Readers' Tips

This Is Your Life

One of my favorite Christmas gifts easily fits into the category of "less money, but lots of value".

About 9 years ago my mother made a photo album for each of her kids (I was about 26, by brother 23) containing pictures of us from babyhood to the present. These were taken from the pictures that my parents had collected over the years, of course, and one of the things I treasure about it is the very fact that I *couldn't* have gone out and bought it. I love having it and showing it to friends both old and new. I also treasure my mother's comments about certain pictures in the album -- especially one that she said was her favorite: I'm about 2 years old and looking intently at a recipe card in my hand, with a bowl on the table beside me; Mom said that I'm "cooking". Another one that gives me a chuckle is of our family on vacation in Florida when I'm 17and my brother is 14. Both of us look like we're only grudgingly putting up with this picture-taking nonsense and we'd much rather be elsewhere. Aren't the teen years fun?!

Mom spent a fair amount of time on it, I'm sure, and that is something I probably wouldn't have ever gotten around to doing myself since I am much too good at procrastinating. I also like the blank pages at the end of the album, which make it easy for me to add new pictures as I get them.
Carol

My Gift To You...

My husband gave me my most treasured Christmas present when we were married for a year or two and it continues to be the best gift even after 21 years.

It is very simple and maybe someone else might not appreciate it as much as I did, but I thought I would share it with you. On Christmas morning I opened up a shoe box that when held appeared to be empty and on the outside was the word "time" written all over it. What was inside was a typewritten note that said basically, whenever I needed or wanted to spend time with him that all I had to do was show him the box and he would be there for me. I still feel the love and the thought that was put into that gift. It didn't cost him anything and yet it cost him everything (his time and his love) and it has meant the world to me.
Darlene

(We have two Christmas gift, memory and decorations pages available. They're at www.stretcher.com/stories/971203b.cfm and www.stretcher.com/stories/971210a.cfm. Hope you enjoy them!)

Special Flue

We haven't experienced it ourselves yet, but my wife's sister and her husband just installed a wood-burning stove with one of the new flues that heats the house by giving off heat as the gases go up the chimney/flue. Never have I seen anything more efficient! With just a LITTLE bit of wood the stove/flue heated the whole house (1800 sq ft) for 24 hrs. If our house didn't already have a regular fireplace and chimney, we would be considering installing one in our house. I think the cost was somewhere in the $1000 range ($800 or so for the stove, $200 parts to install) since they did all of the labor of installing it themselves. At first I was skeptical and had my doubts as to the sensibility of it all but after seeing just how cheaply (they cut their own wood from their property) they were able to heat the house I have no doubt that this will pay for itself in a matter of only a year or two. I don't know if this is an option for you but at least it's something to consider..... Good Luck!
Luis M.

Insulate!

I live in a 1900 square foot home in State College, PA, also with electric baseboard heat. Our heating bills 1st ran about $225 per month when we bought it (built new in 1982). We bought cheap, roll fiberglass insulation and rolled out a new layer of insulation in the attic, right over the existing fiberglass insulation. Then we sealed every electric outlet and switch plate with cheap foam insulation gaskets. Then we bought a disposable bottle of insulation foam. It oozes out of the can with a nozzle just like canned shaving cream, and then expands dramatically. We plugged every hole we could find (plumbing, wiring, etc.). We wrapped our electric hot-water heater with paper-faced insulation. Finally, we made insulating panels out of foil-faced rigid insulation board, cut to fit into our windows at night. All of these improvements were very INEXPENSIVE, very low-tech, could be done by ANYONE in one weekend or two with almost no tools -- and the end result is we reduced our heating bill by OVER 50%!
Don B

(some really good explanations were too long for the newsletter. You can find them at http://www.stretcher.com/stories/971210b.htm)

Unscrupulous Mechanic? Call BBB

June asked (11/24/97) what to do about "unscrupulous car repairs" and who to contact to "right" them. I'd like to suggest your local Better Business Bureau. I recently had some problems with a local carpet business. After calling and arguing with them on the phone (and getting NOWHERE!) I finally decided to contact the BBB. I got *immediate* results after filing my written claim. Even if you live in a small town, you can find one in your region, I'll bet. You can also contact the BBB *before* having work done to find out if any claims have been filed against a particular business.
Leslie in Oklahoma

