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I have a Cuisinart® food processor that I have had for quite
a few years. I have had good luck with it. Paid about $79 for
it at the time. The only complaint that I have about it is
that the slicing disc for cutting up vegetables cuts them a
little too thin for what I would like.
Debbie
editor's note: For more on Choosing a Quality Food Processor, please click here or check out the discussion in The Dollar Stretcher Community.
Most big grocery stores are open nearly every day of the year,
but if they close over the holidays, it is probably on
Christmas day and New Year's Day. Take a moment in the last
half-hour of the shopping day Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve
to check out the last minute price changes. Make sure you
watch the deli and the bakery for big discounts. The products
in these departments often won't be kept over the next day
when the store is closed and they want to get them sold if
possible. I have stocked up on dips, cheeses, and cheese rolls
at greatly reduced prices.
Deb C. in Vancouver BC
Don't waste food, and save time to boot! I keep a half-dozen or so quart-sized freezer bags of various items at hand in the freezer at all times. For example, any time I cut the tops or bottoms off of bell peppers, I dice them and place them in a pan or plate in the freezer. Ten minutes later, they've "set" enough not to stick together when fully frozen, and I drop them in the appropriate freezer bag.
Then, whenever I need them, such as when making an egg
scramble before going to work in the morning, all I need to do
is "grab and cook." The tedious slicing and dicing prep work
has long since been done, and I haven't wasted perfectly good
food! I do this with peppers, onions, sausage, hamburger meat,
and other items as well. Use your imagination!
Rick in Virginia
Having moved eight times in the past five years, I've come up
with a tip for anyone hanging lightweight (sheer) swags. Use
cross grain ribbon and a staple gun! Forget about the rod.
It's expensive and may not be able to be used at the next
place. I simply use ribbon that looks good with the material.
I make a U loop, staple it in the middle, and tie the swag up
into the ribbon. It's an inexpensive custom-made window
treatment.
Mary in Ridgefield, CT
I put a wet paper towel in with my veggies in a resealable bag
to help maintain their freshness. I also cut up veggies and
keep them in a bowl with water. Also makes it more convenient
when I want a snack!
Jackie R.
editor's note: For more on properly storing veggies, please click here.
Make a paste with baking soda and rub all over oven walls and
door. Close oven and turn on 200 degrees for 10 minutes. Then
turn off and let cool. Wipe clean.
Marcie in IN
editor's note: For more on natural cleaners, please click here.
In an article by Emily Bright on food storage, she states, "The freezer kills those raw-egg germs, so no worries about eating straight spoonfuls of cookie dough."
This is NOT correct. The freezer does NOT kill the bacteria in eggs that cause salmonella poisoning, which is the worry with raw eggs. Salmonella is nothing to take lightly!
There are about 2,000 Salmonella species. Freezing doesn't kill this microorganism, but it is destroyed by thorough cooking.From www.nytimes.com/1994/12/27/science/q-a-220094.html:
Q. Does freezing kill salmonella or other noxious bacteria in food?
A. Freezing does not kill the bacteria in food, as can be seen
from the recent outbreak of salmonella poisoning involving an
ice cream product, said Dr. Robert Gravani, professor of food
science at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., and a food
safety expert. "Freezing might destroy a few cells, but by and
large, it just keeps the bacteria in suspended animation," he
said.
Anne W.
editor's note: Anne makes a good point. Salmonella is nothing to play with. And, we have removed that sentence from the web version of the article. In the author's defense, there are studies that show that in some foods less than 1% of salmonella can survive 48 hours of freezing. But there's no reason that you have to eat raw cookie dough. So it's better not to take any chances.
My mother-in-law is coming from California for Christmas, and
she has solved the extra baggage problem by having all the
gifts she is ordering online delivered to our house. They
arrive addressed to her, so we know not to open them. She
plans to wrap them after she arrives here. She would have had
to pay shipping anyway, but this way she doesn't have to pay
the airline for an extra suitcase, too!
Donna in Ohio
Everyone knows that it is cheaper to brew your own coffee than go to the big chain. But if you like fun, seasonal flavors, it is certainly easier to throw down a couple dollars at the store. Did you know that the flavored creamers at the grocery store have special seasonal flavors that only come out this time of year? I read the expiration dates on them, and they vary widely.
Just this morning, I purchased, on sale, some holiday creamers
that don't expire until next April or May! So you can throw
them in the back of the fridge and enjoy "mocha fudge" or
"pumpkin spice" well into the spring! Just don't forget to
check the dates!
Kimberly M.
editor's note: For more ways to make really great coffee, please click here.
Instead of sending cards and buying expensive gifts, we have decided to give of our time this year. Time is such a precious commodity to many people that they truly appreciate being given the gift of some saved hours.
