Just Hack It

"Use It Up, Wear It Out, Make It Do or Do Without"

~household quote during the Great Depression~

I'm always on the lookout for a good frugal tip. A lot of the blogs I read regularly are about frugality and ways to save money on everyday doings. I though I'd share a few good 'hacks' with you so that you too, can hop on the frugal train to saving money!

A few lessons from the Great Depression, first though.

"Don't pay someone else to provide something that you can learn to do or make yourself."
-taking the initiative and becoming self sufficient

"Never buy anything you can use, only what you can't live without."
-living simply

"Don't buy anything until you have twice the purchase amount."
-delayed gratification

"It doesn't matter how much money you can make, but how much money you can save."
-learning frugality and thinking ahead

Just as a quickie bit, it's quite amazing how over the years, I Timothy 6:10 has been quoted incorrectly by many people - I in fact had it wrong myself, when I went to do a bit of research on finances and the Bible. The exact verse reads, "For the love of money is the root of all evil..." not that money itself is the root of all evil as is usually quoted. Interesting.

There’s something called the concept of "seed money" and the Law of Tenfold Return, that I discovered, and wanted to share with you all. If you want something that costs, say $200.00, you "plant" $20.00 by giving it to a charity, a church, or someone who really needs it. Then you claim your tenfold return by establishing what you'd like that return to be, truly and honestly believing in that return, and wait, fully expecting to receive $200.00 from some unexpected source. It is said that John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, Aristotle Onassis, and many other extremely wealthy men used this method.

I've got to tell you - there are about 5,609,346,824,515 frugal tips out there in Internetland. Some are pretty extreme (dumpster diving, or urban foraging for example), and some are just plain silly (collecting ketchup packets from restaurants to empty into your bottle at home). There are good ones though, and I hope that I give you some great ideas for saving money and being good to Mutha Earth.

In The Kitchen

Save your butter wrappers and use them to grease bakeware, or wrap potatoes in them when making baked potatoes.

Spray your Tupperware with nonstick cooking spray before pouring in tomato-based sauces. No more stains!

Wrap celery in aluminum foil when putting in the refrigerator, keeps it for weeks.

Stuff a miniature marshmallow in the bottom of an ice cream cone to prevent ice cream drips.

To keep potatoes from budding, place an apple in the bag with the potatoes.

If you don't have enough batter to fill all the muffin holes, pour some water into the unfilled spots. This helps preserve the life of your pans.

To easily remove honey from a measuring spoon, first coat the spoon with nonstick cooking spray.

Never grocery shop or shop at all when you are hungry, tired, or bored. This leads to impulse buying.

Mash and freeze ripe bananas, in one-cup portions, for use in later baking. No wasted bananas. Or you can freeze them whole, peeled, in plastic baggies.

To get the most juice out of fresh lemons, bring them to room temperature & roll them under your palm against the kitchen counter before squeezing.

Save your store bought bread bags and ties to use as storage bags for homemade bread or putting sandwiches for lunches in.

Instead of throwing away bread heels or dried out bread, use to make bread crumbs. Store them in the freezer until ready to do so.

To determine whether an egg is fresh, immerse it in a pan of cool water. If it sinks, it is fresh; if it rises to the surface, throw it away.

Keep the linings from cereal boxes to use as a waxed paper substitute or a good freezer bag.

Use powdered milk bought in bulk when a recipe calls for milk, you will not notice a difference in taste.

Save that last scoop of veggies from dinner to freeze for later use in a stew or soup. Have a bag in your freezer and keep adding to it.

Turn your baggies inside out and wash thoroughly then air dry for reuse.

Buy a set of plain old wooden clothespins and use them instead of wire twist ties.

Add oats or breadcrumbs to your ground meat to stretch it.

Stop buying pop! The first thing on every soda bottle's ingredient list is carbonated water, meaning that's the main ingredient. You'll also save money at your dentist and on calcium supplements.

