Here’s an archived post from February 2009 that appeared on the old site.
We are having special visitors this weekend and my parents are coming the week after, so I’m busy with spring cleaning. Starting with the laundry room – our washer gasped its last breath this weekend. When the wet clothes inside the washing machine are smoking, it’s time for a new one!
Enjoy!
Slowly we’re clearing out the clutter.
Invisible clutter. Just because you can’t see it, doesn’t mean it takes up no effort in your life or costs nothing.
First, we returned our Sam’s Club membership. They have a full refund policy at any time if you cancel your membership. The Texas Sam’s Clubs don’t carry a lot of the products I used to buy in South Carolina, including bulk cornstarch, whole wheat pasta, or certain spices. Their milk was more expensive than the grocery stores, as was their produce. I used to buy whole wheat bread there for cheap, but I make my own now. They don’t carry bread flour. Over, and over again I would head to Sam’s Club with a long list, and leave with butter and chickens. Then, a local grocery store started carrying butter for the same price.
$35 back in our pockets!
We paid off our van in December, and switched the coverage from Full to Liability Only. Our van is maybe worth $1800.
$35 a month, back in our pockets!
Husband changed his cell plan. He did have a supernifty one with unlimited nationwide roaming. When he realized that his company wasn’t sending him to any outlying oil platforms any time soon, he changed plans.
$15 a month, back in our pockets! We can always change to the upgraded plan at any time, if we need to go out of town.
I changed our cable service yesterday. This was tricky, because we have a package deal (phone, internet, and cable.) I work from home watching TV, and I had to have certain channels for my job. The best package I could get cost $160 after taxes (including taxes, fees, and DVR.)
In January, our cable company sent us a notice that prices would be going up by $5. But, they also added several new packages and bundles. We went to a different phone plan, eliminating long distance (husband gets it for free on his cell, anyway), went to a slower internet, and lost a bunch of channels.
Truthfully, even though we “lost” about 100 channels, the only ones we’ll miss are The Science Channel, Noggin, HBO, and EWTN.
Savings? $50 a month!
(Note: this is an old post. We’ve saved even more money by eliminating cable tv altogether and watching TV shows for free!)
How much can you save by eliminating invisible clutter, options you don’t use, and avoiding miscellaneous charges?
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks for the suggestions! We have been trying to do some of the same things. We are keeping our Sam’s Club membership, however, since up here in North Texas, we can still get several items (including milk) cheaper there than anywhere else.
It is interesting when we take stock and see how much we have that we really don’t need. It sounds cliche’ but it’s so true.
I stopped paying to rent a storage locker and took a cousin up on his offer to use his massive, empty basement, for free.
No cable or satellite since December.
No data plan on the phone. While it, at one time, had a purpose and was considered somewhat necessary, a few changes in life circumstances made it no longer necessary. It’s been an adjustment in convenience that I sometimes lament, but hey, it’s $20 a month not spent!
I save up “trips”. I live in the middle of freaking nowhere and it’s a trek to get anywhere. I now only go once a week or so unless it’s an emergency or absolutely necessary. I save up all errands to do on one day. I’ve gone from filling my gas tank every week to doing so roughly every two weeks.