Thoughtful Gift Ideas That Cost Nothing (Or Almost Nothing)

Spritz Circular Rope Decorative Easter Basket

Of course, you've gotta start with a cute Easter basket. This bunny-shaped one from Target kicks off your gift with so much cuteness!

Trü Frü Dark Chocolate-Covered Hyper-Dried Raspberries

Sweets are an Easter basket must, no matter how old you are! These dark chocolate-covered bites made with real fruit are downright addicting, plus gifting them can be a good way to depart from the more traditional Easter candy options.

Tree Hut Jelly Bear Shea Sugar Scrub

A little self care never hurt anyone! In fact, adding a bath goodie (like this heavenly-smelling sugar scrub) will truly impress any adult around the busy Easter season.

Mario Badescu Moisturizing Lip Balm

Everyone needs a reliable lip balm to tote around. Luckily, this $6 one is formulated with ultra-nourishing shea butter, coconut oil, and sweet almond oil.

Sojos Retro Chunky Rectangle Sunglasses

These butter yellow sunnies are undeniably trendy for the spring season, plus they easily make a style statement for less!

Threshold Easter Bunny Tea Cup & Saucer

This mug and saucer duo from Target reminds us of something you could find at Anthro, but it's only $7! Gift it alongside some tea bags or coffee, and your Easter basket's set!

Everspring Lavender & Bergamot 100% Soy Wax Candle

This candle filled with lavender and bergamot is the perfect spring scent. Plus, it's made of 100% soy wax, so it's a clean burn.

KitchenAid Gingham Oven Mitt Set

These gingham oven mitts are ideal for the home cook or baking enthusiast in your life. You can snag this set of 2 for $9!

Lush Follow The White Rabbit Bath Bomb

Lush always has the best seasonal bath gifts. This bunny-shaped bath bomb is just $7 and delivers the satisfying scents of both fruity bergamot and bright Sicilian lemon oil, all while exploding into an adorable palette of spring colors.

Gigglescape Baguette Stuffed Figure

Hon hon, we are simply obsessed with this Parisian baguette stuffy. You simply cannot be too old for a cutie such as this!

NYX Fat Oil Lip Drip Vegan Lip Oil

This luscious lip oil is a total fan-favorite since it delivers a good amount of pigment while retaining the perfect shine. Your bestie will use it every day!

Trader Joe's Break Apart Bunny

This unique chocolate bunny from TJ's is filled with a medley of sweet and sour pea- and carrot-shaped gummy candies that make Easter snacking even more fun.

La Marca Prosecco Sparkling Wine Mini Bottle

It's not an Easter basket for adults without a little bubbly! You can grab this mini bottle from Target for only $7.

Use a Grocery List

Buy In Bulk On Sale Items

So many things freeze beautifully. When items that you use regularly are on sale, from bread to butter to meat, snap them up in bulk. Although the savings seems minimal, when you add it up over a year’s worth of purchases, the amount of money you keep in your pocket will be significant. Plus, if you buy in bulk, you’re always guaranteed to have your favorite ingredients on hand.

Stockpile In The Freezer Section

If you’re doing things right and stockpiling, then you’re going to make good use of your freezer. Although we want to eat our favorite fruits and vegetables year-round, buying things in season is significantly cheaper, which means that when these items are affordable and available you’re going to want to stock up. Even if you’re buying pre-frozen fruits and vegetables, you’re saving money, and the research shows that you’re not losing any nutrients by doing so.

Shop In Season

Enjoy More Casseroles

Casseroles do not belong in the 1950s. In fact, they are every bit as valuable today as they were 70 years ago. Why? Because they’re a healthy and delicious way to stretch out pricier ingredients and feed more mouths. You could feed each person one chicken breast or you could use two in an entire casserole which will feed you both for dinner and leave you with leftovers for lunch the next day. If you’re not sure where to begin, find tons of Brit + Co casserole recipe inspiration.

Use Herbs and Spices

Scenting your meals with a handful of herbs and spices is a good way to add a lot of flavor with little extra cost. Bonus points if you grow your own herbs. Also, you should definitely be buying spices in the international section of the store. I recently noticed that an ounce of cloves costs $3.79 in the spice aisle but 99 cents in the international section.

Go Meatless Most Days

Meatless Mondays are all fine and dandy, but if you really want to save a few extra dollars, you need to make more than one day of the week meat-free. Not to mention, it’s better for your overall health to eat less meat. Studies show that people who eat less meat have a lower risk of dying from cancer, heart disease, and other chronic illnesses. So you’ll be doing something good for your wallet, and your well-being to boot.

Get Cash Back On Groceries

Credit cards, like Credit One Visa and American Express offer cash back on groceries — a simple win for saving cash when grocery bills are higher than ever.

Is Meryl Streep in the Narnia cast?

Meryl Streep is reportedly in talks to voice Aslan in Greta Gerwig's Narnia movies. The casting rumor first broke on March 31, leading some people to wonder if it was an early April Fool's Day joke, until Deadlineconfirmed the rumor on April 3. Fans of the book have called the choice everything from "interesting" to "cruel," and the conversation revolves around one particular question: are they making Aslan female?

A lot of Narnia fans were taken aback by the rumor about Meryl Streep because of the fact Aslan is an allegory for Jesus (referred to in the Bible as the Lion of Judah) — especially since Aslan's mane is such an integral part of the series, and lioness' typically don't have manes.

When the White Witch sacrifices Aslan on the Stone Table in The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, she shaves off his mane in an attempt to shame him and strip away his identity as King of Narnia. Lucy Pevensie hiding her face in his mane in Prince Caspian plays a huge role in bolstering her courage and faith, and the mane even comes into play during The Last Battle before (spoiler alert) Narnia gets destroyed.

'Narnia' fans have a lot of opinions about a female Aslan.

The most iconic visual of the Narnia series, arguably more than the wardrobe or the lamppost, is Aslan's mane. "If it’s true that Aslan has been changed to a female lion in the upcoming film, it’s deeply troubling that the filmmakers would make the choice to visually distance itself from The Chronicles of Narnia as it has always been known to its fans and the public imagination," one Narnia fan wrote on NarniaWeb. "It would be hard to look at a decision like that and not think that they were deliberately disassociating from the Narnia canon."

Another fan on NarniaWeb points out that having Meryl potentially voice a male Aslan "would be a fine way to convey the genderless nature of the soul. Aslan transcends all of that and was never bound by the idea of duality in the way that the ‘fallen’ believe they are."

@bereckerwentviral for his claim that fans who are upset about the casting simply "hate women" (yes, some of the backlash to Meryl's casting rumor has been atrocious). "I would like to officially say that if I die, I would be more than honored if Meryl Streep were to play me in my biopic, she’s the greatest to ever do it," he said in the comments.

"Meryl was hired based on merit. She’s the best," another Instagram user said in the comments.

However, Netflix hasn't confirmed Meryl Streep as Aslan.

Let the record show that, as of writing this story on April 7, Netflix hasn't actually confirmed anything about the movie outside Greta as director and Atonement cinematographer Seamus McGarvey as Director of Photography. Whether the film is a The Magician's Nephew adaptation, whether Daniel Craig is playing Uncle Andrew, and whether Meryl Streep is actually voicing Aslan are speculation at this point.

As one viral tweet puts it, "Increasingly convinced Greta either has no idea what she wants to do with this movie or has a vision so incredible nobody else can see it." Stay tuned for official casting announcements!