**Bumped, 8/23/22 8:30pm ET**
My jaw came near the floor when I opened July’s electricity bill to find a notification of a 28% increase in electricity rates, effective immediately. An increase of 28%…. just like that. This month, August, even higher with less use.
After the initial shock wore off, I started thinking about what this means to the working-class people in my community.
Already struggling with a doubling of gas prices, massive food price increases at the grocery store and the pain of all costs for goods far outpacing any rate of wage increase, this type of uncontrollable increase in price of electricity is going to hit hard.
In the past we have used CTH threads to spotlight the smart thinking and resourcefulness of Treepers from all walks of life. A discussion thread where people can share tips, things that can actually be done, to help offset the financial pressures during severe economic times. I think we may all benefit from starting a series of post like that again.
Let us share our wisdom and experience again. There are many thousand who will benefit, as I have always done, from reading your smart tips and suggestions.
What ideas, tips and suggestions do you have to help people save money on ordinary life and living expenses?
These are painful economic times and the stress that is caused by financial worry is some of the most horrific family stress that people can face. Let us come together with tips as a community to help each other. No suggestion is too small. What advice do you have that can help people save money on monthly expenses?
During one of our previous discussions someone gave a tip about putting a clean dry towel in the clothes dryer as a way of cutting down drying time and energy used. I tried it and jumping ju-ju-bones it worked fantastically. Simply putting a dry towel into the dryer when you add the wet clothes from the washer reduces laundry drying time by around 25%. Not only does that save time, but it also saves money – and it was so simple.
So, what suggestions do you have? Tips about anything and everything that might lower the monthly cost of ordinary life. No tip is too small. No suggestion is too odd. Your advice can/will make a difference.
Please use the comments section to drop your advice.
Thanks again for being part of our fellowship.
Love to all.
My electricity has risen also, and its hard, but I will persevere.
My money saving tip is for the holidays.
Turkey meatloaf with stove top sage and onion added instead of breadcrumbs, and a cranberry sauce topping.
Make as you would your regular meatloaf, but with an added money saving on not buying a whole turkey.
That sounds wonderful! Especially for those of us who find meatloaf in our top 10 comfort foods.
OMG I tell my mother every year to please STOP with the whole turkey business. There are only 4 of us and how can we possibly eat that much turkey??? Mom is stupid adamant when it comes to things like that and just says “this is the way I’ve always done it.” She and my dad are then stuck eating turkey sandwiches for like two weeks and I know she throws away a ton of good meat. She hates cooking so she refuses to use the bones and such to make good broth to freeze during the year. I despise being wasteful and this kind of thing makes me so mad because she refuses to listen to me.
Oh and before anyone says how I should be cooking, well, I hate cooking too and have this thing called a full time job. Mom, on the other hand, has hardly worked a day in her life.
You wrote: Mom, on the other hand, has hardly worked a day in her life.
How wrong you are, my treeper friend. She has had a super full-time job since the day you (or an elder sibling) were born.
It is the most giving, loving, worthy job ever. Thank you for that, Bert.
Thank you Bert — too often many forget the work it takes to keep a household going & raise a family
Hey I came from a dysfunctional family, but do know all the sacrifices my mother had to make because of losing my father in the 50s.
Not to mention-while jobs are usually 8-10 hours a day if you add the commute, parenting is a 24 hour a day job, no time off.
So let’s hear it for mom and/or dad as the hard workers they are.
She has worked VERY hard. She has just never been paid for her work in money.
Seems that she worked hard enough to raise an ungrateful daughter.
Your parents probably look forward to the traditional big Thanksgiving turkey each year. They probably enjoy every turkey sandwich afterward.
If you don’t like that the carcass with some meat on it is tossed out, why not ask to take it to your home and freeze it?
As you work full time, hate to cook, and also hate to waste, you can successfully manage these things this way:
On a weekend, submerge the carcass in a big pot of water. Add a big wedged onion, some celery stalks with leaves–cut in half, salt & pepper.
Bring to boil, then lower to simmer 1.5-2 hours.
Remove carcass and cool completely.
Strain liquid and save as your homemade broth.
At this point you can freeze broth for later use.
Pick off turkey meat. You can freeze it for a later use.
From here, you can find online an easy recipe for turkey soup that appeals to you.
Thank your mother for the delicious turkey.
I love to make turkey soup and chicken soup from the leftover carcasses. Simmer the carcass inside a strainer for easy removal. Then add the meat, onions, celery, carrots, noodles or potatoes to the salted broth.
My husband’s southern family goes crazy for red beans and rice. They simmer their bone-in leftover Easter ham, then remove the bone and simmer the meat and broth with red beans and onions. Serve over rice with a dash of Worcestershire sauce.
One way to rationalize this is to see how inexpensive turkeys are during the holidays. Used as loss-leaders they are really cheap, sometimes free once you’ve bought a certain amount of groceries in the month or two leading up to the holiday.
I’m certainly not going to champion wasting food, but honestly, its cheaper than any other meat I can think of. I wish I liked it more. As it is we eat it for a few days (which I enjoy) then mama boils the carcass for soup stock and we take all the meat and make a huge batch of pre seasoned taco meat. Portioned and frozen it’s a quick, delicious meal all year long.
Yep, turkeys are usually sold at bargain prices around turkey day. This past Nov. we bought two extras at those bargain prices and pressure canned them. Plus, I made bone broth from the carcass and canned that. Best broth ever! Much better than the chicken bone broth I usually make.
I am interested in pressure canning foods, especially meats. May I ask what brand canner you have?
Presto’s are the least expensive. WalMart sells them. We’ve acquired a bunch of them over the years at yard sales and such. We give spares out to family and friends. All American is the Rolls Royce of Pressure Canners. If you have lots of money to spare, they are nice, but I’m not convinced they are worth the extra money. We have one we got at an estate sale. We use the Prestos more. Prestos are aluminum and lighter than the all steel All Americans. Canning meat is great. If you can afford it, we bought a freeze dryer last year and it’s amazing.
I have an All American, I love it!
I like turkey. Most years I buy a second one at Thanksgiving because they are cheap. Seeing the writing on the wall I bought 7 because I had room in the freezer and couldn’t beat the price. I cook one every few months and don’t waste a speck of it.
Never thought about the taco angle! Thanks, another one for my repertoire.
A couple of years ago, I brought home a turkey, only to realise it would not fit in the countertop convection oven we have.
So, I cut it in 1/2, splitting it down the middle.
Layed flat, could and did cook 1/2, the other I put in the crock pot, then pulled out and deboned, returning the meat to the crockpot, and adding veggies and spices.
Seperately cooked some noodles, and when the soup was done, added them.
Gave away to neighbors, ate a lot, froze a lot, and was still enjoying it, 6 months later.
I find most people are horrifyingly ungrateful for the food on their plate. Only God can make our food: He just allows us to help. Thankless eaters have never faced starvation.
You could help Mom out by making Turkey soup (freeze it for future meals) or croquettes or even Turkey pot pie (all of which you can freeze). Left over mash potatoes- make mash potato pancakes. I learned how to not waste food from my grandmother who raised 5 during the depression.
Tons of things you can make with leftovers…. So much easier than criticizing.
As for your Mom never having worked a day in her life…. Are you kidding me? having kids, raising them, housework, chauffeur duties, managing a household etc. IS/WAS a full time job for your mom and all the other mom’s out there. You are also supremely lucky to have grown up with a full-time mom at home. Many grow up without that gift. Please be patient, grateful and understanding of your Mom.
Hah, “this is the way I’ve always done it” reminds me of the story of the woman cooking a roast, and slicing about 1/2″ off each end, before putting it in the oven.
Her young daughter, watching/ helping, asks her why.
“I don’t know, really its just what Mom always did.”
So, she calls he mom snd asks her.
“I don’t know, its what my mom always did.”
So, SHE calls HER mom, and asks her.
“Cause it wouldn’t fit in the pan otherwise, silly!” is the answer.
Which is a great joke Dutchman. Those of us who had the pleasure of sharing stories with Depression era relatives know they had to cut the 1/2 inch of all sides to get rid of the rot and bugs. Refrigeration, if they had it, wasn’t what it is now.
Heard this same story, but with a meatloaf. 😂 Thanks for the chuckle. I certain needed it.
Did you re-read this before you posted it? It seems to shed a very bad light on you – not your mother.
This could easily devolve into a recipe thread, but I just wanted to say how a crock pot (or an instapot if that’s all you have) can turn any dry and chewy chunk of meat into something requiring a spoon. Slow cook 8-10 hours.
