To review: Totally bogarting this series idea from Centsible Living with Money Mom on the youtubes. She's awesome! Watch her.
42 A dollar a pound, all year round. This was part of hint #32 and I want to expand on it again because it really works. It's a food purchasing GOAL but not a hard line. So, what can you get this week at the local grocery stores for 1$/lb or less? USUALLY potatoes, onions and bananas are available year round so those can be staples. All are flexible. E.g. my favorite soup is potatoes and an onion. About 4 medium to large potatoes and 1 medium to large onion. Dice them up, add 4-5 cups of water. Boil until tender. Eat. It's super good when sick or tired or sick and tired (so basically every day for me since I find my fellow humans exhausting). Change it up with spices, a diced boiled egg, drop a raw beaten egg in there and bring to the boil while stirring to make potato egg drop soup. A bit of lemon juice, lime juice or vinegar in your bowl just before you eat it will make this incredibly delicious. Mexican spices, Italian, whatever you have, poultry seasoning you can never seem to use up, a knob of ginger diced up ...ANYTHING is good in here. Maybe not sugar but who knows.
The left overs turn into mashed potatoes eventually.
What else is 1$/lb or less this week?
24oz loaf of bread for 99cents...that's under 1$/lb
Pasta is right at 1$/lb and as a dried product, cooked up it is even a better savings.
Remember that principle with dried beans too if you have a way to cook them! 1lb of dry beans will make 2-4 lbs of cooked. Canned beans are often 1$/lb but not nearly as good a deal as the dried. If you don't have good cooking facilities, canned are the better deal.
Frozen veggies, 99cents/lb
2 jumbo cantaloupes for 5$...WEIGH them. You're bound to find a couple that are 2.5lbs or more making them 1$/lb or less. I'm almost ready to start carrying a little hanging scale and old onion bag so I can weigh at the Grocery Outlet and etc where fruit and veg is all by the piece or bag.
You may notice I left out all sugary drinks. Those are never a deal even at under 1$/lb because they are not nutritious. But if you must drink them (and sometimes I must), then pay less.
You probably won't find coffee and spices this low so techniques on those later in the list (probably)
43 No Plastic Days. Just TRY to spend money without acquiring plastic! You may not spend at all or you may spend less. Be mindful of packaging and of the plastic coated receipt paper! Once in a while I shop online but that is just acquiring the plastic later. Also, usually can't check mail on a "no plastic day" because of those damn little windows in the envelopes. Those CAN just be open without plastic like they used to be or your address could be on the envelope...like the old days. If only. I spend time when watching a movie or youtubes tearing those damn things out so I can burn or recycle the envelope Aggravating.
44 Write a letter. Sure, the stamp costs you something, but it takes up time you might be spending or online shopping, and you get ZERO targeted ads based on handwritten letters. Your emails, facebooks, texts and cell phone calls are scanned and you get targeted ads. If you manage to turn off the snooping on your own email/phone, etc, likely the person on the receiving end did not. And you get targeted ads. Try even talking by someone's smart phone. I like to say things like "Nutterbutter ice cream sandwich" or "artisan" and watch the ads roll in next time I'm on the internet. Creepy man. Targeted ads are more effective, that's why they do them. So get targeted for things you don't use, at least. And at best, avoid being targeted. People also love getting letters.
45 Review your insurance(s). I try to do this once a year or so and see if there are savings, if a rate deal has been dropped (e.g. I need to take another cheap defensive driving course in order to get money off my car insurance). Call the insurance agency, not just email and online. Get someone on the phone. It shocks them. They might drop it a few dollars. Maybe get some easy online quotes and see if you can get something cheaper.
46 Can you consolidate some of your items/tasks/bills and save $$? You never know. A few years back I reorganized, culled and consolidated 2 storage units into 1 slightly larger than the previous "big" unit (heh heh) which save 50$/month. I'm going to try another cull to see if I can minimize it again and maybe get down a size again...though I like the location. But you say...why have a storage unit? Get rid of that sh*t! Well, yes, ideally (see #47) I would do that. But alas, living in 135sq feet and wanting my furniture for the house being built as we type, I have it in storage. I am a genetic hoarder so have to downsize in phases. That's what works for me,
47 Get rid of crap in storage units. This saves you the storage costs. If you are lucky, you can sell some of your crap and/or share it out to people who will appreciate and use it. In #46 I get defensive about why I am keeping my crap in storage. And another thing...about a 5'x5' portion, 11' tall, of the storage is "live" storage where I keep things like off season clothes, extra food storage containers, a gift bin so I can buy gifts when they are on sale. The stuff outside that goes through periodic culls. I'm working on it. #genetichoarder!
48 Drink Tap Water. Guess what is in those bottles and gallons of water you buy...TAP WATER. Maybe it's spring water and maybe it comes from somewhere with "springs" in the name. Much of the time it's tap water. It's EXPENSIVE. Drink tap water. I bring tap water from work to my house because I haven't bothered to get the well tested (house! HA! I flatter the shed sometimes). It's not hard. You fill about 1 gallon a day and bring it home for drinking and cooking. Live on the streets? Well, then you have bigger issues. Chlorine in your water? Air it out a bit or get a filter pitcher AT A THRIFT STORE. I also generally found the filters, still packaged, at thrift stores. Also, lots of people drink chlorine water. Maybe work with your town if you don't want it in there.
So, how much is it to drink bottled water which is total BS on so many levels....at least refill the goddamn bottle.
1 qt of bottled water is about $1.50, maybe a buck. I get a gallon of distilled (for the solar batteries) for a dollar or so. We'll be nice and say 1$/day for buying bottled water. Cost of municipal tap water per gallon? $0.002 on average. That's 2 onehundredths of a cent per gallon for well water? I spent 19,000 or so on the well and solar to run it (but the solar does more). I use about 500gallons a week in the summer when watering the garden. Less in the winter or rainy season. So, let's call it 250gallons a week...250/7 = 35/day. I've used the well for 5 years and 6 months or so... 19000/5.5years = $3555 per year/365 9.45/day cost for 35 gallons. 9.45/35 = $0.27per gallon!!! Already cheaper than buying water!! Woot woot! It gets cheaper every time I use it. I don't waste it to drive down the cost. I 'm very frugal with my water usage. Aquafers are precious resources and one does not save money by wasting water.
49 Change clothes when you get home. I hate doing this but I try. Right now it's so HOT that I change into thin pants and tissue thin shirts before working around the property after work. Easier to wash those. I keep "work pants" hanging on a hook all year round. Those get washed less and are sacrificial pants. They are meant to be worn out and stained and grubbed up. Changing out of "office worthy" pants and shirts saves those. It means I've been wearing the same jeans to work for years and my office shirts last for years too. Boring, but cheap!
50 The clothes/fabric use chain. When clothes DO wear out and are not shareable, tradeable, donateable, then what? For me, they get torn into rags. Seams on jeans and the waste band are usually strong even after the fabric rots. I use them to tie up stuff in the garden. Since I wear 100% cotton most of the time, or 100% wool/linen/natural if at all possible, these things decompose into the soil eventually rather than being there as plastic bits forever (functionally forever...who knows when that sh*t goes away?). The main body of the clothes get used as wash clothes or reusable rags until they are so bad they become a 1 use rag to be trashed. These are good for engine oil checking. Or for wiping up greasy spills and then being used to start fires (in the woodstove...not just random locations). Elastic off bras and undies has various uses as well...tie up tomatoes etc. But, has to be gathered up as it won't decompose in a reasonable amount of time. I keep a bag on a shelf near the other cleaning products for clothes that need to be rags now. I fish in there for what I need when I run out of wash clothes, or am crafting, or need to start a fire and paper isn't cutting it to get the kindling going.
