LadyGeek wrote: ↑Thu Jun 03, 2021 3:53 pm
A frugal tip which I've done before (but not today): If you are paying by the pound, don't use twist ties on the vegetable plastic bags. It's extra weight that you're paying for.
RiotAct wrote: ↑Thu Jun 03, 2021 5:54 pm
what does one of those things weigh, like a tenth of a gram?
LadyGeek wrote: ↑Thu Jun 03, 2021 6:35 pm
Probably, but it was the concept that bugged me more than anything (not part of the tare weight).
I thought I was the only one who didn't put a twisty on before weighing.
4" twists weigh less than one half of a thousandth of a pound (i.e. < 0.0005 lbs.).
The tolerance on a commercial grocery scale able to weigh a few pounds is either one hundredth of a pound, or half of that. (i.e. 0.01 or 0.005 lbs.).
At worst, the tie thingy weighs one tenth of the scale tolerance; the scale is not able to tell if it is there, or not.
You guys can tie your bags and avoid spilling your quinoa without any consequence.
Shorty wrote: ↑Tue Jun 01, 2021 5:46 pm
Sit here and read this forum...
Exactly! I am reading this forum using my 8-year-old Macbook Pro, and all the other electricity-using appliances except my frig, including all the lights, are turned off.
I made my own pour-over coffee with coffee beans from Costco. I don't even know how much two 12-ounce cups of pour-over coffee would cost at Starbucks... I am too lazy to walk over there, anyway
We mowed our own lawn ( 1 acre). Neighbor says he was charged $95 to have his mowed. We have stuff that has to be moved, etc., so it would be more I am sure. And cleaned house before the kids came. ( costs about $100 a pop). We are way ahead today.
Homemade pizza (will make again for lunch tomorrow to dollar cost average ingredients) at end of staycation weekend, just a free concert in town and nearby beer hall next day with friends now drinking Costco box wine debating with wife on which movie to watch on TV on already paid for streaming service while dishwasher runs on quick and dry short cycle sitting in living room illuminated by warm LEDs instead of tungsten bulbs while ceiling fan is on pushing air down so thermostat can be a bit higher - that's all I've got great thread.
Brother In Law (who is an environmentalist) brought me a 50 year old manual mower (one with visible spinning blades) two weeks ago and I’ve been using it ever since. No gas, no oil, no filter. My yard is quite big so it’s great exercise. I also find satisfaction that the environmentalist doesn’t see the irony in the fact that he still uses gas mower on his tiny yard and his “works for evil utility” brother in law uses the manual mower. Life is weird.
Well… one of the motorhome windows had a mechanical issue on the last trip. The repair person solution is to replace the entire window, which is easy from a labor perspective, but costs hundreds for the new window, and windows are back ordered for months. So I painstakingly took the window apart, figured out what was wrong, bought $40 worth of parts, and spent several hours fixing it.
And then broke the glass as I was finishing up. So now I need to order a new window tomorrow.
While it wasn’t saving me money, I took my friends bicycle cranks that had a stripped bolt on the chainring and got it out. New cranks cost $200 bucks and he was about to go buy one. You could say he owes me a few beers
quantAndHold wrote: ↑Sun Jun 20, 2021 9:04 pm
Well… one of the motorhome windows had a mechanical issue on the last trip. The repair person solution is to replace the entire window, which is easy from a labor perspective, but costs hundreds for the new window, and windows are back ordered for months. So I painstakingly took the window apart, figured out what was wrong, bought $40 worth of parts, and spent several hours fixing it.
And then broke the glass as I was finishing up. So now I need to order a new window tomorrow.
I guess it’s the thought that counts on this one.
Don't count yourself out yet.
Call a local glass shop and see if they can replace glass, if you remove window and bring it in?
d.r.a., not dr.a. | I'm a novice investor; you are forewarned.
Outside at dawn before the heat sets in...a side wall to the old abandoned septic tank collapsed and the contractor is going to be coming to collapse it and fill it in with gravel. I've removed all of the brick pathway, most of the plants I want to save. I have pruned way back the tops and the roots on a few shrubs and this morning I watered them well. I'll keep them that way until closer to the date of the job when I will lift them and put them in 5 gallon containers I have saved over the years.
In anticipation of the arrival of the backhoe, I have had to move my pile of mulched leaves which I did not use up yet from the fall. Those I can use to amend the soil when I replant.
Between saving the plants, bricks and doing all the landscaping and hardscaping work myself, I'm saving several hundred dollars.
(Good thing I like to do this kind of work.)
