Money Saving Tips! What are yours?

[itsbob]

Originally Posted by GardeningGal

Great Ideas and feedback everyone! My ideas in starting the thread were just to open the door. That makes alot of sense about the deductible.

I now "chase" the grocery store adds and stock up on the things we always use.
I have a foodsaver and buy in bulk when meats are on sale and seal and freeze everything.

I also buy most of my meats at Nicks in Prince Frederick when they are on sale...or Giant, sometimes Walmart.

Another idea is to check with your bank to make sure your not paying a service fee for your checking/savings acct. many ways to avoid that.

My brand new daughter in law is an extreme clipper. She left Wal Mart 2 weeks ago with $175 worth of stuff and they paid her $8 to take it out of the store.

[GardeningGal]

Originally Posted by GardeningGal

Great Ideas and feedback everyone! My ideas in starting the thread were just to open the door. That makes alot of sense about the deductible.

I now "chase" the grocery store adds and stock up on the things we always use.
I have a foodsaver and buy in bulk when meats are on sale and seal and freeze everything.

I also buy most of my meats at Nicks in Prince Frederick when they are on sale...or Giant, sometimes Walmart.

Another idea is to check with your bank to make sure your not paying a service fee for your checking/savings acct. many ways to avoid that.

and OF COURSE I shop at BJ's..I like BJ's meats better than a regular grocery store..but not better than Nicks.

[Dupontster]

Originally Posted by DoWhat

I pee outside, saves water.

Originally Posted by dave1959

Too cold...I just dont flush.

Hold it and Pee in the shower. You KNOW you do.

[Dupontster]

This is a good thread to post this I guess.. Never happened before but yesterday I got a Home Energy Report from SMECO. They did a comparasion last month of my electric compared to my neighbors. I used 53% more than my neighbors.. They even had a little chart at the bottom that showed where I used 56% more and that it cost me $888 more per year. Then on the back it told me ways to save like cut 1 minute off your daily shower, use motion sensor outside lights, choosing an energy efficient freezer, etc, etc, etc. Has anyone else ever received anything like this?

[libby]

Originally Posted by Dupontster

This is a good thread to post this I guess.. Never happened before but yesterday I got a Home Energy Report from SMECO. They did a comparasion last month of my electric compared to my neighbors. I used 53% more than my neighbors.. They even had a little chart at the bottom that showed where I used 56% more and that it cost me $888 more per year. Then on the back it told me ways to save like cut 1 minute off your daily shower, use motion sensor outside lights, choosing an energy efficient freezer, etc, etc, etc. Has anyone else ever received anything like this?

A friend of mine did, and found out they were 26% above the neighbors. They had the house built with every energy saving item they could find, so she was quite surprised. I definitely wouldn't consider them...wasteful, or anything. Makes one wonder what the investment was for.

In our home, (as in my friends) I wonder if it has anything to do with being stay-at-home moms with children. I asked her if most of her neighbors might be gone all day, perhaps that accounts for the differemce.

[MMDad]

Originally Posted by libby

A friend of mine did, and found out they were 26% above the neighbors. They had the house built with every energy saving item they could find, so she was quite surprised. I definitely wouldn't consider them...wasteful, or anything. Makes one wonder what the investment was for.

In our home, (as in my friends) I wonder if it has anything to do with being stay-at-home moms with children. I asked her if most of her neighbors might be gone all day, perhaps that accounts for the differemce.

Most electricity is used to make things hot or cold, whether that is air, water, or food. The other family might do fewer loads of laundry, close off unused rooms, take shorter showers (or not bathe), open the fridge less often, have better insulation, or any of a number of other things. Turning off lights and TV do relatively little to impact your usage.

I upgraded my heat pump a couple of years ago from 10 SEER to 16 SEER. I'm saving as much as $100/month during the summer and $200/month in the winter. Programmable thermostat is also a great saver, but if you're stay at home you wouldn't have the setback like we do. Sure, it costs money to do these upgrades but that's a fact of life. Sometimes it takes money to save money.

There were tax credits when I replaced mine, so in the long run I ended up breaking even on my upgrade after only a couple of years.

[GardeningGal]

Originally Posted by itsbob

My brand new daughter in law is an extreme clipper. She left Wal Mart 2 weeks ago with $175 worth of stuff and they paid her $8 to take it out of the store.

Would love to hear more about that.

[GardeningGal]

Originally Posted by Dupontster

This is a good thread to post this I guess.. Never happened before but yesterday I got a Home Energy Report from SMECO. They did a comparasion last month of my electric compared to my neighbors. I used 53% more than my neighbors.. They even had a little chart at the bottom that showed where I used 56% more and that it cost me $888 more per year. Then on the back it told me ways to save like cut 1 minute off your daily shower, use motion sensor outside lights, choosing an energy efficient freezer, etc, etc, etc. Has anyone else ever received anything like this?

I love that. Was the energy report free? Was it on the premise to get you to put in their thermostat or something?

[Dupontster]

Originally Posted by GardeningGal

I love that. Was the energy report free? Was it on the premise to get you to put in their thermostat or something?

No, didn't sound like they were trying to sell anything. Yes, it was free. Just came in the mail. I didn't request it or have never seen anything like it..

[somdfunguy]

I saved a lot by moving out of Maryland. Amazing how much cheaper gas and electric is here in Virginia.