Daily Thrifty Tips - March 13, 2006

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"Hey Curious George, I will read your books!" says, Hannah, who was "trapped" by the life-size Curious George doll.

The Curious George doll was purchased on an online Garage Sale and sold to us by a former teacher who wanted a good home for her Curious George!

The doll sits in a chair in front of a window; when the venetian blinds are open, and you are outside, it appears someone is sitting in front of the window!

By WandaJo from Tennessee

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Fluffy is a 5 year old Maltese. We bought Fluffy at a pet store in Oct of 2000.

Fluffy likes to play play fetch and she loves to be with my husband (her dad) and is often in his arms. People often ask us if her feet ever touch the floor. She does not know she is a dog.

Our daughter, Fluffy, is pictured on her new pet couch. She actually uses this couch to aid her in getting up onto our couch.

By labsah from Brooksville, FL

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An activity that we have done at several of my children's birthday parties were to make "questionnaires" that we included in the invitation. The invitees would fill out the form and bring it to the party, where an adult would read them (without saying the name of the person who filled out each form) and the birthday child had to guess the name of each friend or family member. This is a nice way to start off a party, because there is a mystery element involved and it also make the invitees feel special and also honors the birthday girl or boy and their friendships.

The questions on the form asks for information about the person filling out the form, as well as asks for comments about the friendship with the birthday girl or boy. For example the questions might be: "What is your favorite color?", "what is your favorite song?", "what is your favorite book?" (at least one or more of these answers should be information that the birthday girl or boy would know) and then "How long have you known the birthday child?", "What is your favorite activity to do with him/her?", "What are your three favorite things about _____?"

By Kayla from Atlanta, Georgia

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You can spiff up plastic buttons by coating them with nail polish (if you are careful, you can do it without even taking them off...) I have painted plain white plastic buttons with pearlescent nail polish to make them look richer.

By pam from L.A., CA

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If you like the glasses/sunglass frames but not the COLOR, you can carefully repaint them with Nail Polish.

By pam from L.A., CA

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If you buy the magic eraser from Mr Clean cut them in half and they will last twice as long.

By Jan from Ocala Fl

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Take a empty baby food jar are similar. wipe inside of rim, with Vaseline, bait with piece of banana peel, or a potato skin.

Hide in a dark corner of cabinet. After about a week 10 days check. If full either cap and dispose of in trash or fill with boiling water, wash and remake.

By Randa from Martindale TX

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Credit card debt makes a massive contribution to the overall personal debt burden. While credit cards are almost a necessity for certain purchases and a handy way to spread costs, temptation so often wins and people overstretch themselves. That's when things can get out of hand.

Can you trust yourself with a credit card? Are you sure you won't let your credit card debt get out of control? Have you overspent with your plastic in the past and are you concerned you might do the same thing again?

These are important questions you must ask yourself if you are considering applying for a card.

If you come to the conclusion you can't trust yourself, the best solution, or perhaps the only one, is to reject the idea of having a credit card altogether.

If you are sure you can handle a credit card without being irresponsible you should still follow a few basic rules to keep yourself in check.

First of all you must choose wisely. With thousands of different cards to choose from you have your work cut out. Be aware, though, that many of the best deals are found when you look beyond the high street and the more familiar names. The internet can be a valuable resource for comparison.

Once you've got your card there's no doubt that the smartest way to use it is to pay off whatever you've spent every month. You can then be sure that you're not spending more than you can afford and the interest won't be a problem.

Don't fall into the trap of simply paying the minimum amount because it will take an enormous amount of time to pay off your credit card debt this way. Missing payments is a definite no-no because then you'll have the penalty fees to worry about as well as the interest.

If you can't pay off the balance every month, it is more important than ever to make sure you are not paying a higher interest rate than you need to.

Take note of the multitude of credit cards that offer 0% interest for a limited period. The way around that limited period is to simply switch to another card offering an introductory 0% interest rate when that period ends, and repeat the process ad infinitum.

If you can't bothered with the hassle of this process, still be aware that you should assess the market regularly to make sure you are not paying more interest than is necessary.

While on the subject of interest, steer clear of store cards; these carry excessive interest rates unless you are prepared to settle them every month. If you must, take advantage of their money-off incentives but pay them off immediately.

Another golden rule is to inform the credit card company if you are having problems. The longer the problems continue, the bigger the credit card debt will get, so you have to find a solution.

Believe it or not, the credit card company will want you to find a solution too because they don't want to have to go through the courts to get their money back. So they will be open to suggestion regarding payment plans, etc.

It is always wise to enlist the help of a professional debt counsellor when negotiating with creditors. They will have the necessary experience and can sometimes get interest frozen.

By John Porter from United Kingdom

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For our son's 5th birthday party we asked two high school football players to come to the party dressed in their uniforms including their shoulder pads, knee pads, and other protective gear. They ran the children through some drills and then demonstrated some maneuvers (including defensive blocking). It was a big hit.

The teens wanted to decline any payment, but we insisted on paying them for their time and also giving them some party pizza and cake. I don't remember what we paid them, but it was about $25 each for a couple of hours.

Before the children came, I gave them some prep about safety issues and brainstormed with them some ideas to start off introducing themselves and what drills would be safe and fun.

One of the drills involved each child running forward a few feet, then catching a ball that was tossed to them, then avoiding being tagged as they ran through a "goal". Also, we set up an obstacle course that involved several orange cones around which the kids run zig zags, then had some ropes in the shape of rings on the ground (two in each row) that the kids had to step into as if they were tires.

One other thing we did was paint a "football guy" on a 5' tall plywood plank and had a friend cut a circle about 1 1/2' in diameter cut out above the figure's hand. We had the kids throw balls through the opening.

