Many things, once you own them, they effectively stop costing you money (until they wear out and need replacing).  Like my dining room chairs.  I only have to consider the initial cost (and quality leading to a replacement cost) and once I have figured out the most bang for my buck so to speak and made a purchase, I am done.

Not so with other things.  Take my car for example.  I drive a completely paid off (as of late last year) 2001 Saturn.  I use the term drive loosely, because in 2008 it seemed to spend as much time in the shop as it did being driven.  I just now calculated that over the course of 2008, I spent close to $600 a month (average) to keep that car running.  NOT including gas or insurance or registration - just repairs and associated to repairs costs.

If that pace keeps up for 2009, I may not own that car much longer.

Consider the cost of ownership when you are making a purchase that requires upkeep.  If there is a variation of possibilities - do your research.  What does the average person have to pay to keep up said purchase?  How does that compare to similar options?  Make sure you are still getting the most bang for your buck past that initial investment.  (Seriously, just look at the consumer reviews for a 2001 Saturn L-300 on Edmunds.com and then kick me for being such an idiot).

Jim also looks at cost of ownership as far as giving gifts with his plea not to give high upkeep gifts.  It is a great look at hom something innocuous might seem like a great gift (oh look at the cute puppy) but cost your recipient much more than they bargained for.

So I guess I shouldn’t gift my Saturn to an unsuspecting “friend”…. 

This frugal tip provided by paidtwice, who wants you to start 2009 right - no Saturn L-series for you!

Thank you to The Well Run Dry who posted this week’s Festival of Frugality! An insight into frugality and the current world situation, it includes these choice offerings:

• Polly Poorhouse presents Economic Crunch: Wrapping for Less posted at Economic Crunch

• Miss M presents K.I.S.S. – Keep it Simple, Small posted at M is for Money.

• Lisa Spinelli presents Eating Healthy Without Being Wealthy: Sweet Potatoes and Yams posted at Greener Pastures

• Jim presents Please Don’t Give High Upkeep Gifts posted at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity

• Super Saver presents Pre-Paid Phones Save Money posted at My Wealth Builder.

• mbhunter presents Tips for the coming decade of frugality posted at Mighty Bargain Hunter.

Thanks for a thought provoking festival, hosts and submitters alike!  Next week the festival travels to The Dough Roller:  Smarter Money Management so get those entries rolling in!

Many people display lights on their house over the holiday season as a show of their holiday spirit. If you are one of those people, next year (if you don’t already), think about making the switch to LED lights from the traditional ones. They use less energy and look just as festive as their energy-hog counterparts.

And if you shop for them tomorrow, December 26th, you will probably be able to get them on a big discount! A bonus!

We hope you have had and continue to have a wonderful holiday season. Now go eat some more holiday dinner.

This frugal tip provided by paidtwice, who is enjoying Christmas with her family - both nuclear and extended.

The festival this week hops across the pond and in fine British style, teaches us of a Christmas tradition I knew nothing about - the Queen’s Speech. The editor’s picks were bestowed this honor while the other entries were classified under different alternative speechgivers from throughout the years. Queen’s honors included:

• AC Gaughen presents 10 Useful Secrets the Cell Phone Carriers Don’t Want You To Know posted at Cell Phones.
• Jim presents The Mythical Thin Wallet posted at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity.
• Jennifer Derrick presents Frugal People Will Suffer Least posted at Saving Advice.
• FruGal presents Top 5 Ultimate Money Saving Tips posted at FruGal.
• DR presents 97 New Ways to Save Money (from DR Readers) posted at DR’s Money Management Blog.
• Madoline Hatter presents Using Nature’s Gift Wrap: The Eggshell posted at Pecuniarities.

Join us next week when the festival travels to The Well Run Dry - and get those entries in, pronto!

