Apparently, I’m a slow learner. I can’t think of another reason why it took years to associate my sons’ and husband’s itchy skin problems with the dryer sheets I used in the clothes dryer. While we didn’t experience respiratory problems that are often associated with fabric softeners, the medical website, WebMD.com, reports that the perfumes and additives in laundry products may also cause respiratory problems in some individuals.
One would expect that such a life-impacting revelation (all the skin problems disappeared once I stopped using any fabric softeners or dryer sheets) would have banned those pesky sheets from our home. But that’s not true.
Dryer sheets have so many other uses around that home—indoors, outdoors, and in the garage too—I keep a box of fragrance-free dryer sheets on hand for many other uses. (Even without fragrance, dryer sheets pose a problem for my family when used in the dryer with clothing, sheets and towels).
A used dryer sheet is ideal for many of the applications that follow. However, if you, like me, don’t end up with used sheets from the dryer, simply soak a new sheet in water and then wring it out. Most of the time you want to the sheet to be damp anyway. Hint: If you are sensitive to dryer sheets, be sure to wear rubber or latex gloves when handling a new sheet.
RELATED: Fabric Softener Products are the Problem Not the Solution
SCREEN CLEANER
Dryer sheets make great dusting and cleaning cloths for television and computer screens. Not only will they clean the screens, the antistatic properties will treat the screens to repel rather than attract dust. Dryer sheets are designed to reduce static cling, so they remove the dust, and help keep it from resettling from television and computer screens.
DRY-ERASE
To add luster and restore the surface of a dry-erase memo board, polish it with a dryer sheet.
It’s been at least 30 years since my husband and I sat for hours with an attorney who specializes in estate planning. That was not the most pleasant thing I’ve ever done.
We were young and the idea of being old and planning for our respective deaths seemed ludicrous.
That meeting together with nearly $2,500 made us the proud owners of a Family Trust and Estate Plan, which includes the important legal documents that every adult needs.
Recently, a letter from Jenny reminded me that we need to update the documents in our Estate Plan because they may now be out of date. For sure they are “out of state,” due to our relocation to Colorado.
Thankfully, we now have an option to do this ourselves—legally and properly—for a whole lot less than it cost decades ago.
Jenny writes: I’m 50, married and have two adult children. Our financial life is not complicated. I do not have a Will and know that I should. Can I put faith in a simple Will done by one of the large online companies or is it in my family’s best interest that I hire a lawyer? I have read your work for many years and appreciate your advice. Thank you. Jenny
Thank you for the trust you put in me, Jenny. That is something I value highly. My quick answer is that absolutely you need a Will plus four other documents as well. I have an online source to recommend to you which will help you do this yourself—a reputable legal help organization you can trust and without reservation.
Will this preclude the need to hire an attorney? It could, but I cannot advise you on that because every situation is different. What I can tell you is that you can do this yourself and be well protected now with all of your information and desires written down in proper legal order—and have that to take to an attorney if or when you find that necessary.
I really don’t know where I got the thing. It may have been a wedding gift. What I know is that I tried to use that cast iron skillet without success and I mean not even a little bit.
Food would become hopelessly stuck to it and burned beyond recognition. If it wasn’t turning out charred fare, it was growing a fine coat of rust.
Photo credit: WestChesterCycles c/o Flickr
In the interest of full disclosure, the shots above are not of my skillet. They are an apt depiction, however. Mine looked like all of the above. At the time, I wasn’t photographing my culinary disasters with hopes that one day I could share them with you.
Things got so bad, one day I threw that skillet and its sorry charred contents into the trash. What followed what a case of guilt that prompted me to dig it out, chiseled it down, put it through the dishwasher (the worst thing ever for cast iron) then banish it to the back of a closet.
Years later—OK decades—I pulled that skillet out of detention. I’d been learning that cast iron skillets are highly revered by experienced cooks. I was determined to take on the challenge of cast iron. I am proud to say I won that battle.
