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If you have any writing and drawing talent (or know a friend
who does), what about creating a book specifically for that
child? You have the advantage of knowing exactly what he's
interested in and you can really make something special just
for or about him. I'm sure you can get ideas on how to bind
the book off the Internet.
H
editor's note: For more on No Cost Birthday Gift for 5-Year-Old Boy, please click here or check out the discussion in The Dollar Stretcher Community.
My spouse and I wear sweat suits (from Wal-Mart) around the
house all winter with wool socks and a knit cap for our heads.
We keep slippers or sneakers on our feet. We have a down
comforter on the bed. We keep the thermostat at 65 degrees
during the day with the window shades open, and set the
thermostat at 55 degrees at night. Our heating bill (propane
as we live in a RV) is affordable. Please note the addition of
the cap on the head makes a big difference in changing the
temperature of the body.
Joy M.
editor's note: For much more information about reducing your winter heating bills, please click here.
When I was pregnant the first time, my mother-in-law gave me a
wool jumper (winter baby). I discovered that I could wear it
with regular button blouses by leaving the bottom buttons
unbuttoned. No one sees it open under the jumper, and I have a
lot of outfits from that one item of clothing. It's great for
church and many other "dressy" places that I go.
Judy in WI
editor's note: For more on a maternity wardrobe, please click here.
Selling books online is a great way to make a few extra
dollars, but if you're not careful, the shipping costs can add
up to more than what you're getting for the book. To help keep
shipping costs down, always ask the post office to ship books
at the book rate, which is significantly cheaper than regular
shipping.
Amanda S. in Bridgeport, CT
Having a weekly or bi-weekly potluck dinner is a great way to
help each other out. You could provide the meatloaf stretched
with bread or oats and the rest can come from the neighbors.
Everyone can have a really great meal at a very cheap price of
providing one dish, bread, or dessert. Serve water and or iced
tea.
Seantel in The Netherlands
I have a tip regarding cleaning the shower bottom. Make a
paste using some sort of abrasive cleaner like Comet with
Dawn® dishwashing soap. The Dawn gets rid of the greasy
buildup from our bodies that makes the floor impossible to
clean. Let it sit for 15-30 minutes. Skip the scrubbing. Your
tub just comes clean.
Paula F.
My dad is a do-it-yourselfer. Last year, I was looking at a
catalog and liked a picture of a coat rack I saw in it. I
showed it to my dad, and since the gardening season was over,
he had time on his hands and built a version of what I had
shown him. Not only that, but he improved on the catalog by
putting many hooks inside the frame, so we can hang umbrellas
and gloves there. This coat rack is so nice. He has three
standing orders from our friends, who are offering top dollar
to him to make them one. When I think of the money I saved,
and the love that I was shown, I am proud.
Z.
A few of my co-workers and I have a coupon exchange at the
office. Every Monday, we bring in our coupons that we received
with our Sunday papers. I keep what I will use and bring in
the rest for the exchange. At times, I will get a few coupons
for the same item that I always use.
Cheryl
During the winter months, along with putting bags on my side
mirrors, I also put a tarp over the front and rear window. I
never have to scrape my windows, nor do they fog up. I just
remove the tarps and bags, and I'm ready to go!
Rebecca J in Forsyth, MO
I just read where another reader tossed an item before having it dry cleaned due to the cost. Before you do this again, make sure it is a dry clean only material. Some manufactures put that label on clothing because of past complaints from customer who washed something and either did it wrong or used the wrong cleaning products.
When it came time to clean my daughter's wedding dress and put it away, I read the label and found out it was made from polyester. Weighing the cost of a $50 cleaning bill for a dress that may never be worn again against the cost of a lid of detergent, I took the plunge and washed the dress. It came out beautiful. It came out so beautiful, in fact, that several other women have worn it in their weddings.
From that time, I have taken the time to read the labels of
anything I buy. I have many items that say dry clean only, but
I wash them. Reading your labels, knowing your fabrics
(something you can do online), doing it on the gentle cycle,
having the right kind of detergent and using your own common
sense is the secret to getting the best results.
Faylee J. in Kingsport, TN
When browsing through magazines, I almost always find a
picture of a decorating idea, window treatment or craft item
that I like. Instead of making copies of the page when there
might only be one item I like, I take a picture of it with my
cell phone and then send it to my email where I download it
into a folder, which can also be organized by room or type.
It's easy to locate, and it saves ink and paper. Also, I don't
have to keep a physical folder of those. You could also do
that with a digital camera, but I always have my cell phone
handy.
Sharon in Ohio
I was telling my wife about The Dollar Stretcher emails that I
get (we're both extremely frugal). She thought of this for the
holiday season. She suggested shredding (using a paper
shredder) the odd shaped pieces of wrapping paper that are
left when wrapping a gift or the old wrapping paper after you
open a gift as filler for mailing presents. Or put it in
bagged presents instead of expensive tissue paper. It's still
very festive, but it's free.
Dr. Ed
We just painted three rooms in our house, and I had taken down all my artwork, etc. After the painting job, I didn't want to hang everything up because some of the frames were the shiny gold ones that didn't look that great. Instead of throwing it all out, I asked my husband to spray paint our ceiling fan, a mirror, a clock and a piece of artwork with a few different colors of spray paint.
We got new items at very little cost. I plan to do that with a
few more items as well. It sure saved a lot of money. They
also have this cool textured hammered paint that gave the
frames a cool finish.
Rachel K. in Breckenridge, MN
For undesirable odors in your laundry, add one half to one cup
(depending on the size of the load and the strength of the
odor) rubbing alcohol and/or Listerine® to your load. This
also gets rid of dried-in odors, sour laundry and urine
smells.
Julie
editor's note: For more household uses for rubbing alcohol, please click here.
When I was growing up, my dad put in new kitchens in new and older homes. Sometimes he would come home talking about how a (non-frugal) woman was replacing her entire kitchen when the old one was just a few years old. When he tore out the old kitchen, often he was able to keep most or all of the items. The owners were happy to get rid of it all! Over the years, I was able to get cabinets for my husband's basement workshop, a very slightly used dishwasher, and laundry room cabinets for free. He is retired now, but I contacted the people who bought his business and was able to get a beautiful solid surface sink for $25. It is like new!
Remember that just because we are frugal, it doesn't mean
everyone is! If you need something, don't hesitate to contact
someone you know in a similar business and see if you can get
a cast off. They all aren't old!
L.
To stretch my favorite perfume, I use unscented body lotion.
After my shower, I put enough lotion in my hand to moisturize
my body. Then I spray about three shots of perfume on the
lotion, rub my hands together to mix, and apply the lotion to
my body. This makes my favorite perfume last at least twice as
long as just spraying directly on.
P.S.
With the way home prices have plummeted, the cost of replacing
a home in the unfortunate event it is ever destroyed has also
plummeted. I recently received my homeowner insurance renewal
quote in the mail and realized my dwelling coverage was still
being calculated at the same amount that it would have cost me
to replace my home in 2005! I immediately called and asked
them to recalculate that cost and there was a 12.5% decrease
in the required coverage. The lady on the phone said that they
only readjust those amounts when people call and request a
recalculation. Insurance companies are probably raking in the
money on all these home policies now seriously over-valued. My
10-minute phone call saved me almost $100 for my renewal this
year, so it's worth a look!
Jaime P.
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