Maurice, Tulsa (11/19/2007 7:31:36 AM)

Be very careful here!

Baking soda will not give the cavity protection of toothpaste and one could in several years find themselves with unusual numbers of cavities.

If baking soda is used be sure to brush after EVERY meal and before going to bed at night. Better yet, be safe, consult a dentist before taking the advice of a law student. Your teeth will thank you.

Maurice, Tulsa (11/19/2007 7:34:27 AM)

Be very careful here!

Baking soda will not give the cavity protection of toothpaste and one could in several years find him/herself with unusual numbers of cavities.

If baking soda is used be sure to brush after EVERY meal and before going to bed at night. Better yet, be safe, consult a dentist before taking the advice of a law student. Your teeth will thank you.

David, Tulsa (11/19/2007 10:27:11 AM)

Are you saying being frugal now by using backing soda containing no flouride only to cause multiple cavities and possibly thousands of dollars in dental bills and great pain in the future is not a good idea?

Greg, Tulsa (11/19/2007 10:32:39 AM)

I've read this blog a few times. It seems like most of the tips are about as groundbreaking as "turn off the lights when leaving the house." If people seriously need the tips from this blog they probably shouldn't have gotten into college let alone law school.

Helen, Edmond (11/19/2007 12:18:58 PM)

I read this blog all the time. The frugal law student has great ideas, some are very simple, but we sometimes forget will save us money. When the end of the month is coming up, you have no money and out of toothpaste, baking soda is a great substitute. Gets the ick off your teeth really well. Great blog!!

frugal chipmunk, living at creek's edge, tulsa (11/19/2007 12:35:28 PM)

also let's not forget, there are a lot of people out there who throw away toothpaste tubes that are not completely 100% squeezed out.

.

you can get your relatives to give you any unwanted left over toothpaste tubes

and tell them you would be happy to dispose of them for their benefit.

.

then, you can squeeze out the remaining toothpaste and use it for yourself.

.

you can collect all of your relatives disposables and tell them you'll throw them out on behalf of them; they may even give you a tip, or you can charge them less than what the garbage collector charges.

.

then, you can go through the garbage and not only squeeze toothpaste tubes, but get the last drop out of shampoo bottles, keep the pickle juice from the pickle jars, use the leftover tissue for cleanup of spills, etc.

.

in short, there's a whole world of opportunity that awaits for just the right frugal creative rat to go through everyone's garbage.

.

happy trash collecting!

Cameron , (11/20/2007 12:34:21 PM)

there is certainly more to the frugal law student than just using baking soda for tooth paste. he gives some great time management advice and creative ways to save some pennies here and there. he never claims to be an expert, just a student trying to save a buck. cut the kid some slack.

quarter pound, tulsa (11/20/2007 4:58:26 PM)

yes and let me add my 2 cents-

on more than one occassion while driving through a drive through or simply walking by a drive through window at either a bank or a fast food restaurant, I have actually picked up quarters.

Sometimes I've found dimes and nickels too.

Also, when going through a toll booth, once I noticed all sorts of glistening pavement up ahead, when, lo and behold to my surpise, it was all sorts of change at the toll booth.

I quickly opened my car door when I came to the toll booth, grabbed some change off of the pavement, and then threw my toll into the bucket -essentially I had a free toll, and even made some pocket change as well.

So there you have it.

If you stop at drive throughs and toll booths, you can make a nice chunck of change.

.

Let's say there are 100 drive thru's in the tulsa area.

Let's say 300 across OK.

Let's say 300 average/state for all 50 states;

thats 15,000.

15k x .25 = $3,750.00.

And let's not forget the toll booths, wishing pools of water at the shopping malls where people throw change, and of course, change along the sidewalk.

Also, I've noticed change exists in cars at junkyards.

Put it all together, and you've got many thousands of dollars you can be making right in your own backyard!

Happy hunting everyone :)

Frugal poo, houston (11/29/2007 2:44:06 PM)

Did you know that Rice University is for frougal d0uchebags?

Doug, Jenks (11/29/2007 3:14:27 PM)

Even if the Frugal Law Student's ideas aren't "new", I think the blog is great because, as a law student, it causes me to think of ways to cut back. It's not that we don't already know these things...it's just good to be reminded! Kudos to the Frugal Law Student.

