Money-Saving Tips and Tricks

Everyone likes to save a little money, especially in the trying times of our economy today. Here are a few easy ways to cut corners and pinch pennies.

Counting Coins

Whenever you get coin change put it aside in a special spot such as an extra pocket in your purse or coat. Then at home transfer it to a jar, a dish or a baggie. You'll be surprised how fast it adds up. A sandwich size baggie filled ¾ of the way with change (not just pennies, but quarters, dimes and nickels too) is approximately $40! Take it to your bank to get it turned into dollar bills when you're running a little low on cash. Or deposit it into a savings account to save toward a vacation. If you don't have a bank account (most banks nowadays won't take your change if you don't have an account with them), look for a change machine such as Coinstar. For pennies on the dollar you can dump your change in and turn it into dollar bills.

Collecting Cans

To this day collecting cans is still a way to make a few extra dollars now and then. Some places have machines where you dump your cans in and it spits out your money. The value will range depending on where you are. The ones I've found pay out 20 cents per pound. So for two 30 gallon garbage cans filled with cans - you get approximately $2 and some cents. Not much...but it's something! If you can't find any do-it-yourself machines, check around for places that recycle aluminum. This doesn't just mean garbage collection companies, but also metal scrappers and other companies that work with metal. Again, they'll usually pay by the pound.

SPECIAL NOTE: Even though you want all the weight you can get to get the most money, take the time to remove the tabs from aluminum cans and send them in to the nearest Ronald McDonald house. Then at least you are doing a small part to help sick children.

Extend the Life of your Sponges

Cut your brand new sponges in half. You now have 2 sponges for the price of 1!

Use a demotion system for your sponges. The brand new one may be used for washing dishes. Once it starts to look too grungy to be used on your eating surfaces, demote it to kitchen or bathroom counter cleaning. Then when it looks too worn out for even the countertops, demote it to floor cleaning. This system extends the life of your sponges and saves you from having to buy sponges quite as often.

Cleaning Solutions go a Long Way, so do their Bottles

Most cleansers are now made ultra strong or concentrated. Logic then tells you that if you split the solution into two bottles and dilute with water, you are still getting a strong cleanser but twice as much of it. Save the bottle from your last cleaning solution and use with your next bottle to split it up evenly. Saving the bottles (especially spray bottles) from your cleaning solutions is a great way to extend all of your cleaning solutions.

For floor cleansers that must be diluted (usually a certain amount per gallon of water) mix the diluted solution in a reused spray bottle. Then just spray on the floor and mop away. This makes mopping the floor a little less messy and keeps you from wasting buckets of cleaning solution (which means less money spent on bottles of floor cleaner!).

EXTRA TIP: Reused spray bottles are also handy for washing pets. Fill with a diluted solution of pet bath soap (or flea bath soap) and water. Just spray on your pet and rub into the fur. This makes it easier to target spots on your pet so you can avoid getting soap in his/her eyes and ears.

Dish Soap is Multi-Purpose Soap

Look carefully at your bottle of dish soap and you'll probably see that in small print it says "Hand Soap" as well. Most brands today, especially the Anti-bacterial kinds, also note their purpose as a hand soap right on the bottle. [Palmolive probably started the trend way back when they used the commercials "I soaked in it!" (meaning it was good for the hands too). Note that this is purely speculation by the author.] No matter who or what started it, most dish soaps can be used as hand soaps as well. This means you can buy just one type of soap instead of 2!

Also, you can extend the use of your dish/hand soap by diluting it. Check your bottle, if it is "ultra concentrated" as many are, try filling a hand soap dispenser halfway with water and halfway with dish soap. Rotate slowly to mix gently. For best results let sit a few hours (or overnight). You now have a good soap solution usable on both hands and dishes. Keeping a soap pump on the kitchen sink allows you to squirt some on your sponge when the suds get a little low during your dishwashing. Or just use a squirt on the sponge when you just have a couple of dishes to do. It's less messy than tipping a big bottle, and less wasteful. Plus you can wash your hands with it, because we all know you get messy in the kitchen!

EXTRA TIP: Hand soap dispensers are also great for lotions. Fill one up with your favorite moisturizing cream and you have an easy and less wasteful way to apply your lotion.

EXTRA FUN TIP: Many Dish soap bottles make great water squirters! When the kids want to have a water fight during the hot months, give them a couple of these bottles filled with cold water.

SOURCES & REFERENCES:

Coinstar: http://www.coinstar.com/us/html/a-home

Ronald McDonald House Charities: http://www.rmhc.com/
- Pop Tab Collections: http://www.rmhc.com/how-you-can-help/other-ways-to-get-involved/pop-tab-collections/