $6.50 for a dozen delicious teriyaki wings we still have some balance left over on that gift card for another night out!

Saturday night we went to a great local fundraiser that was put on by a company called “Fund Racing”.  What this company does is televise pre-recorded horse races where all of the attendees can bet on the horses who are also sponsored by the attendees, needless to say there were some pretty comedic names.  To bet on the horses was only $2 and the pot is split with half going to charity and half going to those who bet on the winning horse!   This was a fun and frugal way to spend a night out as well as support a great cause.  Looking at your city or library website is an easy way to find free events that are going on in your community. Did anyone else find any ways to save this weekend?

Check out this link to find some great Cleveland area fundraisers!  

http://www.cleveland.com/events/results/index.ssf?pagetype=results&s=e&SearchCategory=272&SearchLocation=&SearchDateRange=next7

Have a great start to the week! We will be posting about free/inexpensive workout routines  as well as DIY decorating projects and fun finds for the home later in the week, so please stop back!

Frugal February: Days 4 & 5

Happy hump day friends and followers!  Frugal February has been going swimmingly.  It is amazing that finding little ways to save money can have such a big impact overall.  Lunch now consists of some Chunky soup over rice with some fruit on the side.  Well, at least that is what the male half of this team eats for lunch, packed with empty cals and a Louie Anderson amount of carbs.  Karen opts for the cheap low-cal salad.   Instead of going out to a bar and having drinks, try getting a cheap six pack and finding something free to do.  Use those leftover gift cards from Christmas and the rewards points that are built up and just sitting on your credit card.  That is what frugal February is about.  It is one month out of the year to either “get ahead” or “catch up” financially.  Although it sounds like it’s no fun, there are still some opportunities to go out and have some fun on the cheap.  Some of the deals that we have scouted out are:

WEST END – Detroit Rd., Lakewood
Tuesday Night taco night – $1 tacos and $2 Coronas

MITCHELL’S WESTLAKE – Center Ridge Rd., Westlake
Monday Night wing night – 35 cent wings

BAR LOUIE – Legacy Village, Lyndhurst & Crocker Park, Westlake
Tuesday Night $1 burgers

NOODLECAT – Euclid Ave, Downtown Cleveland
Every day from 3PM-7PM
$2 Steam Buns and $1 Black Label beers

WINKING LIZARD – Coventry Rd, Cleveland Hts., Detroit Rd., Lakewood, & Huron Rd., Cleveland (and others)
Monday and Tuesday Night 45 cent boneless wings, 50 cent wings

Let us know of any other happy hour deals around Cleveland and stay tuned later this week for our review on “Craigslist Joe” and a few tips on how to stay fit and under budget at the same time!

Frugal February: Day Three

Happy Super Bowl Sunday!  While those in New Orleans were celebrating with extravagant outfits, meals and $10 beers, we decided to search for some low cost delicious recipes and enjoy the game kicking back in true cheapskate fashion.  We will share some of those recipes with you down below, but we found last night that enjoying the big game doesn’t require spending a lot of money.  Good food with good people is all you need (thanks for hosting, Bill and Jackie!).  As if the game wasn’t exciting already, we got everyone else to hop on the cheapskate bandwagon and throw in an whole 4 DOLLARS for squares ($4 gets you 25 squares, not a bad deal Ha!)  All in all, an exciting cheap night!  Comment below if you had any good cheap recipes you enjoyed during the SB.

Cheapo Chili-
1 pound ground turkey or ground beef $3.99
1 packet of chili powder $.59
1 can of kidney beans $.49
1 bag of frozen corn $1.79
6 cups water

Total cost: $8-$12 dollars
Serves: 4-6
Avg. Cost per Person:  $1.33 – $3.00

Day 3 spending report for the total month of February:
Karen: $23.49
Steve: $23.50

Frugal February: Day Two

Day Two was a great success.  We embraced the fresh powder that just didn’t seem as though it would ever stop falling.  So we hit the slopes.  No we didn’t go to Boston Mills/Brandywine and spend oodles of cash on ski rentals, boot rentals, bathroom rentals, parking, food and hot cocoa.  We grabbed the garbage lids and hit hole #11 at Unknown golf course.  The identity will remain anonymous because we are not sure how legal it was (it rhymes with smig smet).  A blue bag filled with some leftover Natty lights and a few friends turned out to be one of the most fun nights in a while.  The best part was that it didn’t cost a nickel.

Sledding proves to be a great date or night “out” and is a great way to have some fun and get some exercise during the winter season.  Some of the places we recommend are:

• Cain Park – Cleveland Heights
• Hole #11 at Big Met – Fairview Park
• Edgewater – Cleveland
• Thornton Park – Shaker Heights

Day 2 spending report (Audited by PwC professional) for the total month of February

Karen: $15.49

Steve: $15.50

Frugal February: Day One

To all of our new fans, we had our first “Frugal February” outing last night! For those of you not familiar with “Frugal February,” it is an idea that us cheapskates created to spend one month out of the year living even more frugally than the other 11 months.  It has a catchy name and lets be honest, who doesn’t love a catchy name? Frugal February consists of cheap meals, free events and thermostats set below 60.  It is filled with mass produced processed food, PBR’s and as much freeloading as possible.

Last night was night 1 of this journey and we decided to spend it at Eddie n’ Eddies at the corner of Warren and Detroit in Lakewood.  I know you are thinking to yourselves, “How is spending a night at a somewhat upscale restaurant a frugal night out?”  We will tell you how.  A magical thing called Groupon.com (heard of it?)  We stumbled upon a Groupon for Eddie n’ Eddies and pulled the trigger, $10 for $20.  Who can pass that deal up?  Turns out, $20 doesn’t go as far as you think at this place.  2 burgers, 2 sides and 2 tall boy Buds ended up costing $21.01 WITH the Groupon discount ($41.01 without).  Even though we are cheapskates, we did still tip on the full amount of the bill.  You are welcome douche waiter that couldn’t wait to get us “groupon customers” out of our seats and back on to the frigid streets of Cleveland.

Conclusion: not very frugal. We split the end amount costing us each $10.50.  See you all tomorrow for a day 2 recap of Frugal February.

A Brief Introduction

Hey all!  We have all heard the term “love don’t cost a thing” right?  While certain aspects of this phrase are certainly true, we have all experienced the opposite.  Dating and love can sometimes prove costly.  That’s where our story begins.  We are two young professionals seeking out the simpler and cheaper things in life, so that maybe we can enjoy the finer things later on.  Our story comes from the midwestern city that we both grew up in, Cleveland, Ohio.  Our first tales will tell of the event that we call “frugal February”.  We are excited to share our ideas and experiences that help us find enjoyment in a simple, cheap fashion.  So dust off those piggy banks that have been sitting as hollow as the cranium of a Kardashian and get ready to fill them with all the pennies that can be saved by following our blog!