For most of my life I have been merrily skipping down the candy cane lined path in Jannyland where the sun always shines, blue birds fly overhead and money magically appears in my checking account. Not so much anymore as I am afraid the R word has invaded the peaceful happy valley of Jannyland...and it's tickin' me off. After watching my 401k and stock account rapidly dwindle from happy days are here again to oh my God if I retire I will have to live in a Westinghouse box under the overpass I finally decided to become more proactive. So far this month I have canceled the daily paper, had the house phone removed and dropped the premium cable channels.Those three little changes amount to well over $100 a month and have been relatively painless since I read the paper online, work pays for my cell phone and basic cable is included in the monthly HOA fees. I have done the easy ones so now it's time to start looking at the more painful changes that need to be made and I need your help. Tell me what you are doing and if you say nothing don't be surprised if some old fat woman shows up on your doorstep and pinches your head right off our shoulders.
Monday, December 15, 2008
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10 comments:
Oooh...I hate to ask this but how much does cat food cost.Well, maybe Morty and Gingelbelle can eat out of pot pie dishes and eat less expensivley. Can cats have someone "rubbed out?" I had better watch my back LOL
Sammy, Sammy, Sammy...cut back on cat food??? I want to save a little money not have my face eaten off in the middle of the night!
Homeowners Insurance. I reviewed our policies b/c they are due Dec/Jan and found a policy $800.00 cheaper than my current one. I have stopped using the dishwasher- have seen a difference in electric bill.
Jan-we've done just about everything! Changed to the newer light bulbs, cut back the thermostat on the hotwater heater and in the house. And I've tried to really do better with the grocery bill. Hubby has backed up on his cell plan and we aren't giving the girls spending money. The big R sucks. Wonder where our BAILOUT is?!!!
Hey Jan,
The garden really helped. Canning and freezing all that produce is helping. We use the wood heater as much as possible.
But I see Grammysammy's comment, and I have to admit, Lionel and BoDog still get their favorite food. lol...
Have a great day.
Pam
Well, Zeke and Hannah are eating "generic" dog food now, and Katie still gets her canned cat food..but it's bought from Dollar General. We get all our paper products and cleaning supplies from there as well. Cheaper than Walmart! The phone is something we are considering getting rid of, but the internet is connected to that. We already have the cheapest cable, but that may have to go too. I still say the government should have given the money to homeowners to pay off mortgages...the loan companies would have still gotten money...and we "common" people would have more money now to spend in the market if we weren't paying our mortgages. Thus, everyone would be happy:)As it is now, well, it looks bad. The mortgage bail out helped us in one way....they allow one more month before they foreclose.
You've already done some good trimming, Jan... good for you!
No no, don't cut back on the kitties. We need them.
Huge energy bill hogs: clothes and hair dryers. In cold, damp, dark England, people even hang their clothes out in winter... indoors, if necessary (there are nifty clothes racks avail online! Even if you just use them SOMETIMES, I bet you can save loads on energy bills!. And I've been "air drying" my hair for years now... it's so much healthier, too!
You can also switch most dishwashers to "air dry" (vs. heat dry) -- takes a wee bit longer, but again.. those drying/heating settings are biggies, and doing without them doesn't REALLY make a big difference. (additionally: modern laundry detergents work very well at cooler temps. Try using colder water settings with your washing machine, too!!)
Mindy-Excellent! Hadn't even thought about insurance yet and I can probably increase my deductable on my car too.
Tipper-I have the new lightbulbs too. The local electric company put a coupon for 12 (YES a dozen) free 60 watt bulbs. Honey, I was the first one in line! I do need to drop the temp on my water heater thanks for the reminder.
Pam- I love a fresh garden but I don't think my HOA would be too pleased if I planted a vegetable garden in the flower beds. Hmmmm, I bet everyone would enjoy a few tomato plants. Think I will mention that at the next board meeting.
Susie- I am so tired of these bailouts I could spit. I feel like we are postponing the inevitable and doing nothing but increasing our debt.
Thank you for your suggestions and I will share any other ideas I come across.
Just found your blog and have loved reading about your cat and the Christmas tree especially. You know if we bought them their own tree, they would never EVER climb it!!! We too have cut out the home phone and Cable and eat only one big meal per day per the 2 cats and dog are still just as petted as ever!
Congratulations on cutting back. We live in 900 square feet of California bliss. We are all electric. So I turn off my water heater at the breaker switch, which is next to the water heater in the hallway. We aren't home all day, so I see no reason to keep the water hot all day. I saw a drop of about $11.00 in my bill the next month.
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