Frugal tips you tried and are still using today

[VaranusK]

Nice tips here!
One of the habits I'm more proud of is organizing the meals for the whole week. I plan on Wednesday and buy on friday/saturday.
Then I don't need to spend more time thinking just to find I'm missing some ingredients. Also I just need to go once or twice a week to the supermarket, saving time and money

[Emily]

Originally Posted by quitejaded

Me, too!

But, where do you sell your textbooks? I do not have an ebay account. I'd rather sell to people who live around me, but I can't find a good website.

I listed my books on half.com this time around. I didn't have much luck listing them on amazon.

[Jess]

Originally Posted by Ronni

Also...

Using the library!!!

I love to read, but if I bought every book that interested me, I'd be in serious trouble. Fortunately, my library is good at getting the new stuff in fairly quickly. Using that reserve system is the best thing ever.

I use it for music, too. If I come across something I love, or if I find myself renewing something four times, then I think about purchasing it.

Ditto. I'm trying to make it a policy not to buy a book unless I absolutely love it. I'm trying to cut back In any event, I'm taking advantage of my school's InterLibrary Loan. So far I've gotten a whole slew of books - for free. Check your public library, but be careful of new fees that are popping up. My county's library system as a whole allows you to request books from other libraries in the system, but to have it sent to your home branch is $0.50. Not that bad in comparison to buying a book retail, but that's still something to consider

[quitejaded]

Originally Posted by Jess

I sell to friends and Amazon.com (I have a seller account - it's very easy to set up). The nice thing about Amazon is the pricing. Granted, the company takes a commission, but usually I end up with the full amount that I sold the item for anyway. I actually listed two books online last night, and they sold this morning. So definitely look into Amazon.com Marketplace

My school unfortunately doesn't have free printing (jealous of those of you who do get it!), but I can print for free at my workplace - it all balances out in the end.

Don't you have to buy the boxes for the books, though? If not, I would love to sell my textbooks through amazon!

[lucille]

Originally Posted by Jess

Ditto. I'm trying to make it a policy not to buy a book unless I absolutely love it. I'm trying to cut back In any event, I'm taking advantage of my school's InterLibrary Loan. So far I've gotten a whole slew of books - for free. Check your public library, but be careful of new fees that are popping up. My county's library system as a whole allows you to request books from other libraries in the system, but to have it sent to your home branch is $0.50. Not that bad in comparison to buying a book retail, but that's still something to consider

If you live in a larger city the possible selection is going to be much better. When we lived in a larger city the library system was great. They had things I would have never imagined being used to the outdated old library system where we were previously. They had newer DVDs for borrowing. Their kids selection was great but was in demand. We did manage to keep our younger one entertained for free. They also had a great selection of magazines and newer craft and how to books. The branch that was near our house even had a Dunn Brothers Coffee in the lobby.

[Ronni]

Originally Posted by lucille

If you live in a larger city the possible selection is going to be much better.

Let's hope. One of the things I'll miss the most when I move to Chicago is the library system here in Columbus. Our reserve system is simple and easy to use, we use computers to check out books, and they get stuff in quickly. Plus, we have free wi-fi! Our selection is big, too. They just upgraded the catalog system, so when you search for a book, it will tell you how many copies are available, where they are available, and if there is a wait, it tells you how many requests are for the book. It also gives summaries of the book. It's fantastic.

From what I've heard, Chicago's reserve system is cumbersome, you still have to go to a circulation desk to take books out, and their selection just isn't as varied.

One would thing CHICAGO would have a gigantic selection and modernized techniques for managing that selection (the main library is huge!), but it seems inferior to Columbus libraries. I hope I'm wrong.

[Jess]

Originally Posted by quitejaded

Don't you have to buy the boxes for the books, though? If not, I would love to sell my textbooks through amazon!

Depends on how big the book is. I send mine in large padded envelopes. It's not that expensive, though, if you compare it. I received $80 for a textbook that cost me $85, with a padded envelope (also, because I do so many book exchanges through BookMooch and PaperBackSwap, I have a stock of these on hand), that the bookstore wanted to buy back for $27. So I would say that the price of a envelopes/boxes CAN outweigh the cons, although it depends on how much you'll be getting for your book. I would look into it though

[purplefdu]

I used to sell my texkbooks on Half.com as well. I always used padded envelopes even fr my big chemistry text books without an issue. If you go after the holidays you can normally buy them on sale from the post office, and no college student is gonna think you're weird either. Otherwise you can get free boxes from the post office. You can either order them and have them delivered free (from USPS - The United States Postal Service (U.S. Postal Service)) or my post office has a stack set out in the lobby (I live in a small town).

We always pack lunches and stock up when the single pack boxes fo kids lunch stuff are BOGO at the grocer store. Otherwise we buy the big boxes of crackers, ships, etc and package them accordingly in a serving. We also check the value packs of meat before buying a smaller pack as they can be the same amount as the smaller portion.

Every week I make a meal list and shopping list based on what I need and then go coupo searching for whats on the list. This week we spent $30 and saved $40 in coupons and store sales. Which also got us ten cents a gallon off on gas for the car so it cost $2.87 a gal.

[gt0163c]

A number of years ago, I read on some message board about letting soap dry before you use it. I had noticed that the soap that I bought was generally kinda wet when I first unwrapped it and wondered if that contributed to it "melting" a bit and being used more quickly. I found that if I unwrapp any soap as soon as I get it home and then let it sit for at least a week, it does dry out and won't get used quite as quickly.

Another soap tip: When I traveled a lot for work, I always came home with lots of little bars of soap. I use the bars until they're too small to comfortably use and then deposit them in a jar. When the jar gets full, I add some water, swish it around a bit and wait a few days. When the soap softens up, I smoosh it into a small plastic container (usually a leftover frosting or butter container) and leave it for a few weeks (or a few months if I forget about it) to dry. Once it's dry, I've got a nice, big bar of soap to use again.

[boba1212]

I've found that most dishwashing detergents and shampoos are quite concentrated, so I pour some into another container and dilute with water. As the shampoo, conditioner or lotion bottle gets empty, I invert the bottles and stand them on their caps/heads. Gravity pulls the remainder down, then I unscrew the caps I dig out the stuff clinging to the sides. This drives other people nuts but this method works to extend the "life" out of an otherwise empty bottle, sometimes by an extra week or more.