The things folks do to pinch pennies...

Amen and X1000^^^

Unless it hits 90°F, I'd be more than willing to put more wood in the stove to ensure my guests are comfortable.

Although, I used to have a friend that we invited over for bon-fires and such.

Issue was, he loved to put lots of wood on the fire, then 10-20 minutes later he'd be all "well, we gotta get going, thanks again."

I have no issue with a great fire, but stoking it up just before you leave???

 

Easily!
I figure I've saved $10,000 in five years. $2600-$2800 the first year alone, when HHO was almost $4 gallon.

 

To save money, I like to try and break down costs into what they add up to be. For instance when I used to work, I would stop in every morning at one of the many Gut-Trucks at the shipyard and grab a breakfast sandwich. That was $2.50! Well if you add that up, that is $12.50 per week, $50 a month, or $600 a year!! It took me a few weeks to break that habit, but it saved me a lot of money when I did!

 

Another way we save money is by saving all our $5 bills and stashing it away. Granted we only use cash here so it means we get an influx of $5 bills, but by putting them in a cookie jar, in a months time we average around $55 or so. Not bad considering when we squirrel those $5 bills away, we never miss them.

Again, $55 a month does not sound like much, but in a years time it will net a savings of around $700. We have been doing this for 7 years now, making our savings plan yield $5000 or so.

If a person wants they can use different denominations like $10.

 

I brown bag my lunch and make my own coffee.

 

That's big savings!
Coffee (and food) at Sheetz is ridiculous!

 

Bought our house in 1986 had a forced air electric furnace in it and a southern aire wood burner add on. Not a stick of wood cut for the wood burner and it was January. Went to work the day after we moved in and told the boss I needed Friday and Monday off. he said GEEZ I just gave you 4 days off to move, So I told him to forget it I would just take my 4 weeks of vacation instead, Ya I know it is the busest time of the year but I need the time. He gave in and let me have Friday and Monday off.
Called my dad and said to get the saw mill to drop off 20 FULL cords of wood before Friday. We buzzed wood all week end filled my pick up dads and a cousins and hualed to my house. then I hauled wood every week end for about a month.
But I was warm house always at 75F day or night, windy or not.

My daughter keeps her house so cold in the winter I refuse to go there even for christmas. just to sleep there I wear long johns and flannal shirt and jeans wool hunting socks. Seems like the grand kids are always sick in the winter.

Shoot my hunting cabin is warmer at 18 below zero and the ice on the bay expanding sounding like rifle shots.

I do not take a winter vacation unless some one says they will come twice a day to fill the wood burner. Not going to give the electric comapny a dine, pluged nickle or thin penny. One month in 1986 which wasn't even a full month about two weeks cost 350.00 to use that furnace.

Helps wife refuses to go to daughters also.
I tell the daughter to come here for Christmas she can sleep in the pole barn and be right at home heat wise.

I would eat just rice and chicken broth rather than freeze all winter.

Al

 

Same here, been doing it for years!! However, I do go out with my co-workers occasionally to grab lunch, usually it's a Friday!!!

 

Completely different in the uk , 16 c out 22 c inside . My gas bill is £22 per month at the minute, cooker hob shower and heating run on gas. Guess which ones not been used

 

When we went to wood exclusively it was costing us 650 a month in propane to keep the house at 64 degrees that was 8 years ago probably going to burn a lot less wood this year now that I put all new windows in this summer snd replaced the old inefficient smoke dragon that was in the basement. This year I will be collecting stats to learn from and become more efficient at burning. In other words I’m going to geek out on some data just because.

 

I burn wood and set oil back up heat to 50., my house is never 50.. Stove room 80.. Kitchen 70ish bedrooms 68 so I can cuddle under blankets...

All savings goes away when 3 women hit their time as I go buy tools and fix stuff!!
Yes I swim in the estrogen ocean!!

 

I burn wood for all my heating needs in the autumn and winter. I use the heat from the stove top to boil water for tea and coffee and sometimes for cooking.
Last winter (my first burning wood) the central heating didn't go on once. I had enough heat to keep me comfortable without sweating to death.
Not bad for a poorly insulated 170 year old home.

Wood-on my friends.
BB

 

I feel your pain I have 3 daughters and a wife. Some days it’s best to fire up the saw or splitter

 

I hear you too. Wife and two daughters, both with their own homes. Dad, can you fix this? It’s nice to feel needed

 

I m not cynical by nature, but in terms of my money I am.

I look at my money as being a little pile that EVERYONE wants to take. Some is inevitable, like buying a car where it is obvious that the car salesman wants me to buy a more expensive car so he gets a bigger commission. But other areas are more subtle like say the electric company, I must have electricity and thus have an electric bill, but how can I give them less of my little pile of money? The same for food, how can I spend less on that outlay. Etc, Etc, Etc...looking at my money as if everyone is trying to sneak it away all the time keeps me on guard.

It really is not about me having a exact prescription for other people to follow, it is about having a mindset to reduce costs all the time, on everything.

But if it sounds like I am jaded, I am not. It would be morally wrong for me to describe just how Katie and I give to those who have been struck by unfortunate circumstances, but must say, so it does not sound like we are McScrooge's, that we are pretty generous to our community. For instance, I would rather keep my dollar bills from going to the electric company every month by conservation, and instead have the cash in the safe to help a family who unexpectedly lost their hot water tank.

 

I guess this is not in trying to "one up anyone" but rather in this case, but "one down everyone", because I have 4 daughter's and a wife, and only one bathroom.

 

Now that’s a problem! First thing I did when we bought this house 24 years ago was install a half bath downstairs.

 

My father in law had 3 daughters and a wife. wife and two of the daughters liked make up,3d was dad's tom boy. Dad told me it was far easier to use the rows of pine trees out back than to try to get bath room time in the one bath room house.

Al