In The Trenches With Dave

Coupons Galore

tnashsycamore — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 02:04:16 +0000

Well if you do want to give couponing a try here is a site to try out: www.southernsavers.com

All Rolled Up

tnashsycamore — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 23:06:40 +0000

My parents were a good example of living frugally. I remember my mom saving jars and plastic containers to reuse and recycle. My dad saved nuts and bolts in baby food jars. One small thing that I do reminds me of them almost daily. I save empty toilet paper rolls, cover them with contact paper and use to contain appliance cords. It really works great especially for things like the waffle iron, hand blender, etc. Thanks mom and dad!

Wishy Wishy Washy Washy

tnashsycamore — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 13:28:03 +0000

We love our dishwasher and use it daily. The Kirkland brand dishwasher detergent from Costco works great but I just found out that I have been throwing away handfuls of the stuff without even knowing it. The box has a metal spout and we just pour some in. Easy right? Right! Too easy. The other day I noticed a line on the detergent bin. I got out my dishwasher manual and low and behold there are different amounts for different situations. Hard/soft water and pre-rinsed/heavily soiled all require different amounts. Who would have known? OK, I should have read the manual in the first place. I decided to take action. A small container with a tight lid (perfect for scooping out) and a measuring spoon later and I had my solution. Now we will measure in the right amount every time and not pour more money down the drain. Hmm, I wonder about the laundry detergent…

You’re Giving Me Gray Hairs

tnashsycamore — Fri, 29 May 2009 15:03:20 +0000

Hair! Do you realize how much money you spend on your hair? And it’s dead stuff! OK, I like a good ‘do’ just as much as the next gal but how to keep up without paying through the nose? Well, it took me awhile but I finally found someone that our whole family loves (saves money & time on trips) and she doesn’t charge us an arm and a leg. I don’t mind paying a bit more for quality and I will tip well for it too. Now, I have a few gray hairs these days but I don’t want to pay $70-80 to get my hair colored every month. I went searching for solutions. A friend recommended Fanci-Full. It’s a temporary hair color that you apply after washing and then style as usual. I’ll be honest, when she first mentioned it I thought of my grandma but I went ahead and tried it. Works great! It’s inexpensive, lasts a long time, and is easy to use. Now just try to guess my age…

Paper Pusher

tnashsycamore — Mon, 11 May 2009 13:43:15 +0000

Recycling is a good idea and it saves money. When it comes to paper it’s a no brainer. How many times have you printed something on your printer and it wasn’t ‘quite right’ so you reprinted it? OK, I’m guilty too. Solution – first, use print preview as much as possible, second, create a place for that unwanted paper and you have an excellent source of scratch paper for writing those pesky dinner menus and other to-do lists!

ReGifting

tnashsycamore — Fri, 01 May 2009 10:56:58 +0000

As classes end in the spring the teacher presents come in! Yah, coupons for Starbucks, Jelly Belly’s, cookies, chocolates. It is very sweet indeed! When I receive a present I try to save the bag and reuse it. Actually I even save tissue paper and bows. Did you know that you can iron it and reuse? It also makes great craft material for the kids – bright colors, patterns, etc. Reuse those gift packaging materials and save a few bucks!

Talking Trash

tnashsycamore — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 16:29:47 +0000

I don’t normally think of trash as a money saving entity however today as I was loading some I got to thinking about it. At our house we have a recycle bin and a trash bin under the kitchen counter. We rinse all recycle-able items before placing in the bin and every couple of weeks we take it to the recycle center along with our trash. Make sure that you nest the items so that they take up less space & crush cans. We compost so that means that our kitchen trash doesn’t get nearly as smelly as it could. It also means that I can stick my foot on top and smash things down good to make more fit in the bag. We don’t pay a garbage service. We take it to the garbage center ourselves on the way to somewhere else. We also recycle those pesky plastic bags that you get everywhere. The cloth ones just aren’t working well for me yet at the grocery store. For some reason they don’t hook up and weigh right somehow. Eventually it will work and then I will be all about cloth bags. The key is to keep trying.

Mass Magazines

tnashsycamore — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 22:23:42 +0000

How many magazine subscriptions do you have? How many do you actually read? I cancelled all of ours except one for our kids – Kids Discover, and one for me – Reader’s Digest. I am thankful to get hand-me-down copies of Southern Living and Better Homes & Gardens from my mother-in-law. Start canceling now and save!

MagicJack

tnashsycamore — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 18:20:59 +0000

We just fired our phone company and started using MagicJack. Plug in any household phone, plug MagicJack into your computer. Practically free long distance via the Internet. The service is $40 initially and $20/yr thereafter. It’s working great!

Freecycle

tnashsycamore — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 01:02:08 +0000

No, I’m not advertising a bicycle for free. If you haven’t heard about Freecycle.org you should check it out. You join the Yahoo Groups that are setup for nearby towns and then you have to give something away before you can post something you want. Very cool way to give/get stuff for free. Great way to do some spring cleaning. One man’s junk is another man’s treasure! Now what do I have that I want to get rid of…