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OT Money saving tips

B

Bryan inIowa

Member
What have you or are you plan on to try and cut down on expenses?
Dropped land line ,both at work and home . It was tough to cut the cord ,but don"t miss it now . Saw no drop off in shop customers .
Dropped Direct TV . that one was really tough . Did get Netflix though instead .Went from 60-70 month to 9 bucks now .
Put power strips most electronics to shut them off completely .
Making a grocery list instead of impluse buying and also sort of planning menu for suppers .
Replacing lights in shop . Had energy audit and if I replace the hodge podge of high bay metal halide and flouresnt with t5 they said possible $1600 year savings .
Last and biggest one. Waste oil furnace at shop . Used to have 500-600 month gas bill. Now nill,,, little bit more on electric from the blower but hardly notice it. Lets hear yours .
 
Quit smoking 6 years ago New Years, changed all light bulbs in the house, (trouble is they were expensive suckers). Drive the company pickup, do my own cooking, laundry, etc. now. Come to think of it except for the smoking I'VE LOST MY A$$
 
My whole life I've kept careful watch on anything that had a monthly bill. We only had a cable service once in NM when it wasn't possible to use an antenna. Now we get 60 channels on our antenna with no monthly charge.

We negotiate a new rate with the ISP whenever the current contract expires. We have all flourescent light bulbs now; when the price of LED's gets lower, we will change to those. We don't go to any entertainment that charges for tickets/entrance (except for the tractor show that has a $5 entrance fee). There is a lot of free entertainment around if you just look for it. Our community has something going on almost every week. [I don't know why people pay high ticket price to make some celebrity a multi-millionaire; people that probably can't really afford the price of a ticket].

Our health insurance pays for going to the YMCA or Exercise Club in our area, so we take advantage of that in bad weather. If the weather is good, we just walk outside.

We drive the high mpg car and I only use the old truck when I have to haul something.

We always watch for items on clearance, especially at Sam's Club where clearance item prices end with a 1.

When you need to buy a big ticket electrical appliance, check with the power company for a possible rebate for buying a more energy efficient appliance - plus negotiate the price of the appliance whether you buy it from an independent dealer, big box store or membership club. We've negotiated lower prices at Sam's, Home Depot and Lowes.
 
I installed a whole-house emergency generator, which was admittedly costly, but while doing that I also replaced old electric 40 Ga. hot water heater with an on-demand propane water heater. That has cut my electric bill in HALF! Plus with all of the industry rebates, state and Federal tax cuts and dealer rebates, the price of the heater was reduced from $1300 to about $250!! True, I now have a propane bill, but it costs me a small fraction to heat domestic hot water with the on-demand system as the traditional electric heater.
BTW, as long as I have water in the well and propane in the tank, I now have all the hot water I want.
 
Did the same for soda (still drink coffee though)

Haven't had soda in the house in years. Better for us.

Not sure how much it saves, but certainly something.

Not to mention my kids haven't had a single cavity yet (oldest is 14) by that age, I had half a mouth full of silver.

Found there's no such thing as cutting down - you can't reduce consumption, just have to remove it from the picture completely.

It was tough for a few weeks, but I don't miss it at all now. In fact, I can't even drink the stuff now - it's just toooooo sweet.
 
I Dropped direct tv at 90$/month and heat with wood. Now i burn less than 1 tank of propane yearly, hot water and stove are also propane. Always eat lunch from home instead of going to eat somewhere.
 
Replaced my antique oil-fired boiler with a new high efficiency unit. Cut my oil consumption more than in half.

Supplement oil-fired baseboard hot water heat with wood stove. Buy my wood tree length @ $120/cord delivered and work it up myself versus $250-$300 for green cut-and-split.

Replaced 15 year old refrigerator with a new one. Old one worked okay, but new one cut electric bill by over $40 per month.

Drive a little car that routinely gets 36MPG around "town" and should do well over 40 on the interstate if my last one is any measure.

We've always shopped from a list, silly to do it any other way. Grocery bill has dropped since I retired and don't have to take a lunch to work any more. Lunch meat is ridiculously expensive. I just scarf leftovers out of the fridge.

