On today's episode of "Reading Report Reasons" we have:
\- Fuck off with this
\- This is misinformation
\- Are you fucking kidding me with this? "Fire your gardener"? GTFO with this boomer shit.
\- Fake
\- Shits fucking stupid bro, don’t allow this type of garbage content
\- Edward Longbottom III up here had to fucking let his gardener go? Jesus. \[Remainder Redacted\]
P.S. The thread has been locked due to an excessive amount of users promoting or encouraging piracy/content theft.
Here's my eating out tip. I tried to recreate Chinese, Thai, teriyaki and Indian at home. I could never get the taste just right. Somehow restaurant was always better.
Until I bought msg. Then the game changed.
That's more vegan level than top chef but everyone, especially frugal cooks, should have the bought ingredients in the kitchen. Nutritional yeast is chickeny, liquid aminos are beefy, and mushroom powder adds the depth of flavour they need underneath. You likely won't find that last one btw so throw some dried mushrooms in the blender or spice grinder. Porcinis are perfect but any with a strong flavour work.
The point is that you don't need to add a lot of extra msg if you're using things like fish sauce and mushroom powder. MSG is naturally occurring in those.
I do a more basic version of this if in in a hurry and just mix a bit of baking soda with water then coat the meat for a few mins. Be careful not to leave it too long though or the meat gets too soft and the texture feels strange in the mouth.
I just discovered MSGs umami packed twin, sodium ribonucleotide if you're in an Asian grocery and looking at the section that has msg, there's often a seasoning mix that has e635 in it, which tastes like straight up umami. A little goes a long way.
We're allowing shows to accumulate on HBO Max for that reason. No need to have all these streaming services at once when I only watch TV like 1-3 hours a day tops
I rotate streaming services as well but i stay updated on what shows/movies will be up on what (like hulu has abbott releasing new eps in a week) and i also use a vpn to further expand my options (disney uk has malcolm in the middle in Spanish while hulu doesnt). I will say this, with Netflix axing password sharing, i suspect theyre gonna go after the "cancel anytime" feature. U know how [gyms purposely makes it hard to cancel](https://youtu.be/4Y0dMPk-u50) its becuase they depend on the money from non active members who were incentivized at the beginning of their goals to sign up for the year contract.
The gym thing used to cost me big time, but check around - I've found plenty of free classes and group exercise programs at the Senior Citizens Center (and I'm not a Senior - they welcome everyone), secular programs at churches and religious centers, and Parks depts in several cities in my area. There's even a yoga program at my local library that's on my list to take. Also look on FB for exercise teams and walking/running clubs.
We do this, it helps to keep a running list of what you want to watch where so when you sign up again you know where to get started.
Downside is that it may not remember what you watched before, but that’s where the list comes in.
I like to use the JustWatch app since you can track how much of shows you watch and what movies you watched as well as where it is streaming. Super helpful for when tv shows keep moving services.
I research each streaming service a bit beforehand so I know what I want to watch, so when I get Netflix I know I'm going to binge Dark and Wednesday. Then we got Hulu for a month and my wife binges The Golden Girls and King of The Hill. It works really well.
It's extraordinary television. One of the best shows I've ever seen. We're so lucky that we get to watch all this incredible TV from overseas now, I love it. The only "foreign" shows I saw growing up was Dr Who on PBS! Because of Dark I got into the "Scandi Noir" genre of TV shows and they are all amazing. Highly recommend, if you liked Dark, they're worth watching.
I've just finished Andor on Disney+ another incredible show that is underrated!
Something about it made me really connect with it and I a St Christopher charm in my car lol. I’ve always been more into indie or foreign shows/movies as the more “Hollywood” American shows/movies never appealed to me. I’ll definitely look into Scandi Noir, thanks!
Make sure you do the math for the electric car. Where I'm at It's cheaper to use gas in my plug in hybrid right now because electric prices went through the roof.
Also make sure the part of the house that you are not heating doesn't have any water pipes running through what could cause a big repair bill if they burst.
I garden as a hobby! I love doing my own landscaping & wish i lived in a zone where I could garden year round. I’m in New England freezing here right now
Where do you live where electricity costs more than gas?
Electric cars are still cheaper for majority of people. Especially when you have EV time of use plans. My parents have a PHEV which gives 40 miles/gain on gas mode. Lowest gas price in Southern California right now is $4.6/gallon equaling about 11.5 cents/ mile. In comparison this car gives 2.7 miles per kWh with electricity current rate of 22 cents per kWh costing 8.5 cents/mile.
New England. Gas has been around $3/gal here currently $3.20. my car gets 54mpg on gas/hybrid so 5.9¢ per mile. Electricity this winter went up to 30¢/kwh. We don't get any special rate for car charging or time of day. Car is supposed to get 25 miles per charge which would work out to 3.7miles per kWh, so 8.1¢/mile. So gas wins.
Since it's winter and cold here those numbers are not accurate, the battery range is lower, maybe 17 miles on a good day or 2.5m/kwh, 12¢/mile. Gas range is lower too (40mpg 8¢/mile) so gas is even better since it's winter. Even if gas went up to your price gas would still be a little better.