Perhaps it isn’t the most energy efficient, can’t say, but it does wonders to make the ‘cheapest'(not unhealthy) food palatable.
Also I highly recommend an air fryer. It’s quick and a lot cheaper for smaller portions than firing up a full size oven.
Plus less fat and the fat from the meat can be drained and used for either type of frying later. Especially bacon fat, yum!!!
Open-faced sammich makes bread go further and saves a few carbs.
Try using no bread if possible. I find the middle tastes much better without bread ( plus saves money and carbs!)
I have been using wool dryer balls but I think the dry towel, with its absorption, will work better. Can’t wait to read others ideas..
God bless you Sundance.
The towel idea *does* work, especially using multiple clean towels for bedspreads that come out of the washer a bit more damp than normal..
But the dryer balls also seem to fluff up / loosen the clothing (or whatever) a bit and nothing gets dried stiff.. We use 8 wool drier balls and love the way they also catch some lint & pet hair that survived the washer. I use a clean rubber-bristle pet brush to clean them off – takes about a minute after I empty the dryer.
Towels in dryer do work. I also use maximum extraction setting on my washer for heavier washer loads. This gives me a head start before clothes ever hit the dryer.
Kind of hard with these new washers. If I’d know the craziness of newer washers, I think I would have moved my old one with me.
I air dry the heavier things like comforters, blankets and such. I have also run the dryer to less than full dry and let the ambient air do the rest. I’ll dump the slightly damp dryer load on my bed, spread it out, and it’s completely dry in an hour or so. In an air conditioned or forced hot air house, the extra humidity is welcome.
I don’t like how the dryer balls get stuck inside pant legs and sleeves and need to be dug out..
Oh Yeah they do find their way into clothing with long sleeves and pants legs! 🤣🤣
I’ve been using them so long now I automatically feel every sleeve and pants leg when removing clothing from the dryer. Just squeeze them out…
Yes, indeed. You pull the clothes out and a couple of balls go bouncing around the laundry room.
We’ve used the dryer balls for a while, but I’m excited to try this towel idea.
What works for me is hanging clothes on a Cloth Rack. Outside if sunny, inside if it is raining. I leave cloths to dry overnight… then i ran the dryer only for 5 minutes to finish them.
I do opposite–run for 5 minutes with dryer balls to get rid of static clean.
Then line dry.
I use dryer balls instead of dryer sheets for softening up all but sheets and towels, which get the Downey in the wash treatment. They cost about $10 up front but last for years. Will be trying the towel trick.
I use 3 plastic ones, allergic to wool.
Unplug the microwave, phone chargers and all the things that aren’t being used! These “phantom” little things really add up. And TURN OFF the lights! 🙂. You’d be amazed at how much electricity we waste. And those solar yard lights really work well inside at night too!!
Can put things on a power strip and turn on and off as needed.
Yes a power strip works, also these things don’t use as much electricity as one would believe. I have a wattometer and a powered off microwave/tv/computer monitor/phone charger uses ~.5-1.5w. For reference, bulbs used to be 60w. One light bulb running for 1 hour is worth more electricity than all my ‘phantom’ devices sitting off all day.
What’s far worse are the devices that have “partial sleep states” like an xbox one or newer or an alexa(God forbid you have the little spy in your house). Those devices never turn fully off (which is why the controller or your voice can turn them on) and use 30-35w at any given time when “not in use”.
We have worked hard to avoid the Alexa and Google spies in our house.
About 1 year ago we splurged and put in new windows in the house. It is much better and quieter inside. I hate to think what or AC bills would be now without the new windows. They are double paned and the doors are triple paned.
Have used them for hurricane lights when the power goes out. Yes, they work great.
Phantom power is negligible with most modern devices.
You’ll save more in other less-inconvenient ways.
I tend to agree about the PC. But, LED light bulbs are a major savings and turning off the TV is probably still saving money. I bought 3 daylight/movement sensor lights for closets from Amazon. I use one for the front door and one for the garage and one I put on my stationary bike so I can walk between my bedroom and my office without running into something or turning on a light. My closet also has an overhead strip one that I inherited. The strip is much larger and does not have to be recharged as frequently. I bought four solar lights for the outside, I just haven’t put them up yet. They are floodlights that have lithium batteries charged by sunlight. They work great. Also motion/daylight sensing. I plan to get some alarms as well.
I have a collection of battery candles (the Luminara ones with the remote) and I use them every evening and dark day in favor of turning on the plugged-in lamps.
The light is plenty to get around, and especially when winding down for sleep avoids brightness that can keep one awake.
I even put them up in my stairway by finding inexpensive sconces to hang them on the wall.
The lamps themselves also all have LED bulbs.
And yes the batteries do add up but the remotes make it easy to flip the candles on and off as needed. They do last pretty well.
If you get the rechargeable lithium ones, you will save on batteries in the long run. They do not take long to charge on a USB cord connected to your PC. Most come with charging cords.
It’s nickel and dime stuff, but every little bit helps. The first thing I do is replace all the lightbulbs in the house with low power LED or CFL bulbs, they draw MUCH less wattage than the old style incandescent bulbs.
Incandescent bulbs provide heat in northern climates.
yes we use them in metal box to keep chicken& peafowl water from freezing.
That’s a real benefit in the summer. /s
I’m sure chicken owners will be able to remember this little factoid long enough to implement it during the winter time.
If you want to swap out bulbs, sure. The heat vegetated in a home is negligible for winter warmth IMO, particularly in a well-insulated home.
Yes they do. As a Midwesterner I concur!
This advice should not be passed by – incandescent bulbs may be 40-100 watts. LED 4-8. This has a strong ROI for your investment
Definitely go with the LEDs. Wait until you find them on sale then buy enough for the whole house. (Calculate ahead of time how many you really need and buy a few extras if you can afford it.)
I despise the color of LED lights and nothing replaces soft white incandescent for home photography. The LEDs and especially CFL have an ugly green hue. I’m with Trump on this. Give me old fashioned bulbs anytime over these toxic replacements. I keep a box with 45/60/75 watt bulbs in my car trunk and sometimes swap out the LEDs or especally CFL bulbs when on photo shoots.
LEDs come in many frequencies. I replaced all my library lamp incandescent bulbs with LEDs of the same “temperature” and can’t tell any difference.
Agree wholeheartedly
I prefer incandescent light. So that is what is in my bedroom, by my reading chair and one task light in the kitchen. Every thing else is LED or CFLs.
Except in a few areas I have done the same. With the areas that I might need more light at times, I had dimmers installed.
Dimmers don’t reduce your electric usage, they merely resist the flow causing heat in the switch which is dissipated in the wall. Unless you are changing the the light level a lot you are far better off with a lower wattage bulb or an additional light source.
People use a light in the well house to keep the water pump from freezing for as long as we have had electricity.
Just saw a post by a local firefighter– Those squiggle bulbs had become jam-packed with a colony of lady bugs that began to burn. Yuk and Yikes! This retired home-ec. teacher doesn’t habitually dust the lightbulbs anymore, but will be more vigilant with the squiggly ones. Stay safe.
Get together with some trusted neighbors – talk to your local farmer and collectively buy a cow.
…. or just rent a cow.
Keep in mind hay prices are going up. My hay supplier will not have as much this year because fertilizer is way up. Chicken feed has also gone up.
Here in a semi-rural part of Ohio we have lots of people who maintain enormous lawns, several acres worth. I wonder what it would take to convert some of that to hay.
With or without their permission?
lol!!
I’m also in Ohio. Every time I see one of those yards, I think, “what a waste of good pasture.” 🤣 My horses would love to be there.
In the old days, chickens were the garbage disposal of food scraps for the household. Such as rinds, peelings, and soft seeds. If you raise chickens, this may cut down on some feed cost.
Can confirm. I don’t spend but maybe $5/mon even with the increase in feed for my flock of over three dozen.
When I free-ranged my chickens their consumption of store-bought feed dropped off quite a bit.
Unfortunately, my losses to predators outweighed the savings.
You can build a chicken tractor and free range them, and it allows you to move it around anytime you want.
Have an old swing set?
Strip it down to just the frame and run wire around all the sides. Reinforce the bottom with some 2×4’s and put a little door on one end to for access.
It’s a great idea, but I can’t seem to get them to take their seats when the tractors in motion! /s
Fertilizer is up and a lot of areas out West (Texas ) is going through a drought.
Or find a good butcher and buy what you can fit in your freezer. Mine sells mixed quarters.
