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Money Saving Tips

I saved $1,000s!

15 years ago

Instead of sending a Holiday card to each person who has posted money-saving ideas that have helped me, I decided to wish you all very happy holidays here on the forum and save 1,000s of dollars in cards and postage. So, have a Merry Christmas and a very happy and frugal New Year!

Comments (5)

lexi7
15 years ago
What a savings LOL

Merry Christmas and Happy Healthy New Year to everyone.
God Bless You
Lexi
ilene_in_neok
15 years ago
Blessings and Joy to all from Oklahoma! --Ilene
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I fear the worst :-( I hope I can save this! Rotting?
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So in a sense is that article saying this is still somewhat a form of M. elongata? Kind of but.... In a nut shell the article tells us that your plant isn't a Mam. when under the plant ID microscope Meaning. .... it only looked like Elongata to me and as you said it may of been called a Sp.type of Elongata back in the earlier days of cacti naming could be reason why Rose also left a proper ID. The article explains more modern tools where used and who used them to properly ID and classify your named cacti and some others where found to have the same DNA as yours. It also explained the DNA structure of certain plants AND of your plant Sp. In DNA comparison to yours are to different for either M. elongata and yours to both be the same Sp of cacti. It is required to show/ explain the written proof amongst colleges but they dont need to show and tell ALL of us the DNA of any plant. Article also tells us that DNA is different enough to give any plant under the ID microscope warrants a true and then realistically ID or name. Then I go on at babbling about how many cacti get new names so fast it's hard to keep track of them all and they still continue to confuse us as fast as they can... Meaning I cant wait for ALL plants to have bar codding either. Until then.... Rose who still wears the GW cacti and succulent ID crown also shares some brief and IMO good information via another internet forum style webb site. No doubt we love yah at Arid Lands Tony but it is hard to be here and there. Mike M. drops in to say what may of happened to your now properly named cati more clearly.... And then.. just now is when the cat jumps off my lap... Budget or not. Thinks it's fair enough to use/loose a plant or two to let us use our own common scene. Not only would some learn more, they'd also learn it faster .. I'm not at all sure what a commercially massed produced water meter suggestion is for either.
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I want to save my own seeds for Winter Sowing....how do I do it?
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Hibiscus Seed Capsules Seed saving is a lot of fun and it's easy to do! This is how I do it....and these are general and universal instructions. Mother Nature is pretty easy to figure out if we keep with the idea that SHE needs to keep it simple too. Take a good look at a flower. When the flower fades leave it where it is, do not remove it. Eventually at the base of the flower there will be some swelling. This is where the seeds are forming. Do keep the petals where they are and let them fall naturally...I don't touch it or bother it, I just leave it be. The base of the flower will swell even more and soon you'll notice that the flower stem and the swollen base are turning a papery-brown. This is a very good indication that the seeds are almost fully ripe....in effect the plant has achieved it's goal of reproduction for that flower...it has produced viable seeds and no longer needs to expend energy to keep it alive, so it doesn't sends it's sugars and water up to the stem anymore. That's why it's turning papery-brown. It's no longer being supplied with nutrients and so it's dying back. The drying action will continue and as the swollen pod continues to dry you will see it start to open....some pods will open in a starry design, plants like poppies create a ridge of tiny little circles near the top of the pod....they make themselves into something like a little "salt-shaker" (sorta...but you could imagine it.) All flower pods will open in some manner when the seeds are ripe....it's so they can disperse their seeds. When you see that the pods and stems are both brownish in color, AND you notice that the pods are starting to open you can then collect the pods. I place the pods on an open plate or in open bowls in a safe place where they won't be disturbed and let them continue to dry naturally for another week or two. Then I remove the seeds from them. To assure that the seeds are thoroughly dry I let them dry on an open plate for a few more days...I even will stir them every now and then to make sure the bottom layers will get a chance to dry too. Storing the dried seeds is easy. I use paper envelopes. I make my own with my printer, but you could use coin envelopes or even mailing envelopes will do fine too. Label them so you know what's inside. Store them where they'll be away from heat or direct sunlight. I use cardboard file boxes to keep my seeds in and those do just fine. Another good place to keep them is in your dining room drawers. Those are dark places and your dining room is sure to be safe from extreme fluctuations in temperature. Good luck with your seed saving! Trudi
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Saving/preserving food, how I've changed what I do...
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Comments (15)
I'm still learning and trying new things but there are definitely things I wouldn't can again and did in the first place because I thought I would use them. I'm going to stick to plain tomatoes, stewed tomatoes (which I love and can't keep on the shelf), green beans, deer meat, Annie's salsa, pickled beets, pickled onions, various jams, kraut, relish, and a few pickles. I like my corn frozen and prefer refrigerator pickles. I like apples and peaches dehydrated, plus canned sauce. I dehydrated various odd things last year and they are still in my freezer. I also forget they were there. My few attempts at canned tomato sauce didn't turn out that great for all the work involved. I may have over-cooked it before processing but I have no desire to try it again when I can blender a can of toms for the sauce. I've already harvested my garlic and it is curing now. Plan to keep some for fresh and roast the rest with olive oil and freeze in cubes. It is very handy that way! I may try to dehydrate some kale chips, I have lots of kale and can't seem to use it up quickly enough. I still want to try some new things, though!
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HELP! The new plants I got online might have scale! Do I toss or save?
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Comments (7)
Hi, thanks everyone for the comments. There are a few spots that seem like dark bumps with brown or red in the middle. I did do some research but it seems like scale is rather hard to spot until it becomes a huge problem. I have other plants with blemishes and edema, so I know succulents don't need to look perfect, but the raised bumps you can spot in a few of the pictures is what worries me as I haven't seen those before in any of my plants. I can also pick some of them off with my nail but the residue I pick off is small, so I can't 100% tell if it's a bug or not. I am fairly new to this though. Examples: Sorry if I was panicking a bit, I just live in a small apt. so any kind of pest really freaks me out as they can spread easily. I had a persian shield I saw white spots on a few weeks ago, sprayed it with alcohol thinking it was aphids or some other pest, and then I started second guessing myself and thinking I overreacted. Then yesterday I check on the plant again, and the remnants of whatever survived the alcohol was there fully grown. Light green bugs in all their glory! So I guess I'm just trying to be more careful this time around. Thanks again for the help and comments, even the sarcasm lol. I know I need to take it easy! I'd appreciate any advice on how to prevent these types of pests.
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cynic
15 years ago
Great idea! I was going to mail everyone a check for a new car, but in the frugal spirit of the season, I'll forgo the check too! Not only the cars, but think of the check fees saved too! Joyous savings abound!

