Common Household Items Used For New Uses = Money Saved!

I saw this on Facebook and had to share! Think of all the money you could save if you stopped purchasing items meant to specifically do some of these things and just used the ones you had at home? I highlighted in green a few of my favorites! 

DID YOU KNOW???

1. Budweiser beer conditions the hair2. Pam cooking spray will dry finger nail polish (hum... this could save me a ton of frustration painging toddlers nails!)3. Cool whip will condition your hair in 15 minutes4. Mayonnaise will KILL LICE, it will also condition your hair5. Elmer's Glue - paint on your face, allow it to dry, peel off and see the dead skin and blackheads if any. (Elmer's glue is something you can always pick up for $1.00 or less, facepeal not so much!) 6. Shiny Hair - use brewed Lipton Tea7. Sunburn - empty a large jar of Nestea into your bath water. (hello do you know how much mom's spend on sunburn relief in a year?) 8. Minor burn - Colgate or Crest toothpaste9. Burn your tongue? Put sugar on it10. Arthritis? WD-40 Spray and rub in, kill insect stings too (okay i'm seriously worried about putting WD-40 on my skin but I'm going to research to see if it's safe... for those of you also worried try Wintergreen Essential Oil). 11 Bee stings - meat tenderizer12. Chigger bite - Preparation H13. Puffy eyes - Preparation H14. Paper cut - crazy glue or chap stick (glue is used instead of sutures at most hospitals)15. Stinky feet - Jello !16. Athletes feet - cornstarch17. Fungus on toenails or fingernails - Vicks vapor rub18. Kool aid to clean dishwasher pipes. Just put in the detergent section and run a cycle, it will also clean a toilet. (Wow, and we drink this stuff)19. Kool Aid can be used as a dye in paint also Kool Aid in Dannon plain yogurt as a finger paint, your kids will love it and it won't hurt them if they eat it! (Kool Aid packet = .40 cents on a bad day, finger paints are about $1.00 each). 20. Peanut butter - will get scratches out of CD's! Wipe off with a coffee filter paper (Okay wow trying this on the kid's DVDs I am guessing you shouldn't use chunky...). 21. Sticking bicycle chain - Pam no-stick cooking spray22. Pam will also remove paint, and grease from your hands! Keep a can in your garage for your hubby23. Peanut butter will remove ink from the face of dolls24. When the doll clothes are hard to put on, sprinkle with corn starch and watch them slide on25. Heavy dandruff - pour on the vinegar ! (I have always used Olive Oil on my little dandruff girl. We'll try this!) 26. Body paint - Crisco mixed with food coloring. Heat the Crisco in the microwave, pour in to an empty film container and mix with the food color of your choice!27 Tie Dye T-shirt - mix a solution of Kool Aid in a container, tie a rubber band around a section of the T-shirt and soak28. Preserving a newspaper clipping - large bottle of club soda and cup of milk of magnesia , soak for 20 min. and let dry, will last for many years!29. A Slinky will hold toast and CD's!30. To keep goggles and glasses from fogging, coat with Colgate toothpaste31. Wine stains, pour on the Morton salt and watch it absorb into the salt. (I have been using this for years it works! Also works on pet urine, and probably toddler accidents as well.) 32. To remove wax - Take a paper towel and iron it over the wax stain, it will absorb into the towel.33. Remove labels off glassware etc. rub with Peanut butter!34. Baked on food - fill container with water, get a Bounce paper softener and the static from the Bounce towel will cause the baked on food to adhere to it. Soak overnight. Also; you can use 2 Efferdent tablets , soak overnight!35. Crayon on the wall - Colgate toothpaste and brush it!36.. Dirty grout - Listerine37. Stains on clothes - Colgate toothpaste (TRYING!!! Stain remover is way way more expensive than Colgate since you can get it for free quite often with a $1.00 coupon and a trip to the dollar general.) 38. Grass stains - Karo Syrup39. Grease Stains - Coca Cola , it will also remove grease stains from the driveway overnight. We know it will take corrosion from car batteries!40. Fleas in your carpet? 20 Mule Team Borax- sprinkle and let stand for 24 hours. Maybe this will work if you get them back again.41. To keep FRESH FLOWERS longer Add a little Clorox , or 2 Bayer aspirin , or just use 7-up instead of water.42. When you go to buy bread in the grocery store, have you ever wondered which is the freshest, so you 'squeeze' for freshness or softness? Did you know that bread is delivered fresh to the stores five days a week? Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Each day has a different color twist tie.

They are:
Monday = Blue,Tuesday = Green,Thursday = RedFriday = WhiteSaturday = Yellow.

