Frugality

Simplest Way to Cut Heating Costs

by

The simplest way to cut your heating costs is to not turn on your heat.   This article tells of a  no heat contest where people see how long they can go into the winter without turning on their heat.  The family that won last year made it to December 31.  They live in New Jersey so they must have been pretty cold.  I’m a tight-fisted miser and all for being frugal but I think that is a little too extreme.

That being said I haven’t turned on my heat in my apartment yet.  Since my apartment is on the the third floor it seems to be absorbing heat from other apartments in the building.  Even though the outside temperature has been in the 30s, I don’t think the temperature in my apartment has been below the 60s.  We do have several cold days forecast so I will probably have to turn on my heat sometime this week.  Saving a little money on my heating bill isn’t worth being uncomfortably cold.

Dollar Store Deals

by

Due to my recent move I needed to acquire a few household items.  Being a Tight-Fisted Miser I didn’t want to pay any more than necessary for them.  Therefore I checked out the dollar store and was able to find a few things I needed there.

The best deal at the dollar store is probably the shower curtain.  It is $1 for the curtain and another $1 for the rings.   This would be about $10 at a big box store.  The quality probably isn’t as good but the shower curtain does its job and I haven’t had one fall apart on me yet.

Another good deal at the dollar store is kitchen items.  I bought a can opener for $1 and it works fine.  I also have a small frying pan that I bought at the dollar store several years ago that is still working fine.

Perhaps my best dollar store deal was a large laundry bag that I bought a couple years ago.  When I went hiking I used this to store my backpack when I checked it as baggage for my flight.  Many people buy large duffle bags to store their backpacks in which generally cost at least $20.  (If you don’t store your backpack in another bag the various straps and buckles on the pack often get caught on baggage handling equipment causing major damage to the pack.)  I figure the laundry bag saved me at least $19 and I still use it as a laundry bag as well.

Cleaning supplies and personal hygiene products can be good buys at the dollar store but I usually get these for free or almost free from playing the drugstore game.

I suppose some of the food might be a good deal but I just don’t trust food from the dollar store.

Do you get any good deals from the dollar store?  What products do you not recommend getting from the dollar store?

Frugality and Location

by

I thought about including this in my post on housing but decided this topic deserves its own post since it concerns more than just housing.

Where you live greatly influences your living expenses. Some areas are simply more expensive to live in than others. I’m lucky to live in one of the lowest cost areas of the U.S. One of the drawbacks of living in an area with a low cost of living is that wages are usually lower than average also. If you can manage to make an above average salary in an area with a low cost of living than you are doing well. If you live in a high cost of living area and you are not making an above average salary you should consider moving.

Of course the cost of living isn’t the only thing to consider when determining when to live. You don’t want to move to a low cost of living area if you wouldn’t enjoy living there. Or you might have obligations that require you to live in a high cost of living area. If this is the case your location can still save you money. If you are able to find a location close to your work and other places you regularly visit you should save money. If you are renting you can use a tool such as Rentometer to make sure you are paying a fair price for your neighborhood.

Whatever your location if you put a little thought into where you choose to live you can save a lot of money.

Some Thoughts on Living Abroad

by

I'm thinking the special rate isn't a discount.
I'm thinking the special rate isn't a discount.

Based on my past experience living in Guatemala for three months I have long thought that living in a foreign country would be a good way to live cheaply. This would allow you to live on a small retirement income or perhaps allow you to take an extended amount of time off each year. After my recent trip through Central America I have some more thoughts on this subject.

It is true that you can live on less in Central America. My experience in Guatemala though was that you usually would also have a lower standard of living than in the U.S. While trying to find a private apartment in Guatemala the only ones that I considered acceptable cost almost as much as I would pay here in Kansas City.

Since I am able to have a comfortable lifestyle here in the U.S. for about a $1000 a month it is difficult to save much money by living elsewhere. I often see ads for books or guides on how you can live in a foreign country for as little as $1000 a month which wouldn’t be a savings for me. That would only be a good deal for me if I had a better standard of living there or at least a different but similar standard of living.

One of my problems was that the places I was looking at were targeted towards foreigners and were priced accordingly. Generally, any goods or services in a foreign country that are being marketed to gringos will come with a gringo price tag. If I would have spent some more time searching for an apartment I probably could have found a better deal on a place that wasn’t being marketed for foreigners. This just takes more time and some knowledge of the area you would be living in would be helpful.

I still think that someday I will be living in Central America at least part of the year. This won’t be because it is cheap but because I like it there. My recommendation to anyone who is thinking of living abroad is not to live somewhere just because it is cheap. If you can find a place that is cheap and it is an area you want to live in as well then you have found a good combination.

September Expenses – $1435.49

by

Here is a breakdown of my expenses for September.

Household

$136.63

Entertainment

$71.45

Transportation

 $11.89

Food

$162.56

Medical/Dental

$61.66

Phone

$34.67

Travel

 $774.63

Debt

 $182.00

Total

$1435.49

My expenses were higher than I would prefer in September but not too bad considering I was traveling most of the month. The travel expense was the budget killer. This amount was what I spent on airfare, hotel rooms, taxis, and buses. I find it hard to believe I spent that much but I did. I probably won’t travel at all this month so this category will go down to zero. The food budget was also high since I ate out for most of my meals. My food expense should go back to normal this month.  My household expense was  low this month since my GF allowed me to not pay rent while I was gone.  This amount will go back to normal this month.  My transportation expense was low this month since most of my transportation costs were included in the travel category.  That expense will go up this month but it should still be fairly low.  My other categories should remain about the same.

It is now obvious that I will not meet my goal of keeping my expenses to under $10,000 for the year.  I may have already passed that expense level but I haven’t added up my monthly expenses yet to be sure.  I will still try to keep my expenses low for the rest of the year and I will probably set a similar goal next year.