I was looking through the online Wall Street Journal the other day and found an article called Cut It Out that was also published on Yahoo Finance. It contained some interesting ideas about saving money and one in particular, I decided to put to the test in my own home and encourage you to do the same.
Saving Money While Showering: The Facts
The article made the claim that you could save $102 dollars annually (if you live in Seattle) if you cut your daily shower from 15 to 10 minutes. Further, it stated that a 10 minute shower uses about 25 gallons of water compared to 37.5 gallons for the 15 minute shower. So, that is about 2.5 gallons of water per minute of showering.
Now, I had never actually timed myself in the shower to determine how much time or money I was actually using, so I put on my detective cap and went to work.
Saving Money While Showering: Her Story
Here is how my typical morning goes. I usually get up after the 2nd or 3rd efforts of my alarm clock (I love the snooze button) and go straight to the bathroom. After taking care of some other personal items, I get into the shower and am often out before the next music set on the alarm clock starts. That means I am in and out in less than 9 minutes, since most alarm clock snooze settings default to 9 minutes. Why is that, by the way? I guess we can discuss the 9 Minute Snooze Mystery on another day. Back to the issue at hand, saving money cutting down the shower time. I concluded, personally, that I was probably as lean on shower time as I could be and was doing my part on saving money in the shower. Now, my boyfriend is a completely different story.
Saving Money While Showering: His Story
Here is how his typical morning goes. He gets up after I am out of the shower. After he makes his way to the bathroom, he turns on the shower as to let the water warm up (I do this too so I guess if we were both willing to step into a cold shower, knowing it would warm up eventually, we could save some money right there, but not sure I want to start out my day that way). If he hasn't fallen back asleep while in an upright position waiting for the water to warm up, which takes about 30-45 seconds, he ventures into the actual shower. While I dress, iron if necessary, dry my hair, apply deodorant, and put on my make-up, he might be out of the shower at the end of my routine. I am not sure what he is doing in the shower in the morning because one morning, he started to dry himself off and realized he hadn't washed his hair. When asked what the heck he was doing in there, he replied, "Solving the world's problems takes time, and I do my best thinking in the shower." He has a lot of interesting anecdotes, which I can go into at a later time. Regardless, he is more on the 15-20 minute shower routine. On a side note, he also uses a loofah and body wash, which cracks me up and always knows when we are almost out, while I wouldn't have a clue since I use it less than he does. Wonder how much money we would save if we excluded the body wash from our budget?
Saving Money While Showering: Lessons Learned
Between the two of us, I think we average 12-15 minute showers from my calculations. What about you and your family? We don't have any kids so our experiment only included 2 subjects. However, I did poll a few of my friends about their family's shower lengths. One indicated that her kids take quick showers 2 OR 3 TIMES A DAY! It is kind of humorous when you start examining personal habits in your life. Lesson Learned: Regardless of where you live and how much your water and energy costs, if you cut down on your shower time, you can potentially save money. This was a fun investigation, and I hope yours is just as entertaining.
Happy Showering!
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Do Grocery Lists Really Help Save You Money?
The Case of the Missing Grocery List
I decided to hang out at my local grocery store to see what I could find out. In the area where you get a cart, I started to watch for people who pull out their lists right from the get go so I cuold observe a few people who did have lists. that proved not to be the best place to start as I was getting a lot of weird, "this must be a stalker type" looks. I resorted to acting like a greeter and offering grocery carts to those who walked up, but store management started to watch me too, so instead of being tagged the Grocery Store Stalker, I decided to move my operation inside.
This ended up being a better plan because once the moms got the kids settled and/or put their purses in the front of the cart, if they had a list, they would typically whip it out at that time. As I observed one mom take out her list while fussing with her 2 kids, I fell into step right behind them with my own cart observing if she stayed on track with her list or not. I felt like a detective tailing a suspect on an episode of Law and Order, which was pretty cool because I had to be creative and throw them off my scent if there ever was a time when they caught on. I think at one point she did suspect I was following her until I moved in and grabbed a jar of peanut butter while asking for her advice on its peanutyness (told you I was a sly one -- peanutyness -- pretty creative huh?). While I got a strange look considering I had absolutely nothing in my cart yet, the kids distracted her enough for me to go around the corner to make my getaway. I decided I was close to blowing my cover, so I started putting more and more stuff in my basket so I would look more authentic. We continued to exchange random pleasantries during the remainder of the grocery quest and ended up going through checkout aisles right next to each other. I observed her checking off everythign on her list one last time during checkout while telling her kids they couldn't have the newest gummy something or other. At that point, I quickly ran my stuff to my car, jotted down a few notes, and went back inside. The "actual" greeter gave me a strange look as I entered the store again with an extra large grocery cart. I just told him I had forgotten a couple of things and hurried on my way.
What I noticed throughout my time in the store was that if a family came through WITH kids but WITHOUT a list, they ended up giving in and throwing a lot of stuff in the cart they obviously hadn't planned on, mainly to shut the kids up. This, in turn, resulted in very high bills that caused more than one argument in the checkout aisle between the parents on spending and buying habits. Again, I paid for my stuff, ran to my car, jotted down some more notes, and went back for more.
