Daily Thrifty Tips - August 28, 2009

Vol. 8, Num. 169, August 28, 2009 (Read It Online) This is the last batch of contest contenders for this week. Be sure to give a "thumbs up" to tips and recipes that you like. Your ratings are used to pick contest winners. You can view all the contenders from this past week's contest here: http://www.thriftyfun.com/contest.ldml?contest=14937 Thanks for reading, The ThriftyFun Team Send to a Friend! Share a Tip (You could win $25!) Share a Photo (You could win $25!) Have a Question? Submit a request... Link to ThriftyFun.com View Active Topics! Edit Your Subscriptions: To edit your ThriftyFun subscriptions, click the Update Profile/Email Address link at the bottom of this newsletter. Today's newsletter contains: Today's Photos: Tater and Her Kittens Charlie The Dog Scenery: My Grandparents' House Craft: Tissue Box With Coasters Monarch Butterfly Today's Tips: Buy Coupons On Ebay Cleaning Tomato Stains Off Plastic Keep After School Snacks in the Car Choosing Where To Be Frugal Reusing Gift Bags Product Review: Sno-Bol Weekly Errands Master List Supplement Your Pet's Diet Fold Over Tops Of Zip Top Bags For Easy Filling Trivia At Dinnertime Joke of the Day New Requests: Using Unlocked Cell Phone with US Cellular Green Spots on Clothing From Washer Troy-bilt Riding Mower Starter Overheated Air Coming from Microwave Removing Lipstick Stain on Silk Today's Sponsor: Crafting for Fun and Money! 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: Click Here: http://www.thriftyfun.com/post_craft.ldml Today's Photos: Tater and Her Kittens Tater with her kittens; 3 redheads and a brunette. I'm not sure how old she is exactly. I got her as a housewarming gift when I moved in, my neighbor gave her to me Tater likes to bring me mice. She likes to watch TV from behind me on the top of the chair. As I sit there - she often strokes my head. She is very wonderful and a loving creature who has been a great friend to me and a wonderful companion. Tater birthed 4 kittens in my bed about a month ago. She woke me about 3 AM, placing one in the bend of my arm. Only one kitten has a tail. It's name is Monkey. By melody_yesterday from otterville mo Contest Contender! This post is a contest contender! Read it and then Rate it: Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf17838240.tip.html Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Print | Charlie The Dog Charlie is 3 years old, we aren't sure what breed he is. We got Charlie when he was a little pup, about when he was 4 months old. We went to a puppy store to get him and they had so many to choose from and then right before we were going to leave I noticed him in his cage and he was by himself. So I called my husband over and we both just fell in love with him. So they let us go in the room with him to see how he was with our children and he was wonderful. Charlie likes to go swimming on the hot summer days, along with wrestling with my golden retriever, Busta. But when Charlie is ready for bed, be prepared for him to take up the whole bed and not move for the whole night. He is a big baby. By jpsmokey from Colorado Contest Contender! This post is a contest contender! Read it and then Rate it: Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf30513146.tip.html Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Print | Scenery: My Grandparents' House I have two photos, both of the same home. One was taken many years ago, and the second one, much more recent. They are of my grandparents home in Canon City, CO where they lived during a part of their life, as they raised their 6 children. My aunt said they moved away from there, to Kansas, but she was not sure of the date. She is 81, and was either not born yet, or just a baby. It seems they made some pretty good homes back then, as my grandparents were born in the late 1800s, and all their children were born in the early part of the 1900s. Source: Family photos By ljf (Loretta) from Theodore, Alabama Contest Contender! This post is a contest contender! Read it and then Rate it: Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf69693984.tip.html Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Print | Craft: Tissue Box With Coasters This is a tissue box cover and coaster holder with 6 matching coasters. By Cricketnc Contest Contender! This post is a contest contender! Read it and then Rate it: Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf79461856.tip.html Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Print | Monarch Butterfly I have been very lucky when it comes to getting close enough to the creatures that I spy in my backyard. I love watching the butterflys so much. They all seem to have their own personalities too! This particular one was quite playful and didn't mind being photographed. By myneurotica from Topeka,Kansas Contest Contender! This post is a contest contender! Read it and then Rate it: Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf56572035.tip.html Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Print | Contests: Tip Contest Submit a Tip or Recipe! Photo Contest Submit a tip with photo! These contests are weekly. We pick 2 tip winners and 1 photo winner at the end of each week. Each winner will win $25! My Frugal Life Submit a My Frugal Life Essay! Today's Tips: Buy Coupons On Ebay If you see a valuable coupon in your Sunday circulars or just have a product that you buy frequently, go to ebay. There are loads of sellers that clip and sell large quantities of a particular coupon for a very nominal fee. My favorites were "buy one get one free" or "free sample" or coupons for hair dye or other expensive products that I use all the time. It usually costs $1 or less to get about 20 of the same coupon. It is a very easy way to get money saving coupons on stuff that you use all the time. Source: ebay experience By bella swan from forks, WA Contest Contender! This post is a contest contender! Read it and then Rate it: Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf13361964.