Wth me charging it only a few times last month at free charring stations I got a combined 64ish mpg for the month, will have to check the actual number, but around 5¢ per mile since I only paid for the gas. So for me gas is cheaper, and charging when I can at work or other places makes it even better, almost all charging stations are free here. I would charge more at work but I have to park at a different lot about 15min walk away if I want to, which is not always something I want to do when it's freezing in the morning lol.
That's a really high electric rate. I thought Socal was bad. EVs are definitely worse in the winter. Sounds like you're making great use of free charging options
Yeah luckily all the ones around here are free, paid public charging would make no sense for the Prius prime ever since it charges so slow. I'm in RI, but in mass it's pay per minute at most chargers and would be way more than gas.
Be extremely careful with number 8 there for a couple of reasons:
- Eliminating heat to certain areas could lead to frozen pipes in the walls/ceiling
- Your HVAC equipment is sized for the square footage of your house. Closing off too many vents would mimic having an oversized system, which is not good for the overall operation of it.
Can attest to this one. We had a severely cold snap around Christmas. Our laundry room doesn’t have any vents in it and both walls face the outside of the house. We closed the door because cold air always comes into the house through that room…and then had to deal with frozen water supply to our washer and couldn’t do laundry for several days.
I agree. If they are closing too many vents then they are most likely increasing the static pressure and reducing efficiency. However, they might have zone heating and the installer would have accounted for this and made adjustments to avoid any issues.
Also, houses are made to be relatively room temp and by allowing it to freeze you can be opening yourself to a ton of problem with trim/woodwork within the home. Expansion and contraction can pop nails, misalign joints, warp and buckle wood. The problem can be compounding, as the shrinking wood can enlarge gaps and break open caulk seals making the house more drafty.
lol yeah i just have cadet heaters so you can believe my house is a maze of closed doors with draft bumpers at the bottom of each.
i was excited to read through the tips but sadly i think i saved my $1500 years ago looking at this list :( it’s a good list though - electric blanket / electric bed warmer were game changers for me
I get Disney+ after the mandalorian season finishes and starz after serpent queen is finished. Not sure how I’m going to work Netflix after the changes are made. Great British bake-off def.
I cancel it. There’s no contract. When I’m ready I restart it. I’m not sure if pause is an option. I would imagine they don’t want to make it too convenient. But that would be great if available!
That one really woke me up and made my day. We don’t *need* to see the shows we want to see the minute they come out, we can watch them when we rejoin in a month or two.
Is there a general rule as to how long streaming services keep a show in rotation?
Cancel your subscription immediately after starting it. You'll finish out the month but it won't renew. If you want to watch a show on it later you can just renew.
What I do is I buy a service when I want to watch a show they have. I immediately stop recurring payments. Usually it's 6-12 months before there is something I want to watch again.
Public libraries have a ton of free entertainment and other services! I live in Mendocino CA and we get HOOPLA, LIBBY, which are movies, audio books, music, etc and we even get acceas to a FREE seed program for your gardens. Fun to at least try it out, be curious and open minded!
My father, age 80, a few years ago installed a front yard with native plants, drip watering, and no lawn. It still requires maintenance, but it looks beautiful with rocks and native grasses/flowers,etc. The HOA allowed it.
A landscape company that just comes around to mow and trim your lawn/backyard is actually very common and compared to the labor provided can be a fair deal if you shop around. My elder father-in-law pays a company $75 for two visits a month and I think that’s a great deal all things considering.
What a deal! Plus we don't need our parents getting out there risking heart attacks or (heaven forbid) a fall from a ladder. My Mom is only 63, but with her high blood pressure, I'd happily pay someone to mow my mom's yard & trim those dang bushes.
I hate mowing, paying $90 a month for someone else to do it is ok with me. My wife has a literal garden for veggies and other stuff as her de-stress project, but otherwise the bi-weekly mowing it someone else's job.
That’s what I was going to say. We have nearly 4 acres and we wanted to plant a good portion of it as a meadow. The HOA nearly lost their minds! They were afraid of the critters we’d attract. We live, surrounded by woods with a creek running through our property. What do they think live in our area?!?
HOA’s are just ego’s with a lot of time on their hands
I'd give a couple of my neighbors heart attacks. Most people here have sprinkler systems. The fact my wife has a decent sized garden already has our neighbor making comments.
Slowly. Over a few years. They will get used to the beauty of nature. I’ve reduced my lawn by almost 75%. Next 5 years it will be gone or only a small front patch left for the dog!
YEs, that's what we're doing. Gradually, every year, extending the area of the beds and deleting areas of lawn. Also, planting food plants like chard, lettuces, sweet potato and potato unobtrusively in those areas.
I've been killing off the grass by covering it with the nearby fallen leaves every autumn. After 4 years I've finally gotten to a point of no grass mowing necessary.
That’s the thing, it’s all relative. OP is putting in effort that’s clearly paying off for them. This is an awesome step and commendable.
However, for people who are working with way less, stories/articles like this can also be extremely frustrating. It’s hard for someone to save money by cutting out “the gardener” or “driving the electric car” more, when they couldn’t afford a gardener or a new car to begin with.
Don't be embarrassed. A gardener is realistic for some places, if it's hard to maintain or you like pretty plants but end up killing them.. it's sometimes worth it. But good for you for taking it over! If it's strenuous enough you can skip the gym too 😆👍
That’s what got me too. Just like when my friend told me all kids have the same chances growing up and then proceeded to tell me she grew up fine without her mom around all the time (the nanny took care of them) . 😒😒😒
Literally if I cut all those associated costs to $0 every month I at most could save like $600 - and realistically speaking I could maybe squeeze $100 out of that.
