Now that we are on "Modified" income, What tricks help you save money?

[Lolly]

It's going to be 90+ here... all week... I finally broke down and turned on the AC.... but I have it at 79 degrees.. Do I save money by keeping it that high? My feeling is that I'm more concerned with the humidity than the temp. I can be comfortable at 79 if the humidity is low.. BUT.. does it make a difference in the electric bill?

 

[dpwspringer]

It's going to be 90+ here... all week... I finally broke down and turned on the AC.... but I have it at 79 degrees.. Do I save money by keeping it that high? My feeling is that I'm more concerned with the humidity than the temp. I can be comfortable at 79 if the humidity is low.. BUT.. does it make a difference in the electric bill?

Obviously the higher you set the thermostat, the lower your electricity usage/bill will be. I think what you are interested in is how much it cost you typically to set it at say... 75 versus 79. I don't know the answer but think I have seen charts like that for various sized homes in my area. Seems like the local power companies put those out? Might find something on their website.

 

[Lolly]

Obviously the higher you set the thermostat, the lower your electricity usage/bill will be. I think what you are interested in is how much it cost you typically to set it at say... 75 versus 79. I don't know the answer but think I have seen charts like that for various sized homes in my area. Seems like the local power companies put those out? Might find something on their website.

found this...

http://www.achrnews.com/articles/94014-set-up-a-few-degrees-for-significant-savings

Go to any Web site for energy savings information and the most popular advice is to lower your thermostat in the winter and raise it in the summer. One of the reasons this is such a common tip is because it is easy for a homeowner to do, it requires no initial investment, and the savings can be significant.How significant? Many sources quote one percent to three percent for each degree you adjust the thermostat. But these estimates apply more to winter savings than summer savings. Air conditioning savings can be much greater than this.


[h=2]Reducing The Temperature Difference[/h]Of course, the thermostat setting is just one of many variables that determine how much it will cost to air condition a home. Total air conditioning costs accrue from conductive heat gains, infiltration, radiant gains, internal gains, and latent load. When we discuss thermostat settings, what we are really focusing on is the temperature difference between the outside and inside that is driving the conductive heat gains. Solar gain and the latent load are not as sensitive to the temperature difference and may not be affected by a small thermostat adjustment.For this discussion I will assume solar gains have been minimized with window coverings and the latent load is not unusually high.
When you air condition your home to 75 degrees, and if it is 90 degrees outside, this is only a 15 degrees temperature difference. Each degree of this temperature difference represents a percentage of the total cooling load. Raising the thermostat 2 degrees lowers the temperature difference between the outside and inside by 2 degrees.
Since there are only 15 degrees total, a 2 degrees change represents a large percent of the total load. And, most hours of the day are not 90 degrees!
For all the summer hours where the temperature difference is only 10 degrees or even 5 degrees, 2 degrees represents a very large percentage.
In the Midwest area you could save about 10 percent to 15 percent per degree, for the first few degrees you set up from 75 degrees. One way to visualize this is to look at a chart of the average cooling load for each summer day. Cooling degree day data charted for Indianapolis will show us a pyramid of increasing daily cooling loads, starting in April, rising to a peak in July and decreasing back to zero in October. If a thermostat is set low enough, a home might air condition from April to October, or theoretically on all the days that have one or more cooling-degree day.
If the thermostat is set higher, a home may only cool from June to mid-September. A very conservative family, one that "...turns on the A/C only when road tar is bubblin' and the fish are swimming upstream through the front door," may only cool for a few weeks each summer.

 

[Butterfly]

One thing I will not give up or mess with is cooling in the summer. It gets very hot here, even though our humidity is low, so most of us use swamp coolers rather than refrigerated air because it is so much cheaper both to purchase and to run. I feel quite ill if I get too hot, and it is not worth it to me to feel lousy all summer to save a few bucks; therefore my swamp cooler is on whenever I feel the need. I can and do cut corners on other things, but not my cooling in the summer.

It's only mid-June here and it is supposed to get up to 96 today.

 

[dpwspringer]

I came across a Georgia Power document where they estimated a 3 to 4 percent change in energy usage for each degree Fahrenheit you change your thermostat setting... that is easier to deal with and will likely get you in the ball park.

