We can all use some reminders about the most frugal ways to get clothing for our families and ourselves. That’s why today’s blog posting comes courtesy of thredUP, an online clothes swapping community. (thredUP kids is coming soon!)

thredUP seems to be a great option for families that don’t live near enough to consignment or thrift stores, but would still like to get more value out of their used clothing by swapping it with others. And God Bless the Internet for making this all happen. Now onto the 10 frugal clothes shopping tips!

1) Create a shopping budget. Determine what percentage of your income you feel comfortable spending on clothes (hey, we’re not here to judge). Set that amount aside or track it monthly or annually.

2) Evaluate your wardrobe before you shop. On average, we don’t wear 25% of the clothes in our closet, which leaves you with significant swapping ammo. You can organize a swap party with local friends. If you’re strapped for time, online swapping sites like thredUP allow you to swap clothes from the comfort of your own home.

3) Shop smart. Once you’ve exhausted swappable resources, head out into the “real world” with your frugal helmet intact. Consignment, thrift and resale shops are great for finding discounted gems. Spend time sorting through racks and be sure to ask when new inventory is displayed so you can get first pick!

4) Head to the mall with a game plan. Make a list with two columns: need and want. Thinking this through ahead of time will deter impulsive purchases.

5) Negotiate whenever possible. While some prices are set in stone, many stores provide a little wiggle room, such as boutiques and consignment shops. Also, don’t hesitate to ask for a discount on blemished items. You should feel comfortable suggesting your own discount, as these are rarely fixed.

6) Shop for the future. If you’re shopping for staple items that you need every year, buy them in the off-season. Purchase winter clothes in the spring and summer clothes in the fall.

7) Spend on accessories. Rather than buying new outfits, spend less money updating your wardrobe with accessories. Scarves, belts, necklaces and hats, can all refresh your look. Head to inexpensive accessory stores to change up your style year to year.

8 ) Consider a piece’s upkeep when considering buying it. Check out the cleaning instructions before purchasing an item. Dry-cleaning can be a huge expense. If the cost of three cleaning cycles nears the original price, it’s probably not worth purchasing.

9) Green saves you green. Organic clothes last longer! Natural fibers are less susceptible to wear and tear. Investing in linen and wool clothing can save you serious cash over time.

10) Buy with your lifestyle in mind. You may love summer dresses and tank tops, but if you work 9 to 5 in an office all summer, you likely don’t need many.

I couldn’t track down any new freebies this week so I’m just grouping them all together below. If you have the inside line on freebie information, send it my way, OK?

Miscellaneous Freebies

• McDonald’s is also getting on the free Wifi bandwagon.
• Live in Southeastern Pennsylvania/Central New Jersey and need a job? Then register for the free job search workshop being held on February 1st.
• Kids eat free every at Perkins Restaurant and Bakery between 3 and 10 p.m. daily. The catch (which isn’t much of a catch all)? You get one free kids’ meal with each adult entree purchased and your kids must be 12 years old or young.
• The free Taco Fresco deal at Taco Bell still seems to be going on, as in the online coupon still shows up when you click this link to the Taco Bell site. So download and enjoy while you can!You can download a free “The Biggest Loser” workout mix “tape,” courtesy of Subway. (That’s to Miami FL on the Cheap for a lead on this deal.)

The 10! Show in Philadelphia has asked me back again to offer additional frugal-living tips. The show broadcasts at 11 a.m. on WCAU–the NBC affiliate. As soon as the video is available online, I’ll post a link. I’ll also share my tips at that time, in a separate post.

I’m a FlyLady fan. There, I’ve said it. Not familiar with FlyLady? She offers a virtual community to help people who are living in CHAOS (can’t have anyone over syndrome) start to get their lives back on track. It is because of FlyLady that I’ve learned that I can do anything in 15 minutes and why I rely on a timer or the alarm clock on my cell phone to get so much done in a single day.

