Baking soda is a very common household item that is generally used for baking and deodorizing in the refrigerator and freezer. But it can be used for so many more things! Some of the uses I have for it in my household are:

• Cleaning my eyeglasses: I sprinkle a little on the lenses, and use a damp cloth to wipe them. I then rinse with cold water and they are sparklingly clear!
• Cleaning my coffeemaker: I run a mixture of 1 cup water and 1/4 cup baking soda through my coffeemaker once a week to make my coffee taste better.
• Cleaning my microwave: I boil 1 cup water with 1 tablespoon baking soda mixed in for about 5 minutes, then wipe down the interior of the microwave with a wet cloth. Grime comes right off!
• Carpet deodorizer: I sprinkle my carpets with baking soda about an hour before vacuuming (when I can keep the kids away!) and the whole room smells a little fresher.

Lynnae at Being Frugal has even more tips for baking soda, including as an ingredient in homemade laundry detergent, dishwasher soap, and even unclogging a garbage disposal!

Try some baking soda yourself for these or many other uses! It is cheap and really works! Yay for frugality.

This frugal tip was written by paidtwice of I’ve Paid For This Twice Already…

If you’re reading this than you probably have a desire to live a more frugal life. But developing a finely-tuned frugal mindset can take some time. It’s not easy. When you first start trying to spend less on things you’re eye catches every potential deal that’s out there. However, there are a few traps that can end up hurting your chances of success:

1. Buying the Wrong Products in Bulk

This is the classic trap. You see a crate full of something and look at the total price. In your mind you quickly calculate the per-item cost and you are blown away at the savings. You buy it. Three months later you still have two-thirds of the product left and no desire to use it, or even worse, it’s expired. If you’re a regular Sam’s or Costco user you know what I’m talking about.

2. Free Trials Turn into (Oops!) Credit Card Charges

We’ve all signed up for a free trial and accidentally forgot to cancel after the trial period. It happens. You end up paying an extra month of something that you stopped using after the first free week. If you use free trials, please make sure you set yourself a reminder to cancel the subscription. I use my MS Outlook calendar at work.

3. Chasing the After-Purchase Rebates

With a little work, the after-purchase rebate can work out great. Mostly though, we get a product home and never take the time to mail in the forms to get the rebate. You’re too busy using whatever it is you bought, right? Also, if the rebate is a reward instead of money, make sure it’s a reward you want. Bottom line: try to buy products with in-store rebates and get all your money up-front.

4. Not Reading the Fine Print

You mean I have to buy two? You mean I have to dine-in to get the deal? Take the time to read the small print on all your coupons, as they will inform you of what kind of deal you are really getting.

5. Confusing Cheap for Frugal

Lastly, don’t ever confuse frugality with being cheap. There a big difference, in my opinion. Find the balance between sacrificing your time/effort and the price you are paying. Also, try to avoid sacrificing quality if it’s a product that you will be sitting on, sleeping on, or depending on in some way.

Written by PT of Prime Time Money (RSS)

In the past, I was a brand conscious person.  I would naturally reach for brand name as opposed to the cheaper generic store brand products. But a marriage and a baby put a stop to that now that we have to watch our expenses a little closer.  However, it takes time to learn how generic store brand compares to the real thing.  Also the quality of generic products can vary greatly from store to store.  It’s a trial and error exercise, but it’s definitely worth it in the long run.

Here are some of the generics that I have tried recently:

• Medicines – Just read the active ingredients and try out the smallest size first.  Since medicines are controlled by the FDA, the quality doesn’t vary too widely.
• Cleaning products – This should be an easy one to substitute.  You could also go a step further and create your own cleaning products — ingredients usually include vinegar, baking soda, and bleach.
• Personal hygiene products – So far, I have tried Target equivalent of Listerine Whitening — possibly the best mouthwash ever.
• Baby diapers – My wife didn’t like the CVS diapers I bought because it’s not as soft as Pampers Swaddlers.
• Baby wipes –The ones from CVS weren’t that good, but the ones from Costco were great.
• CD-R and DVD-R – I have some good, and some bad experience with these.

