Tag: Frugal Living Tips

Today’s thrifty tip is to use baking soda, vinegar, and boiling hot water to clear a clogged drain. What you do is pour a cup of baking soda down the drain first. Then pour a cup of vinegar behind it which will fizz. Then put the stopper in and let sit for at least 30 minutes. Then take out the stopper and pour a pot of boiling water down the drain. This works for me pretty much every time, especially, in the kitchen sink. The bathrooms don’t always work since it’s usually a hair clog so then I usually use a bent wire hanger to get to the clog. I do use the baking soda and hot water mixture to keep them clear and smelling clean. It’s cheaper than using expensive drain cleaners plus safer.

Today’s frugal tip is use hot boiling water or vinegar to get rid of weeds. Just be careful not to use around plants. This is great for use in walkways or your driveway. This is much cheaper than chemicals and safer to use.

I went shopping at a local store that were clearancing clothes plus take an extra 20% off the already reduced prices. I bought $210 worth of clothes for my son and paid $52 with tax for all of it. I bought winter clothes for this year but did snag a couple of summer shirts. Here is a list of what I bought all size 7. The Levis were on sale plus I 2 20% discounts (the extra one and I had a coupon good on any item including clearance). I used the other coupon on the other pair of jeans.

Set of 2 Cars PJS ($5.32 for both pairs since it was a special set deal)
Spider Flannel PJS
Levis Jeans
South Pole Jeans
Lee Khaki Carpenter Pants
Nike S/S Shirt
2 Different Adidas L/S Shirts
Nike Wind Pants

Then I had bought 4 tops at Dillards for $17.23 with tax.

Ralph Lauren S/S Top
Shrek L/S Shirt
Charter Club L/S Shirt
Silver Surfer S/S Top

Lastly I stopped at Wal-Mart yesterday and picked up 4 pairs of shorts on sale for $3 each. I am well stocked for next summer and this winter. I paid a total of $82.xx for all these clothes. It never hurts to check out the clearance racks of your stores since you never know. Sometimes I found unmarked sales like yesterday at Wal-Mart. I spend around $100 a year on his clothes and shoes. I do have several pairs that I got on clearance from last year waiting in my closet. I only stock a size ahead of what he wears. I will buy size 8 clothes when the winter goes on sale in January next year. I used to buy more of his clothes used but it’s hard to find his size, and I still feel I’m doing really well with the clearance racks. I never pay more than $4-5 unless it’s a nicer dress shirt but usually under $8 for one or two of those. We need more summer clothes than winter so his winter clothes can usually last for 2 years in a row.

Today’s thrify tip is cook more meals from scratch. Even with the higher costs of food, it’s cheaper to cook a homemade meal than to eat out. I even started making my own breads instead of buying them at the store. They taste better and are more filling. I plan my menus by the week but some do a monthly plan to save more time. I prefer a weekly basis since I have a better idea of appointments or things that come up during that week. It’s also easier to cook with dietary restrictions in mind.

Today’s TMR tip is to clip coupons. I know some people don’t have time or might not use that particular brand. If you really want to save on brands that you already use, then you should start clipping. Even organic coupons are more readily available than in the past. I admit I don’t use a lot of coupons for food, but where I really save is on our health/beauty items and OTC meds.

Another tip is to print your coupons online. There are several great websites you can use like coupons.com, RedPlum, Smartsource, and Coupon Network. You can find them on the blog at the top under Coupons. I also like to use online coupon finders like coupons by answers.com for more great coupons and deals online. This all helps me to save more money.