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Dollar Stretcher Tips for April 9, 2009

Written by K Quinn

stretched dollar Budget Stretcher ideas on sending flowers to hospital patients for less, vacuum sealing foods with high moisture content, cleaning carpets, and more.

Flowers for Hospital Patients

My mother-in-law was recently in the hospital. After looking online at those high-priced nationwide flower services, I decided to look and see if the hospital had an online gift shop. After checking the hospital site, we got the direct number to the gift shop. We explained the arrangement we wanted. We paid $20, compared to the $69.99 plus shipping and handling from one of those big florist services. So, if you need to send flowers to someone in the hospital, check the hospital's website first! We saved over $50.
Dianna

Sealed Meals

Your readers/writers have mentioned having troubles vacuum sealing items with higher moisture contents. I have a simple solution for that. Freeze it first before sealing. Or at least partially freeze it first. My favorite lunches are chili and chicken noodle soup. I simply put them in the vacuum seal bag, stick them in the freezer for an hour or so, and then pull them out and seal them. This works great for the tightest seal with wild game or fish, too. When I'm ready for lunch, I boil the pre-cooked chili or soup right in the bag. Make sure the bag is approved for cooking and not too hot or it will melt the vacuum seal and ruin your lunch!
Jeff

Easy Diaper Disposal

I recently saw a young mother, after changing a diaper, putting the soiled diaper in a plastic bag that newspapers come in. She then tied a knot right above the diaper. I commented that she was making good use of a bag that has little re-usability. She told me that she can get three or four diapers in one bag, with a knot between each one, and if she is unable to empty the diaper bag right away when she gets home, there is no odor.
Sharon M.

Cooking for Less

I received a flyer that listed the power usage in the home. It listed the oven and stovetop very high in energy usage, and slow cooker and toaster oven a lot lower. I had already been using a slow cooker, but I started using our toaster oven for small roasts, baked potatoes, baked apples, small casseroles, etc. With just two people in the house, I can do our full dinner in the toaster oven and hopefully save some electricity and money. Between the toaster oven, slow cooker, bread maker and electric grill, I rarely use the full-size oven anymore and hope to see the savings in our electric bill. All of these rated lower in electricity usage by my electric company than the oven and stovetop.
MKJ

Two-for-One

Both my friend and I have short hair and we like to dye it. We noticed that when we'd dye our hair, we'd only use a half bottle or so of the store bought hair dye. The other half was inevitably thrown out. Now we get together monthly to dye our hair. Together we use a whole bottle with no waste and only need to buy one bottle! Plus, we have an excuse to get together monthly to catch up and socialize. We figure this saves us close to $150 a year since we only have to buy one hair dye kit a month instead of two!
LP

Cleaning Your Carpets

I was a carpet installer for 22 years and saw many, many carpets ruined by steam cleaning. The heat and moisture break down the latex used to bond the backing to the carpet. The latex eventually disintegrates and the backing releases, causing the carpet to loosen and wrinkle. After many years of seeing this happen, I watched a man clean some carpet using the dry cleaning method and was thoroughly impressed. I have always recommended dry cleaning carpets since then.
R. M.

Affordable Scented Lotion

I love scented lotion, but don't tolerate chemicals well, so I only can use the very expensive lotions that use essential oils (as opposed to manufactured scents).

I finally figured out that I can buy a regular, unscented lotion that I tolerate and then add my own essential oils. I add a bit of lotion into my own dispenser, add a drop of oil, add some more lotion, and then shake well. I repeat this until the container is full. I am able to spoil myself and save money!
Lisa

Affordable Countertops

My husband and I bought a foreclosure that needed a lot of love and a lot of improvements. We inherited white cabinets and white countertops, and in a family with three messy kids, that's less than ideal. Several of my neighbors have installed granite countertops for about $4,000. Even new Formica(r) countertops were going to be over $1,000. Neither was an option for us.

I took the plunge and painted my countertops. I cleaned them with denatured alcohol, primed with an oil-based primer, spray painted with granite paint, and used four coats of polyurethane to seal them. The finished product looks awesome! I couldn't be more pleased and wish I had done it years ago! The cost of my project? Roughly $100!
JAS

Tricky Due Dates

I have never been late to pay any of my bills. Two months ago, I noticed that three of my bills had the due date adjusted to come due a week earlier. One was my phone bill and the other was my electric bill. The third was a credit card payment. The credit card was actually two weeks earlier. Thank goodness I have taught myself to look at every bill the minute it comes in and write the due date on the front envelope.

This saved me a ton of grief. Imagine what my interest rate could have been if I had not been paying attention. I have since paid off the one that adjusted two weeks early and closed that account. I also spoke to a customer service representative from each one. Until 2010, credit card agencies are being permitted to do this without your consent or knowledge. This is happening to a lot of folks that I know, so be careful.
Beth