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Tips That Make You Feel Like a Genius
Secretly, I feel like a genius when I discover a secondary use for this or that — in case I run out of this, but have plenty of that! Like using a paper coffee filter to wash a glass top or mirror when I'm in a pinch for paper towels. Or using …Read more.
Supermarket Tricks That Makes Us Spend More
I've always thought of myself as pretty sharp when it comes to spotting supermarket trickery. I'm not even fazed by an end-cap display announcing, "Special." I know their ways. They hope we'll just assume that "special" means …Read more.
The Struggle to Actually Use up Gift Cards
My love-hate relationship with gift cards has intensified. What a pain, really. I'm one who just forgets to use them, and when I remember, I try to figure out how to use each one to the last cent. I was reminded of my situation recently when I …Read more.
Commingle Personal and Business Finances? Never!
Dear Mary: I am reading your book, "Debt-Proof Living," and have begun tracking my expenses. I have a home-based business. Should I include business expenses or just personal expenses in the tracking? — Lucy, Vermont
Dear Lucy: You …Read more.
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6 Ways To Give Your Old Stuff a New LifeNeed a fire pit for the patio? A wood frame for your square-foot garden? Don't be so quick to run off to the store to buy something new. Instead, follow the clever lead of these "Everyday Cheapskate" readers. It's quite possible that you already have something that would work just as well. SMART GARDEN. I turned an old, worn-out bookcase into a raised bed for my garden. I took the backside off and laid the frame, with shelves intact, on the ground. I filled it with a dirt and compost mix and grew carrots, lettuce and radishes in it with much success! Instead of holding junk in my shed, the bookcase now helps to put food on our plates. — Sylvia F., Minnesota FAMILY FIRE PIT. My family uses an old tub from the washing machine as a fire pit because it has natural airflow. We stack it atop a few cinder blocks and build a small corral around it to keep little fingers away. There's nothing like making s'mores over a washtub fire. — Christine S., Connecticut QUICK WIPE. Used dryer sheets are great for wiping down whiteboards. They eliminate the need for erasers. I use them every school day in our home-schooling office. — Donna B., Pennsylvania TANGLE-FREE. I have adopted my mother's practice of reusing cardboard tubes from paper towels and toilet tissue. Small appliance cords, such as those for blow-dryers and kitchen appliances, can be stored while they aren't plugged into the wall by folding them to size and slipping them into tubes.
TEA TIP. Here's a tip for what to do with the tea bags from your iced tea: Put them around your flowers or any plant that needs a little more acid in the soil. Tea bags change the pH balance of the soil and make my pink hydrangeas blue. — Judy L., Minnesota FRUGAL QUILTING. Use recycled and free padding when you start your next quilting project. Instead of store-bought padding for a quilt, you can use a mattress pad that has lost its elastic quality. This saves the pad from the landfill and gives it a new life. — Virginia S., North Carolina Share your timesaving and money-saving savvy by e-mailing your tip to mary@everydaycheapskate.com. Use "Tip of the Month" as your subject line, and include your full name and home state, along with your well-written tip. You will win a one-year membership to Mary's Web site, http://www.DebtProofLiving.com, if your tip is chosen as a "Tip of the Month," which is selected once every four weeks. You can e-mail Mary Hunt at mary@everydaycheapskate.com, or write to Everyday Cheapskate, P.O. Box 2135, Paramount, CA 90723. Mary Hunt is the founder of www.DebtProofLiving.com and author of 18 books, including "Debt-Proof Living" and "Tiptionary 2." To find out more about Mary and read her past columns, please visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com. COPYRIGHT 2009 CREATORS.COM
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