Years ago, we purchased a dehumidifier that we have on a timer to run approximately three to four hours at night. This removes about one gallon of moisture per night. It is much cheaper running a dehumidifier than the A/C. The A/C setting can be regulated at a higher temperature due to less humidity.
Lee B.

Here’s a tip that has saved me a lot of money on building supplies over the years. When I need something, I shop around, and then buy it from the one with the highest price.

The two major stores in this area have a 10% price match guarantee. This means that if you find an identical item at another local store, they will not only meet that price, but beat it by 10%. One item I was looking for was $168 at one store, $175 at the other. So I bought it at the store with the higher price. My cost was $151.20 ($168.00-$16.80).
Kevin W. of Bedford, NS

A friend of mine who danced in India said that one way to get a bit cooler was to wet handkerchiefs and tie them around both wrists. It does work.
Lillian G.

My kids like sugar cereal. What kid doesn’t? One way around buying the sugar-filled cereal is to take regular Rice Krispies, sprinkle with one teaspoon of chocolate Ovaltine, and mix. Now, you have Cocoa Krispies without buying a box full of sugar. My son gobbles them up and never knows the difference.
Amy

My direct vent water heater leaked. Two plumbers checked out the water heater and quoted me the price of a new heater, which was $2,000 to $2,300 total including labor.

The third plumber came. I asked if there was a way that he could fix the heater without getting a new one. Well, it turned out that the water heater wasn’t broken. All I needed was to change a pressure switch to prevent the water leak. The cost of the switch including labor was $100.
A.C.

Putting the filter and coffee in the maker the night before (and not buying the convenient filter packs) is a great idea. I go a step further. I use a plastic canister (the new coffee canisters work great) and make up several filters with coffee. These can be stored in the freezer for extra assurance of freshness.
Terrie P.

If you are big on impulse buying, but have control enough to avoid a one-click purchase setup, you can save a lot of money and avoid buying what you don’t need by shopping online. I go to Amazon, Sears or another site that has something I buy frequently, such as books or office supplies. I put stuff into the wish list or in the shopping cart. Then I close the page. It’s that easy!

I’ve had stuff on Amazon, for example, for a year or so. Then, I go through the lists every so often, usually after working extra hours or after tax refund time, and get what I need. I work in academia, so I need scholarly books. So I do get what I need and the mysteries or horror movies or music CDs stay right in the wish list. I may or may not get them at a future time. With some department store sites, I’m not sure how long the cart will stay put. But I can make sure I get what I really need by going back a week later and rechecking the cart. I delete what I don’t really need. It sounds counterintuitive because shopping online is easy, but the same things that are in place to make sure you don’t waste the store’s time and buy (only to ask for a refund later) are things you can use to keep your own buying in check.

This might help someone who, like me, will go to a discount place, buy all kinds of stuff s/he doesn’t really need or use, and regret it afterwards.
Jules W. in Baltimore MD

Harvest seeds in the fall and place them in a paper bag to keep them dry. Here in New England, cosmos and zinnias are so easy to grow. We just plant them in the spring and keep them watered. We then harvest again in the fall.
Pam C.
 

Check your car insurance if you have an older car and have rental on it in case of an accident. We recently found out that our rental insurance was only good for three days if the car was totaled, which is easy to do these days if you have an older car that is worth $2500 or less. We thought it would cover up to $600 worth of rental expenses at $30 a day, which would have allowed plenty of time to find a car. We also found out the hard way that the rental insurance started on the day of the accident. Read the fine print before you shell out those extra bucks.
Arla A.

 
As a recently certified master gardener, I have learned that it makes economic sense to invest the $10-15 it costs to get a soil analysis from your County Extension office. Do this before you plant, till or fertilize to avoid waste and costly losses later.
Margaret

I am recovering as much as I can in my home due to the damage caused by hurricane Katrina. Since we have almost 600 square feet of tile throughout our home, it was going to be quite an expense. I remembered that you can use pumice on toilets and sinks so I decided to give it a try on my tile and the filthy grout. I used the stones (picked up at a hardware or janitorial supply store) to scrub the grout and remove rust stains and scuff marks that could not be removed by any other means. My tile and grout look brand new. Don’t forget to re-seal after you’re finished just to be safe.
Stephanie in Ocean Springs, MS

Recently, our cat “Tiger” was accidentally locked in my son’s bedroom closet for a few hours. When we discovered him later in the day, the closet was a mess (I assume he was trying to find a way out). Thankfully, the little guy was none the worse for his experience, so I turned my attention to doing some damage control for the closet.

Most everything was quickly put back in order, and I cleaned up a “potty” accident that Tiger left. There was a stubborn odor remaining, and I thought I needed something to work quickly to eradicate the rather strong smell. I remembered I had some bleach in the nearby bathroom, so I found a container and poured some straight, undiluted bleach into it. I placed it on a flat stable surface and closed the closet door. In a short while, I came back to check on things, and the lingering “potty” smell was gone completely. I transferred the container of bleach to the nearest bathroom, and placed it on the top of the toilet tank, then closed the door and returned later, with the same results.

Since I usually wait until my favorite brand of bleach is on sale for $1 (or less), I feel quite pleased with myself. My “bargain bleach” saved me some money (no expensive deodorizer for me!), and also freshened some places in my home that were rather “odorous.”
Debora in Georgia
 

Gary Foreman
The Dollar Stretcher
gary@stretcher.com