How the Frugal save Time AND Money (items, best, prices)
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There are always replies in the frugal living threads about how being frugal is a waste of time, and time is money. So what are ways that you can save BOTH.
For example, my doctor has recommended that I take an 81mg Aspirin every day. Buying bottles of 81mg aspirins is ridiculously expensive, compared to buying big bottles of regular aspirins for about a dollar a pound, and cutting them up.
So I started buying cheap aspirins, and laboriously cutting them up with a pill cutter. But the pill cutter costs as much as a 5-year supply of aspirins, so I started cutting them with a sharp paring knife, on a kitchen towel so the pieces don't fly all over. But the cheap aspirins crumble easily, and I was wasting a lot.
Finally, i hit on the solution. Just put 5 or 6 aspirins in a small pill botttle, and each morning, take out a whole one, and bite off 1/3 of it, and put the rest back in the bottle. When there were only 2/3 pieces in the bottle, I would just bite them in half, finally having just 1/3 pieces left. I'm getting about 100 mg, average, but I doubt if not taking exactly 81 mg will significantly impact my longevity or overall cardiac health.
Plenty of money saved (maybe a dollar a month) by cutting up whole aspirins, and no time wasted cutting them up. Perfect.
Plenty of money saved (maybe a dollar a month) by cutting up whole aspirins, and no time wasted cutting them up. Perfect.
By $1/month, do you mean an entire savings of $12/year?
I bought a fuel efficient car. It saves money by allowing me to get 36mpg on a full size sedan (needing less gas)... and it saves me time by having to visit a gas station less often.
In NJ, I also save time by bypassing traffic since I am allowed to drive in the High-Occupancy Vehicle lanes even when I am the only person in the car.
For example, my doctor has recommended that I take an 81mg Aspirin every day. Buying bottles of 81mg aspirins is ridiculously expensive, compared to buying big bottles of regular aspirins for about a dollar a pound, and cutting them up.
im not sure how much it actually is at costco, but i found a link to kirkland low dose aspirin. that cost works out to 1.2 cents per day. i think you are going to need to find another way to save if you want to make a real impact. if you have minimized all your expenses to the point where a 1.2 cent a day product is a lot, then you are the most frugal man on the planet!
There are always replies in the frugal living threads about how being frugal is a waste of time, and time is money. So what are ways that you can save BOTH.
For example, my doctor has recommended that I take an 81mg Aspirin every day. Buying bottles of 81mg aspirins is ridiculously expensive, compared to buying big bottles of regular aspirins for about a dollar a pound, and cutting them up.
So I started buying cheap aspirins, and laboriously cutting them up with a pill cutter. But the pill cutter costs as much as a 5-year supply of aspirins, so I started cutting them with a sharp paring knife, on a kitchen towel so the pieces don't fly all over. But the cheap aspirins crumble easily, and I was wasting a lot.
Finally, i hit on the solution. Just put 5 or 6 aspirins in a small pill botttle, and each morning, take out a whole one, and bite off 1/3 of it, and put the rest back in the bottle. When there were only 2/3 pieces in the bottle, I would just bite them in half, finally having just 1/3 pieces left. I'm getting about 100 mg, average, but I doubt if not taking exactly 81 mg will significantly impact my longevity or overall cardiac health.
Plenty of money saved (maybe a dollar a month) by cutting up whole aspirins, and no time wasted cutting them up. Perfect.
Actually, you could save even more money. Regular aspirin is 325mg. Baby aspirin, or the recommended dose for cardiac therapy, is 81mg. By taking 1/3 of a tab of regular ASA daily, you are using more than the recommended amount. You would be on target if you took 1/4 of a regular tab daily, thereby taking 81mg. You could make the pound of ASA go even further than you already do.
As for me, I'll buy the store brand of 81mg. at about $4.00 for 500. That gives me well over a year's worth of pills.
Calculating your 3 and 1/3 cents a day savings, you'll soon have enough for that new Ferrari you always dreamed of.
Just kidding. I love hearing your frugality tips. Keep 'em coming.
If you lived in a third world country and your monthly expenditures were $100/mo, saving $1 a month decreases your costs by 1%.
Even if you were frugal in the US and your monthly expenditures were $1000/mo, you'd need to think of some way to save $10/mo to have the same effect on your budget.
By $1/month, do you mean an entire savings of $12/year?
I bought a fuel efficient car. It saves money by allowing me to get 36mpg on a full size sedan (needing less gas)... and it saves me time by having to visit a gas station less often.
In NJ, I also save time by bypassing traffic since I am allowed to drive in the High-Occupancy Vehicle lanes even when I am the only person in the car.
