Recent comments

  • How Much Money Will You Save With Energy Star Appliances?   14 years 12 weeks ago

    It would be good to discuss how Energy Star compares appliances across categories. For instance, which is more energy efficient: a 20 cu ft refrigerator with an Energy Star rating, or a 14 cu ft refrigerator without an Energy Star rating? The latter might use less electricity, because it's cooling a smaller area, even though it doesn't have the ES rating. Also, a chest freezer is almost always more efficient than an upright freezer, with or without ES rating.

    I'm reminded of the parallel with buying a hybrid vehicle. I can't afford a Prius, so my solution is to have a small car and to drive as little as possible. Energy Star is useful when comparing similar models of appliances, but it's not the only way to conserve energy.

  • 35 Delicious Rice and Bean Dishes   14 years 12 weeks ago

    Plenty of recipe ideas to put to work here - pretty sweet! Any time you can combine beans and shrimp is a double bonus for me!

  • How to Make Your Own Soda   14 years 12 weeks ago

    My wife and I have a SodaStream and love it! Mostly we just make fizzy water (my wife more accurately calls it sparkling water) but sometimes I'll add in some lemon or a rootbeer flavoring.

    It's a lot of fun to make your own soda. Plus, we're finding it saves us trips to the grocery store when we have all the supplies we need to make it at home!

    Great article!

  • 15 Wonderful Uses for Witch Hazel   14 years 12 weeks ago

    I have had many pre-cancers, basal cell cancers, and a melanoma. I go every year for a full body check with a dermatologist. Precancers will turn cancerous eventually, then you'll have scars. I personally wouldn't risk using WH on precancers. I do use it WH for roseaca and it works well, but I don't know that I would trust it for permanently reducing precancers or "harmless" cancers. Many skin cancers grow down into the skin and not necessarily bigger on the surface that you can see.

  • 15 Wonderful Uses for Witch Hazel   14 years 12 weeks ago

    I wrote about 2 months ago and said I was going to try it for rosaeca on my chin, which had made the pores larger and the skin kind of tough. It has worked great. After washing my face with Dove, I pat it dry with a CLEAN wash cloth. Then I use a cotton ball to apply the witch hazel. I do put Oil of Olay Sensitive Skin with SPF on after the witch hazel has air dried. Within a week I could see my red chin spot beginning to get smaller. It has been 2 months now. It hasn't all completely gone, but is so different in texture it has given me new hope. I talked to a relative who is a pharmacist who has his own "natural" garden. I told him what I was doing and he was all for it. I'm 57 yo. Please take care of your skin now, say no to surgeries!

  • 35 Delicious Rice and Bean Dishes   14 years 12 weeks ago

    Rice n Beans are a frugal food lifesaver! When our family has a "clean out the frig night", depending on what meals i made that week...i make a large pot of rice. Everyone starts with rice as a base for adding their creative toppings. Since we cook alot of meals that are bean based, the "re-creations" can be quite yummy!!! one person can have tex-mex (pinto peans or chilli) with cheese & sour cream, while another can have curried veg & rice, or leftover chinnese takeout over rice...we have found that most food taste great with rice if you add alittle garnish like fresh chopped tomatto or cheese or spice....we've even had leftover chocolate pudding & icecream over rice!!!! lol (the kids loved it)

  • How to Make Your Own Soda   14 years 12 weeks ago

    Great article. I have been thinking about buying a sodastream but haven't been too sure about it.

  • 35 Delicious Rice and Bean Dishes   14 years 12 weeks ago

    One of my favorite rice-and-beans recipes is African Chickpea Stew. I'll usually make a recipe like this one and throw in some spinach or kale: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/African-Curried-Coconut-Sou...

  • 35 Delicious Rice and Bean Dishes   14 years 12 weeks ago

    Yum! Beans and rice are my favorite easy and low-key go to's. Note that there's apparently a mung bean shortage going on right now. I discovered this when trying to make kitchuri a couple weeks ago and searched 4 different stores that usually have them.

  • Why You Shouldn't Eat at Chain Restaurants   14 years 12 weeks ago

    I haven't seen that one. I'll have to check it out!

  • 35 Delicious Rice and Bean Dishes   14 years 12 weeks ago

    Excellent post. My fave way to enjoy chickpeas is quick and easy: toss in olive oil and cayenne pepper (with garlic salt to taste) and plop it into the oven at 425 degrees for about 20 minutes, and voila. Crunchy, spicy and healthy.

