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| Dollar Stretcher Tips for February 19, 2009 |
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| Written by Gary Foreman | |||
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I use a lint roller to clean my lampshades. It's very sticky, so it works great! And it's very easy! Aubrey E. Sweet Smelling Slippers My husband's slippers always smell like, well, feet! So we put a used dryer sheet in each slipper and now they don't smell anymore! Wendy D. Oldie, But Goodie One way to get good quality furniture is through auctions. It's possible to find solid wood dining and living room sets from the 30s, 40s and 50s because Grandma has passed on and the relatives don't want it (they would rather spend thousands for particle board). After using a little Old English scratch polish, one can have a beautiful set that still has value. Then it can be resold at auction when tired of it. H. Handy Recipe Book I use photo albums that have the sticky sheets to store all of my favorite recipes. I wait until they go on sale! They are perfect for storing recipes you find in magazines, etc! I just use tab dividers to sort out main dishes, side dishes, and desserts. It's perfect and right at your fingertips. My cupboard is so organized now that I store my recipes in photo albums. June C. The Record Keeper I found an easy way to save on gas. I just record my car's mileage on the first and last day of the month on my wall calendar. I subtract to find the miles traveled that month. I then record each month the miles I put on my car. I find I travel less to beat last month's record. I seem to automatically cut back because I am accountable. Jolynn H. Supplementing Allowances It's refreshing to pop open a can of soda pop, but it's even more refreshing knowing that you can teach children the value of recycling when they regularly crush, store, and then sell those aluminum cans a few times a year at the nearest scrap yard. It may cost us some gas money getting there, but it is a small price to pay for teaching the value of work, recycling, and saving in more ways than one! Mary Service Interruption We were part of an ice storm, so we had no electricity, phone service, or satellite here in Arkansas. We have DirecTV service, so I called and asked what they would do to keep this poor abused customer happy since I had no service for a week. I asked for a couple of free movie coupons, but they volunteered one better. They gave us free Showtime for a month. We have a DVR, so we can record the shows we like. It will automatically stop in one month. It just goes to show what happens when you ask! Tammy Jo Protecting Your Garden Many of our neighbors have returned to growing vegetable gardens. Unfortunately, we live in an area with a heavy deer population. To discourage the deer from his garden, one neighbor has begun hanging used CDs on fishing line along the perimeter of the garden. As the CDs turn in the breeze, the sunlight reflects off the surface in bright flashes, frightening away the deer. Our local kids used CDs, along with some wire, glue and fake gemstones, to make sun catchers in Bible School. I noticed that some of these ended up as pretty garden decorations too! Angela S. Seeding Early We live in an apartment-style condominium with a sunny balcony and we decided to grow a bunch of herbs and vegetables this year to save money. Instead of buying pots at $2 to $3 each, I asked my coworkers to bring me empty gallon milk jugs and two-liter bottles that I could cut in half. We also planted seeds early to avoid the high cost of transplants. I was surprised, however, to see that one big bag of quality potting soil with compost was $6, so I did some research and found a local supplier who will sell a pound of red wiggler worms for $15. I shredded some newspaper, added non-meat and non-dairy food waste, and the worms are turning the trash into new soil for free! They don't take up much room either. We live in a one-bedroom apartment and they're in our kitchen in an old Rubbermaid container. We no longer need expensive bags of dirt and we're helping the environment at the same time! James in Colorado Technology Meets the Envelope System When setting a budget, some people don't like to carry their spending cash around with them, but that's the easiest way to keep track of what you spend and what you have left. My suggestion is to get reloadable gift cards. At the beginning of the month, put your spending money on the card. Put the money you have budgeted for fun, for take out, for morning coffees, etc. Pay for all these extras with the gift card, and when used up, it's gone until the next time you are scheduled to reload it. Remember to get a gift card that has no fees! Using the gift card for all the non-essential purchases is a convenient way to realize what you spend money on and where you go overboard. In fact, you could have a separate gift card for each account in your budget. That way, you couldn't overspend any of them. DeAnna D.
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Money Matters Dollar Tips Dollar Stretcher Tips for February 19, 2009
Dollar Stretcher ideas on cleaning lampshades, buying good quality furniture through auction, recording mileage to save gas and more.
