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Everyday Cheapskate: One Big, Fat, Wadded-Up Mess and How to Fix It
If I've heard from one reader, I've heard from one thousand -- all with the same problem: wadded-up sheets. I feel their pain because I have suffered this problem as well. So annoying. It can happen in the clothes washer but also in the dryer.
My best solution, which only slightly reduces the problem, has been to launder one sheet at a time and...Read more
Everyday Cheapskate: The Best Reason Not to Buy Pre-Washed Salad in a Bag
Pre-washed, pre-chopped, ready-to-go salad greens in sealed bags can be found in the produce department of just about every grocery store and supermarket. Those bags are certainly a tempting option: What's not to like about having someone else do all the work of chopping and then double- or even triple-washing? Even so, I don't buy bagged salad...Read more
Everyday Cheapskate: You Don't Have to Be Bored on a Budget This Summer
Whether you've got kids out of school, grandkids visiting, or just need a break from routine that doesn't break the bank, there's plenty of frugal fun to be had.
Here are my favorite cheap summer trip ideas for families, singles, couples and empty nesters alike -- proof that great memories don't need a five-star price tag.
1. BE A TOURIST IN ...Read more
Everyday Cheapskate: Get Organized to Put Money in Your Pocket and a Smile on Your Face
Has this ever happened to you? While searching for the Valentine's Day centerpiece, you stumble across the Christmas wrap you bought at the half-off-after-holiday sale two years ago. You still don't know where the centerpiece is.
Or you discover six partially full peanut butter jars in the pantry while putting away the new one you just bought ...Read more
Everyday Cheapskate: How to Stop Drying Your Clothes to Death
You should see the big wad of lint I just plucked from the trap of my clothes dryer. Ack! Where does all of that come from? I know I emptied all pockets and I'm certain I did not wash a bag of pillow stuffing.
I'll tell you what it is, and I am not happy about this: It's visual proof the dryer is wearing out my clothes. Those fibers were neatly...Read more
Everyday Cheapskate: Frugal Laundry Tips That Will Save You a Fortune
If you've ever suffered the heartbreak of stains or other kinds of annoying laundry issues, you're going to love this! These laundry hacks will elevate you to laundry genius in no time.
DRIED-ON LATEX PAINT
Getting any kind of paint on clothes or other items you care about is awful. Even if latex paint is dried on for a long time -- on laundry...Read more
Everyday Cheapskate: Cheap Sunscreen, Priceless Skin: What Works and What Doesn't
If you've wandered the sunscreen aisle lately, you know it's become something between a beauty boutique and a science fair. With prices all over the map and labels that sound like chemistry homework, it's no wonder so many people either overspend or skip sunscreen altogether. But skipping protection? That's not saving -- it's gambling with your ...Read more
Everyday Cheapskate: You Can Have the Things You Love
Frugality. It's a word that for many people screams deprivation; poverty. I get letters from readers who say they've had it with trying to live below their means and never having anything they love. "What's the point if all of this deprivation if it just makes me feel even more miserable?" was the way one woman closed her letter.
Look, I can't ...Read more
Everyday Cheapskate: Another Brilliant Way to Use WD-40 Around the House
I had to laugh when I opened my mail to read how one reader was able to get his glass shower doors so clean and sparkly that they looked like new. I had a can of his remedy sitting right there next to my computer.
Hold on! Than can of WD-40 was NOT there to be used as a computer screen cleaner. I've never tried it, do not intend to and hope you...Read more
Everyday Cheapskate: How to Cook Your Way Out of These Common Kitchen Mistakes
It happened again; I suffered a kitchen disaster. Boy, do I hate when that happens! This time, I ruined an entire pot of pasta because I got busy and was not paying attention. By the time I realized, the pasta had cooked beyond al dente all the way to al mushe. I could barely make out the pasta shape!
It killed me to dump the whole thing and ...Read more
Everyday Cheapskate: Frugal Fashion or Why I Shop in the Kids' Department (No Shame)
Let me save you a little time: Yes, I shop in the kids' clothing section -- and no, I'm not embarrassed. In fact, I've come to appreciate it as one of my top frugal fashion strategies. If that sounds strange, stick with me. By the end, you might be tempted to peek behind the rainbow unicorn display yourself.
I'm not talking about dressing like ...Read more
Everyday Cheapskate: The Best Sweet Corn Tricks Ever Plus More Great Reader Tips
Last week's mail certainly proved my theory that we have the best expert community going on here at Everyday Cheapskate. Even better, we're willing to share.
MICROWAVE CORN ON THE COB
Dear Mary: I wish to share a sweet corn trick with you and your readers that allows you to cook fresh corn in the husk in the microwave. Cut through the husk ...Read more
Everyday Cheapskate: 3 Rs to Put Personal Finances Back on Track
It's true that financial trouble is a major contributor to the breakup of the American family. It is also true that gaining control over one's finances can repair marriages, restore families and change the future. For that, I am eternally grateful.
Let me assure you right up front that it is possible for you to gain control of your financial ...Read more
Everyday Cheapskate: Stop Making These Dishwasher Mistakes
MISTAKE: YOU NEED TO PRE-RINSE
Scrape off all the chunks of food from the dishes, but don't pre-rinse. It's not necessary and only wastes time and water. Unless you have particles of food on your dishes, pre-rinsing could actually hinder your dishwasher's performance. Dishwasher detergent needs the acidity of food to activate its cleaning power...Read more
Everyday Cheapskate: Cheap Ways to Feed Teenagers Who Eat Like NFL Linemen
If you're raising a teenager right now -- especially one who can clear a dinner table before you've had a chance to sit down -- you're not imagining things. Feeding a growing teen can feel like trying to stock a vending machine during halftime. Except the vending machine is your kitchen, and halftime happens every afternoon.
It's normal to feel...Read more
Everyday Cheapskate: 10 Minutes to Financial Freedom
Recently, I got a message from Natalie, who explained that as part of a financial preparedness event, she will have 10 minutes to speak about financial freedom. Her question to me was, "What would you talk about if you only had 10 minutes?"
Only 10 minutes? I find it difficult to introduce myself in that little time, but I'm up to the challenge...Read more
Everyday Cheapskate: What to Do When You Have Too Many of These Things
Before we get going here, and in the interest of full disclosure, I have an inner hoarder who puts up quite a fuss from time to time. I've managed to tame her, but now and again, she gets out. Before I know it, I have 48 boxes of borax on my storage shelves or 9,082 skeins of yarn in my stash. Just kidding -- sort of. Just justification is ...Read more
Everyday Cheapskate: Cleverly Delicious Ways to Use Up Leftovers
If your refrigerator is at all like mine, it harbors an odd assortment of leftovers and "almost gones." After all, it's hard to throw out what appears to be perfectly good food, but what can you do with a little of this and not very much of that? Here are some suggestions that may get your creative juices flowing to come up with your own ideas ...Read more
Everyday Cheapskate: The Great Ice Cube Tray Hack Roundup (Hint: Not Just for Ice)
There was a time when every fridge had a matching set of ice cube trays, stacked neatly like they had a purpose. These days? If you still have one, it's probably buried behind a bag of frozen corn, cracked from years of freezer abuse, and long past its glory days.
But don't be too quick to toss it in your next decluttering spree. That little ...Read more
Everyday Cheapskate: Knowing Your Cleaning Products Is Good for Your Health and Wealth
Two women. Different locations. Same accident. Both were using an ordinary commercial toilet bowl cleaner containing ammonia and were not satisfied with the way it was removing stains. Each added household chlorine bleach to that commercial product and stirred with a brush. One died quickly; the other spent a long time in the hospital.
Here's ...Read more