Frugal Family: Pizzas, Furnace Checks, Pilates and More

To spice up this week’s edition of Frugal Family, I cooked up an imaginary family in the Phoenixville area to demonstrate the ways you could save.

I’ll call them the Mugs, Tawny Mug and Mike Mug. Apologies if there are real people in Phoenixville named these names. I did not mean for that to happen, and the Mugs are named after an item on my desk.

Tawny’s on a mission to get some things knocked off her to-do list. Mike feels the same. With the weather turning just the slightest bit, it feels like that time of year where you should be finishing stuff up and ready to tackle new projects.

Last spring, Tawny took a quilting class, and she’s hoping to finally start a project of her own. She uses the deal below, picking up a slew of fat quarters to get rolling on the project.

On Monday, she becomes so involved in quilting she forgets to pick up something for dinner. No worries. Tawny heads to TD Alfredo’s Web site and orders a 12-inch pizza for $3.99.

With Monday gone, Tawny focuses on the rest of her to-do list. The furnace has been making some unpleasant sounds lately. She checks out deals, and finds that a furnace tune-up would set her back $74.99 with the deal below. Plus, they do a safety check, which is important during the winter months especially.

Meanwhile, Mike Mug glances at his own to-do list. He’d like to take some fitness classes, but wasn’t sure where to start. With the deal below, Mike signs up for three Pilates classes and gets back in the swing of his New Year’s resolution.

Then there’s the matter of getting the car inspected by the end of the month. Rather than forking out $80 or more, Mike prints out a coupon and garners a discounted rate of $39.99 total for the emissions and inspection.

Tawny’s got a quilt, a happy furnace and a full belly. Mike’s classes leave him energized, and his car is in the clear inspection-wise for another 12 months. The Mugs have it made.

▪                Deal: Fat quarter bundles are buy one, get one half off.

▪                Good through: Feb. 28

▪                More information: Chester County Quilting Web site

▪                Deal: 12-inch pizza for $3.99, day or night on Monday

▪                Good through: Only good Feb. 14

▪                More information: TD Alfredo’s Web site

▪                Deal: Three Pilates, yoga, Qui Gong or Tai Chi classes for $25 for first-time customers

▪                Good through: Sept. 30

▪                More information: Gateway Bodyworks Coupons

PHR Maintenance

▪                Deal: Furnace tune-ups and safety check for $74.99 with coupon

▪                Good through: Ongoing

▪                More information: PHR Maintenance Web site

▪                Deal: $39.99 total for state emissions and inspection

▪                Good through: Feb. 25

▪                More information: Print the coupon from the M & H Transmissions and Auto Repair Web site.