Substitute Chicken Broth For White Wine In Recipes

If you are making a recipe that includes white wine, you can substitute chicken broth as a cheaper alternative.

How To Tell If An Item Is On Clearance At Costco

If the price ends in 97 cents, the item is on clearance.  If there is an asterisk on the sign, that means it is on clearance and the item will not be reordered.

Save Money On Water

Switch to washing your clothes in cold water.  Heating water accounts for 80% of the energy used when you do laundry.

Homemade Glass Cleaner

Use one part water to one part rubbing alcohol to make homemade glass cleaner.

Another recipe is to water down your cars windshield wiper fluid and use it on glass in the house.  It works very well!!!

Make Your Own Steel Wool Pads

Crumble up a sheet of aluminum foil into a ball to create your own steel wool pad.  Use to clean glass pans.

Magic Eraser Alternative

If you are out of Mr Clean Magic Eraser Pads, you can use a whitening toothpaste on a toothbrush to scrub away crayon and scuff marks.

Organizing Your House

Start on one side of the house with a laundry basket.  Pick up anything that doesn't belong in that room and put it in the laundry basket.  When you go from room to room, you can put things that are in the laundry basket back in their place and put things that are out of place into the laundry basket.  This will cut down on the amount of time you need to keep walking back and forth across your house to put everything away.

Where To Find Organic Food Coupons

Here are all the coupon sites I could find for organic foods:

organicvalley.coop/coupons

mambosprouts.com/coupons

healthesavers.com

stonyfield.com/coupons

deliciouslivingmag.com/coupons

organicdeals.com

wholefoodsmarket.com/coupons

Make Your Own Body Scrub

Mix Epsom salt into your body wash to make your own body scrub.

Mr Clean Magic Eraser

If you have marker, crayon or scuff marks or any other mess you are having trouble getting off of any hard surface, wet up a Mr Clean Magic Eraser and rub on the mess.  It dissolves messes better than anything else I have ever tried and they can be reused!

Use Baking Soda To Relieve Dry Skin

Mix three parts baking soda to one part water and rub on your skin in a circular motion, then rinse.  This will help relieve dry skin.

Use Baby Powder Instead Of Shampoo

If you don't have time to wash your hair,  sprinkle some baby powder close to your scalp, massage it in and then brush it through your hair.  It absorbs oils and gives your hair body.

6 Steps to Financial Fitness

1. Live within your means (don't spend more than you make)
2. Don't use credit cards as a crutch
3. Establish a back-up emergency fund
4. Shop wisely
5. Charge only what you can afford to pay in full when the bill comes
6. Use direct deposit and automate bill payments and transfers to savings

Hair Tips: An Alternative Hair Conditioner

If you run out of conditioner for your hair, use your body moisturizer as a leave-in conditioner.  Apply to wet hair, comb it through and style as usual.  No need to rinse.

Save Money On Shaving Cream

Instead of buying expensive shaving cream, use your hair conditioner in its place.  You will save money and declutter your bathroom.

Organize Your Pantry And Save Money

During the blizzard, I was stuck in my house for a few days and decided to do some deep cleaning.  I took everything out of my pantry, wiped it down and started going through everything.

I threw out the food that had expired and found other things that were getting ready to expire.  I incorporated them into my weekly meal plan to use them up.  Then, I organized everything by expiration date and put it back in my pantry.

I was able to save some money by finding things that were about to expire and now I have an organized pantry!

Clean With A Toothbrush

When switching your toothbrushes out every three months, put a little cleaner on the old ones and scrub around your sinks, faucet spouts and shower heads, then throw the old toothbrushes away.

Below Zero Winter Weather Safety Tips

- Eliminate drafts - seal vents, windows and doors

- Insulate pipes exposed to cold air

- Make sure the lid on your meter pit is tight

- Leave a thin stream of water running when the temperature is below zero

- Open doors below sinks

- Locate your water shut-off valve

Automate Your Finances To Reach Your Goals

The easiest way to reach your goals is to set your payments and savings on auto-pilot.  Here are 5 things you can do to reach your financial goals.

1. Set up direct deposit.
2. Set up automatic transfers to your saving account.
3. Automate your mortgage payment.
4. Automate minimum credit card payments.
5. Arrange with your bank to have any overdraft automatically covered from your savings account or credit card.

Make Facial Moisturizer At Home

When I don't have facial moisturizer, which is often, I will water down my body or hand lotion.  I place a few drops of lotion onto my hand, put a little water in from the sink and rub my hands together to mix it up and then apply it to my face.  

Use as much water as you need to get the consistency you like.  Test it on a small patch of skin first if you have sensitive skin.

How To Save A Burnt Meal

Recently,  I was making a new recipe that called for frying breaded porkchops in a pan and then cooking it the rest of the way in the oven.  Well, like most things I try to fry on the oven, I burned it on both sides.

To fix it,  I scraped as much of the burnt breading off, put it in the oven and poured a can of stewed tomatoes on top, then I cooked it like it recommended.  I was able to save the meal and I think the stewed tomatoes added a nice flavor to the porkchops!

Clean Oven Spills With Salt

Before a spill has dried in your oven, pour salt over it and leave it there.  After you cook again, the spill will be a pile of ash that you can wipe away easily!  No need to use toxic chemicals or the clean setting on your oven.

Natural Fertilizer for Indoor and Outdoor Plants

If you brew your coffee, shake the used coffee grounds around your potted or outdoor plants after the grounds have cooled.  You can also 'water' your plants with leftover coffee after it has cooled.  It is a natural fertilizer.

A Neat Math Trick That Will Only Work This Year

I learned a neat math trick that will only work this year.  Take the year you were born (the last two numbers) and add it to the age you will be this year on your birthday.  It will always equal 111!

Example:  Birthyear: 1977                Age at Birthday this year: 34

77+34=111

It works every time, but it will only work this year!


Does anyone know why this works???

Save Money By Using Non-Toxic Household Items to Clean Your Windows

In a spray bottle, mix 1 part water to 1 part white distilled vinegar,  spray on your windows and wipe with a crumpled page from a newspaper.  It cleans as well as the name-brand cleaners and is non-toxic.

5 Tips to Save Money on Your Heating Bill

5 Tips to Save Money on Your Heating Bill


-Seal up all windows with felt strips and clear tape or use a plastic window insulator to cut down on cold drafts.
-Turn your furnace down a few degrees and throw on a sweater.
-Use a heated blanket while you sleep and turn the thermostat down a few degrees while you sleep.
-Use a humidifier to add heat and moisture to your house.
- Install foam barriers behind outlets and switchplates on outer walls.  You can also use child-proof plastic plugs in the outlets to keep out some of the drafts.

Best Bargains For February

February is the best time to buy:

- Air Conditioners

- Gas Grills

- Homes

- Tools

- Chocolate (after Valentines Day)

All You Magazine - $1 per issue!!!

I have found a deal going on through Amazon right now.  If you order a 2-year subscription of All You magazine at a rate of $34 for 2-years, they will give you a $10 promotion code to use across Amazon.com .   This brings the price down to $24 for 24 issues.  That's $1 per issue!!!  Click here to order All You.  This deal is good until February 28th.

Each issues contains high-value coupons for items you buy and tips on how to live well for less, dress for real life, your health, your family's eating challenge and recipes.  It usually contains from $50-100 worth of coupons per issue.