lol!
I just found this inexplicably funny!
pukey
Really? My wife tries this on me once in a while, but I’m not sure how this could work unless you have an electric meter that records time and power. At chez Pete our meter just sits there spinnig and whirring along. Once a month Reddy Kilowatt comes out and reads the darn thing. I know big companies get breaks for using off-peak power, but they are monitored a little more closely.
I second the dumpster diving idea. You’ll be amazed at what people throw away,once my uncle(the king of dumpster diving) found 6 commercial vcr’s in a dumpster. These were $400 professional models that according to the sticker once belonged to a colledge. They were missing the power cords,but a trip to home depot and $15 later he had them all working. Then he sold them each for $100 and made a good profit. And another time,he found 2 BIG speakers. They were about 3 feet tall and a foot wide. Both were covered with a sticky film of dirt,but some laquer thinner fixed that. He still has them. So dumpster diving isn’t a bad thing.
Personally, here are some of my money saving tips. Some might find these ideas “not practical” but honestly they save money.
Never buy an off brand because it’s cheaper. If you will eat it and like it, then which ever you choose is better. Don’t buy products because they contain a coupon. Honestly, coupons are only a way for you to buy their product, buy what you know and like. If you like the product and it happens to be a brand name, stick with it. But seriously, if the off brand tastes bad and you just bought a bunch of it because it was cheap/on sale you lost a lot of money.
Always do your errands in one fell swoop. Meaning, if you have to run to Walmart, the grocery store and pick up the dry cleaning, look at your local map, start with the farthest away and make your self back home. Do these once a week. You save not only time but money and wear and tear on your vehicle. If the grocery happens to be on the way home from work, then go as often as you need to get fresh produce and meats.
I find that staying completely away from prepared foods (frozen, deli, etc) and fast food is a good way to save money and it’s better for you. There are a lot of foods you can make that are quick and easy. Burritos are cheap, pasta is cheap (especially if you make your own) and there are a ton of recipes that you can hunt down (see below.)
As for entertainment, Persephone, if I remember correctly you have kids. How about renting the older movies (new releases are more expensive and have a shorter check out time.) You can plan a family night every week. You make a homemade pizza (my parents and us kids used to do that) or burritos, make some popcorn (get a popcorn popper, better and cheaper than the microwave kind) and have some quality time with the kidlets. Oh and rent a movie you and the man would enjoy after the kids go to bed. But it’s a night you get to spend with the family. Never poopoo the idea of the board games either.
Other ideas for entertainment would be to go for a hike/walk. Go to the park and gaze at the clouds. Buy some used bikes and take the family around the neighborhood.
Clothing, now to some people this might sound weird or gross. Most people I know wear an item of clothing just once and throw them in the laundry. I ask why? If you are pig-slob (most adults aren’t) then you need to but it does help on the electrical and gas bill if you wear an item twice before cleaning it. Assuming there are no stains and you don’t smell of BO, most humans can get away with this. If they do carry a slightly musty smell because you live in a humid climate, ten minutes in a dryer with no heat can often freshen up the garment.
Maintain your vehicles. Yep, maintaining (don’t laugh at me because I know the consequences from experience) your vehicles save you money in the long run. Learn to change your own oil,(it’s easy) change spark plugs and other smaller items. Oh and of course keep proper tire pressure. Not only does that save in mileage, it can save your life.
Heating in the winter. You are in Michigan if I rememember correctly, turn down the thermostat to 68º during the day and at night drop that down to about 63º. If you can, get a programmable thermostat for the heating system so it will do it for you and you don’t forget. Wear socks, slippers and sweats or other warm gear. Last winter I ran my home solely on two space heaters and opened up the curtains during the day on the east/south windows and my bills didn’t change from the prior year even with the increase in electrical and gas. You bet I froze my arse off at times. This may not be practical for the family but at least close off the rooms you aren’t using.
If you must buy in bulk but find that you don’t use items that much, ask a friend if they wanna go in halves with you. Say, the cost of buying 12 rolls of paper towels at the moment doesn’t meet your current budget, ask a friend if they will go in with you. You split the quantity and the cost but you end up saving a lot of money in the long run.
Little items.
Wash out plastic bags after you use them.
Reuse aluminum foil.
