This weekend, Tony and I are getting out of the house. I was able to get free tickets to an independent film festival through my work, so we’re spending the weekend watching movies. Usually this type of thing isn’t my cup of tea, but I knew my movie buff husband would love it, so we picked out some movies that look good to both of us. I’m just excited to get out of the house without spending any money.

At some point between film screenings we’ll have to fit in our regular weekend errands, including groceries, the last of our Christmas shopping, and cleaning. Hopefully we’ll have time to get it all done!

It’s been a great week in my reader. Here are some of my favorite posts to kick off the weekend:

• J.D. at Get Rich Slowly has 34 do-it-yourself Christmas gifts. There are lots of great ideas here, and the best part is they seem easy enough that anyone could do them.

• Trent at the Simple Dollar has a compilation of the 25 best money-saving tactics. This is a great place to start if you’re just getting started with the frugal lifestyle.

• Lynnae at Being Frugal shared an interesting guest post from Amy at My Daily Dollars about how blogging helped her save $13,000 without bringing in any direct income. It’s hard to quantify, but I know blogging has helped me save thousands and given me the tools to save thousands more in the future.

• Paid Twice shares five concrete ways to pay yourself first. Saving takes a lot of discipline, but these are surprisingly easy ways to stash a few bucks in savings quickly.

• Simple Mom cools off house fever with a long term plan. We’re already looking ahead to a house purchase even though it’ll be years before we can do it, and having a solid plan in place makes it easier to wait.

• When Emily at Remodeling this Life wants to get away, she looks to her own town for fun tourist activities. Sometimes there’s a lot of frugal fun right under your nose.

• Kelly at Almost Frugal shares a guest post from Nicole at Breaking Even about how losing weight can save you money. It’s amazing how much getting healthy can save, not just in food and bad habits but also in health care costs down the road.

• Penelope Pince at Pecuniarities writes life is too short to sleep on low thread count sheets. I’m constantly asking myself where I should cut corners and what’s worth a little extra money. I think bedding is one of those things that’s worth a little extra money. Of course, if you shop around and look for a deal, you’ll be surprised at how little you pay for high-quality sheets.

Whew! Lots of great posts to read. I’m off to the movies (after work of course). Happy Friday!