Everyday Cheapskate: ‘Cereal’ saver shares his super secrets

CEREAL MIX. The breakfast cereal I like is one of the most expensive on the supermarket shelf. Here is how I cut the price without giving up my favorite: I purchased two plastic containers with lids at Wal-Mart. Then I buy one box of my favorite cereal and one of a cheaper version of it, mix them together and divide between the two containers. I get twice as much cereal for a reduced price. — Pat, California

CHEAP “BEEF.” We raise beef cattle, but because it is so valuable we don’t butcher much for ourselves anymore. Instead, we butcher the deer. Iowa is overrun by deer, making it the No. 1 cause of automobile accidents. Deer are organic — raised on grass, with no added hormones. What more can you ask for? Butchered and prepared well, we cannot tell venison from beef. —Louise, Iowa

‘FRIDGE TUBS. I love to reuse the single-serve side dish plastic tubs from Kentucky Fried Chicken to store small portions of pet food or leftovers. They come with a tight-fitting lid, and both are top-rack dishwasher safe. Even better, they’re free. — Melanie, email

BULK BEEF. I buy 5 pounds of ground beef at a time, put all of it into a big pot, cover with water and set it over medium-high heat. As it cooks, I stir to break up the large chunks of meat, then continue until all the pink has disappeared. Next, I drain the beef in a colander. All the grease is in the hot water and goes down the drain with no problem. Easy! —Deidra, email

QUICK DRY. To save drying time, I set the dryer for 30 minutes. Then I take the big things out of the washer, shake them out and put them back in to dry completely. I have found that with this one effort, I am cutting almost 30 minutes of drying time from every load. —Carolyn, Ohio

TAG SALE XMAS. I knew a family that one year at Christmas decided to buy all next year’s gifts at garage sales. Everybody agreed, participated and had a whole year of fun doing it. Some excellent items were received (tools, kitchenware, clothes, etc). Not all sales are good, but many are. And the earlier you get there, the better the quality. We tried it ourselves, and it was lots of fun and made for a very affordable holiday. —Mary, Oregon

PICKLE POLISH. If you have leftover dill pickle brine, pour enough of it into in a glass pie plate, and set a pot that has a copper-clad bottom into the brine, allowing it to set for l5 to 20 minutes. The pan will come out sparkling clean, requiring no scrubbing. — Gwen, Minnesota

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Mary Hunt is founder of www.DebtProofLiving.com and author of 23 books, including her 2013 release “Cheaper, Better, Faster: Over 2,000 Tips and Tricks to Save You Time and Money Every Day.”

To find out more about Mary and read her past columns, please visit the Creators webpage at www.creators.com.