I'd LOVE to dump satellite TV, but SWMBO would either kill me outright or drive me crazy.
 
Replaced window regulator in my car. Dealer price $400. My cost $90, a savings of $310 for a job that takes less than one hour with four common tools.

Do my own car oil changes that way I know the fluids have been checked and the car has been properly inspected and maintained. Dealer used to take short cuts on oil change causing unnecessary repairs. I know this because I rigged the various check points to see if they had been touched by the technician. Nope, they weren"t.
 
We did some home renovations a few years ago but not so much to save money the house just needed it badly. That sealed the house up to the point the furnace wasn't getting enough O2 to burn right so new one. Cut our heating 2/3rds. Will not buy a samll car. Most of our driving save for 12 miles 5 days a week a small car will not do. At 60 miles a week we'd have to keep one for a very long time just to make it pay for itself. Do the math. Trade in the old paid for gas drinker that gets 18 for a new 35 MPG car. That old one that burned 200 bucks of gas a month now has a 300 dollar a month payment and you haven't insured it or regestered it or put any gas in it. I know a lot of folks who have traded into a newer/new econemy car only to spend a lot more money just to drive it.....but man thier saving money! Got a TV, DVD and netflix.......don't have regular TV.

Now on the other side of the coin the only way for us to improve the econemy is to buy. When comsumer confidence is high and we spend the econemy takes care of itself. When it's low we don't buy and jobs go away. So do your part....BUY, BUY, BUY!!!!!

Rick
 
use no gas for heet in winter time cut my own firewood and split it,save big $.everyone ealse around here hass gass bills of 200-500 a month
 
We had satellite TV that slowly went up to about $80 a month, even though we had no pay-per-view movies or premium channels on it. Our kids seemed to be glued to those stupid Disney-ish shows that appealed to the mentality of a 6-year old. We dropped it and only have broadcast TV now. The kids whined for a couple of weeks, but suddenly they read a lot more and the grades have gone up. My daughter is getting a full ride at college on a academic scholarship and another son who is a junior in high school now did so high on the ACT testing that he will probably get the same deal. I do miss some of the football games, but it ain't worth $80 a month. Besides, quite often you have access to 200 channels and there's still nothing on.
 
Once my contract with the cable company is up next year I will go back to regular tv. Don't watch cable all that much plus there is hardly anything good on anymore since even the History Channel has gone to reality shows. I keep the thermostat cool in the winter and use fans to help the AC in the summer. Eat at home and enjoy leftovers as much as possible. Drive my car most of the time and the truck only when I need to. Also use the clothes dryer on low heat setting just long enough to get some of the moisture out of the clothes, then I hang them up to finish air drying.
 
I've tried to eat out much less the last 4 or 5 months here. Hopefully next year I will eat out maybe 3 or 4 times. Even $30 a month can buy a couple vehicle payments for the year. Also trying to cut back on soda. That can also be $20 a month or more. I drink more Gatorade now than anything for sugary drinks. I'm still amazed at how much stuff has high fructose corn syrup in it (Powerade, Gatorade?, most soda, some ketchups, salad dressings, juices, canned food etc etc.) I also try to combine trips especially when shopping. Getting gropceries after work can be tiring but can also save 75% on your fuel bill.
 
This one is big for me too. Ive been getting free wood for a year and a half now. But i figure if i had to breakdown and buy a cord or two im still ahead thousands of dollars. The grlfreind still thinks the house gets to cold but thats what sweaters are for.
 
We watch our health more closely. I try to think ahead more, take a little more time to do things right and I no-longer do things in a ways that could end with broken parts or a doctor's visit.

We always ask the doctor if there is a generic equivalent for a prescription.

Minimized or elliminated broker fees on investments. Monitor investments and update them. Check and compare annual fees on mutual funds closely and then watch them. Steered clear of funds that often invest in other funds (double fees that are rarely disclosed).

Combined vehicle trips for less driving and vehicle maintenace.

We eat-out less. We prepare more food at home and buy fewer pre-packaged foods (often the quality is as-good or better). Bought a popcorn popper (Stir-Crazy) and replaced some snacks and chips with popcorn. Clip grocery coupons for the things we use. Try house brands, many are identical to name-brands at 75% of the cost, a few are not as good.

