What are people cutting back on?

[Pellice]

I had made a couple of switches recently unrelated to the price of gas, such as *finally* getting a better deal on cable and mobile phones. I may be holding even with inflation right now as to my monthly spending.

I have been more attentive to carpooling with birdwatching friends for birding trips, but we had been doing that anyway, though I suppose it was partly a reaction to the slow increase in gas prices beginning last year. I may be spending more, lol, since my friends are now accepting gas money I offer when I carpool, whereas before some of them did not. I point out that carpooling is what we *should* be doing, and that splitting costs for gas is the only sensible thing to do with these prices.

With food, I seldom ate out before, and I am very good at cheap cooking (all those years as a graduate student, and also , thanks, Mom!). I enjoy buying high quality ingredients and then stretching them. I just made my staple scratch yellow cake and have been enjoying it with some organic strawberries and a couple of tablespoons of leftover light cream. I am being vigilant about using leftovers! I couldn't finish an enormous apple yesterday, so today the remnant got chopped up and added to a cottage cheese concoction for lunch. In this I have surpassed my Mom, who hated leftovers (she called them "dibs") and tried to throw them out whenever I saved them. But she always cooked for a family.

 

[Walt34]

We haven't cut back on anything. Covid killed going out to lunch/dinner for us (on the few occasions we went) and the main restaurant we used to go to is now closed anyway. The GMC 4WD pickup truck mainly sits and is normally only used when the hauling capabilities are needed such as when carrying bulky R/C model airplanes. On a good day it gets 18 mpg and the Honda Accord gets nearly twice that.

What has decreased a little is the savings rate, simply because DW started Medicare but has not yet started SS. That of course is temporary; when she starts SS next spring that will reverse.

I am thinking about a BTD on a Milwaukee electric lawn mower ($1,100!) but I'm really hard put to think of a good reason to do that. The Toro mower we have works just fine and shows no sign of needing replacement in the foreseeable future. In fact just yesterday I took all the wheels off to clean the bearings and not surprisingly it rolls much easier now. Buying a new mower would be sort of like buying a new car because the old one got dirty. The only possible justification would be because DW would like it. Once in a while she wants to go out and mow grass for a while.

 

[MRG]

Nothing changed.

It's summer and I'll turn on the AC a couple times like most years when it's over 90°. I bought a tank of gas for DW's Wrangler that will last till fall. It's summer so the Tesla gets most of the mileage and electricity is cheap at night. I just ordered $600 of Wagu and the dogs are turning their noses up at regular frozen raw food since they've experienced rabbit at $10 a pound. Next month we're going to Iceland, DW spent about the same as our first house on this trip.

 

[MC Rider]

But, but, but, that is over a 50% cut in horsepower IIRC.....

Yes, and a roughly 50% cut in torque too.


I need to test ride an SV650, but don't really use the 130 some HP and 80 some Foot Pounds the Monster 1200 has. Past bikes have also had gobs of power. But I think I can live without getting shot out of a cannon going forward. I don't need to go 0 - 100 on the Freeway on ramp, or any stretch of back road in 6 seconds or whatever.



However a test ride is in order to try am make sure I am not fooling myself in that regard. I realize it sounds like heresy.

 

[Redbugdave]

No change in our lifestyle either. The money is not an issue anymore. I do think many of us are like that since we manage our lives and money pretty well. For me...It is nice being insulated from the rest of the country.

 

[Koolau]

+1. It appears many here haven’t really cut back (we haven’t much either), supporting Sunset’s observation. When we reach many more consumers real limits - a function of time/credit/higher prices, inflation will slow down, not until then. Unfortunately some lower income folks are getting (financially) trampled while many others are more easily absorbing higher prices. Same as it ever was…

How true. I resent the price hikes and sometimes reject the high prices - not because I can't afford them but because of perceived value. But for working folks living on the edge, 10% price hikes can be devastating. Unfortunately, the "cure" may be be as bad as the disease. This will be a rough time for many and I think it's gonna be years in the "fixing." YMMV

 

[NW-Bound]

Maybe that's my problem, I'm normally so [-]cheap[/-] frugal that I would always hand wash in the driveway unless I got a free wash.

My only cut back is to leave the car out in the rain and count that as a wash. Yesterday when it rained I seriously thought of going out and soaping up the car with a bucket and let the free rain rinse it off.

Seriously I do that. I have a bucked and add some car wash to water and go out with a soft bristle brush (like you use to clean a work bench at harbor freight for ~ $3) and soap it up.. I go out just as it starts.. Neighbors like me so I am just considered eccentric : ) . Car has to be pretty bad for me to do it though as usually our rains cleans cars well.