Yesterday, one of her messages (she sends out multiple ones a day, plus tweets her suggested tasks) was about how being organized can help you save money. Here’s a summary of what she said:

1. Decluttering 15 minutes a day. In doing this you can uncover items you forgot you even owned and get rid of stuff you no longer need–either by selling it on Craigslist, giving it away to charity or throwing it away (those are my suggestions–I’ve got “cash for clutter” on my brain because of my new book deal). According to FlyLady taking back control of your clutter can save you about $20 a week. You save $1,040 annually.
2. Organizing your morning the night before. The notion here is not only about laying out your outfit and making sure your bags are packed for an easy getaway in the a.m., but also that your kitchen is picked up enough so that you have the time and ability to make yourself breakfast and coffee in the morning. This will help you save the $5 or more you spend each day doing drive-through breakfast. You save $1,300 annually.
3. Planning your meals weekly. You’ve heard me give this advice before and for a simple reason: when you know ahead of time what you’re going to feed your family for dinner at night, you won’t be tempted to stop on the way home for a pizza or take-out food, which is sure to bust your budget. Just one take-out meal a week could set you back $25. You save $3,900 annually.
4. Getting dressed to your shoes. OK, so this “rule” takes some getting used to–especially if you were raised to take your shoes off at the door. But here’s where the logic comes in: if you wear shoes, you won’t break your toe or cut your feet. Because if you do and you have to go to the doctor or the emergency room, then you have to lay out a co-pay–assuming you even have insurance. FlyLady says that one broken foot, paid for in full, could cost you more than $1,500.
5. Paying your bills online and on time. One late fee on one credit card bill could set you back as much as $100. Do it monthly because you can’t keep track of your bills or don’t know where your checkbook is and the money quickly adds up. Spend time getting your bills organized so that you can pay them automatically, and you won’t have to worry about late fees like you used to. You save $1,500 annually.

These five tips could potentially save you a little over $9,000 a year. What’s not to love about that?

Here’s another misnomer for you: cooking pasta in a rice cooker. That’s like my making stir-fry chicken in the Crock-Pot instead of a wok.

And while this notion of making pasta this non-traditional way gives my Sicilian stepmother pause, I just had to share with you how easy this was.

1 1-lb box of pasta (we used penne)
1 26-ounce jar of sauce
26 ounces of water

I dumped it all in the rice cooker, put the top on and “cooked” it for 20 minutes. Enough of the water boiled off as steam so that by the time the pasta was al dente, the sauce had thickened and we had delicious penne. My kids don’t usually eat pasta with sauce by choice but they asked for seconds.

You can bet I’ll be trying this recipe again. Next time I might add frozen meatballs.

What non-traditional things have you made in a rice cooker?

We started thinking about our summer plans this week–probably because camp brochures started showing up in our mailbox. At the same time I started querying magazine editors with my ideas on how to plan a frugal vacation, beyond the typical “check with AAA for discounts” tips. Here are 7 of the money-savers I think everyone would want to know about when planning a vacation on a budget:

1. Fly out of second-tier cities. If you’re flying to your destination, you can usually find cheaper fares outside the big-boy cities. One family found round-trip tickets to Florida for $45 per person, just by choosing to use the airport located further away from the nearest big city. I know that if I need to fly to Maine, I always choose to fly into Manchester, New Hampshire rather than Portland, Maine. Sure, I have to drive a bit farther but I always save hundreds of dollars on my airfare.
2. Use social media to your discounting advantage. Many hotels, resorts and chambers of commerce are using social media to attract customers–and rewarding Twitter- and Facebook-savvy folks with deep discounts. Just today a company told me that if I entered the code TWEET when I booked my stay, I’d save 15%!
3. Think local. This isn’t just about staycations. This is about helping you to plan day trips to places that other people plan entire vacations around. Draw a circle on a map within a 100-mile radius of your home and see what kinds of tourist attractions fall within that circle. Your local convention and visitors bureau might even be able to set you up with discounts to places you drive by on a daily basis and likely never thought of making part of your vacation plans.
4. Take a volunteer vacation. According to Sheryl Kayne, author of Volunteer Vacations Across America (September 2009), there are a handful of farms and good causes that will provide free room and board to you and your youngest volunteers in return for your sweat and elbow grease. For example, Kane says The Big Dipper Eco Farm in Michigan accepts families with children of all ages, including infants and toddlers, and will find age-appropriate organic gardening tasks for all the mobile members of your family.
5. See if your memberships get you free or discounted admission to places where you’re traveling. If you’re a member of your local zoo or museum, find out if those institutions have reciprocal agreements with other zoos and museums. For example, National Aviary members receive discounted or free admission at a long list of zoos, with which it has reciprocal discounts or free admission. You might just find yourself with free entertainment to enjoy during your time away.
6. When you do travel, stock your own minibar. Don’t be tempted to pay $5 for a candy bar in that hotel mini-fridge. Instead, visit your favorite warehouse club to stock up on goodies that your kids can treat themselves to during your trip and won’t bust your budget in the process.
7. Rent a house, apartment or hotel room with a full or partial kitchen. This will help you to avoid paying for the $6 bagels in the hotel restaurant when you order breakfast. You can go through organizations that specialize in vacation home rentals or timeshare rentals, or even check places like Craigslist or the back of your college alumni magazine for ads for vacation rentals.

