Well, this has been a really long week for Mike. He is working on an emergency preparedness video for the local PBS station. He is also doing the book stuff and cleaning trashed out houses for a realtor. Which by the way is an EXCELLENT source of income if someone needs a part time job.

Anyway, we are also going to be trying to do a HUGE Back to School promo next week. We are going to be giving away over $300 worth of free e-books on everything from organizing, saving money and homeschool freebies. We are also going to be having a sale on all our stuff. Mike is working himself ragged but we really need to get a boost in our income. He took off most of July for the move and septic problems and so we lost out on one month’s worth of pay.

One thing I wanted to mention that was in his video. I hadn’t heard this before but to make sure you car if always half full and keep 2-3 5 gallon gas cans filled all the time. That way if you need to get out in a hurry you won’t have to stop at the gas station for gas. It may be closed and there could be huge lines! Also, have some cash on hand! Save back $500 and keep it at home if you can. You probably won’t be able to get the banks either!

Just thought I would pass on those tips! Tawra

It’s funny I hear that all the time. I was thinking that same thing this morning and then I caught myself. Ok, I wasn’t thinking it wasn’t worth it like some people do just for me on this particular day because I have a really bad cold, it’s Labor day weekend and there were only 2 sales.

But…after thinking for a minute I thought “Tawra, where is your brain! Of course it’s worth it!”

Of my “bombing out” at garage sale I got a pet carrier which we needed for the cat for $2 (saving $30), a memory foam bed topper for $5 (saving $60) and 2 portable compost bins $2 (saving $20). We have really been wanting a pet carrier so if there is a natural or otherwise disaster we can get Penny out easily.

So for 30 minutes worth of time and $4 worth of gas (that’s a high estimate) I saved $110! I can’t work and earn $220/hour!

Even on my worst garage sale days it’s always worth it. We still haven’t found a couch. I am waiting to try and find one for $200 or less that is new and in excellent shape. It’s been 2 months but we are getting along fine with the 2 recliners and the kids in the bean bags.

I am going to keep waiting. Sept. and Oct. are great months for garage sales around here so I’m sure I will find one eventually.

Tawra

We had a huge response from our tips on saving on clothes.
I wanted to mention that we didn’t use the tip to shop at thrift stores and garage sales because we just assumed that most frugal folks don’t buy clothes new that often. I spend about $250 a year on clothes for my family of 5 and I only way I can do that is by yard sales and the DAV!
Tawra

From: Darlene O.
Just a tip. If you hang clothing to wear a
second time, hang it inside out. This will let
you know to wash it after this wearing

From: Kim H.
I just received your email on clothing and ways
to save, and you missed an obvious choice that a
good many people do not know about: Thrift
Stores. You can get good quality clothing for
yourself and kids…and yes, I have found things
that are STILL in style at the local thrift
stores…and the cost of outfitting kids for
school can be cut drastically if you look for
good quality clothing in their size or the next
size up that they can wear; most times, no one
knows where I have gotten my nice clothes that I
have received compliments on…and I don’t
volunteer the information unless I’m pressed on
the matter…which is not often…*LOL*…

Also…we have picked up purses, shoes,
backpacks, duffel bags, craft supplies and such
at the local thrift stores…look at those places
FIRST before you go and buy at the the big box
stores…you would be surprised at what you can
find there…most of my kitchen electronic
appliances have come from there; and they have
served me well over the years…*S*…

I almost ALWAYS hit the thrift store several
times BEFORE I buy anything I am specifically
looking for new…9 times out of 10, I will find
either what I am looking for..or find something
that will substitute before I have to pay full
price for that specific item…

Have a GREAT day! — Kim H.

From: Gina C.
I wanted to suggest to you another way to save
lots of money on clothes….especially for kids:
hand-me-downs. If you have two (or more) children
of the same gender then I would suggest buying
five or so outfits with the highest quality you
can afford for the larger sized child, utilize the
“play clothes” concept, and pass them on to the
smaller sized child when appropriate. You can save
A LOT of money this way. You can also shop
high-quality used clothing shops (I don’t know if
you can mention names, but I love The Children’s
Orchard).

