Tell Us Your Tightwad Secrets!!

[me again]

I use dawn all the time. I never use shout and the few times I have it has set the stain!

Maybe that's my problem--I bought a bottle of Shout on sale, seems those stains just won't come out at all, regardless of how much I SHOUT!

 

[Pixieshouse]

Maybe that's my problem--I bought a bottle of Shout on sale, seems those stains just won't come out at all, regardless of how much I SHOUT!

same here!!!!!!!!! I need some DAWN!!!

 

[Mellie2162]

Just thought I would add one in here..not a biggie but its been saving us a little money.

We are sweet eaters..have to have that sweet after dinner. I would usually buy a box or two of little debbie cakes or tasty kakes at the store. Now what I do is just buy a yellow cake mix, whichever is the cheapest generic or brand, and then just make cupcakes. Works for our sweet tooth and lasts a lot longer than little debbies.

 

[TNKBELL]

Today was rebate day at our house!! We went to Office Depot and was able to get a nice stapler and glue FAR, at Walgreens, Always feminine napkins, and Aquafresh toothpaste FAR, and picked up the flyer at O'Reilly Auto parts for thier rebates.

Can anyone recommend any good rebates or sources to find them?

If you print out coupons from the Target Coupon Generator http://coupons.50webs.org/ you can get Doritos for .75 a bag and Edys Ice Cream 56oz for 1.50 if the sale is on in your area... Doritos 4/$7 and Edys 2/$5.

 

[mommiepoppins]

we went to visit family on Sat. They had tons of soda for my dh and kids. I asked them what they did with the can and they said they throw them away. I had to fight off asking them to take the cans home . That was at least 75 cents . I did not take it. Only due to dh would have thought I was crazy

 

[mommylovesdisneymore]

SUBSCRIBING!!! you goys have some really good tips KEEP EM COMING

 

[kimis]

SUBSCRIBING!!! you goys have some really good tips KEEP EM COMING

I agree I love this site.

 

[tonilea]

I didn't take the time to read all the posts, but my best tips are:

Make out a realistic household budget and stick to it! When what you have allocated for a catagory is gone, it is gone until the next pay period.

Pay for things like groceries, clothing, pocket money with CASH! I can't believe the difference this has make for us. I am amazed at the money I used to fritter away.

I have also found that an allocated spending worksheet (basically just using your budget to allocate where all the money in each paycheck goes) is the best thing we have ever done. On paper, I have all of our paychecks listed and portioned out to saving, giving, bills, grocerys, pocket money and so forth until Feb 08.

 

[grlpwrd]

I've been using Loreal Natural Match. One box retails for $11.99 but there are always coupons available for Loreal products. All you do is put on the gloves, mix the color, put it all over your hair, wait 30 minutes, and rinse. Then you put the conditioner in your hair for 2 mins and rinse again. It's that simple. What I like about Natural Match, the box will guide you by showing a sample of your current hair and what shade your hair will be after. Personally, I've been using 7N but this time I tried 6W as I wanted to go a little lighter for summer. But it turned out about the same. I do have some gray, but I'm not covered. I'm pretty sure there is another version of Loreal for covering gray. I hope this helps.

I used to use Colour Experte, but now I am loving Natural Match. I have had many compliments.

 

[momoftwodisneykids]

Love all the tips!....EXCEPT for the drier sheets for cleaning pans!!! OH MY GOD, the chemicals in those sheets.....I have never used them for the drier let alone for something we eat off of. I say emphatically DON"T USE THEM AT ALL!! Save your money!!

Any fabric softener increases the chance of children's pajamas catching fire (no joke -- read the softener bottle).

My DH bought the dryer balls at WalMart. He and my DD have very sensitive skin. I was skeptical at first, but they really do work. We have been using them for well over a year and they are still going strong. They soften the clothes nicely without adding any extra chemicals. I will never go back to using fabric softener again.

Joanne

 

[minnie1928]

My DH bought the dryer balls at WalMart. He and my DD have very sensitive skin. I was skeptical at first, but they really do work. We have been using them for well over a year and they are still going strong. They soften the clothes nicely without adding any extra chemicals. I will never go back to using fabric softener again.

Joanne

I've been wondering about these...thanks for the review. Although I just thought of another question, do they make a lot of noise while bouncing around in the dryer?

 

[momoftwodisneykids]

I've been wondering about these...thanks for the review. Although I just thought of another question, do they make a lot of noise while bouncing around in the dryer?

The dryer balls really don't make a lot of noise. They are about the size of tennis balls and not quite as heavy. Our laundry room is off of the kitchen and even with the door open I don't notice the noise. That being said, you have to consider that in my house we have two kids (always bickering), two birds (always chirping), two cats and two pugs. I can honestly say that I highly recommend the dryer balls. The only thing is you don't have the "Bounce" smell to your clothes, but after I adjusted, I don't even miss it anymore.

