Hi, and welcome to the latest edition of the Festival of Frugality. For those of you that live in the States, it is election day and all those nasty, negative ads are to be over very soon. Have you voted yet? As the saying goes, it does not matter who you vote for as long as you vote. I encourage you to exercise your democratic right. Ok, enough with the politics and let’s move on with business. Please remember to link back to the Carnival if you’ve been included and if you’d like to submit for next week, then you can submit your post here.

Travelling

FMF at Free Money Finance presents Our Trip to DC (And a Few Ways to Save).  October 12 to October 17 our family took a trip to Washington, DC. I thought I’d share with you what we did, the financial impact of the trip, and a few savings tips we picked up along the way.

Lance at Money Life and More presents How Much A Cheap Cruise Really Costs . Have you ever wondered how much a cruise really costs? I’m going to give you a hint. It is much more than the list price you see when you’re looking into booking your first cruise. I still think a cruise is a great value but you need to be prepared for all of the costs.

Neal Frankle at Wealth Pilgrim presents  2 Overlooked Ways to Save Money Traveling . With a little bit of planning you can save money traveling – a lot of money.  Sure, you can score last-minute deals on flights, like weekend fares. But overall, you’ll pay a lot more when you wait too long to book your flights.  Let me share two ways you can save serious cash when it comes to air travel.

Young at Young and Thrifty presents Using Groupon, Living Social and Other Sites Like Them To Check Out a New City . One of our most popular articles on this blog is the one Young wrote concerning sites like Groupon and Living Social, as well as lesser-known sites that offer similar discounts. We expand on it.

Around the Home

Everything Finace at Everything Finace presents The Number One Way to Save Money on Groceries. After all this time devoted to saving money at the grocery store, I’ve figured out the easiest, fastest, and number one way to save money at the grocery store: Meal Planning.

Glen Craig at Free From Broke presents 11 Ways to Prepare Your Home for Winter, Conserve Energy, and Save Money . Before the winter cold hits you want to make sure you have done what you can to prepare your home for winter to both conserve energy and save money. See 11 ways you can do this.

Steve at Grocery Alerts presents How to Save Money on Meat . Meat is one of the most expensive portion of any meals and knowing how to put together a frugal meal will make meal planning easier. Here are 10 great tips to help save money on meat.

John at Wallet Blog presents Is the Housing Market On Its Way Back? Signs of improvement in the housing market are beginning to show. But does that mean the market is actually getting better? What should buyers and homeowners be looking for?

Jeff Rose at Good Financial Cents presents 65 Home Business Ideas You Can Do From Your Kitchen Table. Before you get excited about starting your home based business idea, you first have to make sure you have the right tools in place. The main tool is a speedy Internet connection. Most home based businesses will require some sort of Internet connection. With a good Internet connection, you can also take care of a phone and fax. Isn’t technology great? On top of the right tools, you should also have a dedicated office or work space that’s free from distractions. No TV’s! When’s it’s time to work you only want to be doing one thing: working. Now that you have the right tools and workspace, let’s look at some of the top 65 home based business ideas you can start today.

Harry Campbell at Your Personal Finance Pro presents Do You Invest in Expensive Kitchen Knives? A Review of my Shun Chef’s Knife . If you’ve ever been around someone who loves to cook, you’re probably already familiar with the names Shun or Wusthof.  They are two of the top knife-manufacturers in the world and most professional chefs carry one or the other.  These knives may be top of the line, but so is their price tag.  Most knives in this elite category can cost you upwards of $150(for a single knife, if you find a good deal).  Meanwhile, you can get a solid set of knives for around $30(I purchased this set 3 years ago).

Goals and Getting Your Financial House in Order

Carrie Smith at Ready For Zero presents How to Work Towards a Financial Goal and Actually Achieve It . Do you have financial goals that you’ve been working towards, but just can’t seem to get there? We talk about steps you can take to plan for those goals, and achieve them!

Jason at Modest Money presents 10 Tips to Get Your Finances In Order Before the New Year . While most families wait until the New Year – presumably after setting goals for the upcoming year – to get their finances in order, there is no reason to waste precious months when you can get tackle them now!

Frugality and Spending Money

Jacob at My Personal Finance Journey presents How Frugal is TOO Frugal?  Most of us realize that going to these extreme lengths borders on being clinically frugal. But, what if some of your own savings practices are actually doing you (and your budget) more harm than good?” This post illustrates some areas where you should be careful that your attempts to save money aren’t actually backfiring on you.

John S (that’s me) at Frugal Rules presents How to Spend Money Like the Government. Spending with no concern of our own financial well- being might be fun for a while, but in the end will result in certain debt. That’s why it’s important to not look to our government for budgeting practices and instead live below our means.

Liana at CardHub presents How Consumers Can Avoid Hurricane Banking Fees  . There are a number of ways that you can stormproof your personal finances, so to speak.  While they might not all still be relevant to Hurricane Sandy, they’ll certainly prove helpful in anticipation of future natural disasters.

Miscellaneous

Teacher Man at My University Money presents My Love-Hate Relationship With The Campus Bookstore. As a book nerd, I’m all about bookstores.  I love the atmosphere, the celebration of literature, and the quiet library-esque respect that generally pervades the area.  Campus bookstores are pretty cool places if you are into book culture.

Miss T at Prairie Eco Thrifter presents Emergency Room or Urgent Care? After a trip to the ER for a possible broken arm, my newly graduated nurse daughter-in-law informed me that we probably could have gotten cheaper and faster care at an urgent care center.

Thanks again for all of the good submissions. I hope everyone has a great rest of the week.

Photo courtesy of: Jeroen van de Sande

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