This tip comes from Valerie James. Here's my latest discovery: everyone has probably heard about using an appliance timer on your hot water heater, right? It keeps you from paying for water being kept hot when you don't need it. Well, I had read this in several places and decided to try it, but I didn't want to pay for a timer (I am REALLY cheap - and I'm only 23!). Anyway, my husband and I take our showers when we get home from work every day, so we just flip the breaker for the hot water heater when we come home (our breaker box is inside). It only takes about half an hour or so for the water to get hot, then we take our showers, wash dishes and do any (rare) hot-water laundry loads and then we turn it off. Easy enough! And it's only on for a couple of hours a day. The very first month we did this(July, I think) we saved over $20.00 !!!! So, for anyone who can't get to their breaker box easily, or just thinks they will forget to turn it on and off - the timer will pay for itself in a month or two! It is well worth the time and/or money you put into this.
This tip comes from Lianne Branovacki. My tip for saving money on medicine--become a member of a hospital foundation and earn the right to purchase medicine (prescription or non-prescription), at the hospital pharmacy at a discount of up to 50%.
This tip comes from Jocelyne and Ross Marino. I have a tip you might like to add to your list. If you have certain products that you like, see if their is an 800 number on the package and give them a call. I did this with Tropicana orange juice to tell them it was great and since they probably get more complaint calls, I figured they'd appreciate a compliment. Anyway, they did! They sent me coupons for FREE juice and also $.50 coupons for future purchases. Hope you give it a try!
This tip comes from Deborah Thorp. This is a favorite in our family for many reasons. First of all, it tastes
great! Secondly, it goes together quickly and easily - almost in the time
it takes for hubby to change his clothes and the kids to set the table.
Approx. 20- 30 minutes!
Bar-B-Que Baked Beans with Ground Meat
1 pound ground meat, (can be venison, beef or what ever)
1 large can of "pork-n-beans"
1 can kidney beans (optional)
1 onion, chopped
Bar-B-Que sauce, to taste
After browning the ground meat with the chopped onion, drain as much as
possible all the grease from the meat. Then dump the can(s) of beans in
with the meat and onion mixture. After this has simmered for about 5 - 10
minutes add the bar-b-que sauce to taste. Simmer all this for about 5 - 10
minutes stirring gently so that it doesn't stick to the pan.
I like to cook this in a corning ware dish so that it is literally a
one-dish meal - from the stove to the table. Serve this with fresh bread or
crackers. As you see this goes together very quickly!
This tip comes from Monica Woolley. This tip is for all those people that like their white clothes white.
No, I am not talking about using bleach. A porduct called SIMPLE GREEN
is excellent for doing whites. With the SIMPLE GREEN being concentrated
a little goes a long way. Don't let the smell scare you, it comes out. No
fading either! I know Ace Hardware carries it.
This tip comes from Diane Wahl. I had an expensive clear shower curtain with
Mickey Mouse on it that I had gotten on sale. It's 3 years
old but still looks good. Three of the ring holes ripped
through and the curtain was hanging crooked. My 12 year old
son is rough on some things. Anyway I tried to figure out
what I could use to fix it so that I wouldn't have to replace
it. I took the clear lid from a yogurt container I had saved
and cut 3 squares from it about 2/3 in. each. I punched a hold
in the center of each square and then hot glue gunned the squares
matching holes to shower curtain holes. Voila! It's held up for
3 months so far and you can hardly tell where the clear patches
are. I could have cut circles but I was thinking of more surface patch area.
This tip comes from Miss McFly
RV HOLDING TANK DEODORIZER
1 Cup Borateem
1/2 Cup Pinesol
3 TBSP. Ammonia
Pour above ingredients in a 1 Gallon Plastic Milk Container.
Add hot water to make 1 gallon of liquid. Use 2 Cups per tank!!!
We'll Match It! Many stores have this policy where they'll match competitors prices. Check with your local shops and see(restaurants too). It saves us a bundle at Wal-Mart.
