My Biggest Tip

12 years ago

My biggest money saving tip is this: Check your Public Library. I visit mine about once a week. I sit in a comfy chair and read the latest newspapers and magazines. Also books according to my interests/problems at the time. My Library also sponsors classes (Using Ebay, Computers, Yoga,etc) as well as bus trips to local gambling casinos, Christmas shopping in New York City, museum and garden tours. Events are free or reasonable (Yoga is $6 for a one hour class, bus tour is $24).They have events for everyone from pre-schoolers to Seniors. A great money-saver. There's NO WAY I would drive to New York City on my own. I'm afraid of traffic and would have no idea where to park, etc.

Comments (14)

Lab399
12 years ago
I whole-heartedly agree. Our local lib has free DVD rentals - books on tape/CD too. Also great place for my 9-month old to play, crawl, and watch other kids in the children's library not to mention the programs for kids. I hope yours is as great as ours!
grainlady_ks
12 years ago
The library is also a great place to volunteer. -Grainlady
Related Discussions
Pond Tips for all --,newbee's & seasoned ponders alike.
Q
Comments (9)
I love your BD cleaning tips Joan. It won't work for me because of the dome but it is a great tip for those who can remove the dome or don't have a dome. One of the best tips I have is to know your source water. If you use city water look up the city water reports. My city tests the water yearly and I found out the water is high in phosphates. High in phosphates means high algae so this report was valuable and I cut down the frequency of water changes. Next- Do not underestimate the importance of veggie filtration. You can add watercress, WC, and many other plants in your pond, in floating planters, and in your filters or filter ponds that will help keep your pond crystal clear. Have tree whirlybirds but no skimmer? Use a garden hose to move them to one section of the pond and then use a leaf skimmer remove them. No bottom drain, no pond vacuum and a mucky pond bottom? Take a debris handling pump, hang it by a rope and go over the bottom of the pond with it. Stir the bottom up a little with a net to get the debris moving a little as you pump the muckiness out. Need pond shade and want pond plants without using shelves or plants that sit on the bottom of the pond? Look up floating planters. Easiest floating planter in the world is to take a piece of styrofoam from Home Depot or Lowes- paint it black, cut holes to fit your annual pots and place pots inside the hole. Viola! Cheap floating planter. Can't make a waterfall to save your life? Take the discharge pipe from your pump- put a 90 degree elbow on it place on edge of pond over a spill rock. Plant a creeping juniper or plant, vine or tree that hangs over the pipe and hides the discharge pipe. Very natural looking without the fuss. These are some of my tips from years of ponding. Right now my set up includes skimmer with UV light, bottom drain, settling pond, and large veggie filter. Maintenance is very easy but even without the bells and whistles you can still keep a clear pond. Most important- build it as big as you can. When you can use it as a swimming pool you have met your goal. lol Lisa
...See More
Generic Canning Tips & Tricks
Q
Comments (28)
Cruising around the Internet last night, I found some interesting links on a couple of Extension sites: Canning Tips from Clemson 11 Years Worth of Monthly Newsletters from Kansas State University (some, but not all, applicable to home preserving) Learning Modules (Flash Based) for Canning and Preserving from the University of Alaska-Fairbanks Some interesting and fun reads. I was surprised about this one from the June 2014 newsletter published by KSU: Canning Previously Frozen Tomatoes "Recommendations for home canning tomatoes are developed using fresh food. The processing procedures are specific to the fresh food characteristics. There are cases, however, when the home canner does not have enough tomatoes to justify a canning session. So the tomatoes are frozen for later use. So are they safe to can after freezing? Frozen tomatoes could pack into jars differently than freshly prepared tomatoes and cause overfilling of jars since they are softer when thawed. Overfilling can result in under-processing (and therefore possible spoilage on the shelf) and possibly under-acidification with more tomatoes in the jar than expected. Process times are dependent on food being prepared as described in the preparation steps printed with the time. The best recommendation is to use these tomatoes in something that is well cooked like stewed or crushed tomatoes. The only way to consider doing this with tomatoes is to freeze the tomatoes for a very short time of just a few weeks at most, without any other added liquid or ingredients. Then when you have enough, thaw them completely and use all the tomatoes and their juices in the pack to make the crushed tomatoes with the hot pack method." Source: Dr. Elizabeth Andress, University of Georgia
...See More
My biggest money saving tips
Q
Comments (36)
Car with standard transmission uses about 5 - possibly 10% less fuel. Skilfully done, car drivers can save even more. When you see a traffic signal turn yellow ahead - there's no law that says that you have to keep your foot continuing to push on the throttle! Then hit the brake, about a hundred feet from the intersection. Foot off of the throttle: coast toward the light. If you know it fairly well, you may be able to arrange to arrive close to the last car in the line just as it starts to move forward, and it takes less fuel to increase the speed while rolling that to start rolling from a standing stop. I often push in the clutch and turn off the ignition when I see a light go yellow ahead ... and can often manage to keep the car rolling as I approach a red light when it turns to green. Some say that coasting with the engine off is illegal in their jurisdiction, so best check with the legal people before you try that: the police here say that I am to be in charge of my vehicle at all times. No jack-rabbit starts when the light turns green, either. Try to arrange to travel with a friend driving a car that tells immediate fuel economy levels, get him to make a jack-rabbit start from a light that just turned green - and see your jaw drop as you see what mileage per gallon is being obtained at that point. Try to drive as closely as possible to the same speed, and a few miles/kms. per hour under the speed limit ... but not so far under as to be a hazard to the free flow of traffic. That's made easier by leaving a cushion of space between you and the car ahead ... and try not to get too incensed when other drivers pull into that hole in your lane, stealing your cushion. ole joyful
...See More
Menopause, Weight Loss and Overcoming Other Symptoms
Q
Comments (0)
I noticed a lot of the forum posts were talking about menopause symptoms ranging from night sweats, hot flushes, irritability, moods, body aches, bloating and weight management issues. So I wanted to post up some information that you all might find helpful regarding some basic steps to help overcome those symptoms especially weight gain/ weight loss issues. In my studies with women going through all forms of Menopause (pre, peri, full, post) I have found that there is an over hyphened focus on hormone replacement therapy (HRT) or other forms of medication to treat the symptoms women are going through. However what I have discovered through working with women from all ages and menopause stages is that a lot of these practices can be avoided or delayed if you apply the below health steps into place. I am not saying that women going through menopause don't need HRT or medication, but what I am saying is the majority almost 93% of the women I see can avoid it through first making the following health adjustments. Adjustment to their basic nutrition Adjustment to their lifestyle Adjustment to their stress management Adjustment to their activity levels These adjustments don't have to be major, however even the slightest adjustment in all of these areas will have an immediate effect of dropping your symptoms by 60%. Through implementing planned adjustments in these areas you can eliminate 100% of the felt symptoms of menopause including weight related issues. I have seen and helped a lot of women who have felt hopeless to lose weight due to age and being in menopause, drop 5kg in 6 weeks through "holistically" focusing on the 4 areas. A study was done relating to how body weight/ being overweight can be directly related to hot flushes and that in losing weight even slightly the symptoms decreased. This has to do with 1) losing weight makes your body healthier 2) the process of losing weight means you are actioning healthier habits. So my biggest tip for most women going through menopause (not all) who want to lose weight and eliminate felt symptoms is to implement some changes in the above 4 areas of your life and if you feel your weight might be an issue make some small changes at lowering it and you will notice your symptoms will also slowly become controllable. I know weight loss and weight management is a struggle a lot of women going though menopause face, so here is a great facebook group focused on helping women going through menopause lose weight. It provides great advice, tips and answers tough weight related questions. It's called Menopause and Weight Loss Australia https://www.facebook.com/groups/638415073016681/
...See More
kirkhall
12 years ago
Library is a GREAT resource, but I don't think I would include trips to local gambling casinos as a money saving tip... :-/
LuAnn_in_PA
12 years ago
Agreed!
neesie
12 years ago
A few years ago our county library started offering passes to local museums. There is a limit to two passes per museum with about a dozen museums participating. Some of the museums charge in the neighborhood of $15 for one adult so this is a significant savings.
miscindy
12 years ago
I do love the library! However, since I live in a very small community I only have 2 small libraries to choose from and they do not have very long hours. The large libraries in town charge an annual fee if you don't live in their tax-paying area. Anyway, my husband suprised me with an Android Tablet a few months ago (used a $100 rewards card from our debit card to get a good price), so now I use the digital library whenever I like! I can "browse" at 11 pm in my pj's and download available books instantly for free! I love books, but I only purchase reference books since I rarely read novels more than once!
joyfulguy
11 years ago
Stuck my finger into a (rare) pay phone the other day ...

