Photo by NCReedplayer

Halloween might be over, but it is not forgotten at the Frugal Upstate household. Despite the fact that we get over 200 trick or treaters a year, we still somehow wound up with leftover candy and the perennial question: “What do we do with leftover Halloween Candy?!”

I asked my friends on Twitter and we came up with 12 great ideas for using up leftover Halloween candy:

1. Save it for your holiday gingerbread houses (via VisitFingerLake)

2. Freeze it for later.

3. Add a cup at a time to rice crispy squares (via Jeremy Wright). If it’s chocolate or easily meltable let the mix cool a bit first

4. Chop and roll candy apples into crushed candy.

5.  Chop and use as icecream topping or as a decorative/tasty topping for an iced cake.

6.  Toss into homemade trail mix.

7. Chop and mix into brownies. Peppermint Patties or any chocolates/candy bars are especially good.

8. Make Molten Candy Cookies. Just take chocolate chip cookie or sugar cookie dough and wrap a ball around a mini chocolate bar.

9.  Make Leftover Candy Cake.

10. Make Chocolate Candy Corn Cookies (via Feels Like Home)

11. Donate the extra candy to a rehab center (via MommyBlogExpert) a nursing home (via backhomeagain) or a shelter (via luciagia)

12. Sell it to your dentist (via KingdomFirstMom and jodirotondo). Really! There is a program called “Halloween Candy Buy Back” that many dentists participate in.

So what do you do with your leftover candy. . . besides eat it!

A couple of weeks back I had a reader’s question on how to save money on after school activities.  Long time reader and fellow blogger Jennifer contacted me saying “I started to write a comment but realized it was too long-would you be interested in having a guest post about the topic?”

Never one to turn down great knowledge I readily agreed! I hope you agree that she brings us some fabulous ideas. Enjoy!

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We have 4 children and kid’s activities can really add up.  My oldest son is 11 and he loves to play sports.  Not being one to get locked into one thing, he wants to try them all.  My oldest daughter is the opposite.  She fell in love with gymnastics at age 3 and hasn’t looked back since.  She has been competing for a few years now and I don’t see an end in sight yet.  My third child is just starting to get interested in activities and my fourth child is only 5, so I am trying to hold off on activities for her.  Here are some of the things we have done over the years to save money on sports and activities for children. 

1. Pick and choose what you sign up for. There is plenty of time to try different things out; you don’t have to try them all at once.  Aside from scouting my son does one thing at a time.
2. Analyze the hourly rate of each activity. The $125 baseball season that meets 3 times a week for 3 months is a much better deal than the $125 soccer that plays once a week for 2 months.
3. See if you can get a sibling discount. Both my boys wanted to play soccer.  We got a small discount for the second child and rather than being pulled in different directions, we go to the soccer fields just once a week and they play at the same time on neighboring fields.
4. Stick close to home. I know many people that drive to gyms 30-40 minutes away several times a week.  We prefer the gym that is 4 minutes from our house.  It saves time and money.  We have also chosen to do things through the schools that happen right after school.  Rather than making 2 trips (to drop off and pick up) we have only one trip to pick up the child.
5. If your child has a sport or activity that they do a lot, once you are established with a facility or organization you can look for opportunities to barter. By getting to know the coaches and letting them know what my husband would love to do, when they had a need they talked to him.  Now he is the strength and conditioning coach in exchange for our monthly tuition.
6. Pick sports or activities that have low equipment or start up costs. My son prefers soccer and baseball.  The equipment for these are very minimal compared to the hundreds of dollars I could spend getting him suited up for tackle football or ice hockey.
7. Look for free activities. Our schools and our library offer numerous free things.  From cooking classes to story time and everything in between, my kids can try plenty of things for free through these places.
8. Remember you have 18 years for your child to spend trying out sports and activities. Don’t get burned out on them before they even start school.  Besides up until age 5 or 6 they really won’t remember it all.

Jennifer is a stay at home mom of 4 kids, ages 5, 7, 9, & 11.  She lives a very frugal life in Ohio on a single teacher’s salary.  Jennifer has been blogging at Getting Ahead for 3 years.

It’s that time of year again.  I have already been hit up for school pictures as well as soccer pictures.  And I have a confession to make.

