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Vol. 8, Num. 217, November 5, 2009 (Read It Online) The Halloween Costume contested has ended, but there is still time to vote for submissions. You can view and give a "thumbs up" to submissions here: http://www.thriftyfun.com/Special%20Contests_Halloween% 20Costumes%202009_15504_15505.html Thanks for reading, The ThriftyFun Team
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If you are an avid crafter, capable writer and own a digital camera, you are eligible to participate. Submit your craft projects to ThriftyFun and we will pay $15 for any crafts that we publish. More Information:
I used an old dress for this costume. I tore a piece of the dress to put in her hair and added a necklace and I gave her that toy wand. By Shareka from Durham, NC
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Rate It: Halloween: Dog the Bounty Hunter and Wife Costume Duane Chapman is known as Dog the Bounty Hunter and lives in Hawaii with his wife Beth and family. My husband Todd agreed to wear the only store-bought part of this costume, the long blonde wig. Dog is known for his long tresses, roach clip beads and sunglasses. Todd wore a black button up shirt (unbuttoned) with dark jeans (Dog wears leather pants), a sheath knife tied to his leg, a sheriff star for his badge, and handcuffs on his belt. As Beth, I wore a tight shirt with a travel pillow in front to simulate her ginormous bust, and tight jeans, and red fingernails and flower lei. I already had the long blonde hair. We got a ton of laughs with these costumes and our boys went wild, they love Dog! Source: Own ideas from watching Dog the Bounty Hunter show By Lauren from Columbia, MO
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Rate It: Halloween: Starbucks Coffee Costume This idea came to me because I admit, I love coffee. So much in fact, that I turned into one. I bought a very lightweight garbage can from the hardware store. It came with a lid. I cut out the bottom of the garbage can so that my legs would be able to come through. I then spray painted the can and lid completely white. I then as best as I could, I drew the lady on the front of the can with green and black paint. I did the same on an open cardboard box. I wrapped the cardboard around the can and, using a lot of hot glue as well as Gorilla Glue, glued it on to the can. I then cut out the hole on the lid to represent the sipping hole. I glued the lid to a baseball cap with the bill cut off. The last thing I did was to cut out holes to attach bungee cords so that I could carry it on my shoulders. By Laura from Chicago
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Rate It: Halloween: "A Cow Says Moo" Costume Take a man's size large crew neck white tee shirt. Take pants and shirt that fit your toddler and lay them out on the shirt. Cutout around the pants and shirt 1 inch larger. Cut out large "spots" from black fabric. I added embroidered words to the spots. Applique the spots to the body of the suit. Sew up all seams. Place zipper in the center of the back. You may want to take the body in a little at the zipper since the neck of the tee shirt is so large. Use tee shirt scraps to make a flat tube for the tail (I didn't stuff mine because my toddler still falls on his bum bum). Sew a tassel of black yarn to the end of the tail and attach to body of the suit. I used an ear warmer to make the ears and horns. To make the ears use some of the material from the spots and line with pink material. Sew together and attach to the headband. I made the horns out of tee shirt scraps sewn into cones and stuffed with polyfill. I attached those to the headband in front of the ears. Add black gloves and shoes and there is your toddler Moo Cow! By Andrea from Hillsborough, NC
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Rate It: Pooh Bear is a Chinese Goose, that we think is three months old. We've had Pooh about a month. He was a runt and since I've gotten him he has shown a malformed foot and wing. He is handicapped and loved. We have many "critters" on our hobby farm, a lot of which are handicapped. I have a handicapped daughter so they fit right in. Pooh loves to swim and eat grass and chick starter. He is very tame with me and my daughter but is wary of my husband. He plays in the "corral" with the other critters during the day and sleeps in a cage at night. He likes to swim and eat grass and chick starter. We have a pair of adult Chinese geese that have more or less adopted him. When he is in the corral with them and all the others, his daddy protects him and his mom stays close by him most of the time. By kflawson Contest Contender!
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Lady is a four year old Pomeranian. I got her 4 years ago as a birthday gift. She loves to grab hold of her 'boyfriend's' tail. He drags her all over the yard. A sight for sore eyes indeed! In this photo, she is ready to go to a luau with us. She was the 'hit' of the party! By Kathy from Richland, MS Contest Contender!