Use a paper towel as long as it’s still in tact. Better yet, if you get the newspaper, use a solution of vinegar and water (about half and half) and squirt on your windows and mirrors. Wipe off with the newspaper. Your windows will be squeaky clean. (vinegar is cheap!)
Cut out cable (if you haven’t already.) Most areas have at least four stations. I haven’t had cable since 1995 and while I miss it I don’t really miss it until someone brings up a program I might like to see. If I really wanted to see it I would have someone I know tape it for me.
Borax, bleach, vinear and ammonia are all good cleaners. For an abrasive, use baking soda. No need for the fancy schmancy (even the store brand cleaners) cleaners that smell like roses. Clean is good, too many perfumes in cleaners are not needed.
If you need house repairs, check out a book at the library, go to some of the home improvement center’s free classes and learn how to do it yourself.
This may not seem good to some people but cut out items like pop, coffee and other sugar laden drinks. They are expensive and not real good for you anyway.
Well, those are some of the things I have done in the past. Yes, I know some people will poopoo the idea that buying a brand name is bad, but since I love to cook, I hate to ruin a meal because of some off brand being horrible tasting. If I like a particular brand and found the store or off brand not to my liking, I wont buy it. I will try them though.
Oh and Persephone, I have some good recipes on my own site that might inspire you to keep cooking at home. http://www.colorado-cooking.com and hit the message board.
Only recently have I started to have any sort of “discretionary income”, but I still choose to live frugally.
I disagree, however, with disconnecting cable and/or internet. If you break it down to a daily charge, for me cable works out to about $1.10/day - a very good entertainment value indeed. Internet is slightly higher, but with the increased bandwidth of a cable modem, the online entertainment choices are expanded a great deal.
Long distance: try http://www.dialpad.com , http://www.net2phone.com , http://www.phonefree.com for internet telephony. Stay away from most phone cards - hefty connection charges that really suck up the value of the cards. If you have a credit card, you can buy minutes in advance at a discount at http://www.bigredwire.com or http://www.bigzoo.com
Food: use that club card, and stick to generic brands (except the aformentioned evil cheerios).
Entertainment: The library is tops for getting books and videos. I could spend the day in Borders or Barnes & Noble and not buy a single thing - the associates there don’t hound you, either.
Computer: download, download, download! Lots of freeware games available that can keep you occupied for weeks.
Physical fitness: If you have a large mall, walk around it 2 or 3 times. I live near Ontario Mills, which is nearly a mile to make the whole circuit…plus it’s airconditioned.
You may wish to visit http://www.clarkhoward.com - Clark is a syndicated radio host who has lots of good money advice. He is a multi-millionaire, but lives a very frugal lifestyle (much to the chagrin of his wife!). Modest home, old beat up car, $1 shirts, ramen noodles. He walks the walk and talks the talk, and his website is LOADED with info.
One bit of advice, if you can “splurge” on a modest toy, treat or reward once in a great while - do it.
Phouchg
Lovable Rogue
These are some excellent suggestions, and a lot of them are things that I already do. You can bet your booty that I’ll be trying more of them, though.
Over the course of the last few weeks, I’ve noticed that my single biggest expense is fast food. Keeeeeerist we were spending some money there! Felt like an idiot after I figured out how much we were wasting on that.
As for cable, well, around here, there’s only one cable company. And if you don’t have cable, you don’t have TV (unless you’ve got rabbit ears, and even those don’t work all that well here). Right now, my cable is off. I’ll get it back someday soon, because I’m really missing Turner Classic Movies and Spongebob Squarepants. But the kids don’t seem to notice it much.
The only real luxury I’m allowing myself right now is my second phone line for the computer. It’s a no-frills line, for the computer only. But it’s still a little expensive. I’m thinking that I might just cut back to one line. I know I can get a…what’s it called? DSL? But I think that’s a little pricey, too. I don’t remember how much it costs.
Man, this is turning in to one of the best informational threads since thinksnow’s apnea thread. Thanks a lot! 
I also want to throw in a plug for thrift stores, consignment stores, garage sales, and yes, dumpster diving. I have friends who “wouldn’t be caught dead” at any of these things, and I think that’s a ridiculous attitude. Not just for the reasons mentioned already, but also because you’re doing the planet a huge favor when you reuse something. We’re so consumerist, always buying something else and throwing old things away without bothering to reuse, recycle, recondition, or repair them. It’s terrible. Be one of the other guys!