This skillet pictured below—now more than 40 years old—is the skillet I abused and which abused me right back. It has become one of my most prized possessions. All is forgiven and now my skillet and I have quite a thing going on.
All around the country, newly-minted high school graduates are heading off to college. They’ll be taking a lot of things with them, but financial literacy is not likely to be one of them.
If I could spend a little time with these awesome students, this is what I would attempt to cram into their heads, then pray that it penetrates their hearts:
A BUDGET IS YOUR FRIEND
That means you 1) have a written plan for how you are going to spend your money 2) you use that written plan like you would a road map, consulting it often and 3) you use a site like Mint.com or a pencil and paper to record how you spend every nickel. Sallie Mae has a monthly budget worksheet you can print out to help you estimate your costs and keep expenses under control. Do not attempt to do this “keeping track” thing in your head. You are amazing, but don’t push it 🙂
GET A FREE CHECKING ACCOUNT
It’s not easy these days to find free checking accounts with no strings attached—no monthly fee, no minimum balance requirement and no minimum deposit. But many banks such as US Bank, do offer free student accounts that fit this criterion. Explore banking options in the city where you will be attending school or find out if the bank or credit union that your parents already use offers free student accounts and has a branch near the college campus. Read more
© 2018 EverydayCheapskate.comLast week’s mail certainly proved my theory that we have the best expert community going on here at Everyday Cheapskate. Even better, we’re willing to share. As an added bonus, three of today’s tipsters included photos with their tips!
©2018 EverydayCheapskate.com
MICROWAVE CORN ON THE COB
I wish to share a sweet corn trick with you and your readers that allows one to cook fresh corn in the husk, in the microwave. I am including a few photos to demonstrate. Dick
- Cut through the husk right up to—not through—the cob at the stem end (where the ear was attached to the stalk), and all the way around.
- Microwave on high, 3 minutes per ear. Example, if you have two ears, microwave for 6 minutes.
- Remove from microwave carefully, then grasp and pull the corn right out of the husks.
- No muss, no hairy corn silk!
INSTANT POT CORN-ON-THE-COB
Preparing fresh corn on the cob is quick and easy in an Instant Pot. Pour one cup cold water in the pressure cooker. Set the trivet in place, then place four ears of shucked and cleaned fresh corn-on-the-cob on the trivet. Close the lid and cook at High Pressure for 2 minutes no matter how many ears you are cooking. Turn off the heat and Quick Release. Open the lid carefully. Serve immediately with butter. Fresh corn- on-the-cob comes out perfect every time! Rob
I have to admit to being a bit of a gadget freak. I’m drawn to tools and devices that do cool things. And when I discover “cool” includes being a money saver, for me that turns a purchase into an investment with a guaranteed rate of return.
Here’s a list of eleven gadgets, tools and items I’ve found that can save a lot of money and generally recoup the cost in less than a year. That time frame will vary depending on your specific situation. Your mileage may vary.
You can count on this: Once you’ve recouped the purchase price, these items will continue to save you money—for free!
PROGRAMMABLE THERMOSTAT
If you have a central heat and air conditioning system, you need a programmable thermostat. There are less expensive options available, but a high quality programmable thermostat like the Nest Programmable Thermostat will result in very precise temperature control. You can program it (easy) to automatically lower your air conditioning and/or heat use while you’re not home. Just set it and then forget about it; Nest will automatically adjust things for you so that you aren’t wasting expensive electricity—without any noticeable changes for you and your family.
With just a few manual adjustments, the Nest Thermostat can learn your habits and immediately start saving you money by automatically adjusting the temperature. Nest works with Alexa, which means you have voice control capability as well as the ability to control Nest from your smartphone. Used well, Nest can easily return its cost to you in the first year—making the annual savings free from then on. About $215.
123rf.comOver the years, I have learned an important lesson about getting the best deals on just about everything. Extreme bargain hunters have something in common: timing. No matter what they’re trying to save on, they’ve got it down to a science, knowing specific days (and even the exact time of day) when a bargain is at its best.