"History is the memory of time, the life of the dead and the happiness of the living." Captain John Smith 1580-1631
Afty wrote: ↑Sat Jan 06, 2018 1:04 am
Replaced the engine air filters and cabin air filter in my car by myself today. Super easy and saved probably $50 vs. having it done at a shop.
There are actual car owners who pay someone else to replace their engine and cabin air filters?
Most cabin air filters are relatively easy to change,but at least one requires several non intuitive steps,including one which requires removing the glove compartment turning on the car and placing the vent in recirculate mode to open a diverter, switching the ignition off, cutting the now exposed air grate out , and discarding it, which then allows you to swap the filter,then you reinstall the glove compartment.
quantAndHold wrote: ↑Sun Jun 20, 2021 9:04 pm
Well… one of the motorhome windows had a mechanical issue on the last trip. The repair person solution is to replace the entire window, which is easy from a labor perspective, but costs hundreds for the new window, and windows are back ordered for months. So I painstakingly took the window apart, figured out what was wrong, bought $40 worth of parts, and spent several hours fixing it.
And then broke the glass as I was finishing up. So now I need to order a new window tomorrow.
I guess it’s the thought that counts on this one.
Don't count yourself out yet.
Call a local glass shop and see if they can replace glass, if you remove window and bring it in?
It’s double paned, frameless, tempered safety glass. Kind of a specialty item. There are companies that can just redo the individual window instead of me having to order the frame and everything, but I’m not sure it’s going to be any cheaper. Calling around and getting prices…
I found a really nice polo shirt for $16.90 on Amazon (XXL tall), and a great pair of Jersey shorts for $10.70. Both perfectly good and will likely last me for years.
I ignored the thread on this forum about being able to spend 5% of my net worth on a car. I happily drove my 2019 hybrid Honda Accord, feeling comfortable that I'll be driving it possibly for a decade.
I realized this morning that my three pounds of delicious coffee beans from Costco are going to last me about a month. I think the three-pound package was about $13, and I love my two cups of pour-over coffee each day.
Afty wrote: ↑Sat Jan 06, 2018 1:04 am
Replaced the engine air filters and cabin air filter in my car by myself today. Super easy and saved probably $50 vs. having it done at a shop.
There are actual car owners who pay someone else to replace their engine and cabin air filters?
Most cabin air filters are relatively easy to change,but at least one requires several non intuitive steps,including one which requires removing the glove compartment turning on the car and placing the vent in recirculate mode to open a diverter, switching the ignition off, cutting the now exposed air grate out , and discarding it, which then allows you to swap the filter,then you reinstall the glove compartment.
Yup. My Infiniti required removing the glove box and parts of the dash. It was a pain, and I worried about breaking the brittle plastic fasteners. Did it myself anyway, though.
My 2018 post above was about our Kia Sorento, which is super easy to change the cabin air filter on. I haven’t yet encountered engine air filters that are difficult to change.
I ordered a bread maker that was on sale at Amazon. Then I thought about how often I was actually going to use it, how little bread my family actually eats, how much counter space it would take up, etc. Then I canceled the order.
Afty wrote: ↑Sat Jan 06, 2018 1:04 am
Replaced the engine air filters and cabin air filter in my car by myself today. Super easy and saved probably $50 vs. having it done at a shop.
There are actual car owners who pay someone else to replace their engine and cabin air filters?
Most cabin air filters are relatively easy to change,but at least one requires several non intuitive steps,including one which requires removing the glove compartment turning on the car and placing the vent in recirculate mode to open a diverter, switching the ignition off, cutting the now exposed air grate out , and discarding it, which then allows you to swap the filter,then you reinstall the glove compartment.
Yup. My Infiniti required removing the glove box and parts of the dash. It was a pain, and I worried about breaking the brittle plastic fasteners. Did it myself anyway, though.
My 2018 post above was about our Kia Sorento, which is super easy to change the cabin air filter on. I haven’t yet encountered engine air filters that are difficult to change.
I do a lot of our car maintenance and would never pay someone to change an engine or cabin filter, but the first time we changed the engine filter in our 2017 jetta there were some curse words. Took us (yes, you pretty much need two pairs of hands) probably 45 minutes that first time. We have done it twice since and now it's a 15-20min job. I would bet most owners of vehicles with this engine (1.4t) pay someone to change it, and it costs $110 to do so at the local dealer. Ridiculous German engineering. The cabin air filter is ironically the easiest of any vehicle I have ever owned and takes 3 minutes tops.
Afty wrote: ↑Sat Jan 06, 2018 1:04 am
Replaced the engine air filters and cabin air filter in my car by myself today. Super easy and saved probably $50 vs. having it done at a shop.
