Readers' Tips
Normally, it is only new items that have not been washed
before that are likely to run and ruin other clothes. You will
find that if you soak new items in cold water, perhaps adding
a cup of vinegar, they will not run. If you don't have time or
energy to do that, then use Color Catcher(tm). You should not
have to use it every time. Cold water is best for preventing
color loss.
Geri
more comments on Color Catchers(tm) and less expensive alternatives including a poll of how many people use them here
I am not a fast-food aficionado, but lots of folks in my
office are and the table and drawers at work had accumulated
tons of those little ketchup and soy sauce packets. During a
recent cleaning binge, all those packets had been gathered up
and were going to be tossed out if no one claimed them so I
scooped them up, took them home and emptied the contents into
my ketchup and soy sauce bottles, filling them completely back
up! Great freebie that would have been wasted.
Chris in Everett, WA
Recently when organizing my photographs, I realized I had a lot of duplicates and other photos that I wasn't going to put into my scrapbooks. I had enough extras that I ordered simple and inexpensive 2009 photo calendars from a popular mail order catalog (I paid $0 for shipping and handling when I found a promo code by searching online). These are the type of calendars that have a slot for inserting a photograph and the "frame" around the photos is decorated with a theme for each month.
I used photos of my 4-year-old throughout the years to fill up
the pages. I am sure my family will adore these functional and
thoughtful gifts. Since I had already paid for the developing
of the photos, the price was right!
Alison
Amy Clark's article on Winterization is great. I have one item to add for those who have a pull down attic door stairwell. Mine is in my kitchen and was a source of serious heat loss. I was reluctant to pay the cost for one of those access covers. It finally came to me that a sheet of insulation foam used on the outside of houses would be a good substitute. It cost me roughly $7 and I only needed a portion of it. I took the measurements in and the gentleman at Home Depot even cut it to size for me. (Now, I'm considering using part of the balance of the sheet over the north-facing vent up there, too, to block the winter winds.)
Now when I need to access the attic, which is relatively
frequent because that is where my food stock is stored, it is
easy to lift the sheet of insulation and lay it aside while
I'm up there. It really has brought the loss of heat way down,
and it works great for keeping the loss of A/C air down in
summer as well.
Bonnie S.
Our family has been following the cash envelope system for over a year and it's really working. We have a graph taped inside the kitchen cupboard where we can watch our debt decrease, our expenses decrease, and our income increase. Every month we sit down as a family and make our financial plan for the upcoming month based on income from the previous month. In other words, we're spending money we already have and not spending tomorrow's money to pay for today.
Today my 13-year-old daughter asked me if she could have an advance on her weekly allowance to buy a shirt. I hesitated only briefly before firmly saying "no" and reminding her that we're almost into the next month's budget when her clothing envelope will be re-supplied. If she still wants the shirt, she's welcome to buy it then. She didn't argue, and I felt great about further reinforcing the concept that we don't take on debt. Instead, we plan, and we save, and we make choices.
If I can instill in my daughter financial literacy, that's a
life lesson she can truly "take to the bank"!
Virginia R. in Victoria BC Canada
With the holiday season fast coming upon us, I wanted to relay a past incident and hopefully help other parents and youngsters, who might run into this issue.
When my children were in middle-junior high school, their close-knit friends would exchange gifts at Christmas. They would have a little celebration for themselves during the lunch period. At that age, these are children without much earning power or their own spending money. One year my daughter made cross-stitch bookmarks for her small group and another friend made fudge for the group.
Recently, I have seen some very talented young people on one
of the HGTV craft shows. It is important for the young
children to learn how to stretch their dollar at an early age.
It is a difficult age group and it is difficult to avoid the
peer pressure of some others.
J in Bridgewater, MA
editor's note: you'll find a variety of kid-friendly craft articles here You might also want to visit the "Hobbies and Crafts" section of our Dollar Stretcher Community. Hope that you have a great time creating something unique!
Anyone with access to a scanner and a printer can do this. You
start out with a picture that you would want on a t-shirt. Get
an inexpensive, plain t-shirt from a department store. While
you're there, pick up some iron on transfer paper for your
printer. Scan in the picture and flip it so that it looks
backwards before you print it. After it's printed, you can
iron it onto the t-shirt. I made a quilt for my mom one year
using these same steps but used white fabric instead. It turns
out looking like a professional job at less than $1 more than
the cost of the shirt!
J T
You can make dry mixes of anything and put them in resealable bags. I make bread mixes, at least three at a time. When I have time to make bread, I just add the water, yeast, and butter. I have a favorite muffin recipe, and I make three of these at one time. Then I just add the liquid ingredients at baking time. This cuts down on clean up and preparation time.
Since they are dry mixes, I can re-use the bags for a time. I
date the bags. Since I have a bread machine, I also do this
with pizza dough. One large pizza recipe will make two pizza
crusts for us (if we roll it thin), and I put one half of the
finished dough in the freezer. Thinking of Christmas? Start
making dry cookie and sweet bread mixes.
