Friday, May 30, 2008
Saving a little while washing dishes
Okay, so I don't always do the dishes like right after a meal. When I do get around to doing them, I fill the sink and soak the dishes for a few minutes. When I'm loading the dishwasher I don't turn the water back on. I just use the water already in the sink to scrub and rinse the dishes. I use the same water to clean my counters. So instead of letting the water run and pouring soap on a sponge repeatedly, I only use one sink full of water, and just the small amount of soap that went in it.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Keeping Carrots and Celery Fresh
When you bring carrots home from the store, if you cut the tops off of them they will last much longer. The stem soaks up all the water from the carrot, and that's why they get limp after a couple of weeks in the fridge. I learned this from the little tip section in a cookbook--really helpful place to find good info!
Celery will keep for weeks and weeks if you wrap it in foil. Don't make the mistake I did though, rinse them and leave a damp paper towel in there with the celery sticks. (found that nice little surprise today)
Celery will keep for weeks and weeks if you wrap it in foil. Don't make the mistake I did though, rinse them and leave a damp paper towel in there with the celery sticks. (found that nice little surprise today)
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Monday, May 12, 2008
Cloth diapers, cloth diapers, cloth diapers!!!
I started cloth diapering when my oldest was about 16 months old. I wondered if it would be worth it, because I didn't know if he would potty train soon. That was one of the best investments I've ever made. I bought two dozen premium chinese prefolds and 6 large proraps. I spent about $50 on that first order. I later ordered 6 extra large proraps, to keep up with him as he grew. He actually didn't potty train until right around his 3rd birthday. Then when the second baby came along I bought a dozen infant prefolds and some small/medium proraps. I spent about $100 total on cloth diapers. When some friends heard that I was cloth diapering they gave me snappis (these really cool devices that replace old fashioned diaper pins), liners for my diaper pail, and some more diapers. My 2-year old wears one diaper at night, and we use the original ones that I bought. We hope to have more kids and we'll use them again. I estimate that I've saved a couple thousand dollars in diapers.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Cash is king!
(As Dave Ramsey would say :) )
Retailers get starry eyed when you pull out a wad of cash.
Last year I had my car worked on, and the bill came to $740. I asked them (notice a theme? ) if they would let me give them $700 in cash. They didn't even hesitate. For a two minute drive to the bank, I saved $40. This works REALLY well for big purchases. I also did this when I got pest control last year. I asked them if they would give me a discount for paying cash. They knocked 10% off the bill. We've done this with everything from pest control to buying our Christmas tree.
Cash has the other benefit of making you really FEEL when you spend money. It hurts to lay down 7-$100 bills!!! You become more in touch with your money when you actually have to count it out and give it to someone. When I used to use my debit card for everything, a lot of times I wouldn't even hear what the cashier said my total was. I'd just hand over the debit card. A study done by Dunn & Bradstreet found that people paid an average of 12-18% more when they paid with credit cards rather than cash. McDonalds did a focus group study that showed that customers paid an average of 47% more when they paid with a credit card rather than with cash.
Retailers get starry eyed when you pull out a wad of cash.
Last year I had my car worked on, and the bill came to $740. I asked them (notice a theme? ) if they would let me give them $700 in cash. They didn't even hesitate. For a two minute drive to the bank, I saved $40. This works REALLY well for big purchases. I also did this when I got pest control last year. I asked them if they would give me a discount for paying cash. They knocked 10% off the bill. We've done this with everything from pest control to buying our Christmas tree.
Cash has the other benefit of making you really FEEL when you spend money. It hurts to lay down 7-$100 bills!!! You become more in touch with your money when you actually have to count it out and give it to someone. When I used to use my debit card for everything, a lot of times I wouldn't even hear what the cashier said my total was. I'd just hand over the debit card. A study done by Dunn & Bradstreet found that people paid an average of 12-18% more when they paid with credit cards rather than cash. McDonalds did a focus group study that showed that customers paid an average of 47% more when they paid with a credit card rather than with cash.
