1. The dishes are not being rinsed properly.  For most modern dishwashers, you do not have to completely rinse your dishes - doing so is actually a waste of hot water and a waste of your time.  (Isn’t having a dishwasher supposed to save you time?)  That being said, there are a couple of types of food that do need to be completely rinsed off before going into the dishwasher.  Oatmeal, rice, beans - anything in the grain or legume family or dried on dough.  Experience tells me that you can wash a wooden spoon with dough on it 40 times and it still won’t come off.
2. The dishwasher is not being loaded properly.  I saw a picture the other day of someone’s loaded dishwasher.  It looked like she held all of her dishes 10 feet above the rack and just dropped them all in.  There were way too many dishes in the racks and there was no rhyme or reason to how they were in there.  She claims they come clean, but I have my doubts.
   • Don’t overload the dishwasher.  If you have that many dishes, do two loads or wash part of them by hand (or save the leftover dishes for the regular load the next day).
   • Point the dishes toward the center so that the spray can get to them.  Don’t put large items like cutting boards or cookie sheets in the center where they can block the spray.
   • When loading glasses, do not allow them to touch.  This can trap food between them and can also cause them to crack.
   • Point part of your silverware up and part of it down.  This helps keep them from sticking together and trapping food between them.
   • Make sure your items are secure so they don’t tip over during the wash cycle and fill with dirty water.
3. The water is not flowing like it should.  This can be due to the water pressure being too low, blocked holes, the blade not turning, or the water not draining.  A quick visual inspection of the bottom of your dishwasher should let you know if any of these are true.  Check all the holes where water comes in or shoots out of the blade to make sure there is no debris in them.  Also check the very center to make sure the contraption that shoots water onto the upper rack is able to move up,  down, and rotate.  Give the blade a turn and make sure it’s not caught on anything.  Lastly, make sure your drain at the bottom is not clogged, otherwise you make be circulating dirty water.  Clogs can also occur at the drain in your sink where the dishwasher hose is run.
4. The rinse aid is low or missing.  Not all homes will require a rinse aid, but we have hard water here and not using a rinse aid leaves my dishes disgusting.  If you have a dispenser, keep it full.  You can use commercial rinse aids or plain vinegar.  If you do not have a dispenser, you can get little hanging baskets at the store or you can add 1/2 cup of vinegar to the rinse cycle.

Hopefully these little hints will help you to eliminate the need for rewashing dishes that come out of the dishwasher and save some frustration.

I’m very excited to be the winner of the the first blog giveaway hosted by Economic Endeavors in which I won a copy of the book Miserly Moms. I have had my eye on this book for awhile, but I was too cheap to buy it for myself! It was the first time I have won a blog prize and was so thrilled when I got the email. Number 13 turned out to be my lucky number despite the fact that I’ve had some pretty rotten luck lately.

I am about three quarters of the way through the book and really love it.  Hopefully when I’m done I will be able to pass it along to someone else.

Thanks to The Centisible Sawyer for posting about this contest and leading me to another blog I love to read everyday!

1. You buy a cheaper product only to find out it doesn’t work or is extremely inferior.  Beware of this when purchasing generic products.  You don’t want to have to spend money on both the cheaper item and the more expensive item - instead learn which items are worth the added expense for the quality.
2. Driving all over town to get a good price.  This is not something I see people do so much now that gas is over $4 a gallon, but I used to hear about it a lot.  Driving 10 extra miles to save $1.00 does not make sense no matter how you add it up.  Now, if it’s on your way and the savings are significant, then consider it.
3. Trying to make your own products.  Need I mention my dishwasher detergent?  I also had good intentions of making laundry soap and purchased the Borax and Zote, neither of which have been used.  Now if you’ve already tried it and it works for you, then this doesn’t apply to you.  I know many people have had great experiences doing this - I’m just not one of them.  Good intentions will not save you money.
4. Buying a more expensive product because you have a coupon.  This is really a tricky one because if used correctly, coupons can be wonderful things.  But most beginners don’t understand how they should be used and will instead just grab a product off the shelf because they have a coupon for it.  Do yourself a favor and take a look at your alternatives - you may be able to find a better price without a coupon.
5. Buying things you don’t need just because they’re cheap.  This is a classic pitfall for anyone, not just frugal people.  When you see something that is a great deal stop a minute and think before you buy.  Do you need it?  Will you be able to use it before it goes bad?  Is it really practical?  And the excuse of “I can resell it on eBay” won’t work either because the odds are good that you won’t recoup your costs.  Stop kidding yourself and save your money!

So as you go throughout your day, really analyze the ways you save money.  Could there be areas in which you’re losing money in the process?  Fix those problems and move ahead with new ways to be frugal.

