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.

[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!

[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.

[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

[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.

[Telco]

On the groceries, look for the discount joint that sells odd brand stuff. I cut about 40 percent off my food bill by shopping at the deep discounters like Aldi and Sav-A-Lot, and in many cases the food tastes better than what you get at the high dollar grocery stores. Sure, the store isn't quite as nice and clean looking and sometimes the other shoppers are a little whiffy but then the food isn't packages there, either. Definitely, buy in bulk to not only save on the per unit cost, but the number of visits to the grocery store.

Razors? I shave about 3-5 times a week using one of those 3-blade jobs with the disposable blade (keep the handle). I like the weight of the handle vs the 99 cent disposals, not to mention the disposables always felt like I was shaving with sandpaper. Each blade lasts me about 6-9 months. True, I don't have a heavy beard, but the whole face gets the swipe. Also look into getting a mug, brush and soap for shaving cream, a bar of shaving soap is about 99 cents and lasts about 6 months, with no razor burn. Canned shaving cream usually has alcohol in it, which will irritate the skin. With the soap, no need for aftershave, just a quick water rinse and it's done.

Laundry is another area for savings. Tide is nice, but Arm and Hammer is less than half the cost of Tide and does the same job. It also has colorsafe bleach in some of it, which does a great job. Vinegar in the wash also helps get things clean, and if you soak a new pair of jeans in the washer with about a quart of vinegar, then wash, they come out a lot softer than when they went in.

Picked up a manual sweeper for spot cleaning around the house, now the power sucking vacuum cleaner only comes out for whole-house cleaning.

I also have no subscriptions to anything. My TV comes in on an outside aerial with a turner on it, which the HOA Nazi neighbors hate but can't do anything about since it's against federal law for any public or private entity to outlaw a TV antenna so long as it falls within install guidelines. I do have a landline since I've got DSL, but no fancy options on it. I don't text anything on the cell phone, or use any of the other expensive options. The DSL is also the cheapest, lowest speed version, which means I might have to wait 2 seconds longer than someone with the really fast connection does.

Next up, power strips everywhere. Death to the phantom load! My computer is on one and is about to get a second so I can only turn on the printer when something needs printing. Going to shuffle the TV area around as well, so I can get the power strip out front where it'll be easy to get to. I'm also on the hunt for a thermal carafe coffee maker that has no clock in it, and makes 12 cups of coffee. These pots have no burners, the coffee brews and it's done.

Those of you with the toaster ovens, how well are they insulated and how hard would it be to add insulation to one? Was thinking that they are pretty small and don't look like the cooking area is insulated, if it were then a toaster oven would take a lot less power to run. Might make a nice replacement for the oven too, since 90 percent of what we put into the oven to cook is only about an inch or two tall, like pizza. Then we could save the power sucking oven for hams and turkeys. If they aren't insulated, might be able to get a box built to slide the oven in, then insulate the void. Would make it safer too, since the body wouldn't be exposed.

[bowtieguy]

thank you everyone--great info! hey don't forget Big Lots. kind of hit and miss tho. try to run by once a week or so. also, try to eat at relatives/friends and host meals as well. we tend to get invited more than we host tho. but it works to save money.