So if today was Thursday, you would want red twist tie; not white which is Fridays (almost a week old)! The colors go alphabetically by color Blue- Green - Red - White - Yellow, Monday through Saturday. Very easy to remember. I thought this was interesting. I looked in the grocery store and the bread wrappers DO have different twist ties, and even the ones with the plastic clips have different colors. You learn something new everyday! Enjoy fresh bread when you buy bread with the right color on the day you are shopping.

First Long Term Savings Project - I Can Save Article

Did you think about the long term vs. short term savings article from last time? I hope so! If not I did... and I made a list of things I thought I could do. Some of them are small, some are short term some are long. I'll post the entire list for you later tonight!

In the mean time one of my projects was home photography. Okay I have little kids. I take them for pictures about every 3-6 months (yep they change that fast). We spend about $100 to $200 each time we go. I even have a membership so I don't have to pay a sitting fee. But I either get the CD or a ton of prints for all the grandparents etc. And, I can't go and not get prints sorry. SO... my wonderful husband bought me a home studio set from Amazon Photography Stuido and I have made it a goal to take all our family photos at home this year!

I am printing them using the coupons and freebies I find. And, even paying for some prints on Snapfish or Shuttefly. Here's what I have done this year so far (thanks to my little brother for snapping a few of all of us together):

Total photography bill for family photos including Christmas cards, and new 11x13 prints (four of them that hang in a frame in our house): $38.00

Total Valentine's photos bill including cards, and prints for the grandparents: $5.00.


I figure I've already saved somewhere between $157 and $357. And, guess what??? I LOVE THE PHOTOS! Since we have Inara's 3rd birthday coming up in March (something I always get photos for) I figure that will be yet another shoot this year I'm saving on! There are lots of photos I didn't include here but I figured this was enough to get the idea! Yes I love photography and have done it for a long time. So this is something I could do! What is something you're starting with?

Hot Dots Sale on Zulily Plus Free Shipping & $5.00 Off Offers

As promised I am posting all the deals that I purchase... and only the deals I purchase! So here is a deal I grabbed for my 4 year old. I know she has a Leappad already but I thought this would be an awesome game to play together when we're having quite games!

It's called Hot Dots and I've seen it around a few different places recently but Zulily had it on sale tonight with all the extra card sets on sale as well!

Sale Notes: Here are the few I got. If you spend $50.00 or more you can use coupon code '   ' to take $5.00 off, and when you pay the standard $7.95 shipping and handling (on your entire order) you'll receive free shipping on all orders placed through Sunday night (which pressures you to come back but sometimes it's really worth it). Type in "hot dots" into the search bar to find everything they have left!

My Purchase: 

Hot Dots Wand/Pen - $7.99 (regularly $11.00) 

Go here to purchase...

Hot Dots Card Kit - Getting Ready For School $24.99 (regularly $40.00)

Go here to purchase...

Hot Dots Card Kit - Alphabet Hot Dots Jr. $9.99 (regularly $15.00) 

Go here to purchase...

Hot Dots Card Kit - Patterns & Sequencing Jr. $9.99 (regularly $15.00) 

Go here to purchase...

That made my purchase $52.96 take off an additional $5.00. Add on $7.95 for shipping and handling and the grand total is: $50.01. And, if they do end up having anything else I must have I won't pay shipping, so that's not a great deal but it's a bonus.

Shopping For A Family of Twenty-Four Plus Friends

No we don't have 24 kids. Actually we just have 2 adorable daughters! However, I am the oldest of nine children and my husband is the oldest of nine children (from a split family), so we have three sets of parents in addition to all the kids.

Now you may think this is the point in time in which you start drawing names, or send cards and call it good. However, our families helped us get going! Our families passed down furniture  let us work for the money to do holiday shopping for each other, bought us food, moved us 800 miles away and then back again, let us live in the basement and they continue to babysit.

But, let's be realistic about this... we DO NOT have a 6 digit income by any means and there is no way I can go out shopping for 24 people for Christmas. So, how else does one get gifts for 24 individuals?

1. Well I definitely do not go out and buy it all... for one I use affiliate credits. The money I make from people like you purchasing things through the links on my blog. Not all links I post are tied to affiliate accounts in fact only about half of them are. I try to find the best deals to post rather or not I will make money off of them. I use those credits to purchase a lot of gifts, prizes to give away on  my blog, and fun little things for my family and friends.

2. Second I make a lot of things! I have several pieces of my jewelry in a local rock shop at all times (Rockpick Legend Co.)

Not only do I give away the jewelry I make but I use the money from the ones I sell to keep our kids in gymnastics and for birthdays, christmas, and anniversaries. 

3. I bargain hunt like a bat from a very warm place! I find the deals that require 2 hours of research 4 steps, and make things practically free! For instance I found myself Nike's that were originally $180.00 for just $22.00 after combining coupons, and some serious research. 