I caved.

Yes, I have now shelled out a grand total of $75 for school pictures. $29 for each of the kids for one of the smallest packages, then $17 for Buddy’s soccer pictures.

Yeah. I know.

Honestly though, I could have just gotten the class/team pictures.  I do think those are worthwhile-I love looking back at my old 2nd grade photos and seeing the clothes, and what everyone looked like back then.  Then I could have implemented some other cost saving measures to get something very similar to a school photo for the kiddos~but it became a time vs money issue for me.

We have the money so I decided to go ahead and just purchase them.

But I feel guilty.

So what else could I have done? What other options are out there if it really just isn’t in the budget?  Here are 3 ways to save money on school pictures.

#1-Take it yourself.

I mean really-which of these do you like more:

My photo

School Photo

I think mine is just as nice as the school photo. I could have done a similar shot to the school photo of him against a solid background.

Need help?  Check out this article over at “Love to Know” with tips on Taking School Pictures. For even more tips, here is a great list of 19 Portrait Tutorials at Digital Photography School.

#2-Find someplace cheaper.

Many retailers and big box stores have small photo studios that ALWAYS seem to be running some sort of deal.  A quick we search brought me up a couple of  examples.  JC Penney had free sitting, an 8X10, 2~5×7′s, 4~3 1/2×5′s and 16 wallets for $7.99.  Walmart had a similar package.

Be careful when using these services.  Typically the FIRST POSE that you say you like (and at Walmart you can’t go back to a previous when you say you don’t like it-they erase it) is the one that gets the package price.  They frequently will take subsequent shots.

First: Make sure that you are not going to be charged a sitting fee for those other shots.

Second: Resist the temptation! The other shots will be SOOOO cute. You will want them all. The photographer will try to upsell you to other packages, add in other shots etc.  Even when you go to pick up your photos they will have some of the other shots in there and you will want to buy them because they are right there, in hard copy. THIS WILL COST YOU.  Resist!

#3-Skip the pictures.

I know, it is practically heresy to say this.  You could just skip the photos all together. If you don’t have them taken, they won’t cost you money.

Just writing this article has inspired me. I am going to attempt to take my own version of the kids school pictures and Buddy’s soccer picture, and then I will post them side by side and see what you all think!

Photo by Amayzun

School is officially back in session today which means I am back to packing lunches for the kiddos.

With the return of that chore I am reinstating the daily “Lunchbox Report” in my sidebar.  You can find it about 2/3 of the way down on the right.

The lunchbox report is where I will post~in theory regularly~what I’ve packed in the kids lunchboxes.  When I start packing Yankee Bill’s lunch I’ll post that as well! Hopefully this will help everyone get some new and different ideas.

As an added benefit to me, posting the lunches makes me aware of any unintentional lunchbox ruts!

I’ll be doing more posting about lunch ideas soon, but in the meantime here is some other reading on lunchbox related topics:

Lunchbox Planning

Making a Lunch

Keeping Stuff Hot for Lunch

A note on portion sizes

http://www.flickr.com/photos/amayzun/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

I feel sort of rushed this week-we are taking a family vacation to the shore in our camper.  I almost scrapped the idea of making a menu plan all together~but when you are feeling stressed and overwhelmed is exactly when you need a menu plan the most!

Monday:  This & That Curry

Time to clean out the fridge!  This and That Curry is a fantastic way to take a bunch of odds and ends and make a meal.

Tuesday:  Venison Stroganoff & Noodles, Cooked Beets

Still have tons of venison in the freezer, I’m going to toss some in the crockpot with some cream of soup, a spoon of beef broth powder & a can of sliced mushrooms.  Boiled noodles, fresh beets from the garden and it’s a meal.

Wednesday:  Taco Salad in a Bag

This is one my good friend always does while camping. Each person gets a quart ziplock baggie and all the ingredients are tossed inside. They smush it around a bit to mix and eat right out of the bag. Toss it in the trash & done.

Since Wednesday is our travel day for camping, I figure this can be all prechopped & ready so all we have to do is warm the meat and toss it all in the bags. Super simple supper for the travel/setup day.

