What are people cutting back on?

[NW-Bound]

Do you only use a/c or do you also use an evaporative cooler when it's not that hot?
I'm in Southern California and mine works for me most of the time except for a couple of weeks in August when the thunderstorms roll in. I hate that period because the a/c just can't keep the house as cool as the swamp cooler does, my house stays in the low 70's and the electric bill is tiny. Of course the downside is that they use a couple of gallons of water a day which I capture to water my plants.

Evap coolers work well in the dry Southwest until the humidity picked up in mid summer (monsoon season). People then switch to AC.

Evap coolers lose attractiveness for two-story homes because annual servicing requires climbing up on the roof. Fewer and fewer homes have them, and the construction and design of new homes cannot easily accommodate them.

I prefer AC now, particularly with the free solar power that I get from my system.

 

[NW-Bound]

... One thing I'm learning about living here is we need multiple redundant systems, especially for basic survival in extreme weather. So for electricity we've got electricity (grid), a diesel generator, and a battery backup. We have a few small solar powered devices but no solar array yet. It may not pay off to get solar, as it would in a country with high-cost grid electricity...

Electricity is inexpensive in Mongolia, which generates 80% of power from coal.

Bitcoin miners used to set up shops there to take advantage of cheap coal power. They have been kicked out.

 

[RetiredAndLovingIt]

Evap coolers work well in the dry Southwest until the humidity picked up in mid summer (monsoon season). People then switch to AC.

Evap coolers lose attractiveness for two-story homes because annual servicing requires climbing up on the roof. Fewer and fewer homes have them, and the construction and design of new homes cannot easily accommodate them.

I prefer AC now, particularly with the free solar power that I get from my system.

I think they stopped putting them on the roof maybe in the late 80's so now only older homes have the cooler on the roof which I would never have, flooding can also be a problem with these installations.
Newer homes are built with central heating and a/c units so it is more popular for homeowners to buy a window unit at Home Deport or Lowes for around $500 or do that can be taken with them when they move. In some cases people will install it through a ground floor wall as a permanent installation.
If your solar panels are generating enough power for all that a/c usage then that's just great. I haven't jumped to solar yet since my power bills are still pretty low for now but a backup source is always on my mind.

 

[UKadventurer]

Electricity is inexpensive in Mongolia, which generates 80% of power from coal.

Bitcoin miners used to set up shops there to take advantage of cheap coal power. They have been kicked out.

That's correct. Like I said, electricity costs about 4 cents per kW but there's a free allowance up to 250kW per month for yurts and 350kW for houses, at the moment. At times, the government has offered free night time electricity in winter. We are using about 100kW per month, so it should be free for us. Even if it wasn't free, that's about $4 per month.

However, we had to pay for a 600 meter line and poles so we could connected to the nearest transformer. That cost us $8000. We'll also need a deep well which is estimated to cost $5000. It's typical to have some setup costs for getting established on virgin land. If we ever want to sell up and move elsewhere, the added utilities make the land considerably more valuable. Monthly costs overall should be very low and we'll spend about $35-40k to get established (land, 2 modern yurts, one traditional yurt, 2 shiping containers, grid connection, fresh water well). Only 2 acres of land is technically ours but, because we're surrounded by common land or undeveloped land, we have a lot more land we can use.

 

[MC Rider]

Mmmmm. Pot Roast.
First thing on the new shopping list.

 

[Koolau]

Mmmmm. Pot Roast.
First thing on the new shopping list.

Yaaaay! Dinner at MC Rider's place. Bring your appetite!

 

[Sue J]

Inflation is hitting us in the usual places - gas, groceries and utilities. We don't use much gas. DH fills up once every 6 weeks. I'm usually once a month but my part time job is on a school schedule so I'm off for the summer. Our groceries are more expensive but I budget with plenty of room for groceries so we have not cut back. Our city used to be known for good utility prices but the last few years the rates have increased. Water rates increased and the corresponding sewer charge is 2.5 times the water rate! I had to renew our natural gas contract and the price was almost double from last year.

We are still able to save every month. If it gets to the point that we have to cut back on something it will be DHs feeding the squirrels. He buys large bags of peanuts in the shell to toss out on the deck for the squirrels and birds. Yes, they are cute but they ate just fine before we were here and they will thrive after we are gone.

