Saving money.

[naunga]

Hey all,

For those who know me...been away awhile, getting back when I can. Miss y'all.

Anyhoo...

The wife is about to make life complicated, because her employer is committing insurance fraud on a regular basis, and to protect herself...she's turning them in.

She's (thankfully) got another job lined up, but it pays quite a bit less than the other (evil) one, and to add another wrinkle...Little Naunga is due is November (surprise!).

So, because I know a lot of you pilot types have to live pretty thin when in school and during the first couple years with the regionals...any suggestions would be great (yes we've already started to increase our consumption of ramen).

Let me know.

Naunga

[Kristie]

get a costco or sams card...believe it or not, it's saved us quite a few bucks....

also, look for the deals at the grocery stores and cut coupons or look for rebates. There's a lot of coupon and money saver websites out there.

since you have some decent $$ now, start buying the baby items in bulk.. plan for how many items of baby powder/wipes etc you'll need and stock up.

oh and get that rainy day fund started before she switches job, that way you have some emergency cash when you need it.

[wheelsup]

I buy old, well maintained used cars and put liability only insurance on them. I pay less per year on each car than my wife's sister pays per month on hers (OK, she drives a corvette but she still makes less $$ than me alone). To cut your phone bill consider Vonage or other similar VOIP phone service.

For food items we eat well but cook a lot at home. Buy most of the stuff on sale, with coupons. LOAD UP on things when they have big sales on flour, spaghetti sauce, etc. I don't like wal-mart, we never go there anymore, but they do have good prices. Plan out meals ahead of time. Brown bag your lunches every day. Once you start it's almost fun to see where you can cut costs. For example I was paying $50 for "high speed" internet and called to lower to the "sorta high speed" option that was 1/4 as fast for 1/2 the cost. 256k as opposed to 1 mb/sec. You could hardly notice the difference. The funny thing is a few months later they did away with the 256k option and made everything 1 mb/sec but grandfathered me in at the old billing rate.

I would focus on the 80/20 first. It's a rule of thumb that 20% of clients contribute to 80% of the sales for salesmen. I think it's similar for expenses. The top 80% of your expenses in $$ will probably comprise only 20% of your line items - so it should be easier to lower them than say something that costs you $5/month.

[MQAAord]

If you have an Aldi's near you, buy your pantry and frozen items there. I've added it up and it's usually literally HALF the price of name brand grocery stores.

Can you do cell phones only and eliminate a house landline phone? Some can and some can't for various reasons.

Use eBay and Craigslist. I bought and sold a LOT of baby gear (strollers, cribs, swings, etc) on Craigslist. Both are good places to get good quality baby clothes at cheap prices.

Plan meals and make menus a week or even a month in advance. It makes grocery shopping easier because you have a list, and it eliminates the "what's for dinner tonight" dilemma.

To cut down on dry cleaning expenses I started doing Bill's uniform shirts myself. I wash and iron them with the rest of the laundry, saving a LOT of money.

[ComplexHiAv8r]

Originally Posted by MQAAord

To cut down on dry cleaning expenses I started doing Bill's uniform shirts myself. I wash and iron them with the rest of the laundry, saving a LOT of money.

Have you tried that dry cleaning at home bag thing?

Plan trips to multiple stores in 1 trip. If you can afford the money to get into it, we have done a freezer and work with a meat company to fill once a year (family of 4). Works out nice and figure we say ALOT on meat costs. Check the convience store for items like Milk, they are sometimes cheaper then the supermark. One around us even has a milk club so besides being 25-40 cents cheaper per gallon, you get a free gallon for every 4 bought.

[Kristie]

it definitely helps on gas and mileage to do all your errands on one day...circumnavigate your locations accordingly.

you can also get used to the heat by keeping your A/C at 78 or higher for the summer. it saves a ton on energy cost. and remember to always turn the lights off once you're done with them.

[mpenguin1]

Don't forget to save money on your electricity by remembering to shut lights off, power down your monitor if not use, if you don't use your VCR or DVD player often shut it down..... Oh yeah, power down your printer when not in use, nobody prints often enough at home to warrant leaving the printer on 24 hours a day.

