A reminder on the importance of eliminating recurring expenses

[mcbraemer]

Use the dryer sheets new at a TP substitute - brings an incredible amount of softness to the tenders..... then rinse well and toss in the dryer. Like they say, re-use and renew.

 

[CaptTom]

The same trick can be used for future expenses.

When someone says "only $xx per month" or (worse yet) "only $xx per week," convert that to annual cost.

When someone tries to sell you something on a longer-term payment plan, calculate the total you'll pay by the end of the term.

Only when you know the REAL cost can you set your priorities and spend your money on the products or services you want the most.

 

[Dtail]

So we had Sling too and just switched to Hulu...highly recommended much happier with Hulu..it's 40 bucks before tax has all the sports channel of sling orange and blue. DVR space of 50 hours and such a huge streaming demand platform that we canceled Netflix ....and streams local network TV as well.

Will look into it. Offhand, do you know of any major channels that Hulu doesn't have vs. Sling. For example we do watch quite a bit of MSNBC.

 

[ivinsfan]

Will look into it. Offhand, do you know of any major channels that Hulu doesn't have vs. Sling. For example we do watch quite a bit of MSNBC.

lots of news on hulu... One missing channel would be AMC...

 

[Dtail]

lots of news on hulu... One missing channel would be AMC...

One of the few series we watch is "Walking Dead" on AMC, but will still check out Hulu.

 

[Hermit]

Good idea! I was able to sign up for Sprint unlimited for "free" last July (although there is a $3.89 month tax fee) that is pretty sweet (only for a year). Saves a chunk of money even over Republic or Ting.

...

I tried to sign up for that too, but when they started asking the addresses of where I lived 20 and 30 years ago, they got me and told me my credit was not any good. I lived in many apartments along the way for short periods while working. I got the impression they were looking for much younger clients than me. I told them they could keep their silly games and their service.

 

[ivinsfan]

One of the few series we watch is "Walking Dead" on AMC, but will still check out Hulu.

We did watch but 2 seasons of nothing happening made realize we won't miss it...our rural UHF transmitter seems to have failed for lack of funding and we needed an option for the major networks.. for NFL and other big sporting events as well as local news and weather. the DVR feature is handier then we expected.

 

[Mdlerth]

Saving my life beats saving money

...there are projects and situations I won't do for myself

...even if I have done similar projects before. But those were under less daunting circumstances.

I painted the exterior of our previous homes, but they were low split-levels. We've been in our current 4-story house for 22 years and always hired out the painting. The 40 foot ladder required to reach the peak height is too heavy for me to lift. It took three guys to set it up.

Ditto for replacing the roof. The pitch is so steep I'd have slid off and died a painful, twitching death. The guys who installed it stuck on up there like Spiderman; I would not have.

Home maintenance presents significant recurring cost, and DIY offers a lot of saving opportunities. But, as Harry Callahan reminds us, a man's gotta know his limitations.

 

[Floridatennisplayer]

Who even has a landline anymore? Look, you could have saved even more..

 

[RobbieB]

I have a landline because I like it.

 

[Live And Learn]

I like using the math showing how much cash you would need to pay a recurring expense. If I had a $150 cable bill and my SWR was 3.5%, then I would have to save "only" $51,000. When I share that example with folks that aren't very conscious about the real cost of stuff, they look at me like I am crazy.

Thank you for letting me know that I'm NOT crazy for doing exactly the same thing !!!

 

[Cobra9777]

I've had Google voice for many years now, which is completely free. Maybe they should show me a reminder of how much I saved by cancelling Ooma and replacing it with their service.

+1

I use Google Voice with an OBi200 VoIP adapter for totally free landline phone service. Ooma is like a Sunday in TJ. It's cheap but it's not free.

 

[ncbill]

...even if I have done similar projects before. But those were under less daunting circumstances.

I painted the exterior of our previous homes, but they were low split-levels. We've been in our current 4-story house for 22 years and always hired out the painting. The 40 foot ladder required to reach the peak height is too heavy for me to lift. It took three guys to set it up.

Ditto for replacing the roof. The pitch is so steep I'd have slid off and died a painful, twitching death. The guys who installed it stuck on up there like Spiderman; I would not have.

Home maintenance presents significant recurring cost, and DIY offers a lot of saving opportunities. But, as Harry Callahan reminds us, a man's gotta know his limitations.

Have an older relative who before they turned 70 made sure to replace the wood windows on their brick rancher with vinyl, so no more need to paint the exterior window trim.

Along with having a top-of-the-line shingle roof installed they've minimized exterior maintenance on that house for their lifetime.

EDIT: land-lines.

when I sold mom's house (over a decade ago) I found she had been leasing two phones from AT&T (around $20/month) for at least 20 years...

 

[scrabbler1]

The same trick can be used for future expenses.

When someone says "only $xx per month" or (worse yet) "only $xx per week," convert that to annual cost.

When someone tries to sell you something on a longer-term payment plan, calculate the total you'll pay by the end of the term.

Only when you know the REAL cost can you set your priorities and spend your money on the products or services you want the most.

