We bought a kit home and were very pleased! The walls come in 8-20 ft sections (they are expertly packaged and arrived in premo condition via barge to Alaska) and fit together great. The company has been around for over 25 years so it isn't a fly by night operation.

The kit included everything we needed to build the house from the sill plates on up to the roof. The interior and exterior walls were included (preconstructed) with the windows, vapor barrier and exterior siding installed. Exterior doors were also included. The kit cost us less than it would have cost to purchase the lumber to build our home and was much easier and faster to put up. The quality was excellent. When you get done you have a structure that looks like a stick built house. All the interior and finish work is left to do (wiring, plumbing, insulation, sheetrock, etc.).

They have lots of floor plans to choose from and you can modify a floor plan to meet your needs (within reason) very easily. The finished product is better than we ever imagined. I highly recommend checking them out. www.farwesthomes.com
Terri F.

more advice on how to reduce costs when building a home at www.stretcher.com/stories/00/001218a.cfm.

Preserving Floral Memories

I too, wanted to save an orchid, once. I went to a craft store (Michael's) and bought a canister of a flower drying desiccant. It not only worked quickly, but the orchid was preserved beautifully. I've since tried other flowers and fern leaves with good results. And the best part? It's reusable!
Shar

more suggestions for preserving your special flowers at www.stretcher.com/stories/00/001218b.cfm

A Clearly Beautiful Gift

I got this idea while shopping for Christmas tree ornaments to pass out as gifts in the office. In the store, I saw the prettiest display. Clear wine glasses (which were for sale) were filled with gold tinsel. The effect made the glasses sparkle, and looked absolutely gorgeous under the lights. I decided instead of purchasing gifts bags, I would purchase clear coffee mugs ($1 each), fill with gold tinsel, and put the ornament ($1 each) inside the mug and tinsel. Then I "fluffed" the tinsel to hide the ornament. The effect was gorgeous, especially under the bright office lights, and the "package" turned into another gift!
Lynn J.

more holiday gifts and traditions at www.stretcher.com/stories/00/001218f.cfm

More Shake per Bake

My family loves the taste of Shake N Bake on pork chops and chicken, but I hate to spend the money for only 2 uses per box. I've found that by mixing half the package of Shake N Bake with regular store brand bread crumbs I can get twice the amount of seasoning out of one box, and my family doesn't notice the difference! You won't have enough bags to do the shaking (they only enclose two) but I use a small bowl and turn the chops or chicken in it. Just follow the baking directions on the box and enjoy!
Jana S. in Anaheim, CA

Custom Picture Mats

I just repainted my living room, switching from blue to tan. Our wedding picture was framed and hanging over the fireplace. It was a large (16 x 20) mat with 8 x 10 photo. Instead of purchasing a new mat for the photo, I painted the mat the same tan color as the walls and it turned out wonderful. I could not have purchased a mat that matched so well!
Twyla H.

Recycled Gift Wrap Bags

Even though I find that wrapping paper isn't that expensive, my family and I started this 2 years ago. Everyone probably has a dollar tree or a dollar store around. They sell the gift bags any size for $1. Kmart or Target sell them for $4.99. We wrap the gifts in gift bags to the kids and to the adults. Not only are you saving on wrapping paper We make sure the next year we reuse them. I love getting the bags back. We love to say the dollar goes a long way.
Lori

Make an extra few bucks

I shop the thrift stores and buy books for 99 cents. Then I sell them on Ebay for anywhere between $5-$15. It really adds up by the end of the year. Pays for the groceries!
Chrissy B.

Christmas Treasure Hunt

Several years ago (I won't mention how many and give my age away) we had a modest Christmas tree and a modest budget to match. However, the big gift for my two children were bicycles that year. Bicycles that obviously wouldn't fit under the tree and no amount of wrapping would conceal the fact of what they were. I knew that if they saw those items first, the few remaining gifts would be overlooked in their rush to go outside and ride. What to do? My slightly devious mind came up with an answer very quickly - a treasure hunt! So that morning, Rebekah and Daniel were delighted to wake up to a tree with three modest gifts under it along with few extras from aunts and uncles sent from far away. They didn't seem the least bit bothered by the absence of their often-requested new bikes.

And as we always emptied the stockings last, they enjoyed going through their stockings to find candy, fruit, a couple of inexpensive knick- knacks, and a small mysterious box in the very bottom of each stocking! Upon opening the box, each found directions to another part of the house. At that location, they would find a piece of candy and directions to another place in the house, etc.! That morning I was treated to the incredible sight of my children scampering all over the house, crawling under tables and sofas, finding new directions, laughing and shrieking with each new discovery. My wife sat and laughed until she cried at their antics. The last two discoveries sent them to the back corner of our yard and then to the Christmas tree, giving me time to roll the bikes from the front porch to the tree and man the camera. The cost? A little thought and a few slips of paper and candy. The benefit? A priceless Christmas memory and a family tradition born before my eyes! It is now an annual tradition being carried on by both children their baby sister, and I assume one day I'll laugh as my grandchildren scamper to find directions and pieces of candy all over their homes as well.
Randall D.

Date Night

My husband and I have been married for 20 years and about 2 years ago, our marriage was in need of some real R&R. At the time our children were 16, 13 and 4 years of age. Little to say we hardly did anything just the two of us. So, we started having a "Date Nite" every Thursday. We make sure that this is a priority, all the other nights of the week are dedicated to children and responsibilities. Very seldom does anything come before our "Date Nite". We don't always spend money. Your article Cheap and Fun Dates inspired me to share this with your other readers. Date Nite has been the greatest thing for us. We do crazy things, run errands, go to the movies, star gazing, etc. Date Nite isn't meant to spend a lot of money, it is meant for us to be able to spend time with each other, enjoy each other's company and be able to carry on an adult conversation without getting interrupted constantly. So if you feel your marriage is in limbo, try this out and you will be amazed to find the Young Man or Young Lady you married all those years ago.
Bridget H.

Easy Arthritis Aid

If you have difficulty getting in and out of a car, try spreading a supermarket plastic bag on the seat. You may be able to slide in, turn, and bring your legs into the car more easily. I spent $20-some dollars on a turntable-seat-cushion combination and find the plastic bag works better! Don't use a large trash bag (i.e., Hefty, Glad); the bag or piece of plastic has to be small enough to slide and turn underneath you. Any suggestions on another use for the $20-some turntable-seat cushion?
Lina A.

Food Storage Containers

I save the glass bottles that foods like mayonnaise, pickles and mustard come in and use them to store leftovers. They don't take up as much room as a lot of food containers and you can see through them plus they have a tight lid.
Janice T.

Credit Card Avoidance

Wendy Lomano's article on earning money by using a credit card is great in theory, but using cash is the only sure-fire way to not overspend. My husband and I have almost always used our no-fee credit cards as charge cards: paying the balance in full each month. We used the cards almost exclusively (no cash or checks) with the thought that we were earning a cashback rebate for each dollar spent.p That sounds wonderful, but it didn't sound so great when we realized that we were spending $400 a month more than we really needed to because it was so simple to just pull out the card. When we went to a nearly cash only system we cut our monthly spending to the point where we are now able to make major principal payments on our car loan, and have cash in savings.

We started this just after the first of this year. Shortly after, my husband's salary was cut almost in half. This would have been devastating with our previous spending habits. Our savings took a hit, but our lifestyle actually changed for the better. Because we are much better stewards of our money now, it has not taken us months to recover from the cut now that his salary is edging back up. The extra money is going into savings now instead of into more "stuff."
Doreen

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