Where have you been all my life?  While everyone else has been aware of Michaels it has taken me this long to go into a store. And immediately sign up on their website for bargains.

Now I am not particularly good at crafts. Maybe that’s why it never seemed like a place for me to shop. Was I ever wrong! Even The Frugal Diva can put a picture in a picture frame. And a very stylish one at that. Or pick out accessories to organize my desk, closet, or photos. Yes, now my magazines are stored in pretty baskets, candles grace my table tops, and plants have been moved to matching containers.

They have great invitations you can run on a home printer. Now I know where all those cute cards originate. Kids birthday parties are a snap with postcards.  Brides this is a great place to find save the date cards, invites, thank you notes, and response cards. Make them formal or keep them modern, there are so many choices.

And they give you tons of ideas on making things fancy for a shower or fun for a kids party. It took me hours to leave and the first thing I did at home was…you guessed it!  Signed up for their email discounts.  Now the coupons are coming and I’m planning my next trip with them in hand.  That’s my kind of crafty.

Divas like to be in shape. And that means at some point we have to exercise. Cheapest is walking. For those of you in colder climes, there is the mall.  And it will give you a chance to keep an eye on an item until it goes to it’s lowest price. For those of us lucky enough to be in Southern California, walk everywhere. If you need a few items at the market, try walking. It’s a twofer – you burn calories and save on gas. Walk out your front door and walk for a mile in any direction. Walk to the post office. This is the best way to start exercising and the best way to save on gas.

Now this is going to sound very unfrugal however joining a gym might be a good investment if (and this is a big if) you are going to use the facilities. I recommend the larger chains such as 24 Hour Fitness.(The Frugal Diva is a member however receives no compensations for mentioning them). They have more classes (aerobics to zumba), keep up the facilities nicely, you can use a variety of locations, and they probably will not be closing down any time soon. Remember to look for deals and bargain, bargain, bargain. They need members and you have all the power. Read the contract carefully and look for any hidden charges.

Ask for the free 7 day pass to see if it fits into your schedule. It should be either near home or work. The classes that you are interested in need to be at times that you can attend.  Remember if you don’t attend at least once or twice a week, this is a waste of money. The more you attend, the better the deal. The other benefit of the gym, it is a great option when you don’t have money to spend on other activities. It gives you choices that make you healthy and keep you out of the mall.  Saturday morning might be a yoga class, swimming, and a sauna – your very own day spa experience.

And many locations have Kid’s Clubs where children can hang out while you exercise.  This is fun place with activities,  games, and close supervision.  Kids’ Club availability, rates, and hours vary per location.

Good health is the best wealth.

Break your cable chains.  Stop searching through 400 channels and finding nothing to watch.  Those who are trying to save on cable or giving up cable here is the solution. Hulu.com gives you access to television the way you want it – free, watch what you want when you want, and with the most minimal of commercial breaks (about sixty seconds altogether).  Start a show, stop it, take a break, and finish it later.

My only problem is tearing myself away when I could be watching five episodes of House.  Or catching up on the Jon Stewart Show or the Colbert Report. Actually as I am writing this, I have last night’s Daily Show on. Ricky Gervais is hysterical. Lost fans, here is your chance to figure out what is going on. Foodie fans watch your faves like Giada Cooks Italian and Bobby Flay. Introduce kids to old episodes of your favorites like the Dick Van Dyke show, the Rocky and Bullwinkle show, Sesame Street, and the Benji movies. And they have even more niche items like highlights from the Auto show, interviews with the stars, and the training of Olympic speed skaters.

Investing in a good computer monitor will enhance the experience.  This is a one time expense as opposed to a huge monthly fee.

This is a perfect Frugal Diva experience – all choice and no fees.

A Big Thank You to Jennifer Moss of  BabyNames.com for providing this great list of activities that are free or low cost, build creativity and skills for kids, and are bonding experiences beween parent and child. She did forget to mention  how much fun it is to look up names on her site and things like character tips for writers, what are cool names now and in the past, and games for baby showers. 

1. Your local library – get your child his/her own library card, it makes them feel very important and introduces them to the awesome library system. Make it a weekly trip and allow them to pick out 3 books at a time.  Some municipal libraries even have bookmobiles that may be in your neighborhood!  The library is also an inexpensive place to rent videos. At the Los Angeles Public Library they are usually free!

