Never owned a new car. Need to start buying in bulk again and cooking (easier to get into in the summer). Would give up drinking but work would have to go as well.

Cell phones- gone
Cable TV- gone
New Car- used, paid with cash
Winter- reduce porsche insurance while not in use
Espresso-make at home
Beer- make at home

Refinanced the house at 4.99% = $400 savings/month
Paid off cars only insured for liability

Oh, another one: to save $$, I rebuilt my 3.0L SC engine stock (well, except for the cams, but they had to be reground anyways...) and reused alusil cylinders.:D

Yep, I've cut back. I might even go back to having sex with my own girlfriend - just to save money. Damn the economy.

I've stopped buying car mags. Most things written about SCs has already been written and I get really sick of those stories about how great GT3s are.

May I recommend Borders. Read their mag's in the cafe over an excellent coffee.

Am switching the house to use solar power for about 50% of its useage. Saved on components by buying used solar panels and doing the work myself.

That cuts my utility bill by $3000 a year. Put that in my retirement fund and it makes a big dent on how long I have to work.

Have the Rolex serviced every 24 months instead of 18

Light my cigars with 5 dollar bills instead of the usual $20.

Turned the thermostat in the garage down to 60.

No Scotch older than 17 years old (okay - maybe 18)

Taking only 3 vacations this winter

Eat at home at least once a week.

It's been a living hell.

Craigslist & Goodwill

Bought a Bowflex off of Craigslist yesterday for $100. My YMCA membership will be cancelled.
Our vacuum was having issues. Found one at Goodwill that was like new, but had a broken belt... $12.

Other Goodwill finds:

Pioneer Elite VSX-41 110 watts per channel, 6.1, DTS, etc A/V receiver, $12.
Shark Vac for the kitchen, $8
Schwinn mountain bike for my daugher, $14
Auto Service ramps, $10
Acquarium for my daughters hermit crabs, $8
Tennis racquets, $3 ea.

I.....just could not live like that. :(

This is the funniest post I have read in a long long time. Thanks, SLO-BOB, I needed that. :D

a) the thread was ways to save money, not how you waste what you've saved

b) my DD is 11 years old with 250,000 k on it.

c) I have never lost money on a 911, but my 964 might just change that....

d) I agree on the oil change, but you usually I can get DIY synthetic oil change for the price a shop charges for a dyno oil change.

;)

:)

That's impressive. What is it? I've only ever seen you drive the 911.

Volvo 850 Wagon. A really great car. And cheap. Like me.

(Still somewhat busy, will call you next week or the one after)

I had a hunch it wasn't a Big-3.

No rush - things are still slow right now.

Depends, I guess. Every few months I have to get under the car to pull out any mailboxes and motorcycles that mrs notfarnow has picked up. Pulling the drain plug while I'm under there saves me from having to drop it off.

Actually, on the e300d I can do an oil change in 5 minutes. The filter's up top, and I have a 1/4" vacuum tube I slide down the dipstick tube.

Here's another money saver: the used Mobil1 synthetic that comes out of the e300d goes INTO the 4runner.

My daily drivers have respectively 240K and 220K on them, 1991 Mercedes 420 SEL and a 1984 500 SEC.

I am never going to purchase a car again unless it is all cash. I am never going to lease a new car again. I am only going to buy cars that have virtually bottomed out in terms of depreciation. I am only going to pay for liability insurance on said vehicle. My alarm/security will consist of a removable steering wheel.

I bring lunch to work every day. I will be finding a cheaper apartment in August.

Landline telephone is for suckers. I haven't ever had one since going to college. Why pay for this?

Brita faucet filter instead of bottled water. WAY cheaper, and easier to carry in groceries now. Tastes good to me.

Use bleach for lots of things. Bleach is super cheap and cleans things very well.

Also impressive. Anyone have a big-3 that's running will with that kind of mileage?

I just realized, too, that you're talking about miles - I'm used to thinking in kms. 250K kms is pretty good to get out of a car. 250K MILES (400K kms) is stellar!

I've never had a car go that long - at what point do maintenance costs outweigh depreciation costs of a newer car? i.e. at what point does it stop making sense to throw money at it? I don't imagine a Mercedes is a low-maintenance car.

I put 15% of my salary, which is the max, into my 401k. I also buy company stock at 10% off market price. I buy 10% of my salary's worth, which is the max, and then sell it off immediately now for a 10% gain. I used to hold on to it for a while because the stock does very well but these days, the market is very uncertain.

I buy used stuff except for clothes and food.

I had a truck with 500,000 km

Pretty sure my Volvo will go another 200,000 k. The body is excellent. The interior is okay (seats are worn). I had the head off at 200,000 k and the bore was like new. New valve guides, new turbo, so it should last a long time.

Couple of co-workers had Grand-Am's with over 300,000. Both were totally reliable. Our GM truck had 500,000 k.

I had an '87 jetta diesel with 596k kms. Great car.

My e300d is about to roll over 300k, my 4runner has 350k.

