Frugal Friday

[ecosophia]

Welcome back to Frugal Friday! This is a weekly forum post to encourage people to share tips on saving money, especially but not only by doing stuff yourself. A new post will be going up every Friday, and will remain active until the next one goes up. Contributions will be moderated, of course, and I have some simple rules to offer, which may change further as we proceed.

Rule #1:  this is a place for polite, friendly conversations about how to save money in difficult times. It's not a place to post news, views, rants, or emotional outbursts about the reasons why the times are difficult and saving money is necessary. Nor is it a place to use a money saving tip to smuggle in news, views, etc.  I have a delete button and I'm not afraid to use it.

Rule #2:  this is not a place for you to sell goods or services, period. Here again, I have a delete button and I'm not afraid to use it.

Rule #3:  please give your tip a heading that explains briefly what it's about.  Homemade Chicken Soup, Garden Containers, Cheap Attic Insulation, and Vinegar Cleans Windows are good examples of headings. That way people can find the things that are relevant for them. If you don't put a heading on your tip it will be deleted.

Rule #4: don't post anything that would amount to advocating criminal activity. Any such suggestions will not be put through.

With that said, have at it!

Comments

Boot repair?

[(Anonymous)]

I mostly remain indoors during the cold, snowy season. I found a nice pair of boots 2nd hand which now have slits along the uppers. The heel and sole are still good, and I would like to repair the uppers for the occasional foray outdoors. I suppose I could encase my warm sox clad foot in a plastic bag, but I thought I would ask this most capable commentariat about home boot repair.

Also, con anyone recommend a good brand of tape which does actually stick to a variety of surfaces?

Mary Bennet

Cold Weather Gear

[(Anonymous)]

If you know of a shepherd, or can go to a fiber fair... or can order online, consider using lacing through felted wool. Felt some batting densely, poke holes, and enjoy. When starting with any craft start small, experiment, you will learn so much from the first forays.

Sneaker revival and repair

[teresa_from_hershey]

Sneakers aren't boots! They're constructed with stitching but mainly with layers of material glued together. Whatever leather is in a sneaker, it doesn't include the sole which can be replaced or repaired for many shoes and boots.

How do you make sneakers last longer?

Have two pairs so you can wear one while the other is drying out from foot perspiration.

Clean off the mud on a routine basis.

Have grubby, dirty sneakers you wear for grubby, dirty work so your 'good' sneakers don't get worn down early.

Wash them once a year in July. Remove the shoelaces and wash them separately in a mesh bag along with the sneakers. Leave the insole in place but remove aftermarket Dr. Scholl's inserts. Pull back the tongue. Brush off as much dirt as possible because your washer won't like it. Wash in warm water with some terry-cloth rags for scrubbing action. Before you hang them on the clothesline for 10 hours in 90 degree heat, remove the insoles. Hang them to dry separately. This way, the sneakers dry completely. This is a life-saver for white sneakers.

If part of the sole is coming off, use *SHOE-GOO*. This is a miracle product that we've used to reattach the soles of shoes. Don't wait too long! As soon as any part of the sole starts coming loose, follow the directions on the Shoe-Goo tube and fix it. Give it plenty of time to set. The more damaged the sole is, the less likely you'll get a good repair.

We've made sneakers last much longer with Shoe-Goo. A big hardware store will carry it. The odor is toxic so use it outside.

Sadly, Shoe-Goo doesn't work for sewn on soles, nor does it repair rips.

On a side note, I've washed a wide variety of second-hand kids' shoes in my washer and they've come out fine. They must be dried on the clothesline for a full day in 90 plus heat to prevent mildew.

Re: Sneaker revival and repair

[(Anonymous)]

I wash all athletic shoes in the washer on cold, low tumble setting. They last much longer without the sweat and grime sitting in them. Then just air dry.

Leather shoes can be washed by hand with soapy water, inside and outside. Don’t soak them, work fast , dry off thoroughly and stuff the inside with newspapers or cloth to absorb the biggest moisture, then let it dry in proximity to a heat source but not directly over it. Or outside in summer draft. When dry, seal with shoe wax.

