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MONEY SAVING TIPS,TRICKS and LINKS
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COUPONS
Coupon Sites
Two sites that you might check out are:
dealcatcher.com
spoofee.com
Remember to set up an email address just for these type of sites. This will help protect your regular email from unwanted spam.
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CLEANING
Make Your Own Laundry Detergent
The site Tipnut has several different recipes to make your own detergent and it also features many other tips and tricks that you may find interesting.
Make Your Own Cleaning Products
Here are other homemade cleaning recipes from the same site that may help you in being "cleaning creative".
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GARDENING
What a great site out of the UK! Practical tips on gardening and other items.
Allotment Growing-Vegetable, Fruit & Herb Gardening
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MISC
Wedding Saving Tips
This site gives some good tips for saving money on that big day. Wedding Cram
Printer Paper
Reuse the blank back-side of any 8 1/2" x 11" printed scrap paper. This can be from advertising that you get in the mail or anything that you have printed up previously that was just used for temporary or scrap purpose. I have a pile that I keep around that comes in handy. This idea came from Becky Hixson.
Wrapping Gifts
Well, you know that I am going to say that you can reuse your paper, ribbon and bows. I have several bags of bows that I rumage through to find one that matches the paper I am using. It saves time, especially if you tie your own, and you may be a bit more creative in your wrapping.
You can combine several pieces of smaller paper that you have to create a larger piece and this creates a patchwork quilt effect You can even add "stitches" to it with a colored felt-tip pen.
You can also use non-traditional materials too. Why not use old wallpaper, paperbags or craft paper (with rafia bows are cute!), foil, shelving paper, and fabric.
You might even choose to use the gift as part of the presentation too and skip the wrap all together. Buckets, large napkins, towels, carry-alls, etc. work great.
Phone Service
I have had the MagicJack phone service for several months now. I signed up and it cost me $39.95 for the first year. There is no monthly fee! They also say that my following year should be $19.95. We will see. I have been using it as a second line. It has all of the phone options at no extra charge. All long distance calling within the United States and Canada is free.
The down side of MagicJack is that you have to have a high-speed Internet connection. According to their website the Internet connection has to be "Any of the following: Broadband, high-speed internet, cable internet, DSL, WiFi or WiMax. MagicJack does not work over Dial-up or satellite internet."
If you want to see what I mean you can go to the MagicJack website and check it out for yourself. I am not getting any kick-back, I just wanted to share what I think is a good thing with you.
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COUPONS
Coupon sites
This is an interesting site to check out-they have recipes too- PPGAZETTE
Trying to stretch every dollar? Here are some simple tips to help save money on food:
How to Save Money on Food
from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit
Shopping
- Clip coupons. Shop at stores that double the value of a coupon. Some stores will triple coupons. Coupons for FREE products are the best out of any coupon, and one should take time to find these. Coordinate coupons with store ads. Use coupons at stores where the item is already on sale to increase the value of the coupon.
- Join a coupon swapping organization. Swap coupons with users in the same geographic area. Exchange for items that you frequently use.
- Create a grocery list and stick to it. Don't venture towards the eye-catching advertisements.
- Don't buy things just because they're cheap. Buy only what you actually need.
- Stick to your budget. This will force you be more creative with your recipes and pay more attention to your nutritional needs.
- Compare prices. Most grocery stores post the "price per ounce" along with the cost of a product.
- Buy in Bulk. It tends to cost less if you buy larger quantities. Buy durable goods that you'll need in the future, such as kleenex or paper towels. Buy family-size cereal.
- Shop for grocery store baked goods early in the day. That is when bakeries mark down their day-old items.
- Shop for grocery store meat later in the day. That is when the meat department marks down the items about to go past the "sell by" date. This meat is perfectly safe and can be frozen for later use.
- Consider buying private-label or store brands. In many cases, these rival the quality of the well known brands, but at a significantly lower cost.
- Avoid processed foods. They may be convenient, but they're usually expensive and less nutritious. Buy cheap, healthy foods that are easy to fix, such as whole grain pasta, legumes and lentils.
- Select plant proteins. Include grains, legumes and nuts. Animal products can be very expensive. Meatless Monday is a public health campaign associated with the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. It encourages people to give up meat once a week to cut the intake of saturated fat. Check out the site for meatless recipes! [1]
- Check deep-discount grocery stores. They purchase overstocks and test market items from manufacturers. Be flexible as they offer a rotating stock and items change daily. You can save up to 40% on brand-name items by adjusting your menu. The west coast's deep discounter is Grocery Outlet (www.groceryoutlets.com).
- Join a wholesale club. They usually sell in bulk at cheaper prices than their competitors. Consider applying to BJ's, Costco or Sam's Club. Be sure to account for the cost of membership and transportation -- they may outweigh the benefit in savings. Smart & Final is a smaller, no-membership janitorial and restaurant supply store.
- Fringe Benefits If you need a job, look for a job in the restaurant industry. You can frequently bring home food for free or cheap, even when not going home. This is especially helpful if you want to go on a date, and don't want to appear penny-pinching. Family-run businesses are best for this.