Joanne

 

[momoftwodisneykids]

I also wanted to add that this thread has been very helpful for me. I decided a few weeks ago to leave my job as the Director of Nursing for a home care agency to take the plunge and become a Middle School Science teacher. I turned in my notice on Monday and start my content area training/orientation on 7/23. I will be taking a $25,000/year pay cut to do this. I still plan to work a little as a nurse on the side to make some extra money, but even with that, I will still be making a lot less than before. The upside is I will be able to get both my kids to school (DS goes to an Exceptional Student charter HS and DD is starting Kindergarten--both kids need to be driven to school) and still make it to work by 8:30. I will be finished at 4:30 in the afternoon. Plus I will be off work the same times as my kids, so no more daycare costs. DH is an elementary school teacher, so we can do the pick up in the afternoon.

Thanks to everyone for the helpful hints. Every little bit saved will help!

Joanne

 

[OceanAnnie]

I used to use Colour Experte, but now I am loving Natural Match. I have had many compliments.

I use Colour Experte and love the highlights. Does the Natural Match have built in highlights?

I love this thread too! I've gotten some great tips.

 

[TinkerBean]

The dryer balls really don't make a lot of noise. They are about the size of tennis balls and not quite as heavy. Our laundry room is off of the kitchen and even with the door open I don't notice the noise. That being said, you have to consider that in my house we have two kids (always bickering), two birds (always chirping), two cats and two pugs. I can honestly say that I highly recommend the dryer balls. The only thing is you don't have the "Bounce" smell to your clothes, but after I adjusted, I don't even miss it anymore.

Joanne

PUGS?, I love pugs. I have one of my own, my first born daugther "Violet" now 11yrs. Gosh, you won't notice the noise from dryer balls with 2 pugs ... snore, snore, snuffle, snuffle, grunt, grunt, my step MIL actually thinks that she is growling at her - I keep telling her "she is just *breathing*"

 

[momoftwodisneykids]

PUGS?, I love pugs. I have one of my own, my first born daugther "Violet" now 11yrs. Gosh, you won't notice the noise from dryer balls with 2 pugs ... snore, snore, snuffle, snuffle, grunt, grunt, my step MIL actually thinks that she is growling at her - I keep telling her "she is just *breathing*"

My "boys" are Pugsley (1 1/2yo) and Mugsey (AKA Moogey--as my DD had a hard time with Mugsey--1 yo). They are the most awesome dogs ever. They are actually fairly quiet, unless they are running around a lot and breathing hard. When that happens, it sounds like Pugsley is having a coronary. At night, a gentle snore fills the kitchen. They are more work than the kids (and darn expensive), but I wouldn't trade them for anything in the world.

Joanne

 

[Krischaser]

Just giving this a "bump"

 

[me again]

subscribing

 

[TNKBELL]

Here's a link http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1490387&referrerid=&highlight=Tye+Dye

I made these today!!! It was sooo fun!!! I can't wait to finish them. It cost about $6.00 each to make them and less for DS.5 because I just used a white onesie. I also think for DD5's 6th birthday we may do this instead of goody bags and let each of the kids do the spraying. Does anyone know where to get cheap fabric spray paint?? I bought mine at Michaels with a 40% off coupon but it was still pricey. The shirts were on sale 2/$5. Thanks to a tip from Tinker on the freaps board!! I'll be buying the shirts for the party in a 6 pack of undershirts which will cost @$1 each. That's what I did for the year we made tye-dyed shirts for DS10 and DS8's b-day.

 

[me again]

Shoes and shirts that were too grungy to donate to Goodwill--I removed the buttons and shoe laces before tossing them! Those buttons and shoelaces cost, too. So figure I saved ~$5 in buying those.

Bought my dd a scooter at a garage sale for $4, just like the one she wanted for $30!

Took kids to free movie at mall, "smuggled" in bottles of coke, water, and popcorn in my oversized purse (actually its a beach tote!)

air dryed the dishes

made $27 from Inbox Dollars--got my check today (actually made $30 but they take out a $3 processing fee, in the future I should wait for a larger sum before cashing out, but wanted to see if they paid before I did surveys for nothing!)

Did my first Pinecone survey They said they pay $3 per survey, but deposited $5 to my Paypal account--won't argue!

Unshopped--took back several items to Walmart and Target, got refunds of about $50!

Sold some clothes to a consignment shop, made $37!

And the most important of all--resisted temptation! I saw a beautiful console table on sale $399 marked down to $199), that matches my living room perfectly, has a green and brown speckled marble top, would fit a corner perfectly, I didn't buy it. Oh, it hurt to leave it, but I'll get over it somehow!