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Miserly Tip # 49

Our power company has a program called WRAP... winter relief assistance program. They come out to your house and assess it. They checked the attic and found that we had insufficient insulation there and over our kitchen in the crawl space. They also found that shower heads replaced with water savers can save on hot water costs. They are now going to put the insulation, chalk and weather strip our windows and doors put a vent over the kitchen and replace the shower heads all for the low-cost of FREE!!!! you guessed it.... they want to help consumers save money on their electrical usage. So call your company and find out about it. Also putting my family on a budget plan helped by making our electric costs the same each month instead of a staggering high bill in the winter and low in the summer.

Submitted by: Laurie from Allentown PA

Miserly Tip # 48

I am a new stay at home with years of frugal/tightwad/miserly experience. Breastfeeding is free! and it promotes health. Breast feed without giving solids for six months or more and you will have a happy and healthy child.

I enjoy sewing and have found some great discount fabric stores in our city's Little Italy. They sell fabric for $1.50 a yard (Canadian).
Larger cities tend to have these types of stores. I stock up if I see a
lovely fabric. You never know when it may come in handy.

I also enjoy sharing with neighbours. One neighbour and I have been
trading baby and house items back and forth for quite a while. This
works with people who have kids who are not the same as yours, so you can use the item when they don't need it.

I cancelled the cable -- finding that I watched too much TV anyway. We just bought a fairly good antenna and tape things onto the VCR from the 7 or 8 stations we can tune in.

If you garden make sure you make friends with other gardeners as you can subdivide your perennials and give them to each other. Perennials often spread very quickly and need to be divided. We found a woman living in a small town on one of our holidays who was dividing her perennials and paid just $2 each for large pots of perennials which have been blooming most of the summer.

Submitted by: Helen from Toronto, Canada

Miserly Tip # 47

I've come up with a great idea, to print up gift certificates for gifts for things like foot massage, hand massage, baby sitting, car washing! There are heaps more.  Just use your imagination, look at all the savings! Great for children to give family as gifts, that's truly what giving is all about, Giving of yourself. No cost involved!

Submitted by: Sherrie in Western Australia

Miserly Tip # 46

I am a mother of one with one on the way. Before having kids, my husband and I noticed that we were throwing away tons of food every week that we just didn't get eaten before the food rotted. We decided we were wasting a lot of money so now I make a menu for one to two weeks at a time and then make the exact grocery list that we need to make those items. Our cupboards look a lot more bare but we never have to make those annoying quick trips to the store, we always know what we are going to make for supper, and we have shaved a ton of money from our grocery bill. No more
buying whatever looks good at the store and it has helped us get through supper much more smoothly!

Submitted by: Missy from Denver, Iowa

Miserly Tip # 45

I find that it is very hard to control impulse buying. I give myself an
allowance every week that covers lunches, dinners out, and ALL impulse buying. For anything else I want (not need), I must wait three days. It is amazing what you don't need after three days.

Submitted by: Diane from Indianapolis, Indiana

Miserly Tip # 44

I am a SAHM with 3 kids (twin girls 3 and a 4 yr. old son) and these helpful hints have been handed down to me and really stretch your grocery dollar.

when making hamburgers always add bread crumbs, non-instant oatmeal or a combination of bread, whet germ & bran to your meat when mixing...this will take a little meat a long way...added benefit, the burger will stick together better and it's healthy for you.

If you find a packaged food you like, read the ingredients and make your own recipe...I make my own pizza sauce using the list on the back of my favorite brand...taste great and way cheaper...make a big batch and freeze.

Did you know that peppers freeze really well, I always buy on sale, clean and cube them and pop them into the freezer. They don't go soft, and are perfect for pizzas, stews, soups or whatever. Cheese will freeze, but it's better to be grated up first since it becomes crumbly. Milk freezes, just shake it up really well before using

Submitted by: Raye, Masset, B.C. Canada

Miserly Tip # 43

I have always stayed at home with my two boys (ages 7 & 5 ). But it is increasingly harder to live on one income although my husband is well paid.

