A Penny Saved

Fast Company has a very interesting article(via Slashdot) on the CFL, or Compact Fluorescent Lightbulb.  Until reading this article, I was under the impression that while the bulbs were more efficient than a regular lightbulb, they were more or less for the extreme conservationist.

In fact, according to the article, one CFL lasts the lifetime of six to eight regular bulbs.  The most interesting fact however was the energy one.

Compact fluorescents emit the same light as classic incandescents but use 75% or 80% less electricity.

What that means is that if every one of 110 million American households bought just one ice-cream-cone bulb, took it home, and screwed it in the place of an ordinary 60-watt bulb, the energy saved would be enough to power a city of 1.5 million people. One bulb swapped out, enough electricity saved to power all the homes in Delaware and Rhode Island. In terms of oil not burned, or greenhouse gases not exhausted into the atmosphere, one bulb is equivalent to taking 1.3 million cars off the roads.

Now that’s impressive.  And good enough to make me seriously consider never buying a regular bulb again.

Technorati Tags: CFL, lightbulb, energy savings, light, electric

We cancelled our cable in early June.  The extra $40 a month has helped with our regular bills as my wife has been on maternity leave.  August will be the toughes month to get through as her regular paychecks won’t resume until September.

The funny thing about cancelling cable is that I don’t necessarily miss it.  It’s amazing how “into” the shows that run on the local(read free) stations a person gets when that’s all that you have to watch. Suddenly, I find myself waiting in anticipation for the next edition of “Hell’s Kitchen” or “So you think you can dance.“  Rediculous really.  I wouldn’t have touched the shows when I still had cable.

I’ve also noticed that my television watching has reduced.  Part of that is most likely a result of the new addition, but certainly some of it is from the lack of proper cable.

If you’re looking for an extra $40 or so a month, consider cancelling your cable tv subscription.  Once you get used to it, chances are that you won’t miss it one bit.

Technorati Tags: cable, cancel, hell’s kitchen, so you think you can dance, save, savings

Take a drive down any road and you will see more vehicles with daytime running headlams than you will see without.  They are a noted safety feature.  But why do we need more light when it’s already light out?  To burn more gas, that’s why.

HowStuffWorks:

If daytime running lights were on all the vehicles in the U.S., we would burn an extra 406 million gallons of gas each year. That’s only a couple gallons for each vehicle, but in total it is more than all of the vehicles in the country burn in a day. At $1.50 a gallon, that’s $600 million per year. Looking at it another way, an extra 8 billion pounds of Carbon Dioxide would be added to the atmosphere by this law.

Perhaps we should rethink the daytime running headlights.  I personally do not see the point in having them.  I don’t see the added safety benefit.  I would see the benefit for lights that automatically come on when the ambient light gets to a certain point.

Eh.  It’s only a couple of gallons a year.  At $3.00 a gallon, that still isn’t much.  Until you add everyone else with daytime running lights like Howstuffworks did.  Then it could become quite the problem.

Technorati Tags: gas, daytime running lights, howstuffworks

I’ve seen a few updates on Boston Gal’s Topsy Turvy Upside Down Tomato Planter and have seen advertisements for similar devices, but just never got around to trying it out. Then today, whilst Stubleupon-ing, I came upon this little DIY tipster with detailed instructions on how to make your own upside down tomato planter from a 5 gallon bucket.

I’ve also seen people use upside down 1-gallon milk jugs, but they just don’t seem to leave the room for the roots that they need. Can anyone think of something smaller than a 5-gallon bucket and larger than a 1-gallon milk jug that would work? I can think of some things, but none that didn’t contain toxic chemicals. A 5 gallon bucket has got to be super heavy when full of dirt and carrying around a tomato plant as well.

In any case, I just might have to try this little trick next year. We get good plants in our gardens, but with the drought up here this year we have yet to actually get any tomatoes out of the deal.

Technorati Tags: tomato, upside down tomato, topsy turvy tomato

I love to read.  I have a bit of a fetish with books.  If I buy them, they almost always have to be hardbacks.  I can’t stand softcovers.  And once I’ve bought a book, I have a really, really hard time ever letting it go.

If you average 1-2 books a month and you buy them new, it can become quite the spending habit.  Some hardbacks are $29.99 or more.  So, in recent months I’ve tried finding better ways to find reading material.  Blogs have been a big part of that.  What a wealth of knowledge they represent.  But when it comes right down to it, I still like a good old fashioned bound book to read.  Whenever possible, I try and wait long enough for a few used copies to pop up on Amazon before buying a book.  This can make for a nearly 50% reduction in costs.

The other day it dawned on me that I was clearly missing the forest for the trees.  I hit myself upside the head and called myself a few choice names.  L-I-B-R-A-R-Y.  Silly.  I can’t recall the last time I was in a library.  Psssttt!  It’s free too!

So, from here forward, if I really need a book because it’s by my favorite author, then I’ll scrounge around and find the money to buy it.  Else, I’m getting it at the library.

What methods do you use to reduce reading costs?

Technorati Tags: reading, books, library, read, book, frugal tip

Seems like everytime I go to purchase something online, the website has a spot for a discount coupon.  And I never have one.  Well, no more will I be without.  Today I found CurrentCodes.com(via Lifehacker).  CurrentCodes keeps a database of current codes.  All you have to do is search for the site your at and up pops any current codes that they have in their database.

