Ways to save money

[operabob]

1. Rent DVDs for free from the library.

Our library seems to get fairly new DVDs in quite quickly. I suspect some of the local video stores donate some of the ectras they purchased for the rush when they first came out for a tax receipt.

2. I make tremendous use of coupons on on sale name brands combined with the "We Care Booklets" at Safeway on house products that I actually use, are also on sale and offering bonus AirMiles. Using an average price of $0.14 I've occassionally walked away with products getting more in AirMile value than the cost of the product and still have the product.

OB

Good Hunting To All!

[blistex]

love the renting dvds from library~ i'm all on that too!

better yet download them online!

for me i would say for dinner...try making pasta...it's cheap but cooks up so much and can always eat it for lunch next day

[blistex]

another trip for face and body stuff

ask the cosmetics section for samples for cleansers, face creams and body lotions and stuff...save lots of money! it's been more than a year that i hafn't bought any skincare stuff for face and body!

[blistex]

another terrific idea is the next time you go to fast food places for a meal....try to grab extra napkins, condiments etc..

can always use this stuff at home! especially the sugar, salt and pepper!

[SavingKarina]

those little packets of pepper and salt are also good for camping or to add to your lunch or dinner if you bring food to school (university).

[elliott_gyal]

another terrific idea is the next time you go to fast food places for a meal....try to grab extra napkins, condiments etc..

can always use this stuff at home! especially the sugar, salt and pepper!

i do this!

[docbosh]

I thought the topic was "Ways to save money" and not "Intro to petty crime 101"

While stealing stuff from fast food chains is certainly one way to save money. I guess stealing just about anything is a great way to save money. Why don't you stop off at the bathroom before going to see if you can steal some toilet paper? Don't want to spend a lot on a new 42" LCD TV, steal it off the wall, most McDonalds seem to have one now. Stay at a hotel, steal the door knobs and the fixtures, towels and whatever else, and then to allay your guilt call them souvenirs.

Blistex, SavingKarina and Elliot Gyal, shame on you. Those items are put there for your use while you are a customer. To help keep costs down they made them available by the honour system. Do you think that when you steal stuff in this fashion that there is no cost? When you do this it may not put a big dent in their profits, but there is a cost. Not to mention it is an act of being inconsiderate, because when I go to get an item it isn't there after some one else stole it. If you do this enough, and you appear to be advocating doing this as a way to save money, the companies would have no choice but to compensate by increasing prices and/or reducing services.

You can slam all the big corporations all you want, and even justify what you are doing by saying to yourself and others "well they have money". It isn't whether they have money; it's still stealing, no matter how you slice it. It is wrong to have the personal belief that whatever you take from their condiment station is exempt from moral or legal prosecution. A little condiment station over-indulgence isn't that bad, if you are actually using those items in the restaurant. Taking home those items you over estimated you were going to need instead of throwing them in the trash is OK too. Taking more than you need on purpose so that you have extra to take home would not be. Do you know that to curb this form of stealing that some McDonalds are now telling you how many items, like dipping sauce that you are entitled to with your order, and how much getting extra will cost? If you think the type of crime you are engaging in isn't rampant, then that should at least appear as some proof that it is becoming a problem.

From a sociological view point there is already a crime wave that is occurring in our fast foods restaurants. All done in the Robin Hood style of taking from the rich and giving to the poor.

But most importantly, I don't think you should dispense this idea as a good way to save money, when morally it isn't.

[spammy10]

Whoa!! I don't think Blistex, SavingKarina and Elliot Gyal meant that they would take fistfuls of napkins, etc. and load up their kitchens for a year. When I go out to eat especially with my 2 kids, I do grab extra napkins because they almost always make a mess. And if we don't use the extra napkins, I take them with me - like 3 napkins, not 100. People wouldn't use clean napkins that are left on tables anyways. I know I don't. I think you may have misunderstood those 3 smartcanucks.

[MeMew]

Hey friends, I am rather newbie and dont' know how to use the milk bag? Seem that it is cost-saving but dont know how to store, unfreeze, etc. with that. Can anyone help me with this tip? Thanks a bunch!

[travelgeek]

Hey friends, I am rather newbie and dont' know how to use the milk bag? Seem that it is cost-saving but dont know how to store, unfreeze, etc. with that. Can anyone help me with this tip? Thanks a bunch!

I googled this...

http://home.cogeco.ca/~husky66/Milk/steps/

If you don't drink enough to finish the 3 pouches by expiry date, you are probably better off buying cartons instead.

[matrix82]

My grandmother freezes milk all the time..what she does is once she notices that she is say 2/3 through a bag, she takes a bag out of the freezer and thaws it by placing it in the sink filled with cold water, once its partially thawed she places it in the fridge, or she places it in the fridge from the start and lets it thaw there.

I've never noticed a difference in taste or anything.

[MeMew]

@Travelgeek and matrix82, many thanks for your help. That is exactly what I do want to know. Hope to save a little from that.
BTW, do anyone has any tips for washing and cleaning winter coats, etc. This is my first winter here and I dont know if I need to use dry cleaning for my kid's winter coat (mine and hubbie's is ok, we can wash it by hand) since hers is white color. Also for big and heavy quilt (i am so weak that i need to use that for the cold winter) - i think the apartment washing machine is not suitable for that and i can neither wash it by hand, LOL.
Oh, another thing to ask: how about your kid's used textbooks, educational materials, etc. Do you throw it away in paper bins? I am desperately looking for these stuff since my kid will be at school for the first time next August and before knowing what is really taught there I would prefer to have used textbooks to browse with her first. I also have some niece and nephew they love studying and don't mind used textbooks or whaever.

[matrix82]

Winter coat, it depends on the fabric and filling...I don't wash down filled coats, I will take them to the dry cleaners.

I'd just put it in on the gentle cycle on cold, and to dry it, hang it up over your bathtub. Since the coat is white, if there are stains, use some liquid laundry detergent and a toothbrush to scrub at it.

As for a heavy quilt, I have a denim comforter, its very heavy, I would suggest going to a laundromat and using one of their heavy duty machine's.

Children's books, if they aren't badly used (ie have all their pages) I'd donate them to a woman's shelter, second hand store, church etc. There are many places that will be willing to take them. If no one does, then I'd put it with the papers to be recycled.

[MeMew]

Thanks a lot for your answer, matrix82 (trying to find a flower icon here to present you but cannot find???)

[alexsmommy1228]

wow! thanks everyone! This is awsome! tons of tips! we are trying to make it so I can stay home with our kids when my EI runs out. so all the tips are great!