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DIY Halloween Costumes for Kids -- Savings Experiment

Isha Dandavate — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Savings Experiment, How to Save Money

Don't be scared of high costume prices this Halloween. With a little creativity and our experts' DIY tips, you can save money and still have fun with your kids.

Find Monsters in Your Closet

Our experts recommend looking in your closet for ideas. "There are so many things you can come up with without spending any money," says Kim Danger, founder of MommySavers.com and mother of two. "Look at what your kids enjoy doing and go from there."

Here are some ideas that Danger has used in the past:

Danger's son was interested in hunting and fishing, and had lots of camouflage pants. So she used the clothes and props he already had to turn him into a hunter. Cost: Free.
For her daughter, Danger put together a robe and facial mask for a spa beauty costume. Cost: Single use from a tube of face mask.
Another year, her daughter was a flower girl in a wedding, so Danger paired the dress with a tiara for a princess costume. Cost: Between $4-$10 for a tiara on Amazon.com.

Janis Elspas, mommy blogger and social media strategist, also looks around her home for inspiration. "Use every day things you have at home rather than buying," she says. "Put flour in your hair to make it grey and use regular women's cosmetics for face makeup."

If your child doesn't like anything around the house, Danger recommends another cheap costume option: a bunch of grapes. For about $2, you can buy a pack of purple or green balloons. Find a matching purple or green shirt and use safety pins to attach blown up balloons to the outfit. If you want, you can add some green vine from an art store and call the costume a grape vine. It's a fun and easy DIY costume.

Brew Your Own Potions

For a more dramatic look, you can use everyday ingredients from your pantry to make your own face paint. Danger has a great recipe:

3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon flour
¾ cup light corn syrup
¼ cup water

First mix together the cornstarch and flour. Then add corn syrup and water, and mix until it's smooth. Separate the concoction into paper cups and use food coloring to create the shades you need to turn your child into a witch or a clown.

Cast Temporary Spells

If you want to be frugal and green -- and you don't want to sew -- Danger recommends an easy solution. All you need is craft felt and a plain T-shirt. Glue black spots on a white shirt for a dalmatian costume, black stripes on a yellow shirt for a bumblebee, or black spots on a red shirt for a ladybug.

The best part is, school glue is washable. Throw the costume in the washing machine when you're done and the shirt will come out of the laundry back to normal.

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How to Cut Costs on Cookware -- Savings Experiment

Isha Dandavate — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Savings Experiment, Home & Garden

Is the cost of your cookware leaving you with no funds for food? Celebrity chefs like Mario Batali and Marcus Samuelsson endorse their own expensive lines of kitchen tools, but you don't need to spend hundreds of dollars on equipment to create a delicious meal.

We asked the experts which items warrant a splurge, and which are simply overpriced.

Fork Over the Cash for a Few Nice Knives

The most important thing to splurge on is a good set of knives. But you don't need the big box set, says Aaron Baer-Harsha, line cook at Ouest in New York City. "The average home cook only needs two knives: a chef knife somewhere in the range of six to 10 inches, and a paring knife.

Baer-Harsha recommends the Wusthof brand of knives. You can find a six-inch chef knife for $75 on Amazon.com, and a 3.5-inch paring knife for $35 at Macy's (M).

If you're investing in good knives, it's also important to take care of them. You will need two things: a sharpening steel and a good cutting board.

Baer-Harsha recommends buying your sharpening steel -- also called a honing steel -- from a reputable store like Williams Sonoma (WSM), where the staff can teach you how to use it properly. The diamond sharpening steels can cost as much as $100, but it's OK to buy the cheaper, metal sharpening steel. You will still have a useful tool to keep your knives sharp.

Aside from sharpening your knives, you also should buy a good cutting board to protect your tools. "Bad cutting boards do a lot of damage to knives," says Baer-Harsha. "So if you're going to buy nice knives you might as well buy a good cutting board as well." He recommends wood, not glass or plastic.

Pass on Pricey Pots and Pans

When it comes to pots and pans, our experts say a big expense is unnecessary. Paul Vandewoude, head chef at Miette Culinary studio in New York City, says that it's important to have a pan with a thick bottom but also one that is light enough to hold comfortably.

