Here are some frugal ideas, we use in our home.
Always buy used when we can. We visit many garage sales, thrift shops and online resources like eBay. Just keep a "need" list in your car or purse for when your out and about hitting yard sales.
Repurpose just as much stuff as you can. For instance, maybe that ugly old dresser you have in your basement would make a nice coffee table. Simply cut it down to the proper height leaving (usually) the last drawer in place then adding a nice top, trim it out and you have a coffee table. I have a really nice one that receives many compliments to its unique look.
Trash pick old wood pieces of furniture and you'd be surprised what some Old English, paint or stain can do. Resell for profit in your yard/garage sale.
Turn the heat down and put on more clothing in the winter for noticeable savings on your heat bill.
Install a wood burning stove in your home and use as your primary heat. Wood is far less expensive compared to natural gas and propane and you can find free wood on Freecycle http://www.freecycle.org Join the group(s) in your local areas.
Cook in bulk eating leftovers and freezing meals for later use. I will make a big breakfast one day sometimes consisting of homemade biscuits, gravy, sausage and scrambled eggs. I will make extra sausage and scrambled eggs and save for the next day and I will make breakfast burritos with eggs, sausage, and cheese. So yummy.
Give your pets their shots. You can get everything except rabies for HUGE savings. Advantage flea preventive for dogs, the blue one for dogs 55 pounds can be broken down into 10 cat doses. You'd give .4 ml per cat. NOTE: the point before the 4. You can also split the larger dose between 2 smaller 27 pound dogs.
Don't replace your worn wiper blades yet. Just take a piece of fine grit sandpaper and run it on the edge of the blade about 10 times and the blades will be as good as new.
By Maryann Welden from Camden, MI. USA
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Thanks for sharing your knowledge. Thrifty Funners are so generous.
For getting the shots, are those at Farm type stores? Refrigerated?
It is not wise (and may be toxic) to substitute dog medicine for use in cats., regardless of dose. I agree with splitting pills for dogs of different sizes, but not species specific meds
Linda's right. I wouldn't risk my animals in this way.
Love the coffee table idea though.
Marg from England.
Dear Maryanne, I too try being very frugal and learned the hard way skimping on flea and tick medicine for my cats. One day while visiting a store where every single thing is a dollar, brand new, name brand, repackaged items are sold. I ran into flea and tick drops for dogs and thought Id buy some for my cat. Since there were packages that had different weights for the dog you were treating I purchased one that was my cats weight. Little did I know at the time that this was VERY TOXIC to my cats. They were allllll throwing up every where.....and it was terrible. I simply could not figure out what was happening. Then I realized I used the dog flea and tick drops. I read the package.........It can be FATAL to cats. Little did I know that I was poisoning them. When the cats groom themselves or each other they ingested this chemical good for dogs BAD FOR CATS.... PetMD.com says Cats and dogs have different physiologies and these products affect them differently.
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