If something goes on sale that you purchase regularly, and can store it so it doesn't go bad, buy a larger quantity of it. For example, a few weeks ago Safeway had an amazing sale on butter - 2 bricks for $4. I usually pay around $3.50 for 1 brick at Superstore. I bought the limit allowable and threw them in the freezer. I won't have to buy salted butter for months!

Make your own baby food. It's easy, extremely cheap, and you know what you are putting into it so you can ensure your baby isn't getting any chemicals.

Cleaning & Laundry

Bar soap manufacturers purposely pump their soaps with extra water and then sell them in packages that keep them that way so that the bar of soap is used quicker, therefore forcing you to buy more. When you buy your soap, take it out of the wrapping and allow it to 'dry out' a bit so it lasts longer. Also, when the bar of soap you have in your shower starts to run low, make the new bar wet while you are in the shower and squish the two together so that you never throw away soap.

If you haven't read my The Big Dirty (Clean, That Is) post yet and are still using dryer sheets, cut them in half so you double the quantity. You must use a scissor, do not rip by hand.

Still not using a homemade all purpose cleaner in a spray bottle, with your washable cloth to do quick swipes? Then at least make your own cleaning wipes as opposed to buying commercially produced ones like Lysol or Mr Clean. Buy a high quality roll of paper towel and soak in a mixture of vinegar, water and if you have to have that scent, a capful of your favorite disinfectant.

If you have a clothesline, use it!! I have fond memories of how good my bedsheets would smell after my Mom line dried them.

Use less laundry detergent if your area has soft water! The scoops that are provided in the box of laundry detergent are usually far too big, causing you to use more than necessary, therefore having to buy more detergent.

Rather than throwing away clothing or towels or bedsheets that are unusable as their primary purpose, rip or cut them into rag sized pieces and use instead of buying paper towels.

Set your hot water tank temperature to a lower setting.

Wear your clothes more than once (if they aren't soiled) before washing them. Use your towels more than once, by hanging them to dry between showers - yer clean when you get out of the shower, right?? Will save you money on laundering and preserves the life of the fabrics.

Wash in cold water (towels and whites are done in warm at my house though). Preserves the life and color of the fabric, and saves you money.

Bank/Phone/Computer/TV

Turn off your computer at night and if you are going to be gone all day.

Unplug your 'vampire' appliances, these are the ones that you always have plugged in and even though they aren't in use, draw minute amounts of power because they keep track of the time, or have a timer set to them, etc. Examples of these are your microwave, DVD player, coffeemaker, digital display clocks, stereos...one way to find out how many vampires you have in your house, is to turn off all the lights at nighttime and hunt for items that are glowing in some way.

Shut off the tv! If you aren't actually watching it, turn it off. You'll save energy and avoid exposing yourself and your impressionable children to commercialism.

These days, most people have a telephone land line (or two), and a cell phone (or two or four). Get rid of some of them! Mat and I each have a cell phone on a pretty small plan...no landline. As soon as our contracts are up with our cell phones, we're going to be making some changes to get our telephone costs even cheaper.

Lose the cable. I'm serious - sit down and think about how many of the channels you are paying for, you actually watch on a regular basis. If it's not enough to justify your massive cable bill, ditch it. You can watch full, commercial free episodes of your favorite tv programs on the internet. Or go with basic cable, and rent movies.

Have a look at your bank's service charges. Give them a call and have them look over your accounts and tell you if you are on the right banking 'package'. They should be honest with you, and if you are paying too much and not using the services you are paying for, they will recommend a better, cheaper package.

Babies/Kids

Rotate their toys. Have only a few toys out and store the rest where the kids can't find them. Every month or however long/short you like, take away the current toys and replace them with 'new' toys from your hiding spot.

Swap clothes with friends and family.

Ditch the diaper wipes and get yourself a package of thin baby washcloths. Just before you change the diaper, run the cloth under tap water and use to clean baby's bum. They are washable and reusable, and you won't have to worry about the commercial diaper wipes irritating your little critter's sensitive skin.

