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These days with the high cost of gas everyone is talking about the cost of ownership of a car, specifically large cars like SUVs and trucks. While the price of gas greatly affects the cost of ownership of a car (as well as affecting your wallet) there are many other ways to think about the cost of ownership in your daily life.
While the initial cost of items on sale seem enticing, it’s important to take a step back and examine the cost of ownership. As the new iPhone came out, many were rushing to get the new phone at the lower price but failed to realize they also had to sign a two year contract with at&t (I keep wanting to type AT&T) for a high-priced plan.
Yesterday, I picked up my dry cleaning and noticed the price to dry clean my new blue blouse was $8.50! I did have a 30% off coupon, but that’s still too expensive. I questioned the expense and was told the design of the blouse with the wrap around ties makes it more time consuming to press. Granted this is a $100 blouse but I only paid $20 for it. I made sure that it was cotton and not silk when I purchased it but didn’t consider the style. My cost of ownership is now 42.5%, so what should I do?
With fuel, food and commodity prices increasing daily, it’s even more important to consider the cost of ownership of an item before we purchase. From printers to coffee makers to clothes the total costs of ownership can quickly add up.
What items have you noticed having a higher cost of ownership (other than kids) today?
We all have routines. We do the same things everyday without thinking about them. Yet, if you step back and examine your daily consumption, you might find ways to cut back. I don’t mean giving up anything, just using less.
To show you what I mean, I will share my daily routine and what items I am now using less.
Morning
I started using half of my regular amount of shampoo and body wash and I still get clean. I don’t have as many suds as before, but I still have enough to get clean. Cutting my conditioner in half really affected my frizzy hair, so that I will not change. So you can see that this one change has cut my shampoo and body wash needs in half.
Noon
Time for lunch. Getting lunch ready I spill something. I would usually tear off a couple of paper towels to clean the mess. Now, I start with one and get more as needed.
Evening
After dinner and dessert I load all the dishes in the dishwasher. I typically wash everything under “Normal Wash” however now that I am taking the time to look at my routines I notice this button on my dishwasher that says “Water Miser.” I try it to see. And yes, it cleaned my dishes just fine. Later I looked in the manual to learn more about this option and learn that using this option not only saves water by 40% but it also heats the water only once instead of twice, thus saving on energy.
These are just a few examples, but you get the jist. Taking the time to examine our everyday product and energy consumptions can lead to savings.
Are there any ways you are using less and still getting the same result? Share them in the comments.
Please share your comments about the content and look and feel of this blog. Or have you been wondering where to find a deal or how to negotiate your new car? This is the time to ask. Leave your questions in the comments and I will try to answer them in future blog posts.
Thanks!
With the unveiling of the new iPhone, many are anxious to upgrade to this new must have gadget. I on the other hand am happy with a phone that is a phone. The Consumerist just posted a timely piece on how to avoid paying early termination fees in order to get the coveted iPhone. While I wouldn’t suggest this as a way to get an iPhone, I would recommend reading the post for those that are looking to get out of your contract for whatever reason.
The degree of success will vary depending on how assertive you are with the customer service representative as well as your luck of the draw of a helpful representative. What the post fails to mention is that while you may not be able to get out of a contract penalty free, you can decrease your penalty. Most cellphone companies now prorate early termination fees. So if you need to get out of you contract, you will only be responsible for paying the early termination fee based on the number of months left on your contract.
Going green doesn’t mean you have to spend a lot of green. Here’s how to get started:
One simple tip to start off with is to get rid of one-time use items like plastic. When we pay attention to how much plastic and paper we use, we can easily see how much we waste. So here are some ways to cut plastic:
1. Purchase a lunch bag/box for you and your kids. Do not put your lunch in a bag you will throw away.
2. Buy small durable plastic containers. Don’t put food items for lunch in Ziploc bags. They are convenient but if you use multiple bags a day, they quickly begin to pose a problem.
3. Buy a water filtration pitcher or system and stop using bottled water. Water bottles are starting to clog up the landfills yet there is no evidence to support the quality of bottled water over filtered tap water. You can either get a simple Brita pitcher or go higher end and get a water filtration/treatment system like the one made by Lotus (I was personally a bottle water snob drinking only Aquafina water and now love the Tersano lotus Water Treatment System
, I can taste the difference.)