51 Do something while you stare at the TV/Computer/Whatever. Watching a movie or show or random youtubes? Do something. Lately I've been folding boxes for mustard samples. You probably don't need to do that, but maybe you have mending or you like to knit. I like to darn socks while I watch a movie or listen to a book. Don't have any that need darning right now but I do need mustard sample boxes. In fact, I'm blogging this during a work webinar. Maybe I shouldn't but the webinar has repetitive bits so when something is being repeated, I type. Then tune back in when it's new info.
52 Sell something you like to make/do. This is new to me, but I'm testing it out. I like to make mustard so I started selling it. I'm tracking the money to see if the cost/benefit works out in my favor. It takes time and space, 2 things I don't have lots of to spare. But, I like doing it. And so far the mustard is selling at a local farmers market. I'm just above break-even right now and had to do a price adjustment so we'll see. Some people cook meals for those without time or space, others do sewing alterations, manual labor, or whatever. It doesn't hurt and might be worth a try.
53 Keep Long Term Goals In Mind. These would be financial related mostly. Like I want to retire some day. Every day I spend half what I earn, I earn a day of NOT WORKING because I have that amount of money saved (hopefully with interest) to pay for that day of retirement. This is above and beyond my retirement fund and Social Security. Another goal is having a house, garden and land the way I want. I hasn't been super cheap getting toward that and compromises have and continue to be made, but if I keep going the way I'm going, I will get there debt free. When I was trying to buy land I had a cost per square foot so before I spent $$ on something, I figured out how many square feet of land I could buy instead. It wasn't totally accurate but it helped keep the spending down.
54 Gratitude moments. I take a moment now and then when I get discouraged with the thrift and just want a giant expensive meal out or a 7$ iced coffee on a no spend day. I use that moment to think through things in my personal life that I am grateful for. Many of them end up having to do with being debt free and having my spending mostly under control. Like I'm always grateful for being debt free. A bad day at work is less bad when you know you COULD stomp out in a huff and not come back and still not lose your home. So far that has meant I did not have to stomp out because I had a better perspective on things. It keeps me on track.
55 Everything is a choice. You are not a victim of your debt, your costs, your job, people/charities begging you for money, any loans you've given. Everything you've done, including inhaling, was a choice. So, move on. Make a new choice. Choose to pay the debt off. Choose to forgive the loans you handed out unwisely or to openly ask for the money back or to sue the bastards. Do it. Choose to learn boundaries and enforce them with money.
56 Free Fruit! Nice segue. Or not. Fruit is getting ripe right now. Time to put the apple picker in the car and the eyes peeled for random fruit trees along the road, in people's yards, in parks. Always ask if the tree looks like someone owns it or in a town park. And be mindful of pesticide and herbicides that might be on them. People spit pits out windows for generations so lots of apples and pears along highways, old RR beds, trails. Many are delicious. Some are crap. Taste them if you feel comfortable. If it looks like the area has been sprayed (lots of dead veg and/or few bugs) then I pass it up. But often I pick them. You get pesticides on grocery fruit too. Wash it. Make your own choices (see #55). A friend has a cherry tree and calls people to pick each year. I go and I share out the fruit and eat some. Spent yesterday evening picking serviceberries (which are late this year) and eating them. Some went into vinegar which will preserve them and flavor the vinegar. I'll get more for several evenings in a row here. Other berries are getting ripe. Pick them. When someone offers you their home grown fruit say yes, and thank you and enjoy and share something back sometime.
57 Free meat! I help a friend butcher chickens and ducks and will help her butcher whatever comes up next. I learn something and always get a bit of free meat with the new skills. Sometimes I invest in meat with her, like when she bought ducks so grow and butcher. I paid in for some of the ducks and helped with the meat production. That wasn't free, but was cheap. Some people grab roadkill. I haven't yet, but I'm all for it and someday hope to run across a fresh kill when I have my knife and something to put it in.
58 Free veg! It's zucchini time here. When someone asks if I want some, I say yes and take it. Fry it, eat it raw, dry it, bake it, put it in soup. It's good food. Eat it. If you have a freezer, shred it and freeze it. Drying is my favorite because it becomes differently delicious in soups later. Also just eating it as dried chips is good. Don't forget mushrooms and other wild food you can gather beyond the berries noted above. I know mushrooms aren't really veg but I didn't want to do another entry on this. Enough already.
59 Grow some flavor. A pot of herbs or an herb garden, some onions, garlic, peppers, or other flavory things in the garden or a pot will help with all that free zucchini. And with flavoring that potato soup or other cheap food soups. Herbs and spices are expensive, buy some seeds or learn to start them from cutting. I hear you can root bits of basil from plant cuttings. Maybe. I have thyme, chives, tarragon, oregano, fennel, horseradish, radishes, 2 types of sage...no 3 types of sage, garlic, walking onions, sorrel (wild and garden), and probably more that I'm not thinking of. Those all really help when I am grabbing a handful of greens to fry up or make salad. Grab the herbs or garlic tops or an onion leaf (are the green things on onions leaves? Blades?) Anyway, it's cheap and healthy. I have so much thyme I can dry it for the winter and have tasty soup all year.
Tuesday, July 28, 2020
Sunday, July 19, 2020
101 Money Saving Ideas: Numbers 24-41
To review: totally bogarting this series idea from Centsible Living with Money Mom over on Youtube.
24 Say Thank You. When people give you something, do a favor, pass on a tip or whatever, say thank you. People like that. It's what sets us apart from the animals. That and our need to spend money on crap we don't need. Maybe...just maybe...SEND a thank you note in the mail. You remember the mail, right?
25 Negotiate. Make a counter offer. Make it with a smile or a wink or a scowl. Whatever suits your fancy. You can't get a lower price if you don't ask about one. A used car salesman has NEVER said "hey, wanna pay less for this car and still get the undercoat?" Recently I asked for a break on a price at a thrift store. The item, a super cool rocket stove, was missing a part. Not a part I really needed but a part. It was being sold as "new in the box" which it was except this one bit was gone. I got 30% off. I donated that much to the animal shelter because this thrift store supports the animal shelter. I do want the puppies to eat but I also wanted to practice negotiating.
26 Think. Stop and think before you buy. If it's not on the list, then you probably don't need it...see the previous editions of this series for the importance of lists. If you really really still want to buy it, figure out how soon you will use the item, how often it will make life easier, etc. Like the rocket stove noted above, it wasn't on the list because I didn't think I'd ever see one in a store or garage sale. BUT there it was and I'd seen it around on the internet or something similar. One thing that was tough, I didn't know how much it would cost new or on the 2nd hand market. I don't have a smart phone or an wifi device on me at all times like many people, so I couldn't check. I did know I'd wanted to make a rocket stove and this cost less than the parts I needed to get to make a rocket stove. So, I bit the bullet and risked it and asked for a discount which helped keep the price down low where I could stand it. I would have waited a few days if I thought it would have stayed in the thrift store but like a dehydrator...it was not going to spend much time on the shelf.
27 Know your local market. I mean the 2nd hand market. I know that in this area, there are offgridders all over the place and you don't dare leave handy solar powered items or camping type items in a thrift store to think about them. So, I think about what I could resell it for if I decide I don't want it. I also know which thrift stores are cheaper on which items. One has cheap canning jars, another cheap work clothes, and the hospice one is a goldmine for scrubs and little skid-proof socklets. I know about what to pay for things 2nd hand. Garage sales are often a better deal, BUT they are inconsistent and I'm not often in town on garage sale day and the extra gas would cost more than most savings.