One area we have saved money in the last year is a trash can. It is a small trash can that uses plastic grocery bags for liners and fits nicely under the counter under the sink away from the dog.. I purchased it at my grocery store (Stater Bros.) for $5.00. When the courtesy clerk asks "Paper or Plastic ?" I tell them plastic, bring home my groceries and re use the bags for trash liners. Yes this does require the trash to get taken out allot more than with a larger can, but I feel it's worth the money. Besides, my boys & I get some well needed exercise walking the trash out to the can, and our apartment complex pays for trash pick up.

Submitted by: Franci, North Edwards, CA

Miserly Tip # 42

I can't believe that no-one has mentioned using cloth diapers. If you have access to a washer, spending money on disposables is like throwing it down the drain. Modern diapers don't use pins; they're as easy to use and fit as well as the best quality disposables and there is a vast selection available from mail order companies on the web. After all, you can spend $200-$300 on a complete set of cloth diapers which will last your baby from birth to toilet training, or you can spend $700 - $900 a year on disposables. If you have more children, the diapers can be handed down at no extra cost.

There are many more, but just for an example, check out:

Baby J   WeeShop   for more information.

Also, American consumers should know that they can save up to 40% on baby products if they buy online or from a mail order catalogue in Canada thanks to the disparity in our currencies. Two companies that will send you print catalogues for free are:

Born To Love and Baby Love Products

Submitted by: Kari in Ottawa, Canada

Comment from a reader:

Miserly Tip # 41

This tip will save time and money. My husband and I are vegetarians so we eat alot of vegetables all the time. When the stores are having a sale on vegetables we just buy alot. Then I usually spend an evening cutting all the vegetables up and put them into huge ziploc bags. I take one bag of each vegetable and put it into the crisper in the refridgerator and the extras go into the freezer (you'd be surprised, no one will notice the taste). Then when we want individual salads, or a stir-fry for the family we just break out the veggies and voila! No prep work at all!

Submitted by: Kim in Virginia Beach, VA

Miserly Tip # 40

My favorite way to save money is by using vinegar. I know it's an old trick but it really works. I fill a small bottle with 1 part vinegar to
4-5 parts water and place it beside my shampoo. After shampooing and rinsing, add a little of the vinegar mixture to your hair. Rinse. You
will smell the vinegar but the rinsing removes the odor and your hair
does NOT retain the vinegar smell. This is a great cost saver in place of conditioner. Vinegar can be used for your automatic dishwasher. Use the cheapest brand of dishwashing detergent and add 2 tsp. of vinegar to the load for sparkling, odor free dishes. 

One final tip is for the laundry. I buy the cheapest gallon of store
brand fabric softener I can find, pour some into a large butter tub, and add a few small sponges. I squeeze out a sponge and toss it into the dryer with the wet clothes and it takes the place of those expensive dryer sheets.

Submitted by: Robin in Waverly Hall, GA

Miserly Tip # 39

One way I have saved money is disposable toys for the kids. You know the covers to laundry detergent ? Wash them really good and you have great toys. They come in all shapes, sizes and colors. They are stackable and can fit inside eachother. You can also use hairspray covers and many others. Use your imagination. they are disposable so you dont have to worry about leaving them somewhere. I store them in the chubs wipes container. My kids love these toys as much if not more than most store bought toys!

Submitted by: Doreen in Enfield, CT

Miserly Tip # 38

I cut our electricy bill by 40% by making a routine of reading the
electric meter at 12:00 noon every day. It soon got to be fun detective work to find out where all the power was going. It was amazing how many lights, recharging devices, and electric gadgets I discovered were left on for no reason. I got everyone in the house to join in the game.

I also cut driving down by about 40% by keeping a log of every trip and its purpose. Soon I found I was making many trips for a single purpose (e.g.1 to buy suger, another next day to buy milk), that could becombined. So I made a rule that every trip in the car had to be for at least two purposes (e.g. shopping AND returning the video rental). Now I am working on three at a time. This saves gas, tires, service, and helps the car last longer.

Submitted by: Sandy in Fremont, NH

Miserly Tip # 37

We are at a point in our lives where every penny is counted and, if
possible, saved. This isn't such a horrible thing as we are learning a
whole lot about what is important and what isn't. The children have learned that they won't die if they eat at home (especially since I've had to learn to cook!). At any rate, here's what I've found to be a resource and money saver in the printing paper department.