Mary in WA
I live in New England where I seem to be cold all winter,
especially at night. I used to relish a hot bubble bath on
cold winter nights, but with the cost of the fuel to heat my
tub of water, I've come up with a better plan! I fill a
dishpan with warm water and bubbles. Then I give myself a
luxurious foot soak while I sip herbal tea and relax in my
cozy fleece robe. I'm nice and warm, and I've spent only a
fraction of the cost of heating a tub full of water! When I'm
done, I'm ready for bed, as nice and relaxed as if I'd had the
full bath!
Lynn C. in Cape Cod, MA
Pay yourself first, meaning put some money away in a savings account every payday. Then, forget it's there. When a major appliance goes on the fritz or the car needs work, you won't need to pull out your credit card.
My husband and I saved his mileage money he was paid by his
company and were able to pay cash for a two-year-old almost
new car when our old one died. We not only saved ourselves the
interest of a car loan, but we got a much better price on the
car because we paid cash.
RTL
I hated the smell and price of commercial fresheners so I asked my husband, a chemist, what makes this stuff work. Apparently all it contains is water, modified starch, perfume and alcohol (the alcohol makes it dry quickly and works as a disinfectant).
To make your own, simply mix four cups of water with several
drops of your favorite scent and a half a cup of rubbing
alcohol. Don't use fabric softener for your scent, as most are
made with beef tallow and harsh chemicals, which will coat
your fabrics and clog the bottle's tip. When you first spray
the solution, you'll smell the alcohol, but in a few minutes,
it will dissipate and the fabric will dry much faster. For
really strong odors (like cat urine), you can add a bit of an
enzyme based cleaner, such as Nature's Miracle.
Melissa C.
My six-year-old daughter Sofia and I ran across an interesting project. In the past, I have always berated my husband for his wastefulness in not using the entire bar of soap before opening another. Today, I thanked him for not using the entire bar of soap since that meant there were about 10 decent sized slivers of green and white soap in the soap dish in the shower. I collected them all and took them to the kitchen where I grated them on the cheese grater, and before long, I had a good-sized pile of multi-colored soap shavings.
I put them in a bowl, added a little water, and mashed them all together. I formed a whole new bar with about half of the shavings and Sofia made a heart shaped soap bar out of the other half. Now we'll let them dry a few days and then put them back in the shower.
It didn't take long from start to finish. We used up the
otherwise wasted soap slivers, and it turned out to be a
quick, fun craft project. And it goes without saying that
clean up was a breeze.
Eve C. in Hollywood, FL
Sauces and dressings are often easy to make and tastier if you
make them yourself. Look in your favorite cookbook for recipes
or search the Internet. Make a little at a time to make sure
you like them. Also, you don't want to make so much that you
can't use it all before it goes bad. If there's one that seems
too strong, don't pitch it. Instead, use it for meat marinade
or BBQ sauce. I've found some of these are marvelous for
chicken dishes with rice.
LynAnne M.
I have a tip for mess- and stress-free kitchen compost collection. Since brown paper bags and (soy-ink based) newspaper are compostable, rather than having a big container collecting wet compostables, I just take a small (2-4 cup) plastic container, line it with newspaper or a brown paper bag, and collect compostable kitchen scraps there. Either once a day or when it's full (whichever comes first), I just empty the plastic container right into the compost box, bag and all.
The plastic rarely gets wet because the paper barrier catches almost all of the mess. No more fruit drippings, potato peels or coffee grounds sticking to the container. I keep my container right in the kitchen sink instead of on the counter, so spills can be easily rinsed away.
Best of all, I'm meeting the "brown waste" component of
compost without having to try. To make the compost more worm-
friendly, use a spade, trowel or garden claw to break up the
paper bags every now and then.
Natalie L. in Vancouver, Canada
Looking for a good deal on paint, toilets, cabinets? Check to
see if there is a Habitat for Humanity Re-Store in your area.
Sometimes you will find brand new items, but many are used.
It's like a Goodwill for home and building supplies. I just
bought a brand new pint of interior paint for $1.50 and a
gallon of interior white paint for $5. The pint normally would
have cost me $10.50 and the gallon at least $17 because they
were Lowe's brand paints. One stop saved me close to $30 for
fixing up a bathroom! Their website is here.
Dawn G. in South Bend, IN
I recently attended a conference out of town. First, I looked
up the hotel where the conference was being held on Google(tm)
and looked for a cheaper motel nearby. I looked for amenities
to be included, such as free breakfast, microwave,
refrigerator, and coffeemaker. It turned out that a super Wal-
Mart was within walking distance. We marched over and spent
$20, which included three dinners. We bought roasted chicken,
Healthy Choice dinners, vegetables that are steamed in the
bag, fruit and beer. It would've been cheaper if we didn't
have the beer. I know we saved a lot of money because many of
our fellow attendees went out to eat every night. We only ate
out for two dinners and one lunch. So try this the next time
you're out of town and come home with a little more money.
Sophia in NY
Instead of buying expensive detangler spray, I make up my own
and it leaves my hair moisturized and smelling great. First, I
take a regular 16-ounce spray bottle and put in two
tablespoons of hair conditioner. Then I slowly fill the rest
up with warm water and shake until conditioner is completely
dissolved. To take care of my curly perm, every morning I
spray my concoction on my hair. My hair just comes untangled
and I am able to work out curls with my fingers.
Cynthia
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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At a department store checkout, you're often asked if you want a store credit card. Is it worth the instant discount?
