TOP FRUGAL TIPS

Top Tips for saving money and living frugally

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Install a Fireplace Insert

Install a fireplace insert to save money on your heating bill. Save even more by collecting free wood from companies that fall trees.

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Save $$$ by investing in a protective mattress cover

This is probably obvious to many, but I can’t be the only one to make this mistake, so hopefully I’ll help others like myself.

Even if you are a generally clean adult and don’t wet the bed, it’s a fact of life that unprotected mattresses are bound to end up discolored and gross from sweat, dead skin cells, cat throw-up, etc.

A mattress cover will protect the actual mattress and unlike the mattress can be washed or replaced many times before reaching cost of a new mattress. This will save you lots of money in the long run by majorly extending the life of your mattress.

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Frugal tips for growing cabbage

Grow the cabbage….Harvest the head for sauerkraut, but leave the main body & roots intact…Voila! More wee buds appear. Of course this depends on how long growth season is.

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Restore Your Towels

Over time your towels can get flat and the fabric can get hard and scratchy. There’s an easy way to restore the life back in your towels.

Instead of the usual detergent, use 1 cup of vinegar with hot water. Run your towels a second time with hot water and 1/2 cup of baking soda. Your towels will be more fresh and absorbent.

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Overspending on Gas and Oil

Overspending on Gas and Oil – Don’t use premium fuel if the auto manufacturer says regular is just fine. Same with flex fuel over regular. Your vehicle doesn’t need an oil change every 3000 miles.

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15 Free programs you might find useful

Note: some of these are free versions of pay-for software.

I know some of these are somewhat common but I included them anyway.

https://gyazo.com/

http://tixati.com/

http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html

http://www.nexusmods.com/games/?

http://www.gimp.org/

http://www.displayfusion.com/

http://www.slysoft.com/en/virtual-clonedrive.html

http://www.sketchup.com/

http://niftools.sourceforge.net/wiki/NifSkope

http://www.videolan.org/vlc/index.html

https://www.google.com/earth/

http://www.xfire.com/

http://www.rarlab.com/download.htm

http://www.getpaint.net/

http://www.fraps.com/

According to commenters, here are some alternatives to the listed programs:

VLC Media Player -> MPC-HC

http://mpc-hc.org/

WinRAR -> 7zip

http://www.7-zip.org/

Gyazo -> puush

http://puush.me/

Tixati -> Deluge

http://deluge-torrent.org/

Fraps -> OBS

https://obsproject.com/

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50 Things You Should Stop Buying & Start Making

Making things yourself not only saves you money and helps the environment, but it lets you know where your products are coming from and exactly what’s in it.

You can make anything from food items to personal care and cleaning products all in very simple ways.

http://www.collective-evolution.com/2014/08/07/50-things-you-should-stop-buying-start-making/

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How to trap Gnats and Fruit Flies

Get a few small empty jars, like those for jam or baby food, or some shallow bowls. Put 4 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar in the bottom. Swirl in several drops of liquid soap. Leave the jar lids off (some people put the lid back on and punch holes in it so the bugs can still get in, but not out). Put the jars or bowls on your kitchen counter or wherever you see the most flies. The flies will be drawn to the smell of the apple cider, but once they land in the mixture, the soap will make it impossible for them to escape. Trust me, these non-toxic traps work like a dream. I set them out one night and the next morning, all the pests were in the bowl of cider!

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DIY Frugal Mouthwash Recipe

Here’s a natural mouthwash recipe using only filtered water and essential oils. Super easy and you can use peppermint, orange, lemon, lime… no need to boil it and it stores indefinitely. 10 drops essential oil mixed with 2 cups filtered water. Put in a dark bottle to store. Shake before use.

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Foods that re-grow

These foods when placed in water will re-grow. A great way to get more for your money.

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Cheap isn't always frugal

If your eye naturally gravitates to the lowest price of every item you buy, you’ll end up spending more money over time, says Kyle James, owner and founder of Rather-Be-Shopping.com. “Instead, develop the mind-set of investing in certain high quality items and you’ll actually end up saving significant money,” he says. “For example, every time I have skimped on a tool purchase — this goes for both power tools and hand tools — it has come back to haunt me.”

He suggests doing your research before you buy big ticket items especially and make sure you’re getting a quality product — it’s definitely worth the extra money as you won’t have to replace the item soon. This isn’t to say that you can’t buy the cheapest of anything, Bakke adds, rather it’s important to know when it’s OK to do so.

“It’s OK to shop the dollar store for office supplies, for example, but when you’re talking about a flat screen TV or a laptop, it pays to invest in quality,” he says. “You don’t have to get the most expensive product on the market, just don’t always go with the cheapest.”

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DIY hot / cold packs

We also use rice packs. Sew a square of fabric, leaving a 2″ hole. Fill with combination of rice and flax. (rice is cheap, flax has a high oil content and therefore retains heat longer. Or you can use other things. beans. lentils. buckwheat….) Sew up hole. Keep one stashed in the freezer for an ice pack. It doesn’t get so cold, so it won’t burn your skin like others do. I also keep these little packs around for winter. Nuke one in the microwave for a bit (really, the only reason for a microwave around here) and you have a warm pack to cuddle up to or put on sore muscles. I made little ones last winter for the kids to put in their gloves or pockets on their walk to school.

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Brewed a full pot of coffee and don't want to waste the left-overs?

If you’ve brewed a full pot of coffee and don’t end up drinking it all, here’s a great tip to save it and use it later.

Let it cool and pour the coffee into an ice cube tray. Pop it in the freezer.

Next time you’re looking for a refreshing drink, add a few iced coffee cubes into a glass of milk and you’ve got yourself a frugal, tasty iced coffee drink.

Enjoy!

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Using Vinegar As A Wood Stain

Vinegar works as a wood stain when you add a metal object in the mix and let it sit in a glass container for a week.

A handful of pennies will produce a beautiful pale Caribbean blue stain.

A wad of steel wool will give you a rich reddish hue.

A combination of tea and a metal object in vinegar will produce a black stain.

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Frugal and natural remedies using salt

Salt mixed with warm water makes an excellent anti-bacterial wash, a gargle for mouth or throat sores or pain and cleaning, purifying any problem area of the body. 1 tsp per 8 oz of water is the typical amount for this.

A foot bath for ingrown toenails can be accomplished with just salt and warm water. Again, the 1 tsp per 8 oz of water will disinfect and heal if used for 20 min twice daily.

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Save your eggshells for use in the garden

Save your eggshells for use in the garden! They add extra calcium when planted with peppers, tomatoes, and squash varieties to prevent blossom end rot and deter slugs on tender greens when scattered across the soil surface.

I usually wash them, then bake them in the oven on a low heat for 45 minutes. Then I use my pestle and mortar to crush the shells up into tiny pieces.

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Quit Paying The Stupid Tax (Buying Lottery Tickets)

Quit Paying The Stupid Tax (Buying Lottery Tickets) – Lottery tickets have horrible odds and over the long run you’re essentially lighting your money on fire. I’ll admit that I have bought lottery tickets at times and I even won $100 on a $1 scratch off ticket once. Regardless of my past results, the only reason to ever buy a lottery ticket is for entertainment value. Never buy one expecting to come out ahead.