By Kayla from Atlanta, Georgia

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Removing roaches from small items. If you find a nest of roaches in a small item place it in a air tight plastic bag. With a couple of cotton balls soaked in alcohol. Leave sealed for a day are two. Open bag and shake item to remove dead roaches.

By Randa from Martindale, TX

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My daughter loves American Eagle Outfitters clothing; I just purchased a few things for her birthday online. For those that may be interested, below is an unadvertised discount code for 15% off your AE purchase. I just used it and it worked:

Go to: http://www.ae.com/web/index.jsp

The Discount Code is: 29359471 (Exp. 3/28)

By Marnita from Cumming GA

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Save free bumper stickers, stickers to cut up and use for packing tape when you run out.

By pam from L.A., CA

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Fill tub or sink with the hottest water you can. Add at least 1 cup dishwasher powder. Stir to mix well. Let sit until water is cold. Let out water as it is draining wipe sides with a rag. Rinse tub or sink with clear water. And it is clean.

By Randa from Martindale TX

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We would like to remove the Paneling on our living room. But whoever put it up Nailed and Glued it. We are not looking to paint it but we were wondering if anyone has removed the paneling and also removed the glue without ruining the drywall.

Rhonda from Detroit, Michigan

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Does anyone have ideas about how to help grown sons with families of their own to be responsive to holidays, birthdays, and communication in general? I am single and I do most of the calling, traveling, and visiting. I would like to have them increase their efforts without nagging or complaining on my part.

Steph from CA

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I have had insomnia for over ten years using medication. Has anyone received hypotism for this ailment? Did it work?

Nilsson

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I am looking for Mini-Muffin paper cups that fit the mini muffin tins for minature cheesecakes. The only ones I can find are the regular or minature (very small) paper cups. Any help would be appreciated.

Poco from Gardnerville, NV

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My Grandparents are going to be needing to use a wheelchair within the airport and they were wondering if anyone knows how much to tip the people transporting them?

Mandi from Erie

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I received a hand-crocheted baby blanket as a gift. Somehow it has this brown spot on it. The blanket itself is white. I'm not sure what this spot is, as it was there when I received it, but I was wondering if anyone could give me an idea how to clean it without ruining the beautiful blanket?

Sabrina from Woodstock, Virginia

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I need tips on how to lower my cholesterol. Any diet tips and easy meals to fix that are low in cholesterol would be helpful. I also have to incorporate lowering my sugar intake.

fab4mom from Walker, LA

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Our organization, Operation MoM, is hosting our 2nd annual golf tournament to raise money for the troops. We are looking for companies or individuals to sponsor a hole, donate items for our goody bags and raffle or pay to play. If anyone knows of a company that might like to sponsor a hole and receive advertisement or a golfer that would love to support the troops while playing their favorite sport. I appreciate any consideration.

Thank you!

JBS Operation MoM from Fremont, CA

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I made a mistake and added 2 cups of brown sugar to a loaf cake recipe. it should have been only 1 cup. The cake was a Poor Man's Cake, made with raisins, shortening, flour and spices, etc. I gave it as a gift (not realizing the mistake until later). Will extra brown sugar change the consistency or change the cake in any way, other than just making it sweeter?

Thanks,
P.J. from Delaware

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I am wondering if anyone knows how to get rid of ladybugs within the house? Any good home remedies out there?

Mandi from Erie

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I have a sage green microfiber love seat. I have some small blue ink streaks on it. How do I remove them without harming the material?

Jo from Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada

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My son will be graduating in May from high school and I am wondering if anyone has any graduation party tips?

sweetpea32208 from Florida

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I am looking to make either thoes Plastic soda bottle wind spinners, the ones that use the 2 liter bottles, or aluminum can wind spinners. I searched google but I guess im not putting in the right words. Does anyone have instructions?

Lyn from PA

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The local nursing home is holding a "decorate a table" party and I've been asked to decorate a table. I'd like to use my State Plate collection and do a "Summer Trip" theme. Do you have any suggestions on what I should use on the table? I have maps from each of the states and I am working on collecting spoons, glasses and mugs from the various states. What do you suggest as a centerpiece?

Thank you for your help!

zeng4aidan from Midwest

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I need home made receipe for NON-TOXIC paint remover.

Michaeletta from Tacoma

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I am repainting the bathroom off my bedroom - it's small, has a shower stall, atoilet, and a sink. It's in a house that was built in 1972. The tiles are white with gold flecks, the sink and toilet are harvest gold. Does anyone have a suggestion on what color to paint walls? I tried a deep tan with green undertones - yuck - please help.

F04098 from Albany, NY

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I would like to paint some old pine bedroom dressers and give it a distressed look. Any ideas on how to do this?

Jo from Garnerville, NY

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Has anyone tried the new swiffer-like microfiber cleaning system for wood floors that comes with a cleaner and upkeep liquids? It runs about $15. We have an older wood floor with some dark spots that were under a carpet we removed and has some scratches. I have used the swiffer wet pads on the wood floors and it leaves them sticky.

I have cats, so frequent hair removal is a must, and they like to throw up on the floor. I dry mop (sweep) a couple times a week and wet mop every 2 weeks or spot clean the pet presents.

Thanks!
Debi from Youngstown, OH

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How do you plant and maintain Rhubarb? What kind of soil do they like? Sun or shade?

Hardiness Zone: 5b

Carol from Nebraska (Southern)

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I have a set of curtain rods that will not meet in the center. There seems to be something holding one of them back. Most of the time I don't use the cords, just pull them open in the morning, and pull them closed at night and pull the fabric together and clothespin it to provide privacy. I don't use the cords much because the cats eat them and I have them safely put up. There is enough play in the cords to stretch the whole way across the window, so this is not what is holding them back. Any Ideas?

MD

mistressdevine50 from Youngstown, OH

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