Miniature cows are the way to go for small scale farm. One half acre needed per mini-cow, less water, less hay, & less feed, but more meat from a miniature cow in proportion to a regular cow. Read all about it here:
https://rurallivingtoday.com/livestock/miniature-cattle-breeds-small-farm/
Buy a freezer first. Then, buy meat wholesale from a rancher/farmer if you can find one. Half, quarter cows and pigs are sold in addition to bulk chickens.
Here are some of the things I am doing to reduce electric usage.
1) Close all curtains for all windows not just South windows. Heat will come in more through any window than a wall. Especially close all curtains on sun facing windows. I just leave a few small North windows curtains open.
2) Not only close the curtains but I seal the bottoms of the window curtains with small 2×2 boards to keep the hot air from drifting in below the curtains.
3) Ac – when to run? Ac will cool much faster and more efficiently if it is cooler near the AC. So I do ALL my AC at night to “supercool” the house and then leave Ac off completely during most of the day time. So my “allowed” AC time is from 7 pm to 7 am each day.
4) Electronics. Turn off all you do not need. But for sure turn off the active screens for all TV’s and computers when not directly using them. Leave printers off and only turn them on for the minute you need to print.
5) Off course my house is 100% LED lights.
I have thought about those often on a fixed salary or pension. For the self employed or tradesmen you can work another hour and see one more client, make one more service call, one more hour of work, swing that hammer one more hour and expand your daily income. The pension and fixed salary crew do not have this luxury.
Seniors here in Texas. No pension. Social security and not much of that. We saved but have been punished for a virtue which was once admired…no more. Financial repression plus inflation means our seed corn is slowly being eaten through. And as with Sundance, our per kWh, cost has doubled.
What to do…
We set our AC originally on 84 in the day and 80 at night with ceiling fans on full and became acclimated. Then we moved it up to 85 and waited until the AC clicked on and added a small but powerful floor fan to keep the air circulating. As long as we don’t do full workouts.(as if at our age) it is tolerable.
Now, we have had no bill since we’ve adopted this routine so we’ll see soon if that is enough.
I know we are better off than many so will not complain.
What is being done to vulnerable people by these abominable ideologically driven ignorant monsters angers me to the point of red faced fury. Thinking of a laughing Granholm who has sold what little soul she may have had? You can imagine…
It is those who are truly suffering for whom I pray. I hope that when vengeance and karma come for them, it will be as merciless to them as they have been to those they clearly think nothing of or despise.
Not a Christian view I do know. But deliberate cruelty and imposed suffering towards others deserves no less.
To me intentionally causing pain to others is a sin.
We have seen a big increase of evil people in this world – the result of ignoring God and focusing on self (like My body MY choice). The abortion culture has huge ripples.
Evil walks this earth, Scarlett. And yes, it is a most terrible sin.
I am now in the elderly category and on a fixed income, but I remember a time when there was no air conditioning. In fact, we didn’t have air until after the birth of my second child. So far, in this (what the news media claim as extreme heat) I still have not put on the air. We just put on the fan part of the cooling system. Although I must admit our apartment is a northeast corner and the sun is only directly hitting us in the morning’s weakest sun time. So, my advice is to take stock of the coolest part of the house and hang out there. We also have gotten into the habit of eating non-cooking foods during the latter part of the day and do most of the other cooking in the morning or late evening and use the leftovers for the hot parts. If only the summer kitchen was still around and not a thing of the past.
We do the same on the cooking, Gardy I can’t remember when I last actually cooked a meal in the sense that I stayed in the kitchen working over a hot stove.
It is amazing what one can get used to, and our AC stays off almost all day, so well does the floor fan work with the ceiling ones. I’m actually looking for our bill to be more manageable by adopting the regimen we have done.
Cold and hot snaps have been with us forever, but the climate nazis and their complicit media try to convince us that the past never happened. The Northeast right now (we’re in Maine) is in a hot spell. No big whoop. it’s summer and some summers are hotter than others. Look up the Great Heat Wave of 1911 here in the northeast.
Not a single one of my schools, including university classrooms or dorm was air-conditioned. Very large, respected university, too.
I cook in the crock pot a lot in the summer, or in one of those roaster ovens. I put them outside on the back porch so as to keep the heat out of the kitchen and we’ll often eat out on the porch too since it’s a little cooler out there. Yes, it does get hot in Vermont in the summer, temps in the mid- to upper-90’s are pretty common. Fortunately the hot snaps don’t last as many days as in other places.
I’m a widow of 19 months today. After he left me, I decided to try something. It worked well.
I cooked pots or large amounts of meals. I froze in one serving containers from DG( 3/$1 pillsbury ).
I just take out the night before and have BBQ chicken, beef/veg soup, spaghetti, burritos, tacos, chili, sloppy joes……I even froze my ground beef in burger size and can thaw and use that one for a meal or recipe for one.
I like tomatoes/beef/macaroni.
It is nice and works for me.
My air fryer gets a lot of use because I can not bare the oven heat. I use the microwave for the rest.
I wish you luck. I’m so happy I’m not trying to raise children with all these rising expenses.
My wife’s parents have found the best way to avoid the rising expenses so that they can enjoy what little SS income they have. The moved into a small home that my wife and I had moved onto my property for a pool house. It’s less than 1000 sq. ft. so it meets their needs and it was a free house minus the moving costs. Can’t blame them, it’s a good deal if you can find it!
God Bless
I made my own. Down sized from 1500 sf to just over 1000 and got a front and back yard in the deal. It has impact windows which has saved me from too high an electric bill due to cathedral ceilings.
In earthly terms we pray for God’s justice on those who seek our harm: thwart their evil schemes and bring their plots to nothing.
In heavenly terms we pray that God have mercy on these fellow sinners, turn their hearts to repentance of their wicked ways, grant them faith and a longing to join us in praising the living God, and meeting with us in heaven when God calls us out of this vale of tears to our eternal glory.
For some time now I have been an advocate for solar panels and with which I am lucky enough to make a Kw each hour of the day and get at least 10hrs every day.
My bills are about half of similar people in my situation…… so its a bit easier with our latest rises which amount to 26% over last month.
My current project is to build a gassifier….. (FEMA plans on line) that were used in WW2 both in the US and Europe when gas was in short supply or diverted to the war effort….. Its actually called wood-gas…. (anyone over 60 might know of it) and it would run cars and trucks in place of gasoline…….
This is not for me as a daily use….. but I feel its only a matter of time before it gets banned….or not available……….. we better get used to it!
Gasifier: The FEMA plans are much too crude, you will seize up the engine due to tars on the valves. Check out
Ben Peterson’s design. It looks like it is much more usable.
https://www.woodgasifierplans.com/courses/wood-gasifer-builders-bible
I have no connection to Ben. I have purchased his book through Amazon and I am in
the process of building.
Best wishes to all!
The Gasifier I am building is for emergency use really….. I live on an island and expect blackouts and not enough fuel. Heck the EU and parts of the US are expecting blackouts………. so it is logical for me to prepare.
I am almost ready to fire up my Gasifier…… although I started with Fema…..in design…the more I read I realized it had to have better filtration very early on……. so now I have a large cyclone….. a large filter/Sawdust based…..and a very large cooler / water separator.
Its a nice project….. but just a pity such a fool caused it needlessly…..
Keep those solar panels off the grid.
Why?
I did take a look at a solar system with energy storage. Because parallelism supported high overall system availability, i really like EnPhase. But, the service terms require the system is connected yo the internet and both EnPhase and the installation contractor have remote access. I ultimately declined to purchase since I wanted zero possibility of my very expensive system being turned off by anyone but me.
Did not follow up with Tesla to see if they have a similar internet connection rqmt.
My solar system doesn’t require internet access to work. It may be because I don’t put power onto the grid. I’m grid-tied in that when I don’t have enough solar power or battery storage to power my house it’ll pull from the grid automatically. But I don’t put power onto the grid and, therefore, don’t fall into all the regulations of a “power provider”. In other words, things like when the grid power goes down my solar power doesn’t have to automatically shut off.
It’s given my wife and me a financial freedom from most of the energy price hike craziness of the Dims.
I advocate TREES over solar panels, particularly Red Oak, Sycamore, and Southern Live Oak for their growth rates (yard size depending).
I have 47 trees planted between my front and back yards. The dividends will pay off soon and last for decades after I’m gone.
Not sure of the logic of that!
You think a solar panel is “better for the planet” — and your utility bill — than the shade of a massive oak?
Not sure of the logic of THAT.
My trees will provide shade, beauty, and noise insulation for generations–and lumber, firewood, etc. to boot if necessary. You can survive on Hackberry in a pinch. Good luck digesting that rotted solar panel boondoggle!
