This is where I post tips I find useful. It is constantly updated so keep checking back!
Food
Frosting: Use soft, unsalted butter for fluffy frosting, and “make a simple icing of powdered sugar, milk, and a splash of vanilla. It will “set up” just enough that the cookies won’t stick or smear.” Learned from Parenting the Tiniest of Miracles.
Expiration Dates: Always check them on perishable items like dairy and meat. So many people don’t check them and end up with meat that will be a little rancid the next day or milk that will expire in a couple days. This leads into my next tip…
Refridgerator Section: At the grocery store the items near the front in the freezer and fridge sections get blasted with warmer air more often. This can cause detrimental effects to some products. Have you ever eaten melted ice cream that was re-frozen? No thank you. I take my products from the back, I don’t want to risk even a little less quality on things as important as ice cream.
Organization
Books: Ok this may be a no brainer to some, but order your books on your shelf in order of subject. It may just be a personal preference, but keeping all my old textbooks seperate from my Laura Ingalls Wilder books is important for my sanity of finding what I want.
Books: Sell your books at BetterWorldBooks.com. I’ve always gotten the highest price there, higher than physical bookstores and other online sites I have tried. I just sell my books there, get paid in gift certificates, and buy more books. And always free shipping in the U.S., $3.97 worldwide. They also support many good causes for literacy.
Technology
Before you buy: Don’t buy something right when it comes out, wait at least a month or so for 2 reasons. One, to wait for the price to come down (probably won’t in a month), and two, to read all the user reviews about any flaws a piece of technology may turn out to have.
Travel
Cheap tickets: Travelzoo.com is your best friend here. Just the other day I saw tickets for a 5 night trip to Ireland for $499 a person, including airfare from NYC and accommodations in a villa. Of course it had stipulations, but that’s still a great deal. It takes a little work, but so worth it in the end.
Things You Should Know
Taxes: Did you know that if you’re self-employed you are supposed to pay taxes at regular intervals during the tax year instead of paying them come tax time? Ok so there are more details than that, but nobody ever told me. Luckily I figured it out before it was too late. Though I can’t seem to find out anywhere how bad the penalty is if you don’t do it correctly.
Christmas gifts: Shop throughout the year. Please, I beg you, don’t wait till anytime after Thanksgiving to do all your shopping (unless it’s Black Friday). I’ve been buying Christmas gifts all year and it’s perfect. I pick things up during sales that won’t happen during Christmas, I buy things that I find that are perfect gifts even though it’s August. It takes the stress off that time of year and your wallet. Win, win!
