What are your frugal and sustainable tips and tricks?

[Smokerbill]

Flash Sale on Pruning Chainsaw at Menards

For somebody that needs an occasional small pruning chainsaw for trimming around the yard, you might want to consider getting one of these newer 4-inch cordless pruning chainsaws...

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I bought a Ryobi pruning chainsaw a year or two ago and paid about $70 just for the saw itself. This kit from Menards comes with two batteries, charger, and two chains. I don't know how they can sell it so cheaply, but if it works like my Ryobi pruning chainsaw, that is a heck of a deal from Menards.

Although I don't have this specific saw from Menards, I can tell you that I use my Ryobi pruning chainsaw all the time. It's just so much easier to have a one-handed operation with these pruning chainsaws compared to my other chainsaws which require both hands on the saw. For most of the small branches I cut up, it's just so much faster to hold the branch in one hand and cut it with the pruning chainsaw in the other hand.

Of course, you are not going to cut down a tree with a pruning chainsaw. But most of the time I'm not cutting down trees. I'm just cleaning up smaller broken branches off the ground after a storm, for example.

These Menard's Flash Sales usually sell out pretty fast, but sometimes they get more inventory in stock and put it back on sale. I have missed out on a few flash sales but later picked up that item a month later.

If nothing else, you can sign up for the Flash Sale emails and maybe get a good deal on something else you could use. I have taken advantage of the Menards Flash Sales on a few products and saved a lot of money. No regrets in what I did buy. And, if the item is not working out for you for some reason, you can return it to your local Menards. That's a pretty good deal.

I wonder if you could use one of those to grind a hole into the top of a stump to make a planter?

 

[gtaus]

I wonder if you could use one of those [pruning chainsaws] to grind a hole into the top of a stump to make a planter?

Yeah, that's a good thought. I have used my full-sized chainsaw to cut out some wood. Although I could do some plunge cuts with my chainsaw, I could not get it to carve out the wood - safely - as I was getting kickback on the chainsaw. Although I have used chainsaws for 50 years, I don't use them every day for a living, and when I get kickback on my chainsaw, I know I'm not safe.

My Ryobi pruning chainsaw also has a safety cover on top the chain blade. I think that would make my pruning chainsaw useless for carving out a stump.

FWIW, the current retail price on the tool only Ryboi 6-inch pruning chainsaw is $99.99. As much as I like and use my Ryboi pruning chainsaw, I think the Menards pruning chainsaw kit on that Flash Sale for $17.79 is a much better deal - assuming the saw works as it should.

I don't know how Menards can sell that chainsaw kit so cheaply. But in the past few months, I have bought a new budget table saw and a miter saw from Menards when on sale. Both those house brand saws are working out great. I figure I saved about $350.00 on those purchases compared to comparable name brand saws with the same features that I looked at locally at Home Depot and Acme Tools, and online at Amazon.

I talked to one older gentleman there at Menards, and he told me that they had some training sessions where they were told that their house brand tools come from some of the same Chinese factories as the higher dollar, name brand tools. It depends on the tool, of course, but sometimes the only difference is the outer casing, the color of the plastic, and a few decals.

But I have a long history of buying the house brand foods at the supermarket to save money as well. So maybe buying house brand tools at Menards fits with my needs. Well, certainly my budget. I will pay extra for name brand stuff if there is a noticeable difference, but I have to notice and appreciate the difference.

 

[Smokerbill]

Yeah, that's a good thought. I have used my full-sized chainsaw to cut out some wood. Although I could do some plunge cuts with my chainsaw, I could not get it to carve out the wood - safely - as I was getting kickback on the chainsaw. Although I have used chainsaws for 50 years, I don't use them every day for a living, and when I get kickback on my chainsaw, I know I'm not safe.

My Ryobi pruning chainsaw also has a safety cover on top the chain blade. I think that would make my pruning chainsaw useless for carving out a stump.

View attachment 4104778

FWIW, the current retail price on the tool only Ryboi 6-inch pruning chainsaw is $99.99. As much as I like and use my Ryboi pruning chainsaw, I think the Menards pruning chainsaw kit on that Flash Sale for $17.79 is a much better deal - assuming the saw works as it should.

I don't know how Menards can sell that chainsaw kit so cheaply. But in the past few months, I have bought a new budget table saw and a miter saw from Menards when on sale. Both those house brand saws are working out great. I figure I saved about $350.00 on those purchases compared to comparable name brand saws with the same features that I looked at locally at Home Depot and Acme Tools, and online at Amazon.

I talked to one older gentleman there at Menards, and he told me that they had some training sessions where they were told that their house brand tools come from some of the same Chinese factories as the higher dollar, name brand tools. It depends on the tool, of course, but sometimes the only difference is the outer casing, the color of the plastic, and a few decals.

But I have a long history of buying the house brand foods at the supermarket to save money as well. So maybe buying house brand tools at Menards fits with my needs. Well, certainly my budget. I will pay extra for name brand stuff if there is a noticeable difference, but I have to notice and appreciate the difference.

Yep. Safety first!

 

[gtaus]

Yep. Safety first!

