Penny Pincher Journal

Sunday, December 14, 2014

Tip 7: Cut cable TV or satellite TV

A big expense for most households is cable TV or satellite TV. I was paying over $100 per month for satellite TV before I came to my senses. I turned off my service and got an indoor HD TV antenna instead. I can get several network stations in HD plus a number of public television channels. This provides live news and sports plus some TV programming. I also get streaming video from Netflix, Hulu and Amazon for about $8 per month each. Over time, cutting cable or satellite TV will save thousands of dollars. I was nervous about cutting the cord, but it went fine. We didn't even miss it very much.

Cutting satellite or cable TV is another example of breaking an expensive habit to save money. I had been paying for satellite TV for years- it had become a habit. I would turn the TV on in the background even if I wasn't watching it. If I wanted to watch TV, I would spend a lot of time flipping through the many channels available looking for something interesting to watch. This all sounds pretty stupid now that I have broken this habit. If you can break the cable TV / satellite TV habit, you can save lots of money and have more free time to do something useful- like write a free book on saving money!

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Tip 8: Buy less gas for your car

Fuel is a big expense for most people. You can get better gas mileage by changing your driving habits. Avoiding short trips and keeping tires at recommended air pressure are the easiest ways to improve your gas mileage and spend less on fuel. Avoiding short trips takes some planning- for example, if you bring your lunch with you, you don't need to drive to a fast food place to get lunch.

Keeping your tires properly inflated does take some work. You can check your air pressure at each fill-up, or you can get small air pressure gauges that are built-in to valve stem caps. I have these on my car and it makes it easy to tell at a glance if the air pressure in the tires is correct. The indicator appears green if the tires have sufficient air pressure.

Choosing the smallest, most efficient car that works for you when you buy a car is the best place to start on getting better gas mileage. Choosing the right car is a balance between how much cargo capacity and safety you want vs. how much fuel efficiency you want. Hybrid vehicles are a good deal in some cases, especially if you do a lot of city driving.

If you want to improve you gas mileage, a good place to start is to check you gas mileage for your normal driving and then try to improve it from there. Fill your tank and note your odometer reading or reset your trip counter. On your next fill-up, take the number of miles you drove on that tank divided by the number of gallons of gas you used to calculate your miles per gallon.

Checking your miles per gallon every tank is a good motivator to keep trying to find ways to improve your fuel economy. I am so familiar with my driving habits and gas mileage that I can tell the difference when I have extra passengers in my vehicle for even a short trip, or if I made an extra trip driving in traffic.

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Tip 9: Enjoy cheap- or free- exercise

Having a cheap form of exercise that you enjoy makes it easier to get exercise and stay in shape. My favorites are walking and riding a cheap bicycle. Walking requires no special equipment and can be done almost anywhere, anytime. Having a bike handy allows you to cover more ground. You can buy a good used bike for under $50 and it can provide years of exercise and transportation.

Exercise is one of those things that it is easy not to do if you have an excuse available. If your favorite form of exercise is something like skiing or working out at an exercise club that costs money or requires going someplace special, it is that much easier to put off doing it. If exercise is free and convenient, that removes potential barriers from exercising and staying in shape.

At times I have kept a bicycle at work so I can go for a ride whenever I have time. I could go for quite a trek over an hour lunch break and would explore neighborhoods or ride around a lake a few miles from the office. Walking is even easier. You might want to have a comfortable pair of shoes to change into. You can use a pedometer or GPS app on your cell phone to keep track of your walking distance and pace.

A cheap form of exercise is cheap entertainment and can keep you from spending money in other ways. If you are in shape, you are less likely to over-eat. You will also save money on medical expenses if you stay in good shape with regular activity.

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Tip 10: Save when eating out

Of course eating out typically costs more than preparing food at home, but there are ways to save when eating out. My favorite tips are to drink water, skip appetizers, order smaller amounts, and take home any left-over’s. Ordering a pop typically costs $2 vs. drinking water which is free. Water is also a healthy drink and does not contain calories or chemical sweeteners. Appetizers are tasty and fun, but are typically expensive and have a lot of fat and calories.