So if you want to go from 79 to 75F you might be looking at something in the neighborhood of a 15% increase in your electric bill. That would make $100 statement increase to $115, a $200 statement increase to $230, etc. Of course as the article you found points out, there are some details that can seriously impact that simplified estimate... so don't send me a bill if it is more than that. LOL

 

[RiverUp]

My most important tricks were long ago. One of them was not buying cars. Current one is 21 years old; previous one was 24 years old. Not planned that way, just hate shopping for cars.

Ha ha! We sold a car a couple of years ago, that was 26 years old! Our brains might be wrinkled the way yours is!

 

[RiverUp]

Let's see if I can think of some things I do to save money. Hmm. One thing I do is find out ways to purchase things that are unaffordable, but that add quality to our lives.

For example, little 2-ounce jars of herbal tincture are $10-$12 a bottle here and each bottle only holds about three "servings," since I/we take herbs "strong." So, I make my own herbal tincture medicine. Yes, as some have mentioned, thrift stores are wonderful for clothing, fabrics, costume jewelry, books and more.

I buy most of my clothes, second-hand. We also comparison shop online as I am sure most of you do. We both cut our own hair and living expenses are so high in our area, you probably would too! Not only that, we both do a better job cutting hair than the professionals around here.

I wear my walking/running shoes for years. We don't buy the latest techie stuff and use our TV or whatever we've got for years. Walmart and Costco are serious helps. I could go on and on. Saving money is just so much fun!

We lost our beloved dog due to old age and have decided not to have any more pets. Pet medical care and other expenses are considerable. We walk and take care of our neighbor's dog for fun. It is a great way to have a pet. We think it is funny to call it "rent a dog," even though no money is exchanged.

 

[hollydolly]

Riverup....that's a fantastic way to 'own'' a dog... you get all the fun, ( a bit like a grandparent)...and then hand them back when they get too much to cope with ( or in this case cost)..lol

 

[ancient mariner]

Lots of good advice her.
I went looking for new clothes for my daughter (online shopping) and now the ads keep popping up no matter what web site I'm on. Does anyone know how to stop that from happening?

 

[JB in SC]

Lots of good advice her.
I went looking for new clothes for my daughter (online shopping) and now the ads keep popping up no matter what web site I'm on. Does anyone know how to stop that from happening?

Depends on your browser, in Safari you can block pop ups, but I have Ad Blocker Plus (it's free) it eliminates most ads. Also you might be able to turn off Adobe Flash player as well, it adds a lot of junk you see on websites.

 

[Keesha]

I have a ton of money saving tricks. I don't go shopping for fun, especially not to malls. Seeing all the stuff set out to entice me to buy it just makes me want what I don't need and can't afford. The majority of that stuff would end up being clutter, which I dislike.

Similarly, I don't watch tv shows that have commercials. That way the ads don't entice me. It is also cheaper to have Netflix and Amazon Prime for television -- our middling cable bill used to be over $100 a month.

I buy a lot of clothes at Goodwill. It is amazing how many nice clothes that seem new are there. I've also had good luck on eBay. I don't have as many clothes as many people do because I see no point in having more than I need. I am not a clothes horse.

I don't buy junk food or drinks. I comparison shop, stock up when things are on sale. I cook and bake from scratch. We have an Aldi, which helps a lot with saving money on groceries. I eat a healthy diet, heavy on vegetables, lower on protein.

I don't eat fast food or eat in restaurants very often. Fast food is not healthy, and I can cook better food than most of the restaurants around here.

I combine errands when I go to town (a 20-mile round trip) to save on gas. I make sure our car is well-maintained so it lasts longer.

I take care of my things so they don't have to be replaced often. When I buy something, even from Goodwill, I make sure it is high quality so it will last longer.

I read a lot, so I am always getting free books for my Kindle, from libraries and from Amazon. The upside of this is that I have discovered a ton of great authors this way.

I keep track of our finances for business and home on Quicken.

I keep in mind that what I spend my money on indicates what is important to me. It helps me not waste money. Things I think I want very much go my wish list at Amazon. They just sit there until the urge goes away. Am I really going to make homemade ice-cream often enough to justify buying the machine? No! Ice-cream is not one of my favorite foods, and everyone else in the family is happy with store-bought (buy one, get one free).

I grow food -- tomatoes and other vegetables, herbs.

I keep my weight stable and do not keep clothing from the past that is a larger size.

I routinely go through our belongings and give to thrift stores everything that is not needed (ie, not used often or seasonally).