Learn old fashioned card games ( a deck of cards is cheap and requires no energy). Get together with friends and play a round of cards.
Most libraries have digital streaming of movies.
Spends lots of time at parks that require no admission fee.
Many towns have summer music concerts where you can hear free concerts in a park setting
Learn to cook with dried beans , many great recipes are traditionally frugal like Cuban Black Beans and Rice, etc.
Don’t be a slave to fashion. Learn to patch clothing etc.
Grow flowers from seed instead of buying potted flowers to plant.
I really like hummus – had hummus with naan dippers and a salad last night.
I live in Redmond, WA now – having fled from Portland. It rarely gets too hot or all that cold here. I bought a hybrid car last year and plan my trips to save on gas.
Hummus is a huge standard in my diet. I love it layered on wasa crackers with a top layer of taboule salad. Just ate two of those. Nice hot weather snack or meal.
If you have an instrument you’ve wanted to learn, it costs basically nothing to spend time learning it – even better if you play with others.
…And it’s good for your soul :).
when possible on very hot days round here ..we do this..
http://cdn.onlyinyourstate.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/413186_425287137512566_1341704639_o.jpg
hang tuff
Now that looks like fun and I bet feels even better on a hot one 😊
If you can’t get to a nice lake or river and you’re stuck at home, you can substitute a swamp cooler* for the ac.
* So old, I predate widespread use of AC in the home and my Wonder Years were spent in the deep South, so I fondly recall ceiling fans and swamp cooler tech.
When I was a kid (1950s) all movie theater advertised “AIR CONDITIONED” with frosted borders on their colorful marquees.
Right?! Clear memories.
That was the biggest thing we looked forward to – not the movie, as much as walking into the dark, cold, quiet theatre.
Remember stores with a “Come in, its COOL! inside” sticker on the door – usually with a smiling penguin standing on a block of ice
Good memory. A/C was theaters’ big enticement to attract customers in summer when it first started being used….
http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/ac.htm
Yup. And Saturday Western, WWII, or B-Grade scifi matinees for a quarter or less.
And after taking the cross-town Schwinn Express, boy howdy, was that AC sweet or what?
Yep and malls had AC too.
Yes! We were one of the first in my neighborhood to get a swamp cooler and in our hot summers some of my friends would ask to come over and we would all cool off standing in the hall under it’s powerful blast.
Crazy kids we were, we also had contests to see who could stand barefooted the longest on the hot manhole covers; Southern California does get hot.
These days I run my laundry when electricity is it’s cheapest; very early mornings. Being a farm girl I still wake up around 4 am each day and hang most of my laundry on a clothesline. Not as much Cotten is used these days in making clothes so they have fewer wrinkles.
I grew up in SoCal, too (still here but house is on the market so leaving soon!) and my dad got a swamp cooler for our house! It was in the living room and I would stand in front of it to cool off. Summer nights were a b*tch trying to sleep; the bedrooms were soooooo hot.
I also used to walk barefoot everywhere on the asphalt streets, the beaches (with the hot tar, lol) on rocks – anywhere on anything. Good memories.
Difficulty sleeping cause its too hot?
Easy. Take your top sheet, get it wet, shower works good for that, wring it out, and lay it over you with a fan aimed at you.
Initially, it will be ALMOST too cold, except it feels so GOOD to be cold, and within minutes it will be quite comfortable.
By morning everything will be dry, at least where I live. Don’t know how this would work in EXTREMELY humid places.
In Florida, you can skip getting the sheet wet, perspiration will do the job long before morning.
I explained the cost of electricity to a young lady with 4 kids–she didn’t know and most don’t so shhhh..if everyone uses power at night, we’ll get higher bills.
I do wash at night, hang on covered porch with an expendable line( love it) from one column to the next.
Dry by morning!!!
Swamp coolers don’t work in humid climates. Work great in dry climates.
True enough… But even in the pre-AC and hot/humid South, standing in front of the evap-fan was cooler than standing in front of a fan sans evaporator tank.
You will want to inquire with your energy company if fixed rate is available, if you are on a variable rate
You can lock in your rate for a couple of years.
I locked in my rate 2nd half of last year, when all the discussion about coal / nuclear / natural gas flared up.
And replace all your lights with LED lights. That is other low hanging fruit.
60 watts for a bulb vs 6 watts for a LED light…
True and shop around for the bulbs, because the cost can vary by a wide margin. Where I live, I found a little store called “Batteries Plus” sells bulbs as well and their prices were much better than Lowe’s and Home Depot.
Here in blueMA the best deals on batteries are at the warehouse stores. I use BJs – I get the sense it’s not quite as woke as the others.
Check with your power company about rates. Here in Georgia from June 1 to September 30 between 2pm and 7pm are considered prime rateage. Georgia Power charges 4 times the normal amount. So everything that uses 220 voltage I avoid…baking, clothes dryer, pool pump, etc. It certainly helps.
California, too. Not sure how much higher, but it is definitely higher. I think we have 3 tiers for rates here.
Living in NY, the initial and monthly charges for the “savings” program for the privilege of a lower cost per kWh during off peak hours completely offset any savings. (The first 3 words explain it all.)
I’m on fixed rate, 2 year contract, free electricity 9 pm – 6 am. I run the dishwasher and do laundry after 9. I usually only pay for 55-60% of the kw hours I use.
Wow,,, that is a great deal!
Close all window coverings,shades,curtains first thing in the morning. Heat comes in through the windows and put a towel or a wooden block the width of the window along the bottom if you have older windows to prevent hot air from getting in. Also consider blackout window coverings you can make out of any heavy solid dark cloth fabric and put them with velcro on the back of your window coverings. Even an old towel will do. It will help insulate your windows. Do this in bedrooms especially or rooms of the house you don’t use as often.
alike minds here with my similar post above. It works to save a small percent but it all adds up or rather subtracts from your bill.
Back before air conditioning my aunt would close up her house early in the morning after it had cooled all night. It really worked well to keep her home cooler during the heat of the day.
Shop at Estate Sales! You can find practical items at a fraction of the cost. From light bulbs to power tools to furniture to kitchen necessities….better quality can often be found, too. 👍🏻
Find sales in your area (with pics!)
estatesales.net
We scored last weekend!! All things we needed or wanted. Still adding up, but over $600 worth for $75.
It’s amazing, isn’t it? We could stock/furnish/outfit the country with what is at these sales.
We are so lucky as to have a friend in New Hampshire who runs a store now that sells mostly items he picks up at estate sales. I’ve used it for all sorts of inexpensive finds.
He also runs a summer music series under a tent outside the store and most of our musician crowd plays shows there during the season, for tips.
Sounds like a fun combo! Love NH👍🏻
My best advice is to not take out your money troubles on your spouse, especially if you have children. These are stressful times and the whole family will feel your stress. Do your best to be the happy warrior, I know it’s difficult. More relationships break over money than anything else.
Encourage others to stop voting progressive.
Rand Paul said the biden administration is now planning a tax increase on small businesses which is, in his opinion, sheer madness.
Tip: When I use the dishwasher, I turn it on early evening, skip the dry cycle and instead leave the door open overnight and let the dishes air dry.
That’s a great idea! Thanks 👍
Think it through; where small businesses make infrequent and small donations to campaign funds, large businesses make frequent large campaign donations. Our elected officials may be corrupt, but they’re not stupid.
I stopped using my dishwasher altogether a few weeks ago (for the most part!) but I am not sure that hand washing is saving me anything. I typically wash a sink full and then quick rinsing them and setting them on a towel and in the dishrack to dry. It is just my husband and myself, but we manage to dirty a lot of dishes! We are on a fixed income here as well, and it is just enough to get by. We lost our home to foreclosure 11 years ago, so now we have to rent … $1200 month here in West Michigan. God has been our provider when things have gotten lean, and we trust He will continue to do so … we just want to be wise stewards of what He has given us.
The average dishwasher in the last ten years use about 4 to 5 gal for full run. Cheaper for us to use it several times a week.
If you have a new one there is a regular setting that takes 3 gallons of water. It isn’t really a savings in the winter because the dishes don’t come clean because the water cools down too much.
I run mine about once a week. It’s just me.
Mine hasn’t worked for years. It makes a great dish drying rack and doesn’t take up counter space!
Is there anything you run out of before other stuff, such as silverware? I run mine overnight every 3 nights – 2 if I’ve been baking or doing a large amount of cooking – and sometimes need to wash some silverware and my favorite knife and cutting board in between but generally it all goes in the dishwasher and saves time, water, and I believe a little electricity.
