Joy Troupe Saves!

You already know that the Joy Troupe is FUN for you and your little ones.

What you may not realize is that being part of our community of families can help you fatten your savings account! Everyone wants a good nest egg in uncertain economic times. Check out all the ways our members are using our group to save, save, save! Got your own ways you're using our community to save money? Be sure to add them in our "comments" section.

We have a sitter exchange so our members can swap child care. You sit for her kids, she sits for yours, and you pocket the money you'd have spent on a sitter. Our Classifieds are free- no ebay fees! and you know everyone who sees them is a local parent or caregiver- no Nigerian Princes here! Our recipe swap group is a great place to find economical solutions for meal planning. (And share your own!) Our calendar is packed with FREE events and activities every day of the week. Not spending doesn't have to mean sitting at home! We have a pre-school coop, which is going to save some families over $8,000 apiece in 2009. Special Joy Troupe only discount offers from local businesses Swap Meet events: Swap stuff you don't need for stuff you do... leftovers donated to a local charity Find and share deals and tips on our "green and thrifty" forum Weight loss support group starting soon- much more fun than commercial plans, and SO much less expensive! Check our Community Events calendar for consignment and garage sales near you- don't buy new when used will do!

What is Freecycle?

We often talk about Freecycle, and when it comes up very frequently one of our members is not familiar with it. Here is the description from the Freecycle.org website:

"Welcome! The Freecycle Network™ is made up of 4,348 groups with 5,036,000 members across the globe. It's a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns. It's all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills. Each local group is moderated by a local volunteer (them's good people). Membership is free. To sign up, find your community by entering it into the search box above or by clicking on “Browse Groups” above the search box. Have fun!"

This is a great way to help stretch that mama budget, purge unneeded and unwanted items from your home, and keep things out of landfills. We hold periodic Swap Meet events in the spirit of Freecycle, so we can Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and socialize as well. At our next Swap Meet we are also collecting baby food and formula for UCM- Food banks are in desperate need of formula this year, and when they don't have enough, moms who aren't able to receive enough are sometimes forced to water the formula down to make it last. We all know how crucial the nutritional needs of these babies are at this age, so let's do what we can to help.