Readers' Tips
The best time to buy a "new to you" truck is at the end of the
month. Salespeople have quotas to meet and can be very lenient
toward the last of a month and the last of a quarter. The very
best time to buy is at the end of the year. The staff needs to
meet their goals for the year. So there is extra pressure on
them with end of the month, end of the quarter and end of the
year facing them. I bought a two-year-old Jeep at the end of
December and got a very good deal. I had the staff fill up the
gas tank and put a new inspection sticker on the vehicle too.
This did all this before I signed on the dotted line. Don't
appear to eager. Take your time and research you intended
purchase. Most of all, make it fun.
Deborah
more suggestions on when and how to get the best deal on a used truck
Spring gardening is on the way and along with it comes dirty
hands. I take an old "knee-hi" stocking, put in a bar of soap,
and tie the stocking to my outside/hose water faucet. This
allows us to wash up before we come in and saves cleaning up a
messy sink. I keep it there all summer as it is especially
helpful when the kids need to wash their hands before coming
in for lunch.
Alice in Somerdale, NJ
Instead of buying expensive facial cleansers and moisturizers,
try making a little baggie of oatmeal with old panty hose. Tie
it off and wash your face with it. You will be amazed.
Amanda W.
Don't sign up once for utilities (cell phone, electric,
phone/internet/cable, etc.) and then think you're "set." About
twice a year, I call these companies and see if I've got the
"best deal" or if they're running a special at that time.
Sometimes it entails switching electric companies to get the
absolute best rate, which I've done half a dozen times now.
Sometimes I've gotten gift cards, rebates, and free cell phone
minutes. It doesn't hurt to ask, and it only takes a few
minutes. And I always remind them how long I've been a loyal
customer that pays on time!
Deb C.
Baby shampoo is a great multi-purpose product, and you can buy
a very large bottle for a dollar or less at discount and
dollar stores. It works as a no-tears shampoo for everyone in
the family, but it's also recommended for washing sweaters. I
use it to wash delicates that I don't want to put in the
machine. It's a gentle body wash too, especially if you hang a
nylon-net body washer nearby to make nice suds. I take a small
bottle (refill a sample size bottle from your larger one) with
me on camping trips to wash body, hair, hands, and even
dishes. It's also great for washing babies. A friend told me
her Pediatrician recommended it as a baby wash as well as
shampoo.
Teri K.
We have a nightly routine of songs, prayer, and sometimes
stories before bedtime. On average, it takes about 20 minutes.
I found a great site to make rice heating pads
and made some
with scrap clothe and rice. We use these on a daily basis. I
warm each rice bag in the microwave for a couple of minutes
and place it between their mattress and fitted sheet under a
blanket. By the time the routine is finished, it's warm in bed
but won't burn them. The rice isn't too bumpy to make them
uncomfortable and they always have a nice warm spot to come
back to when they get a little cold (my kids toss and turn a
lot). They stay warm all night.
Lisa L.
With milk in our area topping more than $4 per gallon, you would think that milk for our large family would be the biggest item in our food budget. As we can easily consume 1 1/2 gallons per day, it is still a significant cost, but we've brought the total price down with just a little extra effort.
I purchase powdered milk in bulk. The price varies across the nation and is tied to liquid milk prices, but I can use the powder to make a gallon of milk for 86 cents. The milk from powder has all of the nutrition but none of the fat.
The problem is that to most people the taste can also be lacking. My secret is to mix the milk from powder with purchased whole milk. For about 15 years, we've been mixing two gallons of milk from powder with one gallon of whole milk. As whole milk is about 4% milk fat, the resulting product would be 1.3% milk fat. We get three gallons of milk for a cost of $5.81 or about $1.94 per gallon. That's less than half the price of fluid milk and we save about $97 a month.
If you wish to try this, you may want to start slow and mix the milk at a ratio of 2 gallons fluid milk to 1 gallon of powdered milk. After a week or so, switch to a ratio of 1:1 and eventually to 1:2. If you are used to drinking 2%, you may wish to start with whole milk to get an end product with 2% milk fat. If you regularly use 1%, then start with 2% milk. A lot of the flavor of the milk is associated with the milk fat content so you may have to experiment to find the mix that will be most palatable to your family.
