We collected dozens of used cell phones, printer cartridges, and other gadgets at the Frugal Fe$tival in July. I turned those into Planet Green, which gave us a check for $13.34.
All the money we earned was donated to the LA Food Bank. If $13.34 sounds like a tiny amount, remember our items earned us between $.10 to $2.41 each. If you are interested in raising money for a school or charity, check out Planet Green’s explainer page.
Thank you for attending the Fe$tival and for contributing!
Some of the most unique frugal tips we received at the Frugal Fe$tival were from repeat tipsters! Iggy, Pauline, Michele and Julie shared some really fantastic ways to save money!
“Used nylons are great for gardens. Tie plants up, use over ripening fruit to keep squirrels from eating, sling under a melon so it doesn’t rest on the ground.” – Iggy
“I make my own laundry soap – inexpensive and really cleans clothes.” – Pauline
“I use the plastic disposable container for fruits we buy in grocery stores as plant holders. The water doesn’t spill on the floor.” – Marie
“Save the water from washing a fish tank for plants. The plants love the extra nutrients.” – Iggy
“I make a game out of getting something for a better price by setting a “price point” that I’m willing to pay. Then I’ll hunt for the item and “keep an eye out” until I find it for that price. (i.e. I wanted a yoga mat but decided my price point was $10, so I waited until I found one where for that price.” – Julie
“My kids cut out the Sunday coupons and place them in groups by food and non-food. They get great cutting and organizing skills.” – Jessica
“Use the material from broken umbrellas to patch holes in clothes and jeans.” – Iggy
“Hungry? Go to a “fast food” Mexican restaurant such as La Sala or Baja Fresh. Do not order off the menu! Look for the low prices of the side dishes. You can eat very well by ordering a couple side dishes and enjoying all the fixings at the salsa bar!! All for less than $4!! For ex., a plate of beans and rice, a side of tortillas. Ask for a cup for water and add lime.” – Sheryl
“Don’t be afraid to cut your own hair! I cut my bangs and my husband trims the back. If the average woman’s cut is $50, I’ve saved at least $600 a year!” – Michele
“I save coffee cups from Starbucks, but instead of using them for coffee, I use them to bring a (large) glass of wine with me when I go out with friends! No bar has ever stopped me from bringing in a cup of “coffee.” – Julie
“Have a kid in college? Check out the online textbooks sites that compare prices before emptying your bank account at the college stores.” – Michele
“Save toilet paper roll for children’s projects.” – anonymous
“We use paper towel rollers for bedding for hamsters. We shred it and it turns out to be their bedding.” – Marie
“Hang old CDs in the fruit trees to scare away the birds.” – anonymous
Have you used any of these ideas? Many are new to me. Thank for contributing, folks!
Check out the stories about Frugal Fe$t in the LA Times and the LA Daily News!!!
Read about all the buzz the Fe$tival created here.
Photos are here!! I uploaded so many they get their own page on the Frugal Fe$t blog.
Photo credit: Michael Baker, LA Daily News
Bargain Babe with Aaron, who won the $100 cash prize, sponsored by BargainBabeLA.com
If you read about the Frugal Fe$tival in today’s LA Times and LA Daily News, welcome! Between 250-300 people joined us for a totally free celebration of frugality and the launch of BargainBabeLA.com, a site where you can find and share deals in Los Angeles.
If you’d like to share a deal on BargainBabeLA.com, get started here.
The Fe$t also celebrated the 6-month anniversary of BargainBabe.com, which helps you save money on groceries, gas, and other everyday expenses. Sign up for my free email list here.
We gave away 50 free T-shirts and 52 raffle prizes, which means roughly 102 of of the 300 people who attended took something home for free! My Mom’s homemade chocolate chip cookies got snapped up like THAT and the free swap meet was tres popular. Photos are here!
If you missed the Fe$tival, you can buy a hot pink Frugal Fe$t T-shirt for $15 (includes shipping) by emailing me.
