Miserly Tip # 24

We just switched our telephone service over to Vonage...an internet based phone service. We got to keep our number and all the services we had.before. No problem...just savings!

-Sarah, Oregon

Reader Comments: 
We switched but had trouble with reception. It would cut in and out, and there were days we had no service (internet OR telephone). 
-Becky, North Carolina

Miserly Tip # 23

My kids love fast food, but it is expensive and not very healthy. So,
on the rare occasions when we do get fast food, I save the empty bags,clean napkins, and condiment packets. Then, when my 4 year old is begging me to stop at McDonalds, we go home and play McDonalds. I make his lunch (sometimes frozen chicken nuggets), wrap it up and put it in the bag along with the napkins, condiments, etc. I also save those little plastic stadium cups with lids for his drink. I include a "prize", such as a small candy or a prize that came in a cereal box. We role play ordering lunch and paying for it. This is fun, cheap, and healthier than going out for fast-food.

Submitted by: Elissa  in Chandler, Az

Miserly Tip # 22

These tips have been saving us both money and time:

We use a combined shampoo/conditioner. We save money because only one bottle needs to be purchased instead of two separate bottles. The conditioning step is eliminated, thus saving time. Wholesale clubs (i.e., CostCo, BJ's) often sell economy size bottles of a selection of combined shampoo/conditioner brands.

I use a combined powder/foundation makeup instead of seperate liquid or creme foundation plus powder. I save money by buying only one cosmetic item instead of two. Time is saved because the liquid or creme foundation application step is eliminated. I have found that the combined powder/foundation goes on thick enough to cover what the liquid or creme would have.

My husband uses 100% aloe vera gel in place of men's aftershave. We purchase a large container of aloe vera gel towards the end of the summer when the sun care products are on clearance. A large enough container could last through the following year. Additional benefits of aloe gel are the mild scent, it doesn't burn, it's soothing to sensitive skin. Women can also use it after shaving legs.

Many different brands of makeup are manufactured by the same limited number of subcontractors. Keep this in mind when selecting cosmetics. A considerable amount of money can be saved without sacrificing quality when selecting cosmetics from brands offered in the supermarket or WalMart versus the brands sold at expensive department store counters. Time is saved picking up cosmetic items at the supermarket when grocery shopping (look for those coupons!).

Submitted by: Anne in Pequannock Twsp, NJ

Miserly Tip # 21

I am a stay-at-home mom of three, and my most important money saving strategy is to buy secondhand. When we need something, first I check to see if we can get it secondhand, and if we can't, then we get it new. I shop at a large thrift store called Savers and also at several smaller charity shops. In my opinion, privately owned stores tend to be too expensive on many items, charging almost as much for used things as they would be new on sale. I get almost all of our clothes used, the only thing I won't buy used is underwear. My pre-teen daughter proudly sports the latest styles from Limited Too, Gap and Old Navy. My two little boys wear Oshkosh and Gymboree. A bonus is that when my kids outgrow these clothes, I am often able to sell them to a private secondhand store or at a garage sale for as much or more than I paid for them.

If you are squeamish about buying secondhand, try a store such as
Savers, which weeds out the dirty, torn and unfashionable stuff. When you see the great things you can get and the amount you can save, you will be won over.

Submitted by: Elissa in Chandler, Az

Miserly Tip # 20

I love quality products, especially for my hair, but got tired of spending up to $20 for brand name salon hair products. I then discovered the "Generic" line of hair products at "Sally's" stores (specifically for cosmetologists but open to the public). The products come in black & white generic bottles and sell for about $2.79-3.99 but often go on sale for even less! I swear they are as good as the
Paul Mitchel, Nexus,KMS,etc. If your hair is damaged from highlighing, perms, etc.,like mine, please give them a try-you'll be amazed!!!

Submitted by: Lori in Dunedin Fl

Miserly Tip # 19

Americans like to shop. I found that we had more clothes than necessary so I stashed away extra socks, underwear and gloves, etc.. so that when our everyday clothing finally wears out, we will have clothing which we have previously stored. Also, the more clothes one has, the more laundry has. I really minimalized my husband's wardrobe and donated nearly half to charity ( a nice tax write-off even if you have to report the money back for the following tax year as "income.")... Now we have less laundry, more space in our dressers and much less of a mess. Clothing which is high quality/in style and/or re-sellable, goes to a local consignment shop and I receive a nice check every season (usually $35-$40 which is nice). Check your local consignment shop to see if they will consign your extra clothes.

Submitted by: Mary in Bethesda, MD

Miserly Tip # 18

My best way to save money is to breastfeed your new baby. Not only will you save on average $600.00 to $1000.00 dollars on formula, but latest statistics show that families save over $500.00 in medical bills in the first year   alone. Our family has many allergies and I feel that breastfeeding my baby saved us a fortune in medical bills.