Which is why I stay in this house too big for me. since I am widowed..my mortgage/ins/tax are less than 600 a month.
I do have to put up sheets over open concept openings in the winter because I only heat br/den/kitchen.
He is still here in ways no one can imagine. I like that.
I keep vigilant tabs on my above the ground pool chemical test results. All the pool people here advocate running the filter 24/7 and I used to. Now I add an extra splash of algaecide and only run it for 16-18 hours a day. So far it still looks good.
Also, take advantage of the local library and stores in the hottest part of the afternoon. I turn the AC off when I leave the house.
I hand wash dishes (I keep a basin of water in the sink) and use the dishwasher wrack for drying.
Heavy clothes or towels, get the air dry treatment outside before I toss them in the dryer.
About your pool, I realize yours is above ground but my neighbors have an inground pool & they’ve converted it to salt water. They said they totaled the costs for the chemicals they had to use vs. the salt water & it was cheeper. Ive got to say it was a lovely visit & I didn’t have to shower after plus my suit didn’t stink either 😊
Spay and neuter your Democrats.
And rinos…
Democrats, RINOS, same thing.
Our electric rates last month jumped 34% due to Democrats wanting to close perfectly fine, and modernized coal fired electric plants to be replaced with acres of taxpayer subsidized windmills and solar panels. We already have a LOT of windmills, so there are few good locations left for wind near any population. The windmills kill MANY migratory birds – it is sad.
I was raised in the deep south w/o AC – I used to joke to folks I was ‘raised sweating’. Seriously, something you can do to reduce AC usage 1) Cool your house way down early in the morning 2) Pull the curtains & shads shut – heavier the better 3) Use fans 4) A cold wet towel over the neck with a fan works well 5) Install an attic exhaust fan – they help with cooling and your roof will last longer 6) More insulation in the attic if you do not have at least 8″ – 12″ is preferred 7) Use a outdoor grill to cook with to keep stove heat out of the house in the summer months 8) Go to the pool or a swimming hole for relief. Outdoor slip’n slides work.
I bought an attic fan to replace one that wasn’t working and did a Youtube search for tips on the actual mechanics of replacement. During that search I ran across this video that says that attic fans are pretty much useless. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pQ443d-NsE. Because I’d already bought the new fan, I replaced it, but I don’t think I’d do it again.
I think you may have misinterpreted that video. He was talking about powered attic ventilators, NOT whole house fans mounted in the ceiling of the top floor. A whole house fan works beautifully to exhaust hot air from the house before turning on the A/C.
The whole house fan will pull in outside air thru screened windows at night if/when temps are cool enough to be comfortable. The cooler house air (compared to the attic air) does cool the attic somewhat as the air is pushed out of the gable vents and even soffit vents.
I grew up without A/C in a brick faced end-of-group row home near the Baltimore City boundary. The back of our house faced due west and received the full summer sun from noon on… By 5pm you could fry an egg on the outside wall before the raw egg could run down onto the ground. The whole house fan (set on Low) kept our second floor bedrooms tolerable in the dog days of summer.
Best practice for attic ventilation for most zones except the very coldest is to have a ridge vent installed on the roof (in every section if there is more than one section.) Ridge vents are passive (not powered), very efficient and can be used along with gable vents.
I had a big house in GA. Because that house had a big attic fan, I could leave the A/c off all day while I was at work. When I got home, it was cool enough outside that the attic fan would suck in cool air and blow out the hot air. Sometimes I didn’t need to turn on the A/c at all after the fan did its job.
Perfect application of the whole house attic fan, Rvsue!
The only potential down side is that after they are more than a few years old, the fan blade assembly bearings may start to rumble a bit. But most WH fans are belt driven so the weight of the blade assembly is not on the motor shaft itself.
Yeah, many put in too small of a fan or do not modify the gable end to facilitate the fan properly. A ridge vent can be just as effective I think. My view is based on my own experience in the deep south – worked well for us.
Agreed, we use a roof vent and passive cyclone vents in strategic hot spots. I am amazed at the cooling effect in out attic and NO ELECTRICITY.
We bought a new house two years ago. It was built in 2018 and has great insulation, especially in the attic. Our power bill is very reasonable. A bit more than a third of what our other house used to be most months.
With new houses you have to be aware that some isolate so well, that it will have an adverse health affect with regard to mold, spores, and bacteria and that sort of stuff related to indoor air quality.
You have to be cognizant about ventilating the house.
Another example: if your new basement is made out of concrete, you have to be aware of radon and offgassing (for years!) and ventilate the basement.
The local electric utilities here ,will do energy audits on your home. And also will provide low interest loans for windows and insulation.
…and many give you a neat little goodies basket and literature to boot!
I had radiant barrier installed in the attic space instead of new insulation in my 50 yr old home. It cut my cooling/heating costs in half. In summer it prevent edheat from building up in the insulation and then radiating it down in the evening. In winter, no heat loss.
Buying bounce dryer sheets but cutting them in half. Clothes still soft but half the cost. Cheap dryer sheets don’t work with this tip and are actually more expensive over the long term. Use white vinegar instead of liquid fabric softener. It helps the soap rinse out of your clothes better and soap residue is what makes clothes crispy. Aluminum foil balls the dryer work great for cotton and cotton blends. Not on polyester or other synthetic materials.
I do that withthe pricey Bounce dog hair repellant dryer sheets. They still do as advertised.
I have switched to a vinegar and water mix for cleaning. It works well. a 50/50 mix.
Many online recipes advocate adding a teaspoon of dish soap. I believe that ‘additive’ is for heavily soiled outside windows. For inside, the vinegar and water works very well.
I also use the blue shop towels…paper towels. I rinse them in that basin in the sink, after am done with dishes. I hang them in the garage to dry. I can triple the use of one of those paper towels.
the wool ball makes the dryer sheets completely unnecessary, and they last for years! you can also load it up with lavender essential oil for girly smell
and a bit of white vinegar and baking soda in the wash eliminates the “stinky towel” phenomena
Not to make you sad, but dryer sheets are not good for your health. Lots of info on the internet. Here is an article that offers alternatives. There are many, if you search.
https://draxe.com/health/dryer-sheets
White vinegar is also Great for hard water areas which I’m in, I use it in wash cycle everytime 😊
I read several repair persons say the sheets were the biggest fault in dryer failure. I have wool dryer balls. I have used them for many years now and they still work.
6 in the dryer.
However, I don’t use the dryer for much and may be reason for such long life of these dryer balls.
Let hair mostly air dry if possible. If rushed in the morning, do it about 2 hrs before bed. If using a hair curler for styling, turn it off about a minute before finishing. It will stay hot.
Close or mostly close blinds on windows that face west to lower summer air conditioning costs.
Use small appliances like toaster oven, air fryer , etc for as much cooking as you can. Next best are top burners. If you use the oven, make a lot for leftovers.
In summer, cooler showers will feel good and save hot water.
My parents were both “Depression Babies” and were raised during that economic period which followed a crash which was unnecessarily prolonged by misguided & often malicious big government meddling (sound familiar?).
Thrift & frugality were taught to me during my formative years by example – just by watching my parents.
My parent’s generation – The Greatest Generation – is all but gone and with it, a lot of the common sense which today’s ‘kids’ don’t seem to have inherited. Too many of us are unaccustomed to delaying gratification, which is a building block of self-esteem.
Rather than listing a litany of tips, I would say that the best thing we could do as a people to survive and even thrive during these times is to simply:
Plan ahead and work toward the things you actually need and not just the things you just want. . . . and learn to know the difference.
Daddy taught me to learn the difference between WANTS, NEEDS & GOT TO HAVES.
If there is something you want, wait 30 days. You will have forgotten it or changed your mind about wanting it.
My mother could make a penny squeal! Also a depression baby hence the constant saying about eating the food on your plate their are & still is, starving people out their. Mindfulness and common sense are utmost something necessary that most do not have.
I had a sibling who decided to challenge the ‘eat everything on your plate…’ phrase with a wisecrack to the effect of ‘well, send it to them’ line. Next meal Dad made sure he got half as much as the rest of us (7). When he complained why he got so little, Dad told him that he had sent it to (insert country). Never heard a complaint from any of us again about it.
Pappy, a farm boy in his early teens during the Great Depression’s kickoff, had a simple saying at the dinner table. Take what you want, But Eat What You Take!
His emphasis, not mine.
I told my students when we served snacks, if you touch it, you take it. Solved the problem of the one who couldn’t choose and had to touch a bunch.
