Readers' Tips

Drafty wood floors require carpeting during winter. A rug pad and carpet that covers as much of the area as possible will insulate the floors. You can find inexpensive remnants at discount stores, or a great way to find it for free is through Freecycle.org. Go to the website, find your area, and join for free by following the directions.
Golden

editor's note: many more great suggestions on how to reduce winter heating bills

Be aware that most insurance companies base their premiums in part on your "credit score." I have heard from many people that their insurance premiums have jumped dramatically in the last year. They called their carriers and found that the rates went up because their credit score dropped down from a good score to a mediocre or low score. Even when they went to higher deductibles, it did not make a dent in the premium.
Denise T.

How about dressing up as a favorite sports team? There's probably enough jerseys, t-shirts, etc. lying around to make a variety of costumes for a player, #1 fan, cheerleader (ask Dad to be the cheerleader if he has a good sense of humor!), sports reporter, coach, etc. If you have an infant, they could be the ball!
Heather

This relates to the "Replacement Value Insurance" article in the 10/10/05 issue.

Following a bad ice storm that knocked our power out for four days, we found out that our homeowners' insurance offered a rider covering the contents of our freezer. For a very small amount of money, we could have insured the food (about $400 worth) in our upright freezer. Of course, your deductible level should be taken into account when deciding whether to purchase a rider like this one.

Readers might want to ask their insurance agents whether this coverage is available to them and see if it's a good deal for them.
Sue T.

I thought of a great present for teens. Give movie passes. You can buy movie passes in any denomination. Present them in a popcorn bucket with a few boxes of candy.
Ray B.

In reference to the woman who complained about people saying she needed a "theme" for her baby, I told several people that my theme was "modern American working class." (tee-hee)
Deb

Our son just turned 8. His party was exciting. He handmade his invitations and mailed only the ones that couldn't be hand delivered. He offered his guests the option of donating to "his Hurricane Katrina fund" rather than buying him a gift. This saved his guests money and gave them a way to give to something they wanted to help anyway.

I made and decorated the cake. He likes to have his party in the church fellowship hall. This way, it's free and we don't lose money getting rained out of our park reservation. We decorated hats that went with his theme for party favors. Library books have great game ideas. Some decorations were re-used from past years. A pack of balloons served both for decorations and for the kids' favorite game. Balloons were tied to their ankles. They tried to bust the other balloons while protecting their own.
Ruth G.

My idea for a family set of Halloween costumes is the three bears. You can all wear brown and paint your faces. For the momma bear, wear an apron. Have the papa bear wear a tie. Baby bear's trick-or-treat basket may look like a pot of porridge.
Stephanie S.

My experience is that one rarely needs an original document but more frequently needs a copy (e.g. a birth certificate). Keep the originals in a safety deposit box at your bank. Keep copies in your home, which is presumably more vulnerable to fire, theft, water damage than a safety deposit box.
Tracy K.

Instead of a regular cake, I made a special cake for my ice cream loving dad. Take a half-gallon of ice cream in the rectangular package. Remove the carton and place the intact, frozen half-gallon on a serving plate. Using regular cake icing, ice and decorate the cake. Cover and freeze until solid. Serve as is.

It's a hit with young and old alike and is very inexpensive. I always decorate cakes for kids with figurines of their favorite characters. It's really easy to draw designs and words on the cake if you first draw it with a plain toothpick. Then it's just a matter of coloring inside the lines.
JD in St. Louis

I like to make white rice to stretch meals. I usually add some flavor to it by adding soup or salad dressing after it's cooked. When a bottle of dressing is empty, I add some hot water to it, shake it to get every last bit and use the "flavored water" to cook the rice.

Also, when making store brand macaroni-n-cheese (at 40 cents a box), I cook some additional macaroni (which I stock up on when it hits three one-pound boxes for $1) to stretch the macaroni-n-cheese just a bit more.
Brian

Last winter, my husband found out just how frugal I can be. We had a couple cafe curtains that were getting rotten from hanging in the sunny windows. I also had a king-size sheet (flat) that had a nasty stain from using it as a tablecloth on our huge table at Christmas. I cut the sheet to make "new curtains" and then I cut the old thin curtains into strips to stuff in the cracks of the windows. There was only the waste of the ruffles on the curtains. I just really love to make curtains from old sheets or even new cheap sheets. In our old historical 110-year-old brick house, the windows/storm windows still leak! So any way that I can keep the winter winds out is great.
Nan

When you're ready to cash in all the change you've been saving, the bank usually asks that you roll your coins. Before buying coin wrappers at the store, go to your bank and ask for them. They usually will give them to you free of charge simply for being a customer.
Jennifer B.