If you don’t have two children of the
same gender, look to cousins, good friends, etc.
and consider talking about doing some type of
cost-splitting (just make sure the whole $$ issue
doesn’t get in the way of your friendship!!)
Finally, you can take your child’s outgrown
clothing in to the used clothing shops and, if it
is in good shape, get “store credit” for “new”
clothes. Every little bit helps!

From: Kelly H.
Hello! Love your tips and emails.
I buy A LOT of my clothes at Good Will. And I
LOVE brand names. I’m rather shallow that way.
BUT, I can’t afford a lot of the names I like
buying them at full price. We have a bunch of
Good Will stores in our city (Richmond, VA), but
we also have one that is considered
the “boutique” of them all (and another one
opened recently that’s where all the really high
end names go…I bought a REAL - yes real - Louis
Vuitton purse for $45!!! I had it looked at and
it’s a real one.). I love Polo, Hillfiger,
Talbot, etc….and I’ve gotten stuff with the
tags still on for under $10! I even got a Kate
Spade purse (looked brand new) for $10! They
always have one of the colored tags on for 50%
off every day, so my goal is almost always to try
and find a sale item. I give my kids that goal,
too, and they love it! Never discount these
stores, or consignment stores!

I always love getting your newsletter! I also absolutely ADORE my “Not Just Beans” cookbook.

I have another tip for getting food out of clothes. Keep baby wipes around and use them to daub the stain when it’s fresh. (think about what these are designed to clean — food wastes) My kids are teens, but I almost always have wipes around for this (as well as cleaning my rubber stamps).

Another product I love (sort of hard to find, though) is Fels Naptha laundry soap (made by Dial, usually about a buck or two). It’s an old-fashioned laundry bar soap (which will last several years). Just wet the stain and rub the bar into it and let it set for a few minutes before washing. Gets out just about everything from chocolate to grass stains. We also use it to wash body parts that have been exposed to poison ivy.
–Valerie

I always try dish detergent on stains, particular grease or oil stains, first and if that doesn’t work I’ve found that carpet cleaner, such as Resolve, will take out many stains that nothing else will touch. As you say above, spot test first but so far I haven’t had any color fabrics damaged with the carpet cleaner.

From: Jennifer K.

I am a big fan of the children’s semi annual
consignment sales that we have around here. I
have three children and can purchase a whole
seasons worth of clothes for around $100 to $150
( and that is for all three kids). Some of the
clothes even still have tags. The prices range
from $1 to $6. It also saves time because I
just go one time to get all three clothes and
the sales are twice a year. The clothes look as
though they are never worn or slightly worn. It
has saved us a lot of money!

Hello Tawra,

In response to your clothes article, and cleaning clothes: I got a grease stain on a cotton blouse from a flake of fried fish batter, which I didn’t notice until hours after the fact. I put baby powder on a cotton ball, dabbed the mark front & back, and let the powder set on the garment overnight. The next day I brushed off the powder residue, washed the blouse, and it disappeared. I was very pleased with the results, as there was absolutely no mark left. I’m not sure if a heavy oil stain would come out on other types of fabric, but I will be trying this method with my children’s clothing, as they sometimes wipe greasy fingers on their pants.

Take care,
Carmen from Alberta

From: Patti
JUST WANTED TO SEND YOU AN IDEA THAT I HAVE USED
FOR THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS WHEN BUYING CLOTHING
FOR MY CHILDREN AT THE START OF THE SCHOOL YEAR.

I LIVE IN MINNESOTA, AND WE HAVE A STORE NAMED
SAVERS. THIS STORE CARRIES USED CLOTHING, MUCH
LIKE GOODWILL, ETC. I HAVE TWO TEENAGE GIRLS,
AND THIS STORE HAS BEEN A GOD-SEND. I CAN GO IN
THERE, AND WALK OUT A COUPLE HOURS LATER WITH
ABOUT $200.00 WORTH OR CLOTHING, AND ONLY HAVE
SPENT MAYBE $50.00!!!!

THE CLOTHING IS IN GOOD SHAPE, THEY HAVE NAME-
BRANDS, AND ALL SIZES. I HAVE EVEN BOUGHT SHIRTS
>THERE FOR MY HUSBAND.

THIS STORE ALSO HAS USED TOYS, DISHES, GAMES,
FURNITURE, YOU NAME IT! AT HALLOWEEN, THIS IS
THE PLACE TO GO TO FIND COSTUMES!