Borax as a cockroach control method

[(Anonymous)]

Last summer my apartment was ridden with roaches, so this year the choice was between paying for a fumigation, or finding a remedy for this problem. I put tray caps with peanut butter on them, and sprinkled borax on top. My understanding is that borax is poison to roaches because it disrupts their water regulation. The same is not true to mammals, making this a safe option for the house, assuming no one eats the whole thing. I put those traps in corners I remembered seeing roaches hang out last year. My apartment is roach free, similar to the effects of a fumigation. So borax seems to be a cheaper, safer alternative to a fumigator.

Re: Borax as a cockroach control method

[robertmathiesen]

We use a mixture of equal parts ov boric acid (in powder form) and sugar to get rid of infestations of ants, so it's not only roaches that boric acid, or borax, kills. It kills ants slowly enough that they can bring it back to their nests before they succumb and thus poison their entire colony.

Re: Borax as a cockroach control method

[(Anonymous)]

Any idea if it is safe around lizards?

I (without thinking, blast it) put out some small glue traps, hoping to snare a few silverfish that've been after my library.

Today I checked them and found a large gecko completely stuck. Could not be saved, but still breathing :( My husband kindly put it out of its misery, and I said a prayer for its repose, but gosh I feel awful about it. Not doing that again. It only caught a few beetles anyway, and I think that's what the gecko was after...

We are liable here to have geckoes, skinks, and anoles in the house now and then, and I regard them as honored guests (since I've never been able to catch them and put them out again). They eat bugs and don't make a mess. I don't want to kill them.

And as a sidenote: anybody got a good remedy for silverfish?

Re: Borax as a cockroach control method

[(Anonymous)]

Definitely protect the gekos. My understanding is that non insects are fine if it's a small quantity.

Check your bills and receipts

[michele7]

My daughter recently received her hospital bill for the birth of her second child. She was shocked to see an over two thousand dollar charge for the emergency room because she didn't go to the emergency room. She called and was told an audit would be done and a new bill would be sent. She also asked for an itemized bill since the first was generic and not detailed.

Not long ago a cashier typed in the wrong code for the cat food I was buying. Something made me check my receipt and instead of cat food I was charged for a different product at double the cost. It was quickly put right, but I wonder how many times I've walked out with mistakes on my receipts because I didn't check.

Re: Borax as a cockroach control method

[dr_coyote]

A variation on this is to mix boric acid powder into canned sweetened condensed milk, enough to make the milk curdle and thicken into a dough-like texture. Roll it into little balls about 1/4" in diameter. Put those on cardboard or other convenient "trays" such as bottle caps to keep the sticky stuff off of floors. Place wherever needed.

Re: Boot repair?

[mistyfriday]

If the boots aren't waterproof or staying waterproof isn't important then you can get some thin nylon webbing and either stuff it into the boot or have it outside (stylistic choice) and hand sew the boot back up. If the boot is leather you will need to make the sewing holes prior to threading the needle though.

As for tape my favorite is two inch vinyl tape. It is made by a variety of manufacturers including 3M. It doesn't degrade in the same way that duct tape does, it's very strong, and adheres well to any reasonably clean surface.

Holiday in Vancouver

[(Anonymous)]

Hi Everyone,
As part of my presents for my 60th birthday, my husband took me to Vancouver, BC for a couple of Shakespeare plays and to see Malaysia compete in an international fireworks festival. Malaysia did a fantastic job. We got a hotel on the beach at English Bay and it was very expensive because the fireworks are just in front of the hotel.

To make our stay more affordable, we picked up some groceries on the way to the hotel. I bought a packet of Ryvita crackers, a tub of hummus, some fruit, a bag of rolls for my husband and a large cooked sausage. That cost us $60 Canadian and we were able to get two suppers and 3 lunches off it.

We ate breakfast at the hotel, The Sylvia Hotel, for anyone who needs a good place to stay in Vancouver. Their breakfast costs about $50 for two people to have a modest breakfast. That was my husband's treat as he loves to have breakfast there and look out over English Bay. You can see what lunches and suppers out would have cost. Crackers and hummus were just fine to fill up on and we even had them for lunch on the ferry back to Vancouver Island.
Maxine

Re: Check your bills and receipts

[methylethyl]

Hospitals do this so routinely it cannot be attributed to carelessness. It pays to always, always check your bill and dispute any charges that look sketchy. A lady I know, after having a baby in hospital, was sent home early due to a power outage. While there, she had shared a four-person recovery room. She was billed for a full three days and a private room, which she disputed. Hospital insisted the billing was correct, so she sent a friend to the hospital, with a camera, to find the room number of the "private" room she was billed for, and photograph it. It turned out to be an admin office. They corrected the bill.