28 Just don't do stuff. I just don't get my hair cut. Not since 1989. Think of the savings. I honestly have no idea what people spend on haircuts. I don't use makeup. What have I saved? I have no idea. I gave up shaving the legs and pits ages ago. Turns out I don't have leg hair or pit hair anyway so what was I shaving? People at yoga have mocked me about hair removal and I'm tempted to make pit wigs just so they buzz off. If you are doing things that bring you no joy, add no value to your life, but society seems to want you to do them, try just not doing that. Maybe you don't really give a crap about coffee. Then don't buy fancy coffee drinks or latte's or whatever. I don't like the taste of wine. So I just don't buy it. That probably saves something.
29 Pick hobbies that save or make money. My hobby of making mustard is now an accidental mustard business. I'm not sure it's making money, but it's not losing money. I like to cook, can food, ferment stuff (hmmmm....I like food). I've taken up gardening, chickening, beadwork (not great beadwork but some beadwork) and other things. These have resulted in gifts, trade-able items and occassionally income. They are also great for networking.
In fact, I got 2 more chickens today...Bonnie and Clyde. They will get their own blog post later. Since I have a coop (Coop 3.0), I can say "yes" to chickens and keep a hobby going. Haven't bought eggs since May and have had eggs to share since June. I share eggs with the lady down the road and she shares seeds and manure and stories with me. I also like to fold boxes and seed starter pots out of random bits of paper. I use them or share them. Make my own envelopes and sometimes give them as gifts or write thank you notes and send them in fancy home made envelopes. I save money on gift boxes, seed starter pots, and envelopes. Other hobbies result in gifts.
30 Support local business. I know during the 'rona lots of us are shopping at big chain stores that can do more curbside business or ordering online from the enormo-business I shan't name that has so many accusations of worker abuse that it's not a joke. I'm avoiding those as much as I can. Local businesses MIGHT cost more now and then, but the keep people in the community employed, they are more likely to help you out once you establish a relationship, and to remember what you want or need and be willing to stock it so you don't have to have it shipped from some abusive warehouse far away. Recently I went to the local hardware to get canning jars for my mustard business (see above). I had a coupon. Because the dude behind the counter knows me, he got out his own membership card and scanned it so I could get the member discount. A dozen jars for 7.50$!! That's a good price. It saved me money and I made more on that batch of mustard sales. He would not have done this if I didn't shop there regularly. It's not that I routinely pay more in that store, I don't. I compare prices or call ahead and when I can, I purchase there. I remember that gas and shipping cost money and going down a rat hole of targeted ads and links on the internet can also cost me money. If I just need 2 bolts and a washer, walk over to the local store and get them. Maybe you'll spend and extra quarter that day, but you'll save more later. AND they usually take returns and exchanges.
31 Learn to cook. If you take up no other hobby, skill or thrifty interest, learning to cook will save you a mint. Ingredients are cheap. Prepared meals are spendy. Restaurant meals are prohibitive. Learn to cook. You don't have to do fancy crap like on the TV. Learn to make eggs, pasta, and soup. Learn to fry a burger. Maybe someday, refrigerator dough bread. Granola...here's the recipe: Mix up rolled oats (old fashioned oatmeal), whatever nuts are cheap or sunflower seeds (not in the shell, dufus), a few tablespoons of oil, a few tablespoons of sugar or honey if you have it, and toast it all on a cookie sheet in the oven. Then put it in a jar or covered bowl or cool it off and put it in baggies. It's CEREAL and you'll save about 3$lb on it compared to bagged/boxed cereals and a buttload compared to store bought granola. You can throw in raisins or bits of other dried fruits, cocoa nibs, chocolate chips, a few spices and herbs. WHATEVER. Now you know how to cook and have a snack to take with you so you don't have to buy crap on the road (though I do love buying crap on the road). Those are the direct savings. The indirect savings include better physical and mental health (less crap in the diet helps with those and any move toward self sufficiency helps with the mental health). You also avoid some trips to the store because you can cook with what you have. Fewer trips means fewer impulse buys.
32 Learn to eat new stuff. The Ultimate Cheapskate (Jeff Yeager) wrote a few books on saving money and living how you want on less rather than earning more to live how other people want you to. One of his sayings has stuck with me: A dollar a pound, all year round. That's his rule of thumb for food shopping. If you buy the cheap fruit and veg, whether or not it's organic, you will eat what's in season all year round. I've made a habit of checking the local grocery store flyers to see what I'd be eating if I followed that. This week I could have potatoes, onions and carrots (you can almost always get those veggies for under a buck a pound), cantaloupe and bananas for fruit and veggies. There wasn't an advertised meat under a buck a pound, but two types of chicken were under a buck fifty so I'd go for those and check the reduced for quick sale. Also: Dried beans are usually right at a dollar a pound and cook up to 2 or 3 pounds per dry pound so are a super good deal in general. Same with dry lentils and peas. With the dollar a pound, try to pick stuff with nutrients not just off brand soda. Anyway, while doing this, I end up trying new fruits and veg. Whatever is cheap if I haven't tried it, or not lately, I try it. I learned to eat greens when they were cheap. They aren't always! So then I learned to grow them. I've always LOATHED bananas. Banana bread good. Bananas...puke in a skin. BUT they are cheap, nutritious, usually available and low on the pesticide warning lists. So, I learned to eat them. Still can't gag them down raw but since I learned to cook (see above), I make banana-egg pancakes about once a day either in a skillet at home or in the microwave at work. Add some cinnamon and nutmeg (bought in bulk on sale) and it's like banana bread for breakfast. You can also add a tablespoon of cocoa and it is delicious and high in fiber and iron.
33 Learn to grow stuff. I'm hearing on the interwebs that some urbanites are feeling pressured to garden and like they can't during the 'rona. Well, no. But you can sprout! I've done it when living in a camper without any propane or electricity. I've done it in the wee shed. I've done it at the office (yes, like Creed Bratton)
34 Learn to regrow stuff. About half the carrots in my garden are the top ends of carrots from the store that had leaves sprouting out of them. Leave a half inch or more and stick it in the wet ground, keep it wet, and you'll at least grow more carrot tops. Carrot tops are like parsley. Add them to salads or fry up in eggs. I also like to regrow celery from a celery bunch base stuck in water and romaine lettuce from the base of that head.
35 If you go out to eat,get a doggie bag. Don't worry about looking tacky. You're cheapskate. That wait-person will be retired if you go back and who the hell cares what random waitstaff think of them anyway? Restaurant meals in the low/mid cost range tend to be HUGE and salty. You're better off splitting them into a couple of meals anyway.
36 Tip the waitstaff. Don't be a dick. Tip the waitstaff. They are not wealthy and those tips are assumed when their wages are set. This is not the place to be cheap. AND if there IS somewhere you eat out now and then, the staff can let you know what is worth ordering or which new item is worth tasting, etc. This saves you sending back food or not enjoying food you paid for.
37 Enjoy what you have. Remember to look at the food in the house before you decide to go out. Maybe there is something you forgot and love to eat and will be a treat so you can skip the trip. For me it's usually clothes. I get sick of my clothes because I buy good quality and wash them carefully and they last FOREVER. So, soemtiems I rotate things into longer term storage. When I get bored again I try to remember to check the back catalog of shirts and pants. Usually I find something that I haven't work and remember liking and can rotate it back in and send something else out. I do the same with books and movies. Since I live small, only a few are in the living space. With the libraries closed for the 'rona times there, I wasn't getting different books and movies. I stopped by storage, found the box of flicks and swapped some out. Ran into some books I want to reread so swapped those out as well.