One last trip, I decided, and I wanted to find a good group to follow. Luckily a dad and his 9 or 10 year old son had walked in right ahead of me. Perfect, I thought. this should be entertaining, and it didn't disappoint. I did observe the emergence of a list from dad's wallet, but it didn't last long. What I figured out was that the dad didn't normally do the shopping and relied on the son's opinions on what to buy. Once the son caught on, it was all over. "Mom always buys these for us and the large bag too because it lasts longer," I heard the son tell his dad as thebiggest bag of pizza rolls were hurled into the cart. "Yeah, if it is 3 for $10.00, mom will get it because it is a better deal" he stated while putting three, half gallon buckets of ice cream in the cart. During my last trip through the checkout aisle right behind the dad and son combo, there was nothing but defeat and despair washing over the face of the data as he looked again at the list he had tucked away in his wallet, while swiping the debit card through the machine.
I couldn't wait to get to the car and write down my final thoughts. I quickly piled my groceries on the scanner belt, swiped my debit card once again, and raced to the car. While putting my groceries in the back, I started to notice that I had a lot of stuff. A LOT of stuff....holy smokes, what the heck? I had enough food and stuff to last me through the next 20 years. My over abundance of stuff distracted me for just a second as my elation of finding my answer overwhelmed my mood. Lists do help to keep you on track and save money.
By the way, if anyone is interested in buying 12 cases of soda, 14 bags of chips, and 18 boxes of pop tarts, give me a call.
I decided to hang out at my local grocery store to see what I could find out. In the area where you get a cart, I started to watch for people who pull out their lists right from the get go so I cuold observe a few people who did have lists. that proved not to be the best place to start as I was getting a lot of weird, "this must be a stalker type" looks. I resorted to acting like a greeter and offering grocery carts to those who walked up, but store management started to watch me too, so instead of being tagged the Grocery Store Stalker, I decided to move my operation inside.
This ended up being a better plan because once the moms got the kids settled and/or put their purses in the front of the cart, if they had a list, they would typically whip it out at that time. As I observed one mom take out her list while fussing with her 2 kids, I fell into step right behind them with my own cart observing if she stayed on track with her list or not. I felt like a detective tailing a suspect on an episode of Law and Order, which was pretty cool because I had to be creative and throw them off my scent if there ever was a time when they caught on. I think at one point she did suspect I was following her until I moved in and grabbed a jar of peanut butter while asking for her advice on its peanutyness (told you I was a sly one -- peanutyness -- pretty creative huh?). While I got a strange look considering I had absolutely nothing in my cart yet, the kids distracted her enough for me to go around the corner to make my getaway. I decided I was close to blowing my cover, so I started putting more and more stuff in my basket so I would look more authentic. We continued to exchange random pleasantries during the remainder of the grocery quest and ended up going through checkout aisles right next to each other. I observed her checking off everythign on her list one last time during checkout while telling her kids they couldn't have the newest gummy something or other. At that point, I quickly ran my stuff to my car, jotted down a few notes, and went back inside. The "actual" greeter gave me a strange look as I entered the store again with an extra large grocery cart. I just told him I had forgotten a couple of things and hurried on my way.
What I noticed throughout my time in the store was that if a family came through WITH kids but WITHOUT a list, they ended up giving in and throwing a lot of stuff in the cart they obviously hadn't planned on, mainly to shut the kids up. This, in turn, resulted in very high bills that caused more than one argument in the checkout aisle between the parents on spending and buying habits. Again, I paid for my stuff, ran to my car, jotted down some more notes, and went back for more.
One last trip, I decided, and I wanted to find a good group to follow. Luckily a dad and his 9 or 10 year old son had walked in right ahead of me. Perfect, I thought. this should be entertaining, and it didn't disappoint. I did observe the emergence of a list from dad's wallet, but it didn't last long. What I figured out was that the dad didn't normally do the shopping and relied on the son's opinions on what to buy. Once the son caught on, it was all over. "Mom always buys these for us and the large bag too because it lasts longer," I heard the son tell his dad as thebiggest bag of pizza rolls were hurled into the cart. "Yeah, if it is 3 for $10.00, mom will get it because it is a better deal" he stated while putting three, half gallon buckets of ice cream in the cart. During my last trip through the checkout aisle right behind the dad and son combo, there was nothing but defeat and despair washing over the face of the data as he looked again at the list he had tucked away in his wallet, while swiping the debit card through the machine.
I couldn't wait to get to the car and write down my final thoughts. I quickly piled my groceries on the scanner belt, swiped my debit card once again, and raced to the car. While putting my groceries in the back, I started to notice that I had a lot of stuff. A LOT of stuff....holy smokes, what the heck? I had enough food and stuff to last me through the next 20 years. My over abundance of stuff distracted me for just a second as my elation of finding my answer overwhelmed my mood. Lists do help to keep you on track and save money.
By the way, if anyone is interested in buying 12 cases of soda, 14 bags of chips, and 18 boxes of pop tarts, give me a call.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Holiday Savings
As I did my patriotic duty last night and watched the tremendous display of fireworks blasting into the night sky, I started to wonder about the choices people make with their money.
