Reader Hacks
It's been a long time since I shared readers' hacks, but I'm resolving to do better. Maybe somebody has a hack to prevent procrastination?
At any rate, here's a sampling from the inbox:
- Noah said, Mortgages are probably one of the most overlooked areas to save. I know this because, for better or worse, I worked as a mortgage banker for years. I find that if you keep the reality of mortgage costs in your mind, you are much more motivated to pay the debt down sooner. Most people spend more on mortgages than anything else in life. What an opportunity to save! Read his article on how to save money on your mortgage.
- More from Noah: Squirrels use a technique called "scatter hoarding" to store their food. Should another animal steal their food from one cache, they have more than enough elsewhere. Maybe that's why they call it "squirreling money away". I've been using a finance management system similar to this for years, and it's centered around three accounts: an expense, a personal, and an emergency account.
- Now that everyone's too strapped to use credit cards for their original purpose, the authors of The Scavengers' Manifesto have created a photo essay detailing ten better uses for them.
- The Snackhound says: I see boxes of etched and cloudy glasses at yard sales and in the trash. Most people don't know that those glasses are "sick" and there is a cure. There is a simple way to bring your glasses and your yard sale finds out from the back of the cabinet. Of course, I am as silly as usual.
- Also from The Snackhound: Two decadent brownie mixes, a container of whipping cream = you can make that gourmet cake you ate downtown for $7.00 a slice, for less than $1.50 per slice! Get the recipe here.
- Free conference calls: FreeConferenceCall.com allows users to conduct a teleconference with up to 96 users for 6 hours—at no cost. Free conferencing is not just for office use; it can be used for organizing sports teams meetings, family reunions, speaking with students in college, motivational seminars, religious study groups and even crisis response meetings.
- Angela has Free lunchbox ideas for back-to-school from Ziploc & Taste of Home (plus a $1.50 coupon on two Ziploc products)
- Carol has some great tips on Where to Find Cheap College Textbooks.
- Check out our fun and frugal birthday gift for an 8yo who loves to cook. Several of my girls have these recipe binders now and they all treasure them!
- and Maggie Evans shared this great tip on the new Facebook page for Frugal Hacks: I keep a bowl of no-knead yeast dough in the fridge at all times. 6 cups water, 3 tsp yeast, 3 tsp kosher salt, and 13 cups flour. It keeps up to 2 weeks. Good for bread, pizza crust, bread sticks, cinanmon rolls. With grated mozzeralla in the freezer I can always whip up a pizza if there's nothing else to eat, instead of going out.
Just a quick reminder: if you'd like to submit a hack, please be sure to keep it very brief or provide a link to a specific post on your site. Feel free to plug your best and favorite post, but make sure it's useful and interesting!
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