A Couple of Auto Repair Solutions

For June, who had a problem with a car repair shop: Contact your state's attorney general office (listed under state government in the phone book). In most states, this is the office that handles consumer complaints. Another option is small-claims court. The cost is minimal. Just suggest in her suit she sue for all costs associated with this fiasco, including filing and summons fees, any estimates she paid for, and mileage to and from the shops that fixed the damage. The more documentation she has, the stronger case she will have with any of these options. Also, if there is a consumer watch on one of her local TV news stations, they may be interested in helping. She may also contact the Better Business Bureau. They won't take action, but at least they can warn others before they do business with this same company if it reopens after its "reorganization."
Linda S.

(there's more suggestions on how to handle unscrupulous auto repair shops at www.stretcher.com/stories/971210c.cfm

Recording Collector Calls

I was reading the responses to the Harassing Creditor Phone Calls by NB. I was very concerned when I saw one person advise NB to record the phone calls. There are state and federal laws which may be violated in doing so. Some states allow one-party consent for recording of a conversation. Many states require both parties' consent to the recording of the call. If that is the case, you must tell the person they are being recorded. You may not tape record a conversation if it is "only for your records" if the law would not allow you to otherwise record it. The person who wrote that may have been referring to the fact that it is a separate offense to divulge an illegally recorded conversation. I would recommend getting good legal advice before recording the conversations.
Andy S.

(editor's note: Andy wasn't alone in his concern with unapproved phone recording. I'm not in favor of violating the law. But if faced with an unrelenting, harassing collector the temptation to let him know that I had recorded his abuse could be awfully strong. As long as the tape wasn't played for others, I'm not sure that justice wouldn't be served.)

Homemade Low-Fat Spread

eating low-fat means no butter or margarine on bread. Try: 1. equal quantities of carrot and turnip cooked together. Mix with nut of butter, salt, pepper and a dash of ginger or nutmeg and process in food processor. It freezes well. Use instead of butter. 2. Cook one cauliflower and three medium onions in water. Process in food processor - add salt, pepper, cup of chopped parsley and one tub sour cream. Lowest percent fat available. Use instead of butter. Also freezes well.
Dalia G.

Cheap Night Light Bulbs

It's Christmas time, and for those who have night lights in their homes, now is a perfect time to stock up on clear bulbs. They are usually on sale 10 for $1 in December; a pack of four night-light bulbs costs about $2. I usually buy 10 of clear, small size bulbs to last us for the year.
Scott B.

It's Not the Detergent

Laundry detergent doesn't clean the clothes. It breaks down the surface tension in the water so that it can dissolve water- soluble dirt more easily. The actual cleaning is done by the agitator and the clothes rubbing against each other. In fact, the more detergent you use, the faster your clothes wear out and fade.

So regardless of what brand of laundry detergent you use, DON'T follow the manufacturer's recommended detergent amounts. Instead, make sure you are loading your washer correctly (too many clothes hinders agitation, clothes don't get as clean, too few clothes allow the clothes to stay away from each other so they don't get as clean either), and experiment to see how little detergent you can use and still get the level of cleanliness and fresh smell you want.

Also, hot water is not EVER needed to wash clothes. Most clothes (except for heavily soiled ones) can be cleaned very well with cold water. Heavily soiled clothes can be cleaned with warm water.

If you use the above tips, not only will you save money on detergent, but your washer will last longer, clothes will last longer and your utility bills will be smaller.
H.

Use Cheap AND Expensive Detergents

This is in reply to Tam's question about cheap laundry detergent: I learned the hard way that some of those super- cheap detergents do, in fact, ruin clothing. I washed several items of brightly-colored clothes in some ultra-cheap detergent and in fewer than 3 washings I realized with horror that they had faded to the point of looking almost too old to wear.

My solution now is to use the super-cheap detergents for whites (especially diapers!) where fading is not an issue. For my bright colors, I buy Gain with Bleach (very highly rated by Consumer Reports, and much cheaper than Tide), which does not fade the clothes.
TJ

(more laundry discussion at http://www.stretcher.com/stories/971210d.cfm)

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