My list:
- Take lunch and soda to work (a 12 pack of cans from the foodstore is cheaper than a 16 oz bottle from the vending machine)
- Limited dining out
- If I get a medical reimbursement checkl, I put that in savings.
- Max amount allowed goes into my 401k.
- Drive slower and decellerate sooner vs. slamming on the brakes
- Removed long distance from land line & use cell phone for long distance calls
- Programmable thermostat drops temps down to 62 when not at home in the winter; at night we close our bedroom door and use a small oil-filled portable heater, but still keep the temps rather low in the bedroom (that way, we have to snuggle close to each other - another benefit!) When we are home and about the house, the temp is set to 68.
- Shower with my wife together. (Hey, it saves money, and leads to more snuggling!!!) ;)
- Use our outdoor propane grill year round
- Cancelled Excellence magazine
- I am able to do most of the smaller home repair stuff.
- Hire day laborers for 'grunt work.' (Saved me over $1500 last fall vs. hiring a landscaper to do debris removal)
- Delay kitchen remodel for 6+ years. (Mrs. Z-man isn't too happy about that)
- Hair cut intervals a little longer than before
- Paid off house.
- Cut my own lawn, don't use a landscaper.
- Don't go to the grocery store when we're hungry. (Less chance of junk winding up in the shopping cart!)
- Use a Pur water filter instead of bottled water
- Eat more vegetables and fresh foods instead of processed ones. (Wife is an excellent cook)
- Don't consume alchohol / don't smoke
- keep my cars for a long time (kept my Subaru for 13 years and 194,000 miles)
- Pay off all CC bills immediately
- On vacation:
-stay in rooms with at least a fridge and microwave - eat in the rooms at least for lunch or dinner, minimizing eating out even on vacation
- Use Orbitz or Priceline to get cheaper tickets
- Limit souvenir items to small, inexpensive items, and the 'pressed penny' thing.

-Z-man.

tmi

hey, does peeing in the shower save $?

saves time!

time IS money.

Hey Chris,

My Dad has his 1968 Chevrolet Corvette (original owner) and it has 350K miles. The engine and the gearbox have never been apart-- he just started on the 3rd clutch. It was his daily driver for the first 10 years when he lived in the great U.S.A.

Z-man: "- Removed long distance from land line & use cell phone for long distance calls"

I have a prepaid cell...it currently has 500 plus minutes, doesn't expire until 9 dec. 09. But we still have the land line...use a cosco bought calling card, 2.5 cents per minute for long distance calls.

That's impressive! Especially in a performance car.

Don't need to since the cell phone long distance calls are part of my plan.

Might as well get into shifter kart racing (your kid may enjoy it too!) Most 125 shifterkarts dyno between 35-45hp....in a kart with driver weighing in at 390 or 425 depending on class..... No substitute for HP to weight...besides an F1 car...and holding 3-4 g's in the corners. :D

I myself pee in the toilet, but don't flush everytime:D
water bill was 28.00 last month.

Recently finished building a retirement house - Work I did:

Installed the siding
Installed cabinets
Did the finish electrical and plumbing
Finishing and installed interior trim and doors.
Build deck
Poured Parking pad
Did rock work on the front of the house.
Saved 1/2 by hiring my own tile guy, hardwood floor installer, and painters, save $4K on sheetrock bid.

Burn firewood in all 3 homes - canceled landline - Getting ready to paint my Toyota p/u - Just did tune-up, shocks, & timing belt.

Flip a few motorcycles and snowmobiles.

Frequent flyer miles for 2 trips to Europe and one to Australia.

Called the Doc. and canceled the "Princess" breast reduction surgery!!!!! :D :D :D

I eat lunch with my TV shows when I can. The food is really excellent. When I do lunch on the lot with my colleagues I have soup which is really, really excellent at the Disney commissary. The cost is $2.50 for a big bowl. COSTCO and a Vons card help too. I dropped earthquake insurance which may or may not be a good idea. But with a premium of $3,000/year and an $88,000 deductible on the house only (not pool/spa or anything else) I didn't see it as a good deal. The house has been through two major earthquakes, Sylmar and Northridge and I'm only 2 miles from the overpasses that fell down in the Northridge quake. Besides, my understanding is that the State takes the earthquake insurance premiums and puts them in the General Fund and, like Social Security, writes IOUs against it. Yeah right. In a major quake with the economy the way it is I'm sure the state would honor my insurance claim.

http://www.itsdocs.fhwa.dot.gov/jpod...s/image010.jpg

:cool: http://forums.pelicanparts.com/suppo...ool_shades.gif
I'll bite my tongue.... but in life you get what you focus on.
:cool: Been telling that story for over 15 years now. :cool:

HA, I like it.

I'm focusing on the faucet too, but someone else has a death grip on it, which is part of the problem. Like most people who aren't self-employed we have a LOT more control on the drain right now, so it makes sense to focus on THAT just as much as the faucet.

nothing.

i like to eat lunch out too much
i would get rid of my wired phone at home but then i would have to give work my cell phone so they can call me back in.
just bought a 3.0
just bought a buisiness (money pit) for the wife.


i guy i worked with was tight with his money, he claimed to split 2ply toilet paper in half to make it go further.

Review your auto insurance policy.... check out your deductable stated in the policy (usually $250) and raise it to $500 or even better to $1000