Vandewoude warns against using nonstick pans: They release potentially toxic gases when heated to high temperatures. He also doesn't recommend pans with plastic handles. "It should be able to go in the oven," says Vandewoude. "So if you're cooking a large meal you can use all surfaces of your stove top as well as your oven."

Baer-Harsha also recommends going for cheaper pots and pans. He identifies All Clad as a solid brand for home cooks, but at about $90 for a 10-inch stainless steel frying pan at Macy's, the prices of this line are at the upper limit of what it's worth spending on them. As an alternative, Consumer Reports found that Bonjour is a top quality brand -- and it's cheaper. For an eight-inch skillet, you'll pay about $40 at Macy's.

At the end of the day, you have to prioritize your kitchen purchases. Spend your extra cash on knives, and go with a cheaper set of pots and pans. You'll have the tools for a successful meal without paying professional prices.

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What's the Right Price for Pet Food? -- Savings Experiment

Isha Dandavate — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Savings Experiment

Your pets are like family, but are you seriously overspending when it comes to their food? Here are some tips to consider when picking your pet's nutrition.

Avoid Filler Foods

Early this year Petco created a new "Certified Nutrition" program that divides pet foods into three categories -- essential foods, natural foods, and advanced foods. Each of these groups fulfills a different requirement: essential foods include basic fillers like wheat or corn, while natural foods contain many familiar ingredients like meat, fruits and vegetables. Advanced foods, finally, are formulated for pets with special medical needs.

According to Petco dog trainer Somers Pierre, natural food brands like Wellness, Halo or Natural Balance are the best choice because they promote health and longevity for your pet. On the other hand, they cost a little more than the basic kibble with fillers. For example, a 30-pound bag of a filler-based essential brand like Beneful costs between $26 and $35, while a natural brand like Wellness costs between $46 and $54.

Pet expert Arden Moore emphasizes nutrition: "It is vital these days that the very first ingredient is a real protein -- not meat byproducts and definitely not wheat or corn," she says. "If you get high-quality, nutritional food, you're going to have fewer pet bills, and your pet is going to live a longer healthier life."

You can save on natural food by purchasing a less-known brand like AvoDerm. On average, that will save you about $10 to $15 per bag.

Pierre points out another great benefit of natural food: Your pet will eat a smaller quantity of it. This helps cut down on your bill as well as your pet's risk for obesity.

Shop at Pet Supply Stores

Consumer Reports found that stores like Target (TGT) and Walmart (WMT) had better prices than Petco, Petsmart (PETM), or online retailers like petfooddirect.com. However, you won't find natural food brands at general merchandise retailers. Stick with pet supply stores like Petco, which also offer price matching if you find the product cheaper at another store.

Petco has a points program that provides discounts to returning customers. And, if you buy 10 bags of food within a year, you'll get the next one free. There's even a Pet Birthday Club, which sends yearly discounts to celebrate your pet's special day.

Stock Up Safely

You may be tempted to stock up on pet food during a great sale, but Moore recommends you don't buy more than a month's supply at a time. "Don't go crazy and stockpile," she says. " You can buy a lot, but unless you have an airtight container, that food can become stale and not be as nutritious and cause stomach upsets."

Making Your Makeup Multitask -- Savings Experiment

Isha Dandavate — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Savings Experiment, Beauty

If you feel like your daily makeup routine is costing you too much, you're not the only one. The average American woman spends about $100 per month on cosmetics and beauty products, according to a study conducted by the YWCA.

In fact, if you walk into a Sephora (LVMUY.PK), you could easily end up spending over $100 on a basic kit of makeup. So how do you maintain your daily look without dipping into your retirement fund?

"Finding products that do double duty is a smart idea," says makeup artist Kari Bauce. Here are some ideas on how to get the most for your money by making your makeup multitask.

Double Duty Foundation

If you use a liquid foundation, you have to use powder to set it -- or else risk your foundation sliding off your face as the day progresses. Avoid the extra expense on finishing powder by purchasing dual finish foundation.

Dual finish foundation feels like a cream as you apply it, but has a matte finish. You'll get all-day wear, without having to buy two separate products.