Submitted by: Cheryl in  Phoenix AZ

Miserly Tip # 17

One of my favorite miserly ways is I make up my Christmas list right
after Christmas every year...Every time I go to my favorite stores I
always check the clearance racks.....I am usually able to by beautiful
$20-$25 items for around $5....This way I am able to get everyone a much nicer gift than I could if I waited until just before Christmas....And spreading these purchases over several months is much easier, too. Instead of fighting the crowds, I just get all of my gifts out and enjoy wrapping them.

Submitted by: Laurie in SE OK

Miserly Tip # 16

I am a new SAHM with one child. One of the things I am doing to save money is buying a gallon of whole milk each week (instead of the two I used to buy). When the gallon is half empty (or half full :) I mix a half gallon of non-fat powdered milk with it and have instant 2% milk! No one in my family has ever noticed the difference!

Submitted by: Tonya in Jackson, MS

Miserly Tip # 15

I am a Stay at Home Mom now for nine years. I have found a great way to cut the cost of cleaning supplies in our home. To clean my house I use only three things.

I use a spray bottled of diluted rubbing alcohol (one part alcohol to five parts water) to pretty much clean my entire house. I clean windows, mirrors, bathroom fixtures - disinfect doorknobs, counters etc. I stock up on this alcohol when it goes on sale four or five bottles for a dollar. A very cheap disinfectant.

I also have a spray bottle of diluted white vinegar (one part vinegar to 4 parts water). I use this to clean my linoleum floors. I spray it on and wipe it off and leaves it with a great shine. Believe me I tried everything on the market and this is absolutely the best. A big gallon of vinegar at the store costs less than a buck. Yes there is an initial vinegar smell but it dissipates rather quickly. Amazing.

My most expensive item is a good scouring solution with bleach to clean the tubs, toilet and sinks. This has truly helped our budget!

Submitted by: Lisa of Orem, Utah

Miserly Tip # 14

If you are interested in gardening or landscaping your yard...one of the best tips my mom ever gave me was to start with seeds. Not only are seeds extremely inexpensive (many seed packets are around $1.00 per pack) but you get a tremendous amount of seeds per pack and in many more varieties than are available at the garden center. If you can get a few friends together and  share seeds, there will not be any wasted and you all will have many  different plants for very little out-of-pocket cost. Also, if you accidentally  murder your plant..or the dog or kids do it for you, you are not out as much
money...it's a great way to experiment with new types of plants...and
veggies...one sunny window sill and a basket planted with herbs or salad   fixings...can cost well under $10.00 to create, while you get months worth of fresh veggies....healthy and cheap. Rewarding project for the kids to get involved in too. Happy gardening

Submitted by: M.Gibson, Fort Benning GA

Miserly Tip #13

I am a SAHM of 4 and I have found several ways of helping myself with their school projects. How many times on Sunday night have your kids said, "oh I forgot I have to have a posterboard for tomorrow or I was supposed to do a project for school." That has happened here too many times. So now I am prepared. I have a stash hidden away from the kids that includes extra pencils, markers, glue, tape and even empty shoeboxes. I wait till they go on clearance and stock up and put them in hiding. I also hide posterboards. The fit perfect between the mattress and box springs of your bed and you will always have plenty of them on hand. I buy them about a dozen at a time at our local Dollar General Store. Not only does buying this stuff in advance help with the stress level is saves money and time because you aren't making a special trip to the store and we all know how hard it is to buy only what we went after.

Submitted by: Dana in Harrodsburg, KY

Miserly Tip #12

I don't know if anyone has ever mentioned it but the Consumer
Information Center in Pueblo Colorado puts out a lot of publications that are consumer oriented and oriented toward saving money and/ or using your money wisely. Some of the brochures you have to mail away for but a lot of them are available online so you can just read them. You can also access their files for brochures that may be out of print and some of them feature economical recipes which could be used or altered to your tastes.

Submitted by: J. Lawyer,  Oregon City, OR

Miserly Tip #11

You can get free internet access in many cities in 47 states and Washington D.C. The only thing is you have to put up with a small in the corner of your screen while you are logged on. My last ISP cost 19.95 a month. That means I will save $239.40 in one year! I have never had any problems logging on and I have never been booted off. You only get one e-mail with your account, but at the price of free, you could have an account for every member of your family. Check it out at NetZero and see if its for you.

Submitted by: Kim of Frederick, MD

Miserly Tip #10

One thing that I have found is worthwhile is to check my phone bill monthly. For example, this month I was "slammed" by MCI, which means they were not my long distance carrier but they billed me, and their rates were much higher than my regular long distance carrier's rates are. When I called to question why I was being billed by MCI instead of my regular carrier, the MCI rep told me I had been "casually billed", which means they had just picked my calls out at
random and had billed me at their (higher) rate. My local phone company told me this happens more frequently than people realize, and these big companies bank on people not paying attention. It is a shame that we have to do this, but my suggestion is to carefully go over your phone bill each month. This month my phone bill was over $100.00 higher than it should have been due to the higher daytime and evening rates charged by MCI vs. my regular carrier. It took about 20 minutes on the phone(on an 800 number) to get it straightened out, but I think 20 minutes to save over $100.00 is
reasonable!