Cooking
- Learn how to cook. Go to the library and borrow cookbooks and magazines with simple recipes. It's easy to make a nice dish with pasta, rice or beans. Practice makes perfect.
- Learn to enjoy cooking from scratch. You will be less likely to eat out. You can carefully craft low cost healthy meals.
- Learn to roll yesterday's leftovers into today's meal.
Create a new dish.
- Learn to make great-tasting dishes at a lower cost. Eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches instead of roast beef. Eat macaroni and cheese instead of steak.
- Manage your refrigerator. Never let food go bad. Eat it or use it as an ingredient in a sauce, casserole or soup. For example, old spinach can be chopped and put into a soup, old salsa can be added to a curry and old milk can be turned into a quiche. Of course, don't use anything that has actually gone sour or rancid.
- Plan meals based on what you have on hand. Bring out your creative side.
- Plan meals based upon what's on sale. Change your recipes accordingly.
- Find Cheap Recipes On-line There's lots of good cheap recipes on-line if you look, e.g. http://deliciouscheapmeals.com.
Tips
- Share a plate of food. Restaurants usually serve enough for two. Don't pay for more than you need. Take food home for an extra meal.
- Try growing your own fruits and vegetables. Even if it's only tomatoes on a sunny windowsill in your apartment. Dry out the seeds, of whatever you eat, on a paper towel. While shopping, look for planting and growing tips on seed packets in the store.
Related wikiHows
Sources and Citations
Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.
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BUYING TIPS
Bulk shopping
It is usually much cheaper to buy in bulk from a warehouse store. However, remember to consider the cost of membership into the mix. If you are a careful shopper you can also buy some of the items (i.e. paper products) sold at these warehouse stores for a better price elsewhere. Shop smart. Take a small calculator and read the store pricing labels! Compare ounces to ounces, lbs to lbs.
Freeze your milk
Yes you can. It can be stored up to three months. Remember to allow some room for expansion when it freezes, so pour yourself a small glass first. If you freeze it this will allow you to take advantage of sales and save on gas running to the store for bread (freeze it too) and milk. When frozen the milk will look yellow but thaws out to a normal color.
Savings on Meat
When the store puts the meat in the "reduced for quick sale" section is when you should buy it and freeze it.
Plan your meals for the month
Each day of the week can feature a different type of meat. For example, Mondays are ground beef, Tuesdays are chicken, Wednesdays are pork, etc. Then vary the side dishes. You can buy the boxed ones (rice, scalloped potatoes, etc) on sale most of the time.This rotation eliminates boredom (example: chicken only 4 times a month) and you don't have to give dinner much thought. Get a white board or cheap calendar to use for the meal planning.
My Favorite store
GROCERY OUTLET is a fantastic store to buy deep discounted items in food and household items. "We specialize in brand name products with "bargains only", that meet the needs of our customers by offering 40% to 60% below traditional retailers. Our offering is wide: Groceries, frozen, deli & refrigerated, produce, fresh meat (selected stores), general merchandise - seasonal products, housewares, toys, and gifts - health & beauty, and a most impressive inventory of beer & wine."
The only downside is that they don't always carry the same items for visit to visit. The experience is sort of like a treasure hunt. These stores are independently owned and operated by local families-that is a good thing.
HOW TO FEED A FAMILY ON $3 A DAY
Beware of the "loss-leaders"!
They are used to draw customers into a store where they are likely to buy other goods. According to Wikipedia, "A loss leader may be placed at the back of a store, so that purchasers must walk past racks of other displayed goods which have higher profit margins.
A loss leader item is usually a product that customers purchase frequently-thus they are aware of the usual price and that the offered price is a bargain.
Items offered as loss leaders are often very limited in number, which discourages stockpiling by customers. A retailer must subscribe to this method of selling on a regular basis in order to compel customers to make repeat visits.
The retailer will often set limitations on the quantity that one purchaser can make (e.g., "limit 4") and/or require a minimum dollar purchase before the sale price becomes valid (e.g., "limit 1 with $10 purchase")".
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CLOTHING
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EYEWEAR and CONTACTS
Handy links:
America's Best
COSTCO
39DOLLAR GLASSES.com
Please do your own research on these links, ask friends, relatives and check blogs to see what type of quality these stores offer. I have not personally used any of them but am relying on what I have read in my search on the Internet. Thank you.
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ENTERTAINMENT
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MISC.
Soap Sliver Saver
I made several of these-they make a cute small gift. Take a washcloth and fold it in thirds. Sew up the sides (using two thirds of washcloth) and leave the other third for a flap that folds over. Attach a button to the "pocket or pouch" area (select one that isn't too big) and then create a button hole, use a blanket stitch if hand sewing, in the flap section to secure it when it is folded over.
When the soap bar gets too small to use just place it in the pocket and use it for a body scrubber. You could jazz the soap-saver up a bit with ribbon or lace if it isn't too abrasive.
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