The more you have, the harder it is to keep up. I am a busy advertising executive, wife and mother who finally decided I have way too much stuff! I started on a mission to get rid of things I don't need. I tackled my living room by removing extra photographs and trinkets. The things I felt I could part with went to charity. I have no time for yard sales. The things I wanted to keep went into storage. I cleaned out, reorganized, and reordered my pantry. I put in a new more efficient storage system, so I could readily see and use what I have. I go through our bathrooms and bedrooms on a seasonal basis and clean out clothing and linens that are damaged or unused. I toss or give that away, too. Out-of-season clothing is folded and placed into plastic storage tubs.

When you are ready to purge, consider what your room will actually hold. Create a pile for keep, yard sale/charity, and garbage. Be brutally honest with yourself. Are you really going to wear it? Do you really like it? Do you have room? Does it fit? Do you need it? Have you actually used it? Use the toss and charity box system on a daily basis.

Remember that you only have so much real estate. If you purchase something new, replace something old. While you are working away, imagine all the extra time you will have when you no longer have to move all this stuff around.
Julie M.

I place leftover spaghetti noodles in a resealable bag and put the bag in the refrigerator. The next day, I make a lo mein stir-fry using the noodles. I usually saute chopped onion, a bell pepper, and some veggies. Sometimes, I add a little cooked chicken, other chopped cooked meat (like lunchmeat) or leftover scrambled egg. Then, I add in the noodles, a little soy sauce and a sprinkle of garlic powder.

I also add a beaten egg into a small pot of boiling chicken bouillon or broth to make egg-drop soup to go with the lo mein. My family really loves this.
Lois J.

I always love the creative costumes more than the store bought ones. My best idea is to go as Miss "____". You fill in the blank. Put on your biggest and most sparkly gown or dress and make a sash out of paper. If you are going to an office party, use the name of the company and you will be a big hit. I went as Miss Toxic Waste one year and glued a third eye on my forehead and made a third arm out of paper and pinned it to my back. Everyone laughed when they read my sash. Little girls can use the name of your town or city. No judges required to claim the title at Halloween!
Lisa G. in Santa Monica

I believe the consensus of the people who replied to Sandy's question about surveys is absolutely correct. There is no big money in doing surveys for cash, only pocket money. I have done surveys for several years. Once in awhile, you may get a chance to be in a focus group or a win a sweepstakes. I have never won a sweepstakes with paid surveys.
Belinda L.

editor's note: more comments on making money by taking surveys online

When we moved, we didn't bother to hook up our TV at our new house. With all the hassle of moving and reorganizing, we didn't make dealing with the TV antennae, connections, etc. a priority. We downsized. Lacking room on the main level, our TV ended up sitting in the basement. That's not an area of the house where we normally spend our time.

Our wonderful neighbors came over and introduced themselves, and our children were quickly distracted by their new friends. I am happy to report that in the ensuing two years, watching network TV has become a zero priority pastime at our house.

Our two children have taken the no-TV situation in stride. I'm not sure our youngest, age 7, even realizes what he's missing. I am so pleased to see him using his imagination to entertain himself. He gets up on weekend mornings and happily heads over to his box of Legos. And although our oldest (age 9) would watch TV in a heartbeat if allowed, we shoo him outside instead. On any given day, he's bound to run into neighborhood children to play with, or he'll ride his bike, or make a skateboard jump on the driveway, or run the hose into the sandbox to make rivers.

I am thrilled that the kids are not dependent on the passive entertainment provided by TV. And as a frugal mom, I'm also (thankfully) not dealing with a case of the "gimmes" brought on by exposure to TV commercials.

We didn't deliberately set out to avoid network TV. We live in a typical middle class suburban area, where I'm sure everyone else does have TV. We are not weirdoes; we are pretty much mainstream. It was merely coincidence that neither adult in our household wanted to bother hooking up the TV after we moved! But with all the inappropriate prime time content, I've concluded that our lack of network TV is no loss whatsoever. Indeed, I now see the no-TV situation as a bonus. Every now and then, my husband will comment about how much he misses PBS. But then I'll see him playing a board game with one of the kids and goofing around, and I'll realize things are much, much better this way.
Mary A. in Monticello, Minnesota

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