NW-Bound
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
- Joined
- Jul 3, 2008
- Messages
- 35,712
Two weeks ago, when I introduced myself as a LBYM'er, and bragged about travelling (I thought one should describe his passion), and then shot my mouth off about cognac drinking, I might have made the wrong impression. Some people would wonder what this spendthrift was BS'ing about.
Many forum members wear their frugality as a badge of honor. I like that; that's why I joined. So, I will prove that, in order to pay for what many consider extravagant expenses, I have saved plenty elsewhere. For example, we do not eat out when we are at home, i.e. when we are not travelling. It's not the cost; I do not want to go even if I am not paying.
I rarely go to bar to drink, preferring to sip my cognac when reading a book. A bottle provides many shots, and may be even cheaper than beer if priced per oz. of ethanol.
We are frugal, but not cheap. We often entertain friends, families, or neighbors. It is not that expensive, serving food cooked at home. We usually work an entire day to prepare, and proudly serve what I have just learned off the FoodTV channel. They usually eat it up, which makes me proud. I provide plenty of booze, so they usually do not leave early.
And speaking of FoodTV, yes, we do have cable because it's still dirt cheap entertainment compared to the alternatives. No premium channels though. The last time we went to a movie theater, it was because of my daughter nagging that we should do something together, outside of the house! One time, I dozed off in the middle of an action movie. My wife was embarrassed by my snoring, and had to give me the elbow. I'd rather watch old library DVDs at home. They have captions, which help tremendously (something about aging, again?).
But here is another real money saver that I doubt many of you can match: be your own grease monkey. How many of you have done the following maintenance and repair on your car? I will list the tasks in increasing difficulties as I see it. The order may be different with each car model of course. If you can do the last ultimate task below, then the rest are trivial. However, I'd like to see how far you can go down the list of increasing "elbow grease requirements".
1) Washing car - Not in many years (what's the rain for?)
2) Changing oil, oil filter, air filter - Doesn't save much money, but I hate waiting at service shop.
3) Change rear shocks
4) Change accessory V belts
5) Service brake pads, caliper, rotor turning
6) Front suspension struts
7) AC compressor, expansion valve replacement
8) Engine mount replacement
9) Tear out dashboard to replace heater core, fan
10) Replace enclosed timing belt/chain
11) Remove cyl head to replace blown head gasket
12) Complete engine removal/rebuilding
A bit of qualifying my claims:
12) Have done 3 engine overhauls in my life. The 1st was when I was in college. That's how I spent my summer, not backpacking across Europe like other kids. The last was when I was 25. I cannot see myself doing any of that heavy work anymore. My money has to work for me now. (Darn, I better sell my engine stand, but where did I stash it?)
11) Did that when I was 40. Won't do it again.
10) Did that when I was 45. May do it again, depending on car.
9) Not too long ago.
8) Just last week, on my 1994 minivan.
7) Just did that on my daughter 2005 Mitsubishi. Cost $100 for compressor on Ebay, $25 for expansion valve, $20 for Freon, lubricant. My daughter couldn't thank me enough. She told her friends and said they called me "genius".
6-1) Trivial.
By the way, I do not have nice tools like Goonie. I completely agree with his justification for Craftsman tools. But I LOOSE my tools, and I hate myself for doing that. (Darn, what's that clanking noise under the hood?) So, I punish myself with using HarborFreight tools.
Can you beat the above list? Note that I did not include transmission. I know my limitations.
Many forum members wear their frugality as a badge of honor. I like that; that's why I joined. So, I will prove that, in order to pay for what many consider extravagant expenses, I have saved plenty elsewhere. For example, we do not eat out when we are at home, i.e. when we are not travelling. It's not the cost; I do not want to go even if I am not paying.
I rarely go to bar to drink, preferring to sip my cognac when reading a book. A bottle provides many shots, and may be even cheaper than beer if priced per oz. of ethanol.
We are frugal, but not cheap. We often entertain friends, families, or neighbors. It is not that expensive, serving food cooked at home. We usually work an entire day to prepare, and proudly serve what I have just learned off the FoodTV channel. They usually eat it up, which makes me proud. I provide plenty of booze, so they usually do not leave early.
And speaking of FoodTV, yes, we do have cable because it's still dirt cheap entertainment compared to the alternatives. No premium channels though. The last time we went to a movie theater, it was because of my daughter nagging that we should do something together, outside of the house! One time, I dozed off in the middle of an action movie. My wife was embarrassed by my snoring, and had to give me the elbow. I'd rather watch old library DVDs at home. They have captions, which help tremendously (something about aging, again?).
But here is another real money saver that I doubt many of you can match: be your own grease monkey. How many of you have done the following maintenance and repair on your car? I will list the tasks in increasing difficulties as I see it. The order may be different with each car model of course. If you can do the last ultimate task below, then the rest are trivial. However, I'd like to see how far you can go down the list of increasing "elbow grease requirements".
1) Washing car - Not in many years (what's the rain for?)
2) Changing oil, oil filter, air filter - Doesn't save much money, but I hate waiting at service shop.
3) Change rear shocks
4) Change accessory V belts
5) Service brake pads, caliper, rotor turning
6) Front suspension struts
7) AC compressor, expansion valve replacement
8) Engine mount replacement
9) Tear out dashboard to replace heater core, fan
10) Replace enclosed timing belt/chain
11) Remove cyl head to replace blown head gasket
12) Complete engine removal/rebuilding
A bit of qualifying my claims:
12) Have done 3 engine overhauls in my life. The 1st was when I was in college. That's how I spent my summer, not backpacking across Europe like other kids. The last was when I was 25. I cannot see myself doing any of that heavy work anymore. My money has to work for me now. (Darn, I better sell my engine stand, but where did I stash it?)
11) Did that when I was 40. Won't do it again.
10) Did that when I was 45. May do it again, depending on car.
9) Not too long ago.
8) Just last week, on my 1994 minivan.
7) Just did that on my daughter 2005 Mitsubishi. Cost $100 for compressor on Ebay, $25 for expansion valve, $20 for Freon, lubricant. My daughter couldn't thank me enough. She told her friends and said they called me "genius".
6-1) Trivial.
By the way, I do not have nice tools like Goonie. I completely agree with his justification for Craftsman tools. But I LOOSE my tools, and I hate myself for doing that. (Darn, what's that clanking noise under the hood?) So, I punish myself with using HarborFreight tools.
Can you beat the above list? Note that I did not include transmission. I know my limitations.