As a bonus, when I mix the milk, I also use powder to make 2
quarts to a gallon of powdered milk to store in a separate
pitcher in the fridge to use for cooking. Even young children
can be taught to mix the milk and it is a great way for them
to learn about ratios and fractions. We always mix the
powdered milk according to the package instructions so as to
insure proper nutrition. The finished product is stored in
empty clean milk jugs and refrigerated promptly. The taste
improves if it is thoroughly chilled and stored overnight.
Eve W.
When keeping track of expenses for my budget, I have found it
is easier to write everything down in categories (groceries,
gas, entertainment, etc) instead of writing everything down
all together on one page. I keep a small notebook and have a
separate page for each category. It is so convenient to flip
to the category I want and see exactly how much I have spent
so far on groceries, gas, etc. for the week or month. This
method is so much more organized and works very well for me.
It has helped me to get a better picture of where my money is
going.
Jennifer
I like to do a lot of arts and crafts, but I live in a small
apartment and don't have any space for a craft table. This
forces me to do all my crafts at the kitchen table, resulting
in sticky messes, paint spills, and paper scraps strewn all
over it. I was looking for an easier way to keep it clean
without purchasing an expensive craft board. To make clean up
a breeze, I purchased sticky shelf paper at the dollar store
and covered half of my table with it. It stays in place and is
not so sticky that I can't take it off when I'm done. When I'm
finished, I simply pull off and discard. Easy cleanup!
Rachel O.
I work in an office setting and often get the urge for a snack between meals. There's a snack machine down the hall, but prices on these items are high and most are unhealthy. To stave off the munchies, I keep a jar of crunchy peanut butter in my desk drawer with a package of plastic spoons. One spoonful of peanut butter can get me through until lunch or dinner.
One 18-ounce jar is approximately $2.88. The serving size on the jar is two tablespoons. It lists 16 servings per jar. I eat one tablespoon per snack, so that gives me 32 snacks from one jar. So, at one tablespoon each day for 32 days, that comes to about 9 cents per snack. That's a lot better than a 75-cent pack of crackers.
Peanut butter is filled with protein and other vitamins and
will stick with you when other snacks are long gone. Plus, I
get more work done, because if I go down the hall to the
vending machine, I will inevitably run into someone else who's
getting a snack and it takes longer to get back to work.
Cheryl M.
To extend the life of a hair dryer, check the intake vent
frequently and remove accumulated dust. Unplug the hair dryer
first. If there is a cover, remove the cover. Dust can be
picked up with a vacuum if not too clogged. Clean dust out of
a clogged hair dryer intake vent with a cotton swab if
vacuuming doesn't work. With slight pressure so as not to push
dust into the dryer, gently and slowly twist the tip of a swab
in each little section of the vent, like you are making cotton
candy, dabbing at the dust as needed to pick it up. You may
need several swabs to do this neatly. Then you can vacuum out
the leftover loosened dust.
Lorraine in NH
We just installed cream-colored carpet in our guestroom, and upon our first use of the room, coffee with creamer was spilled in the center of the room and the spot was plate- sized. The spot was a week old by the time we had found it. My son tried cleaning the spot with some cleaner that he used on bike grease on his car upholstery with great results. However, it didn't budge the coffee spot on our carpet. It looked horrible and was now the new focal point of our short-lived beautiful room.
I decided to try my trusty old white vinegar solution in a
spray bottle that I clean almost everything else with,
especially greasy stuff in the kitchen. After saturating the
spot, I let it sit a few minutes and then began rubbing the
spot with an all-cotton rag. I did this a couple of times, and
each time, the spot got lighter and lighter until it
disappeared. I then took a cotton towel and folded it up into
several layers and covered the spot. Then, I weighted it with
a heavy box so all the vinegar solution was absorbed by the
towel. It worked great!
Maureen
Postcards are cheaper communication for a lot of things. If you keep getting someone's voicemail, send a 26-cent postcard with your information. Did you know a 4 x 6 photo can be mailed with a 26-cent stamp in the corner and the address written legibly on the right side? Grandparents, or someone sick in the hospital, would love a photo!
