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Jennifer Chait
Jennifer is a freelance writer and blogger. Her writing background includes copy for non-profits and businesses, the web, and national magazines. Other obsessions include Frisbee, road trips, books... more
Karen Weideman
Karen is a mother of three children ages 3, 5, and 11 and wife to Gerald. She left teaching to be a homemaker and work-at-home mom, where she rediscovered her joy of writing. Karen is best known ... more
I love your humor!
Unfortunately for us in Northern Virginia wasting water DOES cost a lot of money. I got my water bill yesterday as a matter of fact–$272 for two months. And I feel like we conserve more than more people, too! So we’re going to be taking your advice and hiring someone to fix what must be a toilet leak somewhere.
A big source of energy loss in your home is hot water piping. I would recommend making insulating your copper pipes a priority. Here are some instructions on installing hot water pipe wrap insulation.
272! HOLY. That is a lot. All I meant about the leaks is that I’ve seen some green bloggers who go on and on about small leaks wasting a ton of water. Then I read a report that was done on consumer water leaks, and it turned out that after measuring the details weren’t as horrific as some think. However, a serious leak can cost you. If you really feel like you conserve, you must have some sort of leak though – 272 is a ton of money. Sorry you’re dealing with lame toilet issues
True. We need to conserve as much water as we can.
I am surprised at how high those numbers are, however it does not surprise me that people do not take enough care with all of the food germs out there. Thanks for reminding all of us to take the utmost care this Thanksgiving.
My girlfriend did this for a few baby showers I threw and I loved them!
Another awesome thing that is going on is huge rebates on toilets if you replace an old one. If you live in Southern California, you can go to http://www.20gallonchallenge.com and see what you can save!
Robert
i understand this greatly.
I am an employee in the grocery business, so this is a subject with which I am very familiar. When you use coupons outside their intended use, it is not the manufacturers you are screwing, its the cashier you see right in front of working a crappy minimum wage job. Anything you see on the shelf in grocery stores has already been bought and paid for from the manufacturer through whatever corporation the store is associated with. When we receive coupons, we then take take the monetary hit, but then send the coupons back to the manufacturer and the manufacturer refunds us the money we saved you at checkout. Now if we have taken photocopied coupons, or internet coupons that have the identical seriel number on it, guess what….the store eats that cost, not the manufacturer. Technically, it is up to each individual cashier to be the gatekeeper and enforce proper use of coupon, and every coupon mistake is again TECHNICALLY each individual cashier’s mistake. However, store’s also are hellbent on fast customer service and though they preach accuracy in scanning coupons, in any store I have ever been in if I have ever asked any questions about coupons, bosses have always said something like “Just take it and we will figure it out later.” Quantity (that is, super fast scan times, and thus more customers) is always valued higher that accuracy. For example, in both retail/grocery jobs I have been at people have always been given special recognition for super fast scan times, but never once been given any kind of recognition for catching a dishonest customer trying to pass phony coupons, though both companies preached accuracy as a superior value. And even better, cashiers have also been kicked off registers for accepting bad coupons and in some extreme cases been fired because the coupon scams cost so much money. So next time you try to pass bad internet coupon, take a good look at the teenaged kid, or retired person, or part time working mom ringing out your groceries in front of you. They are the ones you are screwing, because if they are under-educated about internet coupons, they can lose their job, just because you felt entitled to an extra 40 or 50 cents here and there.
Now that the personal angle is explored here is the whole legal angle on the whole thing. Using multiple internet coupons is fine as long as their serial numbers are different, however being able to print multiple copies of each coupon legally should require a seperate computer. Each couon comes with its own unique serial number in addition to the usual UPC like codes that any normal coupon out of a newspaper would have. If you photo copy the internet coupons that is a direct violation of the fine print found on any coupon, internet or newspaper insert. If you in any way manipulate the software installed on a computer in order to get it to print the same coupon it has already once before printed, then that is a direct violation of the End User Agreement you had to have checked that you agreed to install the software on your machine in the first place. This falls under the sort of phrasing that the company retains any intellectual rights to the software, and even though it was free, it is not ok to manipulate or use it in any other way than it was intended.
