Wow. I stoppeed watching TV about three months ago, and actually, took my TV, DVD, Video Games, VCR and other related appliances down... and put them in the basement to collect dust and spider webs. AND I DON'T REGRET IT. I did this not for $$$ reasons, but because I thought they were wasting too much of my time... But as a consequence, I expected that I would save a little bit of money on my electricity bill... right? I was interested to see how much... 80 friggin dollars a month! Give or take a couple bucks... EIGHTY! I didn't expect it to be that much... Thought maybe 10 or 15 bucks made sense. This is amazing to me... I wonder what I can do to lower the bill even more.
I'll have to buy ingrediants for letter bombs... :bugeye: Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Most people spend a fortune on fast food and packaged convenience food. Many homes have leaky faucets. If water prices are high where you live, replacing those washers can save a bundle. Even if water is cheap you're paying for the hot water you waste and it's always the hot side that leaks first. An old refrigerator, especially one with a worn out door gasket, can waste several hundred bucks a year or more. If you have an old stand-alone freezer for extra storage, it's the single greatest consumer of electricity in your house. Driving is expensive. Cut back on unnecessary trips or at least accomplish several things on one trip. You might reconsider the home entertainment devices. Going to movies costs a bloody fortune. There's something wrong with your devices or your math if unplugging them really saved you $80 a month. Maybe your TV is too big or too old. A TV shouldn't draw more than a couple of kwh per day. If you like to drink, do it at home. Don't pay bar prices. If you have a big dog or several dogs, you can make your own dog food for about 1/4 the price of kibble and way cheaper than canned food. I'll give you the recipe if you want. Don't pay money for coffee that somebody else made, or water that somebody poured into a bottle. If you don't like or trust your tap water get a Brita or Pur filtered pitcher or an under-sink filter. Brown bag your lunch unless your company has a heavily subsidized cafeteria. Be patient and wait for the CDs you like to show up in the used stores for six to eight bucks. Most people waste money in astonishingly big ways. If you're going to get married, resist the temptation to have a $50,000 wedding. If your beloved mother dies, spending $50,000 on her funeral won't bring her back. Get your teeth professionally cleaned twice a year. Dental work is really expensive and not too difficult to ward off. Ditto for an annual physical from your doctor. Yes, even if you don't have insurance. If you need a car, buy one that's two years old. That's the exact point where the depreciation curve meets the repair curve and it's the best deal. You know gas prices will go up, so get one that doesn't guzzle. If you're really into it, buy a fifteen year old Mercedes Benz diesel. You can get one for practically nothing and it will run forever getting 25 - 30 miles per gallon. Put something away for retirement no matter how young you are. Use it as the down payment on a house if you're at that point in your life. Otherwise get a decent broker and put it in wise investments. The Paradigm is shifting and most brokers don't have a clue, so don't be afraid to tell them what to buy if you know an industry or a company well. If you're renting, try to live in as small a place as you can stand so you can put money away for a house. Don't buy a house in a place like the Washington DC area that's a bubble ready to burst. Never buy a house without a realtor to represent you, and shop for one you trust. Buy the cheapest house in a nice neighborhood, it will appreciate the most and if you improve it you'll get a good return on that investment. Put your money into "curb appeal" -- landscaping, which is literally dirt cheap. Other than that, concentrate on the rooms that have plumbing. Whatever you invest in should be something you are interested in so you'll really become an expert. If you like oriental rugs or collectible dolls, go for it. The few people who really know that stuff get rich off it. Never pay more than $150 for a pair of shoes. Do you really need a cell phone? Shop at Costco, it really is cheaper even though you have to buy a six-month supply of paper towels at one time. But I draw the line at Wal-Mart. They are America's greatest engine of offshore outsourcing. They force all their suppliers to move production overseas. I just won't support that, especially since their original motto was "Buy American." I got nothing against foreigners trying to earn a living, but if every American's job is outsourced these companies won't have anybody to sell to except a few million Canadians. There's a proper pace for outsourcing that allows new jobs to be created, and Wal-Mart is way beyond that.
That's some good advice Fraggle. This might sound silly, but learn to respect money. Seriously. Go through your whole house and find any and all loose change, and put it to use. Pay off debt, or what ever. Debt snowballs kick ass and make a guy feel great. Get out of debt as intensely and as fast as you can. Never go into debt except for a house. Even then, make sure you do not go over a 15 year fixed interest. It is truly amazing how easy it is to become a millionaire on an average income. Seriously. No it won't happen over night, but when you get old, and beleive me, you will, you can have millions in the bank, a house paid for and a reliable vehicle, and your laughing. Fraggle mention getting a broker. Good advice. If your not into or have the time to pick your own stocks, learn about mutual funds. This goes double if you are not into building your own business. Always, always, ALWAYS! pay yourself first! Get your self $1000.00 minimum in the bank for emergencies then pay off all debts. Then get yourself a house and begin to learn the value of investing. Again, money is one of the MOST personal areas in life. The simple rules. Invest 10% of each check into long and low risk investing. 10% into short and high risk invetments. A minimum of 10% into a retirement investment. 10% or as much as possible to pay off debts, begining with the smallest one. And of course at least 10% to just have fun with. Create a budget. Know where your money is going BEFORE you get it. This is absolutely THE BIGGEST part of taking control of your finances. The first time is the hardest. After that, it just gets fun. Good luck!
how can you waste money on fast food, its just plastic soaked in the blood of murderd animals. my money comes from the powerbill, in mjy house there are 9 computers, of that there are at least four running at any tiem, thank go di dont have a geforce
Here's a few more things to remember. You should always pay off your credit cards entirely every month as to not incur high interest debts. Consolodate all of your credit card bills and pay them all off with one loan, either a house loan or a personal loan. It will be better to have just one payment to one company rather than all those credit card companies. Buy a house if you havn't already because you can be paying the same amount to rent today as you can buying a house and all the mortage payments can be deducted from your taxes at the end of the year. The house will increase in value, if you pick a good location for your home, and then you'll have equity to be able to use if you so need it. The house will also accumulate in value over time, say 5 to 10 years , then you could sell it and make a profit if you have kept the house in good repair and made improvements on it. Carpool to work or ride the bus. Buy a 2 year old car instead of a brand new one to save the depreciation on those first two years which is very steep. You can find great used cars that have low milage if you look around. You could also buy a motorcycle, if you can drive it, if it is not very cold where you live. Your house is your best investment to begin investing along with low risk CD's and government bonds. The stock market is very dangerous and you can be taken advantage of there very quickly if you are not very very careful.
