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Readers' Tips

Food Co-Ops

I recently started a food buying group by contacting a friend whose husband is a wholesale food rep. We met and I gave him an initial list of what type foods we were interested in. I made up an order form and several of us placed a $1,200 order. Our next order topped $2,000 and the last $3,000. I learned some very valuable (expensive) lessons.

You can get too big. Handling the money becomes a nightmare if you don't have some strict rules. We have several congregations worth of people ordering. Some changes we have made include

Each group orders for themselves with the rep.
If that were not the case, it is important to have one check for the group- as opposed to 20 checks.
Charge a fee to join the group and use it to establish a checking account for your food buying group. Don't do what I did and work out of your own checking account.
I have a rule that you must volunteer to help divide up the order when the truck comes- Not everyone but one person CAN NOT do it alone
Require on time pick up OR charge a late pick up fee. I have babysat people's food in my garage for weeks. It can be very annoying.
Don't get into splitting cases. Take the whole case or work it out with a friend and divide it elsewhere.
Have two people check the money.
Be sure people understand that sometimes the truck comes and things are not on it. They get their money back and if they yell...they may want to find another group. I hope I don't sound like a shrew. I have two cases of Karo syrup in my garage that someone ordered - then swore she did not. I have no use for $72 in corn syrup... which came out of my checking account. As a protection for everyone, people need to think through the rules.

On another tangent... How do you find a food wholesaler ? They sell to restaurants, nursing homes, schools etc. Ask someone at a local nursing home for the name and phone number of their reps. These people work on commission. They WILL talk to you if you plan on ordering $500 or more. Less than that really is not worth their time because you won't be a weekly customer. Also, remember bigger is not always cheaper. We save some serious money on some items... but other items are MUCH higher than you can find in the grocery store every day.
Francie B.

Less Expensive Braces

Check to see if your employer has a medical spending program. This is a program whereby a specified amount of money is taken out of your paycheck on a pretax basis. It cuts down on you taxes and you can send in for reimbursements immediately at January 1 of each year, even if the full amount has not been taken out yet.

Another option is to begin to prepay immediately with your selected orthodontist, before your child has braces put on.

Also you can perhaps look for a younger orthodontist that may be starting his/her own practice right out of their training program. Often their fees are lower and they may be willing to take a portion of the fee off for a confirmed referral. This latter option you may even be able to work out with a more established doctor.

Above all, do not be afraid to approach the doctor himself/herself (in fact if you are going to propose something out of the ordinary, start with the doctor). Oftentimes, the billing people will tell that something is not possible when the doctor will agree to a proposal. This is because the billing/administrative/secretarial people are working from a set of ground rules but the doctor has the ultimate say. Hannah

Editor's note: more suggestions at www.stretcher.com/stories/99/991129a.cfm

Homemade Christmas Decorations

Some easy inexpensive decorations are:

Hot glue a ribbon to the top of a pine cone and tie a bow. The pine cones can be spray painted or left natural, depending on your decorating style.
Make up a kids' dough recipe, cut out shapes with cookie cutters, pierce a hole in the top and bake, then paint. Make sure kids know they're not edible. Alternately, you can make actual cookies and let the family munch them.
large candy canes
ribbons tied in bows throughout the tree
silk flowers
You can buy unfinished flat wooden shapes like hearts in craft and sewing stores for about $2-$3 per 50 or so. Paint them and personalize them, then either drill a hole to hand or hot glue a ribbon on.
Ruined Christmas ornaments can be re-used... if the silk threads come off the plastic balls, paint the balls and glue ribbon or beads around them. Chipped paint on glass ornaments can be removed with some homemade solvents (a web search should turn up recipes, I can't remember offhand), and they can then be filled with dried flower petals or you can dribble paint inside and let it run in interesting patterns.
You can use plastic canvas and yarn to quickly make little 2" boxes that look like presents. Simply use any stitch you like on 6 squares and then join them in a square and form a bow on top and hang. I stitch in an alternate color up the sides so it looks like they're really tied with ribbons.
Small children's toys or booties can be sentimental ornaments and cute.
Jewelry works, especially with Victorian trees. Anything from drop earrings to gold bracelets can add sparkle and charm.
You can buy beads and fake pearls by the yard in sewing stores for much cheaper than garland in stores. Besides draping it the traditional way, you can cut smaller lengths and drape them over branches like icicles.
Craft sites on the net can provide lots more ideas too.

Alicia

Editor's note: more great holiday decorating ideas at www.stretcher.com/stories/99/991129b.cfm

Great Gift, Only a Buck

I have a great christmas gift and it only cost a $1. Having 5 brothers and sisters all being married with kids, 17 in all, we made a video for my mom. I started with my grandmother, then father, oldest child and family and on down the line. We each told of our most memorable moment of our mom and the most valuable lesson she had taught us growing up. Then a special message, such as I love you, etc. After each sibling his/her spouse said something as well as the grand kids. At the end I put pictures of my mother as a child, her marriage, kids and grandkids. I played music in the background as I faded from one picture to the next. My mom loved it and said it was the best present she ever received. The videotape only cost a dollar and the rest just a little time.
Kristi B.

Cheaper Video Rentals

I stopped going to the "big guys" long ago... after finding my local Albertson's grocery store.. their non new-releases are $1 for 6 days! And if you need to keep it longer, it's just .17 per day, not an entire new charge. I am still working on the movies that aren't new releases so it's great for me. But, their new releases are just $1.49 for 2 days and sometimes they have even better deals than that. As long as you don't have to see all the movies immediately when they come out, it works out great. I am sure there is a store or "mom and pop" shop around that has some kind of similar deal.
Heather R.

Grocery Savings

I'm recently single again, and it's a challenge to support myself and a mortgage here in the Northern California Bay Area. I've discovered a couple of great ways to manage my grocery bill. First, I've gotten out of the habit of once a week grocery shopping - I go when I need food, which is often once every 10 days or 2 weeks. Occasionally I'll pick up fresh fruit and veggies at the farmers market or the store in between. Also, when I shop, I use a hand basket rather than a cart. I figure if I can't carry it all, I can't eat it all. Thirdly, I plan my meals around what I have in the house - particularly those items whose shelf life is expiring. I've reduced my monthly grocery bill from about $180/month down to $120/month, and I throw out much less spoiled food.
Stephanie

Removing Price Labels

Seeing that the Christmas is around the corner and we all purchase presents to give, but do not like to leave the price tags on the containers, how do you remove them without leaving that gooey left-over glue residue? Once the price label is removed, spray the area with WD 40, wait couple second and wipe off with paper towel or J-cloth. Even the bit of paper left behind will be gone. Works just about on all surfaces.
S. R.

Art Paper for Free (or Almost Free)

Here is an idea for art paper for kids. You can go to your local newspaper and ask for the "end of the roll" from news print paper. Usually they are free to the asker, although some papers have charged nominal fee. The amount of paper you get is well worth it in any case.
Karen S.

editor's note: Could be a perfect time to have your children make custom wrapping paper. Bet Grandma and Grandpa would love it!

"Designer" Pots for Pennies

Save pieces from broken terra cotta pots. Cover with a towel and break pieces again into "mosaic tile" size pieces. Paint decoratively any way you like. Use thin set to arrange pieces decoratively on a plain pot and then grout. You have beautifully customized "decorator" pots for pennies.
Penny

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