Use cornstarch rather than your regular, commercially produced baby powder. Much less expensive, especially if bought in bulk, and I've found it works better on any diaper rash than anything else.

Baby gates purchased at your local pet store are less expensive than purchased in the baby department of your regular shopping centre.

Miscellaneous

When starting your garden seedlings indoors, plant the seeds in egg shell halves. Simply crack the shells around the roots of your plants & transplant them outdoors. The shell is a natural fertilizer.

Turn your thermostat to a lower ambient temperature and dress for the season. Don't have your thermostat set to 25 degrees just so you can wear a tshirt in the winter. Put on a dang sweater!

Before you throw something out, stop and ask yourself if there is any other possible use for that item; if it's broken can it be fixed, or if nothing else, can it be recycled or given away. Be creative - if you've got a fancy teacup but have broken the matching saucer, make a teacup candle with mostly used candles, for example. Your old toothbrush can be used as a scrubber for small places, and those buttons (oh, the buttons) can be collected in one place for when you do need to replace a button.

Use the thrift stores in your area!! One of my relatives somehow finds items that still have the original sale tag on them, priced far lower than the original store's tag says. This is especially handy for kids as they grow out of their clothes overnight, and if you are going hardcore frugalite or environmentalist, this is a great way to stick it to the man, by refusing to purchase new.

Sell your unwanted clothes, furniture, books, DVD's, cd's etc on Craigslist or eBay. Consign them if you prefer.

Use cash! Leave the credit or debit card tucked away in your wallet or better yet, at home.

Buy used! Never EVER buy a new car. The second you drive it off the dealership's lot, it's resale value drops drastically. And only continues to drop every day. Looking for a particular book or movie? Hunt eBay or Craigslist. Other sites like Half.com are useful also.

Don't send out Christmas cards. I'm guilty of this. I love sending out Christmas cards. But if you think about it, it is not only a waste of your money, but it's awful for the environment. The recipients throw them out!! I will not be sending out Christmas cards this year.

Use regular old Kraft paper (that brown paper most people associate with mailing a package) to wrap gifts. Gives you the freedom to decorate it how you want, it's customizable, and recyclable. Speaking of wrapping things, reuse wrapping paper and gift bags.

MAINTAIN your possessions. Make it a big priority to get the oil changed in your vehicle every 3 months or 5,000 clicks. Clean the vent on your hair dryer so it doesn't burn out. Defrost your freezer regularly. Flip your mattress and invest in a mattress pad. Wash your makeup brushes with baby shampoo. Look at the items you use every day and if you can maintain them, do so!

Make homemade gifts.

Have a 30 Day List. This means that if you see an item you want, write it and the date down on your list. 30 days after you've written it down, make a decision about whether or not to purchase it. More often than not, you'll have forgotten about the item and realize you don't actually need it.

Clean your furnace filter once a month so it doesn't have to work as hard, which costs you money. Also, if possible, leave the fan on even when it's not in heating mode. This circulates air throughout your house - in summer it will bring the cooler air from the basement to the main floor, and in winter, will circulate the air from the warmer spots to the cooler spots.

Use your local library - your tax dollars pay for it to be open and stocked with books as well as many other items.

Tithe or donate regularly. Same goes for tipping your server - if you don't tip or are a cheap tipper because you can't afford it, you can't afford to be eating out. Aren't up to speed on tipping etiquette? Avoid spit in your food here: Tipping & Etiquette in Canada

When planning a day of errands, write down the stores you need to go to in a circuitous route so that you end up back at home. Saves gas and your time.

Whew! That's all I've got for now, dear readers...and I must tell you that this particular post was about a week or so in the making. I wanted to find as many useful frugal tips as I could, and it wasn't easy. Sifting through the completely ridiculous and the drastically frugal bordering on a grape short of a fruit salad really took a while!

When I happen upon more frugal tips, I'll be sure to include them in upcoming posts. I hope that the hacks I've listed above will be at the very least, somewhat helpful to even just one of my readers.