From unknown. Before packing your kid off to a Cheap college, consider this: SOME colleges
have more money to offer as financial aide than others. This is especially
true
of many Ivy League schools (our son goes to the Ivy League at a cost that
ended
up LOWER than the cost of sending him to a State supported school!!!). Also
when
calculating the TRUE cost of college, don't forget to find out whether or
not the
school you are interested in provides guaranteed housing ALL FOUR YEARS!!!
Some guarantee housing for only the FIRST year of college, leaving your child
the the possibility of having to pay high rent to live OFF CAMPUS!!! This can
amount to an additional $9000 @ yr. if the college town has high rents (hint:
most
DO!!!).
This tip comes from Terry & Carey Larsen. In order to prepare for the birth of my son, nearly three years ago, I
made a huge batch of tomato sauces to freeze. It worked beautifully, so
I've continued. I buy 1 #10 can each of tomato sauce at Costco for
approximately $2.50 each. I saute ten or so chopped onions, and about
thirty cloves of garlic in olive oil. Add the cans of tomato sauce, and
diced tomato, and lots of black pepper, basil, oregano, and some salt.
After this has simmered for a while, I remove half of the sauce. I
freeze some in freezer bags to use as marinara sauce, and I freeze some
in ice cube trays to add to dishes that require just a bit of tomato
flavor (once they're frozen, I store them in a big freezer bag). I also
puree some to use as pizza sauce. Then I saute a few pounds of ground
beef and some sliced mushrooms to add to the other half of the batch of
sauce. This is frozen to use as spaghetti sauce and for making lasagna.
For less than $10.00 I am able to "put up" enough tomato sauce products
to last the family for several months. And there's no waste.
This week's tip comes from George K. I do like the big city Newspapers, but the sunday edition of the N.Y.
Times can cost $4 here in CA. So I stop by the local corner store on
Monday and pick up the unsold ones. I don't mind my "news" a day or
two old. I share any duplicates with the neighbors.
Saves tree too!
We were eating at a buffet style restaurant the other day and it reinforced the need to always keep your eyes open for new ideas. When the restaurant closes at night you know they don't throw the leftovers away (like corn, mashed potatoes, carrots, etc.). They use it for casseroles, soups and dishes like that. I saw several ideas I had not thought of. Remember to keep your eyes and ears open, because sometimes you can get tightwad tips from the strangest places.
This tip comes from someone who didn't leave their name. If you need kneepads for a dirty job, fold a used, padded mailing
envelope (the kind with the plastic bubbles inside) in half and tape
it together. This worked for me when my husband and I were laying
tile in our kitchen.
This tip comes from *wave*. Here is a tip for those credit cards with the 5.9% or so interest and
the card is fixing to change back up to 15 or 16%. Call the company and
tell them that you are about to cancel and get another card for 5.9%.
They will usually extend the 5.9% for another year. They want to keep
your business... and money.
This tip comes from Robin. Use empty plastic bags from cereal boxes as freezer bags after
the cereal boxes are empty.
This tip comes from Kristin Havens. My son was born last March. When he really began eating solid food
last summer and fall, I just didn't like the idea of giving him canned
baby food, let alone adding the cost to my budget. So, I buy fresh
fruits or vegetables when I can, (squash, sweet potatoes, carrots,
potatoes, yams) canned fruits packed in pear juice, and frozen
vegetables with no salt. I can often find coupons for the frozen
vegetables and canned fruits. I then purchased a mini food processor.
I mix and match vegetables in the chopper, spoon them into ice cube
trays, freeze them, and then place the cubes in labeled ziploc baggies
in the freezer. I do the same thing with fruits. I just steam the
vegetables to retain nutrients. I also steam chicken and freeze into
cubes. You'll need to mix in a bit of water to make the chicken or
vegetables smooth. Now, I just get out cubes of food to heat up for my
son, and I don't have to think about what I'm going to do with all those
baby food jars! I also take a bit of whatever I've made for dinner,
chop it up, and freeze it into cubes. It's very satisfying to me that I
know exactly what is in the food that my son is eating!
This tip comes from Ann Logue. In the interest of sharing
the wealth (is that the appropriate word?), here is my favorite frugal
idea: revive faded solid-color clothing, curtains, etc. by dyeing them.
