"What are you saving for?" redux

[unclemick]

Hmmm - truth told - what actually worked was auto deduct investing(401k, IRA, real estate payments) and live on the rest - with varying degree's of extreme frugal/notible lapses and frantic recovery.

More colorful - from the mists of memory - beater cars, cheap housing(duplex, camp), wood stove/swamp wood and whole house fan, hot water heater timer or instant hot water unit(a British model in those days), no furniture unless free/donated. Nuk(microwave) vs stovetop cooking. Eat simple during the week and splurge - this IS New Orleans - 'live to eat'.

I.e. whack the big ticket items and hide the money from yourself - until some mysterious stranger could collect after 59 1/2.

At 30 - I didn't plan on ER - 63 was early for me. Unless I hit 'the big one in the market'.

DCA, plunka, plunka, index funds - age 49.

Life can be funny sometimes.

[MJ]

I buy a quart of yogurt a week and have a hard time throwing away the re-usable containers. But if I have to waste too much water to clean a container after storing food, I will then throw it out. I also have the same problem with shopping bags. I used them for my garbage bags and also re-use them at a local supermarket that pays 2 cents for each. I get a little bit of satisfaction in not wasting another bag and making a profit to boot.

Anyone interested in cheap re-usable containers by the gross?

MJ

[VoyT]

Quote:

Anyone interested in cheap re-usable containers by the gross?

Ah, no .. I have a cabinetful of them, myself. Recently I declared "no more" on the containers -- they're going out in the trash until some of the others outlive their usefulness.
And of course, Flogers had to put coffee in a nice plastic container. I have 2 of them serving as flower pots out on the back step ... but no more! I swear!

[laurence]

All right, I'll come clean, we do compulsively save glass jars (salsa, jam, etc.)! They are really usefull! And we use grocery bags for bathroom trash can liners, kitty litter poop bags, shredded junk mail etc. But I just can't imagine washing bags. I do change my own oil on the vw, synthetic, independent places refuse to do it because of the skid plate (afraid of breaking it) and the dealer charges too much. But mostly because I find it fun.

Jeep dealer changes my G. Cherokee's oil, $19.95 for life of vehicle, 5 quarts, no extra "disposal" fee. No brainer.

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Watch the el cheapo oil changes for 'bad' oil filters. If anyone really cares I'll go scrounge the link but some guy bought one of each and disassembled them.

Some of the really popular filters looked like flimsy pieces of junk. Some really expensive ones too. But the el-cheapos were a little scary...pieces glued on, rubber bands, pieces of string, the whole works.

I change my own. Costs me about $3 for the filter and $5 for the oil. I have a very large plastic pan thats a funnel on top, oil runs inside and theres a spout on the end to pour it out into old milk cartons which my local auto parts store gladly takes right over the counter. Takes me about 10 minutes.

Watch out washing those plastic bags...in some cases your water and soap costs are higher than the dang bag!

[BUM]

Kudos TH one changing your own oil. Presently I'm down to 4 vehicles not counting lawn tractors, snowblower and a moped. Something always needs an oil change. I'm thinking of trying one of those drill motor pumps that suck the oil out from above. I dont care that some oil remains in the crankcase.

Also I read the API info the oil container per Consumer Reports and have been using Wolf's Head 10W30 by the case from Sam's Club for more than 10 years. But the 2002 SUV does get Castrol or equiv 5W30. Filters are Fram from WalMart and get changed every 3000mi oil change except in the winter. Oil get changed not the filter. Engine wear has never been an problem - ever.

[Zipper]

What do you do with the old oil?

[unclemick]

One of my doughnut shop buddies is 'semi- retired' and only puts on 50,000 miles per vehicle - swears that he only changes the filter at regular intervals - been using synthetic oil (the same) since it came on the market.

The retired motor pool sargent in the group says the Army got the same presentation from Mobil and passed. In theory, it should work providing no acid build up (constant ph).

They might be getting 'spiked' doughnuts or just pulling my leg.

