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There are a lot of ways to look for the equipment you need!
Contact several medical supply companies and ask what happens
to their used, but still in good order, equipment. Medicare
helps pay for this, but when the patient no longer needs it,
they pick it up and take it back to the shop. Advertise in the
local Thifty Nickel paper and put the word out. If your
insurance won't help bear the cost, then contact some of the
social service agencies for help.
S.
editor's note: You'll find more suggestions, including some from the medical supply industry, here or join the discussion in The Dollar Stretcher Community.
A lot of unnecessary purchases can be made on eBay, but if you're savvy and check your prices, you can save yourself both time and money.
I learned this by chance. Having made my way to the checkout
at Wal-Mart, I noticed that I hadn't picked up the Brita water
pitcher filter that was scribbled on the side of my list.
Well, I was not going to navigate my way back to try and find
it, so I left. On a whim, I did an eBay search for a Brita
filter and I found one new in the package for about $3.50,
including shipping. That's a savings for me and it was
delivered right to my door.
Heidi B.
I use pre-paid phone cards because I make very few long distance calls and this is a lot cheaper than the monthly charge with my long distance company ...or so I thought.
I had one that I'd purchased about two years ago and only had four minutes left so I picked up another one when I went to the store. The one I bought was for 500 minutes and figured it would last me for years. Boy, did I get a surprise!
I still had about 350 minutes left when I went to call out of
state and was told that my card had expired! Upon reading the
fine print in my agreement, I found that I had 18 months from
the date of activation to use all of the minutes. So be sure
and read the agreement and make sure of the expiration date if
there is one. My other cards didn't have that stipulation.
Jae W.
When I'm traveling, I use a blank envelope to hold all of my
receipts, writing on the back of each receipt what it was for.
On the front of the envelope, I list names, addresses, and
phone numbers of friends I want to call along the way or at my
destination. That way, everything I need is in one place to
help me with my trip.
Lynne L. in Stockbridge, GA
Dinner planning became much easier when I broke it into a
routine. Mondays are for salad-based meals (taco salad,
layered salad, a combo of potato salad and a bean salad, any
salads you like that have a protein component). Tuesdays are
for burger-type meals (turkey or beef burgers, meatloaf,
fajitas, etc.). Wednesdays are always set aside for pasta. I
make eight quarts of sauce at a time and freeze it in Mason
jars for spaghetti. Or I'll make fresh pesto sauce, macaroni
and cheese, or a quick Alfredo sauce. Thursdays are for bean-
based meals (pea soup, chili, beans in the slow cooker).
Friday is set aside for homemade pizza. I either make dough or
use sliced French bread for my homemade pizzas. On Saturdays,
we have leftovers or a casserole of some type. On Sundays, we
have "breakfast for dinner." It seems that when I know the day
and the category, dinner almost takes care of itself!
Conni
How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg? Four. Calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a leg. - Abraham Lincoln
Do you have a favorite quote that's influenced your life? Like to share it? If so, send gary@stretcher.com We'll be including them in our various publications future issues.
In a "big box" store, I found two small bacon-wrapped beef
tenderloins for under $4. We roasted vegetables from our
garden with olive oil, garlic and our own basil. We split a
baked potato and felt we had bested the local steakhouse by
close to $50.
Sandra in Indiana
editor's note: Many of us have given up a lot because of the economy. So we're looking for "Little Luxuries" that we can share with everyone. If you have an inexpensive way to make yourself feel good, please send it by gary@stretcher.com. We'll share the best ones in future issues.
Whenever your cell phone gets wet and quits working (by leaving it out in the rain), try this tip to save your phone:
This has worked three different times for people who left
their phones in the rain. They thought their phones were dead.
This has not been tested for phones immersed in water (i.e.
swimming pool or glass of coke or lemonade!).
Debbie O.
Instead of waiting and watching for fruit and vegetables to get too overripe to use, store them in your own "green bags." These are like the expensive green vegetable storage bags advertised on TV and sold in grocery stores right near the produce section.
If you sew at all, the bags are easy to make. Just cut out and stitch up a rectangular bag approximately 11" wide and about 14" long, keeping it close to the size of an average sheet of printer paper. Use unbleached cotton muslin or broadcloth for two possible fabric choices. If you want to be exotic, you can make a channel for a drawstring, but that isn't essential.