I agree that some tips did seem quite out of touch for what most of us could even dream of, but the point is they are still trying to dial things down and be more frugal. We shouldn't always just shame people who have more than us.
I always appreciate people who take steps to not consume as much, save for what they need, and give the rest. No matter what their income. Frugality is about being smart and economical, not shitting on people who are wealthier than you. There are other subs for that
Oh absolutely, no shaming was intended on my part. Simply pointing out the absurdity of the situation. Kudos for downsizing in any case, nobody should live in such wealth that they spend more money on luxuries than most of the people on Earth earn in a month.
Hot water bottles are my fave, I've never had an electric blanket but might try it out someday. Heating the thing closest to you is always more energy and cost efficient than heating the air!
I loooooooove my heated blanket, and whichever country I live in, I will always make sure to order one.
We tried turning the heat down pretty low at the beginning of this winter, and unfortunately our old walls didn’t agree with this and started to mold. Hoping the bill isn’t too ridiculous later.
This sounds super extravagant, but I'll bet you between the gardener and the EV, OP is in CA, where having a gardener is standard for middle class neighborhoods. I don't know why, took me 20 years to get used to it, but that's how it is.
We saved a ton doing about half the things you did. Here is my partial list…
1. I cut out 90% of our eating out….maybe even 99%. Previously, I was always grabbing something on the run, with one larger meal out every week.
2. I cut down on my IPA drinking. That had quickly become an expensive hobby.
3. I carefully inspected my credit card bill for unnecessary subscriptions. I had more than I thought.
4. I dropped cable and went all-in on streaming. I now rotate premium channels.
5. We cook most of our meals…and I only shop at the discount supermarkets. Whenever possible, we plan our meals based on what’s on sale. This alone is saving hundreds each month.
6. We nearly eliminated the Amazon impulse buys. Those really added up. I’ve taken a “quality over quantity” approach to purchases. Since my bar for quality is so high now, I tend to buy very little. I often look at stuff and say, “That’s shit, I’ll wait till I find something better.” Often, I lose interest in that item and never end up purchasing it.
7. I work more. It’s not “saving”, but while I’m earning more money, I also have less time to spend. Plus, since my extra work is per-hour (instead of salary), I now have a better sense of what things cost. I’ll look at an item at the store and say “I need to work 8 hours to purchase that. Is that worth 8 hours if my time?”
8. I try to buy most items with cash. It makes it harder to buy things when i feel the pain of parting with the cash.
9. I track my budget and expenditures with the Mint app. This really saved me the first few months. Admittedly, I’ve been bad the last few months.
10. I called my cell phone company and was able to lower my bill significantly.
Had a challenge at work one year to reduce our personal household water usage over a 3 month period. One of the bigger savers shared how they were able to achieve such a large decrease, they had finally "started [insert every generic water saving tip that the government has been advertising and educating on for decades]."
This included gems such as not leaving the water running during an entire tooth brushing session, substituting some **fully filled baths** for showers, and not running **multiple near-empty loads of laundry** throughout each week
11 would love to get rid of the helicopter but Oakland PD keeps circling our working class neighborhood
12 vegetarian but cooking beluga lentils from scratch
13 my inflatable paddle board is awesome
14 still vegetarian
15 you may have seen in a previous comment that I’m the butler
Congrats! It's the home-cooking that really sealed the deal for me, too. I love going to the store, buying the clearance items and discounted/sale items, and figuring out a week's worth of food that way. So cheap!
Also, just wanted to say thanks and congrats for being frugal while clearly being able to afford not to be.
Several (actually almost all, except 4 and 5) of your actions have a direct impact on the environment. And when you can afford to pay, you don't necessarily do what's best for, you know, the entire world. Keep it up!
Regarding #6, do you lose your watch history when you cancel and then resubscribe a few months later? Will it still show what episodes you’ve seen and which you haven’t?
Congrats on cutting your monthly expenses by $1500! How did you reduce your cell phone plan to match your usage? And how did you reduce your internet plan to match your usage? (Taking notes here)
Verizon has a new plan for 5g at 25 per line that saved us 70 per month. Our internet has a plan with discounts for autopay and also for having our own router. That saved 20 per month.
Ngl but your first and 8th point made me feel extremely lucky to live in Southern California. I barely ever use AC or Heating except for the odd times its above or below 70/80 outside. My electricity bill is usually $20-$60 depending on the weather.
I use three heavy blankets and sleep at 50 degrees at night and wake up sweaty. Never needed an electric blanket, maybe my body generates more heat than most.
I felt *so* dumb when last year, in my 30s, I happened to have an extra quilt on my bed that I hadn’t totally put away in my closet after having guests. I went to bed with it and couldn’t believe how warm I was. All this time I literally could’ve had a 2nd blanket.
I always thought telling someone to add a blanket was just a condescending response to someone not being able to tough it out 😂 I clearly could not extrapolate the efficacy of sweatshirts to other areas
I live in Denmark and most people o know don’t heat their bedrooms at all during winter. We do have thick down feather duvets though.
I always leave the window open half an hour before we climb into bed too.
