Tag Archives: saving money

Saving Money Repairing Your Own Dryer

by

Repairing Your Own Dryer.

After a great vacation at Hilton Head Island, I came back home to find out the dryer wouldn’t heat anymore!  It seems like there it’s becoming more common that after a vacation, I come back home to find out that something is broken and I need to put in some time to fix it.  Last year it was a leaky plumbing, this year its wet clothes…

Now my dryer is well over 10 years old, and at first I thought that perhaps it’s time pitch it and the washer to the curb and dig in deep into my pockets and buy a new washer and dryer… until I realized that each are around $700, and that’s for lower end  models.

I know, the new dryers will make your toasted cheese sandwiches (kidding), but a dryer’s main function is to dry clothes, so I don’t need the newest most aesthetically designed washer and dryer… I’m more of a function kind of guy.  If it does its job, I’m happy!  And other than the heat not working, I’m more than happy to keep our old, cheap dryer (and washer too)!

After googling with the following keywords “dryer stops heating after a while”, I read and watch a few videos that lead me to believe that the problem was probably a worn out coil (solenoid coil actually).  So after googling with the key words “Frigidaire dryer gas coil”, I found the following awesome video!  This explained the entire process!

Next I googled the correct part number and found the replacements for the coils, but they ran over $30, so instead I tried ebay!  I found the part for $9 including shipping!  Nine bucks?  For that price, I considered it worth the risk…  So I bought the coils without hesitation since they were so cheap!

DIY Savings

I estimate that I saved myself at least $150 to $250 depending on the repairman doing the job!  Not to shabby for a little bit of Googling and elbow greese!

And there you have it!  My story of fixing my dyer for a very low ($9) price.

Bests,

Don

Money Saving Tips For The Summer

by

In the current economic climate, most people don’t have as much spare cash as they would like.  Indeed, debt management is a pressing issue for many families.  If you want to make the most of the summer without overstretching yourself financially, there are plenty of things you can do.  Reducing waste and taking advantage of the warm weather can save you money in a variety of ways.

Electricity and gas bills should always be lower in the summer.  There is no need
to have your heating on at this time of year – if you do get cold in the evenings, simply put an extra layer on.  If you’re too warm, on the other hand, try opening some windows before you resort to using fans or air conditioning systems.  Also, make the most of the longer days by turning lights off and letting the sun illuminate your home.  Making sure you’re on the best tariff for the amount of energy you use will also help keep your bills to a minimum.

One of the greatest pleasures of summer is, without doubt, the food.  You can’t beat a lazy picnic in the park or a barbeque with friends and family when the sun’s out, but this isn’t always cheap, and there is always potential for waste.  If you’re having a barbeque and you’re inviting lots of people, ask everyone to RSVP so you know exactly how many people you’re cooking for.  You might also want to ask people to bring their own dishes such as a salad or dessert.  However well you plan, there will probably be some leftovers, so use them imaginatively.  In the long term, it’s cheaper to invest in a proper barbeque, rather than buying disposable ones.

During the summer months, you can also save money on transport.  If you can get somewhere on foot or on a bike rather than using your car, you can cut costs and get a tan at the same time.  If you’re heading to the seaside or somewhere else for a day out with the family, consider taking the train instead of driving.  It may well prove less stressful, and you’ll get to take in some interesting scenery along the way.  If you do need to use your car, ensure your tire pressure is correct, and improve fuel efficiency by keeping an eye on your speed.

If you haven’t arranged you’re summer vacation yet, why not consider a ‘staycation’? Instead of spending money traveling abroad, you could rent a cabin for a week or go camping.  Make the most of the natural beauty on your doorstep – there are probably some amazing spots you’ve never even thought of visiting before.  If you do decide to get out of the country, use price comparison websites to find the best deals on flights and accommodation.  Don’t let your summer be ruined by debt problems – start putting these money saving principles into practice today.

This guest post was brought to you by Joel

Cheers,

MR

 

Saving Money By Legally Using Your Employer Resources

by

Saving money by using your employer’s resources is both smart and legal.

Today I thought I’d challenge myself to think about the ways to save money using employer’s resources.

Company Resources

First, it’s possible to save money by using your employer’s heating and cooling system.  Just enjoy the mostly perfect temperature at work and turn your heating/cooling system down or off at home either by manually doing so or via a time controlled thermostat.  Think about it, why heat or cool the house for the plants?  They’ll be okay, they told me so, at least as long as it doesn’t get too hot or cold.

We always have software installs or vendor visits and they often bring bagels and coffee, or coffee and donuts from places like Panera and Dunkin Donuts!  Occasionally, my company has client site visits!  After these visits they often have left over club sandwiches and other goodies!  Every now and then pizzas will show up in the break rooms.  Yep, it’s possible to save a lot on food for lunch if you want.