I knew a neighbor that washed and reused the ziploks..I reuse them if they are still clean. And alum foil
I don’t think this saves much, but if no access to stores or stuck at home, it’d matter. I never need the entire sheet of the choose a size paper towels, I half and put one half in a drawer–they come in handy.
After living through the total collapse of our business during the “Too Big to Fail (Jail)” saving of all the Fed’s and Government’s big pals, my wife and I had to sort out what we really, really needed.
With shrinkflation, gave up a few global products that were really unnecessary for my existence.
Curious, I may be a bit slow… but is #6 a golf joke?
By “strokes”, He means positive reinforcement.
Kam, I am Curious, may be a bit slow… but is #6 a golf joke?
I know this was not your intntion, but I took this thread as an opportune reminder that I should make a contribution to the Treehouse.
Because the supply line of accurate and truthful reporting of the issues of the day must be continued at all costs.
To quote Betty Davis, “Fasten your seatbelts…it’s going to be a bumpy ride .”
For the price of just one good quality IPA, you can buy about three of these.
Hard Times Indeed!
I love natty daddy😂😂😂😂
I do not like Nutty Yahoo……
I’d rather give up drinking than drink something that tastes like the underside of a horse. What’s a better payoff is dropping beer and moving to spirits!
I’m on social security, a widow and up there in age. I have not got money to go food shopping after paying my bills. Everything has gone up. I’ve already charged food my charges are up and I need to go fd shopping 🛒.
In our community there are a number of churches that distribute bulk food boxes each month. Also, check the St. Vincent DePaul Society. They offer rental and utility assistance as well as food boxes. Financial aid available in a limited amount, usually only once or twice a year. But it will help.
Joan . . . . Contact utility companies (or have someone do it for you) and explain your situation. There may be subsidies available for elderly on fixed incomes in your area.
Every state has an area agency on aging. They are supposed to know all senior resources for your area.
Where are you Joanl?
Hi Joan.
You can dial 211, United Way, from anywhere in the country and talk to them about your needs.
They will give you info for everything you need help with that’s available in your area.
Also, contact your county DHS (Dept of Human Services) and ask for an application for LIHEAP, which is fed program for utility assistance
Also as noted by others, reach out to your church.
If they don’t have programs, they will know who does.
Keep the faith.
Take care of the nickels and dimes and the dollars will take care of themselves.
My dad used to say this all of the time.
I find myself using it more and more. Both at work and at home.
Thank you for posting that.
Eddie Shack
I try to eat frugally in regards to cost. If you have chickens and too many eggs, this works–freeze.
I have for meals a lot, two eggs and a sausage, Cheap meal.
I froze eggs in a ziplok and thaw and cook and they are very acceptable.
I’m surprised!!!
Three things that saved me a ton.
#1— insulate your water heater. Took only two months to pay for the WH insulation wrap.
#2— when I finish a load of laundry, I run an extra “drain & spin” cycle. Now my dryer finishes in 1/2 the time.
#3— let your heavy laundry air dry, then throw them in for a bit to soften.
To air dry you can hang them or buy those stand up dryer racks and put it
in your garage in the warm weather, most peoples garages are almost as hot
as outside so your clothes will pretty much dry on the rack then you can
quickly dry them on air fluff .
Clothes that are not visibly soiled do well in a cold water Express wash, 20 minutes. I do this for sheets, towels, clothes, and socks. It’s great so laundry takes no time at all, doing it during the less power demand times. Air drying is good too.
My understanding is there is no benefit to washing clothes with hot water, it does not get them any cleaner.
So, just set to cold wash/cold rinse.
I use hot water on sheets (allergies) and towels (Florida).
Heat turns your clothes to lint. I didn’t realize the washer did it too until we got a front load. Now I have to take the front panel off annually and clean the very nasty lint trap.
A new water heater(anything since 2000) is already insulated. Open the areas for the element adjustment and you will find fiberglass insulation. And just FYI, they typically only last 10-12 years. Expect a water heater to last a decade and save up for a replacement BEFORE it dies.
Like I said Mike, wrap your water heater, even if it’s brand new.
Mine was installed in 2018, and I save about $20 a month since insulating it.
In freezing temps the interior insulation is not completely effective at keeping the water hot.
Just a retired plumber who loves the money I save every month.
My water heater is 15 years old,,and yes, as a widow, that is what I’ve saved for. I turn off my water heater–turn on 30 minutes before shower and I can testify that that water stays warm for a few days.
I was unexpectedly surprised when I ran the hot water for something?? once and it was still hot.I wash dishes and laundry with cold water.
I also have an electric kettle–these things are amazing!!
It is quite possible to live frugally and yet be generous to others in need.
Quite often people can be helped to balance their income and expenditure.
I recall reading a book in the 70s a friend recommended.
I think the title was “What husbands would like their wives to know about money.”
The book was for husbands as much as wives and gave good advice.
Couple must sit down, prioritize spending and find cheaper alternatives.
The hard part for me is often those in need, aren’t really in need, just lazy.
It’s a little rough when someone complains about high food prices, but they get more in food stamps then my grocery budget!
I give/share where there is true need.
“,.find cheaper alternatives,..” My wife and I, many years ago embarked down this road, and what I have found, pretty consistently, is the less expensive route, actually is better quality.
Its like buy a cloth coat for winter, you’ll be buying another in a couple of years.
Buy a leather coat, and with a little, minimal care it will outlast you.
Since “cheap” often has a negative connotation, less expensive isn’t the same as lower quality.
Sundance and fellow Treepers,
Seeing this Shock and Awe attack coming down the pike after the steal, my wife and I increased the size of our vegetable garden and have put a greater effort into weeding and feeding. God willing we will see a fruitful harvest which will help over the winter.
Additionally, we have been laying away supplies for well over a year, rice, dry beans and lentils, canned beans, spices, oatmeal, grains etc. We have adjusted our diet to a more vegetarian angle, though we still eat animal protein.
Going back to the garden, we should wind up with potatoes, carrots, cabbage, and tomatoes that will carry us through a cold New England winter. If you live south of us, there is still time to plant. We are still transplanting collards, mustards and other veggies that handle frost and should be harvesting until near December.
Might be a direction for others to consider next spring, and one can still buy things to stock up on now.
Most people eat way too much. That is why the nation is overweight.especially young people. Too many carbs and processed foods.
With grocery prices being sky high, cut out the prepared frozen foods. Cook from scratch and avoid all of the fast food joints as if they will give you bubonic plaque.
Grow your own veggies. You will be surprised at what you can grow in large plastic pots or plastic totes. Be sure to drill holes in bottom for drainage. And place large mulch in bottom to help drainage.
A person only needs 4 ounces of protein per day. Since fish and meat is one of the main sources of protein and the most expensive thing to put in the grocery basket, limit your intake of fish and meats to 4 oz per day. Tuna is very high in protein and is not that expensive. A 16 oz. Steak can purchased at Sam’s or Costco for $10-12 lb. One 16 oz. steak will feed 4 people. Boneless skinless chicken breasts can weigh 16 Oz. That can feed 4 people.
If you like breads and cakes, etc. Find a place that sells outdated stuff. It is still good for a week and it can be frozen. Some dollar trees sell breads. Aldis sells bread at very low prices. As well as eggs and milk.
Shop at thrift stores for clothes and shoes as well as towels and other items. Get your children’s clothes at thrift stores. They will be like new because children and infants out grow clothes way before they become worn out.
I have always looked for ways to save money. Grew up poor and it was a way to survive. Don’t pay retail for anything.
Do not buy used shoes/boots. They are formed to someone else’s feet and you can potentially cause yourself foot ankle and knee issues. Other clothing is perfectly fine secondhand.
You can find new shoes at Goodwill as well as new clothing. Dept. stores and mfgs. donate new excess inventory or slow moving inventory. They can take full retail write off on taxes. I have bought all kinds of new clothes and shoes with tags still on. Tuxedos for less than $20. Expensive wedding dresses and formal wear for 1/10 retail cost.
Building on what you suggest; we post depression boomers grew up getting used to a dinner that was 8-10 or more ounces of meat, steak, chicken breast, fish, pork with a starch side, potatos, rice, noodles and a vegetable side.
Fortunately, my dad grew up depression era, would have been 100 last week, and many of his “comfort foods” became mine.
They all involved taking one such meat serving, cutting it into bite sized pieces, and cooking it with veggies and adding starch.
Like hamhocks and beans, cabbage and polish sausage with peppers, the combinations are endless.
Did you know you can freeze loaf bread?? Granny taught that-I shop seldom..so freezing loaves is important.
I take it out, set on counter, and if a few hours, it is just like store bought.
I do not run to store for a loaf of bread!!!!
