STOP
$$ going out the door
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• Ditch the cell phone
• Cancel DirecTV, cable TV, etc.
You can borrow DVD movies for
free from your library, or
friends.
• Stop calling out for pizza,
eating out at restaurants
• Quit drinking, smoking, or
other costly habits
• Save on utilities, lower your
bills
• Buy in bulk the items you use a
lot of
• Shop like a
purchasing agent, not impulse
buying
• Learn to service your car to
save mechanic bills
• Act fast to preserve your
money, to hold on to it as long
as possible. You have to get out
of every obligation you
can't carry in your new
financial circumstances.
• Without a job your new daily
job is survival while you look
for a new job.
• Don't count on getting another
job like the one you lost. Take
proactive steps to find new ways
to create income while you wait
for "things to go back to the
way they were." You may have
a long wait.
Save on heating bills
• Cover windows. One way to save
on heating is to stop heat
losses during the cold winter
months by hanging spare blankets
over bedroom windows to act like
heavy drapes. I hold them in
place with those push pins you
use on an office bulletin board.
Same for a glass door to an
unused deck area off my living
room. Large thin glass just
throws the heat away in winter.
Luckily I had 6 spare bedspreads
& acrylic fiber blankets to use
for my impromptu drapes.
• Hot air rises, right?
Place an 8" to 10" electric fan
up on the top of a bookcase or
something similar pointing down
at a 45 degree angle. That blows warm air
rising to the ceiling back
towards the floor. It really
works great! I leave the fans on
the "low" setting so noise isn't a problem.
I had a very drafty, cold
bathroom due to a leaky small
vent window. A 24" square of
plywood fit the recessed area,
with a bit of caulking now it is
air tight. No cold drafts. If
you lose your job and have time
on your hands do projects like
that to save money.
Don't spend money to save money
A tankless water heater saves a
ton of money off your utilities
bills. But don't rush out to buy
one at full retail, then pay a
plumber to install one just yet.
First research how much you
would save, what the entire
process (purchase +
installation) will cost to learn
how long the payback period is.
However, if you need a new water
heater because the old one is
too old then do it. Better if
you can install one yourself—but
often places such as Home Depot
will not sell these unless you
have a contractors license. They
don't want you to burn your
house down, or electrocute
someone. Neither do I! So if you
don't know what you're doing do
not practice on your own—learn
from a professional to be safe.
Drive your car gently
A man lost his job, then the
engine went out in his van. He
couldn't afford $3,500 for a new
engine through his mechanic. So
he was buying one from a junk
yard to install with a friend's
help. But why?
It's a familiar story; people drive
their cars hard & aggressively
as if they are toys. Yet never
change oil, brake pads, coolant,
never clean the grease & dirt
off the engine, etc. Then when
it breaks down only the broken
thing is fixed. An automobile is
a series of systems that all
work together. They all require
careful attention, service at
regular intervals.
It is a common mistake to "let
things go", like the guy
who lost his job, blew the van
engine through abuse & neglect
of maintenance, then had to pay
$2,500 to a junk yard for a used
engine. But he didn't
change his ways.
He neglected to care for the "new" junkyard
engine. Soon that one needed
repairs.
This is how people throw
money out the windows until they
can't pay rent, or mortgages, or
insurance payments, etc. Don't
go there. Take care of what
you own, make it last.
If you don't you'll be
riding a bicycle, walking,
bumming rides, or waiting for a
bus. A car is a valuable,
essential item needed to get to
work, pick up groceries, etc. Care for your
car,
drive it gently. Learn to
service it.
When you maintain your
car you feel better driving it.
You can develop a friendship
with machines. After all, they
are made of the same chemicals &
energy as all of life is. After
all, everything is a part of
God. To think that a machine
is not part of God is to fail to
understand what divinity is.
Change oil regularly
yourself at home because
that is one of the best
things you can do for
your car. Oil change
shops never have time to
let all the old oil
drain out. To make your
car last a long time
change oil every 2,000
to 3,000 miles or every
6-months. NOT every
5,000 miles. Not 8,000
miles!
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Use Motor Flush
or similar brand of
solvent to get rid of
sludge & varnish that
clog the small oil
passages your engine
needs for lubrication. |
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Let the engine oil drain for a long
time to get out all the old oil.
