I’m always up for trying things that eliminate waste and make financial sense, so when I saw the advertisement on TV for Debby Meyer’s Green Bags I thought I would test them out. I picked them up at a local store and was ready to test their magic. The ad suggests that vegetables and fruits will last ten times as long if you keep them in Green Bags. Unfortunately, they do not work. At least not for green and red peppers, bean sprouts, grapes, green onions, and any other vegetables and fruits I put in them. I hate throwing out food so I really hoped they would work. I wanted to let you know so you don’t waste your money on them.
Rather than spending a lot of money inviting your friends out to eat, invite them to have a meal at your home. You have to eat anyway, so it won’t cost that much more to feed a few extra people. Besides, having people over is great motivator to clean up your home! After the meal you can enjoy each other’s company by playing cards, board games, or watching a rented movie. Entertaining doesn’t have to be expensive to be fun. In fact, our best experiences with others have been when we have chatted with them in our living room. It’s easier to make a connection and you don’t have to worry about being interrupted every few minutes by a restaurant employee. Try it out sometime to see how it works for you. It will make it a lot easier to entertain more often without having to worry about how much the bill will come to at the end of the evening!
You may be acting frugally and buying items on sale, but the key is to make sure that the teller is ringing them up properly. So many times I have selected specific products that were on sale only to discover later that they rang through regular price. In order to prevent this from happening, stay alert and always make sure that the prices are correct for each item you are buying. Don’t get distracted by fumbling through your purse, reading the magazine covers on the racks or by bagging your groceries. And don’t be afraid to point out the errors. After all, the item is supposed to be on sale and you are the one who has to pay for any errors that are made.
In many places the tap water is safe to drink, but with all the chlorine and various minerals in the water, many people prefer to drink bottled water or lug those huge water jugs home every week. When we first moved into our home our water both tasted and smelled like mold. We were willing to try anything. We decided to take the big jug route, but after a few months of carrying those big jugs full of water we decided to try something else. We purchased a water filtering system from the Home Depot (GE Dual Stage Water Filtration System) for about $160.00 and my husband installed it himself. The filters need replacing approximately every 6 months (depending on family size and water usage) and they cost about $60.00. So, for about $120 a year we can drink good-tasting water without the hassle of carrying heavy jugs or harming the environment with hundreds of used water bottles.
You may have never heard of power cycling before but it is a great trick that solves a wide range of problems with electrical devices. For example, if your printer isn’t responding after you have requested something to print, or if your Internet cable modem is not working properly a power cycle will often fix it. A power cycle is performed by simply unplugging the power cable from the outlet and waiting for about 30 seconds before plugging it back in. This action refreshes your device and almost always solves the problem. So, if you’re having trouble with one or more of your electronic gadgets, before throwing it out or spending money on unnecessary repairs, be sure to power cycle. It’s amazing how something so simple can solve so many problems!