Drastic times call for drastic measures. We all know there are little things we can do to tighten our belts. Whether it's heating your home or entertaining your children, there is always an alternative way to please your family and pinch your pennies! Here are a few sage words of advice from Carla Emery, as well as two great ways to entertain your kids using household ingredients:
How to Pinch a Penny
- Don't buy anything new if you can help it. Write what you need on a list, and then watch and wait. You probably don't need it all anyway.
- Never buy on impulse. Buy only what's on your list. If you see something you like, go home and think about it. If it was really that good, you can put it on next month's list.
- Attend auctions and yard sales; go to secondhand stores. If you can't find a bargain, wait.
- Buy out of season; for animals, that's fall, because everybody is trying to buy them in the spring, when the grass is bursting out all over, but people don't want the expense and bother of feeding and caring for them through winter. It's winter, too, for gardening and farming equipment. In the summer, hunt for stoves and heaters and your winter fuel supply.
- Buy your vehicles used enough to be a bargain but not old enough to be constantly breaking down. Shop auto junkyards for used parts when you have breakdowns. Then don't risk that precious heap with cross-country adventures.
- Entertain at home instead of going out.
1. Homemade Silly Putty
Combine 1 c. liquid starch with 2 c. white all-purpose glue. Mix well. Store airtight (zip top bag or jar with tight lid).
2. Great Bubbles Recipe
Combine 1⁄3 c. baby shampoo, 11⁄4 c. water, 3 t. sugar, and blow! Optional: Add food coloring. Dip a wire loop with a handle into bubble solution and blow! Or blow through a pipe cleaner shaped into a bubble loop, or a slotted spoon.
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