Re: Holiday in Vancouver

[(Anonymous)]

Yes, packing food saves so much money. And, still nice to also have an experience sometimes. I will eat something packed and cold when I get on the train in the evening that I brought, but the next morning, I will spring for breakfast in the dining car, hot tea, eggs, potatoes, etc... and a great view while eating.

I also pack food and tea for car trips, it is expensive to stop at starbucks off the freeway, and I dont like giving them my business, let alone fast food meals. I am about to drive with my son to a family camping trip next friday, and I will have 2 thermoses of tea, water in a re-used glass bottle, plus a sandwich and snacks.

Atmospheric River

Re: Holiday in Vancouver

[(Anonymous)]

You didn't go for the high tea experience?

Agreed about packing food. The AmTrack from NYC to FL has no dining car, only a seriously overpriced snack bar.

May I ask what you have against Starbucks? Besides bad coffee, that is?

[claire_58]

Today we took the grandchildren to the beach. A bucket of cheap plastic beach toys we've had for at least 3 years kept them amused for several hours digging holes, carrying buckets of water to pour into the the holes, and piling up the extra sand in berms and moats. We finished the day with a massive 4 way water fight. No paddle boards or expensive floatation devices. Almost 5 hours of fun for the cost of few snacks (to be fair we probably would have fed them anyway) and they are happy to do it again tomorrow.

Re: Boot repair?

[kallianeira]

Hello Mary,

Leather can be patched with offcuts of leather or the upholstery vinyl used on car seats. The vinyl is quite thin and flexible. Leather of shoe grade is very thick and stiff: you might need a thinner piece, more like a clothing quality, and you will want it to be tanned so as to be waterproof.

Cut a piece large enough to cover the slit and leave plenty of overlap all around, to give enough surface area for a strong join.

Even though the vinyl comes with an adhesive backing I have found the use of contact adhesive (the type you put on both surfaces and then attach when almost dry) to be more effective. Use this adhesive likewise for leather patches.

If your boots are shiny or waxed, take off the shiny part around the repair with solvent first or the adhesion will be compromised.

- iridescent scintillating elver

Re: Holiday in Vancouver

[(Anonymous)]

It is just one more ubiquitous chain. And the coffee beans are over roasted, and the tea is too hot to drink. But mostly it is the whole corporate company tryingto corner the market. I have no idea why people go there.

I also do try and save money by making my own tea.

High tea. I have had it once, lots of fun, was not at a starbucks, they dont do high tea.

Atmospheric River

Re: Holiday in Vancouver

[mistyfriday]

Pop tarts are the closest thing to hardtack readily available in the contiguous United States. This is handy to know on long, multiday trips where food costs and travel gear need to be kept to a minimum.

Cheap keto foods

[(Anonymous)]

Hello all, hope you are doing well. I recently started a keto diet after hearing that it can be used to cure schizophrenia. I don't know if it will work but I'm willing to try the diet for a few months to see. Anyway, I'm on the hunt for cheap recipies if anyone wants to share

Re: Cheap keto foods

[(Anonymous)]

Aaah I accidently clicked on post before I was done! Oh well... I'll share two of my own recipies in this comment instead.

Minced pork soup

500g of minced pork
1 can of crushed tomatoes
50g butter
Spices to taste
Greek yoghurt

Melt the butter and add the meat. Fry intill brown and then add the tomatoes and spices. I usually use salt, black pepper, garlic powder and cayennne. Makes about 3 servings. Serve with greek yoghurt.

Tuna with eggs and yoghurt

1 can of tuna
2 boiled eggs
Greek yoghurt
Salt and pepper

Pour the water off the tuna and mix it with the greek yoghurt and eggs. Spice to taste. 1 serving.

These are the kinds of recipies I'm looking for. Simple and cheap, high fat and protein and low carb.

Cheers
MWT

Re: Cheap keto foods

[mistyfriday]

The carnivore diet is an extreme version of keto. Where you only eat animal products, primarily meat. The best meat for this diet comes from ungulates, with bison being the best readily available in the US.

Beef is a good alternative. The recommendations I've seen suggest that an adult will need between one to two pounds of meat a day trending down to one pound over time. This was my experience also.

