Ms Cheap

Ms. Cheap: Let’s minimize this crazy food waste


You have probably seen the numbers that show that a third of all food in the U.S. goes uneaten. Statistics show that a family of four spends a whopping $1,500 per year on food that does not get eaten. And I suspect the total is even higher than that. Not only is that just an unconscionable waste of precious food […]

Ms. Cheap: Future brides can save money by saying ‘yes’ to the Goodwill wedding dress


With the average cost of a wedding dress being $2,000, finding a sale like the annual Goodwill Wedding & Formal Gala sale can be a real wedding gift! The annual sale, which features more than 700 bridal gowns at prices ranging from $49.99 to $399.99, will take place Saturday, March 23, at Goodwill’s Rivergate area store at 2101 Gallatin Rd. […]

Ms. Cheap: American Legion Auxiliary tree sale offers bargain for plants


Buying nursery grown trees and shrubs for $25 each and at the same time supporting a veterans group has to be a winning combination. Yes, the American Legion Auxiliary’s Unit 281’s annual tree sale is a popular sale for homeowners and landscapers. “People started calling about the sale in January,” said Kathy Leedy who organizes the massive popup sale, which […]

Ms. Cheap: Visit Phillips Toy Mart’s cute bunnies while they are in the store


Every year as Easter approaches, Phillips Toy Mart brings in a fluffle of bunnies to entertain customers. The touchy-feely live rabbit display is a Nashville Easter season tradition which started generations ago when McClure’s department store set up a live bunny pen on its sales floor every Easter season for customers to enjoy. “People love it,” said Cynthia Phillips Strinich, […]

Ms. Cheap: My 30 years as Ms. Cheap have been a priceless joy


As I celebrate 30 years of writing my Ms. Cheap column, I think of all the wonderfully  creative cheap people I have met, and the inexpensive places I have visited and featured in my column over the years. There is no way to list all of them in this anniversary piece and I am sure there will be some notable […]

Ms. Cheap: Now is the time to shop at the Garden Patch Thrift Shoppe in Murfreesboro


I wrote a column a while back about the importance of knowing when to shop at certain thrift stores. Of course, thrift shops are known for their bargains all the time but the primo time to shop at the Garden Patch Thrift Shoppe in Murfreesboro is now. The fall and winter storewide sale with most items 50 percent off is […]

Ms. Cheap: Designer Finds ladies consignment shop celebrates 20 years of bargains in Green Hills


I have no idea what the average life of a local consignment store is, but I know what when one of these stores celebrates 20 years in business, it is a big deal. That is the case with Designer Finds, the Green Hills area high end ladies consignment boutique that Deb  Pursley and her daughter Meg Ingram opened in the […]

Ms. Cheap: Centennial Café is a longtime favorite for delicious, affordable breakfasts and lunches


These days, finding a great restaurant lunch for under $10 is a stroke of luck. Enter the very busy 24-year-old Centennial Café in the Nations area of Nashville, which feeds a steady stream of customers and offers a changing daily menu of under $10 meat and veggie choices at lunch. The meat plates include one meat and three veggies for […]

Ms. Cheap: Yard Sale Store(s) are dream spot for bargain hunters


The notion of an everyday yard sale is a dream come true for a bargain hunter like me. Just think, a place where I can go almost any day and browse for bargains. Yes, Middle Tennessee’s Yard Sale Stores are right up my alley. But FYI – the  stores are not technically yard sales. There is none of that used […]

Ms. Cheap: Make those gift cards work for you (before they expire)


I do love to luck up and find an unused gift card. It’s like free money. So, when I discovered a nice $25 gift card to McCabe’s Pub during the after-Christmas cleanout of my desk, I was thrilled and motivated to use it ASAP because the restaurant had just announced that it would be closing. So, my brother and I […]

Ms. Cheap: The 2023 Thanksgiving Day Boulevard Bolt raised $230,000 to help the homeless


If you wonder how much money the 2023 Thanksgiving Day Boulevard Bolt raised to help local homeless organizations, I have good news for you. “This year we gave over $230,000 away to 45 non-profit organizations who work directly with our homeless neighbors or who provide services and resources to keep individuals and families from becoming homeless,” said Molly Craig, coordinator […]

Ms. Cheap: Penny Drive keeps raising funds ($62K last year) for Second Harvest Food Bank


Once again, the “every penny counts” approach has paid off for the Ms. Cheap Penny Drive for Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee. Thanks to so many generous people and companies, Penny Drive this past December raised $61,933 for the food bank, which translates into almost 248,000 meals for our hungry neighbors. The Penny Drive, which we started in […]


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