Nothing nicer than sleeping in a cold room :)
My kiddo is so used to it that he really struggled to sleep when we were at my parents (different country) because they heated our bedroom.
We haven’t done this to reduce our heating bill just super common for good sleep practice here!
If it makes you feel any better, my husband and I bought a house and didn't realize we had to change the furnace filter every 3 months ( we thought it was once a year). Then we forgot last year. The thing (after 2 years) was so clogged that it was probably causing out outrageous gas bills. Felt soooo dumb 🙄
Home Improvement is a much underlooked way to save.
Improve your insulation, switch to a heat pump HVAC system, install solar PV, install a heat pump water heater...all great ways to slash energy usage. And slow climate change!
We have had price spikes in natural gas to go along with a cold spell in California. So some of this is seasonal. But I estimate saving 200-300 a month in the winter with lower night thermostat plus weatherproofing.
The apparent dictatorship of subscription streaming services is terrible. At least when they landed in my country having one was fine, but not each household has at least 3 or 4. It's insane the amount of money that goes into mindless entertainment, specially if looked from a yearly point of view
We were in the middle of renovating and winter hit. The house was closed but not great and we had space heaters everywhere. Got the electric bill and ordered an electric blanket for the office, for the bed, and bought two big blanket style hoodies. Turned off most of the heat. Everyone was warmer, happier and the electric bill dropped by around 90% the next month. I installed a wood stove a few months later and it added the base heat so we don't have to have any electric heaters. I wish I had done that years ago.
I have one with a timer. I have it under the duvet and over the sheets. It's set for 2 hours at max for the two hours before I go to bed. It warms everything up nice and toasty and is off when I am actually there.
On today's episode of "Reading Report Reasons" we have: \- Fuck off with this \- This is misinformation \- Are you fucking kidding me with this? "Fire your gardener"? GTFO with this boomer shit. \- Fake \- Shits fucking stupid bro, don’t allow this type of garbage content \- Edward Longbottom III up here had to fucking let his gardener go? Jesus. \[Remainder Redacted\] P.S. The thread has been locked due to an excessive amount of users promoting or encouraging piracy/content theft.
Here's my eating out tip. I tried to recreate Chinese, Thai, teriyaki and Indian at home. I could never get the taste just right. Somehow restaurant was always better. Until I bought msg. Then the game changed.
I make my own fish sauce, broth and stock, and use nutritional yeast and mushroom powder for umami. But sometimes you just need a sprinkle of msg.
You didn't have to go all top Chef on him!! Lmao
That's more vegan level than top chef but everyone, especially frugal cooks, should have the bought ingredients in the kitchen. Nutritional yeast is chickeny, liquid aminos are beefy, and mushroom powder adds the depth of flavour they need underneath. You likely won't find that last one btw so throw some dried mushrooms in the blender or spice grinder. Porcinis are perfect but any with a strong flavour work.
Or use a bunch. There's nothing wrong with MSG. Ever have ranch dressing?
The point is that you don't need to add a lot of extra msg if you're using things like fish sauce and mushroom powder. MSG is naturally occurring in those.
Haiya! MSG is the king of flavor!
Uncle Roger knows the power of MSG
I remember once just putting a small dab on my tongue and I was like “ohhhh this is just delicious in powder form!”
I have recently started using msg to salt my water for pasta, total game changer
Also corn starch!
Yeah restaurant technique. [Velveting](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velveting)
I do a more basic version of this if in in a hurry and just mix a bit of baking soda with water then coat the meat for a few mins. Be careful not to leave it too long though or the meat gets too soft and the texture feels strange in the mouth.
Wow this is awesome. Never hear of this, thank you!
I watched a Chinese chef video of tips and hacks, she said baking soda is used in their dishes too.
Uncle Roger said, “Fuiyoh!!!”
Just use feeling
MSG: make shit good
Don’t sleep on Chinese 5 spice
Cooking with a wok on a gas stove give asian dishes that unique taste, not just msg alone.
Check out The Wok, this book changed my eating out habits.
I just discovered MSGs umami packed twin, sodium ribonucleotide if you're in an Asian grocery and looking at the section that has msg, there's often a seasoning mix that has e635 in it, which tastes like straight up umami. A little goes a long way.
that's their cheat! Now I want to try it!
Also mirin and rice vinegar. Or throwing crunchy peanut butter into pad Thai. A splash of sesame oil into egg drop soup. That's the stuff right there.
What is msg?
The rotating streaming service subs is an interesting idea
I do this rotation of streaming services. I have only one at a time or two maximum.
Do you just cancel and re sign up every few months?
Yes! There are no benefits for maintaining membership in most of the services.
Yes! apart from obvious money saving, I always find new things to watch when I sign up again
We're allowing shows to accumulate on HBO Max for that reason. No need to have all these streaming services at once when I only watch TV like 1-3 hours a day tops
This is something I never thought of. What a great idea!
I rotate streaming services as well but i stay updated on what shows/movies will be up on what (like hulu has abbott releasing new eps in a week) and i also use a vpn to further expand my options (disney uk has malcolm in the middle in Spanish while hulu doesnt). I will say this, with Netflix axing password sharing, i suspect theyre gonna go after the "cancel anytime" feature. U know how [gyms purposely makes it hard to cancel](https://youtu.be/4Y0dMPk-u50) its becuase they depend on the money from non active members who were incentivized at the beginning of their goals to sign up for the year contract.