As I write this an eighteen count of third of a pound patties can be bought at Costco for under thirty dollars. At one pound a day that adds up to thirty-five dollars a week.

I add salt and pepper to taste which I buy at Winco from the bulk foods area. A weeks worth of each being less than a dollar. I'll often add a slice of cheese, which when bought from Costco is less than thirty cents a slice.

If you opt for this diet full time you will need to supplement magnesium and potassium. I found a thirty day supply for fifteen dollars.

With all the extras this diet costs about forty-five dollars a week and is super easy to shop for. It's the simplicity of the grocery list, paired with the ability to bulk shop a month or more at a time that really adds to the savings. Less time in the store equals less impulse buys.

Re: Cheap keto foods

[ecosophia]

Are legumes allowed in a keto diet? I'm enough of an old fogey that I haven't kept up with current dietary theories. ;-)

Reason I ask is that I have a lot of soup recipes that include no grains, but most of them contain legumes.

[prayergardens]

I like doing the keto diet occasionally. My body does really well on it but ultimately, it's took restrictive for long term for me. I usually do it in January every year. I likely have undiagnosed ADHD or something like it and I find that mental clarity and focus really kicks in about day 3. It is noticeable so I'm not surprised to hear you say it benefits other conditions.

Since I do it in January, my fresh veg is limited so I have home grown microgreens for salads. Very cheap.

I often do a rotisserie chicken pre-cooked or will roast 1-2 at a time. 1st night salad with chicken, 2nd night usually a chicken/veg saute and then make broth and use the last of the chicken in the soup. I like Enchilada soup where you make a roux with chili powder/cumin in the base and then add in the shredded chicken and top with cheese and sour cream.

My favorite veg for hot low carb meals are cauliflower and spaghetti squash. If you don't know spaghetti squash, you can roast it and sub it in for noodles. I will do Italian style meatballs (use grated parmesan and an extra egg instead of bread crumbs) and sauce or a chicken alfredo with it. For the cauliflower,roast, mince, mix with cheese and you can bake it into a 'pizza crust' of sorts. It can also be the bottom of a quiche. I do eggs every way during the diet, fried, scrambled, omelets.

I've recently seen a recipe online where you blend cottage cheese with an egg and bake to make a flat crust that can make a burrito or wrap. I haven't tried it but I filed it away for January.

I will also buy a turkey or two at a steep discount after Thanksgiving and save it in the freezer until low-carb time and roast them then and eat for a week in various forms.

When I feel like I've reached a point where I lack willpower to continue, I do whipped cream and blueberries so I get a taste of something sweet.

Pinterest is a great source of recipes. I stay away from ones with a lot of additives or that try to hard to be carb-like but I do find the lack of variety inevitably gets to me and will try things I find there.

Hope the diet works for you!

Re: Cheap keto foods

[(Anonymous)]

I have been on a HFLC diet for some fifteen years now, as it helps keep my diabetes manageable.

What I find is that... techniques tend to be better than recipes. So rather than focusing on a list of ingredients for a particular dish, it was easier to just learn *how to cook*, say, a pot roast, or a pork loin, how to make chicken stock, how to roast a whole chicken, ten ways to cook eggs (because they're cheap and fast). And it was really helpful to just conscientiously expand my repertoire of green vegetables. I had gotten rather picky ;) So... Ok, not just green beans, spinach, and broccoli, but let's also do artichokes in melted butter now and then, and mustard greens, chard, beet greens, kale, and how many ways can I use the basil that I'm growing anyway, and let's try adding onions to this...

One thing that helps is raiding the local middle-eastern and Asian grocery stores for spices and spice mixes, to keep things interesting. If you like it, coconut milk is a great pantry staple. So if we had roast chicken last night, and nobody wants to eat the leftovers... I can pick the bones and make a coconut chicken curry tonight, with cauliflower and kale, or garam masala chicken...

Another thing that has helped keep me on track over the years is OVER-cooking. So if I'm just experimenting with a new spice blend or dish, I only cook a little. But if it's a tried-and-true dish that everybody likes, I cook WAY too much for one meal, and then the leftovers can supply lunch the following day, and then anything extra goes in the freezer for an emergency lunch some other time. Having a backlog of thaw-and-eat stuff in the freezer just makes it so much easier on days when I've been out running errands all day, and I'm tired and don't have time to cook a proper dinner. The same applies to basic dishes, so... roasting two (or three, or four) chickens is about the same effort as roasting just one. Anything extra can be picked apart, the bones make chicken stock, and the cooked chicken goes in a container in the freezer and later it can be made into taco chicken, curry, chicken soup, or chicken salad with very little effort. And then I only heated up the house once instead of multiple times, with the oven.

