Items That Will Pay For Themselves In A Year.

Items That Will Pay For Themselves In A Year.

We all are looking to save money where ever we can, we work hard for our money so why should we be throwing out the window on utilities and other items if we don't need too. Here is a list of ideas and gadgets that will pay for themselves in a short period of time and save you money in the long run.

Solar Outdoor Lighting

I have switched all my outdoor lighting to solar this past year. Even my emergency lights around my home all work on solar now. Solar is a great choice if you want to light up your yard, drive wave or patio. Over the past year or so solar powered lighting has come down in price. You have a one-time investment but over the course of a year it will diffidently for itself.

Programmable Thermostat

These thermostats will pay for themselves in no time if you use them correctly. If you have central a/c this is the way to go to save money on your utility bills. These devices will lower or raise your heat and air conditioning while you are gone so energy and dollars will be saved. These devices are under a hundred dollars and can save you several hundreds of dollars a year.

Water Saving Devices

If you have city water and you have hot water tank you will want to install high efficient water saving devices on all your faucets, especially your shower heads. These devices are very inexpensive and can save you thousands of gallons of water each year. Also by saving water you will also cut down on the amount of hot water you will be generating with your hot water heater. You will save money by reducing the cost of electricity to generate hot water, plus you will save money by reducing the amount of water you purchase from your utility company.

LED Lighting

LED lighting is fairly new to the market place. This type of lighting can be a little expensive when first being purchased. I have heard where families have saved a few hundred dollars a year by switching their lighting in their home to LED. I have tried this yet, but with the cost of electricity going through the roof I may look into this myself.

Hot Water Heater Blankets

I remember years ago purchasing hot water heater blankets to save money on electricity. These items are fairly cheap and easy to install. They basically are an insulation blanket that wraps around your hot water heater giving the hot water heater a double layer of insulation to keep the water hot on the inside. You can also save more money by lowering the hot water temperature on the thermostat on the tank, by doing this and installing a blanket on the hot water heater you can save ten to twenty percent on energy cost which will put more money in your pocket.

Water Filtration System

An average American family drinks about 30 gallons of bottled water each year studies have shown. Tap water cost is pennies while bottled water is equal to dollars. People seem to think that bottled water is cleaner and healthier than tap water, while studies have shown that this is false. Filtration systems like Brita and PUR will cost some money in the beginning and for filters but the cost over a year is much cheaper than purchasing bottled water. Plus you will be helping the environment by less plastic bottles clogging up our landfills.

Smart Power Strips

These little gadgets are awesome especially if you have a desktop computer. When all your computer parts monitor, printer, scanner, speakers, etc. are plugged into this device and you power off your main computer these over devices will power off also. When you power off and everything shuts off there will be no phantom “standby” electricity drawn to the other devices. In the long run you will save money on the powered down devices but you will also save money from the lack of phantom electric usage.

Slow Cooker

A slow cooker is a simple and easy to use device that can save you on your electric usage and save you money on your grocery bill. A slow cooker will use less electricity than a stove or oven, produce less heat which saves your air conditioning from coming on saving your money on your utilities. Also you can purchase cheaper cuts of meat at the grocery store. By cooking slow the crock pot tenderizes the meat as it is cooking. This saves me a lot of money on my groceries each week.

Hopefully this has been helpful for you, I would love to hear back from you on your ideas that save you money each month.

Take time when making a major purchase.

How often do you ever think of what you are purchasing before you buy it? I try to take a couple of days before I make my purchases.  I am talking about groceries and essentials but what I am talking about  are things that I am wanting and not really needing. For an example I just bought a fishing pole. I saw the one I wanted and the cost of it was $150.00 but before I purchased it I went to the store to really make sure that this was the one that I really wanted. I really thought this was the one that I really wanted, but before I would spend that kind of money for a fishing pole I would check around at a couple of other stores before spending that kind of money. I went to a couple of stores and I found one that was just as good if not better for $60.00. Now if I was an impulse buyer I would have wasted $90.00 on something that is just as comparable as the one for $150.00.