38 If you don't enjoy having it, pass it on. In the aforementioned clothing swappage, I ran into a caftan that I theoretically love but in reality do not wear. I don't like baggie clothes that twist around while you wear them. Caftans SEEM comfy but for me they are super irritating. I have a friend who was mooning over caftans so I passed it on to her. It's a lovely batik one from thrift. She won't mind that. And she might wear it. If not, she'll do something with the fabric. Now I don't have to store it or be annoyed by it. By the time I left her place today she'd loaded me up with some lamb sausages and free lumber. Oh...and those chickens. I never get ahead of her with the swapping so it's nice to pass something on.
39 Drive slower. I used to carefully hyper mile when I had to commute further. Now I try to remember to do that. It helps. Gas mileage is MUCH better at 55 than 70. If you live in the flatlands, try the cruise control. Here with the windy and the hilly, I do better gas mileage wise without it and being aware and trying to hyper mile. When I was devoted to it, I could save 10-20% on gas.
40 No Spend Days. Each month I set a goal. It's a number of days with zero spending. I have to remember to gas up the cars on days I'm shopping for groceries or paying bills or something. I find that days I stay home it is MUCH easier to not spend. If I stay home I rarely spend money. Before I had the wifi, I never spent money at home. You can just shift all the spending to other days, but the "no spend" days are a challenge to use/eat/enjoy what I have and they make me stop and think before purchasing something that occurs to me. No spends at work got easier when I started and office pantry.
41 Office Pantry. Keep a few things to eat at the office. Saves eating out, running to the store, and can facilitate the no-spend days. I keep eggs and bananas for the banana egg breakfasts. A few spices. Often a jar of dry oatmeal or cracked wheat so I can make that if I'm doing a no spend and forget to pack lunch. Or some granola which can be hot or cold, dry or wet. If you don't have access to a fridge and microwave, then even DIY oatmeal packets, granola, or energy bars will help avoid snack runs (and the intestinal runs from when the snacks go awry).
24 Say Thank You. When people give you something, do a favor, pass on a tip or whatever, say thank you. People like that. It's what sets us apart from the animals. That and our need to spend money on crap we don't need. Maybe...just maybe...SEND a thank you note in the mail. You remember the mail, right?
25 Negotiate. Make a counter offer. Make it with a smile or a wink or a scowl. Whatever suits your fancy. You can't get a lower price if you don't ask about one. A used car salesman has NEVER said "hey, wanna pay less for this car and still get the undercoat?" Recently I asked for a break on a price at a thrift store. The item, a super cool rocket stove, was missing a part. Not a part I really needed but a part. It was being sold as "new in the box" which it was except this one bit was gone. I got 30% off. I donated that much to the animal shelter because this thrift store supports the animal shelter. I do want the puppies to eat but I also wanted to practice negotiating.
26 Think. Stop and think before you buy. If it's not on the list, then you probably don't need it...see the previous editions of this series for the importance of lists. If you really really still want to buy it, figure out how soon you will use the item, how often it will make life easier, etc. Like the rocket stove noted above, it wasn't on the list because I didn't think I'd ever see one in a store or garage sale. BUT there it was and I'd seen it around on the internet or something similar. One thing that was tough, I didn't know how much it would cost new or on the 2nd hand market. I don't have a smart phone or an wifi device on me at all times like many people, so I couldn't check. I did know I'd wanted to make a rocket stove and this cost less than the parts I needed to get to make a rocket stove. So, I bit the bullet and risked it and asked for a discount which helped keep the price down low where I could stand it. I would have waited a few days if I thought it would have stayed in the thrift store but like a dehydrator...it was not going to spend much time on the shelf.
27 Know your local market. I mean the 2nd hand market. I know that in this area, there are offgridders all over the place and you don't dare leave handy solar powered items or camping type items in a thrift store to think about them. So, I think about what I could resell it for if I decide I don't want it. I also know which thrift stores are cheaper on which items. One has cheap canning jars, another cheap work clothes, and the hospice one is a goldmine for scrubs and little skid-proof socklets. I know about what to pay for things 2nd hand. Garage sales are often a better deal, BUT they are inconsistent and I'm not often in town on garage sale day and the extra gas would cost more than most savings.
28 Just don't do stuff. I just don't get my hair cut. Not since 1989. Think of the savings. I honestly have no idea what people spend on haircuts. I don't use makeup. What have I saved? I have no idea. I gave up shaving the legs and pits ages ago. Turns out I don't have leg hair or pit hair anyway so what was I shaving? People at yoga have mocked me about hair removal and I'm tempted to make pit wigs just so they buzz off. If you are doing things that bring you no joy, add no value to your life, but society seems to want you to do them, try just not doing that. Maybe you don't really give a crap about coffee. Then don't buy fancy coffee drinks or latte's or whatever. I don't like the taste of wine. So I just don't buy it. That probably saves something.
29 Pick hobbies that save or make money. My hobby of making mustard is now an accidental mustard business. I'm not sure it's making money, but it's not losing money. I like to cook, can food, ferment stuff (hmmmm....I like food). I've taken up gardening, chickening, beadwork (not great beadwork but some beadwork) and other things. These have resulted in gifts, trade-able items and occassionally income. They are also great for networking.
In fact, I got 2 more chickens today...Bonnie and Clyde. They will get their own blog post later. Since I have a coop (Coop 3.0), I can say "yes" to chickens and keep a hobby going. Haven't bought eggs since May and have had eggs to share since June. I share eggs with the lady down the road and she shares seeds and manure and stories with me. I also like to fold boxes and seed starter pots out of random bits of paper. I use them or share them. Make my own envelopes and sometimes give them as gifts or write thank you notes and send them in fancy home made envelopes. I save money on gift boxes, seed starter pots, and envelopes. Other hobbies result in gifts.
30 Support local business. I know during the 'rona lots of us are shopping at big chain stores that can do more curbside business or ordering online from the enormo-business I shan't name that has so many accusations of worker abuse that it's not a joke. I'm avoiding those as much as I can. Local businesses MIGHT cost more now and then, but the keep people in the community employed, they are more likely to help you out once you establish a relationship, and to remember what you want or need and be willing to stock it so you don't have to have it shipped from some abusive warehouse far away. Recently I went to the local hardware to get canning jars for my mustard business (see above). I had a coupon. Because the dude behind the counter knows me, he got out his own membership card and scanned it so I could get the member discount. A dozen jars for 7.50$!! That's a good price. It saved me money and I made more on that batch of mustard sales. He would not have done this if I didn't shop there regularly. It's not that I routinely pay more in that store, I don't. I compare prices or call ahead and when I can, I purchase there. I remember that gas and shipping cost money and going down a rat hole of targeted ads and links on the internet can also cost me money. If I just need 2 bolts and a washer, walk over to the local store and get them. Maybe you'll spend and extra quarter that day, but you'll save more later. AND they usually take returns and exchanges.