Tawra,

This is how my 19 year old son and girlfriend had an ultra frugal prom date last year.

It was their second prom for them to go to together, so they were over trying to impress everyone, somewhat anyway
She had bought her dress on sale for $25 and had found someone who did flowers on the side as a home business, so all that was taken care of.

He was bemoaning the cost of tux rental, and I mentioned I’d keep my eyes open for formal wear when I did my thrift store shopping. I also mentioned this to my mother-in-law. This reminded her that PaPa owned a tux, and she suggested that he would be happy if his grandson could make use of it. It turned out to be all wool from the 1940s complete with bow tie, cummerbund and cuff links. It fit reasonably well, the pants especially so.

One thing we had to take care of was the white, tucked shirt had what looked like a small spaghetti sauce stain. I had no idea how old the stain was, but there were tickets to the opera from the l970s in one of the pockets!! Thinking it might be an old stain, I bought some stain remover from WalMart which said it was for the toughest stains. (Spray & Wash Dual Power) You put it on & let it sit 5 minutes, then launder. It took it right out. My son really didn’t use the coat as it was a bit snug (would have been difficult/impossible to altar), and it was too warm anyway. He looked pretty spiffy in the ruffled shirt, tie and cummerbund, and I have used the stain remover to reclaim some other stained clothing.

I was reading your articles about clothes and how
to save on them. Here’s a little FYI. Levi
Strauss jeans (levi’s & Levi Strauss) have a
guarantee on them. If the crotch rips or the
pockets rip you can return them to Levi’s for a
new pair. My husband is an electrician and he is
forever ripping the crotch out or the back
pockets rip. I was searching Levi’s website and
found their guarantee. All you have to do is
print out a consumer form and mail the jeans to
them. We have replaced about 10 pair of jeans.
Levi’s are a little more expensive but with this
guarantee we haven’t had to buy a new pair in
almost 2 years. It’s been great.

I’ve included the Levi’s website,
www.levistrauss.com, from there you click on the
company tab on the left side, then go to FAQ, and
scroll down to Levi Strauss Signature Prod and
click on the question about quality control
returns, from there it will ask you to print off
a consumer form and give you directions on what
to do. I hope this is helpful to you. I know
any money saved is helpful.

Have a great day.

Fran C.

I enjoy your newsletter very much but…. I must
be more frugal than I was aware of since because
very few of the ideas are new to me.
but…..thats ok some have been good reminders.. I
have a clothes care tip. I’ve had quite good
results removing stains from clothing using carpet
spot and stain remover and also mildew remover. I
figure if the item is already unwearable due to a
stain or spot what have I got to lose right! Have
a safe Labor and thanks for the newsletter Connie

From: Debbie
Just wanted to hopefully add an idea to your
clothing topic.

I have found a great church yardsale that is held
one day a year and it is whatever you can fit in
a bag for a dollar. All the money raised goes to
the food shelf. I find the majority of all our
clothing needs at this sale. This is an upscale
church and everything there is usually in perfect
or near perfect condition.

What I wanted to share in about Fels Naptha. It
is a bar of soap that can remove most all stains
(even old set in ones) for pennies. You can buy
the soap in most stores-it may be in the bar soap
area instead of laundry. I simply wet my stain ,
rub on the wet bar of fels naptha and add the
item to my regular laundry. When I think of all
the stain removal stuff I have bought in the past-
I cringe, when this is so affordable and lasts so
long.

I was reading you newsletter (which I look
forward to getting) on saving money on clothes. I
have three boys ages 9 months to 4 1/2 years and
I as they get older they are going through their
clothes faster. Last spring I bought more
clothes for my boys than I normally would. But
the wonderful thing is that I where I live
(Montana) our K-mart is very small so there a
incredible sales to clean out the store at the
end of each season to make room for next season.
I waited until the last minute and ended up
getting a full wardrobe of winter clothes for my
oldest son for this coming winter. All of which
were 50% off their clearance price, so know I am
always checking for clearances. Thank you for
all you do and your wonderful cookbooks. Shine
for the Lord, Sara

I loved the clothes article. One thing I learned (I was a home economics major) is before you buy anything, make sure you have three things you can wear with it. Example: can those black slacks go with three of the tops you already have; that dress, can you wear it with another sweater or jacket to change the look. I have appreciated and used this idea ever since I heard of it.

