Things you do to save $$

[Porsche_monkey]

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.

[notfarnow]

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

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

[Z-man]

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.

[gassy]

Originally Posted by z-man

- shower with my wife together.

-z-man.

tmi

[vash]

hey, does peeing in the shower save $?

[notfarnow]

saves time!

[vash]

time IS money.

[coldstart]

Originally Posted by Christien

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!

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.

[pwd72s]

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.

[Christien]

Originally Posted by coldstart

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.

That's impressive! Especially in a performance car.

[Z-man]

Originally Posted by pwd72s

...But we still have the land line...use a cosco bought calling card, 2.5 cents per minute for long distance calls.

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

[HelmetHead]

Originally Posted by jhynesrockmtn

Hey, it's probably more like 45 or 50 with the way the motor is built

Point is it's cheap in racing terms and the bonus is it's the most competitive group in our vintage club in terms of actual racing. Also the best group of people to drink and turn wrenches with. But yes, I need to get a fix at track days in my 911 once in a while.

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.

[126coupe]

Originally Posted by vash

hey, does peeing in the shower save $?

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

[LakeCleElum]

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.

[LakeCleElum]

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

[Hugh R]

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.

[911Rob]

I'll bite my tongue.... but in life you get what you focus on.

Life is like a bath; There's a faucet and a drain. Most people focus on the drain, I've always focused on the faucet.

Been telling that story for over 15 years now.

[notfarnow]

Originally Posted by 911Rob

I'll bite my tongue.... but in life you get what you focus on.

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.

[T77911S]

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.

[cab&coupe]

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