Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Tonight on Cost Cutters, we look at some money-saving tips that probably aren’t worth the effort.

One site said a co-worker kept Tupperware at her desk and after office parties, they would scoop up the remains of the veggie platter and shrimp tray for tomorrow’s stir-fry dinner.

But do you really want food that 80 other people have coughed and drooled over?

Another site said: Don’t throw away “dead” batteries. Remove them from your radio and use them in quartz clocks. These clocks take such a small amount of power, that batteries too weak to run anything else may have enough power to run a clock for a while.

But do you want to spend your life changing millions of dead batteries or just change batteries once a year?

Another tip was to wash and reuse plastic bags, except that plastic bags are cheap and you’ll end up wasting precious water.

One suggestion was to use baking soda for toothpaste. Not a great idea, because modern toothpastes have mint that fight bad breath. You don’t want to lose your friends over bad breath.

Tip: Save money by cutting your own hair. How often is this successful?

For travel, one site said to stay in hostels when traveling overseas because you can stay for as little as $5 per night. Although that’s true, you’ll likely meet those individuals law enforcement calls “drifters”. Just be advised.

Replace all your incandescent light bulbs with fluorescent lighting. While fluorescent lighting does save money, the bulbs don’t last as long as advertised and they’re expensive. Many of these CFL bulbs put out lousy light. Replacing your bulbs is a tip that sometimes works out, but be careful.

Another site said: Don’t use a cell phone.

They might as well have said, “You can live in a cave, too.” For many, cell phones are as necessary as carrying a billfold or purse.

Send your cost-cutting suggestions to larry.hatteberg@kake.com