Gross inconsistencies concerning money (our thoughts and behaviors)

[Time2]

Omygosh! Wow. I would say that seems kind of crazy if I didn't have a whole drawer stuffed with plastic bags and a dedicated space in the cupboard above the fridge for those ziplock plastic bags! Yes, I also save nuts and bolts - mostly 'cause I don't want to run down the street to Home Depot just for a few of those.

And as for restaurant coupons? I'll save a good one for quite a while to make sure I have the chance to use it. ��

I have to add, my wife has a huge garden and packages different items in the bags when she sells her produce. So they do get used over the summer/fall.
OH, I forget to put in the bread wrapper ties and rubber bands, (especially the ones from broccoli)

 

[targatom2019]

yep, we spend about $700 per week to fill up gas for the boat, drive really nice cars, 5K fishing trips 3x per year, but wife is still saving water after washing vegetables to water the plants and only use 1/2 of the paper towel to dry her hands

 

[Midpack]

Waste is waste, whether I can afford it or not. I save my napkins from, say, Five Guys, in my car. I almost always find a use for them somewhere down the line, whether it is cleaning my hands after gardening or blowing my nose. I feel good that I have gotten some use from them before they hit the landfill.

+1. We're very conscious of reducing & reusing since as much as 90% of what's collected for recycling never gets recycled - it's only gotten worse not better lately. It's been mostly wishcyling all along. Saving money isn't the only reason to collect reduce or reuse napkins, plastic bags, etc.

 

[Koolau]

I solved the condiment lack of expiration date, by saving them in a used small margarine tub (or similar small tub) this is #1.
When it's full I start saving them in another tub #2 and use what is in the #1, when the #2 tub is full, I throw out any remaining in the first tub #1 and start saving in it.

Basically alternate the saving vs using between 2 tubs so I don't have anything lying around for years

Ah yes, we call this the "Buckets" approach to investing, er... condiment rotation. YMMV

 

[jazz4cash]

Here's one that might seem at odds, on the surface...today it's a sweltering day here in Maryland, and the electric company is doing one of those "Energy Savings Days" where if I cut back a bit, they'll pay me $1.25 for every KWH I save compared to my regular average usage, and credit my bill.

So, I set both the downstairs and upstairs a/c's back a bit, to 77 degrees, compared to their normal 75. It's enough that I can feel it a bit...I wouldn't want to keep it at 77 degrees all the time. But, I figure I can tough it out for a few hours. The timeframe they're looking at is only 1pm-7pm, anyway.

I'm not worried about the money, though. I guess that'll come out to what? $10-20, at most. I just logged into my online brokerage and it's up about $2,000 so far today...and it's just a small portion of my overall investments. But, in the overall scheme of things, I guess it does a bit of good for the environment, and if enough people cut back a bit, it helps reduce the chance of brownouts and blackouts and such.

So I guess I'm doing it to be more of a tree-hugger, than a skin-flint!

+1 tree hugger. You are also helping to keep the local utility from needing to add capacity or acquire additional kwh’s at very high marginal cost. That helps everybody! I have the same utility but I enrolled in the program that permits them to cycle my AC units on energy savings days. The reward is $37.50/month for 2 units. I also shop for lower rates from 3rd party suppliers so I locked in a pretty good rate.

 

[Amethyst]

Indeed, it is more common than you'd think. We have city water but individual septic tanks. Which reminds me, I should get ours pumped...

Amethyst, I recall you recently moved to Florida. Are you on a septic system where you are? Knowing Florida has such a high water table, I can't picture any populated location where a septic tank is in use rather than city sewers.

 

[aja8888]

Indeed, it is more common than you'd think. We have city water but individual septic tanks. Which reminds me, I should get ours pumped...

Thanks, I didn't know that.

 

[Sunset]

Mom saved bacon grease, but that was to flavor the oil when she made pan-fried chicken.

So did my Mom, and it made the best crispy edge pancakes in her cast iron frypan

 

[Andre1969]

+1 tree hugger. You are also helping to keep the local utility from needing to add capacity or acquire additional kwh’s at very high marginal cost. That helps everybody! I have the same utility but I enrolled in the program that permits them to cycle my AC units on energy savings days. The reward is $37.50/month for 2 units. I also shop for lower rates from 3rd party suppliers so I locked in a pretty good rate.

Turns out, Baltimore Gas & Electric actually did cycle back my upstairs central air the other day. I was just relaxing, watching tv. I had set it on 77 earlier in the day, up a bit from its usual 75. I had turned all the ceiling fans on to get the air circulating better. But then, suddenly it hit me, that damn it feels kinda warm for 77. I looked at the thermostat, and it was on 81.

But, it wasn't *that* bad. I didn't melt from it! Around 6:30 or so, it went back to normal and started cooling down fast, but by then we had a front come through that cooled the outside temps as well.

It's funny, what a difference a degree can make, though. I had it set on 75 this morning, but then my house mate joked about having a "hot flash", put it to 74. And now it feels like we're ready to start fostering penguins!

The electric company gives me a $25 credit during the "hot" months, I guess that's because they only have control over the upstairs a/c. I'm not complaining, though!

 

[bolt]

I've a pal unfortunately on deaths door, late-eighties. He'd been a well positioned 37yr GM employee retired in MI.
I recall 3 years back & the odd 20yrs we kept company before that he never left a fast food establishment anywhere in the USA w/o condiments, napkins, straws, & as mentioned napkins & such. His vehicle's were always purchased on the GM discount & well stocked for adventures! O'well.