Another tip is I never buy soda from a vending machine. Pop in a machine can cost $.50-$1.00 a can, I can buy a 12 pack on sale at a local supermarket for $1.49-1.99, which equals a cost of 10¢ to18¢ a can, which since I drink a soda for lunch every day, saves me quite a bit in the long run. I keep a few cans in my car so I am not tempted to use the vending machines.

Also, I never hardly ever buy anything at retail. Just about everything goes on sale at one point or another, so I wait till they are on sale. Of course, things like milk and bread you can't do this with, but you can with non-perishables. When canned vegetables are on sale, I stock up and almost always have enough to last until the next sale!

The grocery stores in our area double coupons up to $1.00. I check the ads on Sunday, compare which items are on sale that I have a coupon for, and then I will buy the item. For instance, last week the store had cereal on sale 2 for $4.00, I had a $1.00 coupon, which doubled was $2.00, so I got the box of cereal free. I usually stick to the loss leaders.  Usually, they are cyclic, and what is on sale now will be on sale again in about a month or two, so I can generally get
most things at a good cost. I just don't buy them when they aren't on sale. Also, don't grocery shop when you are hungry! Have your list made out with your coupons ready and stick to it! Give yourself a set amount of time to shop and stick to it!

Also, gas prices are going up and down now. When they are low, I will fill up and stop frequently to keep my tank full, then when gas prices soar again, I don't have to stop to fill up. Usually I seem to last until the rates drop again.

Submitted by: C. Heath of Davison, MI

Miserly Tip #9

Buy generic. Start with the vegetables. Veggies are veggies. They all grow from the ground. I have found there is practically zero difference in the quality or taste between the brand name and generic, yet the price difference can be 30-40%. Next, take a look at generic over the counter medications.  Compare the ingredients to the brand name equivalent. 99% of the time they are exactly the same, but with a $1-2 difference. On the other generic products I suggest trying them out 1 at a time to see if you find a difference with your normal brand. By doing this you can save several dollars on each grocery bill and the savings add up quick.

Submitted by: Kim of Frederick, MD

Miserly Tip #8

I'm not a stay at home mom yet, but I am pregnant with our first child and very much want to be. I have found some ways to cut corners in our bills that you may find useful as well.

First, I called my phone company to find out the LATEST saving options. It turns out that I was on a very old savings program that has been surpassed leaps and bounds by the latest ones. I'm now going to have unlimited calling in the two area codes I use most (all our family is close to us but not close enough to be a local call) for only $20 per month! I'll save money AND get to talk as much as I want without that guilty feeling.

Also, try examining your cable bill. Some companies such as ours charge an extra fee to send you a tv guide every month. Our bill will be knocked down a total of $7 per month by declining this tv guide and 2 extra (non premium) channels.

For general household savings the best secret I have is to keep generic baby wipes on hand. These will remove almost any stain from clothing! I have saved hundreds of dollars on clothing that would have had to be thrown out by using baby wipes to scrub the stain out before washing. One pack lasts us about 6-8 months easily. In fact, I have often bought shirts on the "as is" racks for less than $5 each that only had make up on a collar. I just take it home and use the baby wipe and wash as usual. Then I have a brand new garment for CHEAP!

Submitted by: M. Lunday, Northwest Oklahoma

Miserly Tip #7

My wife and I share many of the tasks of our home (and although we have no children, our time together is often limited due to work hours) but MY favorite is grocery shopping! I have discovered a little tip that saves us time and money. I have become a OAMC (Once A Month Cook) so that I can save an incredible amount of time! After working long hours, neither of us feel like coming home and cooking diner. However, in order for me to cook meals for an entire month I have to plan and cut corners where I can! We are both into eating healthy and we have found a brand of ground beef that is 96% Fat Free! The only problem is that it is EXTREMELY expensive (i.e. for 1 lbs. it usually runs around$4.00!!).

I frequently did our shopping late at night and had to pay full price. HOWEVER, I found out that if you hit the grocery store in the early morning during the weekday, you can get the "Manager's Meat Special." Ground meat must be out of the store by noon of the following day, so if you arrive early enough, you can find tons of meat that is usually marked down 50% to 75% off. I simply go before I have to be at work and can usually pick up about 5-6 lbs. for $2.00 or $3.00!! Just stick it in the freezer and use it when you are doing all your cooking (in my case, for the month!).

Hope this helps!