Cold during the day, leave the blinds open to let the sun in, hot, close the blinds to keep the sun out.....

Any used books at home, sell them at the used book store, along with magazines that you may have bought.

If your laptop is fully charged, don't leave the charger on, yank the plug from the wall.

Plastic or glass bottles, turn those babies in for the deposit, it adds up after a while.....

I have found that the best way to save is not have the money on your person, about 3 years ago, wifey did an automatic deposit to an ING account, every month $500 is taken out of our checking account, & after 3 years, that account is getting mighty fat.

[pullup]

Originally Posted by mpenguin1

I have found that the best way to save is not have the money on your person, about 3 years ago, wifey did an automatic deposit to an ING account, every month $500 is taken out of our checking account, & after 3 years, that account is getting mighty fat.

True Dat! I have found that it works for my family (4 people) to bring home less and learn to live on it. That means claiming married and 1 on taxes...but I do get a nice rebate at the end of the year. Also, like pengy, we take out $600/month and put into an internet savings account (automatic through direct deposit) and with interest upwards of 4-5% it does add a pretty penny every month. Don't have the money in the 1st place then you won't miss it. Same for retirement savings...take everything you can out before you get the paycheck. Good luck!

[killbilly]

Originally Posted by Kristie

it definitely helps on gas and mileage to do all your errands on one day...circumnavigate your locations accordingly.

you can also get used to the heat by keeping your A/C at 78 or higher for the summer. it saves a ton on energy cost. and remember to always turn the lights off once you're done with them.

This is very good advice.

I managed to shave about $50 off my utility bills every month simply by unplugging my power strips when I wasn't at home or not using the TV, stereo, etc. Those strips still put a load on the circuit. Makes a difference.

I looked into a cheaper rate plan with my electric company - they had a deal where my rate would be sliding depending on the price of natural gas, but the highest rate possible was still lower than what I was paying, so that worked out really well. Also - some power companies will do a free audit on your home's energy efficiency, and suggest inexpensive improvements (like weatherstripping) which will cut down your bill.

Put your car insurance company under review, tell em' you're gonna walk unless you get better rates. If you own a home, look at moving auto AND home policies to a new company - can save you a few hundred a year.

Check into some additional tax exemptions that can cut your property taxes (and thus, the escrow payments) by a couple hundred a month.

Try and up your 401K contributions, (if your employer does matching - that's free money) and then very carefully look over how your Fed Income tax witholdings are being done. If you do it right (there are paycheck calculators out there) you can get to a zero-pay/refund area and take home as much of your pay as possible. Since the baby is on the way, you're going to get a dependent tax exemption as well, so you can plan that into the equation when the little tyke arrives.

Don't know if you have a debt-load, but if you can, swing your credit card balances to lower-interest cards if at all possible. Or, do a home-equity line-of-credit, pay off as much debt as possible. The interest on that can be tax-deductible, so you can then offset that on your taxes as well. Servicing debt, sucks.

With the exception of the line of credit, I've done all of these things with some success. Over a year, I ended up saving almost $500 a month just by looking for better deals and ways to make the systems work for you.

Good luck.

[Kristie]

Originally Posted by mpenguin1

Don't forget to save money on your electricity by remembering to shut lights off, power down your monitor if not use, if you don't use your VCR or DVD player often shut it down..... Oh yeah, power down your printer when not in use, nobody prints often enough at home to warrant leaving the printer on 24 hours a day.

Cold during the day, leave the blinds open to let the sun in, hot, close the blinds to keep the sun out.....

Any used books at home, sell them at the used book store, along with magazines that you may have bought.

If your laptop is fully charged, don't leave the charger on, yank the plug from the wall.

Plastic or glass bottles, turn those babies in for the deposit, it adds up after a while.....

I have found that the best way to save is not have the money on your person, about 3 years ago, wifey did an automatic deposit to an ING account, every month $500 is taken out of our checking account, & after 3 years, that account is getting mighty fat.