4. I refurbish items. I often go to second hand stores and find items such as the doll house that we're giving our girls for Christmas for extremely low prices ($30.00) and refinish or refurbish them. My husband found a few laptops and took them all apart to use the pieces to create one working and incredibly uber laptop! The new laptop is exactly what one of our siblings needs to be able to continue to go to school. 

5. Finally we look for items being thrown out! You wouldn't believe what is thrown out each year. No I don't go dumpster diving. But just this week by keeping an eye on who's moving and who's upgrading their items on Facebook I was able to offer to come move a stove, office chair ($300.00 leather plus chair) and nearly new stainless steal fridge for friends... they charged us a total of - moving it off... and lunch. I am giving the chair to my brother (after re-polishing it), keeping the fridge (it's nicer than ours) and giving our current fridge to my mother who's is going out and leaking! 

So be creative this year... and be sure you're having fun! As one of my very favorite authors wrote: 

"Gifts are nice, but there's another: The true gift is, we have each other." - Anna Dewdney Llama Llama Holiday Drama

Unique vs. Cheep - Knowing is Saving Article

Many companies advertise something as 'unique' in order to mark up the price. When not all 'unique' items are really one of a kind. This is especially true on deal sites such as sneakpeeq and fab.com. Although I love both deal sites and have found fantastic deals on them their jewelry is NOT unique. it is not one of a kind, and it is definitely not the only place you can find this type of jewelry. Here are a few examples of what is unique and what is cheep:

These agate slab necklaces were featured on sneakpeeq a few days ago for as much as $40.00 each as the sale price. There is a local rock shop by my house (Rockpick Legend Co.) that sells these exact necklaces for $10.00 each at regular price and has had sales on them for as low as $6.00. There are places on Etsy where these are sold for $14.00 regular price. So don't be fooled by the 'unique' title! They can say that because each slab is real stone and there-fore can't be duplicated. However, it's a far stretch of the word. 

It also makes it harder for real artists who poor their heart and soul into their jewelry to sale it as unique even when it truly is. Because the term has been so over used! 

Check out some of my favorite unique jewelry in my Pinterest bored of Awesome Jewelry here. And, keep in mind these pieces aren't some amazing fantastic super deal... when it comes to unique the deal is in having something only you will ever have.

If you liked this post please 'like' Daily Deal Watch on Facebook! 

Take Out Binders - Knowing How Is Saving Series

These are popping up everywhere so I thought this would be a great time to introduce my newest short serious of articles. Knowing is Saving!

This cute 'take out menu' folder is just $12.00 on Etsy however it will cost you about $4.00 (less if you use back to school sales) and 20 minutes to make one!

(Purchase these from Etsy here)

These are amazing for college kids, baby gifts (what mom couldn't use take out right after having a baby), wedding gifts and more. They are super easy to make and can be as personalized as you'd like! I'm actually making these for several people in my family for Christmas.

You can pick up the following supplies for less than $1.00 each if you check your Dollar General, or Wal-Mart (try clearance sections too):

- 1 Avery Economy Binder with 1-Inch Round Ring ($1.88 on Amazon)
- 1 Set of Binder Sorting Tabs
- 1 (or more) Large Plastic Binder Envelope/Pouch
- 1 Single Pen (doesn't have to be fancy)

That's it, that is $4.00 or less to make each one of these! Now simple compile your own book then go around and get the take out menus of local restaurants to the area of the person you'll be giving your gift. If you're going for chain restaurants you can pick up a menu at any chain location. Punch holes in the menu's and include them in between the dividers. You can include one divider for pizza, one for delivery, one for take-out, one for chinese, one for mexican... etc. Personalize the binder to the person and geographical location of the recipient.

DON'T FORGET TO ASK FOR COUPONS! I have found that many places will give you managers coupons if you tell them what you're doing! Just let them know your friend is having a baby so you're putting together a take-out book or that your baby brother is graduating high school etc. Whatever your occasion. I had about 4 places offer me stellar coupons to put with the menus! I put them all in the plastic pouch and zipped it shut :)

Here's a few suggested places:

- Pizza places (papa johns, domino's, pizza hut, etc)
- Chain resturants with drive-up and sit down (Chili's, Applebees, PF Changs, TGI Friday, Olive Garden)
- Any local Chinese takeout or delivery places unique to that area.
- Include a card to any local grocery store that offers delivery or call and go shopping.

Now if you hadn't thought of this for baby showers, Christmas, or grads off to college there's a great personalized gift for $4.00. If you have more than that to spend how about including a gift card to your favorite take-out or delivery place on in the menu?