I leave it overnight for a 24
hour oil draining. Be careful,
if there are children around you
don't want to leave a car up on
jack stands unattended. I lock
the garage door, then come back
to fill the oil the next day.
Never use off-band cheap oil.
Personally I use Castrol 5W-30W
(Honda recommended), and make
sure I get the "good" oil filter
as opposed to the cheap little
one.
Pre-fill the oil filter with
oil. I fill it the day before
and keep topping it off so it
absorbs maximum oil before
installation. Always change the
filter, every oil change.
TIP
Clean your engine at the spray
auto wash. You have to learn
where NOT to spray the water but
it is OK if you know how. I
leave the engine running, hold
the spray wand about 3 feet
away. Don't spray into the air
cleaner, air intake, or
distributor!
Live frugally
• Learn to cook at home to make
economical foods like stews,
soups, crock pot meals, salads.
Stir fry, bake beans, get a rice
cooker, make chicken your
favorite meat.
• Give up buying bottled water!
Huge waste of $! Instead buy a
filter to attach to the faucet;
then use that filtered water to
fill Brita (or other brand)
pitchers to re-filter and chill
in the frig.
Save
$ on soda &
water
I gave up buying soda &
sparkling water. This saved about $12/week.
Plain flat water was too
dull to drink so I make
my own sparkling water
with a CO2 tank. I love
that! Every day I make
2-liter bottles of
carbonated Brita
filtered water. The set
up with CO2 tank,
regulator, hose, filler
and caps
cost about $150
to get started. Hey, that
was $600/year going out
the door just for
mineral water. |
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A CO2 tank can
pressurize a
2-liter bottle
with this
special cap. |
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• Buy an electric water
distiller; I use that for
watering my rare plants (a home
business), as it requires about
4-5 gallons/week.
Buy food in bulk
Costco has deals on basics, but
I'd never buy a TV or computer
there. One person told me "Oh,
Costco! Every time we go there
we spend $600." We?
Many people think shopping is family
entertainment. Don't do that!
Make a shopping list and shop
alone.
That family, by the way, bought
processed foods such as frozen
pizzas, hot pockets, and other
unwholesome items. Read (or
listen to the audio book version)
Ultrametabolism by Mark
Hyman, M.D.
Give up the paper towel
$ addiction
20 years ago I bought a pack of
white cotton shop towels from
Costco. These are like face
cloths. I have never bought
paper towels since then! Before
I used paper all the time—no
more of that money waste.
Keep a plastic tub of them in
the kitchen. As they get dirty I
toss them into the laundry room.
Now I have about 50 in
circulation, washing them in
cold water once a week with my
regular laundry.
Use these cotton cloths in place
of napkins,
for clean up; essentially to
replace the wasteful cost of
paper towels. But to be fair I
do have one pack of paper towels
in the workshop to use around
my car, tractor, etc. for oil & grease. I got tired of
trying to run oily rags through
the washing machine. To keep my
hands oil & grease free I use disposable
exam gloves sold in the
pharmacy section.
How to save big in bulk
20 years ago I found myself
in the local supermarket line
every 3 days. I got sick and
tired of those lines, all those
trips to the store. I figured
there had to be a better way, so
began shopping in bulk at Costco.
Friends at work objected
with "Oh, I can't buy in bulk
because we can't afford to buy
those big sizes. Its like you
have to invest in a year's
supply of stuff..." What
nonsense!
Someone else said "Oh, we
don't have room to store all
that stuff in large sizes..."
What nonsense! You need
to save money by not buying
little sizes over and over
again. You need laundry
detergent every week; so why
keep wasting money with little
boxes? Toilet paper, detergent,
shampoo, pet food, breakfast
cereal, and many similar items
are constantly used up.
Buy the bulk size to refill a
small container. Leave the 25
pound bag of sugar in the
pantry, but refill convenient
size jars with it. You
only have to make storage space,
something anyone can do given
what I've seen of people's
kitchen cabinets.
Stop lying to yourself that
you "can't afford" to buy in
bulk. Once you get started you
save a ton of money. Monitor how
much less you have to run out to
the store because you ran out.
When you run out of something
add that item to the shopping
list.
Many years ago when I began
buying in bulk
• Take a shopping list, never
just go and start buying by
impulse. Train yourself to add
items to your list by leaving
pad & pen in the kitchen.
