Tips and Tricks for the Strapped for Cash Among Us

[Mermaid]

On the topic of flea control: Frontline Spray, which is very uncommon, but a lot of vets still carry it, and you can get it online. It lasts much longer than a spot on, and it actually works better when used as directed. You spray one pump per pound of dog, and a 250 mL bottle costs $25 to $30. It will last you 8 months with a 30 lb dog if you use it regularly according to label directions.

[gentle_dissident]

For entertainment, I like to make papercraft items. There are tons of free templates online. Here's a good place to start. http://www.papercraftmuseum.com/ I buy cheap 3rd party ink cartridges. Canon keeps trying to come up with ways to persuade me to buy their overpriced cartridges. At the moment, I'm using a Canon MG7520. The tanks are huge. If you write music, it prints on CD's making them an attractive buy.

There are consignment shops that will take professional looking handmade items. Beading is a good product. Shop 2nd hand stores for cheap necklaces to raid. Here's a cheap beading resource. http://dollarbead.com/

I buy a lot at 2nd hand stores. They always seem to have just what I'm looking for. They often don't recognize collectibles that go for a lot on eBay. Sometimes they put such a high price on collectibles that they don't sell. The price eventually drops below market price. I've made some money selling on eBay. The payoff is relatively large.

I wind up keeping most the collectible games I find at 2nd hand stores. I save around 90%. I also find ways to get new games at wholesale or below by watching clearance sections, using coupons, points, and special offers. I also make board games from from files on https://www.boardgamegeek.com/ and other sites or design my own version. Here's my cheap game collection. https://www.boardgamegeek.com/collection/user/androidlove?own=1&subtype=boardgame&gallery=large&ff=1

I also collect books from 2nd hand stores. I have amassed a huge collection of entertainment for a fraction of the cost. Here's my book collection. http://www.librarything.com/catalog.php?view=androidlove&collection=-1&shelf=shelf&sort=tags&sort=tags If you want to eat well for cheap, check out my recipe book collection.

Papercraft, books, and games adorn my place. I also use the interior decorating books in my collection for cheap ideas.

[aitm]

I will share with you a local restaurants bean soup. They charge 18 cents a cup. It is very cheap, very good. I myself lightly grill a ham steak and tear it into bite size pieces when I make mine. I tear it into small pieces because of the mental aspect to me. Square pieces of meat put manufactured soups into my mind and for some reason they never taste as good.

Go here. Try it, you will like it.

http://www.food.com/recipe/meg-omalleys-irish-parliament-bean-soup-463525

[Deidre32]

Learn to enjoy saving more than spending. :)

[peacewithoutgod]

While suffering through a knee inflammation and trying to stay off it, I discovered the nutrition value of mega burritos from chains such as Moe's (black beans, variant greens, tomatoes and rice with the meat), and realized that these could be made almost as easily as chili with shells available at Aldis. As mentioned by others already, there's a lot of things in those stores which are as good as they are cheap.

[Hydra009]

While suffering through a knee inflammation and trying to stay off it, I discovered the nutrition value of mega burritos from chains such as Moe's (black beans, variant greens, tomatoes and rice with the meat), and realized that these could be made almost as easily as chili with shells available at Aldis.  As mentioned by others already, there's a lot of things in those stores which are as good as they are cheap.

$2.5 gallon of apple cider.  Mmm good!

They have lots of cheap food, but they also have a lot of comparatively more expensive impulse items.  So watch out for that.  Also, lots of times, the perishables will be half-perished.  White onions with black spots, wilted lettuce, beef turning brown, etc.  Losing food to spoilage definitely puts a dent in the value pricing.  But their boxed/canned goods are unbeatable.

[gentle_dissident]

While suffering through a knee inflammation and trying to stay off it, I discovered the nutrition value of mega burritos from chains such as Moe's (black beans, variant greens, tomatoes and rice with the meat), and realized that these could be made almost as easily as chili with shells available at Aldis. As mentioned by others already, there's a lot of things in those stores which are as good as they are cheap.

I eat a ton of vegetarian chimichangas from 8 packs. I melt cheese on top. I sometimes add salsa and real sour cream. It works out to around $1 a meal.

[peacewithoutgod]

I eat a ton of vegetarian chimichangas from 8 packs. I melt cheese on top. I sometimes add salsa and real sour cream. It works out to around $1 a meal.

That's one of my old junk-food diving favorites. A little healthier than grill cheese, and usually cheaper. If you do buy cheese slices there, I recommend the premium deluxe, which is still cheaper than the major chains and isn't flavorless and fake. You can get some decent breads there too, if you happen to come around soon after they stock it.

[gentle_dissident]

That's one of my old junk-food diving favorites. A little healthier than grill cheese, and usually cheaper. If you do buy cheese slices there, I recommend the premium deluxe, which is still cheaper than the major chains and isn't flavorless and fake. You can get some decent breads there too, if you happen to come around soon after they stock it.

The 8 pack is $3.50 at the moment. I use real cheese on top.

Here are the ingredients.

"WATER, WHEAT FLOUR (ENRICHED WITH NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMIN MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID), BEANS, VEGETABLE OIL (SOYBEAN, SUNFLOWER, CANOLA AND/OR CORN OIL), PASTEURIZED PROCESS CHEDDAR CHEESE BLEND (CHEDDAR CHEESE (PASTEURIZED MILK, CHEESE CULTURES, SALT, ENZYMES), WATER, HYDROGENATED SOYBEAN OIL, MODIFIED FOOD STARCH, MALTODEXTRIN, SODIUM PHOSPHATES, SODIUM CASEINATE, WHEY PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, SALT, ENZYMES, LACTIC ACID, VEGETABLE COLORING), JALAPENO PEPPERS (WITH SALT, ACETIC ACID, WATER, CALCIUM CHLORIDE), CONTAINS 2% OR LESS SALT, DOUGH CONDITIONERS (SALT, YEAST, CELLULOSE GUM, GUAR GUM, WHEAT STARCH, ENZYMES, SODIUM METABISULFITE, SODIUM STEAROYL LACTYLATE, L-CYSTEINE, MONO AND DIGLYCERIDES, DICALCIUM PHOSPHATE, MICROCRYSTALLINE CELLULOSE), MODIFIED FOOD STARCH, SPICES.

I fry our grilled real cheese sandwiches in butter and serve with generic condensed tomato soup. I stay thin since I upped my metabolism. I watched my diet very carefully and ate around a 1000 healthy calories a day. I lost 55 pounds in under 2 months. Yea, I got a little sick at the end, but it was worth it.

[gentle_dissident]

I lost 55 pounds in under 2 months.

Correction: Thinking back, that was 40 pounds in 2 months. The last 15 were slower to come off.

Also, we use Nature's Own whole wheat bread for our sandwiches. I discovered it while losing weight. It's low cal, high protein, and $3.