Do you need some fresh ideas on how to live a frugal lifestyle? The Festival of Frugality for Oct. 7 was hosted by Dollar Frugal. Here are some of the posts you’ll find:

• Tom at Find College Cards presents How to save money on school shopping as a college student: “If you wait to do your school shopping last minute you will find yourself spending more money than ever.” This tip applies to any seasonal shopping needs! By the way, … have you made your Halloween purchases?
• Blueprint for Financial Prosperity presents Dominate Economic Fear with Frugality: “While you need to do all things in moderation and in balance (you can’t just be frugal, just as you can’t just focus on earning more money), right now frugality is the easier thing to focus on.” I got tired of reading one financial advisor / tipster after another give advice on coping with tight finances by saying “take on a second job!” It’s easier in southeast Michigan these days to just be frugal.
• Wisdom from Wenchpoo’s Mental Wastebasket presents Now for the aftermath: “Stock up on commonly-used items NOW while you still have money coming in, and still have somewhat reasonable prices.” While it’s hard to predict what’s going to happen on the national economy in the coming weeks and months – it’s pretty smart to take advantage of sales to stock up on things your family needs regardless of the economic circumstances. Prices have been constantly going up on the grocery front. I also like the suggestion of paying attention to your tax deductions: 2007 was the first year we itemized in-kind donations to Habitat for Humanity of Monroe county. Now I understand how that deduction works and this year, I also started asking for receipts at Goodwill.