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Print | Cleaning Tomato Stains Off Plastic Lets say you made spaghetti in a white plastic bowl and has stains on it. (Left it in the fridge to because of the leftovers.) After you wash it and it still has the stains. Just sit it outside for a couple of days and let the sun hit it. The stain will be gone. Just rewash because of dirt and debris. It does work. I just did it not too long ago. By dietvanilla from Shoemakersville, PA Contest Contender! This post is a contest contender! Read it and then Rate it: Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf500711.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Print | Keep After School Snacks in the Car Keep snacks in the car. Fill a sandwich bag with pretzels, crackers, cheerios, etc. Keep bottled water also. If you pick up your kids, as I do, they are hungry when they get in the car. This snack gets them to dinner and makes for a more pleasant ride home. By Wanda from Climax, NC Contest Contender! This post is a contest contender! Read it and then Rate it: Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf38258806.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Print | Choosing Where To Be Frugal Being frugal does not mean one should not enjoy life, just that we should examine our way of life to see if what we are doing is bringing us pleasure for the cost associated. I recently had the problem of deciding to fill in the artificial nails that was given to me as a gift from my husband or taking them off and saving the money spent for upkeep. I do feel like I'm worth $15 every other week, but in the end I think it just comes down to the fact that I have other interests that I would rather put my money. In deciding to explore just what I could do with $15 bi weekly I realized that just as artificial nails require upkeep so do many other items in our lives it just comes down to is the price to keep the item worth the sacrafice somewhere else. In my instance the item cost at the bare minimum $15 bi weekly or 26 times or $390 yearly. $15 biweekly does not sound like much but when one takes it a step further and then investigates what could that $15 really buy that would give equal joy to myself then that is where the significance is really seen. For me personally, I decided I would get just as much enjoyment for my $30 this month in the following way: I could buy school supplies for a child I do not know or I could buy a lot of pencils and take to the school for use when a child does not have one. The next month I could find a nursing home in my area and take $30 worth of socks in all different sizes or I could save my money for a couple of months and take some nightgowns and pj's for the ones that do not have family. My nails were pretty but I found after examining that I can get much more joy for my money. I'm gonna take the same money and buy some polish, calcium and vitamin D (as someone mentioned) and work on my own nails and use the left over money in a more frugal and neighborly use. By notwrong Contest Contender! This post is a contest contender! Read it and then Rate it: Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf44214532.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Print | Reusing Gift Bags Those gift bags are great and they last and last. Don't throw out those you receive! Re-use them - And if you have a backlog, you can swap with friends! A buddy of mine passes along his, as he never bothers to wrap anything! By pamphyila from L.A., CA Contest Contender! This post is a contest contender! Read it and then Rate it: Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf45135951.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Print | Product Review: Sno-Bol I have finally found a product that removes rust stains from your shower doors, tile, floors, walls, etc. It is called Sno-Bol, it's a toilet bowl cleaner and you can buy it real cheap at a Dollar store, Walmart,etc. for only like a dollar or two. All you need to do is put the Sno-Bol liquid into a spray bottle that you use only for this and nothing else. Wear gloves when using because it will burn your hands. Just spray all over the stained area, no scrubbing needed, although some stains may require a bit of elbow grease. All you really have to do is let it set for a while until the stains disappear. some stains may require a second application. I had tried everything on the market like CLR and BAM! meant to remove hard water rust stains, but nothing worked until my friend Amy told me about Sno-Bol. I can't get over how great it works and how easily it removes the rust stains on everything I've tried it on. I hope that you all will be as equally amazed and grateful at how Sno-Bol works. Source: tip from a friend, Amy By Anna from Jensen Beach, FL Contest Contender! This post is a contest contender! Read it and then Rate it: Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf75846737.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Print | Weekly Errands Master List In order to save gas and time, I do all my weekly errands on the same day. I realized one day while I was writing out my grocery and errand list that I pretty much visited the same places all the time. So I decided to make out a "master errand list", much like one would print out a master shopping list because the same items are usually bought over and over. Using Microsoft Word, I created a template with headings for each place I visit weekly and the things I might do there. For instance, under the Post Office heading I typed "buy stamps" "mail packages", etc. I did this for every store and place of business I usually visit. For places like grocery stores I have a space next to each one to write down the coupons I will be using and the sale items of interest. I also tried to write them in the order that I usually visit them in, for convenience sake. Then I printed them out on the opposite side of my master grocery list. So all I have to do weekly is circle the places I need to go and the things I need to do there. It is so much easier than writing it all out by hand every week. Source: My own idea, because I was tired of getting writer's cramp. By Wendy from Indiana Contest Contender! This post is a contest contender! Read it and then Rate it: Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf54912281.