The way it has been raining where I am, if I did what youse guys do, I would have the car all mottled with dust and dried soap marks. My newest car is inside the garage. If I left it outside, the few drops of rain would make the dirt streaking down the side making it look worse, and the next day I would have to wash it with water from a faucet.

It's been a while since we had a rain that left some water running down the side of the street, and not just barely wet the driveway.

I had a 5-gallon bucket to catch the water coming down the condensation line of the ACs. Used to be that we would get it half-full each day, and use it to water the plants. Last year, we had nothing. The moisture has been that low. It's bone dry.

 

[rk911]

I don't idle. Or rather my car does not. It stops the engine when the car's not moving....I once drove a rental car that had a switch to override the engine shutdown, and to keep it running all the time. However, this 2020 car of mine does not offer that option.

my buddy has a new Jeep Wrangler with that annoying "feature". he figured out how to permanently disable it. i took notes.

 

[NW-Bound]

my buddy has a new Jeep Wrangler with that annoying "feature". he figured out how to permanently disable it. i took notes.

The Peugeot I rented in a Europe trip in 2017 had a switch to disable the automatic engine stop. This feature if not disabled caused a second of delay, then hesitance in acceleration, which could be hazardous when you need to get going when making a left turn for example.

My new car is quicker to restart, and so far I have not found it to be a nuisance.

I also noticed something different about how it works. I have not taken notes to make an accurate assessment, but I think it works this way. If you decelerate down to a complete stop, the car logic assumes that you are at a red light, and turns the engine off.

If you now release the brake, it restarts the engine and if you let the car creep up, then stop again, it assumes that you are waiting to make a left turn, and will not turn off the engine. Or perhaps it is using the left turn signal to assume that you may want to get going anytime and does not turn off the engine.

 

[aja8888]

My 2021 Hyundai Tuscon did not come with the crazy stop/start feature. That's one of the main reasons I bought it.

 

[Koolau]

My 2021 Hyundai Tuscon did not come with the crazy stop/start feature. That's one of the main reasons I bought it.

Yeah, I'd never want that feature unless it were virtually imperceptible. Apparently it is not. My golf cart at Megacorp had that start/stop feature - it was MUCH faster than 1 second but I'd still not want it on a car. Too many things could go wrong for the thimble full of fuel saved. YMMV

 

[livingalmostlarge]

Not much. I will say that now I am trying to eat through all our stockpile and wasting less food. It seems to be savings us money to try and use what we have and really just overall less waste.

 

[NW-Bound]

One thing I have made a conscientious effort to cut back on is water usage. Being here in a desert with limited sources of water, my conservation effort is long overdue.

I tried to talk my wife into growing less in her garden. I have replaced two toilets with a low-flow model, and enjoy the better flushing, let alone the lower water usage.

Alas, my wife just showed me the city bill, where even if I cut down the water charge to $0 it still does not amount to much.

Oh well, it's good for my conscience, if not for the pocketbook.

 

[rk911]

The Peugeot I rented in a Europe trip in 2017 had a switch to disable the automatic engine stop. This feature if not disabled caused a second of delay, then hesitance in acceleration, which could be hazardous when you need to get going when making a left turn for example.

My new car is quicker to restart, and so far I have not found it to be a nuisance.

I also noticed something different about how it works. I have not taken notes to make an accurate assessment, but I think it works this way. If you decelerate down to a complete stop, the car logic assumes that you are at a red light, and turns the engine off.

If you now release the brake, it restarts the engine and if you let the car creep up, then stop again, it assumes that you are waiting to make a left turn, and will not turn off the engine. Or perhaps it is using the left turn signal to assume that you may want to get going anytime and does not turn off the engine.

i see no rational reason to not make these sorts of "features" optional either when ordering or thru a setup optionns menu. my buddy's new Wrangler has a dashboard switch that will temporarily disable the auto-start. but it must be used each time hec-starts the Jeep. the permant solution is much better. YMMV.

 

[NW-Bound]

i see no rational reason to not make these sorts of "features" optional either when ordering or thru a setup optionns menu. my buddy's new Wrangler has a dashboard switch that will temporarily disable the auto-start. but it must be used each time hec-starts the Jeep. the permant solution is much better. YMMV.

This reminded me that the "Autostop Disable" button in the rented Peugeot also must be activated each time you start the engine.

I just read that Chevrolet now has the Disable button back in some models. However, the button action does not retain for the next drive.

Some say that this is not at the option of the car makers. Governments require it, in the USA as well as Europe.

 

[gauss]

It's kinda nice not having a budget. I hate having too many constraints - especially ones I put on myself. Having said that, I can't seem to help comparison shopping, substituting, walking away from items too costly for perceived value, etc. I don't need a budget for any of those things and I guess that attitude is one of the things that got me to FIRE. YMMV

Well put!