  • Why You Shouldn't Eat at Chain Restaurants   14 years 12 weeks ago

    Ever since watching that Ryan Reynolds movie Waiting, I've avoided chain restaurants like the plague. Honestly, that movie is enough to make you want to become a macrobiotic raw vegan, or whatever Gwyneth Paltrow is.

  • 21 Disposable Products You Can Reuse   14 years 12 weeks ago

    We use the plastic newspaper bags when we travel. They are the perfect size for shoes to fit into (1 shoe/bag unless it's flip-flops). This prevents dirt and sand from the shoes from getting all over our clothes.
    I also saw a great idea on Pinterest from Apartment Therapy for reusing soda can tabs as picture hangers. I haven't tried it yet, but they seem to be pretty confident in it.
    http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/tried-tested-hanging-art-with-142868

  • 35 Delicious Rice and Bean Dishes   14 years 12 weeks ago

    Thanks so much for posting this! I've been making curry with chickpeas/garbanzo beans as my go-to "frugal, healthy, vegetarian main course" for the past few weeks, and while it's still delicious, the repetition is starting to wear a bit thin. I'm looking forward to trying these, especially the West African recipe.

    Last night I made lentil curry, which was a big mistake – I used to eat them all the time when I was a student, but I didn't know how to cook very well yet, so they never came out right. It turns out I can't eat them at all without having flashbacks to my barely edible attempts in my early 20s...bah.

  • 35 Delicious Rice and Bean Dishes   14 years 12 weeks ago

    You are so right--beans and rice are cheap and yet many (including myself) still avoid them. Thank you for these ideas--I am going to try some out this week.

  • Save on Car Maintenance With These 5 DIY Tips   14 years 12 weeks ago

    Thank you for this post cars are staggeringly expensive to run & any thing you can do to save money is a real bonus. I'm glad you included the tip about changing the oil. We don't all live in the U.S.A where you seem to be able to clip coupons for just about everything. Changing your own oil in the UK can save a lot of money.

  • Homemade Lotion Recipes   14 years 12 weeks ago

    It is save to apply the lotion on baby?

  • Why Recycling Is My Lowest Priority   14 years 12 weeks ago

    The problem with your way of thinking is that not everyone is as crafty as you are and wants to reuse their recyclable items around the home. I work full-time and go to school full time. I have no time for a hobby or gardening so the things I could reuse around my home for crafts get recycled because I have no use for them in my home. That's just how some people are. There is nothing wrong with reusing your items and i'm all for it, for other people, but you can't there is nothing wrong with recycling for those of us that don't reuse.

  • Ask the Readers: Have You Filed Your Taxes Yet?   14 years 12 weeks ago

    Just sent my taxes to my accountant today. I never felt confident that they were completely correct and trying to figure them out with all my investments made my head hurt. A CPA can be really expensive, but I'm confident they are correct and I am getting every deduction possible. I figure he saves me a minimum of what I pay him.

  • Are You Getting Charged by a Text Message Scam?   14 years 12 weeks ago

    There are a lot of sketchy apps and games out there, make sure you check the user feedback before you download anything to your phone.

    I've seen people getting spam notifications on their smart phones, not in the form of text messages but up in the notifications bar. You can download the AirPush Detector app for free to detect which app is forcing in the notification spam, then delete both!

  • Ask the Readers: Have You Filed Your Taxes Yet?   14 years 12 weeks ago

    I like your Facebook page

  • Ask the Readers: Have You Filed Your Taxes Yet?   14 years 12 weeks ago

    I just filed this weekend

  • 15 Ways to Recycle and Reuse Old T-shirts   14 years 12 weeks ago

    I like the "Wall Art" idea. Being a guy, this seems like another good one besides the pocket tee idea.

  • Quickly Remove Scratches From CDs and DVDs   14 years 12 weeks ago

    The oil on your nose seems to work well on CDs. A trick I picked up somewhere. Just rub your nose on the surface of the disc.

  • Ask the Readers: Have You Filed Your Taxes Yet?   14 years 12 weeks ago

    Haven't filed yet. We will be using a new-to-us CPA who also teaches at a local college. And our refund will be used to pay off our truck, rebuild a portion of e-fund, and start a college fund for our two youngest kiddos.