Frugal Friday & Saddle Up and Ride Giveaway

Oh how I missed doing the Frugal Friday post last week. It feels good to be back. This week I hope to provide you with some new summer time tips. It won't be long for many of you to be running those air conditioners to ward off those hot summer days. Here at my house the air has been on a for a few weeks now. So we have started our summer time routine here.

If they aren't new tips to you then consider it a friendly reminder and share some summer tips of your own in the comments section.

Cooking in the summer time can produce extra heat in the house. This makes your air conditioner work extra hard to try and keep you and your home cool. Below are some tips for summer time cooking.

Cook in the crock pot as much as possible. This doesn't heat your house up and makes for some very tasty meals.

If you must cook on the stove or in the oven do it in the early morning hours or very late evening hours. This will also help to keep the air from having to overwork itself. In turn making your meter do a flying loop to much.

Grill and cook out as much as possible. This not only keeps the house from becoming hot but also most hubbies just love cooking on the grill. This means we ladies can take a break and set back with a cool drink and just enjoy the time off. You can cook everything on your grill whether it's a charcoal or gas type. Cook your vegetables by wrapping in aluminum foil with a little butter. You can even cook a couple of meals on the grill so as not to have to cook at all the next day. We do this a lot here at our house.

Start eating more salads and sandwiches. Pasta salads are excellent in the summer months and you only have to cook for a very short time.

Have a bon fire outside and cook hot dogs and smores with the kids. They will love this and makes for a nice time together while keeping your stove from heating the house.

Use your microwave more in the summer months.

Start making smoothies for breakfast for yourself and your family. It also helps to cool you down as well as keeping that stove turned off.

Use a toaster oven instead of the big oven. If you must use your oven do it early and cook several things at one time. Maybe make two casseroles, or two desserts.

Other ways to be frugal during the summer months:

Do your bathing and laundry early morning or late evening to keep the humidity out of the house.

Use your bathroom vents to remove the humidity.

As well use your blow dryer, curling iron, flat iron or any of these type things early in the day.

Don't' forget to use your ceiling fans or even box fans to distribute the cooler air around. This will make your house feel much more comfortable.

Don't let the sun shine in. I know we have all been cooped up all winter and are more than ready for some sun but letting it shine into the house makes your air unit work triple what it should. Only open the curtains and blinds early in the day or really late in the evening. The rest of the time keep them tightly closed to keep the sun out. I even go an extra mile and cover most of our windows with aluminum foil for extra protection.

If you didn't caulk during the winter months then do so now. Caulk around the doors and windows so as not to let the cool air escape.

Run your dishwasher at night time only. Stop using the heat setting to dry them and change it to the cool setting. Or better yet when it kicks off open the dishwasher door and let them air dry.

Change your air filters regularly. Clogged filters will make your unit work harder and your bill rise.

Close off vents to empty rooms not being used. Close the doors on these rooms as well. Our Rug Rats are not here except weekends and we do this for their rooms. As well as our large laundry/storage room as it is neither heated nor cooled.

If you are going to be gone from home for two or more hours then turn your unit off completely.

Raise the temperature to 78 degrees and use those fans.

You might consider installing an attic fan to remove heat from the attic. This will keep your air unit from working so hard.

When your not using your PC turn it off. If you haven't noticed your PC puts out quite a bit of heat.

Last but not least: Hang your clothes outside to dry. This also saves your clothes in the long run.

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This weeks Frugal Friday sponsor is Doug Jones of Truckers Tracks. Doug contacted me a few weeks ago to see if I would be kind enough to listen and review this CD. I agreed to it whole heartily. I felt it my place to help do this since the CD is dedicated to Truckers and all they do. After listening to the CD and actually falling in love with many of the songs on it I asked Doug if he wouldn't mind sending me a few more for a giveaway. He happily agreed and sent me two extras. Actually Doug sent me two additional ones but I passed those on to my Trucker and his trucking brother, who both say they really enjoy listening to it while driving the big wide open roads. So on behalf of Doug and Truckers Tracks I have not one but TWO Cd's for giveaway.

Saddle Up & Ride (Volume 1) is this weeks giveaway. If you would like to purchase this CD go check out the website here Truckers Tracks and order one today. Truckers Tracks also has a Volume 2 available on the website. They are available for purchase at only $15.00 and this includes shipping charges.

To enter this giveaway you must leave me a comment as to what song on the CD sounds like you might like it. This link provides their website and also you can listen to the songs demo's. Let me know which one sounds the best to you. This has to be done before any others count.

For extra entries you can do any or all of these things listed:

1. Follow my blog.
2. Follow on twitter and tweet the giveaway. Provide the status of your tweet for me.
3. Subscribe to my blog by email.
4. Vote for my blog for Best Blog About Stuff. Link in the sidebar top right. Leave me your name or ID after doing so.
5. Digg or Stumble my blog. Or do both and each one leave me a separate comment.
6. Become a follower of "Networked Blogs". Sidebar on the right sidebar.
7. Leave me a comment with your best Frugal Tip you use.

For even more entries make a purchase of one or both of the Cd's from Truckers Tracks and then come back here and leave me the name purchased in in your comment. This will be checked. This will gain you 10 bonus entries. Leave 10 comments to be counted.

This giveaway is for US participants only. Giveaway closes on Thursday, May 21st at 10:00 pm CST. Winner will be announced the following Friday on the next Frugal Friday post. Winner will have 48 hours in which to contact me with their information for mailing. If not contacted a alternate winner will be chosen.

Happy Frugal Friday and Good Luck,