31 Learn to cook. If you take up no other hobby, skill or thrifty interest, learning to cook will save you a mint. Ingredients are cheap. Prepared meals are spendy. Restaurant meals are prohibitive. Learn to cook. You don't have to do fancy crap like on the TV. Learn to make eggs, pasta, and soup. Learn to fry a burger. Maybe someday, refrigerator dough bread. Granola...here's the recipe: Mix up rolled oats (old fashioned oatmeal), whatever nuts are cheap or sunflower seeds (not in the shell, dufus), a few tablespoons of oil, a few tablespoons of sugar or honey if you have it, and toast it all on a cookie sheet in the oven. Then put it in a jar or covered bowl or cool it off and put it in baggies. It's CEREAL and you'll save about 3$lb on it compared to bagged/boxed cereals and a buttload compared to store bought granola. You can throw in raisins or bits of other dried fruits, cocoa nibs, chocolate chips, a few spices and herbs. WHATEVER. Now you know how to cook and have a snack to take with you so you don't have to buy crap on the road (though I do love buying crap on the road). Those are the direct savings. The indirect savings include better physical and mental health (less crap in the diet helps with those and any move toward self sufficiency helps with the mental health). You also avoid some trips to the store because you can cook with what you have. Fewer trips means fewer impulse buys.
32 Learn to eat new stuff. The Ultimate Cheapskate (Jeff Yeager) wrote a few books on saving money and living how you want on less rather than earning more to live how other people want you to. One of his sayings has stuck with me: A dollar a pound, all year round. That's his rule of thumb for food shopping. If you buy the cheap fruit and veg, whether or not it's organic, you will eat what's in season all year round. I've made a habit of checking the local grocery store flyers to see what I'd be eating if I followed that. This week I could have potatoes, onions and carrots (you can almost always get those veggies for under a buck a pound), cantaloupe and bananas for fruit and veggies. There wasn't an advertised meat under a buck a pound, but two types of chicken were under a buck fifty so I'd go for those and check the reduced for quick sale. Also: Dried beans are usually right at a dollar a pound and cook up to 2 or 3 pounds per dry pound so are a super good deal in general. Same with dry lentils and peas. With the dollar a pound, try to pick stuff with nutrients not just off brand soda. Anyway, while doing this, I end up trying new fruits and veg. Whatever is cheap if I haven't tried it, or not lately, I try it. I learned to eat greens when they were cheap. They aren't always! So then I learned to grow them. I've always LOATHED bananas. Banana bread good. Bananas...puke in a skin. BUT they are cheap, nutritious, usually available and low on the pesticide warning lists. So, I learned to eat them. Still can't gag them down raw but since I learned to cook (see above), I make banana-egg pancakes about once a day either in a skillet at home or in the microwave at work. Add some cinnamon and nutmeg (bought in bulk on sale) and it's like banana bread for breakfast. You can also add a tablespoon of cocoa and it is delicious and high in fiber and iron.
33 Learn to grow stuff. I'm hearing on the interwebs that some urbanites are feeling pressured to garden and like they can't during the 'rona. Well, no. But you can sprout! I've done it when living in a camper without any propane or electricity. I've done it in the wee shed. I've done it at the office (yes, like Creed Bratton)
You can grow a few herbs in a pot. Herbs and spices cost a lot of money per ounce and pack a giant nutrition punch. Same with sprouts. Cheap to grow, expensive to buy, worth eating.
35 If you go out to eat,get a doggie bag. Don't worry about looking tacky. You're cheapskate. That wait-person will be retired if you go back and who the hell cares what random waitstaff think of them anyway? Restaurant meals in the low/mid cost range tend to be HUGE and salty. You're better off splitting them into a couple of meals anyway.
36 Tip the waitstaff. Don't be a dick. Tip the waitstaff. They are not wealthy and those tips are assumed when their wages are set. This is not the place to be cheap. AND if there IS somewhere you eat out now and then, the staff can let you know what is worth ordering or which new item is worth tasting, etc. This saves you sending back food or not enjoying food you paid for.
37 Enjoy what you have. Remember to look at the food in the house before you decide to go out. Maybe there is something you forgot and love to eat and will be a treat so you can skip the trip. For me it's usually clothes. I get sick of my clothes because I buy good quality and wash them carefully and they last FOREVER. So, soemtiems I rotate things into longer term storage. When I get bored again I try to remember to check the back catalog of shirts and pants. Usually I find something that I haven't work and remember liking and can rotate it back in and send something else out. I do the same with books and movies. Since I live small, only a few are in the living space. With the libraries closed for the 'rona times there, I wasn't getting different books and movies. I stopped by storage, found the box of flicks and swapped some out. Ran into some books I want to reread so swapped those out as well.
38 If you don't enjoy having it, pass it on. In the aforementioned clothing swappage, I ran into a caftan that I theoretically love but in reality do not wear. I don't like baggie clothes that twist around while you wear them. Caftans SEEM comfy but for me they are super irritating. I have a friend who was mooning over caftans so I passed it on to her. It's a lovely batik one from thrift. She won't mind that. And she might wear it. If not, she'll do something with the fabric. Now I don't have to store it or be annoyed by it. By the time I left her place today she'd loaded me up with some lamb sausages and free lumber. Oh...and those chickens. I never get ahead of her with the swapping so it's nice to pass something on.
39 Drive slower. I used to carefully hyper mile when I had to commute further. Now I try to remember to do that. It helps. Gas mileage is MUCH better at 55 than 70. If you live in the flatlands, try the cruise control. Here with the windy and the hilly, I do better gas mileage wise without it and being aware and trying to hyper mile. When I was devoted to it, I could save 10-20% on gas.
40 No Spend Days. Each month I set a goal. It's a number of days with zero spending. I have to remember to gas up the cars on days I'm shopping for groceries or paying bills or something. I find that days I stay home it is MUCH easier to not spend. If I stay home I rarely spend money. Before I had the wifi, I never spent money at home. You can just shift all the spending to other days, but the "no spend" days are a challenge to use/eat/enjoy what I have and they make me stop and think before purchasing something that occurs to me. No spends at work got easier when I started and office pantry.
41 Office Pantry. Keep a few things to eat at the office. Saves eating out, running to the store, and can facilitate the no-spend days. I keep eggs and bananas for the banana egg breakfasts. A few spices. Often a jar of dry oatmeal or cracked wheat so I can make that if I'm doing a no spend and forget to pack lunch. Or some granola which can be hot or cold, dry or wet. If you don't have access to a fridge and microwave, then even DIY oatmeal packets, granola, or energy bars will help avoid snack runs (and the intestinal runs from when the snacks go awry).
Thursday, July 16, 2020
101 Money Saving Ideas: Numbers 12-23
As stated in the previous post, this is an idea swiped, with permission, from Money Mom over at the youtubes. She has a great friendly cheerful channel that I've subscribed to for QUITE some time and really appreciate during the 'rona. It's not doom and gloom. It's happy and sensible. Hence the channel name: Centsible Living with Money Mom.
Why hints 12-23? Because I like the prime numbers and 23 is a good one. So is 29 but I didn't think I could come up with that many and it would shorten the series to go that far so here we go:
12 Return the favor. If you have someone who does for you, do for them. I was pleased when a friend called and asked for a hand because she gives me more than I give her usually. I don't keep an exact tally, but I know that she's someone I can count on if I need something, I "put out the word" (see previous blog post for that tip), or need advice on how to do stuff. So when she calls for a hand I'm glad to return the favor.
13 Make an errands list before I leave the house or at the first stop on the trip. I live 30 min out of town, 15 min out of tiny town. If I'm headed in for something I take a moment to think through all the stuff I can get done in one trip and try to put it in a sensible order rather than the order that would require trips back and forth across town. If I've got laundry to do I know I want to do that first, while the laundromat is clean and not full of people and the wifi isn't over subscribed. Then I'll have 30 min or so to do the rest of the list. Still want to think through a little bit before leaving. I hate getting to town and seeing "return library books" or "drop recycling" and finding that I didn't put those things in the vehicle. As for the order, my storage unit is near the laundromat so I can walk over there if I need to swap out clothes, get jars, or whatever. If I need to hit a grocery store, I park midway between the store and the library and walk to both. Cuts down on driving and the walk is good for me. The grocery store also gives us a nickle credit for walking so that doesn't hurt. It doesn't add up much at one trip every week or two but what the heck.