Melodie S.

Hi Tawra and Jill, Love your book and
newsletters..I had a comment and tips on the
saving money on clothes category. I have just in
the past 11 months dropped 70 pounds and 6 pants
sizes. So you can imagine the clothes I have
been through. Thankfully enough I work inside
the home and don’t need special work clothes.
But this is what I did. Every time my clothes
went down a size I would take them to Good will
(tax write off!!) and dump them off and then shop
Good will for new ones. You can really find some
great stuff there. I do live in a larger
community in AZ and there are about 7 Good Will
locations within about 15 minutes. But it is all
about patience. You never know what you will
find in those places. I got a brand new skirt
for 1.50, with the tag still on!! I am also
going to school to get my Master’s in Education
and it does require me to do some classroom
observations so now I do need clothes to wear
outside the home. I am telling you, do not be
ashamed to go in those places… I once read your
blog or something you wrote about your hubby
needing a suit coat and you just kept checking and
checking and finally you found one. That is what
I do…I buy most of our clothes there or off the
clearance racks. Thanks again f
or all that you
and Jill do.

Marcie in AZ

From: Georgie
Actually I just wanted to tell you about a stain
fighter that I learned of from an older friend of
mine. She told me to use pine sol. I thought
she was crazy but for 99% of the stains (even set
in stains & grease stains) it worked! It
rejuvenated a blouse I had retired and my
husbands incessant ring-around the collar! I even
used the generic version you get from the Dollar
Tree and it worked!! Try it you will definitely
like it! Use directly on the stain, let sit for
a little bit and launder. I even add pine sol to
the laundry machine now!!

From: Mary Beth

Our children’s school requires uniforms to be
worn. This can be costly when you also have to
have regular every day clothes. Instead of
spending hundreds of dollars like other Moms, I
took last year’s uniform slacks, and cut them off
for longer shorts, which the kids can wear for
the first 2 months, and that gives me time to
save up for long pants, (1 pair per week) to have
by the time the weather gets cooler. I also cut
off the sleeves from last year’s winter polos,
and make this year’s short sleeve shirts to begin
the school year, since they will not fit again
come spring. I really did not have to spend all
that much on clothing, recycling last years
winter items. It pays to learn to sew !!
Also, when drapes begin to show wear, cut them
off and hem for “toppers”. Recycle bed sheets as
the same, trim, and hem!!

Well, we got a ton of reader tips on refinishing furniture. I do it all the time and just love it!

I am in the middle of doing my “new” dining room table and will post the results later this week.
Here are a few tips that I wanted to pass along from readers.

This is the method I used. Tawra

In my experience, when polyurethaning a wood table
top, there are three things you MUST do to keep the
finish nice and a few suggestions.
First, you HAVE to keep your coats of polyurethane
thin or light.
Second, you HAVE to let it dry completely between
coats. This can take as little as 12 hours to as
much as a week, depending on the humidity of where
you are refinishing your piece. You will know it is
dry when it is no longer tacky to the touch - if it
seems at all sticky, let it dry longer. Fans can
help speed up this process, but you have to be
careful not to blow dirt at your piece!
Third, you HAVE to sand between coats. This isn’t
power sanding mind you. 400 grit sand paper on an
orbital sander (being careful to move lightly and
quickly) or some steel wool. You are accomplishing
two things with the sanding - removing any air
bubbles that may have developed and ’scuffing’ the
surface to better take the next coat of
polyurethane.
I typically do four coats of poly on a table top,
because they have to endure so much. I also
hand-rub my poly on. Meaning I use a rag (or
heavy-duty paper towel) to literally rub the poly
onto the table top. It helps me keep the layers of
polyurethane thin. I get my pieces to dry within
12-24 hours between coats by polyurethaning in an
air conditioned room (that I can shut off from the
rest of the house) when it is humid outside. I
prefer oil-based polyurethane and I am a fan of
Minwax, because I feel it gives the smoothest
finish. However, if the piece will get sunlight, be
aware that all oil-based polyurethanes will yellow
over time if sitting in the sun.
If you don’t like to polyurethane and want a
one-coat option, you could always do a resin finish
on top. Only comes in high gloss finish, very very
durable (like 100 coats of poly), but it is tricky
to put on without any air bubbles and requires
pretty constant baby sitting in the first 12 hours.
But, then you’re done!
Good luck with your piece!