I put up a good TV antenna and a signal amplifier, added Netflix and dropped cable TV. Ocassionally, if there is a game I really want to see I can often listen to it on the internet or I can pay to watch it thru internet streaming.

I now get phone service bundled thru my internet provider.

Lemonade, iced tea or powdered drink mixes instead of sodas. Mixed drinks instead of beer and wine.

I do more cross-country sking now instead of snowmobiling.

Hunt less, fish more. Travel less.

When it's too humid outside to open the windows, I reset the cooling thermostate to cool the house earlier in the day when it is still cool outside instead of after it's hot out. The air conditioner is more efficient the cooler it is outside.
 
Like many on the board, I cut my wood and am burning a wood stove. My wife demands high room temps, and demands that it come from electric heat! I love her, but somethings ain"t happening.
 
Here is the other side-- As a kid we did not have TV, did not eat out, cut and burnt wood, had not much. Always had junk vehicles.

Now that I can have it I am going to enjoy it. Just flip the thermostat up set back an watch TV, get in my good vehicle and go eat out when I want to.
 
Cant say as I've done anything differently. I've always been frugal, my significant other says I'm so tight I squeak when I walk lol. If I dont need it, I dont buy it, save a third of what I make, set my lifestyle at or below 2/3 of the previous years.
 
How come some of you said you were dropping cable TV and other things their family likes but NO ONE said they were dropping their internet!!Seems like the family can suffer but don't take MY SACRED COW------A BUNCH OF SELFISH OLD MEN!! I am sure you will POOF this. USAonly
 
Do everything in your house you are able to do. Al."most never call anyone in. Have to now since cancer last year. Also cars. Do all you can. Buy books or check out from library even better. You have two hands like all technicians, plumber, mechanics. One time, buddy told me "you think you are God you can do anything." NOT I know plenty of differences, but God can help you fix things and sav e money. Need 3 cars. One for you. One for wife and one spare. Sometimes doing your own repairs takes longer. Ask people who know things. Do not ask neighbor who has 5 cars that won't run. Read technical books. Learn something new all the time. Dave before retirement was electrician with 6 licenses including Hvac.
 
Do everything in your house you are able to do. Al."most never call anyone in. Have to now since cancer last year. Also cars. Do all you can. Buy books or check out from library even better. You have two hands like all technicians, plumber, mechanics. One time, buddy told me "you think you are God you can do anything." NOT I know plenty of differences, but God can help you fix things and sav e money. Need 3 cars. One for you. One for wife and one spare. Sometimes doing your own repairs takes longer. Ask people who know things. Do not ask neighbor who has 5 cars that won't run. Read technical books. Learn something new all the time. Dave before retirement was electrician with 6 licenses including Hvac.
 
We have always been fairly tight with our money and try to make wise spending decisions that are thought out instead of impulse buying.

1. 3/4 ton diesel truck stays parked unless it is really needed.
2. All car trips are combined into one to save wear and tear and gas
3. Prepare our own food and only eat out maybe 1 time a month
4. Work on my own vehicles
5. Share tools and equipment between family members
6. Wife shops at "gently" used name brand clothing shops
7. Have a hi efficiency electric/propane heat system
8. Have the cheapest satellite tv package at a negotiated reduced rate for 2 years (I bardered with Dish Network for 4 hours)
9. Raise most of our own meat or hunt it
10. Have a garden for veggies
11. Have only basic internet (frustrating at times since everything now requires a high speed connection)
12. When we built the house, we installed expensive Anderson windows and insulated the walls with the expanded foam stuff
13. Only 1 pet - They get expensive to feed
14. Try to only purchase non essential items that add equity or will not decrease in value
15. Try to make purchases that generate its own cash flow (ie embroidery equipment)
16. DO NOT TAKE VACATIONS TO THE BEACH!!!!!

With all that said, we have a nice home that is worth over $250K (recently built and owe a lot less on) and make it on less than $50K per year with 1 child. My wife does have a home based embroidery business, so any non essential item we want is taken from its profits. That works out great because if she wants to buy something, she has to embroider more.
 
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