One day I was at the checkout
conveyor at Costco. The cashier
looked me in the eye with a
smile "You really know how to
shop Costco! You get all the
bulk essentials. More people
should shop like you do." I
knew exactly what he meant
because it drove me nuts how
people came in to buy one thing
such as a package of meat, or
families who loaded up the cart
with impulse items, soda, DVDs,
frozen pizza, etc.
Reduce housing expense
Can you move to a cheaper area?
If you lose your income in a
region around a city maybe you
can move out to the country.
The best places to live don't go
through the newspaper. You have
to find them. Places for rent in
the paper are the ones no one
else wants so the owner has to
advertise. |
| How to buy in
bulk |
Clean out your
kitchen shelves and
pantry
I was a packer of household
goods for a
moving & storage company
and packed
hundreds of kitchens.
They were all the same
in one way - everyone
had cabinets filled with
junk - stuffed
with crap they never
used. Vast collections of
mugs, drinking glasses, china,
Tupperware, never used marriage
gifts (fondue set?), etc.
How many coffee mugs do
you need? 28 for a
family of 4? Why store
sets of china in kitchen
cabinets when you could
store bulk food items
that save money?
CLEAN IT OUT!
Pack up all the clutter
in your kitchen you are
not using. Label the
boxes carefully "China
from Mom", "Thanksgiving
platters, Christmas
party bowls, etc."
Then store those in the
attic, or a spare
closet.
Plastic
shelf
units
are only $45
to $55
at
Home
Depot.
There is
an 18"
and a
24"
deep
model.
I have 2 in
the
bedroom
holding
plastic
bins of
bedding,
cloths,
spare
blankets.
In the
kitchen
several
are
loaded
with
pots,
cooking
stuff,
and bulk
food.
These
plastic
units
are
amazingly
strong.
I own
a lot of
them.
WARNING:
Lowes
sells a
cheap
brand
plastic
shelf
unit
that is
horrible.
Metal
frame
shelves
are
good,
too.
Costco
used to
have a
great
price on
Gorilla
brand
racks. I
bought 3
of the
6' wide
ones.
Use vertical space to your advantage to store up bargain prices items that save money.
Clean
out cluttered closets, kitchen cabinets, and garage strewn with junk is a barrier to buying in bulk.
Clean up the house to clean up on saving money. |
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TIP: Drive a 1.5" deck screw into the side where the vertical tubes fit together. Then you can pick these up to move them without falling apart.
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| Clean house! Make room for shelves to store money saving bulk purchases. |
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My small
dishwashing liquid
bottle
It
has not run out in years because I keep
refilling it from the
1-gallon size bottle
under the sink.
A 25
pound sack of sugar or
salt lasts me many
years. I finally ran out
of brown sugar from the
25 pound bag purchased
about 7 years ago.
That stuff doesn't go
bad;
keep salt & sugar in
glass jars in a cool,
dark closet.
MAKE GOOD USE OF YOUR
KITCHEN SPACE
Find storage shelves for
bulk sugar, salt,
detergent, breakfast
cereal, etc. Then refill
the small size boxes,
jars, bottles of those
items as they empty—from
your bulk sizes.
EXAMPLE:
Buy big/re-fill
small size
You may buy
Costco's huge
oatmeal box to refill
your
small round
Quaker Oats
container. I
refilled mine
for years until
it wore out so I
purchased a new
one just to have
a non-beat up
box to use.
You can save a
lot on breakfast
cereal buying in
bulk. Just do
it. |
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| I
refilled
this
little
round
box for
years
from the
huge
Costco
size |
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• Store bulk bags of bulk
sugar, salt, etc. inside
used laundry detergent
pails, with the bag folded
over & held closed with
those big spring clips
from Staples. Then stack
in a closet until you
need to refill a
1-gallon jar. That in
turn is used to fill
smaller containers.
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How to keep
bags folded over
& closed—from
coffee beans to a
sugar bag. Beg,
borrow, or steal
them. Try to not
spend money to
save money. |
1-Gallon
glass jars
for storage of salt, sugar, powered
milk, brown
sugar, beans.
Free from
restaurants. |
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Move to the
country
John lost his city job but
had unemployment
insurance for 6 months.
