Frugal Fe$tival Celebrates the Art of Penny Pinching

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If your friends make fun of you for taking toilet paper from hotel rooms, take heart—this Sunday, you'll have a chance to make some equally resourceful new ones. BargainBabe.com blogger Julia Scott has organized the first ever Frugal Fe$tival, which attempts to spice up such mundane rites of thriftiness as coupon clipping and making a budget. She tells us in an e-mail: "The stigma against being frugal has barely decreased in the recession. People want to spend less, but they are ashamed of making frugal choices that benefit them. I'm tired of that!" The Van Nuys event promises plenty of ways to get things for free, from a coupon exchange and a frugal recipe swap to a totally free yard sale and a raffle (prizes include a laptop and a $100 bill). And if there's anyone who's qualified to throw a cash-saving bash, it's Scott— most recently, the intrepid economizer has gone so far as to put herself on a one-month spending moratorium, which she only broke in order to use some Target coupons that were going to expire. Now that's dedication.
· Frugal Fe$tival [Official Site]
· Bargain Babe [Official Site]