I have become increasingly disgusted with the amount of computer paper that is used and discarded, regardless of the amount of ink printed on it. Since the reams of paper we buy are not cheap and resources are something we'd like to teach our children to respect, I've decided to save the paper we use and flip it over for a second trip through the printer. We haven't had any problem with the paper jamming Most of the stuff we print is just goodies for personal use, so this saves us a few bucks and a few trees.

Submitted by: Jan in Eugene, Oregon

Miserly Tip # 36

Here are some miscellaneous tips that I've used at our house:

1. I use dryer sheets at least twice. I'll dry 2 loads with a new
sheet; then toss both used sheet into the 3rd load. Everything still
smells great and feels just as soft as if I'd used a new sheet each
time.

2. When buying winter coats for the kids, I get them big. Then we can
usually get 2 winter's use out of them and pass them down to the next child. With 4 children (1 son and 3 daughters), this helps alot.

3. I try to save any old paper (junk mail, computer paper that's used,
etc.) that's only been printed on one side for the kids' artwork. Then
we hang the artwork on the project room wall for decorations.
Even though I still work part-time, the hours are few and variable.
Knowing how to stretch a dollar to cover our family of 6 has helped!

Submitted by: Cindy in West Virginia

Miserly Tip # 35

I left my part-time job several months ago when I found out I was
pregnant with our first child. Now that my due date is quickly
approaching, and the purchase of our first home, I need to learn more ways to save! Some of the best tricks I've discovered so far:

1. We had our long-distance disconnected and switched to using prepaid calling cards instead. I've found a local grocery store that carries 250 minutes for $10 (yup, that's $.04 per minute) with no surcharge for connecting the call. Also, it announces each time you make a call how much time you have left, and it's made me much more aware of how much I'm spending. I still pay for local calling (about $25/month) but I can usually get by with one to two $10 cards a month, so I cut my monthly phone total from $75-$100 down to less than $50.

2. I recycled an empty soft-soap bottle and filled it with laundry
detergent, and set it next to the clothes hamper. Now when I need to
pre-treat a stain I can just squirt a little detergent on it, throw it in
with the dirty clothes, and it can wait till laundry day. It works well
and saves on those expensive stain-treatment sticks and gels.

3. I save empty 20-oz or liter size soft-drink bottles and refill them
for car trips. They work great for bottled water or juice, and you can
freeze them ahead of time (don't fill all the way, or they'll burst!) so
it's good and cold.

Submitted by: Jennifer in Cogan Station, PA

Miserly Tip # 34

Frequently I save glass jars for storage. We do not have a recycling program in our area, and I like that I can see through the jar to see what I have stored. No more mystery! In order to remove the label, I soak the jar in warm soapy water. Frequently the glue or paste is left behind. Remembering a product my husband brought home that contained citrus, I used a zester to remove the rind of an orange. Taking the orange I rubbed the zested side of the fruit on the glue. The citrus oil works very well to remove that sticky residue. I don't have to worry about harsh chemicals, and oranges are always on hand.

Submitted by: Terr in Reynolds,GA

Miserly Tip # 33

I have found a great tip for all those presents you have to give -birthdays, weddings, Christmas, etc. I went to our town's paper store and bought plain white bags with handles (.15 to .35 each) and a jumbo roll of plain white paper. I found some wonderful stamps at our discount store for all holidays and seasons as well as different colored stamp pads. Each time we have to send a present, we "stamp" up the bag or paper for the appropriate occasion! The kids love to stamp and I never run out of the "Christmas, birthday, etc." paper or gift bags! For easy birthday paper or bags I just hold 4 Jumbo markers in one hand and draw streamers and dot confetti on the paper or bag!

Submitted by: Wendy in Mt. Pleasant, SC

Miserly Tip # 32

One way our family has reduced time and expenses is to make and freeze homemade soup instead of buying canned. I make a large kettle of a stew or chicken noodle, then freeze in individual containers. I've found that the small containers cake icing comes in are great to reuse and freeze soup in. This works great for my family as we like to eat a lot of soup.

Submitted by: Kendra in Cleveland, TN

Miserly Tip # 31

While I am not yet a mom myself, I have a few great tips which I learned from my mother and grandmother.

(1) Buy Christmas wrapping paper AFTER the holiday is over and when the stores have 50% - 90% off all the gift wrap ribbon, and trims. We enjoy finding creative ways to use our bargain trims and beautiful ribbons. Most of the gifts under our Christmas trees look like they were wrapped at a department store!

