FrugalVictoria

After a decade under one owner, Frugal Victoria has been sold. With the New Year, the website (and social media accounts) are in the process of being transferred into new hands -- so please excuse the dust as things shake out and watch for a full announcement when the transfer is complete!

It's Christmas Eve and you still have gifts to wrap -- if you're like me, you have a good stash of paper and reusable gift bags to use but sometimes the finishing touch is the tough part. If you've got a printer, here's a few great printable gift tags you can use to personalize your gifts this year.

Sorry Starbucks (and you too, Tim Hortons) but now that I know I have the secret ingredient to making my own Starbucks Frappachino™ in my cupboard right now, you are not getting my nickels this summer.

In the last few years, Frugal Victoria has received very few real comments and ooodles of spam comments. As readers, you generally don't see the spam because they pile up in an approval queue. In addition, most of you send tips via Twitter or Facebook so after some consideration, I've decided to turn comments off by default. The time I save deleting spam can be spent posting more tips and deals! 

Thanks for your understanding.

It's been almost 6 months since Groupon burst on to the Victoria stage, followed shortly by Couvon, SwarmJam, ethicalDeal, TeamBuy, Wagsta and WagJag. In that time, I've bought eight deals (all from Groupon) and cashed in only two; so far I haven't let any expire.

If you're up for the challenge, you can find a lot of greens in your back yard or on the boulevards that are edible and can add some welcome diversity to your plate and diet. Plus, there's the zero mile/locavore angle, too!