Molly’s Centsible Celebrations, Including Weddings: A Review

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Is it time for celebrations in your family?  Graduations, weddings, birthdays, or more?  You can throw amazing parties, have wonderful celebrations, and give gorgeous gifts without blowing your budget if you follow some of Molly’s advice in May’s Money-Saving Digest.  Of course, there’s the usual trade-off:  money versus time and effort. If you’re ‘crafty’ you’ll love some of these ideas immediately. If you’re not a crafter, baker, organizer, or seamstress, the money you could save might suddenly change that. (Smile.)  

It’s not all about celebrations, though.  For everyday living you can enjoy healthy produce.  This Digest begins with an article about produce, including which kinds are most likely to be contaminated with unwanted chemicals, and how to wash the chemicals off.  Then there’s a guest article about promoting vegetables and fruits in your family, including a unique Periodic Table of Produce full of storage information.

The planning sheets this month include a neat list of food quantities for a crowd.  We haven’t had any huge parties for some years, but it’s a great idea to look at this list if you are planning one.

And, if you need beautiful flowers for a celebration but can’t get real ones, either due to cost or allergies, Molly’s got a simple but completely unexpected way of making gorgeous roses.  You can, of course, just ‘Feather Your Nest Frugally’ with them rather than make them for an event.

This month, the week’s menu includes make-ahead recipes (great for a busy time of visitors and celebrations), and some of these look so good.  I’m hoping to convert the Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole to be gluten-free.  As usual, ‘In the Kitchen with Molly’ includes a shopping list for anyone planning to follow the entire five-day menu. 

The ‘Kid’s Corner’ this month is entitled ‘Money, Manners, and More.’   It contains statements that rub me the wrong way such as “When you go to a store with your parents, your number-one goal should be to help your mom and dad make their shopping experience a pleasant one.”  I wouldn’t say that to my kids. I don’t think it’s true, either. On the other hand, there are useful and realistic tips.

‘Something Old, Something New’ shows how to make the cutest little cakes you ever saw.  What I like is that Molly takes a professional recipe and converts it to a real-life experience.  Whereas the professional version is so intimidating that I’d never even try it, the Molly version actually looks like something I could do.

The ‘Monthly Feature’ focuses on wedding savings. If you’re going to be involved in a wedding sometime soon, I highly recommend you buy this month’s Digest.

‘My Story’ this month is about a woman who learned how to budget as a child and is now learning to be frugal as a young wife after moving to a very expensive state. 

Of course, there’s much more in the Digest, but I’ll end with an inspiring quote from Molly herself.  “With a little resourcefulness, courage, and creativity, we can pull together one-of-a kind centsible celebrations with our families and friends.”  I’m glad she recognizes that it does take some courage to celebrate differently, but by using her tips, you can host classy, charming celebrations on a shoe-string budget.

If you’re interested in the May edition of Molly’s Money-Saving Digest ($4.95),  consider saving a dollar and getting even more.  If you become a Molly Member you’ll get the Digest as well as lots of free downloads (freezer cooking, wedding freebies, organization E-book, party ideas, a kid’s cookbook and more) for $3.95. 

Disclosure Policy:   I received the May edition of Molly’s Money-Saving Digest for free so that I could review it and give you my honest opinion.

 For more frugal tips, see Canada Girl’s Tightwad Tuesday,  Works for Me Wednesday, Coupon Teacher’s Thrifty Thursday, Melissa’s Thrifty Thursday , FIner Things Friday, and  Frugal Friday.  Note that Frugal Friday is about budget anniversary celebrations.