(2) You can also buy solid color ribbons and wraps (red, white, purple, stripes, metallics) to use for other holidays and birthdays throughout the year without paying exorbitant prices for rolls of gift wrap and spools of ribbon.

(3) We also SAVE and REUSE our fancy ribbon creations at least once. This way you get double the use on you bargain decorations!

Happy Gift Wrapping!

Submitted by: Melanie in Kentucky

Miserly Tip # 30

I have a 3 year old boy and instead of buying color books I just print
of a color page off the internet. Crayola has a great site for preschoolers with their A,B,C color pages and their 1,2,3 color pages. I will take one page a week and devote that week to that letter or number depending on what we are doing.

Submitted by: Bonnie in Phoenix, AZ

Miserly Tip # 29

My hubby, bless his heart, is famous for emptying change from his pockets anywhere and everywhere in the house. I immediately follow up, scoop it up, and drop it into a jar I have hiding in my closet. (Don't tell them, they may sneak the change heehee!). After the last three months of saving I have $43.00 in change!!!!!

A couple months before Christmas, we use the same idea and use the change to buy our Christmas tree..which is always an extra cost for the family. So much is spent on presents, it's nice to not have to worry about the cost of the tree! And we NEVER cash it in for dollar bills! It is more fun to show up with all that jingling change!!! Last year we had so much, we bought a tree for the neighbors too and still had enough for a treat after picking out the tree!

Submitted by: Lisa in Kingsport, TN

Miserly Tip # 28

I am a stay at home mom for 5 years now and have 3 children. My miserly tip is to use one package of chicken breasts or ground beef for two meals. I cook it all up at once. If its chicken, I cut it up into strips and stir fry it, bake it, grill it, whatever and then divide it up season it use one portion that night and freeze the other for future use or later in the week. If its ground beef, I use half of it for tacos and the other half for sloppy joes.

This saves you money, and my hungry family of 5 never complains that there wasn't enough. Plus, it saves you time when you have cooked the meat for the future already! But here is my favorite bonus...I never waste money by throwing out leftovers that nobody will eat because we've had it for the umteenth time! Just one package of meat can feed one family of 5 twice!

Submitted by: Karen in Mansfield, Ohio

Miserly Tip # 27

I am a stay at home mom to 4 children, the youngest being 3 months old. As you can imagine, we have A LOT of laundry. This tip may seem obvious, but I line-dry everything!! I saved $20 on last month's electric bill because the weather had been nice and I only had to run the dryer a few times.

I used to "schedule" my laundry days, but I have it is better for me to do my laundry according to the weather. On a nice, warm day, I will do all the laundry in the house. If afternoon thunderstorms are expected, I will start the laundry at 7 am and have it dry before the rain comes.

If you *have* to have soft towels, you can dry them in the dryer a little
first, then line-dry them. My husband thinks they absorb better when they are completely line-dried, and I love it because I know how much I am saving!                    

Submitted by: Rachel in Virginia Beach, Virginia

Miserly Tip # 26

When using a flavored rice or noodle mix (yes, I do buy generic mixes for fast meals) I add a handful of rice (or noodles) and increase the water. There is no difference in taste (and there is a reduction in sodium). I also like to use them as a base for a 1 skillet meal, add cut up cooked chicken, sliced veggies (we like carrots), cook as usual. A meal in one. we also add hamburg and veggies to beef rice mix> tuna & peas or chiken &  broccoli to alfredo noodles. Yummy & quick

Submitted by: Melissa in Ohio

Miserly Tip # 25

I am a working lady. I have being frugal all my life. I grew up on a farm. The best time to buy clothes out of a stores: You buy opposite of the season, buy your winter clothes in the summer time and buy your summer clothes in the winter time. This way you will save a lot of money. I always go shopping after Christmas,to get all the sales. Then I buy my gifts for next years.

Also I love yard sales, estate sales, moving sales and garage sales. You can go to these different types of sales and really find good bargins. You can also buy winter and summer clothes from all of these sales. Churches has the best sales. If you want any type of house furniture go to a moving sales, they always have good deals.

If you go to certain grocery stores early in the morning they marked there meats prices down. Because they must be sold buy a certain date. If you have a freezer you can just fill it up. These are just some of my frugal tips.

Submitted by: Janice from Arkansas

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