Putting safety first is a very frugal thing to do. I cannot think of any situation where paying more for protective gear has cost me more than a single doctor's visit or trip to the emergency room. Can you? I doubt it! Yet so many people consider proper safety gear as optional accessories.

When I buy something heavy or bulky at a store, I will now ask for help in loading it up into the car. I protect my old back as much as I can. As a male RN, I have treated too many guys who wrecked their backs, for life, trying to lift too much by themselves. It only takes one slip of the grip, or a loss of footing, to put in back pain for the rest of your life.

 

[KaelaM]

It's spring and many hardware stores are having sales on mulch. I managed to remulch my run for less than 40 bucks (mulch was 2 bucks a bag and I used 16 bags)

What kind of mulch did you get? I have sand in my run but I've been considering changing it to mulch.

 

[FrostRanger]

What kind of mulch did you get? I have sand in my run but I've been considering changing it to mulch.

I pretty much just got one if the ones on sale in black. Not exactly happy about it being dyed but it works and I and the ladies are happy

 

[saysfaa]

I learned something yesterday. I used cloth diapers for my kids and read about wool soakers as diaper covers. What I missed back then is the wool needs to have enough lanolin in it. The lanolin needs to be renewed fairly often.

Also, walmart still sells the kind of plastic diaper covers for cloth diapers that we used many years ago. We liked them better than the fancy snap covers that were becoming a thing then. Maybe the new generations of covers are better than the several kinds we tried. And maybe not enough better to justify the cost.

 

[saysfaa]

The fancy ones do look better if you aren't putting clothes on the baby. Otherwise, it doesn't matter much at all.

 

[gtaus]

Are You Ready For Possible Shortages or Higher Prices?

I was watching some TV news last night about potential tariff fallout on imported goods. It was reported that some ships out at sea are already turning around and going back to their home ports. It is expected that we will start to see disruptions in our supply chain in less than 6 months.

One of my main stores for buying consumable items is Harbor Freight. They are the low-cost leader for many items and tools in my community. I just finished watching a YouTube video on Harbor Freight and learned that 60% of their goods come from China, so the insiders at Harbor Freight are expecting both much higher costs and possible reduced inventory in the upcoming months. I have been stocking up on my shop consumables now, hoping that we don't see any shortages, but I'll be ready if we do.

Dear Wife and I still remember the panic during COVID-19 when you could not get toilet paper or paper towels at the stores. We quickly built up a panic closet full of paper products, at very high prices, but we got through that period. Dear Wife was never one to stock up on supplies, but that changed her mind. We are in better shape today with a good supply of paper consumables to weather out a storm of shortages.

We now also have a nice food pantry stocked with food. Enough to get us through a few months of potential high prices or shortages. I think we are OK there. Not for years, but at least for months. We just bought items on sale that won't go bad. Over months, we managed to fill our pantry shelves with items we purchased at sale prices.

I have also taken an inventory of my consumable items out in my garage/shop and think I'll be OK for a long time. But now is the time to buy those China-mart consumables if you know you will need them and you are low in supply. With those ships turning around and returning to China, those shop consumables are expected to go down in inventory and up in price.

I grew up in a family that used a big pantry to buy goods when on sale and stock up items to save money. Those old-time habits might be valuable if our supply chain has disruptions and some supplies are limited. I have that money saving pantry system as part of my DNA, but I realize that many people don't. I would encourage people consider some type of storage system to both save money and weather temporary shortages.

Also, I think it's important that everyone consider alternatives to those items that we import for cheap. Can you find something else to use that works for you? Can you do without? Do you have a budget that can afford not to have those items in a pantry now, for use later? Or are you OK paying a much higher price later when/if you need that item?

I hope we can all discuss strategies that will help us get through potential shortages or temporary higher prices on goods. I am stocking up now on import-based things I know I will need later but would love to hear what other people are doing to save money in these times when we are looking at expected higher prices coming soon.

 

[Sally PB]

Regarding possible shortages...
Food. Stock up on store bought shelf stable items like:
Canned beans/soup/stews/meat, etc.
Dried beans/rice
Pasta
Mixes and seasonings
Taco shell and chips (lots of uses for chips, besides as chips; if anything gets stale, re-crisp it in the oven)
Flour and things you use like flour
Sugar
Baking essentials like baking soda, baking powder, salt, etc.
Honey

Other pantry items you might not think about until you need them:
Shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, mouth wash, dentil floss, bar soap, liquid soap, cleaners, TP, paper towel, other personal care and household products.

Learn to bake. Make dehydrated fruit/veg/jerky if that interests you (a dehydrator is an expense). Freeze driers are even more pricy, but might be an option for some people.

Get some good quality shoes and boots. Find out where to get them repaired near you if you have to make do.

Clothing: Goodwill and thrift stores! That's where I get a lot of my clothes. Also, garage/yard/estate sales. My neighbor gets a TON of household items at estate sales! An open but mostly full roll of aluminum foil for 50¢! Light bulbs, matches, candles, and all kinds of small kitchen appliances. (Both my food processors and my stand mixer are things she found for me.)

And... back to food:
Grow a garden and learn to preserve food. I bet just about everyone on this thread does this already.