Cash Cuddler » CashTalk

Saving Money On Soft Drinks

One of Cash Cuddler’s favorite ways to save money is to not buy soda. This saves not only on the cost of the drink, but also the tax and the deposit charge. The stuff is also not good for you. Read more…

Saving Money On Medicine

Most people are reactive when they see the expiration date on medicine is close or has passed. Their response is to toss out the product. This is oftentimes a mistake. Read more…

Saving Money On Electricity

Did you know that appliances such as televisions and air conditioners that use an automatic remote control sap electricity even while turned off? Read more…

Saving Money On Laundry

Everybody knows it’s cheaper doing laundry at home than at a laundromat, at least in the long run. There are things you can do to make the cost of home laundering even cheaper.

Use half as much detergent.

The instructions on the laundry box encourage you to use far more than you actually need to get the clothes clean, in order to encourage consumers to use up the product faster and replace it. Using less detergent is also less polluting to water systems (that soapy laundry water has to be dumped someplace).

Laundry line

Wash in cold water.

Your clothes will be just as clean. This also saves energy.

Hang your clothes out on a laundry line.

They’ll smell better. You will save at least 50¢ in electricity on each wash you do. That’s how much it costs on average to operate a drier to dry one load of clothes.

Wear shirts more than once.

Only in America do people wear things once and toss them in the laundry. Your ancestors wore clothes a few times before laundering (with a washboard), and it didn’t kill them. As long as they look and smell OK, it’s perfectly all right to wear again. Ditto the towels in the bathroom. Hang them up and they’ll dry for another day’s use.

Saving Money On eBay Auctions

Everybody knows that it’s easy saving money when buying stuff you need from eBay, but there are techniques you can use to make the savings even steeper. Read more…

Stay Home, Make Money!

Here’s a few links to help you earn a few bucks right from your desktop. Read more…

Saving Money On Movies

One of my favorite ways of entertaining myself is watching movies. Old films, new ones. It’s all good.

We all know that renting films is expensive, and those monthly snail mail subscription plans add up. I am as guilty as anybody of subscribing to both Netflix and Blockbuster without consistently using it.

I figured out a stopgap solution to the no-money/no movie/no cable problem. One of the best ways to catch great movies you missed – without the commercials – is to keep a VCR on hand. Yes, a VCR. It’s old technology, but great for the thrifty, so don’t give up on it yet.

Yes, I know about the new VCR digital technology: Some of the newer units have digital tuners now and will connect easily to the new digital TVs, but those are expensive. The older analog VCRs can be had for practically nothing, which is what we’re discussing now.

Analog VCRs can be hooked up to a new television by using a modulator that can be bought in an electronics store for about $25, and for a lot less online.

I bought a modulator from eBay for $11, and it works fine connecting an old CRT television to the VCR. The modulator needs its own electrical outlet to operate, so I connected all my electronics using a connection strip.

The red, yellow and white wires that you normally would connect directly from the TV to the VCR gets plugged into the modulator, and the signal passes through there. Then it gets sent to the television. Some modulators have several ports, enabling you to plug several electrical components – such as a DVD player – into the unit. The signal gets sorted out by a flip of a switch at the front of the modulator.

As for the video tapes themselves, they’re available at thrift shops, yard sales, flea markets. Pretty much all over the place. Freecycle members in my area are constantly giving them away by the bagful. Video tapes are always $1 or less if you have to buy them. This is not Blu-Ray, but it’s also not $35. And there’s never a late fee either because you own the film.

Take that, Blockbuster! Your thoughts?