Give us your dollar-stretching ideas

When The Sentinel started the new Sunday Solutions section last month, the idea was to share tips on ways to stretch our dollars. We expected to hear from readers about their Aunt Minnie’s handy-dandy recipe to feed a family of four for a week or the latest in money-saving tips when buying shoes.

But we haven’t heard from readers yet and we want to encourage you to write in. We will feature your ideas in future stories or perhaps do a periodic list of readers’ tips.

To prime the pump, I asked my colleagues at The Sentinel and our sister papers to give me their ideas. Here are some of those I received:

• Bring back the block party! When I was a kid, my neighbors and my family would gather at least monthly for a potluck-style barbecue party. The kids would play, the adults would sit in the shade and chat. It was hours of fun for everyone and the only thing it cost you was the price of the ingredients for the dish you brought. Hot dogs, canned sodas, tri-tip sandwiches, roller skating and sometimes swimming.

Block parties are easy to organize �” just leave a flier with time, date and location on everyone’s doorstep �” and you don’t even have to open up your home to strangers. You might even get to know those neighbors you’ve lived next to for the past decade. Fancy that! �” Shannon Millikin, news department

• My mom is an insanely frugal person. She really does know how to save a buck. For instance, I have never purchased trash bags. All of those plastic bags from Target get saved and reused as trash can liners. Or, when I’m desperate, completely distasteful carry-on luggage. For some reason I prefer paper at the grocery store and only use those to line my kitchen trash can.

• My mom is also infamous for saving all tissue paper and salvageable wrapping paper at any gift-giving occasion. We also don’t do stick-on gift tags. Mom started saving old Christmas cards and reusing them the next year as very pretty gift tags. �” Jennifer Fawkes, marketing

• One way I save money is bringing my lunch to work two or three days a week. We always have leftovers and bringing my lunch has saved me $10-$15 a week. �” Rob Van Wagoner, circulation

• Reporter Heather Halsey told how her mother taught her how to clip coupons and hand them to the cashier at the grocery store when she was just 5. “It was like a game to see how much we could save,” she wrote. “It taught me the value of money and kept me busy at the store while allowing (my mother) to save the money and share the workload of running a household.

• Others suggested watching discount stores for clearance deals. Another said go to a department store, try on clothes, then order them cheaper online.

Publisher Randy Rickman told how his mother used to stretch scrambled eggs with bits of toast in the eggs to save money.

• As the cost of chicken has increased, I’ve learned to buy frozen chicken breasts instead of fresh and defrost them in the microwave for a huge savings. I also save all my glass, aluminum and plastic bottles and cans (even the ones I use at the office) until I have amassed a large amount in paper bags, then I take them to the recycler. I usually end up with $8-10 of extra cash. Every little bit helps.

Now I hope that has inspired some of you to write in with your tips and remembrances that still hold true today in this time of recession. E-mail me at kcoates@HanfordSentinel.com and we’ll feature your ideas in future editions.

News/weekend editor Kathleen Coates can be reached at 583-2422 or kcoates@hanfordsentinel.com. Or just mail your ideas to Kathleen Coates, Solutions, The Sentinel, P.O. Box 9, Hanford, CA 93232 or drop them off at 300 W. Sixth St. in Hanford.