What about you? How do you figure out money savers for your vacations?

This past weekend I treated myself to a rice cooker. For the longest time I thought this was an appliance that was a waste of money, but then we went to a friend’s house for New Year’s Eve, and I experienced a rice cooker first hand for the first time. And I was hooked.

When we gutted our kitchen and suddenly I was out a stove, I continued to make my rice in the microwave like always. But here’s what I found out: when you’re cooking without a kitchen, you’re using the microwave to cook many other things as well. The couple of times we’ve had rice with vegetables and something else, I would have to rotate when I cooked the rice, plus the rest of the meal in the microwave, and something always ended up cold.

So this past weekend, when I saw a Black & Decker rice cooker for only $25, I splurged.

Here’s the best part: I discovered that this rice cooker can do way more than just cook rice. It can also:

• steam vegetables
• cook seafood
• make pasta–as in heat it up in the absence of a pot on a stove, not actually “make” pasta
• act as a stockpot for making soup
• cook and steam dumplings

For as long as we are without a kitchen–and even after our new kitchen is installed–I’m feeling confident that this rice cooker will be a staple in my meal plans. And now I can’t wait to use it the next time I make stir-fry chicken in the slow cooker and want to serve it with rice.

Most magazines are pushing the “get organized” message in their January issues. And why not? Lots of people make a New Year’s resolution to go out with the old (clutter) and bring in the new (neatness).

I’ve seen a couple of magazines suggesting that one area of your home that probably needs decluttering is your bathroom, where you’ve likely amassed bottles of prescription medications past and present–some expired, some empty and never thrown away.

But before you get rid of those meds or toss those containers in the trash, keep this important information in mind:

1. Don’t flush unused or expired medications down the toilet. This water eventually ends up in our waterways, where trace amounts of your medicine can cause contamination.
2. Do figure out ahead of time if you can recycle your prescription bottles with your regular trash. Most of the “brown” prescription bottles are #5 plastic, which is polypropylene. The clear prescription bottles, like the kind you get from Target, are #1 plastic or PETE. This is the same stuff that soda bottles are made from. While many recyclers now accept plastic #1 through #7, not all do. So double-check that you can recycle the bottles with the rest of your household containers before assuming you can and tossing them in the bin.
3. Don’t trash prescription bottles if you can’t recycle them–reuse them instead. There are plenty of reuses for prescription bottles–after you give them a good washing, of course. I’ve heard of scouts who put matches in these bottles as a way of keeping them dry. I know crafts people who used them as mini containers that hold like items, such as push pins, beads or needles. You can even use them to make your own TSA-approved, travel-sized containers for shampoo, conditioner and lotion–though I would only do so after soaking off the prescription label first so you don’t raise any smuggling red flags at security. (Note my disclaimer here!)

Any other suggestions for recycling and reusing prescription bottles?

Months ago my supermarket had a super deal on pork loin. Like any smart frugalista would do, I stocked up. I had the butcher cut the pork loin into one-pound pieces, and I put a bunch in the freezer. Yesterday, we enjoy that last loin. However, since we currently have no kitchen–and therefore no oven–my only option was to cook it in the slow cooker.

Normally, I would do a pulled pork recipe with barbecue sauce in the Crock-Pot, but my daughter Annie hasn’t been feeling the pulled pork lately. So I decided to experiment.

Recently, I’d purchased a couple of bottles of discontinued salad dressing on clearance at the grocery store ($.50/bottle) and had one left–spicy Italian–and figured I could do worse with a “sauce” for the pork loin. So I got cooking. Here’s what I used:

2 T olive oil
1 pound pork loin (no need to thaw if frozen)
1 16-ounce bottle of salad dressing (whichever flavor you prefer)
2 cups of water

I coated the bottom of the Crock-Pot with the olive oil and swished the bowl around to cover the bottom surface. Then I put the rock-solid frozen pork loin in the bottom of the Crock-Pot and dumped the entire salad dressing over it. I added an additional two cups of water, then put the slow cooker on high for eight hours.