Submitted by: B. Moody, Memphis, Tennessee

Miserly Tip #6

I am a stay at home mom for 17 years for two boys, 16 and 7.
Of course my kids like to eat after school snacks. They love pita pizzas that I make up ahead and freeze. This not only saves money, but time also. Here is the recipe: pkg. of any kind of pita bread, (english muffins work well too), pizza sauce (any brand you like),
pepperoni, sausage, hamburger , etc. , any kind of cheese you prefer; After you put them together, place on a cookie sheet and place in freezer until frozen. Then place frozen pizzas in a ziplock for quick removal. Bake  at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes . Longer depending on oven. Yum , yum the kids love them. Hope yours do too.

Submitted by: Edie, Dayton, Ohio

Miserly Tip #5

Set your water heater at 110 to 115 degrees and you will save a lot.
When washing clothes use the warm water wash and cold water rinse for light clothes and for dark colored clothes, or red clothes use cold water wash and cold water rinse as the clothes will retain their appearance and will not lose color as much. Some detergents are formulated for all temperature washing. Read the labels.

Submitted by: J. Lawyer,  Oregon City, OR

Miserly Tip #4

My kids love all those expensive drinks, which are not always all juice, but alot of sugar. I will buy just one each payday. I pour it into a gallon jug, and add the cheap store brand apple juice and about one cup water. It tastes the same. I have always filled the pitcher to the top when making orange juice, and not just three cans of water, so my kids are used to a weaker, but not weak juice.

Submitted by: D. Russell, Mobile AL

Miserly Tip #3

I purchase a gallon jug of bubble bath at the local discount store (K-Mart, Wal-Mart, etc.) for about a dollar and change. I use the bubble bath in many ways:

1. I re-fill soft-soap dispensers by each sink at our house.
2. I use it as a replacement for those expensive, "gotta-have" body washes. (No one has noticed a difference - especiallly if you buy a lightly-scented bubble bath that works for both sexes).
3. I use it to wash our two huge Black Labrador Retrievers...no skin problems to date.
4. In a pinch, we use it for shampoo...just use a little and rinse extra well.
5. It can be used as dish soap. (Read the labels...it's all the same ingredients, but the bubble bath is a lot milder).
6. AND...TA-DA...we use it as Bubble Bath!

Hope this secret gets out to lots of folks!

Submitted by: D. Nyberg, Oregon, WI

Miserly Tip #2

My name is Lynda and I have been a SAHM for 7 years. This year I have resolved to spend only what is necessary and to reduce as much as I can in the way of bills/extra belongings, etc. Just by making a few calls to my utilities I was able to shave off some $$ from our bills. I will give you a few examples.

Example #1 - The only added feature we have on our phone bill is voice mail and we have that due to the computer/being online. I called and found out that our local phone company now had 3 plans of voice mail (which they didn't advertise), so we reduced to the lowest which is going to save us $2 per month - a total of $24 per year. Not a lot of money, but if you realize that by trimming the fat on a few bills, it WILL add up to a lot!

Example #2 - I called the cable company next. I found out that there is a plan that if you pay by the year - you only pay for 11 months and get the 12th month free. Again, the company did not advertise this, so I only found out by asking. We also returned our converter box, which is used primarily for pay-per-view services and saved another $2.15 per month. All in all by making 2 calls I have saved almost $50 per year. That is a good return for my time, don't you think? Also, we have now decided to just rid of cable t.v. altogether. We have found that we truly don't accomplish as much by having t.v. around. We also find that we get into the "I want this" by watching too much t.v. What I have learned is that you don't know unless you ask, and it
doesn't hurt to ask!

Submitted by: Lynda, Lancaster, CA

Miserly Tip #1

I am a SAHM to 4 kids - 3 boys & 1 girl. This summer, when "shaves" were the preferred haircut around here, I bought a home grooming kit for less than $20 at Wal-Mart. I figured the worse thing that would happen is that I would make my kids bald :), and they would have time for their hair to grow out before school starts... I have no haircutting experience, and am not particularly talented when it comes to matters of grooming.

Well, this is one of the best investments I have ever made!!! The kit that I purchased came with a video and attachments to be placed on the clippers to adjust the cutting length. The first few haircuts were crewcuts only (for just the boys, of course), but as I've gotten more comfortable with the equipment, I've been able to allow their hair to grow longer and still trim it up - a real popular style around here right now is REAL (almost crewcut) short with bangs.... The clippers also make it real easy to trim my daughter's bangs - just pull her hair up with a comb (also came with kit), and run the clippers down the hair - fast & easy!!

This purchase has paid for itself many times over; it's also great because I don't have to worry about taking the boys (& girl) to the barbershop/salon, waiting our turn, dealing with bored kids, etc.... I just did my oldest son & daughter's hair before their baths tonight....

Submitted by: Sandy

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