14 Get receipts! This helps with the tracking noted in the last blog. If I don't get a receipt, I make a note. I hate getting home and not knowing why there isn't money left in my pocket. Since I often pay cash, I need receipts in case something needs to be returned. It isn't often but now and then I get a damaged or faulty item. Receipts help in developing your price point awareness. You may think something is a deal until you review receipts and notice the price is lower at one store than on sale at another. Keep an eye out especially for frequent purchases. Those savings add up and we usually don't research them as well as the occasional purchase items.
15 Research before you buy. This is easier with the internet but during the 'rona I've also gone back to using the phone. Stores don't want to need us in there being looky-loos and crowding up the aisles. When I needed fence posts I called the 3 hardware stores in the town where I was headed to check the stock and the price and the heavy-duty-ness of their posts. Turns out the hardware I was going to skip because it is usually higher priced was the best deal on that. I was able to let them know what I needed post-wise, they could pile them up and I ran in to pay, out to load, and off I went. They got their cash with less needing to sanitize behind me and I saved money by not looking a the random sale items I might have bought but not needed.
16 Know where the clearance rack/pile is in each store. I frequent 4 grocery stores depending on which town I go to. In each there is an out of the way spot with a shelf full of "just get these out of here" items, or in one case a cart. I've found barely past sell-by date crackers, soups, coffee, vitamins, or the last package of something the store will no longer carry. I hit these racks first WITH MY LIST which includes the "stock up if on super sale" items as well as the current need items. If it's not on the list, I usually don't get it. If it's 25cents and a treat, I might get it. Got some dark chocolate honey patties one day that are usually over a buck each this way. I get my hinges and hardware bits at the clearance rack at the hardware store.
17 Thriftstore hardware is checked before hardware store hardware. Thrift stores often have piles of unopened or barely used hardware like door knobs (keys and all), hinges, latches, sand paper, paint in various colors. Since I do not care if the hardware on a chicken coop made of pallets matches, or even on my crapentry® screen door, I used thrift store hardware. It usually turns out cute.
18 Lumberyards have a free off-cuts pile. Often anyway. ASK. The hardware/lumber I like in Moscow Idaho has a free bin next to the cutting table in the lumber yard. If you buy ANYTHING you get to go take scraps. I drive in there with the pick up and load up. If it's not plywood or glued beams, it's at least burnable. I have built many things from the scrap lumber. I've got a pile of lumber stock in odd sizes, though a surprising number of 4' 2x4s are free. Even some short stair step sides that must have been the wrong length. Someday I will have a structure that needs steps just that size. Or a bonfire.
19 Little Free Libraries are the best. Especially if you need a book just to have in the car, great for when you are stopped for paving projects. They SAY it's 15 minutes but we all know it might be 45. Having a book is a fine way to pass the time. The Little Free Libraries are all over the place and you take a book or leave a book. No due dates, no questions. I donate back. The books are also great for plane trips since you can leave them when you are done. If I don't see a Little Free Library, there is always a laundromat. to drop them at. I've even left them at highway rest stops and public bathrooms thinking if people don't want to read them, they can always TP them.
20 Dumpster Diving. I'm not devout on the dumpster diving, having rarely actually gone in one and never made a specific dumpster dive trip. I do however, keep an eye out. Living in a rural area with public rural dumpsters here and there, it's a common thing for folks to leave the good stuff outside the dumpster for the next person. I will try to drive the truck if I need big stuff and am going past good dumpsters. I've gotten a satellite dish thingy, little one that is a grid not a bowl, that the peas are climbing up now. Plenty of lawn chairs (thanks summer tourists!), bits of fencing, pieces of lumber (wear gloves and watch for nails), and once an entire set of furniture for a summer rental including a TV...black and white bubble front with the clicky twisty knob. The entire set being a dresser, a few lawn chairs, and the TV. I had a blow up bed and folding picnic table. Hose the stuff down or wash it up. Make your own choice. I donate back to the dumpsters as well if I have things that seem useful but not quite thrift store donatable or I'm not going past a thrift store.
21 Pass It On If You Don't Need It. This goes back to number 12 I think. I know who is gardening or canning, or crafting with fabric and paper. If I have an overstock or see a great deal, I will ask around and see if one of those folks can use the overstock or the deal. I found canning jars in great shape at the recycling center the other day (this recycling center specifically encourages direct recycling by letting us grab stuff back out of the bins and even providing free bins of buckets and things). I grabbed them and emailed around to friends who can and who give me things in jars. No one needed this size right now but all appreciated the inquiry. I have radishes fermenting in them at the moment. One of the folks said she had too many jars of another size...a size I need right now for other things so she passed those on to me. I'm passing some clothes on to her next week.
22 Hang out with the like minded. It's hard for me to share favors with people who think used items are gross. People who buy all new stuff from stores I boycott, they find it hard to share with me or even hang with me. So while we're friends now and then, usually not sharing friends. Try to have a good set of your friend group be people who are also thrifty (or spendthrifty if that's what you like...nothing like taking a skinflint on an expensive venture to make everyone cranky!).
23 Hang out with the unlike minded. HA! See what I did there? Changed it up. Anyway, #22 doesn't mean that you ONLY hang out with the like minded cheapskates. That is dull and generates a judgmental bubble. Also hang out with people who do other things but realize that they may not be the ones who will be thrilled to get a pair of your ripped carhartts for a birthday present. I, however, would love them and would grease them up with my boot wax to make waterproof pants so...if anyone has a pair of old carhartts size 6, no spandex, send them on. The unlike minded get us out of our bubbles and we get a break and see new things and get new ideas. You learn from those who think differently as well as those who think like you. Keeps you flexible and it's fun. Sometimes you also find out that those who seem unlikeminded actually agree with you on many things. This can be confusing but is something to think about when you are stuck in a construction zone on the highway and you can't find that book you got free at the Little Free Library because your car is full of dumpster dived crap.
Why hints 12-23? Because I like the prime numbers and 23 is a good one. So is 29 but I didn't think I could come up with that many and it would shorten the series to go that far so here we go:
12 Return the favor. If you have someone who does for you, do for them. I was pleased when a friend called and asked for a hand because she gives me more than I give her usually. I don't keep an exact tally, but I know that she's someone I can count on if I need something, I "put out the word" (see previous blog post for that tip), or need advice on how to do stuff. So when she calls for a hand I'm glad to return the favor.
13 Make an errands list before I leave the house or at the first stop on the trip. I live 30 min out of town, 15 min out of tiny town. If I'm headed in for something I take a moment to think through all the stuff I can get done in one trip and try to put it in a sensible order rather than the order that would require trips back and forth across town. If I've got laundry to do I know I want to do that first, while the laundromat is clean and not full of people and the wifi isn't over subscribed. Then I'll have 30 min or so to do the rest of the list. Still want to think through a little bit before leaving. I hate getting to town and seeing "return library books" or "drop recycling" and finding that I didn't put those things in the vehicle. As for the order, my storage unit is near the laundromat so I can walk over there if I need to swap out clothes, get jars, or whatever. If I need to hit a grocery store, I park midway between the store and the library and walk to both. Cuts down on driving and the walk is good for me. The grocery store also gives us a nickle credit for walking so that doesn't hurt. It doesn't add up much at one trip every week or two but what the heck.