Fast forward eight hours and the pork smelled delicious and just fell apart when I cut into it to serve it.

We rounded out dinner with rice (made in the microwave) and Green Giant steamers (we had corn in butter sauce, which was delicious) also cooked in the microwave. (Hey, I had a coupon and did you know that, ounce for ounce, frozen vegetables are often cheaper than their canned counterparts? But they’re just as nutritious!)

Annie had invited a friend to dinner that night, and they both told me that they loved the pork. I think they had seconds and maybe even thirds. I would definitely make this recipe again and can’t wait until pork goes on sale in the future so I can!

Click here to watch my January 6th segment on the “10! Show” in Philadelphia to discuss frugal New Year’s resolutions and (of course) my new book Suddenly Frugal.

Testing to see if schedule posts are going lived as planned….

Getting gifts is great. Returning gifts isn’t–especially if you find yourself in a situation of not having the receipt or having to deal with a retailer that simply doesn’t want to deal with returns (no fair, I say). That’s why I thought you’d find this checklist from Consumer Reports, on how to avoid gift-return snafus, to be helpful. Luckily, I had all the receipts and information I need to make gift returns this past weekend.

• Get a gift receipt. I always attach a gift receipt to any present I buy–even my kids’ own gifts. Not only does this ensure that, should we need to make a return, we’ll get the full price we paid, but also I find that retailers are more lenient with return periods when you have a gift receipt. For example, the Uggs I bought my daughter? I’ll have 90 days post-Christmas to return them versus 30 days if I hadn’t bought them around the holidays and with a gift receipt.
• Keep packaging intact. “Stores are likely to refuse a return if the packaging materials are open or discarded,” says Consumer Reports. “Even a missing instruction manual, cords and cables or warranty card can give retailers reason to deny the return.”
• Follow all instructions to make an online return. You may need a special packing slip or even to ship it to a specific “returns-only” address. Call ahead to ensure that you will meet all requirements and get the full value from your return.
• Hold off on rebates on products–for now. Items like computer software, video games, CDs and DVDs aren’t generally returnable for another title after the seal has been broken. If an item comes with a rebate offer, make sure it works before removing the UPC code to redeem the rebate.
• Don’t get stuck paying restocking fees, which stores charge to “process” your return. It usually applies to electronics and, frankly, I think it’s a rip off. Typically fees range from 10 to 15 percent of the purchase price. Items more likely to have restocking fees include camcorders, TVs, digital cameras, and computers. Consumer Reports found out that the follow retailers tend to charge restocking fees; Amazon.com (15% for computers and fine jewelry); Best Buy (15% on laptops, camcorders, digital cameras and GPS navigators); Bidz.com (15% on all items, plus shoppers have only 15 days to return items); Sears (15% on electronics products returned without the original box, used, and without all of the original packaging); Home Depot (special-orders and some cancelled orders are subject to a 15 percent restocking fee); Macys (10% on furniture); Newegg.com (15% on all major purchases if the box is opened.)

I hope that every gift you give and get is the one wanted and you don’t have to deal with returns in the coming weeks!

Merry Christmas to all of my Suddenly Frugal readers who celebrate Christmas.

My mother in law has a tradition with my daughters. Every December she brings them to the local dollar store and has them shop for everyone in the family. It’s a great way for my mother in law, who is on a limited budget, to help the girls shop in a way she can afford. And it’s a great way for my daughters to think creatively about gifts they need to buy for parents, uncles and more. (Last year I got two bottles of hand sanitizer from them. Be still my germophobe heart!)

If you’ve got last-minute shopping to do and you’re on a limited budget, you might want to stop into your local dollar store and see if you can’t finish up your shopping there. I was just perusing the Family Dollar website and found some of the follow gift ideas that would fit any frugal budget:

• Candles, pictures frames and bath sets–all perfect hostess gifts to use now or stash in your gift closet (and all for $5 or less)
• Brand-name toys, like Disney princesses, for the young ones on your shopping list
• Boxes of candy canes for a buck each (my daughter’s gift of choice to hand out to her classmates)
• Tissue paper, wrapping paper and gift bags

Do you do well in dollar stores, too? What are some of your favorite finds–for holiday gifts or everyday uses?