You see this with charities sometimes. All of those tear-jerking "Feed the starving children" and "Save the abused animals" TV ads always try to minimize the monthly $20 cost by saying it is "only 63 cents per day....." Well, that is $240 per year, not a trivial amount.

 

[kgtest]

You have a driveway? You spendthrift.

hahaha
This makes me laugh. My 90 something year old neighbor and a few of his buddies do not have driveways. I suppose the extra maintenance cost. Heck you probably dont even need to mow it, but I'd recommend moving the car once in a while.

 

[OldShooter]

You see this with charities sometimes. ... "Feed the starving children" ... "Save the abused animals" ...

I apologize for consciously (but briefly!) going off topic here but here is something worth knowing that many people do not:

You can get a copy of any nonprofit organization's tax returns by going to http://www.guidestar.org and getting a free login id. From the tax returns you can see whether it is the charity's management or the starving children who are being fed. Similarly you can see whether it is the donors or the animals that are being abused. All the top executive salaries are laid out by name and all the income and expenses are shown.

[\off_topic]

 

[omni550]

+1

I use Google Voice with an OBi200 VoIP adapter for totally free landline phone service. Ooma is like a Sunday in TJ. It's cheap but it's not free.

Sounds good.

Just curious, do you also have their OBiTALK Premium Support plan? If so, how much is it?

Also, it sounds like it can be used via multiple locations. Wondering if this might be great for a snowbird, and how would that work?

omni

 

[michelek]

The joke at my house is that I want to be in a business where folks pay me monthly forever.

Become a landlord

 

[flintnational]

Become a landlord

You are correct. But we did that for about 20 years. The last property was sold a few weeks ago. I was thinking about something like Ma Bell's old phone rental deal. You pay me but I don't do much for it.

 

[athena53]

EDIT: land-lines.

when I sold mom's house (over a decade ago) I found she had been leasing two phones from AT&T (around $20/month) for at least 20 years...

What a racket. I think you could stop those payments after a couple of years by telling them you now wanted to own the phone and take responsibility if it failed. I called and they hadn't even been tracking how long I'd had it. At least the "lease payments" stopped.

FloridaTennisPlayer asked why anyone would have a land line; I'm very protective of my smartphone number. I get really irritated when I'm driving, or in the gym, the occasional marketing call slips through- I'll provide the number to someone doing work on my house to avoid telephone tag and then I get called with a follow-up satisfaction survey, for example. The landline is equivalent to a spamcatcher e-mail address.

 

[scrabbler1]

What a racket. I think you could stop those payments after a couple of years by telling them you now wanted to own the phone and take responsibility if it failed. I called and they hadn't even been tracking how long I'd had it. At least the "lease payments" stopped.

FloridaTennisPlayer asked why anyone would have a land line; I'm very protective of my smartphone number. I get really irritated when I'm driving, or in the gym, the occasional marketing call slips through- I'll provide the number to someone doing work on my house to avoid telephone tag and then I get called with a follow-up satisfaction survey, for example. The landline is equivalent to a spamcatcher e-mail address.

For me, the cell phone I have had for the last 3 years and whose number I have given out to maybe 10 people has become little more than a receptacle for junk calls and texts which make up at least 95% of the activity on the phone. It's a low-end flip phone which costs me about $5-$8 per month and lacks any call-blocking procedures. At least I can use Nomorobo on the land line although it has become less effective over time due to the caller number spoofing.

 

[FANOFJESUS]

You are correct. But we did that for about 20 years. The last property was sold a few weeks ago. I was thinking about something like Ma Bell's old phone rental deal. You pay me but I don't do much for it.

No wonder ATT stock did great years ago. LOL

 

[Cobra9777]

Sounds good.

Just curious, do you also have their OBiTALK Premium Support plan? If so, how much is it?

Also, it sounds like it can be used via multiple locations. Wondering if this might be great for a snowbird, and how would that work?

omni

No. It's $10/yr and I'm never really sure what it provides over and above the totally free option. I think it's mainly phone/email support in case you need help with configuration or firmware updates. I just bought the OBi200, configured it for my Google Voice number following some well-documented instructions, and it works very reliably.

I've never tried it at another location, but I think it would work fine. Just take the OBi device with you and plug it in. It just needs an internet connection.

 

[Red Badger]

What a racket. I think you could stop those payments after a couple of years by telling them you now wanted to own the phone and take responsibility if it failed. I called and they hadn't even been tracking how long I'd had it. At least the "lease payments" stopped.

FloridaTennisPlayer asked why anyone would have a land line; I'm very protective of my smartphone number. I get really irritated when I'm driving, or in the gym, the occasional marketing call slips through- I'll provide the number to someone doing work on my house to avoid telephone tag and then I get called with a follow-up satisfaction survey, for example. The landline is equivalent to a spamcatcher e-mail address.

I use Google Voice as the number I give out to businesses, etc. I also use GV when calling same.
Actual cell phone number? Only to close friends and family.

 

[skyline]

+1

I use Google Voice with an OBi200 VoIP adapter for totally free landline phone service. Ooma is like a Sunday in TJ. It's cheap but it's not free.

It depends...I got my Ooma many years ago, when it was completely free (other than initial device purchase). It's still free for me, although I understand new customers have to pay a small monthly...