Next, use their electronic technology!  My employer gives their employees both laptops and cell phones so that we can be very responsive at a drop of a dime.   That said, most of the time, I use the laptop at home for my own use.  And as for the cell phone… why buy my own when I can use the one provided from work for free?  My son likes to play the games on it, so he benefits too.

Why buy a beverage while at work?  My employer provides coffee, hot chocolate, cappuccino, tea and filtered water.   I use those single serving packets of Lipton white tea or crystal light when I want to add a little flavor to the filtered water.  It beats buying pop (soda) or a latte, at least from a cost perspective!  I even know one guy that fills up a big water container before he leaves for the day.

Lesser Ways to Save Money

  • Use their electricity for listening to music and other uses.
  • Some peers use the electricity at work to charger their electronic device batteries.  It’s very clever of them, plug it in and since you’re there anyway, you can watch it and unplug it at the proper time.  No more overcharging!
  • Need computer works?  Go to the smartest technician and plead for help!  This can save you hundreds of dollars!
  • Take their toilet paper when they aren’t looking (not really, but I thought I would add this as a joke, ha ha).
  • I know one guy that uses company paper to prints personal stuff to the printer.  Like materials for the kid teams that he coaches.  I don’t do this because this greatly frowned upon.  It’s kind of funny that the least expensive thing is what is frowned upon the most…
  • We have a shower in the downstairs men’s room and I know that of some joggers in the company use it in the morning after they’ve had their run.  Why shower at home in the morning when you can run in the morning and they get a free shower at work.  If you have a lot of members in your family, this could be very convenient!  Plus, no more cold showers.
  • We don’t have a company gym, but if you do have one… why buy a gym membership?

Of course people also use company folders, paper, notebooks, pens, pencils, paperclips and even batteries for personal use, but I didn’t include these since this type of using company resources isn’t legal.

What ways do you save money by using your employer’s resources, or do you feel guilty doing so?

-MR

Please subscribe to my RSS feed so you can check out new articles when they become available.  You will help this blog grow by doing so!  Thanks!

 

 

 

Thinking Before Paying To Save Money

by

All to often, we don’t really think before paying  for our purchases!

I’ve been guilty of this too!  I use to get a bill in the mail and just write a check and mail it in.  But today, I’m here to tell you that this is not the best way to go about paying bills, and I’m going to explain a better approach towards your bills.

Thinking Before Paying

When a bill comes in, you should ask yourself “Is this bill for the best service and price for this particular service or purchase?”

A great example would be bills from insurance companies.  Every few years, you should go shopping for a cheaper price for your various insurance needs!  We routinely jump to different car insurance companies.  This saves us hundreds of dollars versus just sticking to one insurance company.

We do this because  most insurance companies know that you don’t want to go through the aggravation of switching companies, since it’s a bit of a pain!  So over the years they raise the fees on you more and more, effectively milking you for all they can.

I actually hate to change car insurance companies, but doing so will save me hundreds of dollars… so I do it anyway!

After a while, you kind of get familiar with the process and it does get easier each time you do this rotation!

Charging To Save Money

First let me start off by saying that I pay my credit cards in full each month.  Okay with that out-of-the-way, when possible, I like to charge expensive bills to my credit card(s) as much as I can!

Why?

I only have reward credit cards, so this give me an instant discount on the purchase price whenever I use it!  While 1% or 2% isn’t a huge discount on the cost of the product (or service), every little bit helps.

If you put some thought into it, you should use certain credit cards for certain purchases.  I say this because some credit cards provide higher reward points for certain types of purchases.

Thinking Outside of the Box

  • First, do you really need to make that purchase?  Why not try to find alternatives or try repairing the item that you are thinking about replacing?
  • Next, can you buy used (ex. cars), that could save you some big buck on high ticket items like automobiles!
  • Have you check out freecycle.org?  This is a no brainer if you are aware of the site’s existence.
  • Check out eBay, Craigslist and other online sites for deals.
  • Can you borrow the item (like an edger) from a neighbor, family or friends.  Doing this is especially good from a tool to accomplish something that is needed very infrequently (again, the edger is a perfect example).
  • Can you use your credit card reward point for the purchase?
  • Buy the item at deep discounts or when special are going on.
  • Haggle if possible…  I couldn’t hurt!

I see so many friends buying at the wrong time of the season (don’t go coat shopping at the start of winter) and on things that aren’t really necessary.

I would advise mulling over a purchasing decision on something you want to buy for at least 1 week if possible.  During this mulling week, try to think of ways you can get it for free, or reduce the cost of the item.  You’d be surprise what solutions you can come up with or comes your way.

-MR

Did you like this Article?  Then please subscribe to my RSS feed so you can check out new articles when they become available.  You will help this blog grow by doing so!  Thanks!