Thursday:  Grilled Marinated Chicken, Grilled Zuchinni & Rolls

First full day at the campground? You’ve got to use the grill!  I’m prepackaging the chicken in a gallon freezer bag with Italian dressing as a marinade. It will be defrosting & marinating all day.  The zuchinni are super simple as well-brush with some of the remaining dressing and grill. Tada!

Friday:  Crunchy Asian Chicken Salad

One dish meal made out of Cabbage, leftover grilled chicken and, believe it or not, Ramen noodles. Check out the Crunchy Asian Chicken Salad recipe if you’ve never seen it before.

Saturday:  Grilled Pork Patties, Potato Chips & Salad

Hubs is picking up these special marinated ground pork patties from a deli in town.  What the heck! Severed on rolls, hamburger style, with potato chips and a green salad (gotta get some veggies in somehow.

Sunday: Brats in Beer with Onions & Green Peppers on a roll and Macaroni Salad.

Bringing the crock pot along just so I can toss all of this in and have an easy meal waiting for us at supper time!

There it is, my quick and easy meal plan for the week.  For more great idea, head on over to The Organizing Junkie.  Want more info on my menu planning philosophy, check out “Why should I plan a weekly menu?“

Last week we talked about ways to “Make Dinner Happen” on a busy school night.  Now I’d like to address another big food related area for back to school-those after school snacks.

I don’t know about your kids, but mine return home from school famished.  I don’t think they could make it from getting off the bus at 2:15 until supper at 5:30 without eating something.  All that learning must burn up some calories!  And it doesn’t improve with age-teenagers are likely to need a mini meal rather than a snack, especially if they are in sports.

So what are some classic after school snacks?

#1-Cookies

Yes, it might not be the most healthy thing out there, but cookies and milk are a classic for a reason.  There is just something about cookies fresh out of the oven that says “Momma’s Love”.  Chocolate chip is of course a favorite, but oatmeal, snickerdoodle, and peanutbutter are some others well loved at our house.  In a rush? Don’t worry, cookies from a box are just as likely to be loved by the kiddos.

#2-Fruit

Fruit is a snack you can feel good about letting the kids chow down on.  Now I now that fresh fruit isn’t always the cheapest item out there-but if you buy in season you will do much better.  Canned fruit is also a viable option-my kids love mandrin oranges!  If you are concerned about sugar content of canned fruit, go for the “Lite” or “no sugar added” style.

#3-Veggies

Ok, you can sneak some veggies in there a couple of ways.  Cut up “crudites” style with dip or dressing is palatable, if not down right loved by most children.  Want to switch it up a bit? Try dipping veggies into homemade Hummus (extra protein & fiber!) or using celery to make the classic “Ants on a Log“. Want to take that “Ant’s on a log” to the next level? Try using Nestle Raisinettes instead.

#4-Crackers & Cheese

Protein tends to last a little longer in the kiddos bellies, so working some into your after school snack is a smart idea.  Cheese and crackers made into little sandwiches are bite sized and yummy.  As a kid I remember making cracker “pizza’s” out of crackers, ketchup and Parmesan cheese.  Yeah-I know, it sounds kind of gross now, but I used to love it!

#5-GORP

“Good Old Raisins and Peanuts”. . . also known as trail mix.  You can make this in a million and one ways-the level of frugality depends totally on what you chose to include. It can be a fun and frugal snack or down right exorbitant.

That’s just a few of the classics that I can come up with-I want to learn from all of you!  So on to the the giveaway!

How would you like a $500 Walmart Gift Card to help cover your back to school expenses, courtesy of Nestle?

It’s easy to enter:  Leave a comment with your best after school snack idea.

Note:  Remember, you have TWO posts that you can enter on, both this post and the one on “Making Dinner Happen“.

This giveaway ends on Friday August 14th.

Want some additional entries?

Here you go:

-Head on over to Nestle Family and tell me what your favorite recipe/idea is from their “Family Food” section.

- Subscribe to Frugal Upstate via either RSS or Email.

-Tweet about this giveaway linking back to this post.

-Subscribe to the Frugal Coast2Coast joint newsletter/show reminders.

Good luck!

**This is a Sponsored Post**

Tonight on Frugal Coast2Coast Lynnae and I are tackling how to homeschool on a budget.