Last weekend my son received an easel as a gift.  And then after only having it for about 10 minutes, colored on the chalkboard side with crayon.  It was a mistake, he’s only 4 and we didn’t explain well enough, but I didn’t want his gift ruined in ten minutes.  So I researched how to remove crayon from a chalkboard.

And lo and behold, the simplest solution was simply rubbing it with paste-type toothpaste.  And it worked like a charm!  But the wonders of toothpaste doesn’t stop there.  I removed crayons from a variety of surfaces with it (from wood to plaster to plastic), and when I posted about it on my blog, I got responses about even more uses for toothpaste.  It even shines tarnished silver!

If you use toothpaste on a wall, make sure to test it in a very small area first, for it may remove paint.   But next time you’re in a cleaning pickle, consider toothpaste.  It is for more than just teeth!

This frugal tip povided by paidtwice, who has a daughter that likes to scribble on… everything.

Naturally Frugal makes their hosting debut with a Holiday and Green themed festival for #156.  Be sure to make your way over to check out all of the fabulous entries! Here is a sampling of some of my personal favorites:

• What Can I Make Out of What I Have? by Domestic Cents
• Cheap Healthy Good has a Practical Guide to Christmas Gifts for Foodies
• Things You Can Reuse to Save Money by The Greenest Dollar

Next week the festival travels to Miss Thrifty for the Christmas week edition, be sure to get those entries in before the holiday rush!

Recycling instead of throwing something away is a noble cause. We have the luxury of recyclables collections with our trash pickup every other week, so we can recycle everything from paper to most plastics to metals without too much effort on our part. But before you recycle, take a moment to think about if you could give the item, whatever it is, one more use (or even more than that!) before it hits your recycle bin.

Papers that show up in our house get used on both sides for scrap paper, and then if margins are clear, they get cut off to make grocery lists. Envelopes that come in the mail get turned into holders for my coupons, or other envelope tasks that don’t require a new clean envelope. Plastic bags get a variety of new uses before I recycle them at the grocery store. A can becomes a pencil holder, a jar holds nails or tacks, a cardboard box becomes a toy storage bin.

Think about the other uses your everyday recyclable items can have before you recycle them. After reduce, the next step is reuse, before you finally recycle.

This frugal tip provided by paidtwice, who uses a lot of scrap paper tutoring chemistry.

And it is the tacky Christmas edition, including many pictures of the tackiest lawn displays, sweaters, ornaments, and lights I have ever seen! You must visit for the full effect.

And as a preview of the fun frugality that abounds, here are a few holiday-related entries - Squawkfox on Holiday Gifts, Stephanie made hers chocolate covered, Living Almost Large makes hers frugal, and Broke Grad Student shares how you can win an iPod shuffle for sharing your ideas!

Visit the festival for even more ideas! Next week the festival travels to Naturally Frugal so get those entries in!

Right after the holidays, when everything is out of whack and your spending may have been more than you anticipated, is no time to try and draft a budget for the new year.  Although the holiday chaos may have already begun, use this time, before the holidays are upon us, to think about what you’d like the new year to hold.  What are your aspirations, your dreams, your goals?

And then start drafting a realistic plan to get there. Who knows - designing your 2009 budget now instead of three weeks from now may reign in some unnecessary spending that hasn’t happened quite yet.

If you need some resources to get started, here are some from my finance site:

• Creating a Budget
• Evaluating Your Budget
• Budgets You Can Stick To

This frugal tip provided by paidtwice of I’ve Paid For This Twice Already…

Or at least, it is at Living Almost Large!  :)  LAL interspersed the Festival with favorite frugal quotes and chose these stellar posts as editor’s picks:

• The Frugal Court #1: Netflix posted at Student Scrooge.
• Extreme Christmas Shopping posted at Ask Mr Credit Card’s Blog.
• Frugality Goes Mainstream posted at Value For Your Life.
• What’s Wrong With a Frugal Weekend? posted at Saving Advice.

Thanks for hosting!  Next week the festival travels to Greener Pastures so get that frugal mojo entered soon!