Anyway, cheap and easy to start with: Roast chicken legs:

Take chicken leg quarters, drumsticks, or thighs, completely thawed, and put them in a bowl. Mix up some lemon juice, salt, pepper, and olive oil (the proportions don't matter that much-- eventually you'll figure out what works best for your tastes-- go easy on the salt the first time and work your way up, that's the only part you can really overdo), coat all the chicken pieces with the mixture. If you're pinched for time you can roast them immediately, but if you're planning ahead (or if they're still a wee bit frozen in the middle), cover the bowl with a plate and let it marinate in the fridge for an hour or overnight. Put all the pieces on a roasting pan, with a little space between them (not all jammed up together), and bake at 350F until the skin is golden brown and crisp, and a meat thermometer stuck in the thickest part registers over 165F. Depending on if you started at fridge temp or room temp, and how large the pieces are, this is going to take anywhere from 30-50 minutes. I just walk away and do other things until I smell the roast chicken smell, and then I start checking on it every 5 minutes.

Re: Cheap keto foods

[(Anonymous)]

Beans and peas tend to be starchy, so you have to be careful with them to stay in the keto range. But green beans are pretty safe.

Re: Holiday in Vancouver

[(Anonymous)]

If all you need is shelf-stable calories... yep.

Re: Holiday in Vancouver

[teresa_from_hershey]

A much better substitute for lembas (or dwarf bread) than Poptarts is Belvitas.

These are packages of dry biscuit/cookies. There are four in each inidvidually wrapped package; five or twelve packages per box.

They keep far, far longer than the box's date indicates. They're reasonably low in calories, don't send your blood sugar skyrocketing, they're decent tasting, and best of all, you won't be hungry for hours afterwards.

We use BelVitas ALL the time for events and car trips. They keep well. Don't buy the soft kind or the kind that have nasty crème inside. The basic dry biscuit is what you want. The flavors do taste different. They're a bit pricy but watch for sales and stock up.

Belvitas are made by Nabisco and can be found in the cracker/cookie aisle.

I can strongly recommend them!

[(Anonymous)]

It does make social outings awkard!

Though personally, I've found that not having to go on exogenous insulin is worth it, and staying very low-carb actually makes it pretty easy to just not-eat for surprisingly long stretches, so I can go be social, and just not eat, or if I really need to look like it to make other people comfortable, I can walk around with a few tiny things on a plate or gnaw at some celery for appearances ;)

Re: Cheap keto foods

[(Anonymous)]

It's surprisingly cheap these days to get a big container of pre-washed salad greens. This can sometimes make life a lot easier, and provide the *crunch* so often missing from a low-carb diet.

Those greens, plus some sliced boiled egg and bits of roast chicken, make a satisfying salad. Other things that are keto-compatible and can go in the salad: olives, cheese, leftover green vegetables, any already-cooked meat you have around, mushrooms, artichoke hearts, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, sprouts, cucumber slices, avocado, asparagus... salad is just a generally great, flexible, inexpensive, and quick template for putting together a low-carb meal without a ton of thought and work.

Not all of those ingredients are cheap, but a salad doesn't require any of them in large quantity, so even very nice olives can be surprisingly economical if you just use them as an accent to make a salad interesting. Any salad you might use feta cheese in (expensive), you can try substituting farmer cheese or a crumbly queso fresco-- they're milder tasting but with a dressing still very nice.

Store-bought dressings can be really sugary and have a lot of undesirable MSG and industrial vegetable oil type stuff in them, but making your own is really really easy, and can make eating a lot of meat-on-salad much nicer.

Ranch:
-Equal parts mayo, sour cream, and buttermilk or fullfat plain yogurt
-A squeeze of lemon juice
-A little bit each of salt, pepper, minced garlic (or garlic powder), onion powder or chopped chives, dill, mustard (powder or prepared mustard), and paprika.

I just put it all in a jar and run a whisk back and forth between two hands. Some people mix it in a bowl and then jar it, as long as it gets well mixed and no clumps of seasonings, it's all good.