2. Your local recreation center. Many rec centers (like Westwood on Sepulveda) allow you to swim for a couple dollars per person.  Hours of enjoyment for little money! Rec centers also have affordable summer programs for kids, since they are sponsored by the city.

3. After school day care: LAUSD public schools have a free after school program called “YS” (Youth Services).  Take advantage of this if you can’t pick up your child and don’t want to pay a babysitter! YS coordinators are usually teachers from the school and they do outdoor activities with the kids they know.

4. Make your own restaurant! For dinner one night, make it fancy without going out!  Type up a little “menu” and play restaurant with your kids. Decorate your table with candles and let them make a centerpiece. Take turns being the “waiter!” Variation:While eating dinner, let your kid pretend they’re you and you pretend to be them. It is very revealing what they say, how they act and how you’re seen from their eyes!  You can also use this opportunity to point out some of their bad habits (like whining or chewing with their mouth open).

5. Have “pioneer night” where no electricity is used. This is harder for the adults than the kids! Can you go one whole night without power? No internet, no tv, no videos! Be creative and spend a whole evening with your kids in the dark! Stock up on candles and flashlights before you do this. It saves on the electric bill AND prepares your kids for emergencies!

6. Don’t have bikes? Rent them! Many of the L.A. beaches have bike rentals. If you don’t have bikes of your own, take the kids down to the beach for the day and rent bikes. For less than $10 you can have a great active day that they’ll love.

7. Bowling! Remember bowling? There are still lanes out there and you don’t even have to keep score anymore! Bowling alleys have many “off” times that are only a couple dollars a game. Check out your local bowling alley and ask for the bumpers for the kids!(Bumpers guaranteed to improve your game too!)

8. Baking. Bake with your kids. It’s fun for them to be part of the creative process and only costs a couple dollars for cake mix and frosting (or cookie dough).

9. Walks, parks and playdates. Take advantage of walking in your neighborhood and local parks. Walk slowly and point out flowers and interesting landmarks to your child.  If they are younger, practice colors and counting (“what color is that flower?”, “How many red cars can you count during our walk?”).  Barter play dates with your kids and their friends.  Play dates are a great way for parents to get “alone time” without paying for sitters.  Take the kids and their friends to the local park!  Better than video games and they won’t get bored as easily! Take a picnic lunch or snacks so they have some downtime between running and jumping! Bad weather? Take them to the mall — most malls have child play-places for free.

10. Share your picture/video camera with your kids. Most kids pick up on electronics quickly, so show them how to use the video camera and tell them to make a TV show all by themselves–with commercials!! It usually keeps them busy for hours and the result is usually hilarious!

If you don’t have kids, many of these activities are fun for adults too!

Where can you find accessories for the Motorola Droid and a quesadilla maker all on in the same place? Slickdeals.net is that site. What is great about slick deals is that they are vetted by users and Slick Deals researches the merchants. Use this site when you are looking for kitchen electronics, tech stuff, digital cameras, and coupon codes for companies like Dell and Logitech.

Here is their mission as stated on their site. “Founded in 1999, Slickdeals.net is a free, user-driven deal sharing site with a mission to provide consumers an avenue to collaborate and share information in order to make the best shopping decisions. Slickdeals achieves this by providing its users a forum for communication and various shopping tools. Slickdeals.net prides itself on being user and community focused, never allowing paid placement for frontpage deal listings.”

Divas need to be state of the art and this site will help you get here.

The Getty has Saturdays Off The 405  starting on June 12th. This is nice since they don’t charge for parking after 5:00 on Saturdays and the galleries stay open until nine. Watch the sunset from on high. 

The Getty Museums are  free all the time and everyday of the week. They ask only that you pay to park. That means when you bring a carload of guests from out of town, you can take them to see the beautiful Getty, the collections, and the smashing view all for $15 (as of the last time I went and free after 5:00 PM on Saturdays). The more guests, the cheaper the visit, so carpool with four and enter for less then  $4 apiece.  They will be impressed and amazed.  Another great trick is to drop them off, enjoy a few hours of peace at home, wait for the phone call, and pick them up – with no charge at all. They have a fabulous day and you can run errands guilt free.

All the pertinent information is on their visitors page however it does not tell you that this is a spectacular experience.