Simply ordering less is an easy way to save when eating out- find a reasonable portion instead of ordering the jumbo meals. Sometimes it bugs my wife, but I like to take home any leftovers from eating out- even if it is a few fries or a bun. Leftovers make a great snack or meal later, and there is no sense wasting food.
A lunch buffet can be a way to get a lot of food for not a lot of money. I think I get more than my money's worth at Chinese food buffets. I try not to go too often, but sometimes I get REALLY hungry. You can get vegetables and other healthy things at a Chinese buffet, and you can get as much as you want. Sometimes it is nice to get everything you want. If you want to save on groceries, go grocery shopping after you have a big meal. You are less likely to buy extra food and impulse items if you are not hungry at all.

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Tip 11: Get pets at the animal shelter for almost free

I have gotten some great dogs and cats at animal shelters for almost free. I also once got a great dog at a pet shop for a lot of money. Unless you are set on a very specific breed, you can almost certainly find a great pet at the pound. Save money and give an animal in need of a home a chance.

The initial purchase price of a pet is usually small compared with the overall cost of ownership of a pet. You'll want to get your pet spayed or neutered to avoid an unwanted litter, which may cost hundreds of dollars. Your pet will need vaccinations each year, also hundreds of dollars. If your pet gets injured or hurt, this may also cost hundreds of dollars or more. As you can see pets are expensive, but I don't remember how much I spent on my pets.

The great memories from a pet can be worth more than money. But keep in mind that having a pet can be expensive and make sure you are willing to pay the costs before you bring home that kitten of puppy. If you are planning to get a pet, check out the free and very inexpensive pets that need a home at your animal shelter or pound.

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Tip 12: Have less stuff

Having less stuff can actually help you spend less money. With less stuff, there is less pressure for space which makes it easier to live in a smaller house and avoid paying for storage space to keep things that won't fit in your house. With less clutter, you will be able to find and use the things you have easier- this can be more satisfying than having lots of stuff, but no room to use it. Once you get used to having less stuff, you'll save money by not buying stuff. Buying less stuff is also good for the environment since less resources are consumed to make and transport stuff. How much stuff do you really need to be happy?

Even if you are not into buying stuff, you can still end up with a lot of stuff. I try to save building material scraps, hardware items, and other things that are likely to be needed or at least that are small and easy to store. If you find you have a lot of larger items around that makes it hard to do anything in your shop or garage, you might be better getting rid of some of the larger stuff that you don’t know if you’ll need or not.

So how do you get rid of stuff if you have accumulated too much? I sell my extra things at consignment stores and auction houses. This is a double win for me, since I get rid of unwanted items and also get some money. Plus the stuff gets reused by someone who wants it. Some things are not suitable for sale, so I donate to Goodwill or throw some things away. I have also put items out on my sidewalk with a sign that says "FREE". This is handy since I don't have to haul the items away, and also gives my neighbors a change to get free stuff. I gave away my trailer that pulls behind my bicycle this way. It was fun seeing the neighbor kids enjoying it since I didn't need it any more.

If your current amount of stuff is not making you happy, try having less stuff. It is a lot less expensive than trying to get more stuff...

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Tip 13: Haircuts at home

One of the easiest ways to spend less money is to skip going to the barbershop and get haircuts at home with your own trimmers. You can get a nice set of trimmers for around $25. I haven't paid for a haircut in over 5 years. At 5 haircuts per year at $10 each, I have saved around $250 with haircuts at home. Not only do you save money on the cost of the haircut, but you save fuel by not driving to the barbershop and you save time as well.

I like cutting my own hair much better than going to the barbershop. I cut it exactly how I like it. At a barber shop, it seem like the haircut is a little different every time. I also avoid the expense of the haircut and the tip. I always found the tip part to be awkward. Since the haircut was so expensive, I found it difficult to pay extra to leave a tip. Since the person cutting the hair doesn't set the price, it is not really their fault a haircut is so expensive. I would usually leave a 15% tip if I thought the person did a good job.

The only downside of cutting your hair at home is that the hair makes a bit of a mess. I usually buzz my hair out in the garage and sweep up the hair. When it is cold out in the garage, I use a bathroom with a linoleum floor that makes it easy to sweep up.

With practice, you can go beyond just a basic haircut with a single length. For my latest haircut, I used 3 different lengths: 1 inch on top, 1/2 inch on the sides, and 1/4 inch above the ears and on the back. Pretty sharp for a free haircut!

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Penny Pincher Journal

Sunday, December 14, 2014

Tip 7: Cut cable TV or satellite TV

Tip 8: Buy less gas for your car

Tip 9: Enjoy cheap- or free- exercise

Tip 10: Save when eating out

Tip 11: Get pets at the animal shelter for almost free

Tip 12: Have less stuff

Tip 13: Haircuts at home

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