I don't use credit cards. We have one, but it is for emergencies only.

I retired at age 50 and went from making a $45,000 salary (back in 1998) to getting a little under $16,500 a year net from my pension. I had a little more than 10 years to go before I could start collecting social security. Due to having great retiree benefits and owning a co-op where our expenses are extremely low, I was able to live comfortably on that small amount. But I also learned new frugal tricks. Saving money takes a bit of time and organization. We are Costco and Walmart shoppers which has saved us a lot, even on gas because we only go to each place once a month.

Other ways to save:
Speaking of gas, if you drive, check out GasBuddy to find out who has the cheapest gas in your area.

Unplug appliances and phone chargers within reasonable reach or turn off power strips they are plugged into when not in use. “Phantom power” still generates and will cause your utility bill to be higher than necessary.


Couponing: Ordinary or better yet, extreme couponing. My DIL saved $338 on ONE grocery bill and $72 on another (just examples). She’s so into it and so good at it that now she’s teaching classes. Download your supermarket app to your phone. Many now have digital coupons which you can save to your phone. Also find out if your supermarket doubles coupons (Shoprite here in Jersey doubles all the time on coupons up to $1.00. When done religiously, the savings can be literally in the thousands over time.


If you have good credit, make sure you are using the right credit cards. Get reward card(s) that give cash back. Citi has the 2% cash back. Chase and Discover give 1% but 5% in special categories every quarter. Most cards now allow you to use your points on Amazon (a great place to find great prices BTW). Amazon’s Visa gives 3% back on all Amazon purchases.


Another reward card trick: Use your card(s) to pay for everything you'd normally pay for by check or debit card in addition to purchases. Pay the bills in full every month. This avoids interest and increases the amount you’ll get in cash back rewards. After all, your checking account isn't going to pay you for paying your bills. Last year I got back $570 in cash back rewards.


If you are paying bank fees, find another bank or credit union that doesn’t charge them. My credit union doesn't charge for checking as long as you keep $50 in a connected savings account. My bank and others have free checking for seniors or if you sign up for monthly direct deposits. Do not pay fees on anything. Avoid paying interest as well. I did a timeshare deal that not only knocked the price down to 37% of what they initially asked, I also insisted on a no interest deal. That saved my husband and I $4,123 in interest.

Which brings me to my next point...Haggle! There's no shame in it and it's not just for yard sales. I've done it at retail stores as well. My husband is also great at it (having been in retail himself for decades).


If there’s a Dollar Tree near you, check out all the items you can buy for just $1. Many of their goods are made in the U.S.A. My family, friends and I trust their products. Great place to buy reading glasses, greeting cards, gift bags, cleaning supplies, even some food and much more.


Shop at thrift/consignment shops. I've gotten designer clothing for under $10 and even a designer wool coat for $4.50. I've had several people tell me they want my coat. LOL


Eat out less and have meatless meal nights once or twice a week at home. When you do go to restaurants, carry your own drink or buy packets or vials of drink mix and just get water with your meals. My husband gets water, asks for lemon and makes his own lemonade. May sound silly but when you're plopping down hefty fees for meals, restaurants don't mind and at $2.25 or more a pop for a drink, over time it adds up.


Actively search out free things to do in surrounding areas.


Take advantage of senior discounts at retail stores and restaurants. Always ask if their senior discount policy is not posted. You may get it anyway.

Buy through Ebates when you can. The site connects to thousands of retailers and will send you a rebate check when you've accumulated $5.01 or more in your account per quarter.

Check out Groupon. It has deals on restaurants, activities and services. The trick is not to do or buy things you wouldn't normally do because they're "on sale".

Here are 99 more ways to save money (some are probably repeats of what I've suggested):
http://www.aarp.org/money/budgeting-saving/ways-to-save-money/

These are fantastic posts. Thanks for the tips. I’ll bookmark this.

 

[Don M.]

One of the best ways to stay within a budget is to make a list before going to the stores, and Stick to it. Go in, get your stuff, and get out. A couple of years ago, the US Chamber of Commerce did a study, and concluded that most people spend $3 for every minute they are in a store. When a person goes into a store, they will find all sorts of "enticements" which encourage them to buy things they really don't need....and if going to the store becomes a form of "entertainment", it will result in excessive spending on items that are not of much value. It's a good idea to quickly cruise through the aisles looking for specials on items you regularly use, but if none are found, head for the cashier.