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These contests are weekly. We pick 2 tip winners and 1 photo winner at the end of each week. Each winner will win $25!
Keep Your ID Separate For Safety Since I previously lost my billfold and all of my i.d. at one time, I now always keep an extra credit card and my driver's license in a side, zip pocket of my purse. Plus, my daughter who is now away at college keeps her credit card at her dorm and only her debit card in her purse. I'm not sure if she understands my concerns but it makes me feel safer to know that if her purse is misplaced or stolen that she will be able to survive until all the paper work is sorted out. Maybe I'm reasonable or too protective but I do know that experience is a good, hard teacher. By Judy from Memphis, TN Contest Contender!
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Hunters: Remember the Food Pantries For all you hunters out there, remember the food pantries and the homeless when your freezer gets filled up and your friends don't need any more venison or wild game. Everybody can benefit from your sport. By Elyag from Rochester, NY Contest Contender!
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To get the odor out of stinky shoes and sneakers, wad up newspaper and stick in the shoes. Leave several hours or overnight. Odor gone and it is a green idea! By Dwedenoja from New Creek, WV Contest Contender!
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Use Timer Light Switches for Easily Forgotten Lights Purchase timer light switches and install in the bathrooms, kids rooms or any room were lights may be forgotten on. The timers automatically shut the lights off after 15 to 60 minutes or whatever the time is on the one you purchase. No more lights on in the upstairs bathroom that you don't notice until after the kids are gone. By Kimsukie from Happytown USA Contest Contender!
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Use Binder Clips to Secure Garbage Bags Bags in garbage cans slipping. I was getting frustrated with garbage bags slipping down on the inside of my tall kitchen garbage can every time I tried to put more garbage in. I sometimes would get the bags that grip the rim but they still slipped and were more costly. One day, I took binder clips (the black or colored clips with silver bars that you get in office supply stores) and used two clips, one on each side on the garbage can rim, clipping the bag to the can. I flipped the bars down. They easily went on and I was able to close the lid. It has worked like a charm. I can now use any type of bag that is on sale. By Shardebhow from Cherry Hill, NJ Contest Contender!
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I like to reuse dry cleaners hangers by saving them up all year (I throw them out in the garage in a trash bag). Then when we go on vacation for a week at a hotel I'll bring them with me and I'm able to hang up all our clothes to keep them wrinkle free and give us more room in the drawers. I also invariably give some to our friends who come on vacation with us for their room, so it's good that I have saved so many. We take lots of weekend trips throughout the year, and it's nice to have a dozen extra hangers with us since most hotels only give you about 6, and I tend to hang up all our clothes instead of keep them in drawers. By Jazzy from Ellicott City, MD Contest Contender!
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Spreading the Cost of Christmas It's a bit late for this year but, if you want to spread the cost of Christmas, buy 1 or 2 extra items every time you do a 'grocery' shop and store them for parents' or in-laws' Christmas presents. You don't notice the extra cost at the time, and it's such a 'feel good' factor to have a well stocked cupboard. Similarly, in the New Year sales, I purchase some items for birthday and Christmas presents, again spreading the cost. Source: Something I did years ago and they were delighted with the boxes of groceries. By skinnyjinny from Scotland Contest Contender!
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Use Bleached Towels to Remove Ink in Dryer Absolutely use the bleached towel tip for getting ink stains out of the dryer. I used two bleach soaked white towels for the worst ink stains I have ever seen in the dryer and it worked so well! The stains are gone and as the other person said: 'no elbow grease'. The dryer is the cleanest it's ever been! Don't use any other method, IMO, as I tried them all! This really works! By Amy from Fort Collins, CO Contest Contender!