I’ve had the privilege of interviewing some of the tops experts in their fields (love my job), and oh, what I learned. I’ve tested these secrets and they’re for real.
Want to save like an expert? Learn these deal-hunting secrets.
Hotel Rooms
Best time to book a room? 4 p.m. local time on a Sunday, says CBS News travel editor Peter Greenberg. Calling then can save you significantly, but the process can be tricky. Forget everything you think you know and follow these steps:
1. Call the hotel’s local direct line, not the 800 number. The 800 number will connect you to a clearinghouse that books rooms for hundreds of locations. “The people who answer those phones don’t have the power to give you a better deal,” says Greenberg. Look up the local phone number for that hotel location.
2. Don’t ask to speak with Reservations—that will only get you routed back through to the 800-number clearinghouse. Instead, ask to speak to the manager on duty at the specific location. He has the authority to negotiate rates.
3. Be courteous. Tell the manager that you’re shopping for a great room rate during a specific week, followed by, “What can you do for me?” If you feel hesitant, think of yourself as a valuable commodity. After all, you want to take an unsold room out of inventory.
4. Say thank you and bask in your good fortune.
Air Travel
There’s nothing more confusing and frustrating than buying plane tickets. One day you check ticket prices and think, Maybe I can get them cheaper if I wait. A few days later you check again—and the same seats have jumped $100 each. Arrgh! So how do you know when to buy?
Encouragement. For me it is a basic need or perhaps a character flaw, I’m not quite sure. All I know is that I need encouragement, and I need it often.
I have a feeling that you do, too.
This matter of learning how to manage money, living below our means, and getting out of debt can be a very discouraging proposition at times.
I want to be one of the encouragers in your life—someone you can count on to cheer you on in the good times and help dust you off so you can get up and back on track during the bad times.
And just like that, it’s August and peach season. That’s a big deal where I live in northern Colorado. We love peaches!
Soon we’ll be enjoying Peach Street Fairs, Palisade Peach Festivals; peaches piled high in every store’s produce department and featured on nearly every restaurant’s menu.
FREESTONE OR CLING?
While there are many varieties of peaches, basically there are two types: If a peach is “freestone” it means the stone falls right off of the flesh when it’s cut. A “clingstone” will stick to the pit.
Freestones are larger, juicier, sweeter and easier to work with in the kitchen since the pit pops right out of a ripe peach. Many store-bought yellow and white peaches fall into this category. One of the most famous is the Georgia peach.
Clingstone peaches—peaches that are harder to pit because the pit firmly adheres to the flesh—are mostly used for canning.
Fresh peaches are available nationwide starting in late July until the first or second week of September.
It’s still summer, but not too early to start planning for Christmas. If you’re ready to make this year a debt-free Christmas, I’ve got three very useful ways to find the extra cash you’ll need to do that.
Time is of the essence because Christmas will be here before we know it!
Rather than choose one of the following options, I suggest you consider doing all three. Don’t let that intimidate you. And don’t worry about having to start up a side business or make any kind of upfront investment, either. The options that follow are all free and require nothing but your spare time to begin racking up extra cash.
SWAGBUCKS
Swagbucks is an online rewards program that gives users points (“Swag Bucks,” or SBs) for various tasks—100 points = $1.00. Points can be traded in for eGift cards for more than 1,500 popular merchants like Amazon, Target, Starbucks and Walmart. Don’t want gift cards? Redeem your points for cold, hard cash via PayPal.
Swagbucks rewards members for the everyday things they already do online like shopping, answering surveys and polls, watching entertaining videos, discovering videos, searching the web and even playing games.
Members can earn SBs using the mobile app and from their computers.
To get started, create your free Swagbucks account. Once verified (you’ll get a verification email message) you’ll get your first 5 SBs. Then take a quick survey or watch a 5-minute video. The opportunities to earn SBs will be endless. Do as little or as much as you want.
Swagbucks is super easy to use and you’ll be amazed how quickly you can earn SBs. We have EC readers who earn hundreds of dollars every year that they earmark for Christmas shopping!