Frugal or Foolish?

18 November 2009 | 10:40 am

I’ve really tried to cut back on the spending, and I have to say I’ve done well. I came across a blog post from Sherry at Generation Cedar describing how a family of 15 pays only $65 a month on their power bill. CLICK HERE to read it in its entirety.

They literally unplugged everything in their home to figure out what they really used. They unplug their deep freezer every 2-3 days. They unplugged their water heater - cold showers. I draw the line there.

Our power bill is awful. We pay $176 on average for electric and $112 on average for gas. That’s a monthly total of $288. That’s almost $10 per day. I’d like to cut back, but I’m NOT giving up hot showers, and I mean hot, steamy showers.

I feel like the Bridget Jones of Frugal. I’ll measure my days in glasses of wine, wasted CCF’s of gas, and wasted kilowatt-hours of electricity.

Let me just list what I have given up:
• Almost daily Starbuck’s - Grande, Sugar-Free Cinnamon Dolce, Skinny Latte @ $4.05 (let’s say 300 days out of the year) - $1,125. And many times I’d bring home a Venti Breva Latte for my Sweetie.
• $110 monthly hair color and cut - $1,320
• $40 monthly brow and lip wax (some might think I’m Portuguese) I now go to BoRics on Tuesday’s for the $11 cut. I color and remove my own facial hair for less than $8 per month.
• Cleaning Ladies - $90 every 2 weeks - $2,160 per year (ouch).
• I even gave up cheap $40 pedicures. No sense in getting a manicure - I’m a mother:)
• I walk more and drive less. Errands are more planned vs. running here one day and there the next.
• The thermostat has been pushed up to 68° in the summer and down to 60° in the winter.
• And let’s not forget my gym membership and personal trainer. Actually I had a trainer for only a few months and then stole hours from my sister-in-law. She’ll never know.
• I cut Eddie’s hair, and the girls join me at BoRic’s, but only 2-3 times per year.
• Clothing is bought at second hand stores.
• We do all our own lawn service and home repair.
• We rarely and I mean rarely eat out. This used to get us all the time. My children like salmon.
• Entertainment consists of DVDs or family game night. This is a WIN!!
• I’m a nerdy coupon clipper!

Hot showers are not going to be cut. I’ll have to be creative and find other ways. In all seriousness, CLICK HERE to read the article. It’s very interesting.

Thanks for visiting and please come back often. My goal is to save money and help others save money while not giving up an evening glass of wine. CLICK HERE to join me on Facebook. CLICK HERE to join me on Twitter. Fill out the below form to receive updates via email. Please feel free to leave comments. I love your comments!