Bake cookies in the car, and other extreme savings tips
Posted
Aug 13 2008, 01:50 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Kimberly Palmer at U.S. News & World Report went to the Web to find extreme savings ideas, and she came up with some doozies. At the top of her list: Baking Bites' instructions for baking cookies on the dashboard of your hot car.
Our pick for most extreme is moving in with the parental units, no matter how old you are.
Among others on her list (and some commentary from Mike at Clever Dude, who led us to Kimberly's post):
Stop saving for the future. Unless you've temporarily fallen into a pit in life, we think this is a bad idea. But, as Kimberly said, it's better than accumulating credit card debt when times are hard. And if you stop saving to pay down debt, Mike says, make sure those payments are made automatically so you don't fritter the money away.
Have a no-spend month. Rachel and her family at SmallNotebook.org budgeted $250 for basics like food and gas for a month and stuck to that limited budget. Rachel said, "We finished the month with 20 cents and a few broken habits." She also lost lots of her urge to spend.
Get rid of carpet. This suggestion came from Clever Dude. Actually, his post on this topic recommended that you reduce carpet-care costs by taking your shoes off at the door. You'll save wear and tear, and won't expose your family to pollen and goodness knows what else you've been tracking into the house.
Mike didn't think much of the cookie idea. "When I want cookies, I want them now, not after two hours of sitting in my car in the hot sun," he said. "If I'm going to wait that long, I'd rather just eat the cookie dough."