Could this be true

[laurence]

I have a friend who is a BIG 4 wheeling/off roading nut, has a Jeep YJ-7 that he runs synthetic in. Only changes the filter, never changes the oil, just adds a quart. That machine has boulder crawled in death valley while he uploaded GPS nav points. He's never had a problem. So yeah, I guess it's true.

[JWV]

Quote:

My DH does the kitchen work. *Like JG's wife, he saves and reuses *every container that comes into the house. *He washes and reuses all ziplock bags. *He reuses most other plastic bags but doesn't go so far as washing them anymore. *Bread bags get shaken out and reused. *If the bag is borderline, it becomes a dog poop bag. *He has even been know to reuse aluminum foil. *.

Martha, we must have married twins, separated at birth! You've described the man of this house to a T.

Judy
humming *It's so nice to have a man around the house*

[gayl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by laurencewill All right, I'll come clean, we do compulsively save glass jars (salsa, jam, etc.)! *They are really usefull!

Same here for 2 reasons. Can't see buying them and can't see the cost to increase the garbage can from the 20 gallon size for 18.50 month and the regular size for 2x that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nords "What are you saving for?"

2 reasons: it enables me to retire earlier than the norm & is easier on the environment. Hopefully I've educated my kids better than the 'extremely frugal' woman educated hers. Those kids sound typical of the 'spend now' generation that may be unable to ever retire debt free. Yes, she was a little extreme but its not easy to single-handedly raise, educate, & launch five kids--

[BUM]

We are saving for things that we havn't thought of yet.

[BUM]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zipper What do you do with the old oil?

Hi Zipper,

I used to live at the end of a long dirt road. I spread the used oil on the road to keep the dust down using a watering can. Now I drain the oil into a WalMart oil sump container. Alot of it I use. Any surplus goes to the local gas station. BTW, akin to dryer sheets, used motor has a zillion uses. In the fifties it used to be bottled and sold as furniture polish.

[cute fuzzy bunny]

BUM - I use the wolfs head too. Memory serves pennzoil bought the name a while back and what you're basically getting is $20 a case pennzoil for $10.

Oil disposal is really, really easy. Most auto parts stores, oil change and repair places and so forth are required by law in many parts of the country to take used motor oil. Most areas also have hazardous materials dropoff locations as part of their trash collection deals.

I take mine to the auto parts store between me and the supermarket...walk in, drop the milk jugs on the counter and wave at the guy in the back on the way out. Its that easy.

[BUM]

Same here TH.... Local recycling etiquette strongly points out that "although the law requires that I accept your used oil, I'm not required to accept your container". I smile and dump my oil directly into the pro-offered bung hole. And take my container(s) home.

[P.S.]

What are we saving for? Maybe for just the fun of saving. It's like a hobby. Some people like to smoke, I like to save. Maybe it's a reaction to my early twenties...
BTW, as long as those trees weren't bothered by poison ivy or oak maybe that toilet paper could be salvaged?

[Nords]

OK, lemme answer my two weeks' backlog.* Note that this will be a single robust & quality post instead of sixteen short, substandard ripostes. If five stars were good enough for Eisenhower & Nimitz then they're good enough for me too...

I watch TV to the extent that I happen to be sitting next to my spouse while she's going through the VCR recordings (& listening via headphones).* I record 40-50 hours/week and she goes through it in about 10.* I watch Star Trek (or at least I used to, snivel) but usually I'm reading and I only look up at whatever catches my eye.* (E.g., when Teri Hatcher or Eva Longoria are moving around the screen.)* I probably log more computer time than spouse logs in front of the TV so we don't criticize each other's media choices.*

We watch Dr. Phil to appreciate how good our own lives are.* What impresses me about the guy is the family franchise that he's building and his no-nonsense writing style.* And our kid is heartily tired of hearing "Oh, yeah?* How's that workin' for ya?"* I don't I have the attention span to watch his show live, but he's quite entertaining when you have a fast-forward button.* He wouldn't hesitate to make fun of frugality if he thought it'd create publicity, and he's been taking a lot of website abuse from his viewers for "not getting it".* More chutzpah-- which will probably lead to a lot more frugal zealots clamoring to "educate" him on his own show.* Then he can turn around and start ripping into the couples who don't understand where their six-figure debt came from.

