Frugal for Life presents the May 6 Festival of Frugality. This week, the entries are listed in alphabetical order by the name of the blog. Here are some of the articles you’ll find:

• Be Thrifty Like Us presents Save money on air conditioning: “I read this is a magazine a while ago – it suggested buying a new window unit or having central air installed in the winter.” You know when you are likely to replace A/C equipment. Buy it off season, before it breaks down when prices are high.
• Cash Money Life presents Save money with refurbished electronics: “Buy from reputable dealers and know the return policy and warranty status before purchasing anything.” The first two iPods that lived in our house were refurbished equipment. It was a less expensive way for us to try out the new technology.
• Financial Tips presents High gas prices affecting families, budgets: “We live 15 miles from town. Because of high gas prices, my preschoolers will attend Montessori just one day a week this fall instead of three. I simply can’t afford all of those extra trips back and forth each week.” I picked this post because a lot of Monroe County families live in a township or village with limited commercial services, rather than in a city with lots of convenient choices, like I do. But we do limit our drives from Monroe to Ohio, and for us, that’s sad because most of our immediate family lives in northwest Ohio.
• Oh My Aching Debts presents 10 ways that I can’t save money: “My checking account is way too fragile with the balance usually hovering under $100 to have anything withdrawn automatically.” Yep, I get annoyed at some of the common frugal advice tips too. There are plenty of us who are well into graduate studies in frugal finances and freshman English won’t do us a bit of good. The one that I really roll my eyes over is “Quit the daily latte and you can save …” I haven’t done a coffee shop run as a daily habit since 1999, and even then it was regular coffee with cream!
• Saving Advice presents Frugality: Normal or Extreme Behavior: “I’m wondering why frugality, which can accommodate anyone, is viewed as an extreme lifestyle choice nowadays. In my grandparents’ day, frugality was respected and admired.” I think we have an entire generation, if not two, who have lost significant DIY skills. If you don’t know how to do something critical to everyday life, your only choice is to pay someone else to do it and that becomes your normal “routine.”