Everyday Cheapskate - Mary Hunt's Everyday Cheapskate

How to Remove Yellow Sweat Stains—It Really Works!

Yellow armpit stains on white shirts are a problem if my inbox is any indication, which I believe it is. And I’ve been avoiding the subject because honestly, it’s kinda’ gross.

I can’t begin to estimate how many email messages I’ve received asking for help with getting rid of these stains, but it’s a lot. And now it’s time. Today we’re hitting this topic head-on.

What are these stains?

Curious, isn’t it that ugly yellow stains show up only in the armpit area? Left untreated, these stains can cause the material to become stiff as if just being yellow isn’t disgusting enough. And crunchy.

January 16, 2019/0 Comments/by Mary Hunt

Home & Family, Tips

Quick and Easy Tips to Slash Your Home Heating Costs

If I told you there are some really sneaky ways you can cut the cost to heat your home that won’t require wearing a parka 24/7, would I have your attention? Well, get ready, because that’s exactly what I have for you today.

These easy tips could cut your heating bill by 20 percent or more, and none require more than 30 minutes of work. You will need to purchase a few inexpensive supplies, all of which are readily available online or at your local home improvement center. But don’t worry—you will quickly recoup those costs in lower heating bills.

Replace worn weatherstripping

Open an outside door and look at that piece of “plastic molding” or strip of foam rubber that runs across the top and down both sides of doors and all the way around windows—designed to seal the air gap once closed. Is it torn, shredded, missing or otherwise not doing its job? Replace as necessary wherever it is allowing small drafts.

Weatherstripping available online or at any home center comes with sticky-back adhesive which makes it a cinch to install. HERE is a 5-minute video that shows exactly how to do this. Easy!

Door thresholds

Look under your front door and any other outside doors. See any daylight? That’s where precious warmed air is being sucked out into the cold. You may be able to adjust the threshold to close this gap. Look for four or five screws that when loosened will allow you to adjust the threshold height.

If that doesn’t work, you may need to replace it in order to get rid of all daylight. Watch this really helpful video. Read more

January 15, 2019/0 Comments/by Mary Hunt

Food & Recipes, Home & Family

7 Ways to Get Out of the Supermarket Without Overspending

Have you noticed? The cost of food is once again soaring. In fact, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported last week that inflationary food prices are going up at nearly double the uptick seen last year.

This is not the first time in this column that we’ve visited the subject of how to get out of the supermarket with at least some money left in your bank account. Still, who doesn’t need an occasional reminder—a mental tune-up—to remain vigilant and razor-sharp when it comes to making our food dollars stretch until they scream.

1. Don’t go in hungry

You believe that you can simply dash in to pick up the infamous few things. But if you’re starving, you’re a dead aim for a couple of steaks and a load of snacks. You know what I’m talking about. This is because anything can happen when you are hungry.

2. Don’t try to remember

Sure, playing Brain Age on your kids’ Nintendo Switch has revitalized your dead brain cells, rendering you the mental acuity of a youngster—but don’t push it. Without a list of the exact items you’ve come to purchase, who knows what could happen? It’s normal for our brains to slip into neutral in the face of fabulous food. A written list is the crutch you need desperately to make sure you do not slip and fall, so to speak. Know before you go.

Hint: Go to your supermarket’s website where you can see its weekly sales flyer as well as the entire contents of the store. It’s easier to make your list at home away from all of the marketing ploys of a typical supermarket. Use the search function to find the exact brand, size and price for each item on your list.

3. Don’t pay full price

Here’s the Golden Rule of Groceries: Eat the sales. Don’t put anything in your basket that is not on sale. If it’s not on sale this week, it will be next or soon enough. If chicken is the loss leader this week, don’t plan meals around beef. And when that happens, try to buy enough chicken to last until the next time it’s on sale. You may need to stop being so brand loyal. Typical supermarkets and grocery stores work on a 12-week rotation. That means everything will be on sale at least once every three months.

Hint: Consider the sales in several stores.

January 14, 2019/0 Comments/by Mary Hunt

Home & Family, Mary's Life

Help For The Organizationally Challenged—Plus a GIVEAWAY!

Basement, garage, clutter, rummage, junk pile, storage area, mess

Have you caught an episode of Marie Kondo’s new binge-worthy Netflix series, Tidying Up? It debuted on Jan. 1, and I’m kinda’ obsessed.

My husband and I have a huge task ahead as he’s getting ready to finish our basement. Right now? It looks more like a horribly organized storage unit coming soon to an episode of Hoarders than the beautiful new living space I see on his plans.

vintage rummage junk pile storage area mess.