There are actual car owners who pay someone else to replace their engine and cabin air filters?
Most cabin air filters are relatively easy to change,but at least one requires several non intuitive steps,including one which requires removing the glove compartment turning on the car and placing the vent in recirculate mode to open a diverter, switching the ignition off, cutting the now exposed air grate out , and discarding it, which then allows you to swap the filter,then you reinstall the glove compartment.
Yup. My Infiniti required removing the glove box and parts of the dash. It was a pain, and I worried about breaking the brittle plastic fasteners. Did it myself anyway, though.
My 2018 post above was about our Kia Sorento, which is super easy to change the cabin air filter on. I haven’t yet encountered engine air filters that are difficult to change.
I do a lot of our car maintenance and would never pay someone to change an engine or cabin filter, but the first time we changed the engine filter in our 2017 jetta there were some curse words. Took us (yes, you pretty much need two pairs of hands) probably 45 minutes that first time. We have done it twice since and now it's a 15-20min job. I would bet most owners of vehicles with this engine (1.4t) pay someone to change it, and it costs $110 to do so at the local dealer. Ridiculous German engineering. The cabin air filter is ironically the easiest of any vehicle I have ever owned and takes 3 minutes tops.
I changed cabin air filter for the first time this past weekend. Took me about 10 minutes. A local repair guy used to do this for 50 bucks. Also changed engine air filter. Don't remember how much dealership used to charge for this. But I imagine at least 30 bucks for the labor. Took me over 30 minutes to change. Got the filters from Amazon.
"Know what you own, and know why you own it." — Peter Lynch
I roasted a pound of single-origin gourmet coffee for $4 and so I didn’t have to buy a pound of pre-roasted gourmet coffee for $18 plus shipping, also it couldn’t be more fresh! I do this every week.
LilyFleur wrote: ↑Thu Jun 24, 2021 11:41 am
I ignored the thread on this forum about being able to spend 5% of my net worth on a car. I happily drove my 2019 hybrid Honda Accord, feeling comfortable that I'll be driving it possibly for a decade.
I realized this morning that my three pounds of delicious coffee beans from Costco are going to last me about a month. I think the three-pound package was about $13, and I love my two cups of pour-over coffee each day.
I drink mine half strength that way I get twice the cups.
Our toyota rav4 comes with ToyotaCare 2 yrs or 25k miles (whichever comes first) maintenance plan. Ours past two years mark last Dec. It is still under 25k though. I asked the dealer if we could still get a 25k maintenance for free. The answer is yes.
LadyGeek wrote: ↑Thu Jun 03, 2021 3:53 pm
A frugal tip which I've done before (but not today): If you are paying by the pound, don't use twist ties on the vegetable plastic bags. It's extra weight that you're paying for.
RiotAct wrote: ↑Thu Jun 03, 2021 5:54 pm
what does one of those things weigh, like a tenth of a gram?
LadyGeek wrote: ↑Thu Jun 03, 2021 6:35 pm
Probably, but it was the concept that bugged me more than anything (not part of the tare weight).
I thought I was the only one who didn't put a twisty on before weighing.
4" twists weigh less than one half of a thousandth of a pound (i.e. < 0.0005 lbs.).
The tolerance on a commercial grocery scale able to weigh a few pounds is either one hundredth of a pound, or half of that. (i.e. 0.01 or 0.005 lbs.).
At worst, the tie thingy weighs one tenth of the scale tolerance; the scale is not able to tell if it is there, or not.
You guys can tie your bags and avoid spilling your quinoa without any consequence.
Until last year, I had the food scanned without the bags. This was mainly to reduce bag use by combining different varieties into one bag.
SIgned up for HBO Max using my Amex. $25 back on the annual subscription. Family members will now share 3 streaming services costing each of us a total of about $5 per month. Far less than going to the movies.
I got a $10+ credit on my electric bill. On days of expected high usage ComEd sends an email with the time range. If you use less electricity during that period (I'm not sure of the exact formula), they give you a credit. It was 2pm-6pm on this hot day. Since I wasn't home except for 30 minutes of that it was easy to turn of the central air. These credit opportunities usually only come a handful of times during the summer.
livelovelaugh00 wrote: ↑Fri Jun 25, 2021 6:58 am
Our toyota rav4 comes with ToyotaCare 2 yrs or 25k miles (whichever comes first) maintenance plan. Ours past two years mark last Dec. It is still under 25k though. I asked the dealer if we could still get a 25k maintenance for free. The answer is yes.
quantAndHold wrote: ↑Sun Jun 20, 2021 9:04 pm
Well… one of the motorhome windows had a mechanical issue on the last trip. The repair person solution is to replace the entire window, which is easy from a labor perspective, but costs hundreds for the new window, and windows are back ordered for months. So I painstakingly took the window apart, figured out what was wrong, bought $40 worth of parts, and spent several hours fixing it.