Reminds me of a card I gave once. It said "This is more than just a birthday card.... It's your PRESENT!"
joyfulguy
15 years ago
Hey - that's a good idea!

On the other hand ... now that you have all of that money on hand, lying around unused ...

... how about following the path that I did, several years ago, giving the money saved to several charitable agencies?

No doubt there are several agencies who need such help in your area - abused (mainly women), homeless, unemployed, mentally/physically challenged who can't handle/find work and a number of other agencies serving social needs locally.

And such programs in the wider community - within our land, and abroad. Millions in the world know not where the next meal for them and their kids is coming from ... and have a miserable home (if they are fortunate enough to have one at all). And that's apart from the ones displaced by war, civil unrest, official attempts to push out minorities, climate change, western trade policies that undercut the income of local farmers, artisans, etc.

Better educational and health services for many abroad.

Several agencies that conduct research related to various illnesses and offer information to the public and support to the sufferers.

Universities and other educational institutions.

Mosques, synagogues, churches and other religious agencies - along with encouragement to them to eschew bigotry (especially when disguised).

Many have found that such activities provide a warm feeling in one's heart.

And ... folks making such contributions get a receipt for their donation to a charitable agency ... which in many areas allows one to reduce his/her required payment to the Income Tax People substantially!

So - there's a good possibility that you may turn out not to have lost the full amount that it appeared that you had, in the first place.

I also offer my good wishes to everyone for the holidays.

May you have a blessed Christmas, if that observance is important to you.

May the New Year bring the fulfillment of several of your long cherished, worthwhile dreams ...and the envisioning of some new ones.

ole joyful

P.S. Ole Joyful's about to make his Christmas gift to everyone soon, I think ...

... maybe over on the Kitchen Table, this year (it was here and on "Household Finance" sometimes in earlier years - still here, if you know where to look, I think).

It'll disappear from the "Kitchen Table" in about three months.

o j
ladytexan
15 years ago
Thank you,

And a very Merry Christmas and a safe, healthy and prosperous New Year to all of you.

Thanks for all the wonderful ideas -

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