I've had tremendous success in restoring perfectly good but faded black
jeans and curtains badly faded by the sun.
This tip comes from Gladys Strickland. Here is a tip I discovered a few years ago. After going through a blow dryer a year, I found that if I periodically clean off the air vents, I significantly extend the life of the blow dryer. I use tweezers to pull the lint off, but an old toothbrush would probably work as well.
This tip comes from Judith Garncarek. When I see a new product, such as a new convience food, cleaning product, baby food etc I always ask what did people do before this product? I usually find a more healthy, cheaper, and better quality way to fill the same need. I have enjoyed looking at my life and my money in this "new " light.
This tip comes from Sarah Lindamood. Telephone books constitute a major waste
problem in the US. I use them to make booster seats (bind tightly
with strong tape and cover with faric, old wallpaper, etc., and
to clean windows--they are only newsprint, after all. They are
great for packing material, coloring books for toddlers, etc.
This tip comes from Lori Richardson. An inexpensive way to remove eye makeup is to use a baby bath product. I use Johnson's Baby Wash, or something like that (I'm not sure of the exact name, but it comes in a big yellow bottle). I put a few drops of the solution on my fingertips, then rub it onto my eyelids. After removing the soap with water, the makeup is completely gone and it doesn't burn the eyes!
At approximately $1.50 to $2.00 per bottle, the product lasts a long time (I'm not even halfway finished with my first bottle, which I bought a year ago).
This tip comes from Roger DeMary. The main Supercuts location in Austin, Texas offers free haircuts to the public as
a means of training its new hair stylists. Is it a good deal? You bet. All
of the trainees are aleady licensed and trained to cut hair, they just need
to learn to do it according to company rules. A manager oversees the whole
thing. All I have to do is call and ask to make an appointment. I've used
them frequently, and have never had a bad cut yet. I even went there just
before my wedding. Now THAT's trust! I'd be willing to bet it works this way
all over the country.
This tip comes from Donna Richardson. I've found that Eckerd, Walgreens and Revco all have rebate programs.
Eckerd's and Walgreens' are in a monthly form and Revco's is a weekly
program. They always have items that are "free after rebate." I look
through the sale papers weekly and often have coupons for those items,
therefore "making money" on those items. Sometimes up to $2! It really adds
up. I keep a shelf in my laundry room full of all my free products. What we
cannot use, I give to friends and family members in need. I've also given
these items to families in my church who are going through difficult times
and people in my community who've lost everything in fires, etc. It started
out of necessity, but it has become a hobby and a ministry for me.
This tip comes from Sheila Longmore. I make my own jewlry cleaner by adding water, lemon juice and a small amount of amonia. Next I heat it in the microwave for about a minute and a half. Soak the jewlry, and clean with a old tooth brush. Your diamonds will sparkle, and it's much cheaper than the store bought stuff.
This tip comes from April Smith. In order for me and my
husband to save a little on the grocery budget, we have teamed up with
another couple. We get together once a month and cook like mad,
splitting everything down the middle, the grocery bill, the dinners, and
the cleaning. This works so well because most recipes are for 4 or more
people. (we have a 7 month old, they don't have children)
This tip comes from Annie. Here's my latest frugal pet project: We were looking for a "cat condo" for our new kitten, and were surprised at the expense of even the smallest ones. Making our own playhouse wasn't too hard (but it would turn Norm Abram pale). I used a cardboard display box with wide, precut handles - a pickup on the last trip to the warehouse club - and covered it inside and out with two bathroom rugs that were losing their non-slip backing. I hot-glued the backing to the box, making the inside and outside nice and soft and fun to play in. To add height, I covered three old telephone books in remnant fabric and glued the carpeted box on top. The kitty loves her new home - and we love the money we saved. I made the box in about two hours on a rainy Sunday.
My mothers eye doctor tells her that one of the best things to clean makeup from around the eyes is diluted baby shampoo.
