Thrifty Tips #8 and #9

These Thrifty Tips come directly from my mom, the master of money saving.

Cheers!

#8.  Christmas Gift Tags - Keep all the Christmas cards you get.  If there is no writing on the cover, cut it off, punch a hole and tie it to a gift.  Write the recipients name on the blank side.  Makes presents look super cute!

 

 #9.  Beauty Spoons - tired of leaving some of your favorite (or expensive) lotion, shampoo, make-up in the container because you can't get it out?  Me too. I can't think a more annoying waster of money.  Well, my mom likes to practically lick her containers clean to get every last drop.  To help her with this, she bought Beauty Spoons!  They are spatulas designed to go into your bottles and scoop out your product when you can't get to it.  Um, love!

Thrifty Tip #6 and 7 (Vinegar Edition)

If you have spent some time on Pinterest, you probably learned that there is pretty much nothing that plain old vinegar can't do.  It cleans, it cooks, it dissolves rust...the list is endless.  Here are my two favorite uses that have saved us the most money.

#6.  You can use white vinegar to get rid of toe fungus.  I did a lot of research when I got a weird looking big toe a year and a half ago.  There is a prescription drug that's supposed to clear it up, but the side effect is a possible damaged liver.  And from what people said, it didn't even work.  So, save your liver and your wallet and go get a $0.99 bottle of white vinegar from the grocery store, apply to the effected toe twice a day WITHOUT FAIL, until the toe nail grows out (about a year).  Its a long process, but it really works.  I promise.  You just need patience and determination.


#7.  If you ever get Pantry Moths, vinegar is going to be one of many weapons of choice to eliminate the little buggers.  I recommend going to your local hardware store and buying the traps (be warned, they are pricey).  These will kill the moths that are flying around.  But to get rid of the invisible eggs and the cocoons, wipe your whole pantry down with some diluted vinegar, let it sit for a couple minutes, then follow up with some water.  This should kill anything that might be wanting to show up in the coming months.

Cheers! 

Thrifty Tips #4 and 5 (Dog Edition)

Hey there dog lovers!  Our furry babies are part of the family, and when a family goes on a budget, they don't have to be excluded.  Everyone needs to pitch in, right?  :)

I was recently told that there are a lot of things that we buy for our pets that we can make ourselves.  My mom told me about a DIY flea spray and itchy skin bath that she learned about watching her favorite PBS show, Deals.  I haven't tried them yet, but they are on my radar...

Here are some of the things that work with our dogs.  Try them out and see if they work for yours.  Cheers!

#4.  Milkbones can be pricey.  Everyone likes a treat now and then and dogs are no different.  But since it IS a cookie, stretch the box even farther (and healthier for your dog) by breaking a milkbone in half.  Chances are, your dogs will just be happy with the treat, regardless of size.

#5.  We've recently discovered that "treat" has many meanings to a dog.  For training, you can use a piece of dog food as a treat.  Our dogs really like ice cubes.  Ices cubes have now become a inexhaustible treat source that is practically free and they can have as many as they want.  Ice cubes also help them get some water when they are too tired to go their bowl after a walk.

Thrifty Tips #1-3

New segment on Kendi Haus:  money-saving tips we have figured out, heard about, like, don't like, etc.  Hope this will be enlightening to all of you that work hard for your money, and hate to throw it away.

#1.  Most of the time, block cheese is cheaper than shredded cheese.  So, we just buy the block cheese and shred it ourselves.  It's visually more appealing than the shredded because it doesn't have that anti-caking chemical they add (WTH is that anyway?!).  Because of this, it clumps together.  But that's easy to work around.

#2.  When milk is close to its expiration date and we aren't going to use it all, we freeze it in an ice cube try.  Each cube is equivalent to one ounce.  This is really handy for buttermilk, which is pricey (we have a great pancake recipe that uses buttermilk).

#3.  We make great chicken noodle soup over here in the Haus of Kendi.  Recently, we did the math and found out that if you buy the jar of bouillon, it is significantly cheaper than buying the cans of chicken broth.  The jar makes about 10 cups for half the price.  And you can get it in the low sodium version (which we prefer) which really saves you moola.

Cheers!