Do you find yourself in the mood for baking now that the Christmas rush is over? If you need some inexpensive Valentine treats to give away, try this recipe for homemade peanut butter cups.

Take your outgrown or worn out jeans and create a purse, denim book cover or a pillow out of them. For information on how to do this, visit http://www.gastongazette.com/articles/jeans-63923-make-purse.html.

Do you want to be able to cook dinner for under $10? Here is a simple recipe for potato corn chowder.

As water meters loom ahead of us, try saving on your water bill by purchasing a rain barrell. It can collect rain water runoff from roof gutters and downspouts for use of watering the yard as well as for washing cars or rinsing windows. Just put a screen on top to keep out insects and debris. Some even come with hose attachments for low-pressure watering in the yard and garden. To learn more about the rain barrels, visit http://easyfrugalliving.blogspot.com/2009/03/saving-money-using-rain-barrels.html.

Summer is here. In today’s economy, you may be trying to figure out where to take your family on vacation. The next question is, how to get there? By visiting http://www.befrugal.com/tools/fly-or-drive-calculator/, you can find out the cheaper way to travel, whether it’s by car or plane. Just type in your location, destination and days you plan to travel. The site calculates the time it will take as well as the total cost. It also has links to travelocity and priceline. Once you hit the link, it will give you options for car rentals.

Don’t waste your butter. You can use every last drop but saving your butter wrappers. When you need to grease a cake pan or muffin tin, use the leftover remnants of butter that is in the wrapper. For more information, visit http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/category/frugal-tips.

If you enjoy a cup of java every morning, you may want to sign up with Starbucks rewards program. All you have to do is register a gift card and use it everytime you order a cup of joe. You will then be eligible to recieve free drinks, even on your birthday. For more information, visit http://www.thethriftymama.com/2011/01/starbucks-rewards-earn-free-drinks.html.

Using too much energy when you dry your clothes? When you put a load in the dryer, add a clean dry towel. It will take less time to dry because the towel helps absorb the moisture. For more information, visit http://www.frugal-living-tips.com/cut-drying-time.html.

Have a college student you can't afford books for? Try renting them. You can go to chegg.com or bookrenter.com, which can be helpful in accessing books for general education classes. For more tips, visit http://www.frugalvillage.com/2010/05/28/try-frugal-substitutes/.

This tip is one I will definitely try since I am guilty of doing this. If you leave your clothes in the dryer too long and they get wrinkled, you don’t need to waste energy by re-drying them. Just put the garment on, such as a t-shirt, and spritz yourself with a water bottle. The heat from your body causes the wrinkles to fall right out in a couple of minutes. For more information, visit http://www.frugallivingnews.com/11096/wfmw-the-%E2%80%9Canti-ironing-weapon%E2%80%9D/.

If you feel like you are always buying new sippy cups, there is a simple way to make your own. Just re-use empty yogurt containers, cut a small x on the top of the lip and put a straw in it. Check out the picture of it here.

Herbs can be a necessity when trying to cooking tasty meals and keep your family at home more often for dinner. But, they can also be expensive. Instead of buying them at the store, try growing them and drying them yourself. Choose the herbs you use the most and plant them. After cutting them, wash and rinse in cold water. Dry out the extras buy tying them with a string and then hang them upside down on a nail. Store them in mason jars or plastic containers. Dried herbs will keep for six months. For more herb drying tips, visit http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/affordable-herbs.htm.

A reader saw my last post about inexpensive beauty products. Here are some suggestions she had:

If Starbucks seems to be burning a hole in your wallet, don’t give it up just yet. There are a few ways to save when buying your favorite coffee:

I know I’m a bit late with this one but for the month of January, Jamba Juice is offering oatmeal for just $1 on Wednesdays. The oatmeal flavors include berry cherry pecan, apple cinnamon and fresh banana. The offer ends next Wednesday, so there’s still time. For more information, visit http://www.jambajuice.com.

If you enjoyed playing the game of Life, you can play the game through Rite Aid — and save! My husband was there last night and was given a gameboard and playing pieces. When you make a purchase, you will get playing pieces which you can match to the gameboard. There are different sections and categories to win. Once you have all the pieces in one section, you will have the opportunity to win items such as a Nintendo Wii, or win up to $1,000 in cash. I can’t wait until my next visit to Rite Aid. For more information, visit our local Rite Aid store at 520 W. Lodi Ave.

Forget the hustle and bustle of the department stores. Try doing your Christmas shopping by swapping gifts. You can visits sites such as swaptree, swapstyle and zwaggle, which has postings from people who don’t want items anymore. All you pay is the price to ship your items to the receiver. For more information, visit http://cbs13.com/savewithdave/Save.With.Dave.2.1341720.html.

Do you ever feel guilty tossing away those heels in your loaf of bread? By flipping them over, you can still create a sandwich and no one will ever know. What about bath poufs that are falling apart? Save them for scrubbing the shower, sinks and tub. For more information, visit http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/category/frugal-tips.

Is your sink stopped up? Don’t use those drain cleansers that contain harsh chemicals. Just pour baking soda down the drain, followed by vinegar and then put the sink stopper in. After 15 minutes, flush with boiling water. For more information, visit http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/frugal-cleaning-tips-being-frugal-with-your-cleaning-supplies.htm.

If you are one, like me, that gets annoyed by those plastic bread tabs, you will be pleased to know there are actually uses for them. They make great scrapers for counters, floors and dishes. They can also be used as a bookmark or attached to a roll of tape so it doesn’t fold over. For more uses of bread tabs, visit http://www.journaltimes.com/lifestyles/relationships-and-special-occasions/article_57a4d8ce-a55e-11de-ba1f-001cc4c03286.html.

Craving a nice dinner out? Visit restaurant.com. There are over 10,000 restaurants across the country who offer gift certificates. For example, you can get a $25 gift certificate for $10 and a $50 gift certificate for $20. For more information, visit http://www.womansday.com/Articles/Money/Debt-Management/How-to-Be-a-Super-Saver.html.

Are you in need for the perfect versatile but cheap snack? Try a box of Saltines. You can fix them in a variety of ways. They can be made into a pizza snack by dropping a small dollop of spaghetti sauce and mozzarella cheese on them. You can make confetti crackers by spreading peanut butter or cream cheese and then adding a topping such as coconut, sunflower seeds or raisins. Or, you can make cracker stackers. Create sandwiches by using small cheese squares, baloney or other lunch meat and boiled eggs. For more information, visit http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/saltines.htm.

Today, I thought I’d start out by mentioning a couple of money-saving ideas that I have tried. On my last post, I talked about a Web site that features recipes from popular restaurants. I found recipes for Taco Bell’s Enchirito and for the Cajun chicken pasta at Chili’s. I tried both, and each night my husband and I felt like we were eating the real thing. Now when I crave that chicken pasta I can make it at home for less. Next, I plan on trying to use a cereal bag for a freezer bag, which I mentioned in the same post. I’ll let you know how that turns out.

You can have a home-cooked meal every night without cooking every night. How is this possible, you ask? Start a meal-sharing plan, where you cook for your family as well as two others. They, in turn, will do the cooking for you. For more information, visit http://cbs13.com/savewithdave/dave.money.meal.2.1070824.html.