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Ideas for saving money on school uniforms, dog leashes, home gyms and more.
What do you do with all of your warranties and guaranties? Make it easy for yourself and buy large folders or envelopes and label by rooms, such as "Master Bedroom," "Bedroom Janis," "Kitchen," etc. Put folders or envelopes away. When you need information on a certain product, go to the appropriate room envelope and there is the warranty. It's as easy as that!
M.W. of Palatine, IL
Check the thrift stores first. Our big thrift store even has a uniform section in the kids' clothing area with uniforms from a half dozen local schools.
Tracy B.
To squelch my urge to buy new clothes, I decided to wear every shirt I owned to work and see how long it took before I repeated. I'm lucky enough to be able to wear casual t-shirts to work, as well as dressier blouses. By wearing absolutely everything in my collection, it took me two months before I wore the same shirt! In the process, I discovered some I disliked and some that no longer fit that I could give to thrift stores. And I did successfully lose the urge to buy even more clothes once I realized how much I already had!
Jan H.
My family loves chicken, fish and chops baked in the oven with Shake-N-Bake. I make my own very inexpensively. Whenever dry stuffing mix is on sale, I buy a lot. Then I dump it into my blender and grind it to a medium fine texture. If stored in an air-tight container, it makes deliciously seasoned bread coating for meats or a topping for a casserole.
Robin H. in Denver, CO
All the tips about mulch and free soil make me think of my method of "making soil" when I need it in outdoor pots. I buy peat moss at the local retail store, which isn't very expensive, and it goes a long way. I get the container that I need soil in and layer equal layers of peat moss, dry manure, and dry leaves (collected and saved from last fall) that I crumble between my fingers. After filling the container to the top with these layers, I mix it well with a trowel. Then, I place the plants into the soil. They thrive in this mixture, and the next spring, the pot is full of rich black soil, which has composted from the mix I made the previous spring. It's easy and inexpensive and very rewarding to "make" soil this way. Much better than spending big bucks on pricey potting soil!
Darcy from UT
With food costs rising, one way to save on the cost of each dinner for my family of seven is to make several low-cost side dishes with each meal. Instead of the standard main course, one starch and one veggie, I often serve two or three veggies if there is something on sale at the farmer's market that week, plus a big salad with in-season veggies. Canned or frozen veggies also bulk up a meal at a much lower cost than a main course. My family is happy to have only one serving of chicken when they are filling up on side dishes. You can also add bread to a meal to fill your family.
Rachel in Baltimore, MD
I am the mother of 5 children from the age of 5 to 17. I watch when Hobby Lobby or Walgreens has poster board half price and I buy 10 to 20 sheets and slide them behind a bookcase to keep them straight and out of the way. Then, when one of my kids come home from school and has a project due the next day that they forgot to tell me about, I don't have to panic and run out for poster board.
Karen L. in Fairview Heights, IL
I buy soft low carb, whole-wheat tortillas that come 10 or so to the bag and make my own tortilla chips. I "pizza cut" the tortillas into eighths and put them on a baking sheet that I have sprayed with cooking oil. I then wet the tops of the chips with water from the palms of my hands, sprinkle them with coarse ground salt (you can use whatever seasonings you'd like) and pop them into the oven at 375 degrees. I can put two full cookie sheets of chips in at one time. They bake for around 17 minutes (check after 13 minutes).
These are so much healthier than the store-bought chips. They are low in fat, baked, and seasoned just the way you like them. They are far superior in taste to any bagged chip. What's really great about these is that you can eat them with any dip or any salsa at any meal!
Terri S.
We were spending a fortune replacing retractable leashes for our dog (she goes crazy at the sight of a bike). If your dog, like ours, chews on her leash, simply cover it with the spiral plastic that they sell at home improvement stores as cord keepers. We are still using the original cord keeper we put on about four months ago. A bag of cord keepers cost only a few dollars, but replacing the leash costs about $25.
Rebecca H. in Austin, TX
My most recent big money saver is collecting unwanted home exercise equipment, as people can't stand the unused equipment in their homes.
I scan online classified ads daily of home workout equipment that is listed for free. I now have two home gyms. One is for parts, and the previous owner delivered the other one to my house in perfect condition when he was cleaning out an attic. I now have a nice home gym that includes a workout station, ab machine, exercise bike, and free weights. I can use my home gym anytime, and I don't have to pay for membership, use gas to drive to and from, or wait for someone to get off a machine to workout.
I am very motivated to workout at home in my own private gym. It is open 24/7 and I'm still adding.
Ann