 

[Shardo]

I justify most of these behaviors by calling them environmentally good. Why throw away clean napkins, or perfectly reusable plastic bags? Also, money to buy new napkins isn't worth anything when you have a small spill in the car that one of those fast food napkins can handle.

Ditto

 

[Katsmeow]

Problem is it's not just cheap, it creates clutter. The napkins, or the wrapped plasticwear, or the straws, or the 17 packets of ketchup and salt...they all can end up stuffed in drawers taking up space,

I take a middle view. If we drive through fast food or something (normally while traveling) I will put left over napkins in the door or glove box and they come in handy. If I bring a bag of food in the house I will throw out the plastic implements. I might use some of the napkins though.

I usually do keep some of the packets of sauce, etc. in case I run out later. For example, I ordered something the other day and they forgot to put in sauce packets. But I had kept some unused from a prior order so I had them. But, once I several packets left I don't keep more.

How about saving plastic grocery bags for reuse instead of paying ten cents for new ones.

Until recently I had never bought a plastic grocery bag. It had never occurred to met that you could actually do that. I just always had plenty of left over bags. We had slowly over the past year and a half been using up the bags that we had pre-Covid (mostly for cat litter). Well, we were about to run out. What to do? I actually thought about doing a grocery run just to get bags. But, that didn't solve the longer term problem.

Then, it occurred me to look on Amazon. I found that I could actually buy a stack of bags and they were very inexpensive! Perfect for the cat litter. I know it sounds ridiculous but before this it had never occurred to me that this was something you could actually do...

 

[Music Lover]

The electric company gives me a $25 credit during the "hot" months, I guess that's because they only have control over the upstairs a/c. I'm not complaining, though!

I set my AC at the highest comfortable temp and the heat at the lowest comfortable temp. Therefore, I have no interest in letting someone else decide that it can be a little cooler or warmer.

 

[Andre1969]

Another update on that "Energy savings day" the electric company put me through the other day. I just got an email from them. It said...

"Congratulations!. You earned $12.88 for saving 10.3 kWh. On Friday's Energy Savings Day, you used 20.6 kWh of electricity between 1 pm – 7 pm, which is 10.3 kWh less than your recent typical use. You earned $1.25 for each kWh you saved. Look for the credit on your next bill."

All in all, this energy savings thing doesn't sound like a bad deal. I just checked my records, and it looks like I get $25/mo for four months of the year for being enrolled. Plus these various energy savings days.

I've been in this house for almost three years now, and can only recall two days where the electric company actually cycled back my a/c. August 13 of this year, and one Saturday back in 2019. For some reason, I remember 2019 being not quite as severe. I think they cut it back to 78. This last time, it was 81.

 

[OldShooter]

I set my AC at the highest comfortable temp and the heat at the lowest comfortable temp. Therefore, I have no interest in letting someone else decide that it can be a little cooler or warmer.

We have the "saver switch" and a reduced electricity rate. The way it works here is the AC is turned off for no more than 15 minutes in an hour cycle. We don't even notice, but it is hard for me to understand how this is an electricity saving for the utility as the AC just plays catch-up for some period of time after the off-cycle. So it seems that the same amount of heat is pumped, just over 45 min instead of over an hour period. But I'll happily take the reduced rate.

 

[jazz4cash]

We have the "saver switch" and a reduced electricity rate. The way it works here is the AC is turned off for no more than 15 minutes in an hour cycle. We don't even notice, but it is hard for me to understand how this is an electricity saving for the utility as the AC just plays catch-up for some period of time after the off-cycle. So it seems that the same amount of heat is pumped, just over 45 min instead of over an hour period. But I'll happily take the reduced rate.

Two reasons why it makes sense for the utility:
1. It shifts demand from a peak period to an off peak period which has value since we don’t store energy.
2. In our case all customers pay a surcharge which funds the “rewards” along with very inexpensive LED bulbs, smart thermostats, and the like. Your getting your own money back!

 

[OldShooter]

... 1. It shifts demand from a peak period to an off peak period which has value since we don’t store energy. ...

Hard to see how shuffling demand to various slots within a single hour makes much difference for peak demand.

There are schemes that reduce peak demand, though. For example, the electricity supplier at our lake home has a deal where you buy a large superinsulated water heater that only operates at night. It gets a separate electric meter and a lower rate.

...2. In our case all customers pay a surcharge which funds the “rewards” along with very inexpensive LED bulbs, smart thermostats, and the like. Your getting your own money back!

Sure. In the regulated monopoly utility model, rate payers pay for everything; the utility's costs are always reimbursed by the rate payers. The utility benefits by being paid a rate of return on its capital investments. Beyond that it is a pass-through entity. Not that the model is always adhered to. There are politicians on the regulating entities after all. But that is the model.

 

[jazz4cash]

Another update on that "Energy savings day" the electric company put me through the other day. I just got an email from them. It said...

"Congratulations!. You earned $12.88 for saving 10.3 kWh.

My energy savings day bonus was $0.63. I opted out of the energy cycling for this event because our ac barely does the job anyway and we were expecting company. I think it’s the 1st time I ever opted out in many years being in the plan. I think you can opt out if two events per season.