We freeze hamburger buns hotdog & Bread
My friend crinkles up empty plastic bottles and layers them at the bottom of her planters (maybe 1/4 plastic: 3/4 soil) to aerate the roots and prevent mold and excess moisture.
Of course, she then covers them with soil to grow her plants.
Our electricity went up 15% last month. We had been reading about home solar systems. We bought one, installation starts next Thursday. Will it help? We will see. Just one option, but its the best we can think of right now. Energy prices are going to simply explode soon.
All my quotes were around $30,000. I don’t see me saving enough on solar to make that large of an investment but yes, do wish I had it.
I do have solar generators for emergency use, mainly for cooling food storage. I’ve already laid up emergency food supplies, medical supplies in case things really go south and need to doctor myself or family. Have purchased old fashioned hand drills and other muscle propelled tools.
I’ve always taught my dogs to not be finicky in case pet food isn’t available. They love carrots and other veggies too.
If you are considering solar, figure out how much your electricity costs and compute out the savings. We were considering it a few years ago, and the break even point was 25 years. The wear out date for solar panels is 25 years. We didn’t see the savings.
The unknown is how much will electricity cost per kilowatt next year, or in 5 years, 10 years etc…
My dad lived in California where there is plenty of sunshine. He installed a few solar panels many years ago, and mainly used it to heat his lap pool.
Since he lived in a mild climate, he didn’t need solar to heat or cool his house.
Sometimes the panels go in 10-15 years, I suspect climate matters on that. Some people end up with a bill for both. I opted to pay for my roof outright and skipped solar. Need to get a generator though.
You are correct on the wear out date given for solar panels as long as you don’t factor in real world scenarios. Wear and tear, weather, technology obsolescence greatly shorten their life span. Most forget to factor in the batteries lifecycle and other components too. If you can’t save enough to pay for an entire system in 10 years you are really taking a chance.
Look into grid-tie solar panel leasing programs. My payoff was 6.5 years. It’s a 20 year lease that I paid ALL up front back in 2012. IDK what programs are being offered today but it varies around the regions. A relative of mine in Albuquerque NM had a small system put on their roof in 2020 and by doing so it locked in their monthly electric bill to a fixed amount that does not vary year round and is one-half what they were paying before they got the system. They are in SW U.S. The higher latitude you are, the less output per panel will be realized.
Leasing *can* be much more cost effective if your home is not a high energy consumer. Run the numbers before signing anything. Get the terms clearly understood, make sure no tricky clauses or ways they can change costs on you mid-lease.
James Kunstler just did a piece on “solar panel regret”. He said he would have been better off investing in a fuel switching back up generator, and he would have had enough leftover for a two week vacation in France.
The solar panels useful life is much less than they say. His control panels broke and the technician said he would not be allowed to repair them unless he swapped out the lead-acid batteries for the newest thing.
Governments also renege on contractual obligations to pay you for your contribution to the grid.
In fact some have started charging people new charges for the privelege of having an existing system.
You cannot rationally run numbers when the government can decide to break contracts and change the rules as you go along.
IMHO, Solar is a practical primary source of power, for those prepared to make the lifestyle changes that off grid requires, but it does not eliminate the need to make those changes.
Many around me live off grid. they all have solar systems. Without solar, they would be using candles and kerosene lamps, and no computers, tvs, vcrs, etc unless they wanted to crank up a generator.
But, where you need to adjust things is where you use electricity to heat (h20 heaters, stoves/ovens, toasters, coffee pots, space heaters,…or cooling things; freezers, refrigerators, a/c.
These operations just KILL the batteries, and it makes no difference what kind of battery it is.
So, wood, direct solar or propane for heat, and there are new, more expensive “dual inverter” type A/C’s, freezers and refrigerators.
The grid tie attempts to address this shortcoming, so no lifestyle change is neccesary.
All respect to you GB, but in my opinion “grid tie” solar is a scam, on a massive scale.
Basically, Solar isn’t for everyone, its ideal for a small percentage of people, (those who have a strong desire to live out in wide open spaces) but if sales were limited to that small percentage, the cost would be astronomical.
So, they hype it as being for everyone, and try to make it something its not.
My electrician said as much, they break often and some people end up with a bill to the electric company and a bill to pay for panels and no savings.
My dad used a govt program to get a FREE(which means taxpayers paid for it) solar panel (not electric)that pre-heats his water from the well (54°) to a holding tank and that goes to the water heater…it brings the water up to around 65°…so his heating bill is less…he had an electric water heater and recently moved to a propane fuel-on demand water heater….buys the propane in the summer 1500pounds at a cheaper price and uses it thru the year.
We put solar on our house and garage a couple of years ago, paid for with an inheritance my husband got. We thought it would be more helpful than putting the money in the bank or the stock market. We are moderate electricity users and the solar covers all our power every month during the sunny time of the year and we get credit for our overproduction that covers our winter costs; electricity in Vermont is pretty expensive. We did opt for the battery back up so that if we have an extended power outage – happens often enough here in the boonies – it will keep our refrigerator and freezer running, plus enough lights that we won’t trip over anything.
It was pricey, but we’re glad we did it. Power goes out and within a minute the battery kicks in and the essentials are running again. It’s especially valuable for our phone: there is no cell service within miles of us and the landline phone system is fiber optic so when the power goes off, we have no phone. In an emergency that could be a very serious problem.
Put a few liberals on ice and leave them there.
At the undertakers?!
Nawwww….northern Baffin Island.
At nightime, unless we have company I just put nightlights on .
.I have one in the bathroom, (which is good for getting up at night
you don;t have to turn lights on to wake up anyone)
I have one in the main hall, one the stair landing and one in the kitchen
it is enough light to see what one is doing without having regular light
on (if you open yourrefridgerator you have a light inside to see so you
don;t need the room light on.
You can get some nice looking nightlight if you don;t want the boring
generic ones.
Also we rarely ever turn on our outside lights we have a front porch
and we bought solar lights and used double sided sticky tape to tape it
to the edge all along the porch..it lights up the walkway the stair and
the porch so we don;t need to turn on outside lights.
If you can put up a clothesline for the warmer months. We are not allowed
to have one according to the HOA rules so we put one up in the garage
the pully kind runs the length of the
garage and can hang out the heavy clothes..and no one says anything
cuz it is inside of our house/garage so it doesn;t violate any rules..
To save money don;t buy paper napkin buy cloth napkins (you can get ones
the size of a regular paper napkin now( if you don;t want the fancy
grandma Sunday dinner on your
lap cloth napkins) Buy enough you can put them in the wash and reuse them.
Along those lines, I keep a dishtowel on my counter just for drying my hands. Another one for drying my washed fruits and veggies. It has really cut down on paper towels.
Good old fashioned baby diapers are most absorbent cotton and shed the least fiber. I use them in cooking and bathroom hand towels. You can crochet some colored thread around the edges to fool guests – just saying.
Great idea! Thanks
What is it with seniors and tissues? Both my mom and my mother-in-law leave a trail of used tissues everywhere they go!
Mom easily goes through a box every two-three days.
I ran a wash the other day without checking her pockets. Big mistake! Opening that machine was like ripping open a feather pillow.
I like to sometimes wrap small gifts in a Bandana or Kitchen Towels .
Everybody loves the *double-gift* and my Bestie uses her Bandanas acquired over the years as Napkins ! Everyone Always has a use for a Kitchen Towel !
Lots of Good Tips here and I’m happy to say I’ve used many of them over the years ,,, but believe me , there are Plenty of *why didn’t I think of That* 😊
Clothes line and some clothes pins.
Burn barrel . What doesn’t burn goes in the trash can at the gas station. Who said that ?
Cold showers. A good fan, thermostat set to 80, blinds closed, TV or internet on and naked. Who said that ?
If you want to have some control over the energy used to heat and cool your home pick a temp you are comfortable with and never change the thermostat. When everything in your house (furniture, walls, floors) is around the same ambient temperature your furnace/air conditioners don’t have to work so hard to maintain a temp and cost less to operate.
Staying ahead of utility bills – once a year I take the last 2 years of utility bills, add them up and divide by 24 and pay that amount every month for the next year. Here in SE Wisconsin that leaves me with a credit on utilities each month and a consistent payment.
This is Obama’s plan.
Yes and he and his cronies no doubt still have a hand in today’s policies…
We are turning the AC a couple degrees higher, just like we turned the heat a couple of degrees lower earlier in the year.. as much as I resent being told to “put on a sweater” ala Jimmy Carter era, it does make a difference!