We got hammered with about a foot of snow this past weekend, as did most of the Mid-Atlantic and the Northeast. However, I knew enough not to head out to the supermarket for any last-minute supplies. Have you ever made that mistake, when snow is forecast, and found your supermarket packed with panicked shoppers? As one of my Facebook friends said, it’s a snow storm not the snow-pocalypse!

But the truth is it always seems like people are stocking up on bread, milks and eggs before it snows. Interesting choice. I always associated snowy days with hot cocoa, not French toast!

This past week Stop & Shop took a look at what the pre-storm shoppers were stocking up on, and here’s what they found:

• Milk and Bread sales are up: 50%
• Soup sales are up: 30%
• Baking aisle needs are up: 100%
• Ground Beef & Bacon are up: 30%
• Soda, Snacks and Beer Sales are up: 30%
• Battery & Flashlight sales are up: 100%
• Bottled Water up: 40%
• Rock Salt, snow shovels and windshield washer fluid are up: 400%

I don’t know about you, but I still prefer to stock up when the price is right–such as bread for about a buck a loaf–not when snow is forecast. How can you expect to remain true to your frugal mission if you’re shopping in a panic?

I totally missed National Regifting Day last Thursday, December 17th. Not that I think millions of Americans went out and regifted, but it’s a way of recognizing that regifting is an OK way to gift. Especially in this economy and for those looking not to waste gifts, I think regifting is a great idea.

For more on regifting, check out this Philadelphia Inquirer story on how not to be a careless regifter, featuring yours truly in both the text and an accompanying photograph.

What’s your opinion on regifting?

Ordering Christmas gifts online this year? Then you’ll want to make all of your purchases today to take advantage of Free Shipping Day. This is a day when more than 500 retailers are offering shoppers like you and me free shipping and with a guaranteed delivery in time for Christmas. Here is a partial list of participating retailers and websites:

• Bumble Bells bangles and booties are shipped free if you spend $50 or more.
• Accessories company Carol Alexander offers free shipping on any order over $25.
• At ChimneyBalloon, any order ships for free with this coupon code used at checkout: FREEDAY
• Christabelle’s Closet Designer Resale Boutique Shoppers can also receive 20% off their FREE SHIPPING order using the code: LastCall09
• Cute Beltz is offering free shipping on all orders $25 or more.
• Farmstead Wines will offer free 2-day shipping on all orders of 12+ bottles; use offer code: FreeShippingDay. In states where 2-day shipping isn’t available, we will provide free ground shipping.
• Goodtobeyou.com: Spend $30 and get free shipping when you use the code DECFREE (for use at checkout). Also, use the code MERRY10 for $10 off a $35 crystal or rhinestone tee or NOEL15 for 15% off an order at GoodtoBeYou.com
• HudsonGoods.com
• JCPenney offers free shipping on purchases of $25 or more. After Free Shipping Day is over–or from December 18 to December 20–you can get a free upgrade to express delivery, to make sure your gifts arrive by Christmas Eve.
• JulieApple offers sustainable and equitably made bags, including those made from recycled PET bottles. *SUDDENLY FRUGAL EXCLUSIVE: USE THE CODE FRUGAL WHEN CHECKING OUT*
• Here are two codes worth noting for orders at M. Levinson jewelry: “FreeShipping” gets you the obvious, but if you buy something silver and use the code “silver” you will get an additional 15% off.
• MOC (Move Over Cards) are 100% post consumer recycled tag packs that you can use on gifts, as bookmarks or as ornaments.
• NAP, Inc, which makes wearable baby carriers.
• numsi, an online business specializing in wall art and clothing for babies and children, has free shipping along with these deals: Spend $25 and get a free set of three badges; spend $50 and get a free mirror; and spend $100 and get a free desktop calendar.
• In addition to free shipping, Parking Pal Magnets--those fun magnets you can put on your car (we have one for our daughter’s basketball team)–is having a three-for-one deal in December.
• All Preserve products, including mixing bowls, measuring cups, colanders and cutting boards, are made from 100% recycled plastics and 100% post-consumer paper. (I have some of their products and love them!) Orders over $50 get free shipping when you use the code FreeShip09.
• Rosie Hippo will give you free shipping plus a 10% discount on your order if you spend more than $50 (before tax) and enter WINTER2009 in the Coupon Code box at checkout.
• Ross-Simons offers free shipping 365, 24/7 on all items over $250 but will offer free shipping upgrades, if necessary to guarantee Christmas Delivery
• Sculptz legwear and shapewear
• Sears.com is offering free shipping plus $1 back on every item purchased (as long as each item is $10 or more).
• Shopathome.com is actually a shopping portal more than a shopping destination. If you register here, you’ll not only get free shipping codes to use but also ear cash back on your purchases at certain retailers.
• Smiley Cookie!
• Somebody’s Mother’s Chocolate Sauce is offering free shipping on all of its gourmet dessert sauces (chocolate, caramel, and white chocolate). Yum!
• Staples provides free shipping on orders over $50. (I think this is true all year round.) Also, through 12/26, Staples will be offering 100 percent back in Staples Rewards on 20 packs of AA or AAA Duracell batteries. Good to know for any battery-operated toys you might find under the tree.
• Stonehouse 27 makes a line of exotic Indian cooking sauces. Free shipping on 3 or more jars plus $2 off on any jar of sauce for the holidays.
• Taygaaprons.com sells women’s and children’s cooking aprons, and is offering free shipping on orders over $75, plus 20%.
• Turtle Love Committee, a internet-based, eco-friendly artisan jewelry company in Portland, Maine, provides free shipping on all orders, regardless of how much you spend.
• Virtualwordpublishing.com will ship all books for free, plus give you 10% off your book order.
• WiredForWine.com
• WondaWedge
• Wholesale Italian Food specializes in gourmet Italian staples, like olive oil and pasta.
• Pet-products seller Wysong will give you free shipping if you use the code SHIPDAY on your order. Woof!
• Everything in this Etsy store will be eligible for free shipping.