My spending has always been determined by the value proposition and not by an external budget. Now given that, the value proposition may change over time.

Now that I have been FI/RE for coming up on 10 years, I am actually loosening up the spending in order to trade it for other things currently of value (ie my time).

-gauss

 

[Koolau]

Not much. I will say that now I am trying to eat through all our stockpile and wasting less food. It seems to be savings us money to try and use what we have and really just overall less waste.

That strategy certainly cuts down on cash burn right now, but the main strategy I've heard to deal with inflation is to buy NOW and stockpile. Stuff won't be cheaper in a year when your stockpile is depleted. Buying it now and using it as inflation runs its course could save money in the long run. I'm no expert on this subject, but I have lived through the high inflation of 40 years ago. So far, that was worse than now (or else, I'm not paying as much attention as I did then.) Obviously, YMMV.

 

[ncbill]

Yeah, in town, there's no contest. AC takes more energy (SWAG) up to maybe 40 mph. Windows down is better in town - of course, I'll pay the gas money for the AC if it's uncomfortable. At highway speeds, AC is likely to take less fuel than the added air resistance costs. As you mention, several test have been run and generally the AC wins at highway speed.

I did half your highway study. My car has one of the OBD outputs fed through a computer that generates mpg instantaneous. Mine on the old Buick reads a very consistent 8% high. So even though the output is high, it is consistently high by 8% so, for the following test, it should be a wash.

On more than one extended trip with light/variable winds, I have set the speed at 75 with the CC. Typically, that gives an mpg readout of 37 or 38. I can do that for miles if there are no ups/downs. Turning on the AC drops those number by a consistent 4 mpg. I have no idea how to calculate the HP drain, but the % increase in fuel required would be directly proportional to the MPG. That calculates to about 10%. But that's 10% of rather good mileage considering the Buick is a land yacht and incredibly smooth and comfortable at speed.

Unfortunately, it didn't occur to me to try the windows-down experiment. Next trip - I will try it and (if I remember) I'll report back here.

"Windows down in-town..."

and I don't have a rhyme for "but roll 'em up & use A/C on the highway"

 

[ERObjd]

when i got my first car at age 19 ( I was in the Army at that time and I paid $750 for it a 62 4 door Bel Air) Any weekend that I would get off I would wash it and even hand wax it, it was ruby red and with a coat of wax it had a shine that was a mile deep and would even bead water when it rained. I actually sort of enjoyed washing and waxing cars back then. Now I don't even remember the last time I hand washed or hand waxed a vehicle. I am 62 now so pretty sure I was done with hand waxing cars by about age 25. Now, I just go through the automatic car wash about 4 times a year. Mainly just to try and wash the salt off from the winter.

 

[aja8888]

This reminded me that the "Autostop Disable" button in the rented Peugeot also must be activated each time you start the engine.

I just read that Chevrolet now has the Disable button back in some models. However, the button action does not retain for the next drive.

Some say that this is not at the option of the car makers. Governments require it, in the USA as well as Europe.

My bold above. I said above that my 2021 Hyundai Tuscon SUV was not equipped with the start/stop feature. I doubt it's required. Most government required "features" are safety related.

 

[COcheesehead]

Cutting back on eating out, not completely, but not like before.
Yesterday 2 ice teas, 2 entrees at a BBQ joint - with tip $50.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

My bold above. I said above that my 2021 Hyundai Tuscon SUV was not equipped with the start/stop feature. I doubt it's required. Most government required "features" are safety related.

My Tiguan has it and it can be turned off and on, It does remain set from drive to drive.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

We are not going to Ticketmaster type concerts this year. The venue we used to like now requires you to rent their chairs when you buy lawn tickets, and raised their already high beer prices, which seems like the concert equivalent of "resort fees". There are many fun things to do where we live, so I'm going to skip the ones that involve getting nickle and dimed. We already did that with some of the commercial venues for plays, the ones where the seating crams people in like sardines, airplane style. We have a lot of great nonprofit, local theater companies we prefer to support instead who perform in college or community funded venues that have normal size seats.

 

[11522914]

Alas, my wife just showed me the city bill, where even if I cut down the water charge to $0 it still does not amount to much.

Oh well, it's good for my conscience, if not for the pocketbook.

You're right about that. I've always tried to conserve water but it really doesn't save much money. The more I reduce my water usage the higher they keep raising the fees/charges. Can't win !!

 

[Koolau]

One of our favorite Greasy Spoon restaurants near the homestead was about $19 with tip last year and it included 2 meals with iced tea. This year, same meals, no tea and our bill with tip was $23. Good service and food as usual. Usual crowd as well. What is this world coming to??