A perfect example of this is the hugely popular World of Warcraft online game. People had bought legal copies of the game, installed the games on their own machines, but then instead of playing on regular servers, they created their own private servers. What these private servers allowed them to do was to manipulate the code in the game so their characters would be insanely powerful and have access to areas that would be otherwise unavailable in regular servers. The manufacturer Blizzard Entertainment though not technically losing money since the people had bought legal copies of the game began taking these people to court and winning. The legalese basically said that even though you have permission to use that software, you do not have permission to manipulate or change the code in any way without the manufacturer’s consent. While the argument can be made this game company probably did it because they were losing the $15 per month subscription fee to play on their approved servers, the concept of intellectual rights to the software can be applied to that of the coupon printing software out there. If you need to uninstall the software, or renew an IP address, or search through your registry to delete something, or whatever it is you do to circumvent the 1 coupon print limit per machine is well outside the obvious intended use of the software and therefore not only unethical but technically ILLEGAL.
And when its said the obvious intended use is violated, that means if you have to do any kind of searching outside of that program; and while I am unsure of how exactly it is people manipulate the program to print more than 1 copy, if you search registries, cookies, recently used folders, whatever, those are all Windows components (or whatever OS you use) and outside of the program itself, and therefore you have gone outside of the programs intended use. Software is intended generally to be user friendly and most of the time you should have no reason to ever have to do such elaborate searching of your hard drive or anywhere outside of itself.
If you made it this far I thank you for reading, and I hope next time you feel its OK to fiddle with the software you will resist the urge. In this economy as hard as it is to find jobs, please don’t put mine at risk.
We used Foam from the hardware store between our storm windows and regular windows this year and to block off doors we don’t use during the winter.
Bubble wrap, how inventive.
I think these are great. Thanks for the information.
There are LOADS of FREE coloring paper and crafts for kids to make with holiday themes on the internet. If you have kids, grand kids, nephews, nieces, cousins ect have them color and make crafts for your holiday decorating! This way they feel like they have contributed and will feel that they are an important part of the celebration. Best of all it’s FREE!
Great idea! I remember when I was in school we made turkeys from pinecones. There are all sorts of crafts and coloring activities that the kids can do.
Jennifer,
I am all for the re-gifting process.. Our family does an online gift exchange every year. Once the party is over, we usually have some pretty strange gifts show up at our door.
Your idea to have a re-gifting party in January is fabulous! This one I would do offline, just like you suggest..
I am going to write about your idea on my white elephant blog, if that is OK with you? I promise to give you credit for the idea!
Happy re-gifting!
Well, this won’t save energy, but you can save money by only filling your detergent trays halfway – plus then there’s never any detergent stuck to the dishes.
I’ve been unemployed since I graduated in May. As much as I would love to have a full time job it’s given me the opportunity to start my own business doing what I love and also help out other unemployed people!!
I totally bypass black Friday. All the good deals aren’t worth the crazy stress. Instead, I shop for gifts all year long, and that helps me to still get great deals.
We already do manage with one car. I work at home, and live near St Paul. The bus routes near our house aren’t perfect, but they’ve worked well enough for me to get to playgroups and htings. We used to both be sub teachers, which we managed with one car, even with the crazy schedule. It’s worth it to save the money and to do our part to be green!
I think this is a perfect way to save up and help save the environment. Besides taking up public transportation, we can also walk or use the bicycle to go to work which makes us fit, in time.
Yay! Everyone likes re-gifting! It’s practical. Bruce – feel free to write about it
Hey, thanks for this post. Makes you realize about how we should make everything matter now that what we experience today was a fruit of the heartaches and tragedies of the past.
Nice. At least now I can show my wife that even I can do laundry. LOL.
Thanks for the advice. I hope we can somehow find a way to provide low cost food without compromising nutritional value.
One way of making sure we’re safe from any disease- and that we can save cash- is to make sure that our surroundings are neat and clean and our hands, sanitized.
I live in Florida, and the sun is very hot. My Electric bill is horrible. But I use Auto sun shields.I find them at the dollars store or flea markets. They really help keep the house cool. And blind the neighbors. LOL
Bubble wrap might melt in the Florida sun.
Hey, thanks for the advice. Now I have something to reference from when buying Christmas gifts. I do believe though that the best gift for my family is my presence.
Just wanted to share that the Our Generation dolls have AWFUL hair. The one I bought for Christmas was wadded up in a big knot by February.
The Tuesday Morning store often sells Gotz dolls (Gotz is the original maker of the American Girl dolls) for $30. MUCH better quality. Their 18″ Precious Day dolls are the same size/shape as the American Girls and the Maxi Muffins are the same size as the Bitty Twins. My daughter has had her Muffin for 7 years, since she was 2, and she is still in wonderful shape. You can even machine wash the Gotz dolls!
The Our Generation accessories are fun though. I prefer their horses to AG. Be forewarned the shoes are plastic though and not always a good fit. Long sleeved clothing also does not always fit AG (or Goetz)because the Target dolls have a bit smaller hands.