The Brentwood Getty affords you a view of the city that is unparalled. On a clear day you can see forever and since they are open until 9 PM on Saturdays you can see the city light up at night.  Walk the interesting garden path, see some art, eat at the reasonable cafeteria or coffee kiosks or the more upscale restaurant or bring your own sandwich – they are user friendly to the point of putting out umbrellas for visitors when it’s raining.  They have free talks and tours about the exhibits. They have fee hands on workshops for kids. The one this week end is  Family Drawing Hour: Exploring Color! Saturday February 20, 2010 3:30 PM geared for families with children ages 7 and up.

Saturday Nights at the Getty (formerly Friday Nights at the Getty) is a free, contemporary performance series featuring an eclectic mix of music, dance, theater, and spoken word events in the auditorium. Only reservations are needed. In the summer they have free outdoor concerts and dancing.  And remember parking is free after 5:00 p.m. and the galleries are open.

The Getty Villa  in Malibu is a museum of ancient Greece, Rome, and Etruria. You can view antiquities, Greek, Roman, and Etruscan antiquities -plus inspired architecture and gardens with a view of the ocean. There are tours and family activities here also. They also have evening activities with play readings and talks. Parking after 5 PM is free for cultural events.

Did I use the word free too many times? These places are so fabulous it’s amazing they and all the activities are free. Give yourself a treat and enjoy them this weekend!

The Frugal Diva knows how hard it is to remember all the various discounts, coupons, and special offers that are out there. They come through the mail, on line, in newspapers and magazines. What is a diva to do?

In the email realm, open a dedicated email address just to register for online discounts.  Your own internet provider usually gives you that option or you can sign up for free at gmail or hotmail. Use this address when registering for sites that send you coupons and alert you to sales. 

Quickly skim over the offers, jump on the ones you want, and be on your way.  Chico’s sends a $10 off coupon on your birthday and it can be used with another offer or on sale items.  Celebrate with new clothes that are on sale, use one of their coupons, and add in your B Day gift. Now we’re talking a real deal.  Sephora sends some free goodies your way on your B-Day. Origins has a discount birthday offer.

Your main email address will remain easily readable for your personal or business correspondence that needs to be answered.

And before going shopping or ordering  or eating out just type in the name of the store, restaurant, or service with the word sale or promo code. It is very likely that a deal will pop up on the first page of the google search.

For the paper coupons, there are several serious organizers for food coupons. For others, buy yourself a pretty wallet size organizer about the size of a checkbook. There are lovely ones to be found in Chinatown. They hold the millions of Bed, Bath, and Beyond discounts, restaurants specials, and other one of kind discounts. Remember to go through them and throw out expired offers.

After all being frugal is a life enhancer not a life clutterer.

This is a charming town with a fun main street, beaches, and outdoor activities.  And free parking.  There is something here for a day trip, one night, or two nights. Hotels are in every price range so check your favorite site for the best prices.

On Main Street you can browse through both thrift shops and upscale boutiques. And don’t miss the beautiful beaux arts city hall and the Mission San Bueanventura’s lovely garden. This area is completely walkable with restaurants that include 50s era burger places, Thai, Mexican, Italian, and cafes for a coffee break.

Eleven miles off shore are the Channel Islands National Park .  As you know about the Frugal Diva, walking on the beach is enough of a hike.  However for those who need to explore trips can be arranged through Island Packers, prices vary per season and type of excursion. This is a low-impact adventure and a chance to see sea lions and whales.

On the way home I wanted something fresh, interesting, and inexpensive. The perfect choice is Pho Saigon, 826 N Ventura Rd
Port Hueneme, CA 93041-2647, (805) 240-9334‎.  A fantastic soup loaded with the protein of your choice, rice noodles and gobs of fresh vegetables.  There are many great places in Oxnard so let me know your favorites.

Stop at the Camarillo Outlet Mall.  They have added stores and sales are everywhere.  Now that’s my kind of adventure.

Spread the love on Valentine’s Day weekend by helping others. Do it as a couple, alone, or get a group of friends together.

Heal the Bay Help clean up our beaches. We all need the ocean to survive.

Disney Give A Day Get A Day Volunteer one day and get a free day at Disney.

Meals On Wheels Change lives daily by making sure they get a meal every day.

Make A Wish Help this organization grant wishes to children with illnesses.

Adult Literacy Teach reading to adults through the LA public library.

Downtown Women’s Center Helping women get back on their feet.

Lange Foundation Saving homeless and impounded animals.

If you want to check out a major charity in your area, use the Charity Navigator. They rate charities so you know who runs efficiently and makes sure the money goes to help people.

If you want to stay local – most hospitals, museums, schools, and soup kitchens need volunteers.