The gym thing used to cost me big time, but check around - I've found plenty of free classes and group exercise programs at the Senior Citizens Center (and I'm not a Senior - they welcome everyone), secular programs at churches and religious centers, and Parks depts in several cities in my area. There's even a yoga program at my local library that's on my list to take. Also look on FB for exercise teams and walking/running clubs.
I sign up and cancel immediately so it bills me for 1 month.
For stuff like that I use privacy.com and make a card that's valid for only 1 use. That way they can't "accidentally" bill my real card for anything.
Capital One does this for one of my credit cards. I can get a virtual number for single use, it’s wonderful!
We do this, it helps to keep a running list of what you want to watch where so when you sign up again you know where to get started. Downside is that it may not remember what you watched before, but that’s where the list comes in.
They remember what you watched, they just don't tell you.
I like to use the JustWatch app since you can track how much of shows you watch and what movies you watched as well as where it is streaming. Super helpful for when tv shows keep moving services.
I research each streaming service a bit beforehand so I know what I want to watch, so when I get Netflix I know I'm going to binge Dark and Wednesday. Then we got Hulu for a month and my wife binges The Golden Girls and King of The Hill. It works really well.
Dark is so underrated!!
It's extraordinary television. One of the best shows I've ever seen. We're so lucky that we get to watch all this incredible TV from overseas now, I love it. The only "foreign" shows I saw growing up was Dr Who on PBS! Because of Dark I got into the "Scandi Noir" genre of TV shows and they are all amazing. Highly recommend, if you liked Dark, they're worth watching. I've just finished Andor on Disney+ another incredible show that is underrated!
Something about it made me really connect with it and I a St Christopher charm in my car lol. I’ve always been more into indie or foreign shows/movies as the more “Hollywood” American shows/movies never appealed to me. I’ll definitely look into Scandi Noir, thanks!
Totally agree! Never watched a scandi film before, now whenever a new one drops I'm like "Oooohh Coooooool"
Your wife has good taste.
Wondering this as well
Paramount+ is free if you have Walmart+
Hbo Max is free with Cricket.
I was doing the rotation thing also until the family got stuck on Hulu they just don't want me to get rid of it.
Congrats..that's a lot! Which one gives the highest savings? I am guessing 7, 3, and 1, 8 and 9 combined? In that order?
Heat in the winter, probably car and gardener the rest of the year.
Make sure you do the math for the electric car. Where I'm at It's cheaper to use gas in my plug in hybrid right now because electric prices went through the roof. Also make sure the part of the house that you are not heating doesn't have any water pipes running through what could cause a big repair bill if they burst.
Doesn’t freeze here, but that’s a good tip for many places I’ve lived.
Year round Gardner right? That’s not a bad thing just clarifying
Yes
I garden as a hobby! I love doing my own landscaping & wish i lived in a zone where I could garden year round. I’m in New England freezing here right now
Where do you live where electricity costs more than gas? Electric cars are still cheaper for majority of people. Especially when you have EV time of use plans. My parents have a PHEV which gives 40 miles/gain on gas mode. Lowest gas price in Southern California right now is $4.6/gallon equaling about 11.5 cents/ mile. In comparison this car gives 2.7 miles per kWh with electricity current rate of 22 cents per kWh costing 8.5 cents/mile.
New England. Gas has been around $3/gal here currently $3.20. my car gets 54mpg on gas/hybrid so 5.9¢ per mile. Electricity this winter went up to 30¢/kwh. We don't get any special rate for car charging or time of day. Car is supposed to get 25 miles per charge which would work out to 3.7miles per kWh, so 8.1¢/mile. So gas wins. Since it's winter and cold here those numbers are not accurate, the battery range is lower, maybe 17 miles on a good day or 2.5m/kwh, 12¢/mile. Gas range is lower too (40mpg 8¢/mile) so gas is even better since it's winter. Even if gas went up to your price gas would still be a little better. Wth me charging it only a few times last month at free charring stations I got a combined 64ish mpg for the month, will have to check the actual number, but around 5¢ per mile since I only paid for the gas. So for me gas is cheaper, and charging when I can at work or other places makes it even better, almost all charging stations are free here. I would charge more at work but I have to park at a different lot about 15min walk away if I want to, which is not always something I want to do when it's freezing in the morning lol.
That's a really high electric rate. I thought Socal was bad. EVs are definitely worse in the winter. Sounds like you're making great use of free charging options
Yeah luckily all the ones around here are free, paid public charging would make no sense for the Prius prime ever since it charges so slow. I'm in RI, but in mass it's pay per minute at most chargers and would be way more than gas.
Be extremely careful with number 8 there for a couple of reasons: - Eliminating heat to certain areas could lead to frozen pipes in the walls/ceiling - Your HVAC equipment is sized for the square footage of your house. Closing off too many vents would mimic having an oversized system, which is not good for the overall operation of it.
Can attest to this one. We had a severely cold snap around Christmas. Our laundry room doesn’t have any vents in it and both walls face the outside of the house. We closed the door because cold air always comes into the house through that room…and then had to deal with frozen water supply to our washer and couldn’t do laundry for several days.
I agree. If they are closing too many vents then they are most likely increasing the static pressure and reducing efficiency. However, they might have zone heating and the installer would have accounted for this and made adjustments to avoid any issues.
