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For the big expenses (i.e. Rent and Car), I shop around and try to pay the minimum amount that'll buy me the minimum conditions I'll tolerate. Then I use the money saved to indulge on the little things.. I don't really splurge but I won't skimp either.
I've tried the opposite for a while in the past (good car, good apartment, skimping on food, entertainment, etc.) and I found myself happier doing the former, not the latter (not to mention saving more money as well.)
I suppose those of us in the frugal club have heard the phrase about pennies becoming nickels, nickels dimes, dimes quarters, etc....well.....
-- Idling your car (while waiting for someone to run into a store or picking someone up from work)
-- Leaving lights and appliances on (if leaving the house for 15 mins or less)
-- running water while brushing teeth
Do you think little things like this add up?...or not?
Do you do them?
Are they too little "waste" to worry about?
Any other behaviors you can think of that fall into this category?
I already don't do any of the above listed things. For things that take little effort, it's good to conserve. I do believe the little things add up...but it's like anything....if your rent/mortgage is more than 1/3 of your gross income, cutting back on your water and electricity usage or cutting the cable TV is not going to be enough to make a difference.
But if you are living a pretty frugal lifestyle, doing those few extra things and saving/investing the difference does add up over time.
$50 a month put in a plain vanilla mutual fund like Vanguard Balanced Index (60% Stock / 40% bonds) would yield:
$8428 after 10 years
$24471 after 20 years
$54748 after 30 years.
Not a fortune, but not bad for making nearly painless sacrifices.
If u can't save 10k a year, u r 1 sad sack! 20 years of investing that much yourself should make u a millionaire, easily, and retire u, except for the investing, in 10years
I already don't do any of the above listed things. For things that take little effort, it's good to conserve. I do believe the little things add up...but it's like anything....if your rent/mortgage is more than 1/3 of your gross income, cutting back on your water and electricity usage or cutting the cable TV is not going to be enough to make a difference.
But if you are living a pretty frugal lifestyle, doing those few extra things and saving/investing the difference does add up over time.
$50 a month put in a plain vanilla mutual fund like Vanguard Balanced Index (60% Stock / 40% bonds) would yield:
$8428 after 10 years
$24471 after 20 years
$54748 after 30 years.
Not a fortune, but not bad for making nearly painless sacrifices.
All is well and good until you factor in inflation. That;s the killer.
With inflation the little things really do not add up.
It;s similar to people still picking up pennies. One could pick up 10k pennies each year for the next 30 years and I assure you that it will not make a significant difference in your life over those 30 years.
Just to keep up with inflation that same person would need to recoup 4.5-5.5% a year (if the past 30 years serve as any indication).
I shop around and try to pay the minimum amount that'll buy me the minimum conditions I'll tolerate. Then I use the money saved to indulge on the little things.. I don't really splurge but I won't skimp either.
Speaking of tolerating something...my friends think I'm crazy for the way I delay putting on the heat and AC every year....but it saves me about 400.00 a year. (Yet. of course, I splurge on eating out!)
I'll freeze my butt off -- for as along as I can -- Freezing when I get up in the middle of the night, or get out of the shower) to delay turning on the heat in winter. I play a mental game with myself -- seeing if I can go later and later every year. This year MD had a VERY mild winter. Didn't turn the heat on until February. Even had thoughts of trying to make all winter with NO heat! I know that's likely never going to happen -- but hey, if global warming keeps up -- maybe!
Then in summer I sweat like a pig into July/August before I turn on the AC. The first couple of years in this house I never turned all the air conditioning all summer. I used fans.
Then with friends teasing me, and me getting older, I have been thinking WHY am I sweating and freezing like this when I make a good living, and can afford NOT to freeze and sweat like this.
Even so, I don't know if I'll ever turn on the AC or heat as soon as it gets hot or cold.
The little things DO add up, just not the things that the OP mentions,
The little things are all reoccuring expenses. Do you have 'services' which appear on a given bill but you don't bother to look into them? Example are you paying 'rent' on your internet router from the cable company? 120/yr for a 40.00 router?
When was the last time you seriously examined your auto insurance bill and shopped it for price?
Have you insulated your attic? properly ventilated your attic? Insulated the to hatch to the attic.
Examined the sort of lifestyle that you have and how it affects your budget i.e. go to movies on the sale night vs. Friday night.
Any of these individually have a greater return than shutting off the water while brushing your teeth and taken together they can make a huge difference in your finances.
If u can't save 10k a year, u r 1 sad sack! 20 years of investing that much yourself should make u a millionaire, easily, and retire u, except for the investing, in 10years
A millionaire? Not even close. Even investing $10K per year in a top notch mutual fund like Mairs & Power Growth, which returned 11.68% over the last 20 years would only have yielded $797,380.16
Yes, over time, year after year, the little things add up. Frugal living is an attitude that for me, means its comes into consideration with anything with money; turning off unused lights, paying less for gasoline, buying on sale. It doesn't mean I drive cross town to save 5 cents on a gallon of gasoline. That's just dumb. BUt it does mean, I don't senselessly waste money. Why buy the name brand tomato sause, when the store brand is just as good, and its 10 cents a can less. Why go to Chili's for a hamburger, when I can go to a locally owned resturant, buy a good hamburger for less, avoid the waiter and the tip, and save $4 on a meal? I wouldn't even consider myself frugal, since in some cases I spend money on fun stuff, like cable, hobbies, etc. I just don't believe in paying $10 for something when the $8 item will do the job or service me just as well.
I suppose those of us in the frugal club have heard the phrase about pennies becoming nickels, nickels dimes, dimes quarters, etc....well.....
-- Idling your car (while waiting for someone to run into a store or picking someone up from work)
-- Leaving lights and appliances on (if leaving the house for 15 mins or less)
-- running water while brushing teeth
Do you think little things like this add up?...or not?
Do you do them?
Are they too little "waste" to worry about?
Any other behaviors you can think of that fall into this category?
Some add up and some are trade offs. For example, idling your car is a trade off between the gas you use idling and the wear and tear on the starter starting the engine back up. Now, coasting on long exit ramps or up to stop lights is a cost save. This practice alone increases my gas mileage by about 4%. Turning the water off while brushing your teeth, undoubtedly, saves water but you need to make sure you're flushing enough water down the drain to clear the trap lest you end up with a plumbers bill. I just turn lights off when I leave the house because you never know when 15 minutes turns into half an hour.
Yes, over time, year after year, the little things add up. Frugal living is an attitude that for me, means its comes into consideration with anything with money; turning off unused lights, paying less for gasoline, buying on sale. It doesn't mean I drive cross town to save 5 cents on a gallon of gasoline. That's just dumb. BUt it does mean, I don't senselessly waste money. Why buy the name brand tomato sause, when the store brand is just as good, and its 10 cents a can less. Why go to Chili's for a hamburger, when I can go to a locally owned resturant, buy a good hamburger for less, avoid the waiter and the tip, and save $4 on a meal? I wouldn't even consider myself frugal, since in some cases I spend money on fun stuff, like cable, hobbies, etc. I just don't believe in paying $10 for something when the $8 item will do the job or service me just as well.
Watch paying less for gasoline. The gas station that has the cheapest gas on my route to work sells gas that has 15% ethanol and my gas mileage drops when I use it. It's actually cheaper for me to pay more for gas and not get that much ethanol.
I'm like you. Frugal about some things so I can spend money on others. I like my internet and cable. Turning off the water, the lights and watching my gas mileage helps to pay for them.
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