I live in an area where there is a lot of flat land, thus the ability to see a span of 5-10 miles by pivoting my head 180 degrees. At about 9:30 PM last night, the 4th of July light shows started. I, along with my boyfriend and neighbors, sat out in our backyards for the free show.
Money saving tip Number 1: If you can enjoy fireworks or similar public displays for free, i.e., no gas cost for driving, no parking fee, no entry fee, etc., the better.
As we sat and watched the tennis match of colors and noises, looking from side to side to span the open 5 mile range, I started to wonder, how on earth do these people have the money to spend on fireworks. Please note that these are not professional shows, although I would have to say that the show last night would rival any that I have attended in my lifetime.
While the shows were pretty spectacular, I started adding up the cost of each light popping in the sky during each minute that we watched, which turned into over an hour. Now I know that you can go to the fireworks stands and get a deal, "Buy One Get One Free" all the way up to "Buy One Get Eleven Free" and so forth, but I can tell you, the fireworks we saw last night did not come from the Free Bin. No, these fireworks were easily $100 - $200 a pop, and from what I could tell, totaled in the $1000's all for my viewing pleasure last night.
Money saving tip Number 2: Take advantage of the Buy One Get Some Free deals, but stay within your budget.
All of this rehashing of last night's events brings me to my final thought of the evening, which was, with the price of gas going up and people having to call into work the day before payday because they don't have enough money to get to work, how on earth did they have money to spend on fireworks? Fireworks that are beautiful and loud and prestigious and celebratory, but that last all of a few seconds on one night of the year, make me question their return on investment. Are the people who purchase these fireworks trying to show off for their friends or just spending some time being a legal pyromaniac? While I understand the need to feed our ego and our quest for power over fire, I also know our need for food, clothing and shelter far outweighs any 4th of July display. Therefore, were my hosts last night the ones that could afford the fireworks or the ones that should have put the money toward their basic needs? Unfortunately, I think they were of the second group, which leads me to this. Money, both making and saving it, it all about choices.
So, finally,
Money saving tip Number 3: Make educated, calculated, and logical choices when it comes to money.
I am not saying, don't have a little fun along the way, but think about how you are using your money with a little more forethought than that of a few seconds of patriotic bliss.
Needless to say, I had a very nice time last night and enjoyed the fireworks shows (and I do mean shows because I could see about 8 separate ones from the comfort of my own backyard). But, I did it without spending any money, which in this day and age, it a big win.
Good luck to all of you in finding these kinds of deals in your future.
I live in an area where there is a lot of flat land, thus the ability to see a span of 5-10 miles by pivoting my head 180 degrees. At about 9:30 PM last night, the 4th of July light shows started. I, along with my boyfriend and neighbors, sat out in our backyards for the free show.
Money saving tip Number 1: If you can enjoy fireworks or similar public displays for free, i.e., no gas cost for driving, no parking fee, no entry fee, etc., the better.
As we sat and watched the tennis match of colors and noises, looking from side to side to span the open 5 mile range, I started to wonder, how on earth do these people have the money to spend on fireworks. Please note that these are not professional shows, although I would have to say that the show last night would rival any that I have attended in my lifetime.
While the shows were pretty spectacular, I started adding up the cost of each light popping in the sky during each minute that we watched, which turned into over an hour. Now I know that you can go to the fireworks stands and get a deal, "Buy One Get One Free" all the way up to "Buy One Get Eleven Free" and so forth, but I can tell you, the fireworks we saw last night did not come from the Free Bin. No, these fireworks were easily $100 - $200 a pop, and from what I could tell, totaled in the $1000's all for my viewing pleasure last night.
Money saving tip Number 2: Take advantage of the Buy One Get Some Free deals, but stay within your budget.
All of this rehashing of last night's events brings me to my final thought of the evening, which was, with the price of gas going up and people having to call into work the day before payday because they don't have enough money to get to work, how on earth did they have money to spend on fireworks? Fireworks that are beautiful and loud and prestigious and celebratory, but that last all of a few seconds on one night of the year, make me question their return on investment. Are the people who purchase these fireworks trying to show off for their friends or just spending some time being a legal pyromaniac? While I understand the need to feed our ego and our quest for power over fire, I also know our need for food, clothing and shelter far outweighs any 4th of July display. Therefore, were my hosts last night the ones that could afford the fireworks or the ones that should have put the money toward their basic needs? Unfortunately, I think they were of the second group, which leads me to this. Money, both making and saving it, it all about choices.
So, finally,
Money saving tip Number 3: Make educated, calculated, and logical choices when it comes to money.
I am not saying, don't have a little fun along the way, but think about how you are using your money with a little more forethought than that of a few seconds of patriotic bliss.
Needless to say, I had a very nice time last night and enjoyed the fireworks shows (and I do mean shows because I could see about 8 separate ones from the comfort of my own backyard). But, I did it without spending any money, which in this day and age, it a big win.
Good luck to all of you in finding these kinds of deals in your future.
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