On hot days, we close all of our shades first thing in the morning and then slowly open them depending on the position of the sun as the day goes on. We completely shut off the AC in the evening and open all the windows to cool the house off.
Spring, we went out and bought 1 large and 1 small a/c window units (110). Turned off the main a/c and FAU units. Large window unit in LR, small window unit in MBR. Cut electricity bill more than half. Putting in wood burning stove in LR and a small wood burner in MBR for cold weather. Still have main units for those few times it’s too hot or cold. Gonna put in some solar and battery bank to help offset the other electricity consumption. Thinking of a spartan geo thermal tube system too.
I simply moved to a warm location where there’s generally only 6 weeks of coldish weather. My small house on a farm is so well insulated even with a 28% increase in only paying $63 a month average for all electric a/c and heat pump plus other appliances of course. On my old farm in the NE I was paying an average of $400/month electric and another $450/month propane mid-November thru mid April.
This weather also means I get 2 full crop cycles a year and can still grow spinach and other cold weather greens over the winter.
What a difference moving makes! I realize not everyone can or wants to do this, but for those on a fairly fixed income it’s a game changer.
Send all treasonous democrat Libtards and Rinos to jail and replace them with Trump. Your energy costs will be reduced somewhere around 200%.
If one has a grill and can budget for it, get extra propane bottles, use the grill for the majority of the cooking. For an alternative, look for a used grill which cooks with charcol and purchase several bags, this can be used for cooking through the winter, and will reduce the electric or natural gas bill. Don’t cook indoors without fresh air if possible.
We have a smoker. Not only do I use it a lot, I also tend to fill it with meat when I cook, so I have several meals prepared. Also, use a crock pot, air fryer, or toaster oven instead of your stove when possible. If you do use your oven, cook several things at once.
If you still have an electric hot water heater, flip the breaker and turn it off when you are done in the morning. Turn it back on when you get up in the morning. It will heat up in about 20 minutes. You will see a 25% drop in electricity usage. If you can afford it, you can have an automatic timer installed, but being 20 amp, it’s not cheap
Doc, I have a question.
I was flipping breakers off for several things, but husband says it wears out the breakers to be flipping off & on.
I might use the dishwasher once a week, same for washer & for dryer.
Thoughts?
Ma, this isn’t a great concern. Yes, the internal wear will be accelerated, but this does not mean the breaker has to be replaced 2 or 3 times a year, they will still last for several years. And when a breaker does fail, the hardware store local to me sells them for 6 or 7 dollars, so I will guess the price for you will be similar, have him get spares, if he is concerned, they are easy to replace. 🙂
My breaker was 15 and I didn’t need it but kept in case one does die.
I just turn my water heater down and when needed, turn on 110 and it is hot in a few minutes.
I think most hot water heaters have a glass inner lining, so thermo stressing may cause harm. It should have a temperature adjustment on it. Maybe lower the temp when you are not using it. The temperature should slowly lower through the time you are not using it. The stressing of the glass can be further mitigated by insolating the heater well.
I use to cut my water heater down in the day and up at night. My honey bought a gas on demand water heater. It’s awesome! Bought on 2015. Great savings.
One analysis of a device for reducing electricity posted on FB:
https://climatefeedback.org/claimreview/video-advertising-powersave-device-is-misleading-and-makes-impossible-home-power-savings-claims-overh/
It is called “Powersave”. Still investigating.
Our trash collection company added a 28% gas surcharge. Looks like 28% is the standard. Maybe I can share my neighbors trash can.
No. That is theft of service, and they will enforce it.
Here in Texas we’ve had a few months of increase in both water and electric. Our bill this month was 35% higher than any previous month/years. I keep the air on 75 during the daytime. I use the bulk of my electricity before 3pm and again after 8pm. I had a notification that my usage this month is down. Set notifications and look at when your peak hours of electric use are.
I’m a southern yankee, been canning for over 30 years. There are some great groups out there for new people. YouTube has some great canning and prepping people.
Heat up those jars and avoid using electricity.. this week alone we’ve had burrito in a jar, flank steak, and shaved beef with au jus. Quick reheat, super yummy.
Here in AZ cooking really heats up the house so when I am home I have evolved a high heat method for beans, rice, bacon, potatoes etc. I bring to a boil then turn off and let residual heat on burner finish it off. Sometimes beans will require multiple times. Bacon and some other meats I put on highest oven heat – as soon as the light comes on saying it’s up to temp I turn broiler on, then off – then let residual heat do the rest but you do have to watch carefully. Plus stuff the oven – use every shelf when on. Recently purchased table top propane grill – haven’t started with it yet.
Water takes forever to get warm so I try to do some cleaning with the cold water until the hot comes in for my purpose. (As renter I am not going to make home improvements.)
I also water bath can on the back porch and when cooking bacon( like 6 pakgs) for cooking grease, use the portable unit I have in the garage–no heat in the kitchen.
Toaster oven
Bought one that does a whole chicken, pie, or pizza. Sensibly small.
No sense in heating up my house using the oven. And it consumes less energy.
We’ve got a cheap Black & Decker counter-top convection oven that cooks food really fast.
I have used both very successfully. Even baked successful cakes in them
Fill a plastic kiddie pool with a few inches of water, add a few minnows, and let your dog go fishing.
Moved most of the equities left in my 401K to a stable value fund that only depends on short-term interest rates. Locked in a little loss but I can’t handle the headache of watching another 2008 and I’m 2 years away from mandatory distributions.
I’m in hurricane territory and my house has roll down hurricane shutters. I rolled them all the way down on the garage windows and the spare bedroom and halfway down everywhere else and my electric bill has gone down $100/month.
We live in a Colorado Ranch style house. 1 story with a finished basement. The basement has a wide, open type staircase, not a narrow , door isolated staircase. We were struggling to keep the main level at 73 deg this summer while the basement was always cooler, even with the AC vents closed. I put a 20″ floor fan on the floor of the basement pointing up into the open staircase. Immediately we noticed the temperature was cooler upstairs and the air conditioner ran less. Note: Our home is relatively new and has sprayed in insulation on the inside of the exterior walls behind the drywall, and underneath the roof. It is very efficient and I highly recommend it. It does require some outside air system intake incorporated into the HVAC to prevent the possibility of mold.
Smaller portable ac unit:
https://trusteddealsource.com/products/portable-ac-top-rated-portable-air-cooler?vers=1&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content=TDS-Shopping-US-PortableAC%20%232&utm_campaign=TDS-Shopping-US-PortableAC%20%232&utm_term=&campaignId=441021071&adGroupId=1334808760535412&feedItemId=&targetId=pla-4587025080072411&locInterestMs=&locPhysicalMs=&matchType=e&network=s&device=c&deviceType=desktop&campaignType=searchproductAd&creativeId=83425809798237&keyword=arctair%20small%20ac&c=US&par1=83425809798237&msclkid=3f4685e11f571678868de73d2a2f010d&_atid=UIOGPwAjeyRcrH5Y57PhwjElTPizrk
Bought a cooling mattress topper – I use to only run AC at night to sleep. Saves on running AC unit and as long as dog can sleep, is getting me through hot summer in Deep South.
I find a convection countertop oven to be more economical than my electric oven.
Steel cut oats are wonderful but they take much time (and heat) to make if one follows the instructions. Instead, at night, bring one cup of water to boil and put it an insulated soup thermos with 1/4 cup of oats. Put on the cover. In the morning, the oats are completed cooked and ready to eat.
I fix cold oats!
Mason jar- half with oats…then frozen fruit…then fill to top with milk. You can adjust to your preference the oat and fruit mixture.
Put in fridge overnight. Next morning your breakfast is ready!
There are a lot of mixtures you can use instead of fruit which would appeal to just about anyone…including kids.
Lots of recipes for variations on line.
Healthy, no fuss fixing and clean up.
I just open a package of oatmeal & dump it in the bowl, add milk. That’s it. I have NEVER cooked it. 😆
My son eats it the same way. 😊
I have a small crock pot that I use specifically for steel cut oats to which I am addicted.
Oats and required water and salt go into a small glass bowl, enough for two servings.
The open bowl sits in the crockpot and I add water around it for a “water bath.” Oatmeal directly in a crockpot will stick, but with this method it comes out perfectly. I cook it for 3.5 hours and refrigerate it, then microwave it in the morning with plenty of additions (berries, nuts, my sweetener, teaspoon of real cream, that sort of thing.).
Most summers I can use my own raspberries, but an unknown critter stripped all my bushes this year and damaged branches. The suspects include rabbits and deer but it may also be a coyote I saw lurking in my suburban yard about a month ago…