Now I am not a homeschooler-but I have oodles of respect for those of you out there who do.  What an undertaking!  Lynnae on the other hand made the difficult decision to start homeschooling her children this year. As a matter of fact, last Monday was their first day of school.

So join us tonight at 8:30 pm EST as we talk with veteran homeschooler Toni of  The Happy Housewife about homeschooling on the cheap!

I got the chance to meet and hang out with Toni at BlogHer last month-what a fun and fantastic lady!  It is going to be a great show tonight, so tune in and listen live at 8:30pm EST and stop by to hang out in the chat room.

So, do you homeschool? What is your best tip for saving money while homeschooling? What area do you find it the hardest to save money on?

Every year at Spring Break* hordes of children stream out of schools across the country, ready to be entertained for a whole week. So what do you do with them?

Of course the classic Spring Break plan is to take the whole family on a trip someplace fantastic. I don’t know about you, but a big expensive vacation isn’t in the financial cards this year. Never fear-there are plenty of great ideas for having fun without busting your budget.

Here are my top 7 ideas for a great Spring Break on a Budget:

Photo by Narisa

1. Do nothing.

Yes, you read that right. In today’s time of overscheduled kids who you run from school to sports to activities. . . then home just in time to bolt down some dinner (if you didn’t eat it in the car), scramble to do some homework and then hit the hay. . . well a week of totally unscheduled, unplanned time where your kids can sleep late, play creatively (or for older kids just spend some time reading, hanging out or working on a hobby) and generally relax may be just what the doctor ordered.

2. Play Tourist

I grew up playing tourist during school breaks and the summers in Maine. My mom would load all FIVE of us kids in the car and we’d hit all the tourist spots. You know, the ones that folks come from out of state to visit but locals never actually think to bring their kids to. In Maine we’d go to Bar Harbor & Acadia National Park, head to Camden to see Andre the seal (he was still alive then) and any local fairs and festivals that were occuring. Here in Upstate NY I could head to Cooperstown, or up to Ithaca for all sorts of touristy goodness. If you cut down on costs by packing a lunch and snacks, many of these trips can be inexpensive or even free.

Not sure what sort of touristy goodness there is in your area? For shame! Just contact your local chamber of commerce, search online, or stop at one of those “tourist centers” on the highway near you and pick up all the shiny little fliers.

Photo by Ruth W

3. Hit the Museums

Every metro area has your big museums, usually at least an art museum & a science museum. But there are usually lots of little, less well known museums scattered about. Within a 30 minute drive of our house (and we live in a tiny village in the sticks) there is a model train museum (open only 1 day a week) an antique car museum & a small art museum. If you extend that to an hour radius you get a 3 additional art museums, 2 science museums and a plethora of smaller, more specific museums (Ithaca, Syracuse & Scranton are all within an hour). Call ahead (or search the internet) to see if the museums run any “free” days. If not check into museum member ship costs (if you go frequently enough it can be a bargain) or reciprocal museum memberships (ie you can use another membership there as well)

4. Road Trip to Family

Some of us are lucky enough to live within a day drive of family. If you do, consider planning a trip. Go to grandmas and do all the same local tourist and museum stuff there-it will be totally new and different! We are lucky to have one Nana right down the street-a sleepover at her house is still considered a great treat. The other Nana lives 4 hours away on Long Island-and a trip there means the opportunity to head into the city and see all KINDS of fabulous things. Pick and choose carefully and this can be a very frugal visit.

Photo by Old Shoe Woman

5. Look for Local Programs

Many libraries run special programs during school breaks for the younger school age kids. Stop by yours and see what’s up! There are also churches who hold vacation bible school. If your paper has an “events” section keep your eye out for low cost or free classes that may be offered during your break.

6. Volunteer

Why not help others while keeping the kids occupied? I’m sure there are tons of opportunities to volunteer in your local area-ask around and see what you find. You could visit a nursing home, help with a habitat house, or serve food at the soup kitchen. Older kids could even take the week and head out on a missionary or volunteering trip.

7. Get Outside

Spring break still has the possibility of being pretty cold here in Upstate NY, but that isn’t the case in much of the country. Consider using your spring break for some outside bonding time with the family. Go hiking or biking at the closest state park, have a picnic, or find your local nature center and see what types of outdoor activities they have going on. Again, many of these events are inexpensive or free.