No this is not my basement; it could be but mine is not nearly this organized!

Getting organized is like dieting. Everyone knows how to do it. The problem is getting around to it and then maintaining the results.

January 13, 2019/0 Comments/by Mary Hunt

Giveaways, Home & Family

Nok-Out Giveaway! 4 Winners Nok-Out and SNiPER!

I am so excited to announce a new GIVEAWAY—our biggest and best, yet!

You have to know by now how much I love Nok-Out and its companion SNiPER Disinfectant. We’re giving away a lot of it!

If you’ve never tried Nok-Out, prepare to be, well, knocked-out by its ability to truly eliminate odors without fragrance, toxic chemicals, colors that stain or anything else that makes your typical grocery-store room fresheners troublesome.

Nok-Out is the only product I know of that truly eliminates odors, not just attempts to cover them up, and leaves absolutely no odor of its own!

Nok-Out is not toxic and absolutely safe in the kitchen and around humans and pets. Read more below.

SNiPER^® Disinfectant is the big daddy in the product line up at Nokout.com. And just in time for what we’re hearing is going to be a terrible flu season! EPA registered and certified, SNiPER kills on contact Salmonella enterica, Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Swine Influenza virus, Type A (H1N1), and Canine Parvovirus. More below.

Prizes

And now for the prizes!

First Prize: One Gallon Nok-Out and Solo Hand Sprayer

Second Prize: One Gallon SNiPER and Solo Hand Sprayer

Third Prize: One Quart each Nok-Out and SNiPER

Fourth Prize: One Quart each Nok-Out and SNiPER

How to Enter

There are Four Prizes in this Giveaway. To enter, drop your name and address in the form below. You will be instructed to leave a comment, but that is totally optional. You can skip that and still be in the contest—or scroll to the bottom and leave a comment in the comments area if you want to share some love ❤️ 🤗.

January 12, 2019/0 Comments/by Mary Hunt

Food & Recipes

Muffins So Amazing, They’re Insane!

I love to bake, however, baking has not always been fond of me. We’ve had our moments. It wasn’t until I surrendered to following recipes exactly that our relationship made the turn.

I had to come to the point that I was willing to measure the ingredients, follow directions and believe that little things like “folding in” does not mean “beating it to death,” “one-cup of flour” doesn’t mean, “that looks about right,” and “butter softened,” does not mean “boiling like a witch’s cauldron.”

One day, I was reminded about how far I’ve come as a home baker when one of my staff could be heard throughout the office, “These blueberry muffins are insane!” I just smiled, choosing not to confess to how easy they are to make—cheap too, at about 25 cents each. Compare that to my local Panera Bread drive-thru where Blueberry Muffins are $2.79 each—$33.48 a dozen. That’s what I call insane!

Back to the office muffins. Sure, Max called them blueberry muffins, but I call them Einstein Muffins. That’s because every time I make them, I feel like a genius. You can feel like a genius, too—provided you follow these recipes exactly. Read more

January 11, 2019/0 Comments/by Mary Hunt

Home & Family

11 Everyday Uses for Nok-Out—the World’s Best Odor Eliminator

Nok-Out and I met quite by accident. While searching for ways to deal with offensive odors—that musty smell of an old book or the stench of pet urine—we found each other online. Twenty years later I’m still convinced that there’s just nothing else like an amazing product called Nok-Out.

Nok-Out eliminates odors scientifically through a process known as oxidation. It is completely non-toxic, contains no chemicals or fragrance and no odor of its own. It is safe to use in the kitchen and around children because it is harmless to humans and animals.

I’ve used Nok-Out and now its companion SNiPER continuously in my home since then and have recommended it to readers facing serious and potentially expensive odor issues. Thousands of people have reported back how Nok-Out has saved the day on more than a few occasions!

In the beginning, I hoarded my precious gallon of Nok-Out, somehow assuming that I must save it for serious, super smelly situations.

After all, one just never knows when oh, let’s say a skunk might wander into the house, become startled and then do what skunks are known to do. Or the power goes out while you’re on vacation and the freezer turns into a big nasty garbage dump. Or pet odors, sick rooms, mold and mildew and any number of other smelly situations.

January 10, 2019/0 Comments/by Mary Hunt

Best Inexpensive, Home & Family

A New Name for Our Best Inexpensive Cordless Stick Vacuum

I’ve got news! But first a little story.