14 Get receipts! This helps with the tracking noted in the last blog. If I don't get a receipt, I make a note. I hate getting home and not knowing why there isn't money left in my pocket. Since I often pay cash, I need receipts in case something needs to be returned. It isn't often but now and then I get a damaged or faulty item. Receipts help in developing your price point awareness. You may think something is a deal until you review receipts and notice the price is lower at one store than on sale at another. Keep an eye out especially for frequent purchases. Those savings add up and we usually don't research them as well as the occasional purchase items.
15 Research before you buy. This is easier with the internet but during the 'rona I've also gone back to using the phone. Stores don't want to need us in there being looky-loos and crowding up the aisles. When I needed fence posts I called the 3 hardware stores in the town where I was headed to check the stock and the price and the heavy-duty-ness of their posts. Turns out the hardware I was going to skip because it is usually higher priced was the best deal on that. I was able to let them know what I needed post-wise, they could pile them up and I ran in to pay, out to load, and off I went. They got their cash with less needing to sanitize behind me and I saved money by not looking a the random sale items I might have bought but not needed.
16 Know where the clearance rack/pile is in each store. I frequent 4 grocery stores depending on which town I go to. In each there is an out of the way spot with a shelf full of "just get these out of here" items, or in one case a cart. I've found barely past sell-by date crackers, soups, coffee, vitamins, or the last package of something the store will no longer carry. I hit these racks first WITH MY LIST which includes the "stock up if on super sale" items as well as the current need items. If it's not on the list, I usually don't get it. If it's 25cents and a treat, I might get it. Got some dark chocolate honey patties one day that are usually over a buck each this way. I get my hinges and hardware bits at the clearance rack at the hardware store.
17 Thriftstore hardware is checked before hardware store hardware. Thrift stores often have piles of unopened or barely used hardware like door knobs (keys and all), hinges, latches, sand paper, paint in various colors. Since I do not care if the hardware on a chicken coop made of pallets matches, or even on my crapentry® screen door, I used thrift store hardware. It usually turns out cute.
18 Lumberyards have a free off-cuts pile. Often anyway. ASK. The hardware/lumber I like in Moscow Idaho has a free bin next to the cutting table in the lumber yard. If you buy ANYTHING you get to go take scraps. I drive in there with the pick up and load up. If it's not plywood or glued beams, it's at least burnable. I have built many things from the scrap lumber. I've got a pile of lumber stock in odd sizes, though a surprising number of 4' 2x4s are free. Even some short stair step sides that must have been the wrong length. Someday I will have a structure that needs steps just that size. Or a bonfire.
19 Little Free Libraries are the best. Especially if you need a book just to have in the car, great for when you are stopped for paving projects. They SAY it's 15 minutes but we all know it might be 45. Having a book is a fine way to pass the time. The Little Free Libraries are all over the place and you take a book or leave a book. No due dates, no questions. I donate back. The books are also great for plane trips since you can leave them when you are done. If I don't see a Little Free Library, there is always a laundromat. to drop them at. I've even left them at highway rest stops and public bathrooms thinking if people don't want to read them, they can always TP them.
20 Dumpster Diving. I'm not devout on the dumpster diving, having rarely actually gone in one and never made a specific dumpster dive trip. I do however, keep an eye out. Living in a rural area with public rural dumpsters here and there, it's a common thing for folks to leave the good stuff outside the dumpster for the next person. I will try to drive the truck if I need big stuff and am going past good dumpsters. I've gotten a satellite dish thingy, little one that is a grid not a bowl, that the peas are climbing up now. Plenty of lawn chairs (thanks summer tourists!), bits of fencing, pieces of lumber (wear gloves and watch for nails), and once an entire set of furniture for a summer rental including a TV...black and white bubble front with the clicky twisty knob. The entire set being a dresser, a few lawn chairs, and the TV. I had a blow up bed and folding picnic table. Hose the stuff down or wash it up. Make your own choice. I donate back to the dumpsters as well if I have things that seem useful but not quite thrift store donatable or I'm not going past a thrift store.
21 Pass It On If You Don't Need It. This goes back to number 12 I think. I know who is gardening or canning, or crafting with fabric and paper. If I have an overstock or see a great deal, I will ask around and see if one of those folks can use the overstock or the deal. I found canning jars in great shape at the recycling center the other day (this recycling center specifically encourages direct recycling by letting us grab stuff back out of the bins and even providing free bins of buckets and things). I grabbed them and emailed around to friends who can and who give me things in jars. No one needed this size right now but all appreciated the inquiry. I have radishes fermenting in them at the moment. One of the folks said she had too many jars of another size...a size I need right now for other things so she passed those on to me. I'm passing some clothes on to her next week.
22 Hang out with the like minded. It's hard for me to share favors with people who think used items are gross. People who buy all new stuff from stores I boycott, they find it hard to share with me or even hang with me. So while we're friends now and then, usually not sharing friends. Try to have a good set of your friend group be people who are also thrifty (or spendthrifty if that's what you like...nothing like taking a skinflint on an expensive venture to make everyone cranky!).
23 Hang out with the unlike minded. HA! See what I did there? Changed it up. Anyway, #22 doesn't mean that you ONLY hang out with the like minded cheapskates. That is dull and generates a judgmental bubble. Also hang out with people who do other things but realize that they may not be the ones who will be thrilled to get a pair of your ripped carhartts for a birthday present. I, however, would love them and would grease them up with my boot wax to make waterproof pants so...if anyone has a pair of old carhartts size 6, no spandex, send them on. The unlike minded get us out of our bubbles and we get a break and see new things and get new ideas. You learn from those who think differently as well as those who think like you. Keeps you flexible and it's fun. Sometimes you also find out that those who seem unlikeminded actually agree with you on many things. This can be confusing but is something to think about when you are stuck in a construction zone on the highway and you can't find that book you got free at the Little Free Library because your car is full of dumpster dived crap.
Sunday, July 12, 2020
101 Money Saving Ideas: The 1st 11
I'm copying this from Censtible Living with Money Mom, a youtuber I get a big kick, and good ideas, from. From whom I get kicks and ideas? Well, let's let the grammar go and move on.
Money Mom is a sweety with a cute supportive husband (as far as one can tell from youtube...I thought that about another youtuber until she got a divorce and talked about the magic of editing!).
Anywhooo, she is doing a series working up to 100 money saving tips.
I am going for 101 because I like prime numbers (asperger spectrum anyone? anyone?)
These are not in any order other than how they occur to me each time I try to blog them.
1 The MASTER LIST. This is on my ipodphone (an old iphone from my sister with the sim card removed so now it's more of an ipod than a phone). It's with me all of the time. I have subcategories for groceries, hardware, thrift, gardening, etc. If I'm in a store or at a yard sale or on craigslist or whatever, I can check the list. I recently, during the 'rona times, added a category of "stock up" items that I don't need immediately BUT could get if they are on an incredible sale
2 Price point list/idea. I know that if I find organic peanut butter (or other nutbutter) for under 2$/lb, I should get it. This feeds into that "stock up" part of the master list. I may have other proteins in stock e.g. beans, eggs, BUT if the peanut butter (shelf stable, long storage life) is on sale that low, I can get a jar or two. Not more. Do not overfill the storage space. I keep an idea of prices on things like chicken feed, shelf stable proteins and grains, hardware bits and pieces (staples, philips head screws, nails, hinges), undies, sox, and other consumables. But if they aren't on the master list, it's better to go home first and see if I need them.
3 Job market awareness. I have a job and I like it. Not looking to quit. Times though, they are always a-changin'. So, good to know what's out there, what I could make here or on a move to elsewhere.