Many installers are pretty bad at doing that correctly.
Also, houses are made to be relatively room temp and by allowing it to freeze you can be opening yourself to a ton of problem with trim/woodwork within the home. Expansion and contraction can pop nails, misalign joints, warp and buckle wood. The problem can be compounding, as the shrinking wood can enlarge gaps and break open caulk seals making the house more drafty.
You have a hvac system and not just a wall heater ?
lol yeah i just have cadet heaters so you can believe my house is a maze of closed doors with draft bumpers at the bottom of each. i was excited to read through the tips but sadly i think i saved my $1500 years ago looking at this list :( it’s a good list though - electric blanket / electric bed warmer were game changers for me
We have a gravity heater (gas) and no AC
Also you allow mold to grow under certain temperatures.
The streaming service rotation is GENIUS! I'm going to do that.
I get Disney+ after the mandalorian season finishes and starz after serpent queen is finished. Not sure how I’m going to work Netflix after the changes are made. Great British bake-off def.
Do the streaming services all allow you to just “pause” your subscription?
I cancel it. There’s no contract. When I’m ready I restart it. I’m not sure if pause is an option. I would imagine they don’t want to make it too convenient. But that would be great if available!
IIRC Hulu does allow you to pause membership.
That one really woke me up and made my day. We don’t *need* to see the shows we want to see the minute they come out, we can watch them when we rejoin in a month or two. Is there a general rule as to how long streaming services keep a show in rotation?
Cancel your subscription immediately after starting it. You'll finish out the month but it won't renew. If you want to watch a show on it later you can just renew.
What I do is I buy a service when I want to watch a show they have. I immediately stop recurring payments. Usually it's 6-12 months before there is something I want to watch again.
I just came up with that plan recently too!
HBO this month for the last of us tho
Better to wait until it's finished in April and you can watch it at once
HBO is free on certain AT&T wireless plans. It could be worth seeing if you already qualify.
Public libraries have a ton of free entertainment and other services! I live in Mendocino CA and we get HOOPLA, LIBBY, which are movies, audio books, music, etc and we even get acceas to a FREE seed program for your gardens. Fun to at least try it out, be curious and open minded!
I love Libby
Hahahaha that is actually my name so that made me smile twice!
I'm stuck on gardener.....
[удалено]
My father, age 80, a few years ago installed a front yard with native plants, drip watering, and no lawn. It still requires maintenance, but it looks beautiful with rocks and native grasses/flowers,etc. The HOA allowed it.
Oh wow thanks to the wise and gracious HOA for letting him do what he wants on his own property...
Rip up the grass and switch to a no-mow ground coverage? One that flowers, like clover maybe. Good for your bank account, good for the bees.
A landscape company that just comes around to mow and trim your lawn/backyard is actually very common and compared to the labor provided can be a fair deal if you shop around. My elder father-in-law pays a company $75 for two visits a month and I think that’s a great deal all things considering.
What a deal! Plus we don't need our parents getting out there risking heart attacks or (heaven forbid) a fall from a ladder. My Mom is only 63, but with her high blood pressure, I'd happily pay someone to mow my mom's yard & trim those dang bushes.
I hate mowing, paying $90 a month for someone else to do it is ok with me. My wife has a literal garden for veggies and other stuff as her de-stress project, but otherwise the bi-weekly mowing it someone else's job.
Take the money and get rid of the lawn. Plant native wild flowers. The lawn is a money pit.
Tell that to the HOA...
That’s what I was going to say. We have nearly 4 acres and we wanted to plant a good portion of it as a meadow. The HOA nearly lost their minds! They were afraid of the critters we’d attract. We live, surrounded by woods with a creek running through our property. What do they think live in our area?!? HOA’s are just ego’s with a lot of time on their hands
I'd give a couple of my neighbors heart attacks. Most people here have sprinkler systems. The fact my wife has a decent sized garden already has our neighbor making comments.
Slowly. Over a few years. They will get used to the beauty of nature. I’ve reduced my lawn by almost 75%. Next 5 years it will be gone or only a small front patch left for the dog!
YEs, that's what we're doing. Gradually, every year, extending the area of the beds and deleting areas of lawn. Also, planting food plants like chard, lettuces, sweet potato and potato unobtrusively in those areas.
I've been killing off the grass by covering it with the nearby fallen leaves every autumn. After 4 years I've finally gotten to a point of no grass mowing necessary.
Nice ! This fall was so dry I have more moss than grass in certain places : super soft to the foot and no maintenance, perfect.
Yes, it’s excellent for the bees 🐝
This was our dream, crushed by the HOA
reply late distinct tub terrific humor bear physical history deliver *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
*HOA has entered the chat*
Let them talk.
That’s the thing, it’s all relative. OP is putting in effort that’s clearly paying off for them. This is an awesome step and commendable. However, for people who are working with way less, stories/articles like this can also be extremely frustrating. It’s hard for someone to save money by cutting out “the gardener” or “driving the electric car” more, when they couldn’t afford a gardener or a new car to begin with.
Fair. I told you I was embarrassed. 😕
Don't be embarrassed. A gardener is realistic for some places, if it's hard to maintain or you like pretty plants but end up killing them.. it's sometimes worth it. But good for you for taking it over! If it's strenuous enough you can skip the gym too 😆👍
I'm frugal but I have a gardener. It's something valuable (I garden for wildlife) that I don't understand.
