Let me explain: We've all seen the media bomb-bard us with how everyone is loosing their house, loosing their job and loosing their retirement savings. Though, I think this is mostly a pile of crap since I still can't find a parking spot within a 1/2 mile of Costco or Wal-Mart and we waited in 1-2 hour lines in Las Vegas for restaurants, I do however think that good will come out of the media's slanted position. Simply stated: debt is dumb financing, and if more people get out of debt, this is good. I sincerely think that most people were in just as much debt last year as they are now, the only thing that has changed after all the hype is now they're realizing that they should stop spending beyond their means and get out of debt.
I personally don't have a problem with debt, thanks mostly to selling our home just before the housing bubble busted and paying off all our debt. That said, all this talk about the economy has prompted me to try do some things differently in order to pump-up our savings and retirement while I believe stocks/funds are on sale. And don't forget that we WILL sail the tropics on a sweet sweet sail boat someday!
In order to increase my savings, I've gone to the ultimate research tool, the internet, and I've been following 15-20 blogs on ways to save money. Most of the ideas are coupon and sale related. It takes some time to learn, but I've got time on my side. Here's a short list of somethings I've done in the last month:
*Refinance our mortgage. Incredible rates are available, though they've climbed in the the last week. I wish we could have gone to a 15 or 20 year loan, but not yet. Savings: $300+/month.
*Called Direct TV, went directly to the cancellation dept. and told them I was switching to Dish Network with their promo offer. They offered to drop their rates for one year. Savings: $23/month.
*We have 3 cars and changing the oil is a priority for me as I plan on keeping them for a long time. Every 3000 miles, the oil/filter gets changed. Taking them to a quick oil change place cost anywhere from $26-$40. It's dirty, but doesn't require much brain power to change the oil myself. It costs approx. $12-$18 for the oil and filter. With three cars changed three times per year, that's a potential savings of $80-$170/year.
*We continue to heat our house with a wood stove. I'm always looking for free wood and good deals in the summer. It takes some work to stack, split and bring the wood inside, but the payoff can be huge. We have a fairly large home and we average about $105-$120/month in electric/gas bills. Talking to other home owners in the area, they pay $250-$300/month in the winter. That's a potential savings of about $2000/year.
*I'm new to coupons, but I'm learning quickly. With the plan of matching coupons with store sales, there are some sweet deals. Ever see the ladies on the news that buy $150 of groceries for only $6.50? Thats what I want to do....except I'm a Man!! (A nurse who uses coupons...but I'm still a man!) We are fortunate to have a large pantry and plenty of space for storage. So the plan is by searching for deals on foods we eat, then stock-piling by buying a bunch at a time. I've already started and I've loaded up on spaghetti sauce ($.46/jar), chili ($.80/can), and cereal ($.99/box). I've learned that most stores and manufactures cycle their sales every 3-4 months, so the method of buying enough for 3-4 months should pay off.
Is anybody wondering what this has to to do with buying a $300 phone? Monica has agreed to let me do the grocery shopping (I know, how nice of her). But with some organization tools that are provided on the iphone including applications that allow for comparative shopping, and the ability to have the internet with me always, I'm sure I can save our family hundreds of dollars per month. It's a huge challenge, but I'm for it. I'll keep you updated.
If you look really close, you can see me, Mon and Abby on the deck. Caleb must be making sandwiches down below.