Oh, I also meant to say that fast food doesn’t have to be a budget cruncher if you don’t order french fries. They’re horrible for you anyway. If you must indulge, have everyone split one serving. And at fast food restaurants or any eating establishment, sticking to water instead of ordering soda or tea really keeps the bill down.
I do the Aldis thing also.
Another thing that helps with kids clothes it that I have three friends with large families. Between four households there are 16 kids ranging from ages 14 to 4. We swap alot of clothes and toys.
I have also gone shopping with them and we buy things in bulk and split them between households.
Goodwill and DAV for summer clothes since they go through them so freakin’ fast!
Okay Persephone…here are my suggestions, get rid of the cable, seriously, how much to you REALLY need it? As for the DSL line (as one that can’t get the mo fo and one that deals daily in internet income, I deal without it.) Keep one phone line, save yourself the money and get voice mail. Where I live it’s 6.95 a month. Granted if I am on the phone I have another phone line but that costs me at least $24.95 a month if not more for it, basics aside from the rest of the shit. When I lived in Denver I had one phone line and if I was on the net it all went to voice mail. I relied upon sales calls to make my life complete and financially free but I was on the phone, so spend the $6.95 for voice mail instead, since your home phone seems to not rely upon your ability to answer the phone then choose to abandon the second line.
Honestly though, another phone line can cost you as much as $30.00 a month…I still have to figure out what the hell the phone co is charging me. Seems like a crock to me.
In either case, rather than the extra phone line, get voice mail, I lived with that for 3 years and had no problems with connecting with my family, friends and business contacts.
By all means, get rid of the fast food crap…it’s so expensive for what you get and for your health to. Teach your kids what it’s like to enjoy and love cooking (sorry this is something I have found to be very theraputic, something I wish I could do more of. I live alone so it’s kind of pointless sometimes but I love cooking none-the-less.)
I have rabbit-ears on both my TVs…I have to remind you that I don’t miss cable much. Shit I have had friends that didn’t have a TV and my ex fiance lived outside of Edmonton Alberta and only had TV once a week with no indoor plumbing, yes this was in the late 70s…commune style but he didn’t need a TV to baby sit him or his brothers. We actually talked about this last night…So get rid of the cable, you don’t need it, if it’s that traumatic (sp) then have a friend or relative tape a show or two for you. Cable is a fucking rip off as far as I am concerned, especially when you can get stations via Rabbit Ears.
Okay, so what you have to do is decide what is really important and indespensible in your life…me, the second line and the cable should go. You loose about $60.00 a month of an expense which is about $720 a year you can spend on the kids and whatever else comes to you.
Persephone, it’s up to you, do you think that an extra line is all that advantageous for you? Do you think that cable is something you can’t live without?
Cut out the second line and go spend $40-$80 on an antennna for your TVs.
I have lived without cable, not because I can’t afford it but because I CHOOSE not to afford it. I choose not to live up to what my nieghbors have. Like I said, if a program were that important to me I would have someone tape it for me. To this date, in six years, I can tell you there is not a program that I felt I needed to have anyone tape for me.
You have to make those decisions on your own but in my opinion, if it’s not vital to your current family life (meaning food, roof and minimal clothing) then why spend the money for what you don’t need. There are many of us out there that make sacrafices (sp) and I am sure the kids would get a clue about why saving money and being somewhat frugal is important.
Shit, my mom was one of the first to get a microwave and one of the first to cable in our city…while I wont do without a microwave I will and have survived without cable for a great deal of my life…A dollar amount that means little to me because it was 50 more channels of shit to watch – football, most of it is on network stations so I deal…hockey is a different sorry and that’s only real think I wish I had cable for…
If I didn’t rely so much on my shitty internet connection for work, I would have only one phone line.
So all I am asking is, what do those things do for you? Do they really enhance your life? Is the cable a baby sitter for you, the kids and the hubby? Does having an extra phone line really work to connect with your family and friends?
Honestly, sit down and think about it, that’s about $80 (give or take) of money you can put back in your pocket per month to pay off debt or go into savings for your kids. It’s up to you. But the moment that people whine about having “rabbit ears” in their home I have to question them and ask them how (pardon me here) God-damned important it is to have such a frill as cable TV?. I have known people that didn’t have TVs, by choice…yet they grew up to be okay kids/citizens. Having rabbit ears is a part of my life, I don’t have cable and it’s okay. Shoot I remember the days without cable, oddly enough and my mom was one of the first with cable in her home.