Thank you Meital, Bargain Hubby, Bobbi, Alex, my Mom, Michele, Stacey, and Meirav for volunteering and making the event fantastic. Congrats on a job well done. Who’s up for doing it again? 
A BIG thanks to our sponsors for helping us keep the Frugal Fe$tival free: Savings.com, Goldstar.com, Wealth Pilgrim, 99 Cent Only Stores, Wise Bread, and Dress on a Dime. We could not have done it without you!
The prize list on the Frugal Fe$tival blog is spectacular (and includes hot pink T-shirts, above)!
Get the word out – we just added a really free swap to the Frugal Fe$tival. A REALLY FREE SWAP is like a yard sale, except everything is free. You bring things to put into the swap and then take whatever you want. Ideally, everyone will bring some things, but you don’t have to. Want to participate? More info here.
Here’s what to bring to Frugal Fe$t.
Will it be a single $100 or 100 $1’s we are raffling off at the Fe$tival? Get the voting results here.
For directions by car or metro, click here. Parking is free. So is admission, the raffle, and the refreshments. You’d be hard pressed to spend any money the Frugal Fe$tival, in fact.
There is a TON of fun stuff to do within a mile or two of the Fe$tival, like golfing, visiting a dog park, hitting up the local farmers market and…lots more.
Today the Jewish Journal came out with a story about the Frugal Fe$tival and BargainBabeLA.com. Yesterday we got TWO mentions in Freecycle Northridge and were featured on EyeSpyLA.com.
Three more days until Frugal Fe$t! I’m so nervous and excited!!!
Thanks goodness for interns.
After a day and a half of a particularly dreadful task, my intern Alex finally said no. See, I had decided that we would make, Do-It-Yourself-style, 4,000 raffle tickets for the Frugal Fe$tival instead of buying them (the first batch of 100 is at right). I was convinced buying them would be prohibitively expensive.
So I had Alex printing and then cutting thousands of little slips of numbered paper, which then needed to be paper clipped in order in sets of ten. Oh, and then there were the pink “marker tickets” to claim prizes that had to match.
That’s when Alex put his flip-flopped foot down.
“Are you sure we can’t buy raffle tickets?” he said.
“They are going to be really expensive,” I said.
“How expensive?”
“Like $50 or $60, although, actually, I didn’t check.”
His gave me the stink eye, then pulled out his computer and went to PartyCity.com.
“They are $10 for 2,000 double tickets,” he said.
We stopped cutting.
A day and a half was wasted, but at least we didn’t have to cut and match the rest of the 3,500 tickets.
Later we bought the raffle tickets at Party Land in Santa Monica with a coupon that Alex snagged, so our total came to $16.93 for 4,000 tickets.
“When I saw you were going to make me match the marker tickets to the raffle tickets, I was like, no,” Alex said.
For my part, I’ve re-learned the lesson to do my homework first. Assumptions, especially when it comes to price, can backfire. On the bright side, my scissor skills are as sharp as ever.
The Fe$tival this Sunday is creating a lot of buzz!
The LA Times’ The Guide listed us, as did the younger, hipper Metromix. The San Fernando Valley Biz Journal listed the event Monday. Did you see Tuesday’s LA Times? The massive 99 Cent Only Stores ad that ran on the back page of the front section, above, highlighted the Fe$tival. We’ll also be mentioned on their Web site and in an email blast to thousands of loyal shoppers. Check out this week’s edition of The Jewish Journal, which is slated to list the event and mention us in a story about saving money.
It’s going to be warm at the Fe$tival but no worries, the area is totally shaded and we have hundreds of free Otter Pops for you!
The first 50 people to arrive get free hot pink Fe$tival T-shirts and the raffle drawing starts at 3 p.m. I repeat: every adult gets 10 free raffle tickets to enter whichever raffles they choose (so far we’ve got 27). Arrive at 1 p.m. so you have plenty of time to inspect all the prizes.
