Free Canvas Print

Posted by ~L on August 5, 2010 · 3 Comments

I’m super excited…I was poking around the Freebies on the How Does She blog and I found an offer for a free 8×10 canvas print! Or, you can do like I did and upgrade to a larger version at a discounted price plus shipping.

You may recall the card we received from Andy’s Grandma in this post. I loved it so much I knew I needed to do more than just save the card so I used the verse on one of our favorite photos to create this:

I used the special offer from the Canvas People to save $55 off a 11″ x 14″ canvas print. Cannot wait to see it! I may cry every time I read it.

Filed under Kayden, Tips & Tricks · Tagged with baby

I’ve been Featured!

Posted by ~L on August 19, 2009 · Leave a Comment

Just wanted to share that my post on how to hem your pants without sewing has been featured on TipJunkie! If you haven’t visited Laurie’s site you don’t know what you’re missing and I would highly recommend you check it out! But be warned…you could spend HOURS sifting through all her tips, tricks, and crafty ideas! It’s one of my most favorite sites. Happy surfing!

Filed under Tips & Tricks · Tagged with

Treat Your Pets Well & Save Money

Posted by ~L on June 1, 2009 · 3 Comments

As I was dealing with Putter’s poor ears I realized it was time for me to get more meds for the dogs to keep them safe from fleas and heartworm. Sound expensive? You bet. Now take that times three dogs!

Being the cheapskate frugal person that I am, I’m always looking for a way to save a few bucks where I can. So I’m happy I was able to treat Putter’s ears with inexpensive household products. But, that’s not so much the case with flea and heartworm medications.

To save on those things I started using 1800petmeds.com. You do have to have a prescription from your vet to get the medications but 1800petmeds will contact your vet and get the info for you. I’ve found that my vets aren’t big fans of you buying those products from someone other than them. They tell me the products do not have the same guaranty which may be true, but I’ve not had any issues.

frontline

I’ve learned of another way to help save A LOT on the flea meds. Typically, you buy boxes that have 3, 6, or 12 of the above little applicators based on the weight of your dog. Each container has a pre-measured amount of medicine. Usually you break the top of the container off and apply the full amount to your dog. If you do the math you will see you are paying A LOT more per ml for a smaller dog. You can save by buying the larger containers (intended for bigger dogs) and carefully dividing it into smaller doses.

kit

Since you can buy Frontline and similar products without a prescription, something else I have done is buy a flea medicine “kit” from ebay. The kits come with the medicine, a glass vial, and a plastic syringe as shown above.

The idea is that you buy the medicine in a higher dosage, empty the solution into a glass vial, and divide it up amongst your pets using a plastic syringe. This is WAY less expensive than buying multiple applications separately. But, also very likely be frowned upon by some (including vets) because you’re increasing the risk of giving them too much medicine. But, if you’re careful you will do just fine.

Here’s the dosage from the 1800petmeds website:

Pet	Weight	Dosage
Dogs/Puppies: (8 weeks of age or older)	Up to 22 lbs	Apply contents of 1 applicator once a month (0.67 ml)
	23-44 lbs	Apply contents of 1 applicator once a month (1.34 ml)
	45-88 lbs	Apply contents of 1 applicator once a month (2.68 ml)
	89-132 lbs	Apply contents of 1 applicator once a month (4.02 ml)
Cats/Kittens: (8 weeks of age or older)	All weights	Apply contents of 1 applicator once a month (0.5 ml)

And the math behind it based on my three dogs:

TYPICAL PURCHASE

Putter – dosage for 1-22 lbs = 0.67ml = $45.99 for 3 months ($15.66 per 0.67ml dose/month)
Tiger - dosage for 1-22 lbs = 0.67ml = $45.99 for 3 months ($15.66 per 0.67ml dose/month)
Max - dosage for 23-44 lbs = 1.34ml = $46.99 for 3 months ($7.83 per 0.67 ml dose, but Max needs TWO 0.67 ml doses)

Total = $138.97 for 3 months for all three dogs, or $46.32 per month.

