Stretching the shrinking dollar

[bowtieguy]

i'd be really interested in what everyone does around the house besides energy conservation to stretch the shrinking dollar. BTW, i've used the conservation techs already. okay this is what the idea is-- for example: i shave only twice a week 'cause it saves. also, i use disposables and clean/dry them afterwards--this allows them to last forever(well, a long time). so please help! no matter how trivial, give me your ideas. my familiy's single income needs some stetching! THANK YOU!

[SVOboy]

I do things like turning off the main bathroom lights when I shower, as well as just not running the water much of the time I shower. Also, I turned the a/c off to the bathroom since it sucks to be cold when getting out of the shower anyway. For me, it's also worth turning off the a/c to my room since I am not in there during the day and the windows are open at night.

zpiloto has a really cool monitor as well!

Best of luck.

[skewbe]

Originally Posted by bowtieguy

...i shave only twice a week

Heh, yah I don't shave very often, and like to think it is to save money LOL I do get a lot of mileage out of a disposable razor too (you will know when it needs replacing). Maybe we can start a hypershaving chart?

There's all kinds of stuff, thrift stores, rice and dried beans are cheap and good for you, wholesale shops for stocking up, a garden or co-op. Best bet is to itemize your spending and see where the big hitters are for starters.

[2TonJellyBean]

I insulated, had new new windows installed, and switched from a crude old atmospheric oil fired boiler that would have lasted forever but was wasteful to a high tech outdoor reset controlled modulating condensing natural gas fired boiler. It will also do the domestic water heating duties at top efficiency in place of the current electric WH as well... once I stop procrastinating.

The current electric water heater will then be joining the heating system as a buffer tank to help decrease return temps at the end of each firing cycle to increase the ΔT and extract a few more efficiency points when running at lower loads and shoulder seasons.

And CFLs galore... until LEDs are a go.

[bowtieguy]

Originally Posted by skewbe

Heh, yah I don't shave very often, and like to think it is to save money LOL I do get a lot of mileage out of a disposable razor too (you will know when it needs replacing). Maybe we can start a hypershaving chart?

There's all kinds of stuff, thrift stores, rice and dried beans are cheap and good for you, wholesale shops for stocking up, a garden or co-op. Best bet is to itemize your spending and see where the big hitters are for starters.

this is without a doubt the kindest you've ever been to me. you hit it right on--food is my second biggest greatest expense. budget already, but perhaps itemizing a budget within the budget is in order. thanks!

[bowtieguy]

Originally Posted by theclencher

I don't buy nuthin. Serious,,,,,,,,,,,,, cept fule, groceries, cat food, tp. Nice clothes= sparingly used, stay nice forever. Wear grungy (most of them not THAT bad) work clothes otherwise, gotten at garage sales or ?. EVERY time I try to do something while wearing nice clothes I damage them anyway. Try to stretch razor life til the dang thing pulls every whisker out. Have a goatee so only shaving half the real estate anyway. Blades just don't last that long for me tho. Shaving in the shower is the ultimate, beard nice n soft and only have to clean tub, not tub and sink. Not set up for it at home tho, need a mirror and decent light in there. blades aren't that big an expense anyway. never throw stuff away- 97% of the time broken stuff is fixable. I can afford to replace broken/old stuff but I like the challenge. i don't feel the need to have the latest and greatest. i go for quality when i can. still have good 25 year old stereo- NAD, B&O, Nakamichi, Polk, etc., gotten off bulletin board in student union. dumpster diving yields much goodies. it's weird at first; not so much after a while. drive an old car- not only saves p&i; tabs, ins, everything is less. don't use credit. layer up on clothes in winter. no a/c, jsut fans summer. Ya learn ta be frugal when govt bastids run off with half yer money for child suppoort.

entertaining as usual clencher. i use credit to buy gas w/3-5% cash back, but pay them off EVERY month. see my gas log--got one free-be already.