What great frugal spring break ideas do you have? I’d love to hear them.

And don’t forget, this Monday’s Frugal Coast2Coast show is all about Spring Break On the Cheap. Tune in Monday Night at 8:30 EST for more great ideas! It’s a call in show, so we’d love to hear from you live on the air. And if you tend to forget, you can just click on the “remind me” button on the player and set an automatic email reminder.

*I know, I know, Spring Break is still a ways away. Planning however can start now!

How often do you get to take your children to do something that is free, fun, charitable and sustainable, all at once?

Here’s the deal. Barbie (aka Mattel) has teamed up with Walmart for a unique event November 8th from noon to 3pm. To teach kids about sustainability, and to conduct an innovative experiment on the possibilities of recycling toys, they have created an opportunity for girls nationwide to participate in recyling, charity and just plain fun..

Just bring an old Barbie into your local Walmart on Nov 8th, and place it in one of the big pink recycling bins. Mattel will then donate one brand new Barbie to a local childrens hospital-while the companies use the old Barbies to experiment with recycling.

Make sure you bring your digital camera, because you will have the chance to take your child’s picture with Barbie, and then receive a free voucher to go back to the photo department and get it printed out. About 1000 stores will have a “live” Barbie for pictures, all the rest nationwide will have a cutout to be posed next to.

And as with any event like this, there will be additional “Barbie Themed” freebies and giveaways available. With the popularity of Barbie these days, I’d make sure to get their early for the most “stuff”.

What a great event! Use it as a chance to talk with your children about the importance of sustainability issues, and about giving. Princess was very excited to learn that by giving an old Barbie that she no longer plays with, she will be helping a sick child get a brand new one. We will be hitting the store early on November 8th-ready to go at noon sharp!

Read more on the Barbie website, and the Walmart websites.

Occasionally here at Frugal Upstate I branch off slightly from my main topic of frugality and discuss organization. It’s a natural progression. To be organized saves you time and money. And much of organization is just planning, which is free.

Now to me “getting organized” is sort of a fun project! Especially if it involves my beloved label maker. I love making new “systems”. It’s the STAYING organized over time that is difficult.

That’s where routines come in handy. Routines are not difficult, they are just a flow of actions that normally take place in a particular order. Once you have mastered the order and completed it several times, you cease to have to think about them. It’s almost like they just sort of “happen”

Just think about it-when you first learned to drive a car it was hard. You had to think about every single action. To change lanes on the highway you had to remember “signal, look in both my mirrors, look over my shoulder, change the lane, cancel the turn signal”.

Contrast that to now. The process has become so routine that you complete it with barely any thought at all.

Routines can be especially useful when dealing with children. Princess and Buddy might not always know exactly what time dinner is, but they know that after they eat them must ask to be excused, clear their plate, and brush their teeth before the TV comes on. Many reminders and repetitions have led to the point where it happens with little supervision-freeing me up to do other tasks.

This morning just such a routine saved the day.

I overslept.

One minute I swear the clock only said 5:45, then I blinked and it was 6:55.

I jumped out of bed in a panic. The kiddos have to hit the bus stop at 7:30 each morning! They had to be woken up, eat breakfast, get dressed, get all their stuff together and make it out the door in just over half an hour.

Believe it or not, things went pretty smoothly. I explained that I had overslept and that we really needed to get things done fast this morning without any crying or complaining.

Due to my nighttime routine, there was a full pot of coffee waiting for Yankee Bill and I (God bless whoever invented coffeepots with a timer.) I made breakfast while the kiddos got dressed (a slight routine deviation-usually breakfast is first) and then they ate and handled brushing teeth and combing hair with minimal fuss.

Due to our afterschool routine the backpacks, folders and coats were on the hook by the front door where they are supposed to be, with the school sneakers somewhat sloppily pushed under the bench (we wear old sneakers once we get home from school). Thankfully today was “Pizza Day” at school so I didn’t have to worry about packing a lunch.*

We made it to the bus stop with time to spare!

What kind of routines help you organize your life? Do you find that having routines helps you save money in any way?

*I admit it-I would have had them buy anyway today just to avoid cramming in one more thing.