In some cases, we have given a "gift voucher" for a service, such as gardening, painting, home maintenance, babysitting or help with spring-cleaning. In other cases, I have done Internet research for friends and sent them the results of my research.
One particular friend was stretching herself way too far (to the point at which it was severely affecting her health) because she felt wrong about saying "no" when asked to do something. I found her a lot of links about how to say no without feeling guilty. She said that it meant far more to her than any gift I could have bought.
Another friend was looking for a product, which was extremely difficult to locate. I found an online source of the product and sent him the link with a Christmas picture as my signature. He was incredibly grateful and said that it meant more to him than a bought gift.
This idea came into being for Christmas, but we intend to do
this throughout the year. We have been amazed at the positive
reactions that we have had from our friends.
Marie R.
I "make" my own shampoo/conditioner. I just use a mixture of
baking soda and water for the shampoo and then some apple
cider vinegar for conditioner. It works so well that I only
have to do it once every couple of days. I have pretty short
hair, but my girlfriend uses this as well with her longer hair
and has had the same results. Because you need so little for
each wash, it probably comes out to cost a fraction of a penny
for each wash.
Adam
editor's note: For more ideas on affordable hair conditioner, please click here.
My kids love to make crafts and do sewing projects. During the year, we hit Hobby Lobby and other craft stores after the holidays and purchase craft items and kits for pennies on the dollar (75-90% off). We also do sewing and other craft projects throughout the year.
During the summer and fall, we take the items we have made and enter them in the local county and state fairs. Each fair will pay premiums for crafts entered, varying from $1 to $10 each. We usually can hit four to five fairs easily and enter ten or more items each. We then collect our items and enter in the next fair.
At the end of the season, we use the items for decorating or
gifts. The premiums really add up; the total was over $400
this year. That money can be used to purchase materials to
make new projects or for a large item that the kids want. And
we have great decorations and/or gifts. This is a pretty easy
way to make money doing something we all enjoy and have the
handmade gifts done well ahead of time, so there is no last
minute rush to get them finished before Christmas.
Dee W. in Culleoka, TN
I have a tip for baking. Use a rubber drawer liner under your
mixing bowl to keep it from slipping while mixing. Also, when
using colored sugar, add equal parts of white sugar and mix.
You will still get the color and stretch the amount of colored
sugar you use.
Sheryl F.
Use any Christmas cards that feature a snowman or other wintry
scene as thank you notes after Christmas. Cut off the front of
the card and write on the back. These can be mailed as
postcards to save money on stamps, or put in a spare or
homemade envelope to mail. If you feel creative, add a tiny
bow, sparkle snow, or other embellishment to the scene before
putting it in the envelope, or put confetti in the envelope to
make it special.
Cynthia R.
Most people know that bringing your coffee to work in a Thermos® is a great way to save money. I have a high quality metal Thermos® with a plastic cap. However, I never liked to bring coffee from home because the cap would invariably get a funky smell to it even though I washed it thoroughly every day.
I discovered that the best way to eliminate this odor is to
sterilize the cap with boiling water. My office has a water
cooler that dispenses boiling water from one of the spouts, so
all I need to do is fill the cap with the hot water on a daily
basis. This takes about two seconds and it works like a charm.
Since I'm a coffee fanatic, I easily save $4 per day ($80 per
month) by bringing my coffee in, and it is better for the
environment because I don't discard all of those paper coffee
cups.
Jodi
editor's note: If your office doesn't have a hot water dispenser (our office doesn't), you can use the microwave to heat some water. Takes a few seconds, but anytime you can save $4 for a few seconds, you're being well paid for your effort!
I could never justify paying for TiVo® service or a DVD
recorder with my fairly light TV viewing. But then I got
switched to the night shift and started missing my favorite
prime time TV shows that I used to watch in real time. I still
didn't want to spend a lot of money, but I missed my shows.
One day in Goodwill the answer hit me. I bought a used VCR for
$5! Remember those? Well, they still work! Just make sure you
get one with a remote. With some VCRs, the remote is the only
way to program your recordings. Walmart still has blank VCR
tapes, or they can be purchased on eBay. This method has
worked perfectly for me for over nine months now!
Heidi
Regular all-purpose flour costs between $.99 and $2.29 for a five-pound bag, which translates into a per cup price of between $.05 and $.12. Think about making all your own flour- based products. A large loaf of bread uses four cups of flour and a 12" pizza crust uses two cups. It is easy to make pasta and all types of rolls, biscuits, cakes, pancakes and cookies. With two parents working, this is very time consuming, but for the unemployed, this is a huge money saver.
Another idea is to sell your bread to friends, neighbors, and
co-workers, which will stretch the budget for other
necessities.
Veronica T. in Upstate New York
editor's note: For some great recipes using flour, please click here.
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