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Posted
Jul 16 2008, 10:27 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
This post comes from Myscha Theriault at partner blog Wise Bread. In these days of planetary consciousness and squeezing every nickel, any new idea helps. Here's an "extreme green" list of ways to put previously discarded items to new use. Empty Chianti bottles. In addition to great long-term candleholders, they are also great for olive oil dispensers, particularly if you buy yours in a large bulk can. You can either add a pourable spout, or stick with the cork from the original bottle. It's a much easier size to manage on your counter or back of the stove.
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Posted
Jul 14 2008, 02:05 PM
by
Karen Datko
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With American icon Budweiser becoming a foreign-owned brew, and the cost of hops and other ingredients driving beer prices up, maybe it's time to get downright domestic about beer. Honestly, folks, it's not that difficult to make beer at home, as Lise notes in a two-part post at Frugal in the Fruitlands. We used to do it -- and were amazed at the quality of our results. Some upfront investment is required for carboys, fermentation locks, bottles and some other equipment -- but you may be able to find them on Freecycle. You can also have your friends save their beer bottles, Lise says.
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Posted
Jul 11 2008, 10:05 AM
by
Karen Datko
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You don't have to travel to Eastern Kentucky to find rusting carcasses of cars and appliances that were pushed over the hill or into the creek. People who disrespect the land abound wherever you go. But that area of the country (and, we suspect, many others) is inadvertently undergoing beautification because scrap metal now commands pretty prices, a newspaper story says. People are finding there's much cash to be made from the junk in them thar hills.
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Posted
Jul 08 2008, 07:37 PM
by
Karen Datko
If you've lived in Florida, you know about flea infestations, dive-bombing palmetto bugs, tarantula-size spiders, and other creepy-crawlies you wish would go belly up in the night. Whether you're facing super-sized bugs or standard household invaders, you'll welcome some pet- and child-safe frugal pest-control measures. Two posts on the subject were featured in this week's Festival of Frugality.
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Posted
Jul 07 2008, 09:19 AM
by
Karen Datko
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Recession. Not a recession. Whatever label you put on the economy, "people are hurting financially," "Frugal Dad" says. He provides 75 tips for cutting back to help your budget withstand the impact of $4-plus gas, higher food prices and our other economic ills. We love compilations like this because you can print them out and put them on the fridge. Frugal Dad covers a lot of ground here, and has some ideas we hadn't considered. He cuts bottled juice with water to make it last twice as long. To save money but salvage his social life, he meets friends after the dinner hour. Eating out, after all, can be a mighty budget buster.
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Posted
Jun 26 2008, 01:37 PM
by
Karen Datko
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Frugal Babe has boiled water, made both oatmeal and rice, baked biscuits and reheated lasagne in her new-to-her solar oven/cooker. Pretty impressive, no? Next she's going to bake a chocolate cake. We've been reading about solar ovens and wondered if they really work. In her post and the comments that followed, Frugal Babe answers a lot of questions about them. For instance, does solar cooking take more time? Just a little bit more with the one she bought, she writes. Hers gets to 350 or 400 degrees quickly and stays there if the oven's position is changed every half-hour as the sun moves.
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Posted
Jun 19 2008, 06:03 AM
by
Karen Datko
This post comes from Xin Lu at partner blog Wise Bread. My husband and I often search online for fixes for our electronics problems because if a gadget is out of warranty it often costs quite a bit to get it fixed. When we find a solution that is not hard to implement, we figure we might as well try it. We have been able to fix many things, including computers and handhelds. Lately my husband's Nintendo DS Lite has been giving him problems. Namely, the shoulder buttons at the top of the portable gaming console have been sporadically unresponsive. He has been using my DS, and he was thinking of buying a new one. However, today he found a great low-tech fix on the Internet that saved us more than $100.
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Posted
Jun 11 2008, 11:15 AM
by
Karen Datko
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Some frugal-living tips -- turning two-ply toilet paper into one-ply -- seem over the top, but others, like reusing Ziploc bags, are accepted practice in lots of households. The Happy Rock provides six "cheaper than cheap" tips "that border on fanatical to the point of being humorous" and asks readers to vote on their usefulness. "Rock" provides a thorough explanation of each über-frugal tip as part of an ongoing series of posts, complete with how-to links in case you need some help implementing them.
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Posted
Jun 10 2008, 11:17 AM
by
Karen Datko
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Frugal people really don't like cheap people because they make us look, well, cheap. "You see, many people have the impression that cheap and frugal are the same thing because of people like you," explains S. Shugars in an open, excellent, take-no-prisoners letter to Mr. Cheap at Saving Advice. If you recognize yourself in the behavior the letter describes, you'll know why no one in the office likes you.
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Posted
Jun 05 2008, 04:55 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
This post comes from Xin Lu at partner blog Wise Bread. Once upon a time I sold a lot of stuff on eBay and Amazon, and I always needed envelopes, boxes and padding. The cost of these shipping supplies can really add up when you mail more than 1,000 things per year, so I looked into how to cut down my shipping costs. Here are some of the ways you can get supplies for free and lower your business overhead.
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