This tip comes from Linda of San Francisco. If you buy dry cereal in boxes (using coupons and store specials of course) use the package liner for waxed paper. Wiped off and cut in half it makes a perfect substitue for waxed paper you buy in rolls. I even roll it around a cardboard roll such as the kind found at the end of the paper towel roll and secure it with a rubber band.
This tip comes from B. Lodgett. Save cereal boxes to be recycled for gift boxes.
Just open the bottom end and store flat.
Here's a sample of some of the answers to last weeks question about what to do with leftover soap slivers. Thanks for the tremendous response.
Put the soap bits in a quart jar with water and make your own liquid
soap.
If you or someone you know sews you can use soap "slivers" to mark fabric for
cutting when sewing. It makes a fine line and washes right out!
Save them and mix with a little water and melt in a sardine can to form new bars.
For the left over soap bars dilema, how about using gauze fabric
and tieing the soap inside for a disposable loofa type scrubber for bath or shower?
Sew a bag from a washcloth, leaving one side open and stuff the soap silvers into it. Proceeed to scrub!
We place them in a small amount of boiling water(bring to a boil and
remove from stove) after it is disolved and cooled we pour it in our
liquid soap dispensers..
Using soap slivers: 1) put one sliver in a jar with water, shake-give the kids the bubble blowing sticks. 2) slit side of a sponge open, insert sliver, wash car,dog,kids,windows. 3) Grate sliver into hot water wash one largish sliver will do a load. 4) Shave the different colours into an attractive jar use in the bathroom as "bubble bath". 5) Give the sliver to the kids in the kiddie pool a)cleans the kids b) cleans the pool c) at least an hour of fun d)doesn't hurt the grass (good for it, actually)e) waters the lawn. 6) Put sliver/water/cloth in peanut butter jar use during long car trips for sticky fingers.
I use leftover soap bits outside. I hang soap bits collected in the toe
of an old nylon stocking from my back porch along with an old towel and
a short length of garden hose running into an old bucket. This
combination creates an instant clean up area my children can use BEFORE
they track it all into my house. I'm a tightwad and I hate to clean!
Put small soap bars in dresser drawers. Keeps clothes smelling fresh. Put
in containers of screws & bolts, lubricates threads & slows corrosion.
Scratch old bar of soap with fingernails before greasy or dirty projects. A
little soap under nails make washing up much easier.
To use small pieces of leftover soap, I put them into a small bag made of nylon netting that I tie in knots at both ends. This can scrub the skin and it feels great! The netting can be reused over and over.
I read in a book some years ago a suggestion for using leftover soap slivers.
It's been years, and I don't remember the exact measurements, but with a
little common sense the end result will still be the same. The author saved
her soap slivers in a clean glass jar. When she had accumulated an adequate
amount, she poured boiling water in the jar and dissolved the soap into a
mild "liquid soap" suitable for handwashing. Another suggestion I have heard
over the years is to make sachets with them for dresser drawers.
You can put the old soap slivers in a mug. When the mug fills up use a
shaving brush with the mug to make a foamy solution to shave your legs.
I remember my dad having a can under the sink & depositing all the soap fragments in it. He added water when it was full & got the soap all soft. Then he pressed it down and drained off the excess water. I don't remember how he got the soap out of the can. (sorry) This mass of soap would have to cure again so it would be hard enough to use without becoming a gummy mess. Another option is to grate the small pieces into a container, then use the fine gratings in a dish near the sink, or in a shaker type container. Personally, I open all my bars of soap when I get them, and then put them in drawers & on closet shelves....... for months!! This will cure the soap so it can be used down to the last piece without it getting soft. Soap manufacturers wrap their soap just so it stays soft, so it will get used up sooner.........so, yes, we will buy more. By doing this, I don't have soap that isn't used up......but, it takes ages to use a bar using this method.
Save up the ends until you have what looks like a bar's worth. Place them in a small flat-bottomed container. Microwave on low, watching constantly, until it looks soft, melted and a bit bubbly. It doesn't take long, maybe 30 seconds. Take the dish out and with a butter knife, shape the soft soap into a bar. When cool, pull it off the container bottom.
Hope this helps!