I was really glad that I did not purchase the one for $150.00 even though I would have liked it very much but if I would have purchased the more expensive one then I would have had buyer’s remorse when I saw the one for $60.00. We have all had buyer’s remorse at one time or another. I find that taking my time when purchasing things I can usually avoid getting upset for spending extra money on something that I could have found cheaper.

Here are a few questions that I ask myself before I make purchases.

Am I just making this purchase because of emotion or logic? You should never make a serious purchase just out of emotion. Most of the time when you make a purchase with just emotion then you will probably regret the purchase later on. For an example you are walking through a store and a new television catches your eye and you make the purchase just because you get attached emotionally to the item, then a week later you get hit with the credit card bill you forgot about and you don’t have the money to pay for it because you spent it on the television. You let your emotions get the best of you and you did not think the purchase through all the way.

Do I really need this item? I ask this question at every purchase I make. A lot of times I find that the purchase is a want, so I weigh out how much enjoyment am I going to get out of this item. Wants are fine as long as they will give you plenty of enjoyment over the years.

Do I have the spare money for this item? I will not make a purchase unless I know for sure my bills are paid and there are enough funds in my account for any emergency that may come up, If I have any question about whether my bills are paid or not then I will hold off on the purchase until I know for sure that all my bills are paid for the month.

Have I done my research on the item? I will not make any purchase until I have shopped around to make sure that I am getting the best price. There are many times when you can make the purchase online. Most of the time by shopping online you will save money on gas and time. Again by not being an impulse buyer I save a lot of money by shopping around. 

In today’s times it is hard to save money and we are all trying to become financially independent. We all need to make our purchases smart and wise. Each purchase needs to be thought through and analyzed to make sure the purchase is the right decision and we are getting the best price for it.

Grow Vegetables and Save Money

Grow Vegetables and Save Money
By Lawrence  L. Hoyle

A Vegetable Garden can help feed your family in to days tough economic times. I grew up in the 40s and 50s and a vegetable Garden was a very popular thing. In the summer, my family lived off of the garden and preserved what grew for the winter months.

Making a garden can go a long way toward putting food on the table for your love ones. Fresh garden vegetables from you garden are more nutritious and taste better than what you buy in your local supermarket. Vegetable gardening is no different than growing flowers and if proper care your plant will flourish and produce a great crop.

First, you must decide what size the garden will be and it's location. A sunny location is a must. Vegetables like full sun all day. If you want a small garden, maybe raised planters would be your answer. Raised planters can be made using timbers or concrete wall blocks. The size and shape of your raised garden depends on your needs and the area you have to work with. Leave a path in

between planters for easy access.

What animals are present in your area? Tasty vegetables are liked by rabbits, deer and many others. One way to prevent this is to surround the garden with a fence.

Before planting, the soil must be properly prepared. Either use a roto-tiller or a spade to dig up the soil. Rake the soil to prepare the soil surface before planting garden seeds and plants.

Plan your garden arrangement, plant tall growing plants toward the back of the garden and the shorter ones in the front so that the sunlight does not get blocked.

Organic matter added to the soil releases nitrogen, minerals and other plant nutrients, plants need to thrive. There are some garden plants that need specific needs; leafy plants like lettuce, spinach and cabbage grow better with more nitrogen while root crops like potatoes, beets, turnips and carrots require more potash. Tomatoes And beans use a small amount of fertilizer, while plants like onions and potatoes need a large amount.

When to plant vegetables, here are some golden rules. Radishes, lettuce, cabbage, broccoli, spinach are some of the vegetables that like cool weather, so plant them in early spring. Tomatoes, beans, corn, carrots, eggplant, beets and potatoes like warm weather. They have to be planted after the last frost has pasted.

 Plant and enjoy the great taste of home grown vegetables from your own garden.

Lawrence L. Hoyle, author, 48 years in the Landscape Profession. Check out his main websites at: www.web-landscape-design-ideas.com

Save money when grocery shopping.

Save money when grocery shopping.

Have you noticed that over the years food prices are sky rocketing through the roof? I go shopping pretty much every time that my wife goes to the grocery store, not to monitor her purchasing habits but just because I like shopping just as much as she does and it is a great time for us to spend together.