Other sites mentioned in the comments of the LifeHacker post are:

techbargains.com

and slickdeals.net

Technorati Tags: deals, bargains, coupons, discount codes, discount

Most everyone has either faced the dilemma or has survived the dilemma of paying for a new addition to the family.  For my wife and I, the dilemma began exactly 40 weeks ago.  For those uninitiated to the schedule of babies, that means we’re due today.  Any hour now, our little bundle of joy will come into this world and the expense sheet will surely get longer.  Over the last nine months, we’ve tried everything we can to cut the initial cost of having a child.  I’d like to share a few of the bits and pieces of advice that we’ve come up with.

1. Shop early and often - We began buying all the necessities at about 3 months.  Spreading the cost of the first month’s worth of diapers, ointments, wipes, etc over 6 months instead of the first month has helped offset the initial cost.
2. Two words: Garage Sale - Newborn babies generally grow out of their clothes at a rate of a new size every three or less months.  This continues up until they turn 25. (well, maybe not that long.)  What that means is that most baby clothes that you will find at a garage, yard, or rummage sale are very nearly new.  Let’s face it, besides the random mess, babies don’t do all that much that will stain, rip, tear, or otherwise make clothes unwearable.  One onesie set at your local baby store can reach a pricetag of nearly $10.  The same onesie, lightly worn, can be had at the local garage sales for $0.50.
3. Clearance -  Because we began shopping early for all the necessities we were able to buy much of the more expensive items (think furniture) on clearance.  As the old models roll out, the price drops and real bargains can be had.  My sister-in-law managed to find a $140 stroller/car seat combo for under $40 at Target.  We found a high chair for a bargain the same way.  Clearance items are most often just the old model.  They are just as good and safe as the new model, brand new, and much cheaper than the new stuff.
4. Generic -  Now days, the generic items that you buy at Wal-Mart or Target are just as good as the name brand stuff.  Maybe they don’t smell as pretty or have the fancy packaging, but when it comes to the ingredients and effectiveness, they are the same.  Take a peek at the the generic stuff the next time you’re in the store.  Same stuff, half the price.
5. Coupons - We began early and signed up for many of the manufacturer’s website newsletters.  Along with that came several “samples” of formula and more coupons for formula, diapers, baby soap, and everything else you could think of.  It may not amount to a whole lot, but if it saves enough for another pack of diapers or a movie for two, it’s well worth it.

We saved quite a bit just by taking these small measures.  We all begin planning for the baby the second that we find out it’s on the way.  We begin researching college savings and day cares.  Taken a bit further, that research can reveal quite a few money saving tips to help out with the expense of raising a child.

How did you save money when you found out you were expecting?  My wife and I would like to know all the tips you have!

Technorati Tags: frugal, frugality, cheaper baby, baby, babies, pregnant, pregnancy, expecting, saving, save, stroller, car seat, target, wal-mart

Ever heard of a site called mypoints?

Mypoints is a site with a pretty good premise. They send you email. You read the email, and click the link in the email. You get 5 points. When you get enough points, you can redeem them for gift cards at your favorite retailer. It’s simple, easy, and actually fairly quick.

If you’re like me you hate spammish emails, but mypoints usually only sends one or two a day and all you really have to do is click to the site, let it load and close it. Both my wife and I have been using the service for a little over a year and have received about 4 $10 walmart giftcards. Those are 1500 points a pop. It’s nothing great, but it’s free money if you’re willing to put up with a couple of extra emails a day.

You know what’s even better? You can refer up to 5 people a month and get extra points when they join up. You also can use their site as a portal when you do online shopping at places like OfficeMax, Bed Bath and beyond and earn points that way too. The average is about 3 points earned per dollar spent. If you do a lot of your shopping online, it’s a quick and easy rebate.

ADDED: I just redeemed the points I had accumulated for $50 in Wal-Mart gift cards.
If you want a referral, please email me your email address (thatedeguy AT gmail DOT com) or leave a comment as that will give it too me and I’d be happy to send you one. Of course, you don’t need a referral, but I certainly would appreciate the extra points.

Technorati Tags: mypoints, frugal, save, rebate, online shopping, save money, my points

If you are anything like me, unless you need that “it” item now, you’re looking on eBay for it. Depending on the item, it can sometimes be tough to get a really good price on it. I cannot count how many times I’ve been sniped when bidding on something. *sniped is the practice of making a higher bid at the last second so that the other bidder does not have time to re-bid*

I’ve recently discovered a better way to still save money and not run the chance of being sniped or losing the auction. It’s been around for a little while, but I must have been a little blind. It’s called “Best Offer”. Basically, you find the item you’re looking for in a fixed price auction or eBay store auction that has the “Best Offer” option turned on and make the seller an offer. Obviously, the seller has to accept the offer, but many times, if the offer is reasonable it will get accepted. It’s quick, easy, and often times cheaper than using the “Buy It Now!” option as well.

Technorati Tags: ebay, best offer, buy it now, sniping, bidding strategy, win

It’s your money started a meme today and it seems to be getting some legs.  The meme?  What five things would you hate to give up if money got tight?  Mine?

1. Internet.  I simply could not give it up.  How else would I get to blog?  Do eBay?
2. Meat.  I’ll try and find the cheapest meat around, but give it up? Not a chance.
3. Books.  Again, Amazon and eBay are my friends, but not gonna give em up.
4. Soda.  I dunno why, but I just can’t seem to get rid of it.
5. Garage Sale shopping.  Mostly because I use it for product for eBay.

There’s my five things.  I have a completely new question though.  What would you give up first?  What expenses would you remove immediately?  And I’m not asking for the obvious credit cards and other such debt.  That’s what we all want regardless.  I’m talking things like Cable TV, Cigarettes, etc…  The only reason I ask is because I’m considering a major cut back and want to know what you all think are expendable expenses.

Technorati Tags: cutback, hate to give up, expendable expenses, savings, expenses