If, like me, you find yourself coming up empty more often than not during your early morning closet search for something that will make you feel cute, or your kids are growing like weeds and you can’t keep up with their need for new shoes every month, read on.

Leading the trend of “frugal’s the new black,” clothing swap parties are hot. Suzanne Agasi, Founder and DIrector of Clothing Swap, Inc. gets a lot of publicity for hosting pampering spa-like clothing swaps in major cities. But what’s a woman anywhere else to do  when she needs new clothes and is on a tight budget? Send out an email to all of her like-minded friends and fellow moms and have a clothing swap of her own!

There’s no better feeling than enjoying a shopping spree with friends, without spending a penny! In my local online mom’s group, we have a biannual kids clothing and gear swap. I really get into this, boxing up about a hundred pieces of gently worn items, I leave it with one of the coordinators, and on the appointed day (marked in a big red marker on my calendar) I’m one of the first in the door of a fellow member’s house that’s been transformed into a shopping center. It’s total mayhem, but with my credit for 100 items, I power shop for the coming year. Once I’m done, I catch up with the other women over a coffee and bagel.

For my own very picky fashion sense, I get together with a group of like-minded friends for a little potluck party a couple of times a year. Whoever is hosting sends out an email invite, setting an evening where we all bring a snack or beverage and as many items of “nice” clothing as we’d like to trade. Not the dowdy stuff, but the skinny jeans we honestly haven’t been able to wear for a year and the blouse that’s bursting at the buttons that we may have a hard time parting with; but we’re more willing because we know they’ll be appreciated by friends. What results is not only a fun (and funny, when everybody’s fighting over those great designer jeans) night out with a bunch of friends, it’s a major wardrobe overhaul for all of us.

Organize it any way you like – my friends and I just put pants in a pile, sweaters in another, shoes in another, and one person is assigned to hold up one piece at a time, describe it with help from the woman who brought it, and whoever wants it  raises her hand. If more than two people want the same item and they can’t hash it out, or if it comes down to it, each one tries  it on, and the group votes for who it works better for. Even when that happens, it’s important that the vibe is friendly and fun, not competitive.

For both of these events, the leftover clothes are donated to a local charity. So nothing is wasted, nothing is spent, and everybody’s happy.

I also recently found out about an online swap site called swapstyle.com, where all swaps are free. There are really nice things on there too, from all over the world (I found a beautiful shift dress from Australia!). You simply search for what you want, and when you see an item you like, you email the person who posted it, and if they like any of your posted itms that are within the same value range, the two of you make a swap. If she’s not interested in any of the stuff you’ve posted but you just have to have that dress, or those boots, most swappers offer an option to buy as well (a reasonable second hand price, normally).

So if you’re feeling frumpy as the new season approaches, don’t let it get you down. Instead, throw a party and invite a bunch of well dressed friends, or jump online and check out what the world has to offer for free!

Think coupons are confusing, overwhelming, not worth it, or just don’t know where to begin? All of the above? That was me, and I’ve read a lot about coupons! It wasn’t until I was invited to a Be Centsable coupon party/workshop last week and got a real soup to nuts education that I realized how simple it is to use coupons effectively for unbelievable savings.

This was not a seminar for well seasoned diehards looking for obscure sources. Our educator, Amy D’Agrosa—a 27 year old single woman with a full time job and a need to save—was both practical and passionate about couponing, calling it an empowering tool at every woman’s disposal to take back financial control in an economy where so much is out of our hands. And the evening was not only fun (hors d’oeuvres and wine were served, and stories swapped) it was seriously eye opening. None of us had any idea how accessible such huge savings were– that with just a little bit of know how, it’s possible to walk out of a store with money in your pocket and a bag of groceries. I don’t even have a stash of excellent coupons, but my first time shopping, I saved $24 at CVS! Now that I’ve started culling coupons and plotting out this week’s sales in the circulars, I have a feeling this week’s will be the cheapest grocery bill in my household ever.

If you’re not already saving near 60 percent on pharmaceuticals and 40 percent on groceries, consider attending one of these workshops. They’re available all over the country, and even online. Borrowing on the concept of home parties, you pay $25 (for a single person or a couple), and what you get is an education that pays — in the form of an evening jam-packed with valuable money-saving skills as well as an online membership to the becentsable blog, which lists weekly grocery and pharmacy deals all over the country, tips and tricks for savings, printable coupons, an outline of the lesson you learned at your meeting, reader comments and tips and more money saving resources. Amy insisted that we’d make our $25 back in the first couple of shopping trips, and I can already attest that it’s true. Go to BeCentsable.net to sign up or find out more information.

Here are some of the tips I learned:

* Start culling coupons. The major manufacturers place coupons in most Sunday papers—look for inserts by Red Plum, Smart Source, Procter & Gamble & General Mills.

* Print online coupons. First make sure your grocery store accepts them, and then find a wealth of coupons on Web sites. You have to download software to get them, and then there’s a limit to how many coupons you can print (usually 3). Amy vouched for coupons.com, and I know couponmountain.com.

* Never use a coupon alone. Save it until the item is on sale, so you can get more than the value printed on the front of it. From buy one get one free deals to coupon doubling to clearance and sale items to rebates to combined store and manufacturers coupons, always use your coupon in conjunction with another way to save.

* Use circulars in the Sunday paper to get the sales for the week at your local stores, and pull out the coupons to use with those sale items. Make your shopping list based on as many of those items as possible.

* Don’t be fooled by the picture. Sometimes a coupon will have a photo of a brand’s most expensive line, say Dijon mustard instead of the plain yellow. But usually, you can use that same coupon to buy the cheaper mustard – that isn’t even pictured! Buy the mustard you want, and scan the coupon — more often than not, it will be accepted.

* If it scans, it’s good. If you’re not sure whether a coupon will be accepted, try to scan it, rather than involving the cashier, who may not know. If it’s not accepted but you think it should be, ask to speak with the store’s manager.

* Combine manufacturers and store coupons for one item. The savings could be so good that the store pays you for buying the item, not the other way around (you could actually get a refund if both of the coupons total more than the cost of the item.)

* Use the self-checkout. When you become an expert couponer, you can save so much that it may raise the eyebrows of a cranky clerk—even though it’s completely legal. You can avoid this by scanning the groceries and coupons yourself. If the scanner beeps when you wave the coupon’s bar code over the scanner, it’s accepted by the store. No argument necessary.

* Bring out your coupons at end of a sale, rather than presenting one with each item, again, to avoid raising eyebrows about how much money you’re savings in some cases.

* Be your own advocate. If you’re having trouble with a confused cashier (what? I’m paying you money to buy this item?), it helps to speak with the manager, who has some power. As long as you’re respectful and kind, you’re likely to have success. Remember it’s a negotiation, and more often than not, they’ll work with you.

* Take advantage of rebates. They’re no longer a hassle, now that all you have to do is to go to the store’s online site and punch in some numbers from your receipt. You can make a lot of money this way.