For your tabletop, may I recommend foregoing the urethane? Sand, wipe with denatured alcohol, stain if desired, then put linseed oil on it. It will take a day or two for the linseed oil to dry.

This is how furniture artisans do a hand rub. I think you will like the result, and it is easy to repair the little damages that occur with kids.

The other thing you can do if you do not want to use linseed oil is just to use a hard wax. You can hard wax the top about once a month and have a beautiful piece. Hard wax is actually what Baker furniture recommends for its fine bench-made items.

In any case, do NOT use a water based urethane. It will not last; is poisonous, and generally a pain.

Good luck,
Sharon W.

From: Sheila R.

I am happy to hear the hints about doing your
table , I am currently trying to re-do our
kitchen table. With 3 boys in the family , it has
taken quite a beaten over the years and was
looking so sad. So instead of replacing it I
decided to re-do it.

Also we were short chairs
because one had broken and having 5 in the family
there of course were not enough. I looked at
getting the same kind , however they could be as
much as $150 a piece , so I held off for a
while . I am now working part-time at a scratch
and dent and new used furniture store. We had some
really nice chairs come in that were new. I got
the 6 of them for $185 plus tax. I felt that was
really good. Now I will have a whole new look for
a much lesser cost. Thanks again. Have a great
day.

Hi Tawra, it is me, sheila from back int he old Frugal Friends days, remember me? I saw on your blog that you got a dinning room table. I can tell you what I did. i have awful luck with poly urethane… so it depends on the table style, but mine is kind of rustic looking so this worked- I just put antiquing oil on it, several coats. It gives a shine and protects it but you don’t have to strip it to add more, you can just add more whenever you want. Gee I hope that makes sense.

Sheila Pierson

From: Eleanor L.
I agree with many of your ideas. But, we are in
our eighties and would like to defend “eating
out’. My husband enjoy this practice a few times
a week. I eat very little meat so he orders the
entree, shares a few bites with me and I order
sides. This is a more than adequate meal for the
two of us, at a cost of less than $20, and no
leftovers to throw away later.. We also enjoy
eating breakfast at a local restaurant a few
times a week and enjoy meeting other friends and
neighbors. I recently went through my staples
and ended up throwing a number of boxes away
because they were out-dated. Even though I use a
standard mix mix, I don’t use it up before it
becomes out-dated. I think companies are
shortening their shelf lives. HaHa.

We eat a lot
of fruit which can be expensive, but I am
conscious of the food pyramid. I enjoy your tips
on frugality but just had to state my view. I
know many seniors are with me on this and we
still enjoy your tips for families. Thanks
for “listening” El.

Actually I agree totally with this. Sometimes mom will go to Denny’s and buy their Buy one Get One Free Senior Meals. Even though she is alone they will give her the other meal. She will eat one or part of one and take the other home to eat later that week. For $5 -$6 she can get 2-4 meals! That’s a great deal! Do what works for your situation.
Tawra

Grandparents Day is the first Sunday after Labor Day, which falls on September 9th this year. Here are two special Grandparents Day activities you can plan ahead for from Melanie at www.uniqueholidaygiftideas.com

Invite the family to come together on Grandparents Day for a special work day at Grandpa and Grandma’s house. Clear up the garden, put away summer supplies, paint, trim bushes or trees, clean the basement or garage - you name it…or maybe let them! Ask specifically what your grandparents would appreciate being done and tackle it together.

Take your grandparents for a trip somewhere that is apart of their past. It might be for a tour of an old workplace, a picnic on the grounds of the school they attended or a car tour of the town where they were born. Get ready ahead of time with a few questions to spark conversations about the past…and the future.

Dear Tawra,

I really enjoy your articles. I was reading today’s article about the custom lunch boxes and thought that was an interesting idea. I do the same thing with pencil boxes, folders, and binders. My daughter wanted a Tinkerbelle 3 ring binder but it cost $5.15 just for that one binder. I purchased a white binder for $0.97 and then had her help find a Tinkerbelle picture on the Internet. We printed the picture on the card stock and then we attached it to the front of the binder (or you can slide the picture into the front of some binders that have those clear covers). We covered it with contact paper and she loves it. She even used some glitter glue to add a little extra to it.