Next month is going to be very expensive. We are driving 400 miles to New Jersey and staying 5 days to go to a family wedding. We need 3 days for family events, etc and then 2 extra days because folks want to go into New York City and see the sights. I have been to NYC a few times and never need to go back so I will stay back at the AirBnb in NJ. I just don't enjoy traffic and crowds. I will keep the 10 month old grandson if they don't want to take him.

And July is the month with 2 family birthdays, our older son and our daughter-in-law. Their birthdays are 2 days apart. She is married to our other son. We always give cash for birthdays and since things were going so well earlier in the year we decided to double the cash gifts this year. Then there is the wedding gift check. Ka-Ching!

Still not cutting back, especially on gifts. Just going to save less. And no savings in July!

 

[Koolau]

^^^^^^^^

You can cut back on what you feed the squirrels but gifting to kids/GKs is one expense we can't seem to protect from inflation! YMMV

 

[regenaeb]

Driving less (which I didn't do much before, I work from home), driving slower and rarely eating out. We don't eat meat, eggs or dairy so I have not noticed much difference in our food bill. Summer will be a little higher because the kids are home all day long, so there is more snack/packaged items which cost more. I keep fruit and veggies on hand, but they eat it all in about 2 days over the summer (I have 14 year old twins). Now that they are old enough, I plan to send them to the store to replenish what they eat. We live on a military base, so they can walk to the commissary for me to pick up what is needed. I did have two driving trips this past month and drove much slower, stayed at the speed limit on the highways and have noticed getting a lot better mpg in my 16 year old Honda Pilot, so I will keep that up.

My twins had their graduation/promotion to high school ceremony on Wednesday night. Since we don't eat out much, I decided to treat them to a night out at their favorite restaurant. I was shocked that it was packed on a Wednesday night. I had done call ahead seating so we only had to wait 25 minutes for a table, but I couldn't believe how many people were there, it looked like a Friday or Saturday evening. I guess people in suburban Boston didn't get the memo that there is an inflation problem. In this area we were at, there are at least 12 other sit down restaurants, so it is not like we were at the only one in town. Maybe that is why inflation numbers this week are staying strong at 8.6%, people are just still spending, spending, spending. It's great to see the restaurants are making money again and they had plenty of staff. I actually noticed wait staff standing around talking instead of waiting on tables. I am guessing because the kitchen was so backed-up they were told to slow down on putting orders in and just keep bringing people drink orders instead. It took almost 20 minutes before our server took our order, but he was quick to bring the drinks to the table right after we sat down and gave him that order.

 

[TheWizard]

I can't say I'm really cutting back on anything but I've been hesitant to pay way higher prices without looking around.
Baby back ribs, for instance, used to be $4/lb at my local store but then recently up to $6.50 which I balked at paying. Then I found Aldi had a better price, closer to $4.

Gas prices, I just bite the bullet as needed. Local place sells 87 octane for $4.75 (cash), $4.89(credit) so I just get lots of cash.
Probably will take Mustang on ten day trip to Michigan next month instead of F-150.

And live lobsters have come down in price a bit, $10/lb two weeks ago and $9/lb next week, so will get two of them...

 

[athena53]

We are still able to save every month. If it gets to the point that we have to cut back on something it will be DHs feeding the squirrels. He buys large bags of peanuts in the shell to toss out on the deck for the squirrels and birds. Yes, they are cute but they ate just fine before we were here and they will thrive after we are gone.

I'm about to head out and buy a couple more 25-lb. bags of bird seed- the kind laced with hot pepper powder that the squirrels won't eat!

As for grandkids- I just got back from a trip to visit mine. Haircuts for 3 at Shear Madness, one night of Thai takeout (yeah, that went up), a night with the 2 older girls at the Hilton. Priceless. I'm also taking the 2 older ones to Chicago after a LONG COVID-induced hiatus. Airfares for mid-September are about double what they were a couple of years ago for a one-hour flight but early October is closer to expectations. Fortunately they're home-schooled so weekdays are not a problem.

 

[NW-Bound]

And live lobsters have come down in price a bit, $10/lb two weeks ago and $9/lb next week, so will get two of them...