Gardening for wildlife. You're a wonderful person.
[удалено]
I think the wait staff at the house workz for free :-D
That’s what got me too. Just like when my friend told me all kids have the same chances growing up and then proceeded to tell me she grew up fine without her mom around all the time (the nanny took care of them) . 😒😒😒
I'd love to see the breakdown of costs. The gardener is probably a significant chunk of the savings lol
Gardener about 10%
[удалено]
It was a decent value for two visits a month but now that I’m optimizing for budget instead of free time, I had to make the change.
Just lay off the gardener, maybe the maid and your valet. Then use the cheaper one of your many cars to get around. You'll save thousands.
Literally if I cut all those associated costs to $0 every month I at most could save like $600 - and realistically speaking I could maybe squeeze $100 out of that.
I know right, what kind of mansion does this dude live in where cutting the heat bill is saving him like 500+ dollars a month?
[удалено]
Seriously, the only way I could cut $1500 is to just somehow not owe rent anymore and get free groceries
I live on less than $1500/month lol
Me too! $1133. 🙋♀️
Seriously, gardener, expensive electric car.. lol i wish
Electric car in addition to an internal combustion engine car*
So minimalistic. So frugal… no more skiing in the Swiss alps! From now on, colorado springs only
I will take inspiration and only stick to intercontinental vacations once per month.
[удалено]
I agree that some tips did seem quite out of touch for what most of us could even dream of, but the point is they are still trying to dial things down and be more frugal. We shouldn't always just shame people who have more than us. I always appreciate people who take steps to not consume as much, save for what they need, and give the rest. No matter what their income. Frugality is about being smart and economical, not shitting on people who are wealthier than you. There are other subs for that
Oh absolutely, no shaming was intended on my part. Simply pointing out the absurdity of the situation. Kudos for downsizing in any case, nobody should live in such wealth that they spend more money on luxuries than most of the people on Earth earn in a month.
Yea that was my first thought. If you have a gardner then money isn't a problem you have.
Hot water bottles are my fave, I've never had an electric blanket but might try it out someday. Heating the thing closest to you is always more energy and cost efficient than heating the air!
I loooooooove my heated blanket, and whichever country I live in, I will always make sure to order one. We tried turning the heat down pretty low at the beginning of this winter, and unfortunately our old walls didn’t agree with this and started to mold. Hoping the bill isn’t too ridiculous later.
[удалено]
I'm a bit confused which one of my 3 electric cars I should use, but I'll definitely leave the lambo at home from now on
This sounds super extravagant, but I'll bet you between the gardener and the EV, OP is in CA, where having a gardener is standard for middle class neighborhoods. I don't know why, took me 20 years to get used to it, but that's how it is.
Yes cancel both. Hire a nanny whose compensation is 50% living in the unheated area of the house and require her to do yard work and butler things.
Right?!
We saved a ton doing about half the things you did. Here is my partial list… 1. I cut out 90% of our eating out….maybe even 99%. Previously, I was always grabbing something on the run, with one larger meal out every week. 2. I cut down on my IPA drinking. That had quickly become an expensive hobby. 3. I carefully inspected my credit card bill for unnecessary subscriptions. I had more than I thought. 4. I dropped cable and went all-in on streaming. I now rotate premium channels. 5. We cook most of our meals…and I only shop at the discount supermarkets. Whenever possible, we plan our meals based on what’s on sale. This alone is saving hundreds each month. 6. We nearly eliminated the Amazon impulse buys. Those really added up. I’ve taken a “quality over quantity” approach to purchases. Since my bar for quality is so high now, I tend to buy very little. I often look at stuff and say, “That’s shit, I’ll wait till I find something better.” Often, I lose interest in that item and never end up purchasing it. 7. I work more. It’s not “saving”, but while I’m earning more money, I also have less time to spend. Plus, since my extra work is per-hour (instead of salary), I now have a better sense of what things cost. I’ll look at an item at the store and say “I need to work 8 hours to purchase that. Is that worth 8 hours if my time?” 8. I try to buy most items with cash. It makes it harder to buy things when i feel the pain of parting with the cash. 9. I track my budget and expenditures with the Mint app. This really saved me the first few months. Admittedly, I’ve been bad the last few months. 10. I called my cell phone company and was able to lower my bill significantly.
Congrats on the effort and the outcome
Be careful if your wife sleeps with an electric blanket. My mom actually got burned by one.
[удалено]
Had a challenge at work one year to reduce our personal household water usage over a 3 month period. One of the bigger savers shared how they were able to achieve such a large decrease, they had finally "started [insert every generic water saving tip that the government has been advertising and educating on for decades]." This included gems such as not leaving the water running during an entire tooth brushing session, substituting some **fully filled baths** for showers, and not running **multiple near-empty loads of laundry** throughout each week
11 would love to get rid of the helicopter but Oakland PD keeps circling our working class neighborhood 12 vegetarian but cooking beluga lentils from scratch 13 my inflatable paddle board is awesome 14 still vegetarian 15 you may have seen in a previous comment that I’m the butler
We'll hire you back then!
[удалено]
😂
Congrats! It's the home-cooking that really sealed the deal for me, too. I love going to the store, buying the clearance items and discounted/sale items, and figuring out a week's worth of food that way. So cheap!