Originally Posted by pullup

True Dat! I have found that it works for my family (4 people) to bring home less and learn to live on it. That means claiming married and 1 on taxes...but I do get a nice rebate at the end of the year. Also, like pengy, we take out $600/month and put into an internet savings account (automatic through direct deposit) and with interest upwards of 4-5% it does add a pretty penny every month. Don't have the money in the 1st place then you won't miss it. Same for retirement savings...take everything you can out before you get the paycheck. Good luck!

We do the same thing...we both take $500 out of our paychecks and into a cash managed account (mutual fund) every month as our rainy day fund or simply savings for anything that could happen or fun that we want to have. it does end up adding up quickly and it helps when you REALLY need it.

If you don't see it, it was never there and you end up really not missing it as much nor expecting to *need* it. you just plan around that money being, in a sense, non-existant.

[pedro]

Has anyone figured out a good way to convince your SO or girlfriend that trying to save money by doing all these things is NOT crazy? She is constantly leaving the lights and the TV on all day everyday. She also has a tendency to wash clothes and leave it in the washer all day then rewashing them because they get dingy

Our utility bills are way too high for an 1100 sq ft apartment. All the advice given so far is great. sorry for kinda hijacking the thread to rant....it felt good

[MQAAord]

Simple, tell her that for 2 months, the both of you are going to do things YOUR way. Turn off lights when not in use, don't wash your laundry twice, etc.

Make a list with specific changes you want made. Be specific and make sure she'll cooperate. Tell her that for 2 months you're going to do it your way, and if there's no change in your utility bills you'll never bug her about her habits again. BUT, if there is a change in the bills (and there more than likely will be ) she has to permanently change her habits. She'll be able to see a tangible result of the changes, and it'll be a "challenge" Also, if you approach it as a "two month" trial thing, it'll seem like less of a "demand" because it's only two months..... When she sees the change in the bills, she'll realize their really is a difference!

[pedro]

also to the OP, if you have your own house, you can get a programmable thermostat to regulate the temperature of your home. Depending on what kind of energy plan you are on this can save you a bunch of money.

[pedro]

Originally Posted by MQAAord

<snip>Also, if you approach it as a "two month" trial thing, it'll seem like less of a "demand" because it's only two months.....

Thanks Amber!!That's exactly what I was looking for. I have just been going around behind her turning off lights and changing the thermostat and so on. It really pisses her off and wasn't doing me any good. I have a record of last years utility bills so I can reference them in my "proposal" to her

[doog]

When you get your morning coffee at Peets, ask for a "small in a medium cup". Usually the put the same amount in, and you can fill up the rest with milk anyways. Then you pay $1.65 instead of $1.80, saving 15 cents!

[mpenguin1]

Originally Posted by pedro

Has anyone figured out a good way to convince your SO or girlfriend that trying to save money by doing all these things is NOT crazy? She is constantly leaving the lights and the TV on all day everyday. She also has a tendency to wash clothes and leave it in the washer all day then rewashing them because they get dingy

Our utility bills are way too high for an 1100 sq ft apartment. All the advice given so far is great. sorry for kinda hijacking the thread to rant....it felt good

I have a 1100 sq fot apartment & my electric bill is anywhere from $29 to $38 per month.

All rooms have fluorescent light bulbs.
We do laundry once a week.
None of my clothes go in the dryer as I hang them up, her clothes go in the dryer. I half dry the towels & then hang them up, this way they do not get stiff.

I mentioned before about shutting things down, another thing I do before going to bed is pulling the power plug for the router & the cable modem, nobody using the internet at midnight, so, might as well shut it down.

There are so many little ways to save money & after a while it adds up.

[pedro]

Originally Posted by mpenguin1

I have a 1100 sq fot apartment & my electric bill is anywhere from $29 to $38 per month.

Are you serious!!!! my bill last month was $95 and it hasn't even hit 100degrees yet. Last year during the summer our utilities were around 250 a month during the summer.