Check out the five Starbucks gift bags we’re raffling off!
The new Frugal Fe$tival T-shirts are hot!
We are having a book/DVD/CD exchange at the Fe$tival so bring any media you want to swap with others. Leftovers will be donated to a library.
Start preparing for the How Frugal Are You Contest? Top three entries win Frugal Fe$t T-shirts.
Celebrate frugality with us Sunday, July 26 from 1-4 p.m. at Woodley Park in Van Nuys. Free parking! Free raffle! Free T-shirts to the first 50 guests! RSVP on the Frugal Fe$tival blog.
I get odd looks when I tell people about the Frugal Fe$tival. The usual response is, “A frugal what?”
“We’re celebrating being frugal,” I tell them. At that point they generally shut-up because they figure the less they say, the less I’ll say.
Frugality is a conversation stopper…keep reading on the Frugal Fe$tival blog.
More prizes you can win at Frugal Fe$tival…We’re adding new prizes daily to the free Frugal Fe$tival raffle – and they are really going to knock your socks off! Remember, every adult who attends the Fe$tival gets 10 free raffle tickets to enter whichever raffles they choose….keep reading.
What to do at Frugal Fe$tival…Ahem. A few people have asked me exactly what we are going to do at Frugal Fe$tival. Here’s what!
- Oggle the 28 raffle prizes we are giving away. Carefully debate which raffles to enter with your 10 free tickets that you got for coming. Squeeze all the blood out of your crossed fingers as well pick the winning tickets.
- Exchange coupons. I’ve been saving up a BUNCH to get us started. Bring a few that you are never going to use and trade them in for ones you like!
- Nibble on a free fruit sample from the 99 Cent Only Stores.
- Guess how much change I have been saving in my mason jar-piggy bank, Price is Right style. Whoever comes closest without going over wins!
- Keep reading this post!
Join us at the Frugal Fe$tival this Sunday, July 26 at Woodley Park in Van Nuys from 1-4 pm. This is a totally free, public event! Free raffle! Free parking! Free refreshments! RSVP here. Get directions to 6350 Woodley Ave.
One of the big raffle prizes at the Frugal Fe$tival is being sponsored by BargainBabeLA.com – $100 in cash (in real dollars, not like the Monopoly money pictured).
But how should I give the money away at the Fe$tival? The answer that gets the most votes will determine how I give away the money this Sunday!
Interested in winning? Join us Sunday, July 26 from 1-4 p.m. at Woodley Park in Van Nuys. Details here.
Loading ...One study says you will spend fewer dollars if you carry around $100 bills. Hmmm…
Check out these two new posts on the Frugal Fe$tival blog:
How the FF raffle works and prize list
Free professional financial advice at Fe$tival
Join us on Sunday, July 26 from 1-4 p.m. in Woodley Park in Van Nuys if you want to celebrate being frugal! The Fe$tival is free and open to the public. Get directions and RSVP on the Frugal Fe$tival blog.
Three new posts on the Frugal Fe$tival blog to check out:
Start collecting extra coupons for the coupon exchange.
Get info about wheelchair access at FF.
Find out what’s the latest prize we added to the free FF raffle!
Get the details on a special raffle prize that our sponsor Savings.com is giving away at the Frugal Fe$tival. If that isn’t enough to entice you to join us July 26 from 1-4 p.m. at Woodley Park in Van Nuys, Calif., a very special guest will be there – my Mom!
The Frugal Fe$tival is a free, public celebration of being frugal. Please join us and RSVP!
There are two new posts on the Frugal Fe$tival blog you’ll want to check out. First is about an awesome new sponsor that just signed on – the 99 Cent Only Stores. Woot woot!
Secondly, one *very* lucky person who attends Frugal Fe$tival will go home with a $100 cash prize. Find out that can be you.
