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My husband and I have been full-time RVers for nine years so we know about RV living. Before you go and buy a RV, visit some of the RV parks in your area and find out the annual cost to stay there and see if it is a place you would like to live. Does the price to stay there include water and sewage? Electricity is usually separate and paid by the renter. There is a big difference in parks. Is it in a safe area and are the grounds neat and clean?
If you find a park that meets your needs, when you buy the RV,
there is a good chance that they will deliver it to your park
and show you how to hook it up. Once it is hooked up, you will
be set for good. You should also ask the campground about any
fees to the city, as taxes.
Dawn
editor's note: For more on RV Living, please click here or check out the discussion in The Dollar Stretcher Community.
My favorite frugal tip that I have used for many years now is to get rid of disposables. I gave up paper towels, paper napkins, and boxed tissues. The only disposable I let myself get away with is toilet paper.
I bought a big package of white terry cloth shop towels from Costco Wholesale. About 48 towels came in the pack. I used half the bag as kitchen towels. The towels in the other half of the bag were cut in half and hemmed. These towels became napkins and tissues. I have a basket in the kitchen for both.
I am having a baby next month and plan to use cloth diapers
and wash baby's bum in the sink. This means no disposables for
him either.
Ally in Lake Worth, FL
We have an English Mastiff puppy and it had gotten very expensive finding things that interest her for very long to chew on. I bought a knuckle bone at the pet store for about $5.50 and she loved it. However, after a bit, I think it lost its flavor, and she lost interest.
I found beef bones at the grocery store (asked the butcher where to locate them within the store) and they were sold in a two pack with a little meat left on them for around $4.
I took these bones and put them in the slow cooker on low with
beef broth for the entire day. I froze one to save for later,
as it had meat on it. Put the other one in the fridge to use
later that week, and gave her back the revived knuckle bone.
She loved it! In fact, she has loved it for a couple of weeks
now and it's still going strong. I gave her the one from the
fridge too and it's the same story.
KCK in VA
editor's note: Want to try your hand at making homemade dog treats? Check out the great recipes here.
Don't be afraid to tackle new projects around the house just because you haven't done it before! My new (to me) house was in dire need of insulation, especially with winter coming. Contractors all wanted $2,000 and more to insulate my attic (at R38).
I went online to a major insulation company where I found that
they had a video showing step by step what needs to be done
and they even had an online calculator showing how much
insulation I needed. I purchased the insulation (and got free
blower rental) and installed R49 insulation in my attic for
under $500! That's a 75% savings for just a few hours of my
time!
PM
I use a credit card for most of my purchases, but I like the
idea of saving change when I use cash. I have found that when
I get my statement and pay the bill (I always pay the total
charges each month), I go through the bill and check how much
change I would have saved if I had paid in cash for those
purchases. I then take that amount and add all the totals
together and put the resulting figure into my savings account.
I do this all online and treat that money like another bill to
pay. I save about $30 monthly and get interest off of the
money too. It makes for a surprisingly big figure at the end
of the year.
MP
editor's note: Like MP, we believe that small savings add up. But convenience counts, too. You don't want to go down to the bank to deposit just a few dollars. Naturally, we're big fans of online banking. So big that we have an affiliate arrangement with both IngDirect and Ally. Right now Ally offers a higher rate of interest for the small saver with no minimum amount to open the account and no minimum on subsequent deposits. You'll find them here
I am sitting here thinking that on September 24 of 2007 a
little over two years ago, I was taken from work via the
paramedic to a local emergency room where I lapsed into a
seven-day coma. I was eventually diagnosed with viral
encephalitis. After an 18-month rehab, I was finally able to
get back to work! I am grateful for my mother who put her life
on hold. I am thankful for all of my friends who rallied
around me. After a long illness, you really learn who your
friends are! I am grateful to all of my doctors and nurses who
took excellent care of me and I am really thankful that I had
no debt when I got sick! I had been reading The Dollar
Stretcher for quite a while and I was preparing myself for
retirement, which at that time was about 7 years away. I had
money in savings to help pay all additional medical expenses
not covered by insurance. Now I am back on track, again with
no debt! I really have so much to be thankful for!
Donna P.
editor's note: This month in Financial Independence, we're focusing on noticing the things in our life that we're thankful for. We believe that if we focus on thankfulness, we'll spend less time thinking about the things that we don't have. If you'd like to join FI, just click here. The purpose of the free daily email is to help you achieve your financial goals.
Those protective air pockets that come in box shipments (instead of Styrofoam peanuts) are very sturdy and durable. The packs are attached together by perforated strips.
Take about six pockets, keep them attached, and make a slit on
top of each pack, straight across near the top of each pack
about four inches across. You now have a strip of sturdy, yet
very lightweight open containers to tack inside closets or
hang on back of doors or even within drawers. They are great
to store smaller items, toiletries, cotton balls, soaps, sugar
packets, etc.
Arthur R. in Brooklyn
I know that most people know that around Thanksgiving, turkeys are cheap. My husband and I do not own a deep freeze, so buying and freezing a whole turkey is next to impossible.
