Frugal Tips

Next time you are in a garden and see a plant you admire, ask if you can take a cutting. It's an economical way to add to the beauty and diversity of your garden.

Gardening can be a rewarding and frugal hobby, but a trip to the garden store can sometimes be dispiriting. The cost of new plants can add up quickly.

Putting a 24 hour waiting period on any optional purchase will help you avoid wasting money.

Baby formula can create ugly, hard to remove stains. Here's a tip that sometimes works.

Save money by using both sides of the paper in your laser or inkjet printer.

Most of the material you print on your home printer does not need to be presentation quality. You may be printing web pages for easy offline reading and reference, drafts of school papers for revisions or even shopping lists.

Here´s a cheap and effective homemade tile cleaner. Mix 3 parts borax and 1 part hydrogen peroxide. Stir into a paste. Apply with a brush, then scrub. This is atomic powered stuff – once or twice a year should do it.

Don't throw out the aquarium or fish bowl water when you change it. Instead, use it on your house plants. The same fishy stuff that makes it a bit murky makes it extra beneficial for plants.

Want to reduce your home energy bills? Call your local utility to see if they offer a free energy audit.

Many utilities will send an employee to your home to identify any ways in which you are wasting energy.