Money Matters

I know, I know. Money is one of those "taboo" topics that you don't discuss, like religion and politics. So I'll choose my words carefully. And I shouldn't offend anyone, unless you are the author of one of the articles that I'm referring to (and in that case, I don't really apologize for your lack of creativity). 


Everyone knows that most people like to go crazy setting New Year's Resolutions. And it's no secret the some of the most common resolutions are to "be happier", "lose weight", "save more money", etc etc etc. And of course, on this world wide web of information, articles aimed at helping people reaching these resolutions have sprung up like wildfire. And as my mother's daughter, the articles on "new money saving ideas for the new year" appealed to me (after all, who couldn't afford to have a little more cushion in the bank?) From no exact source, I give you the ten most common ways that these ingenious authors give to save money:

1. Set your thermostat back in the winter and up in the summer (usually coupled with advice about buying a programmable thermostat)
2. Cut back on water use by not running water while you are bushing your teeth, and taking shorter, less frequent showers. Oh, and by a low-flow shower head while you are at it
3. Be diligent about turning off lights when you leave a room. And make sure that those lights you are turning off are CFLs
4. Unplug your electronics when you aren't using them. They drain energy even when they aren't on
5. Give up your dependance on bottled water/your morning latte/eating out for lunch/etc 
6. Be a savvy shopper and watch for sales and double the sales up with coupons to maximize savings
7. Reassess your cable package--do you really watch all those channels that you are paying for?
8. Negotiate with your credit card company/mortgage lender/etc to cut your interest rates
9. When possible, combine bills with the same insurer, as many offer multi-policy discounts
10. Track your spending and see where all of your money is going. You'll be surprised at how some of those "little" purchases add up

Now, I'll give credit where credit is due, and admit that those are all legitimate strategies for saving some money. The only problem? Those tips have been around FOREVER. They aren't "new" ideas. And most people who are trying to save money are already doing those things. Case in point--

1. Darrell and I bought a programmable thermostat a month after we moved into our house. In the winter it's at 60 when we aren't home and 66 when we are. In the summer it's at 80 when we are gone and 74 when we are home. And in order to keep the house livable I don't think we can sacrifice any additional degrees to save an extra buck.
2. I've never run the water while I brush my teeth, and I usually only take showers every other day (be grossed out, I don't care. It's not like I don't use deodorant). And I've been working on making them shorter. Plus before our work schedules got so crazy we tried to make it to the gym regularly and shower there so we didn't have to shower at home. I also don't think that our shower head could be any lower flow--we both have thick hair and sometimes it's hard to wash all the stuff out with what little pressure there is.
3. We're pretty much light Nazis at our house. I tend to freak out if there are too many lights on. And yes, we've forked over the extra money to make sure they are all CFLs.
4. We've been doing this since college. Our TV, Wii, and DVD player are all plugged into a power strip that only gets turned on when we are using it. Same goes for our computers and printer. Aside from our major electronics, the only things that are always plugged in are our internet modem, our clock radios, and Darrell's bedside lamp. 
5. Done done and done? We usually make big dinners so we have leftovers for lunch, or make sure that we have bread on hand for sandwiches, and we've never had an issue with coffee/bottled water/other unnecessary expenses. Darrell only drinks coffee because it's free at his office, otherwise he wouldn't have any. 
6. I was raised by the queen of coupons. While I haven't quite become the hoarder that she was, I'd say I do a fair job of making sure to buy stuff when it's on sale and keeping an eye out for coupons.
7. We don't have cable. Problem solved.
8. No credit card debt, so no reason to negotiate rates there. And since we just financed our mortgage 14 months ago, I highly doubt we'd gain anything by trying to refinance.
9. Done. And kind of a no-brainer in my book.
10. This is probably the only one that we could really improve on, but I'm making an effort to work on it by actually setting budgets. I looked back on all our expenses from the past year and used that information to calculate some averages. Not that we really ever get too out of control with our spending, but now if our food budget is getting close to it's limit we'll have a reason for putting that bottle of wine back on the shelf.

So, as a final note to all of you out there who write articles about ways to save money: do the people a real favor and come up with some new, innovative ideas. Stop recycling the same information that's been around for years. Because I'm doing all that and I'd like to cut back some more.