We just moved into this new apartment and there are 2 ceiling fans with 4 bulbs each that are on a dimmer. I want to replace those bulbs with compact fluorescents but I'm not sure if the CF bulbs can dim. You think that'll work?

[mpenguin1]

Originally Posted by pedro

Are you serious!!!! my bill last month was $95 and it hasn't even hit 100degrees yet. Last year during the summer our utilities were around 250 a month during the summer.

We just moved into this new apartment and there are 2 ceiling fans with 4 bulbs each that are on a dimmer. I want to replace those bulbs with compact fluorescents but I'm not sure if the CF bulbs can dim. You think that'll work?

Try one Fluorescent bulb to see how it works.

$250 per month, oh my!

Something else, when you run the A/C make sure you close the doors to every room, in addition, you may want to close the vents in the closets or even the bathrooms.

Make sure to close the blinds, it is a killer when people run the A/C & the sunlight is beaming into the room.

[pedro]

Originally Posted by mpenguin1

Try one Fluorescent bulb to see how it works.

duh....i guess i should have tried that they usually have them on sale at Costco and if it doesn't work I can always use the bulbs in the closets and bathrooms.

$250 per month, oh my!

ya it really sucks. this summer i want it to be no more than $150

[Kristie]

Originally Posted by mpenguin1

Try one Fluorescent bulb to see how it works.

$250 per month, oh my!

Something else, when you run the A/C make sure you close the doors to every room, in addition, you may want to close the vents in the closets or even the bathrooms.

Make sure to close the blinds, it is a killer when people run the A/C & the sunlight is beaming into the room.

close the doors in every room?

[pullup]

Originally Posted by pedro

Are you serious!!!! my bill last month was $95 and it hasn't even hit 100degrees yet. Last year during the summer our utilities were around 250 a month during the summer.

We just moved into this new apartment and there are 2 ceiling fans with 4 bulbs each that are on a dimmer. I want to replace those bulbs with compact fluorescents but I'm not sure if the CF bulbs can dim. You think that'll work?

Whew! You gotta cut down somewhere. I have a 2 story, 4 bedroom house and in the summer we are running 3 window units (not all at once...but one of them is on at anytime of day) and our bill usually doesn't go above $100. In the winter with lights on and X-mas lights we are usually about $110 +/- $10.

Make your girlfriend see some tangible resluts and she should hopefully buy into it. It took some time for my wife to jump onboard but when she saw results (x12 months in a year) she realized how much we could save. It took me a while to convince her to turn the heat down to 58 degrees in the winter though . But when I am saving $1000 a year in heating costs it makes sweaters and blankets very attractive!

[Kristie]

phoenix is pretty different... during the summertime, even my 2000+ SF house is about $300/month for electricity. we run our A/C constantly, don't have much choice, otherwise the house just gets too hot for anyone to be comfortable in.

[mpenguin1]

Originally Posted by Kristie

phoenix is pretty different... during the summertime, even my 2000+ SF house is about $300/month for electricity. we run our A/C constantly, don't have much choice, otherwise the house just gets too hot for anyone to be comfortable in.

Kristie

Taylors = 2000 sq foot house in Phoenx = $300 per month (Summertime)

Pedro = 1100 sq foot apartment in Phoenix = $250 per month (Summertime)

Sounds like has some work to do

[Kristie]

oh i understand, i was just explaining to banana man that phx is quite a bit different when it comes to electricity in the summer time.

but yea... in an apartment, one thing to understand is that heat/air is escaping everywhere....those windows/doors are not sealed and so there will be a bit of a higher electric bill (shouldn't be as high as mine...i remember mind being about $150 in high summer).

[pedro]

Kristie is right, the summers here are brutal. I think it may have a little to do with being in an upstairs apartment. Even still its way too much.

We do need to make some serious changes. this was my whole years electricity. 250 was just a guess and I was kinda right.

http://elduko.com/2007monthlyenergyuse.pdf

Maybe if I can get Jeannine to read this thread it will help her see the light (or turn it off).


****
forgot to mention that those numbers are from my old apartment that was only 960sq ft.