You caught my attention there. Said to myself, "where he got that", but then I saw your location.

Oh well.

 

[tmm99]

A trick I learned from late DH, who grew up poor and was also a penniless college student: all the too-fibrous-to-eat veggie parts go into a bag in the freezer to make vegetable broth when you have enough. Just add water, boil a few hours and strain it. I'll have to try cooking the cauliflower leaves!

That is a great idea! I do save off leek tops and celery tops for when I make chicken soup, but I should do more. I eat a lot of vegetables so I should be able to make good veggie broth from all the cuttings.

 

[corn18]

I just removed the 93 octane tune I had on my truck. I installed the max mpg tune which means I can use 87 octane gas again vs. 93 octane. Not sure it will help my gas mileage, but it will be cheaper to fill up now.

 

[SecondCor521]

I just removed the 93 octane tune I had on my truck. I installed the max mpg tune which means I can use 87 octane gas again vs. 93 octane. Not sure it will help my gas mileage, but it will be cheaper to fill up now.

When I did the experiment on my car (which can take either), I got slightly poorer gas mileage but overall the cheaper price of gas made it overall a better deal to go with 87. Miles per dollar was higher with 87. That was back when the price spread was less, so I think it's still a better deal.

 

[corn18]

When I did the experiment on my car (which can take either), I got slightly poorer gas mileage but overall the cheaper price of gas made it overall a better deal to go with 87. Miles per dollar was higher with 87. That was back when the price spread was less, so I think it's still a better deal.

I put the 93 tune in to get more HP for pulling my 12,000 lbs 5th wheel RV. Never pulled without the 93 tune, so we'll see how it does. Not a lot of big hills to pull here in SW Ohio so I really don't need a tune.

 

[easysurfer]

One thing inflation has taught me is a chance to cut down on food portions. Not only saves dollars and better for health.

I've been cutting down on pasta. I used to boil a good amount, strain and pour out the liquid then stack on a plate. All the carbs. Then I watched a program with a cook saying don't toss out the liquid, that is broth, part of a meal. So now I cook less at at time, save the liquid for soup. Kills two birds with on stone. I still eat pasta with soup, just less made and the liquid is consumed instead of just getting tossed down the drain.

 

[GenXguy]

I'm far less likely to jump in the car to go get something to eat for pick-up/drive-thru now than pre-pandemic. I do it less now, even if I'm out and about for other reasons.

I sometimes eat bacon and eggs on non-workdays, but I've cut in half how much I eat compared to a couple years ago. I only allow myself one stick of bacon, one toast, and one large egg.

On the other hand, I've been buying breakfast at work getting fresh fruit and yogurt vs. a 50 cent fiber bar, so my breakfast expenses have gone up significantly on work days.

 

[pb4uski]

We're more cognizant of our trips... for example, yesterday we bought a couple porterhouse steaks and shrimp from a nearby store rather than travel another 15 miles into town. We're also using the ~29 mpg Outback more than the ~21 mpg truck.

 

[Car-Guy]

I'm thinking about telling the DW I shouldn't cut the grass as often due to the price of diesel. (Takes about 10 to 12 gallons each time I cut it) I don't like to lie to her but it is sort of true.... Right?

I almost have myself convinced to try it....

 

[RobbieB]

You must have a huge lawn.

 

[Car-Guy]

Just cut about 12 to15 acres around the house...It's really pasture land but I've cut it so much it looks like a yard (well almost)... Makes the DW happy, so....... I do have some adjoining acreage but it's so heavily wooded I don't even try to get the tractor back in there except maybe once a year.

 

[NW-Bound]

Need some goats.

Did I not say somewhere that animals are "green"?

 

[RobbieB]

Yeah, that would explain it.

I had this same talk with a guy from Arkansas, said he felt "a feeling of accomplishment" when he mowed the lawn.

I asked how much lawn you got?

He said 3 acres.

I replied "you're supposed to farm 3 acres, not mow it"

 

[NW-Bound]

12 to 15 acres of solar arrays? Hmmm...

No, just 3 acres...

Hmmm... It's still more than I can use. And I don't want to operate a mini utility company.