If you are "sewing-challenged," just cut down an old
pillowcase to use. The cotton fabric allows the fruit and
vegetables to breathe, unlike any sort of plastic bag. Putting
produce into these bags and into a refrigerator crisper drawer
significantly extends their usable life.
Jane C.
Sometimes the easiest way to save money is to limit the amount you have to spend. Our family uses prepaid cards for this purpose. When we want to use long distance from our home phone, we use our prepaid long distance calling card. That way we don't have unbudgeted long distance charges added to our phone each month. You can program the speed dial features with your key code numbers to make it easier.
We also use these prepaid cards for things like buying songs from iTunes. That way our credit card doesn't keep getting dinged for $1.29 songs or $3.99 TV shows. When the iTunes card is empty, the purchasing is done until we have the money to get another card.
We use this plan for many things. It's kind of like a version
of the old-fashioned "envelope" system; when the money on the
card is gone, our spending in that area is done!
Amy in Walker, Michigan
I recently decided to try the new enamel strengthening toothpaste because I have enamel issues. When I checked the drugstore shelves, I discovered that the front of toothpaste boxes say that they are good for different things, but the active ingredient in all of them is simply fluoride. The box fronts are different, the flavors are different, the sizes are different, and, of course, the prices are different, but the active ingredient is the same. I found this to be true even when comparing different varieties of the same brand. Only sensitive teeth toothpaste has another different ingredient.
I went home with the on sale toothpaste that was 6.6 ounces
for 99 cents, instead of paying over $5 for 4 ounces. I plan
on shopping for all goods of this type by ingredient in order
to get the best price from now on.
Dee in RI
In reference to Trish Goss' article Revamp Your Wardrobe, I have a few more suggestions.
Refilling my bird feeder used to cost a lot of money, because the raccoons helped themselves every night. The raccoons figured out how to circumvent every one of my ideas to keep them out of the feeder. I even tried wrapping dead rose bushes around the pole. A baffle of a size to keep a raccoon out costs about $45.
I decided to plant cactus around the bottom of the pole
holding the bird feeder. I now have some raccoon footprints on
the pole where they have reached their front feet up, but they
are not able to climb up without stepping in the cactus so my
birdseed now is only for the birds.
Shirley W. in Chokio, MN
Whenever there is leftover coffee in the summer, I try to
freeze it in an ice cube tray. When I make iced coffee
(usually from leftover coffee), I have coffee ice cubes that
won't water down my coffee and help it taste that much better.
I stole that trick from an expensive espresso shop.
Erin B.
I once was given an old homemaking tip book. The most
important tip in it was about arranging a pantry by color.
That is how I arrange 75% of my pantry. If I need something I
don't use often, say beets, I look in the red section. Some
things don't fit, like soup, so I arrange those by category,
but peanut butter is in the brown section, and the strawberry
jam is in the red section.
Kim R.
I love to cook, and like most people who love to cook, I cook a lot. I often freeze portions of meals to take to work. It is great to be able to grab a meal and run out the door.
One of the other things that I do is exchange meals with a friend who also likes to cook. She does the same thing, freezing meal-sized portions for the future. Trust me, it seems more exotic to eat someone else's food. It is a lot of fun to get a surprise you were not expecting.
These meals make a welcome gift to someone who isn't feeling
well or just doesn't feel like cooking. I clip coupons and
watch for sales on containers. A great time to buy containers
is after Christmas when the themed containers go on sale.
Cristina
Magazines are on my "don't" list of purchases as they are expensive (for me), and often don't deliver enough return on my investment. However, fashion magazines can be worthwhile when I need to update my look. I buy one or two magazines designed for upscale consumers and then I go to work.
Not only do I notice what is current in clothing and accessories, but also I notice how the effects are achieved. I see hairstyles that I can try (at my $8 hairdresser), color combinations to try (from what I already own), and so on. I study the makeup and see what I can copy with cosmetics I own or can buy at the dollar store, and I notice how things are put together so I can try that, too.
Now, I never try to wear the fashions from the catwalks, but I
do take note of colors, fabrics, accessories, hemlines, and so
on. I can usually pull together several good-looking outfits
for the cost of a couple of magazines every few months and
maybe the added costs of a very few "new" items from
consignment or thrift shops.
M.
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