Ok, so we have all heard the typical compensatory measures: carpool, walk, drive under 55 mph, and hybrid-wind-powered-green-echo-cruiser-sedan-thingy-ma-bob (Eddie Bauer Edition).
The simple fact is that we are all paying at least $20.00 more for gasoline then we were a year ago – probably more. Conservation of gas in your tank alone will not cover this margin.
So here are 5 changes to your lifestyle that have nothing to do with your driving habits or the amount of gasoline you consume. These are changes that will free up dollars you would otherwise spend when you didn’t really have to.
- Quit Smoking:A pack of cigarettes on average will cost you $6.50 per pack. If you smoke one pack a day then you will save $45.50 per week. Also consider long term economics of reduced healthcare expenses from smoking complications.
- Cook: When I order Chinese food I usually pay about $7 for a combo platter, $2 for a bottle of soda, and then throw in a $5 tip. With tax that is a $15.00 meal. If you cook your own food you can eat a healthier meal for about $3.00 if you’re careful. Do this 3 times per week and you have saved $36.00/week
- “Adjust yourself”: Do you break a sweat and blast the AC when the temperature hits 78 degrees? Do you shiver and crank up the heat in the winter? As I once told my good friend and fellow Babeler Mr. Rineberg - Discipline yourself to tolerate an additional 5 degrees of hot or cold. The exact amount you save will depend on weather, the size of your house, and the efficiency of your home/appliances. Estimated savings $15.00 per week.
- Buy Generic Brand Groceries: Check out the handsome devil in the fashionable flood boots on the About Page and you will notice right next to him is his signature can of Shop Right Pork and Beans. Besides delicious, these beans are also about 30% cheaper than their Bush’s Baked Beans counterpart. Unsure which is the cheaper buy? Take notice of the unit price. This will tell you if you’re saving money or not. Apply this figure to your entire shopping cart and you have saved 30% on your entire bill. Estimated saving: $25.00 per week per person.
- Pack Lunch: A lunch at a restaurant or even convenience store will cost you any where from $8-$20. You can pack a lunch for about $3.00. Here’s a hint – make use of those left-overs from that dinner you cooked last night instead of ordering pizza. Estimated savings: $30.00 per week.
Now, some of these changes to one’s lifestyle require a certain level of discomfort. But you have to admit, each one of these will leave you a somewhat healthier, thriftier, and more self sufficient consumer.
Who knows, you might even be able to look at the dial on that gas pump and feel just a 2nd degree burn instead of a flamethrower to your rear end.
~Man Overboard
I just had my first interview today (these guys are in Las Vegas now) and was so...
16 Comments
Great post. I don’t think I know anyone who uses their savings strictly for the bare necessities of life. Let’s face it, we Americans live in the mecca of consumption and we all have a bunch of ridiculous habits which are based on unnecessary indulgence.
We all complain when we need to pay more to survive, but how often have we ever lived to just survive. I can’t think of any time in my life I’ve just survived. So why the hell do I complain?
For me personally, packing lunch would be a big money saver. At least I don’t have a far drive to work so it is not too big of a concern…
Excellent post Jack. A couple of things surprised me. First, the quit smoking. It is nice to see that is an option for you. A few years when this topic was brought up you told me you would quit when you had kids and your lungs would recover. That and the anti smoking commercials just made you want to smoke more.
Second thing that surprised me is who you sounded like. Two of your heroes Ralph Nader and Jimmy Carter. Whether you like or dislike Nader he has made a yeoman’s effort in his life time to educate consumers.
When Carter was in the white house and soaring gas prices were crippling the economy he urged Americans to “Put on a sweater”. He got severe criticism for that statement but he was right then and you are right now.
I’m not trying to bust chops. I will however repeat. We are more alike then you think.
-The Keekers
Keek, are you trying to give Jack an existential meltdown?
(with extreme testosterone filled deep grandfather voice)..
In a world…
where both of our cars were completely underwater…
A new wind was about to blow…
(louder and deeper voice)
THIS SUMMER…
Man Overboard realizes the existentialism within.
Has anyone gone without Tv for a whole year? I’m thinking of giving it up after my Comcast package runs out.
Andrew, let me know how that goes. I’ll give up my TV right after I give up eating meat.
Oh that’s right, you went on a meat eating hiatus too…
From my cold, dead hands El Blanco…cold, dead hands
Good post. The guy who runs The Simple Dollar has run a lot of frugality posts in the past few months. Some of them are wacky (do I really want to make my own laundry detergent? Not really.) but others are good suggestions, like making trail mix and other snack packs.
Any financial advisor will tell you that the little budget adjustments aren’t worth it. Creating discomfort in your lifestyle for $100-$200 a month is discouraging to people and usually results in non-compliance with the spending habit adjustments. That’s not necessarily saying that these are bad suggestions, but be careful because you can realize much larger economic benefits in other ways:
1. If you have a mortgage, investigate refinancing your home at a lower interest rate.
2. If you have equity in a home, use it to consolidate your other high interest-bearing debt (credit cards, personal loans) by getting a home equity loan.
3. If you are currently saving money, take a look at what debt you could pay down with those savings to produce a better long-term financial position.
4. Go to an accountant for help with your income taxes. Do this before you need to file your taxes so that you can get good advice on what to retain in your records for deductions.
5. Save 15% on your car insurance by switching to Geico.
You could always just buy a small fuel economy car too.
Hey Jaybird!
Is the “gas crisis” really Rush Limbaugh’s Phase Two of Operation Chaos? Has the secret, right wing elitist conspiracy pulled off the Operation Swift Boat of the 2008 election? Will President Bush vow to veto the appropriation bill due in September if it contains the one year extension of the congressional ban on drilling in the U.S.? If Bush vetos the bill, the U.S.Government will shut down one month before the election. Will the “Drill-now” advocates win the PR battle. Or will the “Pay-more” leftists somehow bamboozle the American public again? Could this be the defining issue in 2008?
That is the dumbest thing I have ever heard. Nice right-wing elitist conspiracy diversion tactic.
Besides, I am a huge proponent of off shore drilling. It will increase gross domestic business investments in capital equipment, possibly increase payrolls, and reduce the trade deficit. These things combine to form a stronger economy and a stronger dollar. The stronger dollar coupled with higher oil supply closer to home will reduce distribution and overall cost per barrel.
I am not a leftist Gundabar. We’ve gone through this before but your close-mindedness presents itself again thus making you look foolish.
Jason: You never never responded to the notion that the Republicans have an issue that they could easily exploit. What do you think would happen if Bush announced he would veto any appropriation bill that contained a ban on drilling? Would the Democrats collapse and remove the ban or would they take it on the chin in November or would it mean nothing at all?
I respond in this way: it doesn’t have to be Democrat and Republican. It should be, “What is best for the nation and our citizens?”
So, if both parties know what is good for them, they will compromise. “It is exactly the ability to compromise that makes a man noble” – Robert the Bruce’s dad in Braveheart.
Bush SHOULD veto any bill that contains a ban on offshore drilling. What he won’t do, but what he should do, is also veto any bill that comes across his desk without provisions for other energy sources. And I’m not necessarily talking about the tree-hugging green-eco whatever that I expect you to get out of this statement. I’m talking Nuclear. I’m talking more research for fusion. And, just because they are now viewed with negative eyes by the conservative masses, doesn’t mean that the alternative energy sources are all bad ideas. Wind, solar and other alternatives should be explored and funding for it should be a part of the bill.
Politically, I do not care at all who wins if they aren’t focused on doing what is best for our country.
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