Want a discount? Ask!
Stores want your business. Even at chain stores, managers have a lot of leeway to keep customers happy.
Two weeks ago I needed to buy a new mop. The one I'd bought at Big Lots had broken within two times of using it, so I wanted one that would be better quality. Sack and Save had a nice looking one in their ad for $7.99. When I got to the store, the only one that they had that looked like the one in the ad, was marked $12.99. I asked the manager to show me where the one in the ad was. He couldn't find it either. I knew that if I stood in the aisle looking uncomfortable for long enough, that he'd try to keep my business. He walked me to the front of the store and told the cashier to give me the $12.99 mop for the sale price. So I got a much nicer mop than the one in the ad, for about half the price.
If you are at a store trying on clothes, and you notice a defect with your item, ask for a discount! I know that Sears will almost always give you 10% off for an item with a little stain or a little rip in the fabric. The same is true at the grocery store. I love to buy marked down milk and freeze it. At another grocery store the dairy manager asked me if I was finding everything okay. I told him yes, except I was hoping they would have some milk marked down. He went and got a marker and marked some milk down to 99 cents for me. Meat managers will do that as well.
I rarely have anyone tell me that they can't mark an item down, but even if I did, it didn't hurt to ask!
Two weeks ago I needed to buy a new mop. The one I'd bought at Big Lots had broken within two times of using it, so I wanted one that would be better quality. Sack and Save had a nice looking one in their ad for $7.99. When I got to the store, the only one that they had that looked like the one in the ad, was marked $12.99. I asked the manager to show me where the one in the ad was. He couldn't find it either. I knew that if I stood in the aisle looking uncomfortable for long enough, that he'd try to keep my business. He walked me to the front of the store and told the cashier to give me the $12.99 mop for the sale price. So I got a much nicer mop than the one in the ad, for about half the price.
If you are at a store trying on clothes, and you notice a defect with your item, ask for a discount! I know that Sears will almost always give you 10% off for an item with a little stain or a little rip in the fabric. The same is true at the grocery store. I love to buy marked down milk and freeze it. At another grocery store the dairy manager asked me if I was finding everything okay. I told him yes, except I was hoping they would have some milk marked down. He went and got a marker and marked some milk down to 99 cents for me. Meat managers will do that as well.
I rarely have anyone tell me that they can't mark an item down, but even if I did, it didn't hurt to ask!
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Frugal Cleaning supplies
Well, you all probably know by now that I do not hire a maid. In fact, I actually was a maid for a while, back when I first started college :)
It is extremely rare for me to buy cleaning supplies. I've found that baking soda and vinegar will clean almost anything, with the added bonus that they don't have the harsh chemicals that give my husband headaches.
I do usually buy some knock-off Comet, for when the tubs get really gross and the baking soda isn't cutting it, but the baking soda takes care of most jobs.
About five years ago, I took an old windex bottle, rinsed it out, filled it with 1 part vinegar to 4 parts water, and I've just been refilling it ever since. I use it to clean my kitchen/bathroom counters, floors, toilets, mirrors, etc. A couple of times a year I rent a rug-doctor to clean my floors, and instead of buying their expensive cleaner, I fill it with vinegar. It deoderizes really well.
It is extremely rare for me to buy cleaning supplies. I've found that baking soda and vinegar will clean almost anything, with the added bonus that they don't have the harsh chemicals that give my husband headaches.
I do usually buy some knock-off Comet, for when the tubs get really gross and the baking soda isn't cutting it, but the baking soda takes care of most jobs.
About five years ago, I took an old windex bottle, rinsed it out, filled it with 1 part vinegar to 4 parts water, and I've just been refilling it ever since. I use it to clean my kitchen/bathroom counters, floors, toilets, mirrors, etc. A couple of times a year I rent a rug-doctor to clean my floors, and instead of buying their expensive cleaner, I fill it with vinegar. It deoderizes really well.
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