I recall a nylon washcloth-like pouch that you'd slide the slivers into
and would have a washcloth and soap in one.
If nothing else, drop them in the toilet and let them desolve. Then
scrub the toilet.
Cut off the bottom 12" from a stocking and put all the leftover
bits of soap in it. After a dozen bars you tie the end of the stocking
and hang it in the shower - your very own soap on a nylon rope!
Thanks for all the responses to what to do with newspaper plastic bags. Here's some of the ideas that came in.
I use the plastic bags from newspapers to pick up gross stuff, like
dirty diapers, dog poop, anything you want to pick up, but not touch.
Pick up whatever it is, then pull it in to turn the bag inside out and
remove it from your arm. Then tie the end and chuck it.
Keep a bag with your umbrella in the car so that your wet umbrella doesn't
drip all over the car and leave a wet,mildew smell.
Why not cancel the newspaper and go to the library or a coffee shop that has
newpapers out when you want to read it. Cheaper and easier on the environment
too.
I use our when I clean the catbox. Need I get more graphic, eeww??
It saves the use of a new bag, permits me to discard less plastic than if I used a sack from the grocery, and as long as it is, I can tie a slip=knot in the top, keeping odors and, er, debris well inside.
Probably I shouldn't bag 'em at all, but chucking them directly in the wastecan isn't always an option.
As for the plastic bags that your newspaper comes in - we use them for lunchbags to take our lunches to work
We use the plastic newspaper bags to dispose of dirty diapers. If you tie a knot in the bag (with the diaper inside) it keeps the outside trash cans from stinking. The price of "diaper disposer" bags at Wal Mart was almost $3.00, and the newspaper bags are free, almost, since we got our newspaper subsctiption at half price
Cut into long strips, crochet into doormat. (Ends stick together easily
when slightly moistened)
Save them and give them back to the paperboy
Use them as disposable gloves for dirty jobs
Make a wreath from them. Fashion a circle from a wire coat hanger. Cut
the bottom out of the bags leaving a tube. Cut the tube to the desired
length and tie them onto the wire circle, pushing them close to each other as
you add them on. This yields a rather fluffy looking wreath.
I read on another list to tie them together & use as "twine" to tie up
your newspapers for reclying.
Sew several bags together lengthwise with heavy thread, like fishing line. Spray paint in holiday or seasonal color(s) and use as decorative banner, too high for pets or kids to get to.
To assign chores among family members, write down different chores on small pieces of paper. Put the papers in the bag, and have everyone pick a paper.
Use the bags to keep together household items like paper clips. As long as they're kept in a drawer, they pose no threat to kids or pets and when they get old, replace them.
Using a permanent marker, carefully draw a face (eyes, mouth, et cetera) on one side of the bag. Create puppet shows to entertain the family, avoiding the expense of a movie, popcorn and soda, dinner out, and a babysitter. If you do this a lot, you can create a "Cast of Characters," with different looks and personalities. Cut a couple chunks of hair off of family members with different colored hair and use them to make hairdos for the puppets. Old buttens and bits of fabric can be used to simulate clothing, and helium from leftover birthday balloons is good for doing different voices (though take care not to use too much helium, it can be dangerous).
Here's a thought for your consideration...
Cancel your subscription to the daily newspaper.
Okay, I know it's drastic, but what do you REALLY need that
landfill clogger for? And a daily plastic bag adds insult to
injury.
Eight years ago, I left my job as a public info rep and went
to work in a university print& graphics dept. After 6 years of
required reading of 7 regional dailies and weeklies, I had enough
of newspapers, but it took me a couple of years to taper off.
When they started offering subscriptions to the local weekend paper, I
dropped the mon-fri. Didn't miss a thing. Then they split up the
sat and sun, so I dropped the saturday. Finally, when I realized how
much precious time I lost reading JUNK! on beautiful sunny, sunday
mornings, I dropped the sunday paper too. Been paperless for at least
4 years now and it is so nice - especially on recycling day! Everything
I need to know is on local news. I immediately felt like I'd reclaimed
a lost part of my life.
For those newspaper employees who read this, sorry, but maybe it's time
for things to change.