SAVE A LITTLE

Buy the 23-44 lbs package, which is 1.34ml, divide it by two = 0.67ml and you have two doses for 1-22 lb pets. $46.99 for 3 months which will treat my two smaller dogs for 3 months. So, one pack for them and one for Max is $93.98, saving me $44.99. This option would cost $31.32 per month.

SAVE A LOT

Buy the largest dosage for 89-132lbs (which equates to $4.31 per 0.67 ml dose) and divide that up amongst all three dogs for a total of $17.24 per month.

SAVE THE MOST

If you’re not afraid of buying on ebay you can save even more on your meds, just make sure it’s a reputable seller. I bought 6 month supply for 45-88 lbs for $51.99, add $2 for shipping/insurance for total of $53.99. This is 24 applications of 0.67ml, which is $9.00 per month for all three dogs – saving me $37.32 per month from the typical purchase!

I love my boys and while I will cut corners and attempt to save money where possible I refuse to switch to lower quality food or skip medicines to save a few bucks. I want them to be as healthy as possible and besides, a sick dog can cost way more than just paying to take good care of them in the first place.

What do you do to cut costs on pet care?

Filed under Dogs, Money & Finance, Tips & Tricks · Tagged with

Icky Pug Ears

Posted by ~L on May 31, 2009 · 2 Comments

I don’t know about other pugs, but my boys tend to get very dirty ears and are very susceptible to ear infections and yeast in their ears. Chicken or the egg situation I don’t know, but gross nonetheless. To avoid this I try to should be better about maintaining a routine ear cleaning (along with trimming nails) maybe once a week. I often find that I get off schedule, forget, and then find I’ve got a bigger issue to deal with once I remember to check again.

The other night poor Putter’s ears were really red, kinda crusty, and even cracked and slightly bleeding! I was freaked out but he didn’t seem to be bothered or in pain over it. I carefully cleaned his ears and thought I’d better visit the vet to get some medicine to clear it up.Normally I’m all for taking your pet to the vet if there’s an issue. However, since I’m very familiar with the pugs’ ear problems I already know what the “issue” is, so I consulted Google to see if there was a less expensive, more natural way to treat Putter’s ears. Of course there is!

Apparently you can mix equal parts of white vinegar and water to make a cleansing solution. Then you saturate a cotton ball and carefully swab the insides of their ears. I was very cautious about doing so, thinking maybe it would be a bit painful, vinegar being acid and all. But, Putter was really good about it and not bothered in the least. I’ve been doing it for a couple days and I’m happy to report his ears have really improved a great deal. I’ll probably cut back on this to once a week or something but it’s good to know I have a quick, easy, and natural way to treat the ear issues (not to mention WAY less expensive!)

Let me point out though if you are not entirely sure of what’s going on in your pet’s ear, DO consult your vet before trying to treat it yourself!

Filed under Dogs, Tips & Tricks · Tagged with

Everyone Loves a Shortcut

Posted by ~L on May 28, 2009 · 2 Comments

Some of my co-workers are amazed at what a geek I am how fast I can navigate through documents and spreadsheets and they often consult with me on the best way to setup reports, how to fix random bugs, etc. Since this is my last week at the bank (Yep! More info on that later…) the secretary pulled me aside for some formatting help in Excel before I’m gone. She noticed that I was making all kinds of changes without using my mouse to go up to the top of the document, drop down the menu, and select the function I needed. I told her that’s because I’m obsessed with using keyboard shortcuts, they save a TON of time; when you spend as much time on a computer as I do, those few seconds spent manipulating your mouse to go through menus hundreds of times a day can really cut into your productivity.

I wanted to print her a list of some things she could learn and use once I’m gone. I did a quick search for basic MS Office keyboard shortcuts but I didn’t find anything readily available. There were some long lists I could download but I was looking for just the basics – cut, paste, save, etc. Couldn’t find one. So, I simply typed up my own list and decided to share it on here in case my readers weren’t aware of these nifty little time savers.

BASIC MS OFFICE KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS

Use this key combination To do this:

CTRL + C Copy

CTRL + V Paste

CTRL + X Cut

CTRL + S Save

CTRL + A Select All

CTRL + Z Undo

In Word

ALT + F Open the File Menu

ALT + E Open the Edit Menu

ALT + I Open the Insert Menu