Are You Saving?
Thursday July 17, 2008
The weakened economy has you spending more – on food, gas, electricity and everything in between – but does it have you saving more? If not, it should. When money is tight and expenses are high, it can be easy to ignore the need to save, but this is the time when saving is most important.
Schedule some time this weekend to go over your finances. Rework your budget; look at your current spending habits; and find more ways to save. No one else will do it for you, so do it for yourself.
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I am paying off all my credit cards as fast as I can.I sold items to pay $1500 off last month.We are stocking up on everything we can get on sale or free(groceries).We have been saving our change for christmas.I don’t go very much in the car unless I have to then it’s get it all done at one time.Trying not to refill for 3-4wks instead of two.
I haven’t bought anything for a yr except for food,gas,and the bills.I use all the food we do get and not waste anything.I am picking and canning,freezing as much food as we can now.I will be making my own bread come winter with the jam I have made this summer.
turning the ac up and heat down wearing cooler and warmer clothes.Doing laundry(3)or more at once,putting a dry towel in the dryer.
I can’t think of anything else.Pamela in Ks
I am reworking the budget to try and get ready for our 40% increase in natural gas this winter. That will put our heating bill way up. We still need to save as well so I am trying to keep the auto debit amounts just as high.
Everyone I know is more concerned now with smart shopping and reducing expenses – except for one. I guess she must be well off, because she’s buying a new car that doesn’t get good gas mileage. I was shocked.
I got a toaster oven, to use in place of heating up the big oven. I just had a chicken breast marinated in ginger soy sauce, and topped with chopped plums (tart little plumbs grown locally) I picked up at a roadside produce stand on my way home. It was delicious. I got ears of corn for tomorrow, and a couple of zucchini.
Most of our local stands have better prices than the grocery store, and much fresher fruits & vegetables that last longer. The zucchini was probably about the same in the grocery store, but probably worth more because they’re probably fresher.
And the toaster oven saves electricity, and saves heating up the place when it’s hot weather.
I haven’t even put the AC in the window this year. And I hate when people try to claim that running my fans is just as big an electricity pull – it’s NOT.
I’m going to try to go this whole summer without the AC.
Luckily, where I work is NOT air conditioned. I say luckily, because it’s not really hot there because it’s a brick bldg, but not cold so I don’t feel like it’s so hot when I come home. A few years ago I had a job at a computer company that had to keep the bldg really cool for the servers – so the offices were so cold that I expected bose einstein condensate to form. When I’d leave there it would seem all the hotter at home, I’d feel sick – because I was used to being cold all day. That’s when I first purchased an AC. I see now I really don’t NEED it.
I’ve also started driving to get better gas mileage. I already get good gas mileage with my car. But I’m trying to do even better. By slowing down, not speeding up to lights & then hitting the breaks… It takes more concentration, but that’s probably a good thing – and of course not getting speeding tickets is definitely a good way to cut costs!
I’ve just recently met my goal of zero debt and savings to carry my family through (God forbid) two years of unemployment. After watching several neighbors lose everything due to illness and job loss, I made it a priority. All those extras I went without now seem worth it….the peace of mind is incredible.
Congratulations on the no-debt Anita, I’m working towards that myself. I’m trying to save money by not running the AC except at night so DH & I can get a good nights sleep, I’m also trying to go a month without using my dryer. Both of these are a challenge right now with it being the rainy season here and 90+ degrees with high humidity in Florida! I have a clothesline on my back porch that helps.
Our utility has just increased the rates again so gas and electricity are a big focus for me. our average daily elec. use has gone from 25.6 kilowatts last June to 23.5 this year. The energy star fridge we bought in May plays a big part but drying the clothes outside and turning off the powerstrips helps. I’ve learned alot from this website too. Putting a lid on the pot when I boil water seem,s like a no-brainer now but I’d never thought of it. Our natural gas use is down from .5 to .3 therms a day over last year also. If I could just get DH more involved in frugal living. I try to lead by example instead of nagging but it’s slow going. Any suggestions? He’s a great guy and doesn’t believe in carrying credit card debt from month to month but when he goes to the grocery store…….