If your toenails are discoloured (i.e. brown or yellow), have thickened, or are giving off a foul smell, then chances are you have a toenail fungus. Toenail fungus is very common and can be due to a variety of things including, athlete’s foot, poor circulation, or excess moisture. To get rid of this fungus with little effort and cost, follow the steps of these natural home remedies.

Each morning and before you go to bed at night, apply tea tree oil under and around each nail bed using a Q-tip. Tea tree oil, as we’ve said in many of our health and wellness thrifty tips, is an amazing natural antiseptic and fungicide. You always want to have a little bottle of tea tree oil in your cupboard.

Then, you need to make sure that all of your shoes are also free of the fungus. If you don’t get rid of the fungus in your footwear then your feet are guaranteed to be infected by the fungus again. Using tea tree oil, moisten a few cotton balls and push them into the toes of all of your shoes. Leave the cotton balls in the shoes as long as possible (i.e. a minimum of 24 hours) and repeat if necessary.

It’s important that you administer these home remedies as soon as you can. If left untreated, the fungus can disfigure toenails to the point where it’s quite painful to walk or even wear shoes.   

*We hope you enjoyed the article about Ms. Shopping Golightly and The Thrifty Chicks blog, and stay tuned next week because we’ll be posting a new article that features Project Laundry List and its creator, Alexander.

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Pasta is a great thrifty food. In a pinch, it can be cooked up quickly, turned into a healthy and delicious meal for a large number of people. Here’s a great way to reduce the amount of energy (be it hydro or gas) that you use to cook noodles of any sort:

Bring the pot of water to a rolling boil and add the pasta. Allow the noodles to cook for one minute, stirring constantly. Then, turn the burner off but leave the pot with your pasta to sit on the burner for approximately 10 minutes. The pasta will continue to cook in the hot water without the burner being on. Drain the noodles and don’t forget to save the water to be used elsewhere around the house. Enjoy!

P.S. Did you know that what you buy and where you shop affects a lot more than just your wallet? Click here to find out why.

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Sometimes you feel like you’re stuck in a bit of a rut when it comes to cooking from scratch, night after night. It’s hard to come up with new or different meals when you’re short on time or trying to stick to a budget. For an inexpensive and healthy way to add great flavour to your cooking, check out your grocery store’s international food aisles.

First of all, forget the pre-made sauces and seasonings and make your own curries, sautés, and sauces from scratch. They will be cheaper and a lot better for you. Buy coconut milk, chilli sauce, water chestnuts, canned chipotle chilli peppers, beans, or sardines, masa harina, different types of noodles...Pick up some of these ingredients for little cost and get creative. Or, if you’re not sure how to use a particular ingredient, do a quick search on the Internet for a little inspiration. The possibilities are endless and it’ll keep weeknight meals a little more interesting without forcing you to go over your food budget.    

*In case you missed it, here’s the link to the article about Amy and The Thrifty Chicks blog. Find out why the reuse market is the best place to shop.

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Frugal living is all about reducing waste, whether it be food, resources like water or energy, or products that you use throughout your household. Today’s thrifty tip is an easy way to ensure that you get every last ounce of toothpaste from the tube. It might not seem important, but follow this tip and you will be surprised by how much toothpaste is still in the tube, just when you thought you had used all there was to use.

Here’s what you need to do:

After you’ve slid the handle of your toothbrush down the length of the tube, pressing out every last last drop that you can (yes, there’s still more in there!), take a sharp knife and, without slicing through both sides, cut down the centre of the tube and along the top and bottom. Now, open the tube up like a book and clean out the last bits of paste with your toothbrush. Use this paste to brush your teeth immediately.

To read about how you can get every drop or morsel from your food containers, click here.

P.S. This week’s Thrifty Blogger article is all about The Thrifty Chicks: a thought-provoking blog that will teach you how to spend more wisely.

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