... pulled out a Loonie ($1.00 coin - and that's Canadian)!

o j
katlan
11 years ago
When I was growing up, and there was no such thing as cell phones, computers, etc., I didn't pass a pay phone without checking it for left behind change!

Thanks OJ, nice memory.
ilene_in_neok
11 years ago
You can also use the computers in your local library. If you want to print something, that can be expensive. Some things, though, you can copy the text and paste into an e-mail and send it to yourself at home, if you have an e-mail address that can be accessed online. Genealogy is one of my hobbies and I can access Ancestry.com through my library, saving the expense of buying membership for my home computer. My library also has a website where I can enter my library card number and access their card catalog and certain other databases from my home computer.
joyfulguy
11 years ago
Some local libraries charge 10 cents per page ...

... but in my municipal system, one can print up to ten pages from computer/internet per visit free ... then it costs 10 cents per page.

Photocopying is 10 cents per page.

ole joyful
tripletmom83
11 years ago
My library has a magazine exchange, I never purchase new mags anymore because they show up there sooner or later. I just bring them back when I'm done. Also, they have an ongoing used book sale. I only purchase reference or cookbooks but they are often like new and about 1 or 2 bucks.
ChrisMarry
11 years ago
Library is a great place.
jannie
Original Author
11 years ago
I still stand by my suggestion of visiting your library for great free or low-cost lectures and programs. My library does run casino trips, but I'm not much of a gambler. I bring one roll of quarters (ten bucks), play the slots till my money is gone, then quit. I go walking and sight-seeing, enjoy the food buffets, etc. No need to lose a lot of money to have fun.
ChristopherMarry
11 years ago
If you want to print something, that can be expensive. Some things, though, you can copy the text and paste into an e-mail and send it to yourself at home, if you have an e-mail address that can be accessed online.

My Biggest Tip

Comments (14)

Lab399

grainlady_ks

Related Discussions

kirkhall

LuAnn_in_PA

neesie

miscindy

joyfulguy

katlan

ilene_in_neok

joyfulguy

tripletmom83

ChrisMarry

jannie
Original Author

ChristopherMarry

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

My Biggest Tip

Comments (14)

Related Discussions

jannieOriginal Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

jannie
Original Author