Well, as it turned out, it was in the same city that my husband works. So, he dropped me off for work and after playing with the kids for awhile, he ventured off for some free gas. He got there at about 8:30 am.

The Redlands Police Department kept things in great order from what I hear. Each car got a piece of paper with a number on it that went in the windshield. My husband was number 38. Then, when they got to number 200, the line was cut off with a police car.

My husband only waited 2 1/2 hours to get his gas and it exactly filled our tank. The only other thing he would have been doing during this time was practicing an instrument, so there was really no time lost. While he waited he got to meet the morning DJ Jeff Pope. We love to listen to him and Evelyn every morning during our commute.

On the other hand, there are some people who taking frugality to a new level and lack a little common sense. Rumor has it that there was someone at this event that drove about 75 miles to come and get free gas. If I do a little calculating and say they get 25 miles per gallon, that means they spent 6 gallons to drive there and back (assuming no traffic). And again, for the sake of simplicity, we’ll say gas is $4 a gallon (I think it was a little over at the time). That means that it cost $24 for this trip, leaving them with only $16 in free gas. I guess that’s still not a bad deal. Oh wait, I forgot to mention one thing. THEY WERE HOLDING THE SAME EVENT IN THE CITY THIS PERSON CAME FROM!

So please, while it is WONDERFUL to be frugal and get free gas, please think it through before you take part in an event like this. Please don’t wait 12 hours in line (like someone else did) and please don’t drive half way across creation and waste your time and free gas.

I started off at my “normal” CVS with an awesome list. I was terribly disappointed when they had NOTHING on my list except the Adidas deodorant (yes, I went and got another All You magazine).

My Purchases:
Adidas deoderant - $4.99

Coupons
Free deodorant - $4.99

Total OOP - .39¢ for tax
ECBs Earned - $4.99

So, I found out there is another CVS near where I work, so on the way home I decided to stop by. I was beyond excited to see that they had EVERYTHING on my list!

My Purchases:
2 Hawaiian Tropic Lip Balms - $3.98
4 Colgate Advanced Toothpastes - $11.96
1 Aquafresh Extreme Clean - $2.99

Coupons:
$3 off $15 purchase
$1 Colgate
$1.50 Colgate x 3
$1.50 Aquafresh

ECBs Used: $7.99
Total OOP: $1.56
Total ECBs Earned: $20.99

Can you say, CHA-CHING!

Want to see more CVS Savings? Visit the Centsible Sawyer’s CVS Superstars!

My Purchases
(4) Small bags of M&Ms - .50¢ each
Charmin Ultra 12 Big Rolls - $5.99
Venus Breeze Razor - $9.99
Aquafresh - $2.99
Adidas Deoderant - $4.99
(2) Gold Emblem Peanuts BOGO - $3.69
Absolutely Divine Cookies - $3.19

Coupons
.25¢ - Charmin
$4.00 - Venus Breeze
$1.50 - Aquafresh
$4.99 - Adidas Deoderant
$1.00 - Absolutely Divine Cookies
$16.99 - Extra Care Bucks
$3/$15 - CVS Coupon

Total Out of Pocket - $1.34
Extra Care Bucks Received - $12.98

Want to see more CVS savings?  Visit the Centsible Sawyer’s CVS Superstars!

For the past year or so, my husband worked in a studio owned by someone else.  We paid them rent for the space and always dreamed of having our own studio one day.  Well, fast forward to a couple of months ago and the person who owned the studio decided to close up shop.  We saw our opportunity and seized it and we now own the studio and in turn rent out space to other teachers.   In essence, it pays for itself.

Why am I telling you this?  Well, you see, one of the requirements in our lease was that we had insurance for the office and part of that coverage included my husband’s equipment.  When I read through the policy, it said that they are only covered while in the business or in the vehicle within 2000 feet of the business - neither of which were true.  My husband is relentless, so he called the insurance agent anyhow and we were quite surprised to hear that quote, unquote “they should cover it.”

We finally heard back from the adjuster a couple of days ago and sure enough, our agent had added a “floating” policy to cover the instruments in any location.  It was an incredible relief at first, but then we realized two things.  One, we have a $500 deductible.  Two, he had only insured it for $1100, which was the price he originally paid for it several years ago, not the replacement cost.  With a replacement cost of $1799, that put a slight damper on things.

So yesterday we find out that our deductible for the instruments is only $250, which made things a little better.  He talked to the adjuster again and explained the situation and so she told him to send her a copy of the police report and a copy of the list price and she would speak to her supervisor.  He faxed both of them to her yesterday and they did something amazing.  They waived the deductible for us and are going to send us a check for $1100.  It should have been mailed today and we should receive it in a couple of days.