We did the same thing to a plain pencil box…she wanted a character one but we improvised by adding stickers and pictures and glitter glue decorations to a cheap plain one.

Thanks again,
Christie L.

Regarding school lunches - I am a lunch lady and see what the kids discard (sandwiches, box juices, granola bars) without having even opened them. I know how expensive some of these items are! My suggestion is to tell your kids to bring home everything they don’t eat. If the item is still good, they can then be eaten as their afternoon snack or used the next day. Also, be sure to tell your kids to let you know what they don’t like! If they don’t like it they are not going to eat it, thus it is wasted money. Be sure to pack what they like!!!

From. A. L.
Just a quick note about back to school expenses.
My mother-in-law and I found back backs on sale in
November at The Children’s Place for $3.99 each.
My mother-in-law bought them for us and used them
as “Easter Baskets” the following spring. We even
found them in toddler sizes for my daughter. My
sons are still using the back packs (going on two
years). My sons are now 6 and 5 years old.
Needless to say that the backpacks have taken a
lot of wear and tear.

I have also found that it is useful to purchase
school supplies (like glue, crayons, markers,
etc.) from stores like Target or Walmart at the
end of September when they are on sale. The
supplies, which are deeply discounted, are useful
when the teacher asks for additional supplies
during the school year, for the following year, or
even to use at home for homework or crafts.

Sorry I’ve been MIA. Our internet was down since Thursday and we just go it fixed yesterday.

Well, we just got back from the mediation. We didn’t get the $4,000 we asked for which was half but we got $3,000 and we were willing to just let the other $1,000 go to get this done and over with. We also found out that we will be getting a small inheritance from Mike’s grandmother, who died 2 weeks ago and that will cover the rest in 4-6 months.

So it looks like the septic tank will be taken care of! He was also protecting our business. We are so close to having the Best of Living On A Dime and mom’s tips on living on $500 a month done and ready for the printers. Well I called the printer we normally use to get things set up and she said they had gone bankrupt! If we would have turned them in 2 months ago when I had planned on them being done we would have lost 4-6K in deposits on the book! I was feeling badly because we are so far behind on those two books but once again God meant it for good!

Then…. we overpaid on our insurance and received $850 back from our house insurance and $250 back from our car insurance! Mike is also doing real estate clean-up right now making $37 an hour! He only is doing about one a week but that’s another $150.

He is working to death right now. He is working 40 hours a week doing a documentary on emergency preparedness for the PBS station here, doing the book stuff and cleaning trashed out houses and applying for jobs! There is a job opening here at the university that he is going to apply for. He is more than qualified so we hope he will get it. If he does please pray that God will send someone to help us with the book stuff because mom and I just can’t do it alone.

Well that’s an update on us. I think I have the flu so I think I’m going to take it easy for a little while.

Tawra

We had a question below about paying to go to school.

Here in Kansas you have to pay a “textbook rental” fee, fees for field trips and fees for band, etc.

It’s $75 for each student textbook fees. Last year it was about $50 for field trips for each kid and then it was $3 for magazine subscription. I have to admit that really irked me since my kids never looked at the thing. The silly part was that it was the environmental education school they went to and here they were wasting money and resources. Go figure!

It costs me around $250 to put the kids in school with no extra activities.

I would love to see more parents take a stand and say “no way” am I paying for extra stupid stuff!

My best friend had to buy a her son 35 glue sticks (no that’s not a typo) for kindergarten. EACH child was required to buy that many. I’m sorry but that is just crazy and just plain wasteful.

In my son’s preschool class they are going to start making breakfast each morning and want each of the parents to donate food one morning a month. Well, that’s all nice and good but it seems like the teachers are just making more work for themselves. Just doesn’t make sense to me!

Tawra

I purchased a new dining room table and chairs at a yard sale for $65 this weekend. I need to finish the top, but it won’t be much to sand it down and put a coat of polyurethane on it.

I will try and put pictures on the blog as I get it done. The only bad part, according to the paint store, is that I have to let it set for 2 weeks! I haven’t had much success in the past with polyurethane curing correctly so I hope this one goes better. I’ve only let it set a couple days before so I hope the 2 weeks will work better. Anyone have success refinishing your wood table top? If so please send me tips and what product you used!
Tawra
editor@livingonadime.com