If I weren’t an internet person, doing what I do again, I would be back to one phone line, and that’s it.
Think about it…save yourself the money.
Most of the money savers I use are already here (no car, cable, etc.), but the one I like to stress is the food. Cooking your own food saves you SSSOOOOOO much money. And there are recipes out there that are easy, healthy and yummie:
For lunches- buy a large turkey breast or a large roast of beef. Marinade overnight (herbs and oil, or salt and Worchestershire, etc.). Heat oven to 500. Throw in the meat and immediately turn the heat down to 300-350. Cook for 20 min. per pound. Baste occasionally. When done, cool and slice. Now you have sliced meat that you can freeze in weekly packages. I did this for a solid month and had lunch everyday (including weekends) for $20 (1 turkey breast- $6, 1 hunk o’ beef- $7, day-old bread and lettuce and mustard, $7). That was awhile ago, so meat might be a little more expensive these days.
Pasta- My favorite quick recipes-
Pesto pasta: buy a large jar of Pesto, cook pasta, mix pesto and olive oil in equal parts, heat in pan briefly, add pasta and mix. A jar of good pesto is $8 and will last for 20+ servings
Myzithra cheese: Homer’s favorite (not that Homer! the intelligent one!)- brown some butter in a pan (cook butter until it turns, well, a little brown), add cooked pasta, sprinkle with Myzithra cheese- $1 a serving? Less?
Tuna and tomatoes: 1 can crushed tomatoes (or buy/grow fresh 3 or 4, boil them whole for 2 minutes, rinse with cold water, peel and crush) and one can tuna. You can buy both on sale and make out like a bandit. Drain some of the oil off of the tuna, mix in with the tomatoes, heat and spice to taste (salt, a little brown sugar to cut the acidic taste, oregano, basil, etc). Mix with cooked pasta- healthy and yummie (healthier with tuna in water). Good dieting and weightlifting meal because its chock full of protein. You can feed 4 people for $1 if you get the cans and pasta on sale.
Gotta run-
-Tcat
I know what you mean about the fast foods Persephone, this past year while on treatment I rarely felt up to cooking so we ate a lot of take out / frozen foods ect. I found this site that can help reproduce some of the more popular foods at home.
Hey it can’t hurt to look. Some of my favorite ways to save money have already been mentioned, yard sales , thrift shops, bakery outlet stores.
Something else we have started doing is once a week I rob the LIONsob. I take all of his change and it goes into a huge old fashioned glass water cooler bottle. I also put any and all change I find while cleaning in the jar. I don’t care who it belongs to, if you leave it laying around it’s mine. I started in January this year and now have over $100.00 in change. And it has been dipped into a couple of times. This gives you a small cushion at home, I know there have been times around this place when a few bucks in change came in darn handy.
I buy books at the thrift store ( shoot why not ! A hard back copy of a 25.00 book for 1.00 to 3.00 ? Sure ! And 50 cent paperbacks I’ll take any day. )
When son was a little boy and took his lunch to school I would wait until I found the juice boxes, pouches or whatever on sale. I would buy a bunch and freeze them and the next day wrap one in a couple of paper towels and slip it into a small ziplock (many times a kid will bring these back home after shool so you can often rinse and reuse the baggie.) It served a cople of purposes. It gave my kid a couple of cool paper towels to wipe his hands/face with and kept his lunch cool.
Turkey at least used to be a real deal per pound. You can have a feast, followed by sandwiches and soup out of the bones and scrap. I grew up on that.
No idea about your lifestyle, but being a vegetarian can really cut down on the food bills…beans are your friend.
I live without cable, microwave, meat, home phone (I take my company cell phone home at night), computer (I do all this at work), color TV, car, washer/dryer (laundromat once a week). I buy most of my things from thrift stores and ebay, which can be very, very cheap. I buy on sale with coupons and in bulk. I live healthy, which keeps from the doctor bills. When I get sick, I wait a little bit and see if it goes away. I see my dentist twice a year to avoid dental problems.
Then I go out and spend HUGE amounts on CDS!