We both work well together when it comes to purchasing food. We shop for the best prices, but we do not buy generic unless we know for sure that it is just as good as the name brand items. We have ran across a few generic items that were definitely not worth the compromise to buying generic to save money.

We are not health nuts and only eat vegetarian style far from it, but we do eat a wide variety of items. We try to stay away from processed foods and eat more of a healthier diet of fresh vegetable, fruit, and meats. We do try and stay away from foods that are high in sugars and carbs, just because we are trying to watch our weight. So many pre-packaged foods and processed foods are loaded with ingredients that are not good for human consumption.

There are many ways to save on your food bill no matter what type of diet or how your family lives and eats , but it does take some work on your part to make some changes in your lifestyle to make this work. Her are a few ideas that have helped my wife and I save money in the past on our grocery bill, I hope these will help you out also.

Make a shopping list. With today’s technology there are many apps for smartphones out on the market for making a shopping list, pick one at put it to use. On my smartphone my wife and I will work on a shopping list at least a week ahead. When something comes to her mind she will shoot me a text to put it on the shopping list, then on pay day we will take the list and do our grocery shopping. We always go to the store with a plan, and if we stick to this plan and stay focused we do not over purchase and waste money. Another reason to make a shopping list is so we can sit down the night before and go through our coupons and find the ones that line up with our list, this way we do not forget about giving the clerk the coupon for the item's we buy, using coupons can save us a lot of money if we use them correctly.

Don’t shop hungry. This has been said for years, but it is a good statement to live by. When you are hungry you will buy out the store and most of it you dont need. One thing that I found is that when I shop while I am hungry I will have less patience and I will not grab the first thing I see on the shelf and I will not comparison shop for the best price.  When you are hungry you will also make some serious bad choices for the food you eat especially if you are on any sort of diet.

Shop at warehouse stores.  You will find a lot of items at discount prices if you purchase in case lots. Yes you have to pay for a membership fee, but the most I ever had to pay was $35.00 for year. I made that up the first time I went shopping. Canned vegetables, soups, rice, pasta, cereal, chips, these are just a few items that have long shelf life and can be purchased at a fraction f the price than at a normal grocery store. This is an excellent way to purchase at a reduced rate and stock the shelves at home.

Discount Food Stores. This is really popular in Florida, we have several discount food stores all around the state. These stores are a no thrill type of store where you even have to bring your own grocery bags and you have to bag your own groceries. I can walk into one of these store and cut my weekly grocery bill in half. Granted a lot of the food at these discount stores are generic, but most of what I have purchased at these places is just as good as name brand food at normal grocery stores.

Purchase fresh fruit and vegetables locally.  Most communities have farmer markets and local fruit stands. These are excellent places to purchase home grown fruits, vegetables, eggs, and sometimes even locally grown beef, pork and chicken. Usually the food from these places are very high quality, organic and most of the time free of hormones. I love shopping at these types of places, I build a rep-or with the farmer or the owner of the fruit stand and I can sometime make a barter with the person or find out if they have something seasonal that is coming in shortly.

Prepackaged Food. Don’t ever purchase food that is prepackaged for you. For an example, in the produce area of the store you will find vegetables like onions, peppers, and celery already cut up and packaged. If you look at the price it will be three to four times more expensive than the non-cut up product. Also when you go through the frozen food section you will find bags of frozen vegetables, frozen meals and many other pre-packaged food and processed food. The cost of these foods will definitely drive up the price of you grocery.

Comparison shop. Keep all your receipts from shopping for strictly groceries. At the end of a month write down the main items that you usually purchase with the prices. Take the list to several different grocery stores in your community and compare prices. You may be astounded to find that even though you thought you were getting a great deal at the store you most often shop at you could save money by shopping at a couple different stores. My wife and I do this, we will purchase all our canned goods at warehouse store, then all our meat products at our local butcher shop, and then our remaining items at a big box store along with our toiletries, and household items.

For many people the grocery bill is one of the most costly expenditure in their budget. Saving money on your grocery bill will help put money back into the budget to help pay off other debts you want to get rid of or save this money to add to your investment portfolio. Every area where you can save money will help to make your dreams come true and help you to be financially independent.