Experts recommend Dual Finish by Lancôme or Studio Fix by MAC (EL). "A good foundation and the right color is worth all the money in the world," says makeup artist Audrey DaCosta. "The other things like blush, eye shadow, and lipstick you can play around with."

Over-the-Counter Eyes

Some people recommend using a drop of wet seal with your favorite powder to automatically create colored eyeliner that can be applied with an angled brush. It turns out that buying wet seal is an unnecessary expense.

What to Focus on When Buying a Digital Camera -- Savings Experiment

Isha Dandavate — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Technology, Savings Experiment

Are you looking to buy a digital camera, but unsure where to start? When it comes to point-and-shoots, paying more won't necessarily give you a significantly better picture. Check out our tips on how to save money on your Kodak moments.

There are a lot of cameras out there, but if you stick with the top brands, you'll get a high-quality camera. PC World picked models from Canon (CAJ), Nikon (NINOY) and Sony (SNE) as the top five point-and-shoot cameras.

Michael Ip, staff photo editor for the New York Daily News, agrees. "Any company that makes professional gear tends to integrate that into their consumer gear because they've done their research," says Ip. "They make their consumer goods the highest quality possible while making them affordable."

Know What You Need

Features that increase the cost of cameras, like higher megapixel count and greater zoom, are just marketing tactics. If you're using a point-and-shoot, higher megapixels and zoom don't necessarily translate into a much better photograph.

In fact, when it comes to image quality, the average amateur photographer only needs four or five megapixels for good quality four-by-six photos. The market standard these days is around 10 or 12 megapixels.

Hide Your Grays for Less -- Savings Experiment

Isha Dandavate — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Savings Experiment, Beauty

Aging gracefully is a thing of the past -- and, for many Americans, so are gray hairs. Roughly 75% of U.S. women color their hair, and trips to the salon don't come cheap.

If you're considering dropping your colorist and trying your hand at coloring at home, here are some dos and don'ts to help you stretch your buck while looking good.

Salon vs. DIY

The average cost of a professional single-process hair-color treatment is about $62. Considering that professionally dyed hair needs to be touched up every six weeks, you can rack up some $500 in salon bills each year.

Some people try to save money with at-home color kits, which can cost anywhere from $3.92 to $9.94 at Walmart, depending on the brand. With each home coloring lasting about eight weeks, the annual expense comes to around $50 -- significantly less than the salon alternative. Unfortunately, these savings can come at a price.

With do-it-yourself hair-color kits, you run the risk of damaging your hair or ending up with the wrong color. "At home, customers apply color from roots to end, but I only do what's needed, and I don't overlap color," says Kacey Welch, colorist at Neil George Salon in Beverly Hills. "A client can damage their hair long term, and corrective color is more expensive."

Fxing a bad dye job with a professional corrective color treatment usually costs more than the original single-process color. Welch also points out that you can't always get the perfect color from a box. "I don't pick one color," she says. "I mix multiple colors to make the perfect shade." Jack Miroslaw, owner of Eruan Salon in Manhattan, agrees. "If you want to have good looking hair, you've got to spend the money," he says.

Buy Yourself More Time

So the pros -- unsurprisingly -- advise against at-home color, but Mark Mileti, executive colorist at Minardi Salon in Manhattan, helps his clients stretch the time between their visits by using those kits. "I tell them what to do, on the condition that they'll come back to me," Mileti says.

He tells his clients to mix only one-tenth of the dye in an at-home kit and use a Q-tip or toothbrush to apply the color to their roots and part lines. With careful application, these touch-ups can stretch your dye job by one or two weeks, Mileti says.If you decide to take this route, make sure to use a ammonia-free dye like Clairol Natural Instincts.

Good Housekeeping and Consumer Reports both named Clairol a top at-home hair-dye brand. You can get the dye at Walmart for $6 to $10 per box. Factoring in the costs of combining salon visits and touch-up kits, you'd spend approximately $420 per year, knocking off the cost of about one salon trip from your yearly expenses. Keep in mind that you'll probably have to use some of that money toward replacing stained towels and cleaning up the mess after your touch-ups.

All things considered, there's no real shortcut to great hair color. But with caution and care, you can buy yourself some extra time between salon visits.

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