Home ownership/living expenses: Where do you cut corners or lower costs?

Boostie

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Jul 15, 2010
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Since the other thread I started has sparked up a lot of convo this is another one thats got me wondering. I've been in my house a year now and these are some of the steps I have taken, what about you guys?

-Canceled my cable and just run internet with sling tv (purchased my own modem/router)

-Nest thermostat with eco mode on 99% of the time to keep heat/ac use down

-Replaced a majority of my lighting to LED

-Try to cook at home as much as I can with non processed foods vs eating out (healthier too!)

-Always creeping FB market,craigs,offerup, ect for random deals on stuff I dont mind second hand
 

Boostie

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One other thing that I try to do now that I have a truck with a 37 gallon gas tank is take a look at gas buddy and look at all the stations along my drive. Most of the time I can save 10-20+ cents a gallon just by taking a look beforehand
 

Gone_2022

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Installed a high efficient furnace and ac about 2 weeks ago. Bills were never crazy, but I’m always looking for more efficient things.

Also we purchased a shade for one of those half moon looking like windows? Dunno what they are called exactly but it let a ton of sunlight and heat into our kitchen area in the summer. So far that 40 dollar shade has made a major difference on hot days
 

pbdevastator

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Aug 3, 2010
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1. I ditched cable tv years ago. Use internet for all tv stuff. I have an antenna so i get the main channels. So $54/month for internet vs $160 for that and cable, and thats was if under contract. And using metronet not comcast.

2. Yep staying home for meals is another biggie.

3. Nest Tstat has already paid for itself and you get rebates so its under $100 to get one.
 

importcrew

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I unscrew 3 out of the 4 bulbs on the bathroom vanity cause I know fucking GF leaves it on all God damn day

7 recessed canned lights are in my kitchen. One of them is over the sink and is on a separate switch. The other 6 are on the same switch. 2 bulbs have burned out......I have yet to replace them. Need to get LED ones for the kitchen. I have them for the living room and is programmable to be able to go from low to bright and warm to cool (daylight) lighting. I also run LEDs in my daughters room and unscrewed 2 (out of 3) bulbs in her light fixture as she has her light on ALLLLLLL night.


When we're not home, we turn off the AC (or Heater). When it's nice outside, we leave it off and open up doors and windows.

Recently, my wife and I have been ordering groceries through the Jewel app. We buy what we need, and lately have only been spending between $30-$50 a week on groceries, whereas if we go to the store, we buy what we need on top of everything else we want. Those times usually end up being around $150.

Canceled DirecTv and got SlingTv. DirecTV was about $200/month. SlingTv is $90 (with the packages we want).
 

Stink Star

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LED lights everywhere make a huge difference in the energy bill. The ROI is very quick on that upgrade and you don’t have to live in a dark cave.

Cooking at home instead of going out is huge too. I’ve also lately been doing meal prep for lunch because I can’t stand microwave meals anymore. I might cook up a shit ton of chicken on Sunday night and do chicken and rice one day, shred some and add taco seasoning for another day, add BBQ sauce and some buns and have sliders another day. It’s nice being able to make a few different lunches out of the same base protein, and even though it’s not “diet” or “healthy” it’s still vastly better than a hungry man or going to a fast food place

You can also be honest about what internet speed you actually need and downgrade to a slightly slower speed and still be able to stream no problem.
 
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