Scott H Florance, Seattle Wa (3/27/2008 11:50:47 AM)

You can trust the Air force military of Russia with Gods angels. They have evil alien technology from space. It keeps a captured angels in a prison for years. Ban magnetic cages in your country for thousands of years. Make it against the Law to chase angels with starfighters in outer space in the future.

Katie, (11/19/2007 4:07:33 PM)

I am a regular reader of this blog and think it is very well done. Many of the commenters seem to be hung up on the whole "baking soda as toothpaste" idea. If you actually read the post about this on the blog, you can see that the student only tried this as a fun experiment and gave it up after a few days because he experienced bad breath and didn't like it. So I would suggest actually reading the blog before criticizing it!

Law Grad, (11/19/2007 5:13:03 PM)

Kudos to this law student from trying to minimize his debt! Law school is outrageously expensive and it is not uncommon for JD's to graduate owing more than $100k, including undergrad. Contrary to what many may think, most lawyers don't make the big bucks right out of school, especially in Oklahoma. I also think this student's future clients will appreciate his attempts to economize and not waste their money.

Jerrick, Jenks (11/19/2007 9:37:58 PM)

"There is nothing new under the sun." Sure, the Frugal Law Student's topics and ideas may not be novel, but that is not the point. The value is in the presentation. The FLS takes topics that are of interest to him and presents them in a unique way; namely, how being frugal relates to his journey as a law student. In today's entitlement-minded society, it is refreshing to read about someone taking responsibility for their finances. Two thumbs up for the Frugal Law Student!

Kirsten, Broken Arrow (11/20/2007 12:21:03 AM)

I love how when a young person who is trying to do something good is attacked for what he is doing. I am glad the Tulsa World is trying to showcase young people who are doing something good with their lives instead of all the normal stories about the minority of young people who commit crimes.

lee, tulsa (11/20/2007 10:28:01 AM)

I just bought 2 large (6 oz) tubes of pepsodent for .49 cents apeice. Big deal...

Shane, Tulsa (11/20/2007 10:49:00 AM)

#16 This is the Tulsa World comment area. We HAVE to be negative. If you don't like it, go the the Daily Oklahoman.

#9 The toothpaste with baking soda is just that... toothpaste with baking soda. It isn't baking soda with toothpaste.

#18 Shut up, you idiot.

E T, tulsa (11/19/2007 12:54:33 PM)

Baking soda is an abrasive and over time will erode the enamel off your teeth. so be careful.

Maurice, Tulsa (11/19/2007 1:12:04 PM)

Hope this students lack of substance is not an indicator of why there are so few excellent lawyers.

Joe-Allen Doty, Tulsa, Oklahoma (11/19/2007 1:24:41 PM)

I don't brush my teeth with baking soda; but, I dissolve it in warm water and rinse my mouth thorougly with it. I cannot use even the toothpaste for sensitive teeth because the mint flavor it in burns my gums. I just brush my teeth with nothing on the brush.

Baking soda will neutralize the odors in one's mouth. Salt is what is abrasive.

To "E T, Tulsa:" What about the toothpaste which has baking soda in it and has a Baking Soda brand on the label and listed as one of the ingredients? If "sodium" is listed on the package and it is abrasive, why would it be used in the toothpaste?

Tulsan, (11/19/2007 2:19:59 PM)

FYI to all of the flouride people -- Tulsa adds flouride to its water, I believe. So does BA. So even if it isn't in your toothpaste, if you drink the water you are getting flouride.

pjc, Tulsa (11/19/2007 3:08:42 PM)

Many of the things one can do to be frugal are in fact harmful or unhealthy or end up being so.

Ultimately what matters is using common sense.

Ie; dont out to eat every day...maybe once a month or so.

Dont buy bread at the grocery...buy it instead at the 'day old' bread store.

Same bread as the big stores btw. and often its the actual bread as some store smove inventory to dayold stores.

Use coupons. U can litterally get quality toothpaste (brands too) for nearly free.

$1 coupon on a colgate results in getting some colgate brands free at Dollar Stores..

Im surprised this guy doesnt know this one.

Glen, Broken Arrow (11/19/2007 4:07:18 PM)

It's obvious from all the comments about brushing teeth that most of the commenters have not read the blog itself. You're missing out. Yes, many of the tips are common sense, commonly known tips, but keeping frugality in the forefront of your mind, helps you be frugal.

The Frugal Law Student has never held himself out as knowing everything about being frugal. He's a student, so he posts about being frugal as it relates to being a student. He often posts tips he receives from readers or other bloggers, and always gives them credit for the tip.