Food
- Don’t shop when hungry; it’s harder to resist temptation.
- Watch the cash register ring up items. Count your change. Check the receipt.
- Drink plenty of water and eat 3 light meals a day.
- Avoid eating out.
- Avoid meat – you can get protein through nuts and other food.
- Keep water, snacks, and reducing candy bars (like Slim-fast and Pounds Off) in the car so you don’t pull into a restaurant when hungry.
- Minimize prepared food.
Insurance
- For homeowners and renters insurance, ask for discounts for burglar alarms and smoke detectors.
If you’re handy
- Cut your family’s hair with a kit and thinning shears.
- Do home repairs with the help of books and websites.
- Browse ‘as is’ yards in thrift shops for furniture, appliances, parts, etc.
- Cars over 7 years old don’t depreciate and insurance is lower. Get parts from a junkyard.
Where to shop
- Garage sales and swap meets. Sellers take lower offers toward the end of the day.
- Thrift stores – check periodically as the better items don’t last.
- Outlets for ‘day-old’ bread. Freeze it.
- Auctions through the post office, police depts., etc.
- Outlets for ‘seconds’ and ‘imperfects’ in quality clothing.
Car
- Never buy a new one.
- Never buy a used one without checking its ratings in Consumer Reports Annual Buying Guide and having your mechanic drive it.
- Cars owned by the elderly usually have low mileage.
- Don’t buy a car that’s been in a wreck or has rust. Thus avoid cars from snowy climates.
- Four doors are generally cheaper and easier to sell; station wagons are handy.
- If you repaint, consider white as it doesn’t fade and is cooler in summer.
- Practice ‘preventative maintenance.’
- Wash your car rather than use a car wash.
Legal
- You can often avoid lawyers when you divorce, make a will, sell your house, or file for bankruptcy. If you need one: be clear on fees, be organized, don’t call him much; and don’t use him as a therapist.
- Use mediation, arbitration, and small claims court.
Health
- l0%-30% of doctors visits, medial tests, procedures and surgeries are unnecessary.
- When possible have all tests done in advance on an outpatient basis. Keep copies of the results.
- Treatment in a doctor’s office is the least expensive. It’s more in an outpatient center, and most in the outpatient dept. of a hospital.
- Some immigrant doctors charge less.
- Don’t use inpatient services when outpatient ones are as good.
- Use a community hospital over a teaching hospital.
- Don’t go into a hospital from Friday afternoon through Sunday, unless it’s an emergency.
- Don’t go to a specialist until you need one.
- Get 2nd opinions before surgery. Many insurance plans will pay for this.
- Carefully check your bill.
- Try free samples of prescribed drugs to test for side effects. Later shop around and buy generic drugs in bulk by mail order.
Owning a house
- Vines on the walls cut the summer heat.
- Turbines on the roof let out summer heat. Cover them in winter.
- Insulating the attic (in southern Calif.) pays for itself in 3-4 years, insulating the walls does in l0 years.
- Turn down the temp. on the water heater. Insulating the tank saves $55/yr. Insulate the pipes.
- Carpet and padding cut down on heat lose.
- To the south of the house plant trees which lose leaves in winter and shade the house in summer.
- If repainting, chose white – it doesn’t fade. Buying an airless sprayer for jobs like this can pay for itself in the long run.
- Put in double windows with a high R-value when replacing.
- Buy a carpet machine for rugs, furniture, and car upholstery rather than renting one every year.
Utilities
- Look for an insulated apt. or house.
- Heavy duty door closers on exterior doors keep the heat inside in winter and outside in summer, and they prevent slamming.
- Turn off the furnace pilot light over the summer.
- Turn off the stove’s pilot light and light the stove with a lighter (on the low setting to keep from getting singed).
- Hook up the washer only to cold water. This saves 90% of the cost of washing. Wash only full loads. Dry only full, consecutive loads. Keep filters clean.
- Low-flow shower heads claim to save families up to $250/yr.
- Turn down the water pressure for bathroom and kitchen faucets.
- Use an aerator in the kitchen faucet.
- Don’t use a ‘frost free’ refrigerator. Use one that is partially self-defrosting (you defrost the freezer but not the food compartment). The freezer should be on the bottom. Make sure it has a self-closing door. Don’t put it close to a range, dishwasher, or sunlight. Don’t let the ice get thicker than a pencil. Keep the freezing and food compartments full. This means there is less cold to air to spill out and less space for warm air to enter. Keep the food compart¬ment at 35-45 degrees.
- Use an electronic thermostat which turns the heat down when you’re sleep¬ing. Close up to l/4th of the vents outside the bedrooms.
- An inside/outside thermometer shows when to open and shut windows and doors.
- Close shades and drapes to keep heat in in winter and the sun out in summer.
- A 220 volt air conditioner (if your house is wired for it) is more effi¬cient.
- Mount air conditioner in the shade and wind. Close off rooms not being used.
- A timer for long distance calls.
- A ‘restricted line’ allows unlimited calls within a l2 mile radius for a flat rate (perfect for teens). Be sure it has additions which block collect calls and 3rd party calls.
- A fluorescent bulb in the bedroom ceiling saves $30/year and is cooler.
Garden
- Build a compost pile for fertilizer and mulch.
- Plant things you can eat.
- Automatic sprinklers probably pay for themselves. Water at night.
- A soil sample will show if you need to add elements to your soil. Good soil saves water, fertilizer, and time.