You may already do this, and nobody laugh at me, but collect pop cans. No, I’m not saying dig through the trash, but just pick them up where you see them. (We have a $.10 refund on cans in MIchigan).
Students and people leave cans laying around all over the place here on campus. I pick them up, put them in a bag in my car or office and then turn them in at Meijers when I get groceries. $2.00 - 3.00 off my grocery bill every time I do it.
Consignment stores ROCK! I have A LOT of clothes that have come from consignment stores.
Pers, let me know if you want help winterizing your home this year. I mean, filling in gaps with caulk or expanding foam insulation, putting up weatherstripping, etc. I’d be MORE than happy to come up for the day and we could do this together. It really isn’t that hard and you’d be surprised how little time it takes. My dad says that a 1/4" gap around a door frame is the equivalent to having a 2’x2’ hole in your wall (or something like that - his figures are right; I’m going off memory). Losing heat like that can really jack up your heating costs.
BunnyGirl - I could use some advice about weather-proofing as well. I’m in a rental property, it’s drafty as heck and our heating bills were very high last winter. I was thinking along the lines of weatherstripping the doors and “shrink-wrapping” the windows and maybe buying some inexpensive drapes. Any other ideas?
Mags, you’re holding out on a fellow neighborhood girl! There’s a public pool near me, but it’s outdoor. Fill me in, please! We can go swimming together!
Hey! You are referring to Holstein Park, right? I used to live across from it.
Eckhart Park is at Chicago and Noble, a walk across the bridge from the Chicago Blue Line stop. They have a “Natatorium”, which means indoor pool (I looked it up). This Friday I’m going to join the little gym they have and start lifting weights.
And I would LOVE a swimming buddy to keep me motivated and help me not suck at it.
I’ve been pitifully poor before, and I have the sneaking suspicion that I’ll probaby be there again.
My wife has gotten completely out of the “poor mode” we were in before we got married, and her main task seems to be to find exciting new ways to spend.
I still shop at Value City for all my clothes and stuff (except suits, they’re worth spending the money on. A good suit will last forever.)
I once bought a dozen extra large Miami Dolphins Beefy T-shirts for $1.99 apiece. I still wear them. The Logo’s upside down.
mags, happy to help. Yes, shrink-wrapping your windows will make an incredible difference. We did this in the old house we used to own and I swear you could see the plastic move with the breeze (that was no longer coming in 'cause of the plastic). I wouldn’t buy the kind with the rigid plastic strips. It’s a hassle. Buy the kind with the two-sided sticky tape. There’s kind of an art to getting it on straight, but once you do, you’re golden. Hit it with the dryer and voila!
If you have a window air-conditioner that you cannot remove (the best option), wrap the exterior of the a/c with the insulated “bags” (for lack of a better word) that they sell especially designed to help insulate the a/c. Caulk or stuff insulation in around where the a/c itself sits. Any place you can see light should be filled in.
If there are windows or other areas that are leaky that you can’t shrink-wrap, there is a type of caulk that is specifically designed to be used temporarily. It’s strippable. Great stuff. Love it! Buy a caulk gun - they’re cheap and the actual tubes of caulk that you buy to fit them are much cheaper than the special bottles and what-not they design for people without a caulk gun. Don’t cut off too much of the top of the tube of caulk. You can always cut off more if the caulk bead isn’t big enough, but you can’t replace it. They do sell little tops that you can put on your caulk tubes too, to keep the rest of the caulk from drying out. Either that or a big 16-penny nail! I’ve used both.
If you have electrical outlets on an exterior wall, place your hand against them and see if you can feel any cold air coming in. These areas are notorious for leaks. You can remove the face plate for the outlet or switch and put these little insulated pads on and then put the face plate back on. The folks at Home Depot will know what you’re talking about.
If you have an electric dryer, consider running it in the house with a nylon over the end to catch lint. I did it last year and it really helped warm and humidify the house. I stuffed the opening to the outside with some spare insulation (an old towel will do). It’s a little more dusty, but it was worth it to me. DO NOT do it if your dryer is gas - too many potentials for CO poisoning. The duct to a gas dryer also vents the waste gas from the heating unit. Caulk around the exterior of the dryer duct also to keep air from escaping (or entering) there.
Hope these have helped! If anyone sees any incorrect info here, I’d appreciate a correction.