Additionally, you can find out about free shipping deals at these sites:

• Dealio.com, a leading coupons, deals & comparison shopping website, has a special section dedicated to free shipping offers.
• For a roundup of free shipping dates/stores, check out DealNews.
• FatWallet.com deal guides have gathered a Free Shipping Day guide to merchants offering free shipping, as well as a list of shipping deadlines for Christmas Eve delivery.
• RetailMeNot.com aggregates all of the free shipping deals available online plus a live feed of free shipping deals on Twitter.

For now, please visit http://suddenlyfrugal.wordpress.com

As expected I’m experiencing technical difficulties migrating my blog. For the time being please do not update your bookmarks to the unique domain. Instead continue to use http://suddenlyfrugal.wordpress.com Thank you.

Leah Ingram

December 14, 2009

Dear Readers:

This weekend I will begin migrating my Suddenly Frugal blog to a unique URL/domain at http://www.suddenlyfrugal.com. That domain is already directed here, so this change won’t affect those arriving here using that URL. But if you’ve been using the “suddenlyfrugal.wordpress.com” address, you will find yourself getting redirected as of Monday.

As I make this migration, I may run into some technical difficulties. So I’ll apologize in advance now if your Monday morning blog posting doesn’t arrive as expected. However, I’m excited about the change to a Suddenly Frugal-dedicated site, which will allow me to expand this blog, making it better for all involved–and for those who read it. Additionally, this will allow me to monetize the site, something I haven’t been able to do as of yet.

Thanks for your patience.

Leah Ingram
December 11, 2009

Here is a round up of some recent reader comments that show how reading this blog really can help you to live more frugally and to save money:

“Your post just saved me $225 on the appliances for my new home.”

“Yesterday at a furniture store’s going-out-of-business sale I channeled you and asked if they’d give me $100 off if I bought two pieces. They did.”

“Thank you for the printable coupon website. I have saved a bundle.”

“Saved $360. Not bad.”

If reading this blog has saved you money, let me know.

Did you know that turkey leftovers are good for four days only? That means that if you have anything still in the refrigerator from Thanksgiving, it should hit the trash today. Or the compost pile, as long as there’s no meat, bones or dairy. (If you managed to get your leftovers into the freezer, you should consume them in the next two to six months.)

Wonder what other kinds of leftovers or food staples you might need to throw out to avoid food poisoning? I did a story a few years ago on how to figure out when to toss your cookies (or canned goods) so you don’t end up tossing your cookies. Here are some highlights from that story, which are apropos given today’s expiration date on Thanksgiving leftovers.