He had some savings but
not much.
He figured "Why waste my
money on this high
rent?" Moving to a less
expensive place seemed
the best way to stretch
his dwindling funds.
With only an
unemployment check worth
1/4 what he used to earn
John had to act. On
Craigslist he found free
moving boxes, then
listed a lot of
furniture he didn't want
to take with him. Garage
sales unloaded more
stuff with a bit of cash
being raised in the
process.
He left an expensive
area, moving 80 miles
away to find a lovely
old farm house for rent
in a hay field. It was
too lonely for most
people but he loved it.
The rent was just 1/3
what the city rental had
been.
benefits: Road side
stands sold farm produce
at 1/2 the cost of
supermarket fruit &
vegetables. His car
insurance dropped to
half because of the ZIP
code.
The utility company
allowed 3 times the
"baseline" electric use
(of his city rental)
before the penalty fees
were applied. This alone
saved him hundreds of
dollars a year.
More benefits: Then he
discovered the phone
company offered
"Lifeline Service" for
his low income. His
phone expense dropped
way down. And they had
excellent DSL Internet
for less than it cost in
the city!
The utility company also
had a low income program
that saved him almost
$1,000/year in
electricity.
Without restrictions
from a landlord he could
work on his car (often
prohibited at
apartments) so he
changed his own oil, did
tune ups, while becoming
friends with the local
auto parts store.
Through their store he
met a local mechanic who
did work on his car at
prices so low he
couldn't believe it was
true.
Then, when his car
needed new front wheel
drive shafts it was too
big a job for him
without a car lift. (You
don't want to work on a
transmission under a car
laying on your back) The
mechanic did it for $300
including parts.
That was amazing since
the parts alone cost
$190—but not to the
mechanic. He got
parts for much less than
John would pay.
A Honda dealer would have
charged about $700 for
that job.
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Eliminate cell phone
expenses
$
I knew a
family where the high school age
daughter ran up a $1400 bill in
one month talking to her
boyfriend. And she didn't even
have a job to pay it back to her
parents.
Ditch that money and
time wasting cell phone. Are
you living a real life or just
yaking all the time to someone
about it?
Get basic
telephone service with
no features
Then hook it up to
the Internet (VOIP) for
free long distance.
• Use wireless phones
instead of a cell phone
in your house. The
Plantronics brand
wireless unit below (my
favorite) transmits
about 100 feet from the
base to the portable
unit--so small it fits
in your pocket like an
MP3 player.
Not
a cell phone!
(right) Plantronics
brand.
This is a wireless
regular phone that fits
in your pocket. The
signal carries all over
my house, outside and to
the mailbox. |
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Get off the phone,
stop yaking your life away!
Are you living a real
life or simply yakking
about one on the phone?
Instead of talking, do
things. Stop talking
and start doing. Take positive
steps to make your life
work.
People yak, yak, yak too
much on the phone. Why
not talk in person? Or
put it in writing? Are
you so lonely you can't
have your own thoughts
without sharing them out
loud all the time over a
cell phone?
You will find that
people will talk all
day, and say anything--but
never admit they said
a particular thing later
on. "Oh, I
never said that!"
they'll claim, or "Is
that what you thought I
said? No, that is not
what I meant..."
Don't get bit by
the same dog twice
In other words, if you
want life to be real
either talk face to face
or get it in writing.
Otherwise you will find
yourself being
disappointed over and
over again in life. That
means "the same dog
is biting you twice..."
To stop his bite you
have to change your
ways.
One of the most powerful
things you can learn
about people is how
insincere they are with
stated (verbal) good intentions.
People want to please so
say "anything."
But they will almost
certainly never make
good on the promise. Try to
get it in writing and
all you get from that
person is...silence.
The written agreement
After a conversation
write down your summary
of the conversation and
mail or email to the
other person. Ask them
to mail it back (supply
the postage paid
envelope) with their
signature of
confirmation. HA! That
will teach you a lot.
All of a sudden that
verbal agreement you
thought they agreed to
vanishes.
Learn about
agreements
People will say anything
to get you do agree to
what they want. Ask then
to state their promise
in writing and you get
silence. Or excuses.
Verbal excuses.
Learn. Be smart. Or as
one person said "Don't
get bit by the same dog
twice." |
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