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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.
In Recessionary Times, Thrift Stores Are Booming
I love to read about the ingenious ways people are dealing with the effects of this unrelenting recession. Reminds me of a news story I read recently about the rise in popularity of thrift stores. They're becoming so popular, in fact, new ones are …Read more.
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Knitting With Ewe in MindIn a past column, I responded to a reader who was looking for ideas for how to dispose of a significant personal inventory of yarn. I responded that as a knitter myself, I find excellent yarn buys on eBay, a place where she could sell her own yarn. My answer brought an avalanche of mail from knitters with great tips on how to put a yarn stash to good use to help others, not only other knitters searching for more yarn! FIBER COMMUNITY. A great place to sell yarn is a Web site called Ravelry, found at http://www.ravelry.com. Ravelry is an online community of fiber artists and is a place to list your stash by yarn brand, color and other categorizations. That way, fellow fiber users can look for what they want by what they know they need. I suspect that Ravelers, as we call ourselves, get better price returns than people do in other places. — Rebecca S., e-mail FILL A NEED. If knitters don't need to sell their unused yarn to support their hobby, they can donate the yarn to worthy causes. I volunteer with a group called Newborns in Need (http://www.NewbornsInNeed.org), which is a national charity dedicated to helping newborn babies. Our organization welcomes donations of soft, washable, dryable yarn and fabrics. Volunteers can use the yarn and fabric to make blankets and other necessities. — Pat B., South Carolina VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY. All three major hospitals near me have groups of knitters who volunteer to make layettes, blankets and caps for newborns, shawls for people on dialysis, hats for cancer patients and other comforting knitted items for patients.
GIVE SECURITY. Project Linus (http://www.ProjectLinus.org) is a volunteer organization that creates knitted, crocheted or quilted blankets for children who are sick or have suffered traumatic experiences, "providing security through blankets." Members often use donated materials to create these blankets. The Web site lists contact information for chapters across the country. I'm sure that any chapter would put excess yarn to good use. — Mary K., New York SPREAD WARMTH. A project by Guideposts magazine called Knit for Kids (http://www.KnitForKids.org) encourages knitters to knit sweaters for children who need them around the world. — Christy C., e-mail CHEERFUL CHARITY. Residents in nursing homes often have no family to visit or bring them comforting items. They always appreciate gifts like knitted bed booties and afghans. I've seen it brighten the days of nursing home residents to get little gifts like those, even from strangers. — Wendy, e-mail Would you like to send a tip to Mary? You can e-mail her at mary@everydaycheapskate.com, or write to Everyday Cheapskate, P.O. Box 2135, Paramount, CA 90723. Include your first and last name and state. 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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