• Dairy products: go by the expiration date–or your senses. If your milk or yogurt doesn’t look or smell right, get rid of it.
• Lunch meat: three to five days. Or as soon as it seems slimy or just plain “off.”
• Fresh fruits and vegetables: you’ll know it when you see it, such as when mold is growing or a previously solid piece of produce has turned to liquid!
• Take-out food or leftovers: toss after four days. This includes the aforementioned Thanksgiving turkey and trimmings, as well as takeout food like pizza or Chinese.
• Eggs: three to five weeks or if they smell rotten.
• Opened jar of sauce or salsa: use within a week or before bacteria can begin to grow.
• Canned goods: follow “use by” date or toss immediately if you see that the can has expanded in any spot (this could signal botulism inside). Dents inwards are harmless dings; “dents” outwards are a sign of a canned good past its prime.

Whenever possible recycle the container your expired food came in. This includes taking cardboard egg cartons, ripping them into small pieces and putting them in your compost bin, or rinsing out jars, bottles and cans so they can go into the recycling bin.

Remember: there’s no reason to be stupid–and risk getting food poisoning–by being frugal and trying to get another day’s meal out of food that you really shouldn’t be eating at this point.

Looking to score a deal on Cyber Monday? Here is a list of retailers that will be offer “deals of the hour” today (this information is courtesy of the National Retail Federation):

All Times Are Eastern

8:00 – 9:00 a.m. Toys “R” Us

9:00 – 10:00 a.m. Dell Home

10:00 – 11:00 a.m. Overstock.com

11:00 – 12:00 p.m. The Home Depot

12:00 – 1:00 p.m. Sears

1:00 – 2:00 p.m. drugstore.com

2:00 – 3:00 p.m. Kmart

3:00 – 4:00 p.m. HP Home

4:00 – 5:00 p.m. Borders

5:00 – 6:00 p.m. eToys

6:00 – 7:00 p.m. Sierra Trading Post

7:00 – 8:00 p.m. American Eagle

8:00 – 9:00 p.m. Discovery Store (part of the Discovery Channel)

9:00 – 10:00 p.m. Cabela’s

10:00 – 11:00 p.m. The Body Shop

11:00 – 12:00 a.m. Red Envelope

Today is Cyber Monday, and according to the National Retail Federation, 96.5 million Americans will log on to do some kind of shopping. While that’s hardly the number that braved early hours and freezing temperatures to score deals on Black Friday (195 million shoppers), it’s a pretty significant group that will be online today.(Wonder how many websites will freeze up or crash because of this?)

That’s why I wanted to remind you that if you do shop online–today, tomorrow or whenever–you might want to consider using a shopping portal. These are the kinds of sites that you visit first, then click through to whichever retailer you’re looking to buy from–and in the process you earn cash back or extra discounts.

There was a recent story in the New York Times called “Site-Hopping for Holiday Savings” that highlighted some shopping portals and how they can help make your dollar go further this holiday season. Here are a few of those mentioned in the story:

• Ebates is basically a free service that allows you to get electronic “rebates” by stopping there first to do your online shopping. According to Ebates online retailers want your business and will pay Ebates a “commission” for directing traffic to their sites. When Ebates gets such a commission, it splits it with the shopper (you!). Truth is you get that cash in the form of a gift card and then you have limited choices. But it’s worth checking out.
• Upromise rewards you for going shopping through its site by putting money aside in your kids’ college savings account–a 529 plan. Supposedly you can earn up to 25% back on your purchases when you visit one of the 600 participating retailers.
• Fatwallet lets you earn cash back for your purchases and helps you to earn coupons to use on future purchases. Some of its participating e-tailers include Walmart, The Apple Store and Bloomingdales.
• Credit card-specific sites. Many credit cards that already offer you benefits, like earning gift cards to your favorites stores, allow additional ways for you to earn cash back–namely shopping through their online sites. According to the New York Times stories, American Express, Discover, Bank of America and Chase have shopping portals customers can use. (Wish I’d known this before we did all of our Black Friday shopping online Thursday night–we have two Chase-issued cards!)

On the other end of the spectrum are third-party sites that let you earn points you can cash in for stuff, just by visiting their site first–you don’t have to be going to another site to shop. For example, I have a couple of Facebook friends who use the site Swagbucks.com–I know this because whenever they use the site, it gets posted to their status update.

Here’s how Swagbucks works: when these folks need to search for something on the web, they visit the Swagbucks website first (instead of going right to Google or Yahoo) and then they earn Swagbucks “points” for each search they do. Eventually, they can cash their points in for items on Swagbucks, such as gift cards to iTunes or Barnes & Noble.

Do you use shopping portals to earn extra benefits? If so, let us know how they work for you–and if you know of other sites that are worth mentioning.