Enter our solution. We buy two turkeys at their cheap
Thanksgiving prices. For Thanksgiving, we prepare and smoke
both turkeys. We use one to serve our guests and the other we
freeze. We de-bone the turkey and divide the meat between
small freezer bags. This way we have that great tasting smoked
turkey to use for turkey soup, turkey casserole, turkey
sandwiches, etc. at a great price. Also, preparing and cooking
two turkeys at the same time does not mean double the work or
supplies. Happy Thanksgiving!
Victoria H. in Homewood, IL
When my children were younger, I used to dread laundry day. Having boys, it was always an adventure sorting laundry. As many times as I told them to empty their pants pockets before putting their jeans in the hamper, they didn't often comply. I was always amazed at the assortment of junk they managed to store in them and never seemed to miss when I tossed it out! I realized that among the toys, rocks and tissues, there was a rather substantial amount of loose change and single dollar bills, making their way to my laundry room.
In order to teach them that I meant business, I put a piggy
bank (one I got free from my local bank) on my dryer and told
them that any loose change that came down went into the bank
as my laundry fee. The first couple of months I was averaging
about $20 or so! As soon as they realized that the change went
into the family till, they quickly figured out that it was
better for them if they emptied their pockets first! They are
older now, but I still keep that bank on the dryer, and while
it takes longer to fill, I still manage to save some "mad
money" for a rainy day.
Carol R. in Palmyra, NJ
Last week my local news program had a piece about sites for samples and coupons and mentioned three that they said had great offers, so I checked them out. I checked and they were safe sites, and they did offer some coupons for items that I always buy anyway, so I downloaded them and sent for some samples.
After only four days of using these sites and visiting the links to get the coupons, I noticed that my pages weren't opening as quickly as normal and completely freezing in some cases.
I always run checks for Spyware every couple of weeks, so I ran one last night. It discovered 105 instances of tracking Spyware! I thought that was staggering. My software removed them and also blocked them from recurring, but it was a real shock to see how easy it is for companies to track my shopping.
So, if you use any of these sites, be sure that your Anti- Spyware is updated every week and run a check before logging off if you've downloaded anything from them or clicked on any links from their site on a particular day.
The best free anti-spyware programs are SpywareBlaster, which blocks access, and SUPERAntiSpyware, which locates it and removes it. (I've got no connection to any of these. They are both top-rated by PC Magazine.)
Getting coupons and free samples are great, but that doesn't
give these companies the right to access your information.
Susan F.
One of the ways that I keep my goals in front of me every day is to use affirmations for all of my computer passwords. My company makes us change our passwords every few months. Our passwords have to use both upper and lower case letters, and numbers and/or symbols. Therefore I create sentences using this combination.
Each time we change it, I think of a new affirmation I want
for that time period. My favorites to date are
"DebtFree4Ever," "ThinkBe4Spending," and "Enjoy2Day." These
password affirmations help to keep me focused on an area I
want to work on right now.
Lori P.
editor's note: This tip originally appeared in Financial Independence. FI is a daily message designed to help people take control of their financial lives. To begin your free subscription, subscribe here
I have two young children and consequently do a lot of laundry
throughout the week. Our washer and dryer are located in a
mudroom that is adjacent to an outside entrance and close to
our kitchen. Since the kitchen is the hub of activity for us,
we disconnected the vent to our dryer, and let the steamed air
heat the kitchen on mild days. It seems to keep us warm enough
on sunny days and we only have to run the heat after the sun
goes down (and laundry is done!). Since we already are doing
the laundry, might as well use that excess heat to heat our
home!
Debra B. in Milwaukie, OR
editor's note: This tip is ONLY appropriate for electric dryers. Gas dryers MUST be vented outdoors for your safety.
We like to eat turkey throughout the year but find the size
too much. I have the butcher cut them in half so I have a
breast, thigh, leg and wing on each half. They will then wrap
each half individually and then wrap the entire turkey
together (for pricing reasons). I buy them when they are loss
leaders and save a lot of money over purchasing them in the
off season.
Kim H. in Michigan
editor's note: For more ideas for the holidays, please click here.
I've made a game out of watching TV at night. During
commercials, I try to see how much I can do to prepare for the
next day. I can make a dent on any number of small projects by
the time the program comes back on. It also keeps the "lure"
of advertisements away from my mind!
JJM
Do you get unwanted catalogs in your mail? You will save trees and hassle if you use www.catalogchoice.org to remove yourself from the mailing lists of companies that send you these unwanted catalogs. It is free and very easy to use.
Maybe we can help these businesses stay afloat, too, if they
are not wasting their catalogs on unreceptive customers.
Beth H.
editor's note: For 10 ways to use the junk mail that arrives in your mailbox, please click here.
Hot water heating takes 30% of your heating bill. If you have an electric water heater, be sure it has a blanket of insulation around it. Then have a certified electrician put a 220 v timer on it in a place where you can reach.
This is what worked for me. I set the timer to come on one hour before my husband and I get up to go to work. After my husband and I shower, I put the breakfast dishes in the dishwasher and turn it on (supper dishes were put in the dishwasher on rinse and hold the night before). The timer is set to go off one hour after breakfast. In the evening, if we do sweaty garden work, there is enough warm water for a quick shower in the tank.
So out of 24 hours, my hot water heater runs three hours each
day. On wash day, I turn it on, and when I finish washing, I
go back to the timer.
Barbara W.
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 click here to submit your suggestion. 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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