I'm B-A-A-A-A-A-C-K.......

I’ve been missing in action for awhile but felt like writing, so here I am. My thoughts today revolve around the economy and how we’re dealing with it. I’ve been very lucky for the last few years and haven’t had to “count pennies”, however, now we are being much more careful with our money. We really splurged on our recent wedding which left some of our “buffer” accounts close to empty and credit cards with high balances, so it was definitely time to cut back, pare down and remember how to be thrifty.

Here are some of the things we’re doing:

1. Planning menus, making a grocery list, pulling coupons and THEN going shopping. That has not been the methodology for the last few years. Mostly I just bought whatever I felt like buying and never gave it a second thought. Now I’m giving it second and third thoughts.

2. We like matinee movies anyway, so now we are just making a point to go before 6 PM. It’s a lot cheaper. And, I confess, I have an ice cold bottle of Diet Coke in the bottom of my purse as well as something sweet. We do buy the hot fresh popcorn at the refreshment stand, but the rest of our goodies, we bring from home.

3. I’m so thrilled about the price of gas, words can hardly express it. I live in the state with the most expensive gas in the nation, so they tell us, and just a month or two ago it cost me $84 to fill my gas tank. Yesterday I filled up for $32.00. I am a very happy girl! However, when it cost a fortune to fill my tank I got in the habit of not driving so much, doing all my errands on one trip and making a concerted effort to drive the speed limit in order to conserve gas. I am continuing these habits even with my $32 tank of gas.

4. We’ve started buying and using a number of different store brands and, surprisingly, some of them are very good. Example? Albertson’s store brand OJ is half the price of Minute Maid, and the other name brands, and it’s just as good. The Costco store brand of laundry detergent was reputed to be as good as the name brands, so I have read. We decided to give it a try. It works great and costs 1/3 of what the name brand does and I am VERY picky about my laundry.

5. I’m a golfer and this is not a cheap hobby. Fortunately, I have all the equipment I will ever need in this lifetime, or the next, but green fees can be steep at some courses. We are making a point to play at city or county courses where the cost is half or less than private courses. These public courses do not have country club smooth greens and perfectly tailored fairways, however, they are in good condition and perfectly acceptable for casual play.

6. We have programmed the thermostat on the heater so that the house is cold at night (we prefer cold air and warm covers for sleeping) and just comfortable in the daytime. Keeping the temperature consistent, as opposed to frequently running it up and down, is much more cost effective. I definitely see a difference in the gas bill.

7. We joined a program, offered through the electric company, that allowed them to put a “meter” on our AC unit and in the summertime, if electricity is running short, we, along with thousands of other people, have agreed to let them cycle our AC off and on, remotely, in order to manage the electrical needs of a city as large as Los Angeles. The max they might black out our AC, in any one event, would be for 2 hours and in return we are saving a fortune on our electric bill. I just got the current bill and it is down over $100 from previous bills from the same time period. For us this is a no-brainer since we use a swamp cooler in the summer and never turn on the AC anyway. We told them this and they said they didn’t care, we should sign up anyway. So we did. Good move.

8. I like to travel home frequently to see my Mom, who is definitely not getting any younger. This involves plane travel as she is on the other side of the country. I’m due for a trip home and I was concerned about airplane ticket costs and spending money and the overall money that is involved with travel. I solved it by obtaining my ticket through using my frequent flyer miles. I only had to pay $10 in taxes. Then I submitted the latest claim to our healthcare flexible spending account and The Spouse said I can have the check when it comes to use as spending money. So I’m going on a trip, planning lots of fun and visiting and spending nothing out of the budget.

9. I cook for my dogs and have for quite a long time. I would like to tell you this is very cost effective, but in reality, by the time I break down the cost of all ingredients, it is either the same or more than what I would spend by buying high quality dog food. The big difference is that I know they are eating healthy, high quality, people grade food. The financial payoff? Healthy, happy dogs with no vet visits except for routine care. Since a trip to the vet can be just as expensive as one of my trips to an M.D., not going to see the doggy doctor is very cost effective.

10. One of the biggest cost savers for us has been to stop eating fast food and get back to cooking. We ate way, way too much fast food for convenience sake and that stuff is not only bad for you, but it is ridiculously expensive for what you get. I’m remembering how to cook and bake and find that I’m really enjoying it. Plus, it’s a great way to save money! I have been reminded that nothing tastes as good as homemade………

I’ll try to write more. I really do enjoy it.