Michelle,
I’m going to have to check into the Gotz dolls. They sound really nice. So far, a year after my mom first bought the Target doll for the child she was shopping for, its hair still looks nice. However, I don’t think this little girl is into doing hair and it looks like she never took the original braids out. I remember redoing my dolls’ hair first thing when I got them so I suspect she doesn’t play with her dolls as hard as most little girls do.
I keep one-when I sign up for something-a freebie or coupons, it always asks for a phone number. The land line is our “dump” number for that type of thing. We don’t answer the phone-we check it once a week or so-generally scan the numbers and delete and listen to the messages. Telemarketers leave very few messages. W also use this for voter registration-politicians leave lots of phone calls and we can delete without listening to all.
That’s a good idea. I registered today for the Do Not Call Registry so hopefully I won’t have to screen my calls much anymore.
Anyone with a land line also needs to make sure that they have a corded phone along with any cordless phones in case the power goes out.
I will always have a land line. I like knowing that I can dial 911 and the police will know exactly where I am without me having to give them more information. What if you can’t talk? What if you’re running away from someone?
Paranoid? Maybe, but I’ll spend the $20 a month to soothe my conscious.
Also, I hate doing job interviews over a cell phone. You never know when a call might drop, and the reception can be spotty. And I agree with the previous commenter. I don’t want everyone calling me on my personal cell phone. Business stuff can go straight to the land line.
how about if u babysit for 4 kids under 5! your 14 and you babysit for 5 hours!? wat would you charge?
4 kids under 5 … I would pay you at least $10 an hour with a minimum of $25 for each time. So if you only babysit for 1 hour, I’d still pay you $25. I have 3 kids under 5 and I pay $7.50 an hour with a minimum of $20. Hope that helps.
Bonus tip about cell phones: you can text message yourself from your instant messaging service (aim, ichat, adium, etc). All you do is type “+(country code) (area code) (phone number)” without quotation marks or parentheses. If my cell number were 555 456 7890 and I lived in the U.S., I would text myself by starting a new im to +15554567890.
So long as you have sounds turned on for text messages, you can locate your lost cell phone without using another phone!
Thanks for the tip!
Thanks for the reminder! You are so right! Safety first!!
What a great bow idea!
This sounds so good, I’m making this for Thanksgiving…
Let me know how it turns out.
Oh wow, this looks delicious! I should cook one up right now.
I have a vase that turned out to be the perfect size and look for a toilet brush that only cost me about $2. The vase came from who knows what flower arrangement forever ago.
Very cool
http://iamharriet.blogspot.com/2009/11/appreciate-that-special-woman-in-your.html
I pay $2.50 per child per hour. I have 4 kids but sometimes just need to leave 1 or 2 or 3. If it all 4 I pay $10/hour. I have issues with babysitters texting and using our internet. I don’t mind just checking emails but I have had a babysitter stay on Facebook the entire night. My 2 little ones played in the toilet and spilled toilet water all over the bathroom. Then they tried to clean it up with toilet paper. You can imagine the mess I came home too. The babysitter had been on FB all night and didn’t even know they had made the mess. My 2 year old was soaked and the baby sitter didn’t even know it. Needless to say, she never sat with my kids again. I do have high expectations from a babysitter.
I am so sorry that happened to you. That’s terrible. I too had an experience similar to that as well. I have fixed the issues and she babysits for me on occasion with only 2 of the kids usually as a last resort. Usually my kids are already asleep if she is babysitting as they go to bed early.
We had some similar issues as well. I would turn off my computer when I left and she would still turn it on. I had to put a password on my computer. We rarely get a babysitter. There is a lady at church that volunteers to keep them every few months so that we can have a date. The two older ones are in elementary school and the younger one is at preschool a few hours each week so sometimes we have a lunch date. It’s so much cheaper anyway.
Hi Karen
Love the upcycled shelves! I love re-purposing old treasures and upcycling them- it’s become a recurring theme on hankering for yarn
Thanks Noreen. These are a favorite piece in our home. I’m learning to look around at yard sales and other places for unique finds to repurpose.
Friend put Listerine in spray bottle and sprays the ground where she wants to picnic or play with kids. Was surpised how it works because I too am a
’skeeter magnet.
Hi, I used to subscribe to a website that would search grocery store circulars and would let you know what items you can get for free or at the best savings each week. Unfortunately I cant remember the name of the website, but it did save me a lot of money. Has anyone ever heard of this?