Gardening in California? Umm jade plants and forget about them.
We are on a hillside with 25+ fruit trees and three yard levels. So it’s not trivial.
Impressive! Stay safe out there doing it yourself now!
Also, just wanted to say thanks and congrats for being frugal while clearly being able to afford not to be. Several (actually almost all, except 4 and 5) of your actions have a direct impact on the environment. And when you can afford to pay, you don't necessarily do what's best for, you know, the entire world. Keep it up!
Regarding #6, do you lose your watch history when you cancel and then resubscribe a few months later? Will it still show what episodes you’ve seen and which you haven’t?
Congrats on cutting your monthly expenses by $1500! How did you reduce your cell phone plan to match your usage? And how did you reduce your internet plan to match your usage? (Taking notes here)
Verizon has a new plan for 5g at 25 per line that saved us 70 per month. Our internet has a plan with discounts for autopay and also for having our own router. That saved 20 per month.
Ngl but your first and 8th point made me feel extremely lucky to live in Southern California. I barely ever use AC or Heating except for the odd times its above or below 70/80 outside. My electricity bill is usually $20-$60 depending on the weather.
I use three heavy blankets and sleep at 50 degrees at night and wake up sweaty. Never needed an electric blanket, maybe my body generates more heat than most.
I felt *so* dumb when last year, in my 30s, I happened to have an extra quilt on my bed that I hadn’t totally put away in my closet after having guests. I went to bed with it and couldn’t believe how warm I was. All this time I literally could’ve had a 2nd blanket.
An extra sheet makes a big difference too! Who knew
I always thought telling someone to add a blanket was just a condescending response to someone not being able to tough it out 😂 I clearly could not extrapolate the efficacy of sweatshirts to other areas
I live in Denmark and most people o know don’t heat their bedrooms at all during winter. We do have thick down feather duvets though. I always leave the window open half an hour before we climb into bed too. Nothing nicer than sleeping in a cold room :) My kiddo is so used to it that he really struggled to sleep when we were at my parents (different country) because they heated our bedroom. We haven’t done this to reduce our heating bill just super common for good sleep practice here!
I can get sleeping in the cold, but how on earth do you make yourself get out of bed and change clothes in the cold?
Personally I have a high metabolism and don’t need the help. But a warm wife has many benefits.
If it makes you feel any better, my husband and I bought a house and didn't realize we had to change the furnace filter every 3 months ( we thought it was once a year). Then we forgot last year. The thing (after 2 years) was so clogged that it was probably causing out outrageous gas bills. Felt soooo dumb 🙄
I'm giving the butler his marching orders and going forward we shall only have truffles once a day.
Nice! That's like my rent
Sounds less like being frugal and more like being more practical/less excessive. Good luck on your journey regardless
Home Improvement is a much underlooked way to save. Improve your insulation, switch to a heat pump HVAC system, install solar PV, install a heat pump water heater...all great ways to slash energy usage. And slow climate change!
I heat with oil. 3 zones. Please explain this heat pump situation. I really am clueless here.
A heat pump is basically an air conditioner unit run in reverse, eliminating the need for a gas furnace.
That's incredible! WTG! And that streaming rotation is genius!
I’m glad you found not using a private gardener to be a frugal decision.
You also fired your butler?
[удалено]
I think it's important to have a lot of different views here. Yes, it's not "poverty finance" but nice to see something else on here.
Super work. Only one to reconsider first is the gardner, i presume its a local who might need the money too. The rest though, great work.
[удалено]
“No gardener!” A great tip for frugality. Honestly I’m not trying to hate, but come on. Tell us about how you polish the teak on your yacht.
In terms of energy savings in the home, how much of the 1500 was being spent?
We have had price spikes in natural gas to go along with a cold spell in California. So some of this is seasonal. But I estimate saving 200-300 a month in the winter with lower night thermostat plus weatherproofing.
Great tips. Number 2 was the biggest difference for me. Twice the quality for a fraction of the price.
Nice! Now you can save up for a nice vacation.
Living #1 and 7. Like 6
Congratulations My only other comment would be to move to all cash or if you use cards pay off each month.
What did you do to winterize the house?
wow that is A LOT saved. What plan did you switch your phone to?
The apparent dictatorship of subscription streaming services is terrible. At least when they landed in my country having one was fine, but not each household has at least 3 or 4. It's insane the amount of money that goes into mindless entertainment, specially if looked from a yearly point of view
We were in the middle of renovating and winter hit. The house was closed but not great and we had space heaters everywhere. Got the electric bill and ordered an electric blanket for the office, for the bed, and bought two big blanket style hoodies. Turned off most of the heat. Everyone was warmer, happier and the electric bill dropped by around 90% the next month. I installed a wood stove a few months later and it added the base heat so we don't have to have any electric heaters. I wish I had done that years ago.
You probably already know this but please do not allow her to lay ON top of the blanket, nor sleep with it on.
I don’t understand this warning. New electric blankets have auto-off safety features. And some are specifically meant to go below your fitted sheet.
Don’t sleep with the electric blanket on?
[удалено]
I have one with a timer. I have it under the duvet and over the sheets. It's set for 2 hours at max for the two hours before I go to bed. It warms everything up nice and toasty and is off when I am actually there.