4 Check my supply stock regularly. I'm better at doing this for food and clothes than for other things but I try to keep up with the other bits like seeds for the garden, hardware odds and ends, lumber. If you don't know what you have, you don't know what you need or if what you are thinking is a good deal will fit in with what you have.
5 Put out the word! Got this one from The Tightwad Gazette years ago and it works. If there is something you need/want but don't see often or have a pretty low pricepoint on, put out the word. I have friends who go to flea markets and things more than I do. If I go, I will buy. So instead, I let these friends know what I would like and my TOP dollar price. This worked great when I wanted a row tiller (old fashioned garden thing that is super useful). They found one at the price within a couple of weeks. I always look myself for a while first and then wait to see if I really really want it because when you put out the word, you usually get it and you must pay for it.
6 Check the recycling center. There is a free book bin, cardboard (good for gardening and things), free metal bin, big cans, glass (got 3 perfect 1 quart mason jars a while ago). Before I go there, I think through things that I can actually use. Truly this is more of a "projects I'd like to do" than specific things I need. I want to do more paper bricks for the woodstove in winter but need something to dry them on. Also I'm selling at a farmers market and need something to put a sign on. Last time I went to the recycling center I thought through this. When I got there I found a circle of metal about 2' in diameter painted yellow, in good shape. Will make a fine sign holder with a bit of wood and a hinge (see above harware bits and bobs). There were also wire racks out of a fridge or something. Those will work to dry the bricks on. A couple of times I've taken things that looked super useful but I didn't end up using. Those go back for the next person or to someone who admires them. A half-bucket with a flat side went to a neighbor with horses. It's made for horses but just looked useful to me.
7 Maintain the vehicles. I change the oil and check the tires and even check the torque on the lug nuts. Boring, but keeps them going and keeps me from getting in preventable trouble. Also keep the tanks full-ish. (Which reminds me...gas up the truck!)
8 Know the gas prices! I keep an eye on gas prices each time I pass a station. I know where it is usually cheapest, but that can change. If I'm in a pricy area and really need fuel, I may get 5 gallons and then fuel fully next time I'm near the cheaper gas. There is one super cheap station I do not go to because I always lose 10mpg when I buy gas there. They'd have to be MUCH MUCH cheaper to make it worth it and I don't know if the gas is watery or what.
9 Be nice. It's not in my nature, but it gets you cheaper stuff and referrals to cheaper stuff. Like I was in the hardware store and even though the dude at the counter drives me bonkers, I am nice to him. He used his own membership card on a purchase I was making and saved me 5$ off 30$.
10 Shift $$ into the higher yield savings account each paycheck. I now have the paycheck auto deposited. The day after payday I go online and check my accounts and shift any extra in checking over into the higher pay savings account. I don't do CDs or longer term things other than retirement right now as I need the liquid cash for paying off construction costs. That available liquid cash is going to save me about 10% on this phase of construction which is much more than a CD or other short-mid range investment would in my income range.
11 Keep track of spending every day. I write down my spending every single day. I reconcile it at the end of each month. Sometimes I do a mid month check to see how things are going. Boring but it works.
Money Mom is a sweety with a cute supportive husband (as far as one can tell from youtube...I thought that about another youtuber until she got a divorce and talked about the magic of editing!).
Anywhooo, she is doing a series working up to 100 money saving tips.
I am going for 101 because I like prime numbers (asperger spectrum anyone? anyone?)
These are not in any order other than how they occur to me each time I try to blog them.
1 The MASTER LIST. This is on my ipodphone (an old iphone from my sister with the sim card removed so now it's more of an ipod than a phone). It's with me all of the time. I have subcategories for groceries, hardware, thrift, gardening, etc. If I'm in a store or at a yard sale or on craigslist or whatever, I can check the list. I recently, during the 'rona times, added a category of "stock up" items that I don't need immediately BUT could get if they are on an incredible sale
2 Price point list/idea. I know that if I find organic peanut butter (or other nutbutter) for under 2$/lb, I should get it. This feeds into that "stock up" part of the master list. I may have other proteins in stock e.g. beans, eggs, BUT if the peanut butter (shelf stable, long storage life) is on sale that low, I can get a jar or two. Not more. Do not overfill the storage space. I keep an idea of prices on things like chicken feed, shelf stable proteins and grains, hardware bits and pieces (staples, philips head screws, nails, hinges), undies, sox, and other consumables. But if they aren't on the master list, it's better to go home first and see if I need them.
3 Job market awareness. I have a job and I like it. Not looking to quit. Times though, they are always a-changin'. So, good to know what's out there, what I could make here or on a move to elsewhere.
4 Check my supply stock regularly. I'm better at doing this for food and clothes than for other things but I try to keep up with the other bits like seeds for the garden, hardware odds and ends, lumber. If you don't know what you have, you don't know what you need or if what you are thinking is a good deal will fit in with what you have.
5 Put out the word! Got this one from The Tightwad Gazette years ago and it works. If there is something you need/want but don't see often or have a pretty low pricepoint on, put out the word. I have friends who go to flea markets and things more than I do. If I go, I will buy. So instead, I let these friends know what I would like and my TOP dollar price. This worked great when I wanted a row tiller (old fashioned garden thing that is super useful). They found one at the price within a couple of weeks. I always look myself for a while first and then wait to see if I really really want it because when you put out the word, you usually get it and you must pay for it.
6 Check the recycling center. There is a free book bin, cardboard (good for gardening and things), free metal bin, big cans, glass (got 3 perfect 1 quart mason jars a while ago). Before I go there, I think through things that I can actually use. Truly this is more of a "projects I'd like to do" than specific things I need. I want to do more paper bricks for the woodstove in winter but need something to dry them on. Also I'm selling at a farmers market and need something to put a sign on. Last time I went to the recycling center I thought through this. When I got there I found a circle of metal about 2' in diameter painted yellow, in good shape. Will make a fine sign holder with a bit of wood and a hinge (see above harware bits and bobs). There were also wire racks out of a fridge or something. Those will work to dry the bricks on. A couple of times I've taken things that looked super useful but I didn't end up using. Those go back for the next person or to someone who admires them. A half-bucket with a flat side went to a neighbor with horses. It's made for horses but just looked useful to me.
7 Maintain the vehicles. I change the oil and check the tires and even check the torque on the lug nuts. Boring, but keeps them going and keeps me from getting in preventable trouble. Also keep the tanks full-ish. (Which reminds me...gas up the truck!)
8 Know the gas prices! I keep an eye on gas prices each time I pass a station. I know where it is usually cheapest, but that can change. If I'm in a pricy area and really need fuel, I may get 5 gallons and then fuel fully next time I'm near the cheaper gas. There is one super cheap station I do not go to because I always lose 10mpg when I buy gas there. They'd have to be MUCH MUCH cheaper to make it worth it and I don't know if the gas is watery or what.
9 Be nice. It's not in my nature, but it gets you cheaper stuff and referrals to cheaper stuff. Like I was in the hardware store and even though the dude at the counter drives me bonkers, I am nice to him. He used his own membership card on a purchase I was making and saved me 5$ off 30$.
10 Shift $$ into the higher yield savings account each paycheck. I now have the paycheck auto deposited. The day after payday I go online and check my accounts and shift any extra in checking over into the higher pay savings account. I don't do CDs or longer term things other than retirement right now as I need the liquid cash for paying off construction costs. That available liquid cash is going to save me about 10% on this phase of construction which is much more than a CD or other short-mid range investment would in my income range.
11 Keep track of spending every day. I write down my spending every single day. I reconcile it at the end of each month. Sometimes I do a mid month check to see how things are going. Boring but it works.
Thursday, July 9, 2020
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