Vinaigrette:

-good quality olive oil
-balsamic vinegar
-salt, pepper, mustard powder, some dried basil, to taste.

We eyeball the ratios there-- you want more oil than vinegar, but other than that... how much of each depends on whether you're a mustard person or not ;) Just put it all in a jar with a tight-fitting lid (where it takes up half the jar or less) and shake vigorously.

Re: Cheap keto foods

[linden_matryoshka]

I'm not sure about pure keto, but legumes are definitely allowed on the Low Carb Healthy Fat (LCHF) diet suggested by Dr. Jason Fung. He seems like a very knowledgeable dude. His advice includes some tough love - 36-hour fasts. Seems to work for many people.

American Peasant by Christopher Schwarz, Lost Art Press

[(Anonymous)]

This book came across my feed and it caught my attention — I’m hardly a woodworker or furniture maker but some of the headings seem frugal-friendly (especially “Grocery store glue”). But what really made me think of this forum were the chapters on magical symbology and how furniture and buildings can have carvings as spells for protection etc.

The pdf is free to download for anyone to take a look.

https://lostartpress.com/collections/books/products/american-peasant-signed-by-the-author (https://lostartpress.com/collections/books/products/american-peasant-signed-by-the-author)

Re: Holiday in Vancouver

[(Anonymous)]

Not to mention the places are downright uncomfortable. Noisy, plastic everywhere, no quiet coffee shop vibe at all.

There is said to be a (vastly overpriced) high tea served in a Victoria hotel, I forgot the hotel name, but don't think it was Sylvia. My daughter was visiting on vacation and opted to give The Tea Experience a miss because of the price.

I like to make tea myself because I can control the amount and use boiling water. I am partial to Puer and Lapsong Souchong when I can get them.

Re: Sneaker revival and repair

[(Anonymous)]

re: air drying

If your kitchen is like most, the refrigerator usually has a cabinet that projects out over the top. A nice place to gently dry items, is place the item on top of the refrigerator, as far back as possible. We dry shoes and other items there. Its also 'generally' safe from investigations by our cat herd..

YMMV - Good Luck to Us All

Re: Holiday in Vancouver

[(Anonymous)]

Yes! Belvitas over PopTarts!

Re: Borax as a cockroach control method

[(Anonymous)]

I worry about my dogs, so for bugs I use a spray bottle filled with water and a few drops of orange oil.

interesting frugality ideas

[linden_matryoshka]

There is a post by Charles Hugh Smith today on his blog titled Anti-Consumers that is very much on the topic of this blog, with some interesting ideas and examples from his life. Here is a link if you are interested:

https://www.oftwominds.com/blog.html

Kirsten

Re: interesting frugality ideas

[methylethyl]

I'd like to append one that was posted on the ecosophia.net combox:

https://theconversation.com/understanding-underconsumption-core-how-a-new-trend-is-challenging-consumer-culture-235417?utm_source=pocket-newtab-en-us

I am still laughing at the term "underconsumption"... but the fact that both of these articles crossed my screen on the same day hints at a real trend.

Of course, that real trend is almost certainly economic contraction...

Re: Cheap keto foods

[(Anonymous)]

I've been eating keto/mostly carnivore for the past month and have been introduced to a new-to-me ingredient which works as a credible substitute for bread crumbs: powdered pork rinds. I use them as a coating for baked chicken or fish. You can make them by putting pork rinds in the blender if you can't source the powdered ones. They are not that cheap but you only use a bit at a time.

Re: interesting frugality ideas

[linden_matryoshka]

Interesting article... I was somewhat shocked to read about influencers normalizing overconsumption by posting videos of themselves hauling tons of clothing! Say what? I never even heard of such a behavior. It's so over the top.

Re: interesting frugality ideas

[(Anonymous)]

I consider myself an anti-consumer. I won't buy anything until I absolutely have to. Then I look for used then locally sourced first. How many days can I go without spending?
The thing is, how do we make everyday people think it's cool to do likewise? I think one way is to remind them how powerful their dollar can be. Look at the Miller Lite situation. I'll bet they would do things a bit differently if they had the chance.
I simetimes think you can do more with your dollar than you can with your vote.

Re: interesting frugality ideas

[(Anonymous)]

You can't make other people think.

But you can live better with what you've got.