For energy efficiency:
1. Buy a power strip for all your home electronics and turn it off at night. Today’s electronics can drain energy even when they are turned off or in Stand by mode. By turning off the electricity source you stop this drainage which can amount to about 10% of the usage over a year’s time.
2. Install a hot water recirculation system. It’s a relatively simple installation and costs around $200 but can save as much as 10,000 gallons a year in water for the typical family.
Real Simple
magazine’s June issue has a great Road Trip Guide. With the high price of gas these days, you really want to make sure your road trip is a pleasant experience and worth the hassle and expense. The guide includes tips on how to pack, where to eat and how to keep kids entertained. My favorite section is the website references. Definitely check out The Bathroom Diaries to map out where the cleanest and safest bathrooms are on your route.
Bon Voyage!
I have been casually working with my daughter on learning the alphabet and numbers. I decided to look into a more structured program and Hooked On Phonics came to mind. I checked out the Hooked On Phonics website to see the range of products offered. I read the reviews on that site as well as a few other sites. There are several different kits available and I decided the best option for me was the Pre-K Deluxe kit. I didn’t want to pay the $99.95 price, so bargain hunting I went.
I did a quick Google search and didn’t find anything special. So then I headed over to Craigslist.org to see if there were any new or like new sets for sale in my local area. Well apparently there were so “new” sets with cassettes but that didn’t sound too exciting to me now that we are in the age of digital music. Next I checked out Costco.com and they had the set including shipping for $59.99. That’s when I hit the Buy button.
The description on the page and on the box differ, so we will see what I actually get. Since it’s Costco I can just return it if it turns out to be the wrong item.
As you might have guessed with me running a website and blog, I like being online. I have been paying my bills online for nearly a decade. I signed up for one of the first online banks. I even pay my daughter’s preschool tuition through my online bank instead of writing a check. (Personal sidenote: My husband and I moved into our current house nearly five years ago and still have not gone through our old checks with our old address. So now we are even more stingy with writing checks because we want to see how long we can go before ordering new checks.)
I pay bills both through bank websites as well as individual company websites. Needless to say I have seen a lot of bill payment options. Yet none have upset me so much as to close my account until last week. I canceled my Wamu credit card. I basically got this card because you can see your credit score for free everytime you log in. I thought this would be a free way to monitor my credit instead of paying for a credit monitoring service.
Another reason I signed up for the card was because I already have other accounts at Wamu and thought I could see everything in one place. Well once I got the card, I found out that the credit cards are actually handled by another company and maintained on a separate website. When it came time to pay my bill I saw that I can’t pay my bill today. Actually I can, but it will cost me $15!!!
I have never had a credit card company penalize me for making a payment the same day. Yes, some have cut off times, but not a total restriction. Several let you pay until midnight of the same day the payment is due. After my second time of encountering this fee I decided enough is enough and canceled the card.
So my word of advice to you is to find out about your online payment options before you sign up for a credit card.
Bank of America has expanded it’s Museums on Us program. Now even more museums in more states are part of the program. You can receive free admission to select museums the first weekend of every month simply by showing any Bank of America card.
Remember this when traveling too. If there isn’t a participating museum in your home state you can take advantage of the offer when you visit another state that is part of the program. You can also add yourself to their mailing list so that when new museums are added you are notified via email.
There has been a lot of discussion recently regarding BPA in plastic containers especially baby bottles. When exposed to heat BPA bottles can leach chemicals into the milk. While the FDA has not actually recalled these products yet, they are doing an extensive study given all the recent concern.
The easiest way to distinguish BPA bottles from BPA-free bottles is to look at the plastic. The hard clear plastic (polycarbonate) has BPA, the milky colored and non clear bottles are BPA free. If you are wondering if your bottles are BPA free or not, this is a great reference source http://safemama.com/2007/11/22/bpa-free-bottle-and-sippy-cup-cheat-sheet/
In an unusually consumer-friendly move Babies R Us and Toys R Us are actually taking back all your old BPA bottles. Now this is not across the board and some stores are not aware of this and some stores will not acknowledge this over the phone, but I can attest it is true. I took back five Dr. Brown’s bottles without receipt to Toys R Us and was a given a store credit with no questions asked.
I first heard about this from BabyCheapkate.com. I think that post has the most number of comments I have ever seen on BabyCheapskate. Many are sharing their stories, so you can see how others have fared with their return attempts.