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Print | Supplement Your Pet's Diet Pet food is always an important issue with pet owners. This economy is making it hard to afford the best foods. Be sure the supplement your dog's diet with real chicken and real beef. This is because the cheaper foods do not have much meat in them. I like to make sure and supplement their diets anyway whether they are on high priced food or not. They do good with vegetables, and oatmeal, egg yolks, total cereal, and other things you can find out by going onto the net and researching it. I am having to gain weight on a plott hound that showed up in the back of a neighbor's car starving to death. Lots of small meals of supplementive meat and veg and oatmeal and Total and egg yolks, he hardly will eat kibble anymore. I am trying to get him built up and the pedialyte is great but there is a home recipe for pedialyte somewhere. Happy feeding! By Robyn Fed from Hampton TN Contest Contender! This post is a contest contender! Read it and then Rate it: Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf34775580.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Print | Fold Over Tops Of Zip Top Bags For Easy Filling When using ziplock storage bags, fold over the top of the bag. The bag will stand and you will have no trouble putting your leftovers, etc., in the bag. this allows you to keep your two hands free to pour the product into to bag. No mess, no fuss. Works on small, up to large bags. By valentinesday from Hubbard, OH Contest Contender! This post is a contest contender! Read it and then Rate it: Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf35497134.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Print | Trivia At Dinnertime We all have unused games laying around. Some have educational information cards, like Trivia. Take the cards and put a few on the table, next to salt and pepper, Interact at dinner by asking questions, the answers are on the back, you would be surprised how much kids know and how much kids love doing this. When you know all the answers, change them out; pick up more games at yard sales. It's educational and the family does something together, a win-win situation. Source: Restaurant at OBX By ruayne from Climax, NC Contest Contender! This post is a contest contender! Read it and then Rate it: Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf30057805.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Print | Dear Webby's Joke of the Day A five year old was discussing Noah's Ark with Grandma. Grandma asked, "How many animals went into the Ark?" The youngster replied: "One mail and one e-mail." Read More Jokes Here: http://webby.com/humor New Requests: Using Unlocked Cell Phone with US Cellular I don't like the cellphones my US Cellular service has. Can I buy an unlocked cellphone for US Cellular? I've seen them on eBay. Will they let me use them? I can't change providers since I'm under a contract and have a very good price. The cellphones that I did like at US Cellular I would have had to also pay for internet service, which I did not want. By ilovemacca from USA Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf85495860.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Print | Rate It: | Green Spots on Clothing From Washer I have ruined nearly all of my clothes. There are green spots on nearly everything I wash in my top loader. It's not a new machine, but it's never been abused either. It doesn't seem to matter what fabrics I am washing. I have run the washer full and used a flashlight to investigate any "residue" in the drum. Nothing. Every time I take wet clothes out the green spots are there and they don't come out with any amount of scrubbing or cleaning product use. I've even experimented with different detergents. Could it be the pipes or something? It's literally got me stymied. By destinbabe Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf21328028.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Print | Rate It: | Troy-bilt Riding Mower Starter Overheated I have a Troy-bilt riding lawnmower. For some reason the starter overheated and melted the green wire. Now the mower will not start. Do I need to replace my starter? By jgbsxs5 from Fort Myers, FL Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf73069376.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Print | Rate It: | Air Coming from Microwave I recently purchased a second-hand microwave. It's a good one and in good condition, but if I'm near it when it's in use I can feel air coming from it. Does this mean the seal is no good and should I not use it? Thanks. By Bonnie V Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf70266397.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Print | Rate It: | Removing Lipstick Stain on Silk I got red lipstick on a white silk dress, how can I get the lipstick off? By furch from CA Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf27835797.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Print | Rate It: | Today's Sponsor: Crafting for Fun and Money! 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: Click Here: http://www.thriftyfun.com/post_craft.ldml Interactive Coupon Swap! Swap coupons with other ThriftyFun.com users. Seed Swap! Swap seeds with other ThriftyFun.com users.