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What are possums afraid of? And how do I get rid of them? By Lee Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf586161.tip.html
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Rate It: Religious Theme for "Babes in Toyland" Christmas Float Our church is doing a float for the parade. The theme is "Babes in Toyland". That is what the float must be made around. What is a religious approach we could use? Please help. By Aleta Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf36020032.tip.html
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Rate It: Ballpoint Ink Stains on Ultrasuede Couch How do I remove ballpoint ink stains from my ultra suede couch? By Jane from SC Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf76138101.tip.html
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Rate It: Baby Food Stains on Upholstered Chair How do I remove food stains from baby on upholstered chair? Stain includes formula, banana, baby food, etc. By Tracy from Mobile, AL Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf71856308.tip.html
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Rate It: City Bear, Country Bear Book Title I'm looking for a book about bears. The specific story involved city bears and mountain bears and a snowstorm. The city bears learned that the mountain bears were really the ones who had it all figured out since the mountain bears had been living off natural resources and simple comforts. A great book to start teaching thrifty living concepts to little ones, but for the life of me, I can't remember the title of that book. Anyone have an idea? The book would have been published in the late 70s/early 80s, I think. Thanks. By Stephanie Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf34775380.tip.html
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Rate It: My dog ate the wrapper that goes around a piece of bologna. Is it harmful to her? I don't want to lose her or have her hurt. By Lisa from Whitehall, MI Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf36445646.tip.html
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Rate It: I have an old chair with a turnable seat to adjust higher or lower, no arms, claw feet holding clear glass or crystal balls. It's small, about 4 feet tall with dark wood, and metal attachments for the turnstyle. I was not sure what type of chair it is. My neighbor told me it might be a piano chair; it looks old. It is not 4 feet tall, but more like 3 feet. Is my neighbor possibly right (without looking at a picture) that it is a piano chair? By Joni from CT Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf28311324.tip.html
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Rate It: Raising a Chi-pin (Chihuahua/Miniature Pinscher This is Dukie. She's a 12 week old chi-pin and weighs exactly 2 lbs. How much will she weigh when she's full grown? By Mike from Anchorage, AK
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If you are an avid crafter, capable writer and own a digital camera, you are eligible to participate. Submit your craft projects to ThriftyFun and we will pay $15 for any crafts that we publish. More Information:
My Frugal Life: $20,000 Experiment in Happiness a Failure We all seek joy and happiness. That seems to be the very purpose of our being. But in the U.S. especially, we continue to believe happiness comes from things we buy, whether it's a Porsche, an exotic trip, a fabulous haircut, or an upscale cup of cappuccino. Yet every single study on happiness shows happiness comes from within us and is connected to our relationships with others, a sense of purpose to our lives, and doing good for others. The temporary high that comes with buying a new dress, car, or even a house simply does not make people happier six months to a year later. This is true even of those who win the lottery, though each of us seems convinced WE would be the one exception, living happily ever after if we could just hit those lucky numbers. About a year ago, we put new siding on our home. The house had had dark brown, dated, vertical cedar siding and in the ten years since we'd moved in, I'd dreamed of a bright, white, lighter, more modern home. We finally did reside, a white cement siding, partly due to the 300 or so woodpecker holes all over. And it does look great. But the truth is, the new siding, as nice as it is, hasn't made me significantly happier or more joyful than before we spent the $20,000 (which included a few new windows and two doors). And I don't think that will change in the next 5 to 7 years. At my job teaching law part-time, I clear $10 an hour after taxes, commute, dry cleaning, occasional baby sitting costs, etc. So the siding "cost" me 2000 hours. (My husband clears considerably more as a corporate attorney, but I always use my own salary to assess expenditures). So the question is, how would those 2000 hours have been best invested for long term happiness? Where would the best return be? According to most studies on happiness, those 2000 hours would give the best long term return spent with family, volunteering, spent in nature, spent in "flow" activities, spent building community or with friends. This analysis did make me decide against a sun-room, which I'd long wanted to have. The cost with a foundation was about $25,000, and though I love the House Beautiful version of myself with a cup of green tea, sitting on a white wicker lounge, perusing a good book, I think I can find even more long term happiness investing those work hours elsewhere. Source: http://thefrugalmillionairess.blogspot.com/ By frugal millionairess from Wisconsin Do you have a frugal story to share with the ThriftyFun community? Submit your essay here: http://www.thriftyfun.com/post_myfrugallife.ldml Read More: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf58182025.tip.html
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