And then broke the glass as I was finishing up. So now I need to order a new window tomorrow.
Went to a $6 car wash in SoCal. Vacuumed for unlimited time.
Do these things exist in the SF Bay Area? I've never washed my car in the SF Bay Area. They always get the wash after making the trip southbound on I-5.
Well it wasn't today, but about a month and a half ago I shopped for new suppliers for both our gas and electricity. Found extremely low rates for both and switched. As a bonus, it was right before we opened the pool, so I saved nicely on the initial heat up with the gas and the electric throughout the summer for the pump. Now if I didn't have a pool at all I'd save a lot more! But, alas, the wife and kids love it, so I save where I can.
Saturday, the day where many Americans go to their weekend getaway location, go out to eat, sporting events, concerts, etc, me and the kids had a blast in our FREE backyard pool. It's an 18 foot Coleman that a cousin used gently for 1 year before upgrading then handed it down to us. We played wiffle ball and cooled off in the pool in between innings. And our meal was tasty left overs. Real frugal!
As for the pool, if anyone cares, my only true costs so far have been:
$400 upgraded ladder
$120 replacement pump/parts
$40 in liquid chlorine that should last much of the summer
$13 stabilizer
$2.50 baking soda
some toys, temperature guage, and a vacuum
Water and electricity. Unsure of the cost but probably under $100.
Fixed our 60 year old Farberware Coffee percolator.... hope she makes it another 60 years.... I won't. Making great, hot coffee again. And looks SO good doing it!
oldlongbeard wrote: ↑Sat Jun 26, 2021 5:52 pm
Fixed our 60 year old Farberware Coffee percolator.... hope she makes it another 60 years.... I won't. Making great, hot coffee again. And looks SO good doing it!
One set of my grandparents had a beautiful double pot-bellied Sunbeam percolator back in the 60's-70s.
Wow! https://www.route8auctions.com/lots/27738
At home we had the aluminum stovetop kind with a glass knob/perc indicator on top. Utterly fascinating to this 3-year-old.
Frugally: Extra-jumbo shrimp and homemade cocktail sauce tonight! The shrimp was $5/lb on sale!
oldlongbeard wrote: ↑Sat Jun 26, 2021 5:52 pm
Fixed our 60 year old Farberware Coffee percolator.... hope she makes it another 60 years.... I won't. Making great, hot coffee again. And looks SO good doing it!
You made me remember.
At a thrift store, a mid-century modern 2-slot Astra Toastmaster toaster was $2. It's a little finicky, but looks cool and does a better/faster job of making toast than my pan frying attempts. Example item: https://picclick.com/Vintage-Retro-Astr ... 12124.html
A Coleman camp percolator was $5. It's okay, takes some watching---take it off heat after 5mins of perking. (A Mr Coffee clone is easier to live with.)
d.r.a., not dr.a. | I'm a novice investor; you are forewarned.
-- While I was reading news, the shoe ads popped up. Beautiful! I added to the cart. Then I emptied the shopping cart. I thought i need to wear the beautiful ones I collected during my wasteful spending years. No more, no more. Saved $90.
-- Another frugal thing today is to prune our trees ourselves instead of hiring landscaper.
-- Every day, I'm happy to see the tomatoe plants i planted among peonies, roses and lily trees. There are over 30 tomato plants. Dreaming about the harvest time to enjoy sun kissed tomatoes.
LadyGeek wrote: ↑Thu Jun 03, 2021 3:53 pm
A frugal tip which I've done before (but not today): If you are paying by the pound, don't use twist ties on the vegetable plastic bags. It's extra weight that you're paying for.
Yikes. This is more extreme than pulling the stem out of an apple before buying it by the pound.
I made my own natto (fermented soy beans). It's quite cheap to make and very expensive (about x10) to buy - very few people make it and I'd have to have it posted to us.
And it's delicious.
Success does not bring happiness. In fact, happiness IS success. |
'There are only two tragedies in life: one is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it.' Oscar Wilde
steve321 wrote: ↑Sun Jun 27, 2021 1:25 am
I made my own natto (fermented soy beans). It's quite cheap to make and very expensive (about x10) to buy - very few people make it and I'd have to have it posted to us.
And it's delicious.
Once I bought natto sushi rolls by mistake. It tasted and smelled so bad I literally flushed it down the toilet.