Dollar Stretcher Tips
Dollar Stretcher Tips courtesy
of TheDollarStretcher.com.
Email your time or money saving tip to Tips@stretcher.com.
Coffee's Ready
The companies that advertise filter packs are pushing the convenience.
No fumbling for a filter and measuring coffee in the morning
when you are tired and in a rush to get somewhere. When I do
the dinner dishes, I put a filter and the coffee in the coffeemaker.
By doing this, there is no morning fumbling. Just add the water
and hit the button like you would with a filter pack!
Jamie H.
College Co-Op Programs
Northeastern University in Boston has a co-op program. My sister
and I graduated from there and it was a tremendous help to our
parents in financing our education. One year I was on co-op
for nine months and made $13,000 that year. It helps keep student
loans to a minimum. And as a physical therapist, the experience
is accredited. Being out of school seven years, I can claim
nine years of experience, which increases my pay scale. And
the experience gave me more confidence for my licensing boards.
Sue in San Antonio
Eliminating Centipedes
When I lived at home with my parents, the house they bought
was full of centipedes. They were everywhere you looked. We
finally heard somewhere that if you sprinkle 20 mule team Borax
(laundry aisle at store) around the edges of the rooms, it deters
them from coming in the room. I did this around my bedroom and
never saw another centipede in there. I would sprinkle more
around the edges of the room after vacuuming.
Sarah
Supermarket Strategies
Near your supermarket's entrance door, you are likely to find
temporary shelves offering some name-brand item for sale. Let's
use cookies as an example. When you walk through the cookie
aisle, you are likely to see that the regular price of the economy
brand of cookie is even lower than the sale price of the national
brand. Hence, do not be taken by those so called sales. Give
the economy brand items a chance. I am finding that they are
either just as good as the national brands or at least good
enough to justify the savings.
Also, if your supermarket offers some sort
of "member's discount" card, be sure to use it or
apply for one right away. (I have already saved a month's rent
with mine).
Joel
Trimming Expenses
In our family, we save both time and money by letting Mom trim
everyone's hair in between trips to the barbershop. Mom makes
sure that the styles are easy and trims her own bangs and our
son's hair every month.
Our goal as a family is to make a trip to the
barbershop every four months. This way we are only out $10 each
three times a year. This also saves time. We can enjoy ourselves
outdoors instead of spending one Saturday every month in the
barbershop waiting to get our hair cut.
Keith M.
From a Band Teacher
As a former band teacher, I have a few suggestions about obtaining
instruments fairly inexpensively. Common instruments like a
trumpet, trombone, flute, clarinet and saxophone can usually
be found used for a few hundred dollars. That's a lot until
you consider that many of my former students' parents went on
to sell their old band instruments after their children decided
band wasn't for them for the same price they paid for it!
Look in the classifieds for instruments. Some pawn shops have
instruments at a decent price. Many of my students' parents
were honest with me and I was able to assist them in locating
a good, used instrument. Do your homework just like you would
any other major purchase. An overhaul on a flute in my area
varies from $75 to $150. This is exactly what it sounds like.
You end up with a practically rebuilt instrument.
In Arkansas, they have a program called "Play It Again!"
in which instruments are donated to enable all interested students
to play in the band. Perhaps there is a program such as this
in your area. If not, try to get one started. Music can be a
wonderful and economical way to enrich your child's life.
Rejena A.
College Textbooks
Good sites for buying/selling college textbooks are half.com,
bigwords.com, ecampus.com and amazon.com.
Kathleen H. in Alta Loma, CA
Environmental Savings
Most grocery stores offer a five cent per bag reduction from
your total purchase when you bring in your own bags. Think of
all the paper and plastic you'll save by reusing your clean,
strong grocery bags!
Also, if you bring in your own commuter cup
to most coffee houses (like Starbucks), they offer a ten cent
per cup savings. Again, you are helping our environment by reusing
your own clean cup and you are saving money!
Donna
Dripless Water Bottles
Put an old sport sock around a plastic water bottle. This prevents
the water from dripping and getting table surfaces wet. It is
cheaper then buying the "insulated" bottles, and it
is washable!
Erica W.
Gloves: Round Two
If you get a hole in one of your rubber gloves, don't just throw
it out. Cut two or three strips about 3/4 inch wide from the
top. These make great rubber bands when you need a larger one
than usual. Also, cut the fingers off. These make great covers
for your fingers if you are wearing a bandage and help to keep
the area clean when you are doing a dirty job.
Jeanette M.
Minimal Service, Maximal Savings
Like many people, I have a cell phone, but I also want to keep
a landline for backup purposes. Where I live, in a large urban
city, unlimited phone service is around $30 a month. With a
$35 cell phone bill, I hated the idea that I was paying $65
per month just for phone services. I don't even make that many
phone calls!
I called my local phone provider and asked
about limited calling plans. They have a plan whereby I can
make up to 30 calls a month for $14.88. There are no restrictions
on incoming calls or minutes used. They told me that if I exceeded
the 30 calls, each call was 8 cents.
I did some quick figuring. For me to approach
my normal bill of around $30, I would have to make more than
185 extra phone calls beyond my baseline of 30 that was included
in the price. I'll never come close to doing that. I'm going
to save about $180 this year with the change.
Barbara B.
Save Some Dough
I never liked the taste of any type of bread that had been frozen
and then thawed. The crust always seemed "funky" after
it thawed. Having recently adopted three little girls, we now
go through about three loaves of bread per week. I was always
running to the store for bread. My friend told me to thaw the
bread on a cooling rack to get airflow underneath it.
I now buy bread every time it's on sale, and
it tastes better and fresher than the first day that I bought
it. I think the airflow underneath is the trick. Who would've
known? This has saved me numerous trips to the grocery store
for that fresh loaf of bread.
Shelly in Fort Lauderdale
Cracked Carafe
As we all know, coffeemaker carafes are flimsy and crack easily
either in the sink or if it comes in contact with your faucet
a little too fast! I found that my local Church thrift store
carries a multitude of carafes that sell for around one to two
dollars. So try your thrift stores before ordering a new one
or buying another coffee maker!
Marcia
Bridesmaids Dresses
I am constantly hearing complaints from bridesmaids about their
dresses. They are spending hundreds of dollars for a dress (sometimes
a hideous one!) that they will never wear again. This often
ruins the feeling of honor and excitement about being asked
to be in a friend's wedding.
Instead of choosing dresses that are all the
same, why not just specify the color and maybe the fabric and
length? Let the bridesmaids choose their own dresses. For example,
you could specify ankle-length, cobalt blue satin. It's obviously
easier if you choose a more common color. I did this for my
wedding and my best friend did it for her wedding as well. I
found my beautiful dress at a thrift store for $10! The effect
is really just as nice. If you think the bridesmaids will have
trouble finding an appropriate dress, you can always suggest
a catalog or store for ideas.
Judy G.
Do you have a good idea for saving time and money? Send it by
email to tips@stretcher.com.
Your idea could help thousands of readers!
|