Savings are about $70/month.
This is what I thought too. jtur - why would you ever bother to do something to save $12/year?
Cable/Satellite TV: Wasn't watching it enough to justify the expense, so I gave it up when my term was over back in 2009. Had an external antenna installed on my house. Get all the major networks in HD for free. Get anything else I want on the Internet (free). Saved about $80 - $90/month.
Regular Phone: Gave that up and went to VOIP. Then gave that up and went to an even cheaper VOIP (MagicJack). It works well for my needs. Costs about $1.80/month. Went from $40/month for landline phone to less than $2/month which includes unlimited long distance.
Cell Phone: For a period of 5 years I gave up a regular contract and went with Tracfone. Spent approximately $80 - $100/year. I'm back on a contract for now and will reevaluate when my contract ends. I have a great smartphone and while I could give it up...not sure I want to. I might be able to subsidize the cost by saving elsewhere. But yes, it is possible to save $$$ on telecom.
Car: Drove my last car for 13 years. It was paid for in cash. I would have kept it longer if it didn't start needing some major repairs. However it did not get good gas mileage and was expensive to maintain. Purchased a new Prius in 2010. Cash. Getting 45mpg. Gas prices do not stress me out. I don't drive that many miles anyway. One fill up per month is pretty much all I need.
Those are just a few examples of being 'frugal' that can have a big impact. It's not worth my time to worry about saving $1/month when there are ways to save $50+ per month.
For me it's about balance and convenience vs. cost. By saving on the big things it allows me to indulge elsewhere. I have to have my indulgences, but I don't go into debt to have them and I fund my savings first.
By $1/month, do you mean an entire savings of $12/year?
Yes. If you can find ten different ways to save a dollar a month, that's $120 a year, which is enough to buy the gas to drive 1200 miles in the high occupancy lane.
If each of those savings costs you 30-seconds of your time, the total time expended in a whole year will be one hour, equal to sitting through all the commercial breaks in one Sunday of NFL football. So, if time is money, you can earn just as much money while the commercials are on. If your time is worth $20 an hour, just hit the mute button and earn a dollar every time they go to a commercial. It was your idea, and we're all grateful for that tip.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CaptainNJ
im not sure how much it actually is at costco, but i found a link to kirkland low dose aspirin. that cost works out to 1.2 cents per day.
I'd have to drive more than 100 miles each way to the nearest Costco (or else pay shipping). The cheapest I can find in any retail stores here is about 4c each, and it takes a lot of searching around to find a store that has bottles of more than 36. That's $14 a year, even if I drive around looking for cheaper ones. I can buy 500 regular aspirins for 3.49, which is less than a quarter of a cent per day, which is 90 cents a year.
There are always replies in the frugal living threads about how being frugal is a waste of time, and time is money. So what are ways that you can save BOTH.
For example, my doctor has recommended that I take an 81mg Aspirin every day. Buying bottles of 81mg aspirins is ridiculously expensive, compared to buying big bottles of regular aspirins for about a dollar a pound, and cutting them up.
So I started buying cheap aspirins, and laboriously cutting them up with a pill cutter. But the pill cutter costs as much as a 5-year supply of aspirins, so I started cutting them with a sharp paring knife, on a kitchen towel so the pieces don't fly all over. But the cheap aspirins crumble easily, and I was wasting a lot.
Finally, i hit on the solution. Just put 5 or 6 aspirins in a small pill botttle, and each morning, take out a whole one, and bite off 1/3 of it, and put the rest back in the bottle. When there were only 2/3 pieces in the bottle, I would just bite them in half, finally having just 1/3 pieces left. I'm getting about 100 mg, average, but I doubt if not taking exactly 81 mg will significantly impact my longevity or overall cardiac health.
Plenty of money saved (maybe a dollar a month) by cutting up whole aspirins, and no time wasted cutting them up. Perfect.
I'm still wondering if you broke down and bought some dish soap yet? LOL
As far as the aspirin dosage being exactly 81 mg, I'm sure that a few mgs wont make much of a difference...
Yes. If you can find ten different ways to save a dollar a month, that's $120 a year, which is enough to buy the gas to drive 1200 miles in the high occupancy lane.
If each of those savings costs you 30-seconds of your time, the total time expended in a whole year will be one hour, equal to sitting through all the commercial breaks in one Sunday of NFL football. So, if time is money, and just earn just as much money while the commercials are on. If your time is worth $20 an hour, just hit the mute button and earn a dollar every time they go to a commercial. It was your idea, and we're all grateful for that tip.
Life is too short to waste time doing stuff like that.
There is a difference between frugal and cheap.
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