[trebuchet03]

Groceries tend to be a big expense...

On Howell Branch and 436 - there's a farmer's market. And it's cheap by farmer's market standards. It's not open on Sundays (FYI). In that same shopping center you'll find a large thrift store(Thriftco) and Harbor Freight (I'm weak when it comes to tools ). Not sure if that's close to you - but your location is C. Fla.

In the Bay Area, CA - I did a bit of dumpster dipping (diving happens to be dangerous and illegal ). I really do miss the gourmet bread But you can find all sorts of things you may need (or do need). I've yet to explore since then, but one day

My bathroom has three lights over the sink... unscrewed all but 1 and replaced it with a CF.

CFLs --> natural light is even better

Hang Dry clothing... Really, it's faster than my dryer You can throw your clothing in the dryer for a few minutes to get rid of wrinkles if you want...

I use homemade dishwasher soap and laundry detergent. Unless there's some form of organic stain in clothing (grass and such). Socks get regular detergent. As for dish washing soap, it takes some tinkering to get the recipe right to prevent powder residue.

Programmable T-stat if you can.

Cook outdoors in the summer (hooray BBQ).

...

[Snax]

Oops, BESIDES energy conservation . .

We only get the Sunday paper. :P

[cfg83]

theclencher -

Originally Posted by theclencher

I don't buy nuthin. Serious,,,,,,,,,,,,, cept fule, groceries, cat food, tp. Nice clothes= sparingly used, stay nice forever. Wear grungy (most of them not THAT bad) work clothes otherwise, gotten at garage sales or ?. EVERY time I try to do something while wearing nice clothes I damage them anyway. Try to stretch razor life til the dang thing pulls every whisker out. Have a goatee so only shaving half the real estate anyway. Blades just don't last that long for me tho. Shaving in the shower is the ultimate, beard nice n soft and only have to clean tub, not tub and sink. Not set up for it at home tho, need a mirror and decent light in there. blades aren't that big an expense anyway. never throw stuff away- 97% of the time broken stuff is fixable. I can afford to replace broken/old stuff but I like the challenge. i don't feel the need to have the latest and greatest. i go for quality when i can. still have good 25 year old stereo- NAD, B&O, Nakamichi, Polk, etc., gotten off bulletin board in student union. dumpster diving yields much goodies. it's weird at first; not so much after a while. drive an old car- not only saves p&i; tabs, ins, everything is less. don't use credit. layer up on clothes in winter. no a/c, jsut fans summer. Ya learn ta be frugal when govt bastids run off with half yer money for child suppoort.

I admire your frugality because you can say "I am not part of the problem" without being a hypocrite. I can't say the same for me, but I underlined the ones that I try to do.

bowtieguy -

If you have to use AC, then limit it to one "cool room". Close the other doors so that the AC doesn't have to cool the rest of the home. This is the summer version of what my Mom's family used to do in Minnesota, aka close off rooms in the winter so that you don't use more energy heating them.

CarloSW2

[Erdrick]

Something that I am not willing to do, but others may be, is using a microwave instead of a gas/electric stove. They cook quicker and more efficiently, but they don't make things taste as good. I live to eat, so I don't cut corners anywhere when it comes to food. $20 steaks are nothing to me!!.... course I wait until they are half off to buy them!!! haha!!

Otherwise, you should check out Michael Bluejay's site. It is chock full of electricity info.

Oh, and you can save a TON of money by hang-drying your clothes. a) no upfront cost of a dryer b) no maintenance cost on said dryer c) no electricity cost on said dryer d) your clothes will last forever. My fiance, being Japanese, has never used a clothes dryer, and has a sweatshirt that she wears about 180 days a year, washes about 60 times a year, and it still looks the same as the day she bought it... which was about 20 years ago.

You can spend money outright on more efficient appliances, but you really need to check out what you are using now, and a good way to do that is checking your bills and/or using something like a kill-a-watt.

I will post more things as I think of them.