It was also entertaining to watch the frugal woman and her daughters when the show came back from commercial breaks-- from the expressions and the shushing motions of the director it was clear that there was some spirited discussion away from the cameras.* Now it's become a family joke-- yesterday we drove by a broken pallet of toilet-paper rolls blowing all over the breakdown lane.* After watching that episode it was hard not to stop, pick them all up, and bring them home.* But I still pick up pennies (and yen and baht coins) off the street.

Just like Martha's husband, we sort plastic bags by size and re-use them.* We don't always rinse them and they're generally only re-used once.* We re-use our paper grocery bags and, when they're about worn out, we fill them with the green waste that we don't compost for the city to pick up & mulch.* Since I've started a compost pile we only throw out one 13-gallon bag of trash every week or two.* The compost pile also supports a very entertaining mongoose family and keeps them out of the macadamia nuts.

As for the oil changes-- as has been pointed out, it's not about the oil changes!* It's about taking the time to notice what else is dripping from the car, whether a tire is going flat, if a CV boot is ruptured, whether the engine or the brakes are misbehaving, or a dozen other things.* An oil change is one of the few ways to force yourself to inspect your car and to make sure that the other maintenance/repairs are getting done (by you or by a mechanic).* Besides I can change two cars' worth of oil in the time it'd take me to drive to the JiffyLube, wait for TH's "mechanic" to get to them, and then check that he didn't leave us with a new oil leak (or a stripped oil-pan bolt).*

I hesitate to re-use even synthetic oil.* Filters will stop a lot of the particulates (metal shavings, dirt, paper towels) but they won't fix the moisture content or the acid breakdown.* The Navy buys some of the world's finest lubricants (or at least the most expensive) and we still spent a lot of time inspecting samples for breakdown.* Didn't take long for it to happen, either, and you should see what 1000 gallons of oil looks (and smells!) like after it's been lubricating a marine engine for a few months.* I change our car oil every six months precisely because we barely drive a couple thousand miles in that time, and barely for more than 30 minutes at a time.* Hawaii oil doesn't go into a landfill-- it's burned at the HPOWER plant along with all the other combustible trash.*

MJ, VoyT-- contact your local elementary school or childcare center about those yogurt containers.* Meat/fish trays and egg cartons are usually great craft supplies, too.* Even cut-down cardboard boxes are good for storage or for containing the paint splatter from a project.

I've learned to lighten up on the fiscal controls a little, but it's good to keep in practice and to demonstrate good habits for our kid.* Besides, as several have pointed out, we might be saving for contingencies that we never anticipated.* I sure hope we'll never need the "savings", but it's nice to have.

Quote:

Note that this will be a single robust & quality post instead of sixteen short, substandard ripostes. If five stars were good enough for Eisenhower & Nimitz then they're good enough for me too...

Now this is funny! - I only need four stars, because Admiral Zumwalt was the guy I admired most in the Navy, mostly because all the other 'lifers' hated him!

As far as scrimping, my approach is to live fairly high on the hog now that I'm retired. If bad times come, then I'll have somewhere to cut back from. If I cut back now, I'd have no slack to take up if the going got rough!

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nords I watch Star Trek (or at least I used to, snivel)

Bummer huh? It was just getting decent this season.

When gabe starts getting ready to get fussy, he stiffens out his legs and arches his back. This is known as "the captain archer" position. Whats even funnier is my wife now knows whats going on when I yell out "uh oh hon, its captain archer..."

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by th Bummer huh?* It was just getting decent this season. When gabe starts getting ready to get fussy, he stiffens out his legs and arches his back.* This is known as "the captain archer" position.* Whats even funnier is my wife now knows whats going on when I yell out "uh oh hon, its captain archer..."

I've read that Star Trek has been on TV in one form or another for over 18 years. Now they're probably gonna triple the prices of their DVDs.

Ah, yes, the "I'm NOT going in the car seat!!" spasm! Good luck; we never really did solve that problem without brute force...