I look for Christmas cards with a front I like, as I cut off the backs and mail my cards for Christmas to folks that are shut-in or have no computer. We used postcards for invitations for graduation, an 80th birthday party, and thank you notes.
You can make your own postcards with purchased material, but for $1, I can send 10 to 25 Christmas cards (from the dollar store), have 10 to 25 pieces of cardstock scratch paper, and have 10 to 25 envelopes to mail other pieces of business. It's a win-win-win deal. 25 cards at 41 cents are $10.25 for mailing, but with the postcard, it's only $6.50 for the same mailing!
You can say most of what you wish to say on a postcard. If you
are sending out a lot of a personal mailing, be creative. If
you aren't computer savvy, get greeting cards at the $1 store.
You are saving money, which is what we all love to do, isn't
it? The sentiment is the same. It just cost you less to send
it. Nothing is lost except excess cost!
Jacque in Iowa
Here is a quick decorating idea for a baby shower. Cover the
tables with paper or plastic table coverings. If the tables
are rectangular, make baby footprints down the center using
the edge of your fist for the foot and fingers for the toes
with ink or acrylic craft paint. Round or square tables can
have the footprints scattered around randomly, or the table
can be outlined in the footprints. Streamers, ribbons, or
confetti in coordinating colors provide the finishing touch.
Another alternative to the confetti could be candy or baby
items to match the color scheme. One bottle of craft paint is
more than enough for all of the tables. This idea offers that
personal touch along with a money-saving bonus.
CW
The best time to buy flood insurance is between January and
March. Every year in May, the rates for flood insurance
change. Sometimes for the better, but usually they go up due
to inflation and to compensate for the last year's claims
paid. If you buy your insurance at least 30 days before the
first of May, you will lock in your rates and you won't be
affected until the next year when you have the option of
renewal. Plus, during the first three months of the year, the
ground may still be frozen from winter, so if you experience a
flood, you are covered once everything starts melting in the
spring! Also, since the government regulates all flood
insurance, you will get the same rates regardless of which
company you go through. However, if your current
auto/homeowners insurance company offers it, you may qualify
for a multiple-policy discount. 'Tis the season, so take
advantage while you can!
Monika in MO
Now that my children have grown up and moved out of the house,
I save on trash pick up. When my children were living at home,
I had a 60-gallon can picked up every week. The cost was
$26.50 per month. Now, I have cut down to a 37-gallon can
picked up once a month. The cost is only $13 per month.
Recyclable materials are picked up separately every week. It
also forces me to keep a critical eye on what I purchase. How
much packaging does the item contain? Is the packaging made of
recyclable materials? So, it is good for the environment as
well.
Charlotte
I like to decorate the mantle on my faux fireplace seasonally and also have a coordinating picture or wreath above the mantle. This has become a challenge since I'm trying to keep expenses to a minimum in order to pay off some debt. I thought of a way to update the look seasonally for not much expense. For the Valentine's Day theme, I bought an ornate second-hand picture frame for $3 that just needed a fresh coat of gold paint. It was in good shape except that it was missing the backing. A cardboard box cut to fit fixed that problem.
Next, I got some plain red wrapping paper from the dollar
store and taped it to the backing. At the dollar store, I
found some pretty Valentine's cards at two for $1. The hearts,
flowers, cherubs, etc. on the cards were cut out and used as
the base for my collage. I added four gold heart doilies to
each corner of the picture. From the local craft store, I got
some dove stickers from the scrapbooking section that I then
affixed to the center of each doily. I was really pleased with
the result once it was hung on the wall. It was just the
finishing touch I needed for under $15. It won't cost as much
the next time because I will reuse the frame and won't need to
buy the paint. I can't wait to decorate for Easter!
Michelle D.
What would you do with an extra $100? One lucky Dollar Stretcher "tipster" will win a $100 check each month just for sending in their favorite time or money saving idea. It could be you. Just send your suggestion to Tips@ stretcher.com. If we use your tip in any of our publications, we'll send you the next three issues of our print newsletter as a "thank you" and you'll automatically be entered into our monthly $100 drawing!
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Do you have a time or money saving idea that wasn't included in this article? Please send it to tips@ stretcher.com. We get the best ideas from our readers!
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