Do you use generic store brand products?  If you found something that works well for you, please share with us.

Written by Pinyo of Moolanomy

Recently, I made a few changes to my services to take advantage of bundle discount. If you have the opportunity to make these changes, you could save quite a bit of money.

• Bundle your Internet access, TV, and telephone services – Depending on your area, you may be able to move all these services (may be even your wireless service) to one provider. A few months ago, I switch my Internet, TV, and telephone from Time Warner to Verizon and shaved off about $50 a month. I also got a 19″ flat screen TV as a bonus gift to boot. Not bad for about an hour worth of work.
• Bundle your insurances – After the switch to Verizon, I thought why not try my insurance. I used to have my car insurance with GEICO and home insurance with AllState. After a few phone calls, I settled on moving both my home and car insurance to Liberty Mutual. The move saved me about $1,145 a year.

Now let’s talk about something more valuable than money:

• Bundle your tasks and errands — If you have a couple of things to do, trying to bundle them into one day event and plan your route. This could save you quite a bit of time. You’ll also be saving some money on gasoline, and help the environment.

I hope you enjoy the article, now go make some phone calls and save yourself a bundle of money.

Written by Pinyo of Moolanomy

We live in a society where bigger is better.  Premium is better than standard.  First class is better than economy.  And the list goes on. The problem with this mentality is that our average income can hardly be considered premium.  As such, those with this mindset often live beyond their means, and some even go into debt to fuel their needs for bigger and better.

Here are some ideas to help you do a self-check, and perhaps help you save some money in the process:

• Cell phone – Do you need the 5,000 minutes plan when you rarely go above 1,000 per month? Is the unlimited text messaging and unlimited Internet access necessary?
• Cable — Do you need every single channel in existence when you spend 90% of your time watch basic channels?
• Gasoline – Do you really need the 93 octanes?  Your car is not going to move any faster with it.
• Food – Do you really need to order large or super size it?
• Hotel – Do you need deluxe accommodation when the standard room will do just fine?
• Health Insurance — Do you need the low deductible plan when you only visit your doctor for annual visit once a year?
• Coffee — Okay, I won’t go there.

Okay, I think you see where I am going with this.  Frankly, I am guilty of these occasionally, but I have been putting my expenses under the microscope lately.  You’ll be surprised how much money you can safe my trimming back on all the bells and whistles.

Written by Pinyo of Moolanomy

Well, before I get you all worked up, there’s definitely value for some use once and disposable items — as a new dad, these items include disposable wipes and diapers. When I said avoid use once and disposable items, I would like you to consider the long-term value of any item that you purchase.

For example:

• Buying DVDs that you can watch many times is better than going out to the movies (although, it’s nice to be in the theater occasionally).
• Buying Cars DVD that your children will watch a million times over is a better than buying a movie that you’ll watch only a few times.
• Buying rechargeable batteries is better than buying the normal ones if you use a lot of batteries.
• Buying a decent camera is better than buying a disposable one
• Borrowing from the library instead of buying the book that you may not even finish
• Giving your children toys like LEGO, which spurs their imagination and doesn’t become boring after a short time
• Buying a little more expensive, but more durable items

Next time you are at the store, be sure to consider the items durability and reusability before you make the purchase.  It will save you some money and your decision could even help the environment.

Written by Pinyo of Moolanomy

The cost of a first-class stamp is currently 41 cents, and it will go up to 42 cents starting May 12. With the new law, the post office is allowed to increase rates with 45-days notice as long as changes are within the rate of inflation for the previous 12 months (source: CNN Money) So this raise the question, is it frugal to buy forever stamp and hedge yourself against these rate increases.