Faithful readers know that in my spare time, I love to knit. And I when I say love, let’s just say I’m a serious knitter. Don’t mess with my yarn.

Running out of yarn is every knitter’s fear. For me, it’s more of a nightmare. It’s that time that I ran out of yarn with one sweater sleeve still to go. No problem, I thought. I’ll just go back to the yarn shop and pick up what I need to finish.

That’s when I came face to face with the dreaded word, “Discontinued.” My heart sank. Apparently, I’d waited a year or two too long to get this project on the needles and finished. There wasn’t a scrap of the exact yarn I needed anywhere on the planet. I checked. Read more

January 9, 2019/0 Comments/by Mary Hunt

Automobiles, Cleaning, Dear Mary

Ask Me Anything: Upside Down in a Car Loan, Plastic in the Oven and More

I love my overflowing inbox filled with questions from my dear readers. What I don’t love is not being able to respond personally to each and every one!

So today, rather than trying to decide which ones to answer, how about I just reach in and let’s see what comes out.

Upside Down in a Durango

Dear Mary: I have a Dodge Durango gas guzzler and I owe way too much money on it. If I sell the vehicle outright, I could probably squeak by ending up just $5,000 in the hole. If I trade it in, I would be about $9,000 in the hole.

I could put the shortfall on a credit card, but I know that is a bad idea for so many reasons. What should I do to pay the difference?

We have an old pick-up truck and an older Subaru that will be okay for now, but how do I get out of the loan and the Durango? And how can I sell it to someone when I don’t have a clear title? Any help will be appreciated. Linda

Dear Linda: There’s no perfect solution here, but here’s a plan that might work:

January 8, 2019/0 Comments/by Mary Hunt

Mary's Life, Money and Finances

Your Best Money Year Ever

For years (and years), I lived under a dark cloud of worry that I would end up financially destitute—a bag lady, all alone living under a bridge.

A study conducted by Harris Interactive for Allianz Insurance Group reveals that I’m not the only one. In fact, most of us have felt that way, not because we’re broke, but because we don’t have confidence when it comes to managing our money. That makes us timid, worried and financially insecure.

We don’t have to accept financial insecurity as some kind of life sentence. And that constant and gnawing fear of becoming destitute? Forget it! We can do something about this.

Financial confidence is a choice. It’s a matter of changing bad habits and choosing to learn simple financial principles. Then by consciously applying them over and over again, those principles will become automatic responses—financial habits.

Are you ready to make 2019 your best money year ever? Here are four simple things you can do starting today to improve your financial confidence—and take control of your money.

January 7, 2019/0 Comments/by Mary Hunt

Photocopying or reproduction other than for subscribers’ personal use is strictly prohibited without written permission from the publisher, DPL Press, Inc. Everyday Cheapskate, Debt-Proof Living, Cheapskate Monthly, Tiptionary, Rapid Debt-Repayment Plan, Rapid Debt-Repayment Plan Calculator, Freedom Account, Live the Plan! and 7 Money Rules for Life are trademarks owned by Mary Hunt.All letters, tips and other materials and correspondence submitted to Everyday Cheapskate, Debt-Proof Living and Mary Hunt become the property of Mary Hunt and all rights thereto including copyrights.

Submitters grant the exclusive right to use and or reproduce the materials in any manner and for any purpose. All information published is taken from the most reliable sources possible and given as information only. All specific financial, legal, tax and accounting situations should be referred to appropriate legal or accounting professionals.

How to Remove Yellow Sweat Stains—It Really Works!

What are these stains?

Quick and Easy Tips to Slash Your Home Heating Costs

Replace worn weatherstripping

Door thresholds

7 Ways to Get Out of the Supermarket Without Overspending

1. Don’t go in hungry

2. Don’t try to remember

3. Don’t pay full price

Help For The Organizationally Challenged—Plus a GIVEAWAY!

Nok-Out Giveaway! 4 Winners Nok-Out and SNiPER!

Prizes

How to Enter

Muffins So Amazing, They’re Insane!

11 Everyday Uses for Nok-Out—the World’s Best Odor Eliminator

A New Name for Our Best Inexpensive Cordless Stick Vacuum

Ask Me Anything: Upside Down in a Car Loan, Plastic in the Oven and More

Upside Down in a Durango

Your Best Money Year Ever

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What are these stains?

Replace worn weatherstripping

Door thresholds

1. Don’t go in hungry

2. Don’t try to remember

3. Don’t pay full price

Prizes

How to Enter

Upside Down in a Durango

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