So, once we have the check in our hands, we’ll go back to Guitar Center and talk to one of the managers there that we know really well.  He’s going to try to talk them down to $1500 which means we’ll only have to come up with $400.  I’ve received a little over $200 in donations/scratchbacks so we’ll only have to come up with $200 on our own.  With our stimulus check coming on Friday, I can do this.

It’s been a crazy turn of events, but between the kindness of strangers and prayers, a miracle has definitely happened!  My husband should have a new guitar by Monday as long as all goes well.  He works so hard and I’m so incredibly happy that this is working out the way it is.

A huge thank you to everyone who made this possible.  I had fallen into such a deep depression over this and now the light at the end of the tunnel is in sight!

Before I tell you any more information on coupons, let me sell you on the idea first. Just yesterday I got some fantastic deals that even amazed my husband. His response was, “there’s just no stopping you is there?” I had two coupons that were $2 off of any two Johnson Buddies products. I also had a coupon for $2 off the new Honey Bunches of Oats with Chocolate Clusters. So I swung by Walmart after depositing my paycheck in the bank (as to not waste gas), and picked up a box of the cereal and two of the Buddies soaps that my son loves and needs. I also picked up a copy of All You magazine which not only is my favorite magazine, but it’s cheap and full of COUPONS (including one that will make me money this coming week).

So, let’s see:

• $1.98 for the cereal

• .94¢ for each of the soaps

• $1.77 for the magazine

Grand total = $5.91
Minus coupons -$4.00

Total Out of Pocket = $1.91

So, if you want to get started with using coupons, you first have to know where to get them. The most obvious place is your Sunday newspaper. My Mom saves her newspaper for me and it costs me nothing that way. Otherwise, I’d have to spend $1 on the Sunday edition. It takes me less than 10 minutes and I typically cut out anything that I could possibly use - whether or not it’s the current brand I use. For example, I’ll cut out all shampoo coupons despite the fact that I use Dove shampoo right now. The reason is because when that certain brand goes on sale at CVS, I will get it either super cheap or perhaps even free.

You can also get coupons online. Check the manufacturers website, do a search for the exact product or visit one of the following sites: www.smartsource.com, www.coupons.com, www.mycoupons.com. There are actually a TON of websites, but I don’t want to give out an overwhelming list for someone who may just be getting started. I also like to get my coupons through MyPoints because then I earn points for the coupons I print and use.

In the next few days I’ll explain how I keep my coupons organized, how I choose which products to buy and how to get GREAT super cheap deals.

1. I now have a scratchback widget on my sidebar and “tips” aka links are $5.00.
2. I have added a donation button exclusively for the guitar fund. You can find a link to it at the top of any of my pages or here:
   
   The donate button has been removed.  Thank you all for donating!!
   
3. I have dug up some items to sell. First is a silver coin collection of 20 American Silver Eagles. Second is my Canon Rebel G 35mm camera. I also have a used black Razr and a used pink Razr. I’ll have to dig a few more things out, but I know I also have some scrapbooking items and some beading items. I’ll probably list these on eBay as soon as I can get the pictures uploaded, but if you’re interested in them before I post them, please contact me and make me an offer!
4. I’ve been dumpster diving and pulling recycling out of the dumpsters in our apartment complex.
5. If you’re in the US and you like Avon, you can shop from my website and I’ll receive a percentage of your sales. To get FREE SHIPPING, use code: REPFS
6. I’ve started approaching family and friends about any kind of odd jobs that I can do for them. I am fortunate to have a variety of talents from computer work to fixing plumbing, so this will work if someone will just say YES!

This is still a work in progress so I’m coming up with new ideas all the time. I’ll be incredibly grateful for more ideas as the days go by. I’d really love to earn the money rather than ask for handouts, but I’m open to any help I can get! I can’t do this alone, so I ask….no, I BEG of you to please help me spread the word.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I’m looking forward to paying this forward someday.

So, anyhow, I want to make a miracle happen.  Somehow, someway, I’m going to come up with the money to get him a new guitar.  This is where you come in.  I need MORE ideas on ways to come up with some quick cash.  This is what I have in mind so far:

• Recycle and asking everyone I know to save their recycling for me
• Sell anything I have of value
• Make things I can sell (I can crochet, sew, bead, etc.)

Ok, my list is weak, but it’s because my mind is racing a mile a minute.  If only I had been in the first group of people to get their stimulus check!  But unfortunately, we’re due to get ours next Friday (hopefully sooner!).

Ok, so please send me your ideas.  I will do almost anything at this point and I thank you in advance for your thoughts.