Let’s take a look at the historical postage rate:

Basically, it went up from 22 cents in 1985 to 42 cents in 2008, or about 2.85% per year. This is roughly the same as the inflation rate for the same period. It appears forever stamps aren’t bad for your pocket. It’s like owning an inflation protected dollar. At least, it’s better than keeping your money under the mattress, or in a savings account.

That’s said, it’s even more frugal if you pay your bills online. For example, I managed to save about $55 per year through online bills payment, and get back about another $100 in cashback reward for using my credit card instead of checks.

Happy Valentine’s Day

Written by Pinyo of Moolanomy

Whether it’s being a handyman around your house or changing the oil in your car, learning to do things for yourself and actually doing them for yourself is the quickest way to save yourself a few dollars (and learn more about the things you care about). While it’s tempting to drive into a Jiffy Lube, pay your thirty bucks (or whatever it costs now, I’ve never actually gone to a Jiffy Lube), and drive away in 20 minutes… you can save by doing it yourself and it’s honestly not very hard.

Another side benefit of doing it yourself is that you know that you’ll be using high quality “stuff.” (or, you could be using low quality stuff, the point is that you know) When you got Jiffy Lube, you get oil out of a huge drum. It might be good stuff but you have no idea. When you pour it in yourself, you know exactly what’s going inside.

Finally, the best part about doing it yourself is that you know it’s been done right. I had a friend that got her oil changed at Wal-Mart and they forgot to put the oil cap back on after changing her oil. Miraculously, they had left it in some nook and it stayed there until she started seeing oil spray out from underneath the hood. She lost a half quart of oil in driving around without that cap! Luckily nothing happened (other than an oil covered engine) but that’s a case of where doing the work yourself could’ve saved you half a quart and the risk of a bad job.

The downside to doing it yourself is that you could always screw it up!

Buying in bulk… what a shocker of a frugal tip! I know, I know, my brilliance is amazing! No one has every suggested that buying in bulk could save you money and it’s amazing you hadn’t thought of it yourself, right? Well, once we’ve all gotten over the mind-blowing and mind-boggling idea that buying in bulk can save us money, let’s get serious… just as buying bulk can save you money, buying in bulk can also cost you a ton of money unless you follow these simple tips.

Don’t Buy Perishable Items You Can’t Consume! How many times have you gone to Costco, seen the large quarts of cream and been tempted? Yes, I have been tempted as well… until you realize that unless you’re supply a cafeteria, there’s no humanly possible way a household can consume a gallon of cream before it expires. Be smart about the perishable items you do purchase.

Don’t Buy More Just Because It’s Cheaper. Do you need 20 lbs of coffee? I mean seriously… sure saving money is great, but you have to store it somewhere and that costs money (because you can’t put something else there). It might make sense to buy a month’s (or three) worth of coffee on the cheap but to buy yourself six or even a year’s supply all at once… nope. Also, coffee is somewhat perishable (it loses it’s flavor after a while) so you might have a whole lot of nasty coffee after a year.

Don’t Buy Stuff You Don’t Have On Your List! You went to Costco to get some toilet paper and paper towels… but you happened to see the thirty gallon drum of detergent and thought it was a good deal. Pass. You didn’t think you needed detergent when you made your list right? So don’t get it just because you might have yourself a good deal.

Remember The Prices Stay The Same (Relatively). What’s nice about stores like Costco are that you never have to worry that the prices will change next week because a sale is ending. Their prices are relatively static so that 30 gallon drum of detergent will be there the week you actually need it.

Do you have a Netflix account? If so and you’re going on vacation (or don’t foresee yourself watching movies for a little while), you can put your Netflix account on hold for up to 90 days. Some other services also offer this sort of “hold” option where you may only pay a reduced rate for the time you’re not using the service. For example, some cell phone companies let you keep an unusable phone number for a small fee (usually associated with paperwork or other administrivia). So if you see yourself going abroad but would like to keep your phone number, set it on this plan and pay far less.