I had a does of kharmic retribution with the A/C. We spent the first, miserable, summer without AC. (Visions of laying on top of the sheets, spraying water up into the ceiling fan, with the convulsive shiver as the cold water hit my body. shudder)
So the wife got preggers, with twins, and I realized that The whole family would end up as a murder/suicide statistic if my pregnant wife didn’t get a little heat equalization.
Lemmie tellya, the Matrix HAD something on the humans as batteries. Those two little blast furnaces made sure our house was kept at 65 degrees all friggen summer long.
Now, it’s set at 74 degrees. It’s a good amount to keep the house from getting superheated, and I’ll bump it down if it’s uncomfortable, it’ll go back up in four hours or so.
What AM I cheap about?
Excellent Coffee - My dear departed Coffee cart used Scottish Roaster coffee. It came in air tight packages that make 1 pot of commercial size, or two pots of normal sized coffee. I started buying the coffee from them…then we parted ways and I suffered from withdrawl. Our local snob food store sells it for $12 a lb. or so. Calling Scottish roaster directly nets me a case of 40 packets at roughly $6.50 a lb…and it’s the BEST damn coffee.
Auto Repair - I do it all myself. If your repair is $750, chances are, it’s $200 in parts, $150 in overhead, and $300 in profit. I can Buy the special tools, do it myself, and have it done for $275.
**Dishwashers **- but in the opposite direction! Our dishwasher uses LESS water than washing the same load of dishes by hand. (I measured once, because the husband won’t believe me.) So, while it’s undoubtedly more convenient, it’s the extra few gallons of water that I’m saving that persuaded me to get a dishwasher. Only…we don’t pay for water anyway! So I’m being cheap about money I’m not spending! The electricity - I try not to think about. With all the lights my kid and husband leave on, not to mention the running stereos, tvs and other crap, the dishwasher’s the least of my concerns.
**Gas **also - I’ll drive a mile out of my way for 3 cents cheaper… Let’s see, 3 cents per gallon on my 12 gallon tank is…36 freakin’ cents. That’s worth it! :smack: (This is the only one I’m willing to admit is irrational. The rest of my cheapnesses I think are smart.)
**Clothes **- if it didn’t come from the thrift store or Target, it ain’t gettin’ bought. Exception: bras. At a 38DDD, Nordstrom’s gets my $60 for a decent bra.
School supplies - Lots of them come from the dollar store. Then Office Max. Even Target is a last resort on those.
Kid’s birthday party treat bags - Science Surplus. I can create an awesome set of goodie bags for 12 with no sugar for under $20. Our goodie bags are legendary.
Bath soaps, shampoo, salt and sugar scrubs, massage oils, etc. - I make them myself. Friends think it’s because I’m so wonderfully crafty and concerned with the quality of my ingredients. Nope. It’s 'cause I’m cheap. That plus a dollar store basket, a few minutes on Photoshop making labels, and I’ve got fantastically expensive looking gift baskets for any occasion.
I’m with your husband on this one. I wash up in one sink’s worth of water. I have never seen a dishwasher that can do a load using less water than that.
He’s a run-the-water-while-washing washer. Drives me nuts. Ends up emptying the sink three or four times before it’s all done. Even I, who soak and sudse and then rinse, use a whole sinkful to soak and wash and then more clean water to rinse.
But I ran the dishwasher with the sink plug in and it only used one sink of water. Really, I swear. Maybe it’s some sort of uber-efficient model. It is newish (about three years old.)
Assuming a cost of 50 cents each, the money saved after the first two or three days is meaningless. Using them for 2 days halves their cost, 4 days quarters their cost, and so on. Clearly the biggest saving is created by using them for 2 days, and after that it’s truly just pennies a day being saved, but I will use those suckers for a month or more! I will go to all sorts of trouble to soak my face in hot water and use the best shaving gel I can find to soften my beard enough so that I can still shave with my jaggedy month old razor blades. Beats me why I do it.
Ha! I’ve got you beat there. Since last August, I have used a total of three razorblades. Worse yet, I’m female, so I’ve got acres and acres of leg to shave. Can’t think why I do it, either, except that they seem to keep on hacking the hair off well enough, so I never get around to using a new blade until the old one is absolutely useless.
If you are not covered by insurance make sure your phamacist knows this. they will usually substitute brand names to generic for you. Sometimes this is not possible for newer drugs. They are still under patent and there is no generic. My doc started me on a new blood pressure med last month, its still not in the CPS and there is no alternative. Panache45 , I don’t envy you your situation. My monthly med bill would be in the $600 range. Fortunately I’m covered up 85% by my union pension. I know US health care takes a lot of crititism but don’t most people have SOME sort of insurance, good or bad?
Cleaning supplies. Rather than go out and buy 20 different items at a cost of around $60, I can clean everything with baking soda, soap, vinegar, borax and washing soda at a cost of around $20. It’s also better for the environment.
Books. I get most of them at thrift stores and library book stores. For new stuff, the Strand is at least 1/2 off.
Coffee. I have never been in a Starbucks. It’s 7-11 for me.
For coffee at home, I will spend more and get something decent. No Folgers or Maxwell House for me.
But when I’m out and need a quick caffeine fix, 7-11, McD’s and Dunkin’ Donut’s have amazingly good coffee. It’s not just a cheap thing, their coffee really is tasty.
Ha, if theres anything more painful that paying $20 for a meal and feeling unsatisfied, it’s paying $70 for a meal and feeling unsatisfied :(. To me, theres a lot of chefs who seem to thrive on publicity and don’t actually turn out good food. It’s becomes a huge crapshoot when I go out and I just don’t want to have to deal with that.
Actually, I worked out the math- unless I reloaded some outrageous quantity of 9mm (something like several thousand), the Wolf ammo was actually just as cheap.
And… since I can get 8mm Mauser for 8 cents/round, I doubt I can reload for much less than that. Same goes for 7.62x39, except brass or brass cased cartridges are more expensive.
Finally, I don’t have the inclination to spend the money to get a press, powder measure, dies, etc…
I’ll just stick with milsurp and cheapo Russian ammo.
Parking
I hate paying to park my car, always have. I try to just not drive. But if I have to use the auto, I will walk blocks and blocks if I can find a non-paying parking spot. I figure it’s good exercise and another dollar in my pocket.
I go back and forth with the restaurant thing. As others do, I will tend to mentally calculate how easy and how inexpensive it would have been to prepare the meal myself. OTOH–as the main chef and dishwasher of our household,crapshoot or not, it is sometimes worth it to sit down and pay for someone else to take care of those duties.
Coffee
Oh yeah, there is no way I’d spend any kind of money at Starbucks, 7-11, or even a mom-and-pop type place. We spend a few bucks on our machine but the taste, time and money saved is incalculable.
Clothes - Target, Kohl’s, Marshall’s, TJMaxx. Happily bought a very nice dress for $30 yesterday at Filene’s Basement.
Medications - Generic everything that’s available. (Note to panache45: noticed you had an Ohio location. Don’t know if your income qualifies, but Ohio has a program for low-income residents without prescription coverage. Basically, you get a card that gets you a reduced price on some medications. They also have a mail-order option if you’re on any maintenance medications. They list prices on their websites so that you can compare what you’re paying to what you would pay through the program.)
Other things that are not immediately coming to mind.