Cheap Places Blog

Storage is an issue for almost everyone. Some people earn a living by helping others learn how to store everything they have. This article concentrates on the small things, especially in the kitchen. How to store small bits of leftovers can be a puzzle.

Many people toss leftover food because they don’t know how to store it or they just don’t want to mess with it. How wasteful! Maybe they don’t own storage containers. Or maybe they have lots of containers, but they are all stuffed in the back of a cupboard. Lid? Who knows where the lid is? Did that ever have a lid?

Plastic storage containers are available in endless sizes, shapes, and styles. Most seem to be flat; that is, wide and shallow. Some are a bit taller, either round or square, and have proportions sort of like a cube. The down side of such containers is the amount of space they take up in your fridge or cupboard. Even if they are clear, the plastic is cloudy and not much surface area is exposed. It’s difficult to tell what is inside, especially if you stack the containers to save space. Without picking it up or finding what you wrote on the lid (yes, you can write on the lid), the contents remain a mystery.

Enter: <dramatic pause> the empty peanut butter jar! I love empty peanut butter jars for storage! Look at their advantages:

• They are unbreakable.
• They are completely clear.
• Their footprint in the fridge is small.
• They’re lightweight.
• You can stack them.
• You store them with the lid on, so it’s never lost.
• They’re recyclable.
• And they’re free!

Plus, they have a wide opening, and you can pour liquids from them without spilling. They are a wonderful container for storing almost any food. (OK, not a leftover roast turkey.)

Nuts for baking and cooking (pecans, almonds, walnuts, etc.) come in plastic or cellophane bags, which are not very sturdy for long-term storage. I transfer the nuts to a peanut butter jar and store them in the freezer to stay fresh longer.

A small amount of uncooked pasta, dried beans, or lentils stored in a peanut better jar is easier to manage. It won’t accidentally come open and spill the contents into the far corners of your cupboard. You can snip cooking directions from the label and tuck them into the jar. An extra benefit is that the jar is insect-proof, if that is a problem in your area.

We eat fruit on our cereal every morning. Whether I buy fresh or frozen, I store it in a peanut butter jar in the fridge. If fresh, berries remain plump without getting smashed. If frozen, the jar holds enough thawed fruit for just a few days, so it’s always fresh. When I dice the fruit in advance, such as frozen peaches or strawberries, the no-spill, no-mess guarantee of a jar is welcome in the morning fog.

I use peanut butter jars to store small amounts of orange juice, gravy, and creamy salads. If we open a large can of pineapple juice for summer cocktails, peanut butter jars offer the perfect way to store the leftover juice in the freezer.

So fix lots of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for your grandkids, and remember that it’s a protein-rich lunch for yourself. Then save and reuse the mighty peanut butter jar!

Linda

Easy energy savings? What if you are more concerned with long-term savings? If you have already done a lot of the small things you can do to save energy and you plan to live in your current home throughout your thrifty retirement, it’s time to consider investing in more complex and extensive forms of energy savings.

With renewed emphasis on conserving energy for both monetary savings and ecological reasons, emerging technological advances offer new opportunities to save. Your local climate plays a role in determining which methods will save you the most money, as well as which are most viable. For example, a region with few sunny days is not a likely location to invest in solar panels. On the other hand, if you live in a sunny, arid spot in the Sun Belt, solar panels for heating water or generating home electricity will give you almost instant savings and a short pay-off period.

Replacing old drafty windows with double-pane thermal windows is particularly popular in areas that experience all four seasons, especially colder winters. Depending on the condition of your old windows, winter energy costs can be reduced dramatically by installing new windows. Most homes can be completed in just one day, so interruption is minimal.

Adding insulation to your walls and ceilings is another long-term energy saving solution. Unless you have added insulation in the last five years, chances are you need to upgrade what you currently have. Many options are available, from thick fiberglass batts or rolls, to blown-in cellulose insulation for walls, to spray-on expandable foam for crawl spaces and other specific areas. Green insulation materials range from baled straw to shredded denim jeans and almost everything in between. Do your homework before you decide and hire a reputable contractor to perform the work.

Installing a programmable thermostat not only saves money on energy costs, but also relieves you of one more thing to remember. Most of us turn our thermostat down at night simply to enjoy a more comfortable night of sleep. A programmable or set-back thermostat is programmed once, and then adjusts the temperature for you automatically every day. Different programs are used for winter heating and summer air conditioning. Most thermostats have weekday programs that can be different from weekend programs, and the temperature can be raised and lowered several times a day.

For example, even though we’re retired, you might do part-time or volunteer work for part of the day. In the winter, you can set the program to warm the house before you get up in the morning, turn it down when you leave, warm it up again when you return home, and finally turn it down for the night. Not having to remember that yourself is wonderful, and you will save money with virtually no effort.

You can go to the U.S. Department of Energy website at www.energysavers.gov for information on a home energy audit you can do yourself. Some utility companies offer free energy audits of your home, and they might install programmable thermostats free of charge. The trade-off for that service is often that you must allow them the ability to control your thermostat to reduce energy drain during peak seasons of heat and air conditioning. If you’re comfortable with such an arrangement, free professional installation is a good deal.

If your major appliances are more than ten years old and you are contemplating replacement, you should certainly consider purchasing Energy Star appliances. The advances that have been made in the last few years are impressive and will save money every time you do the laundry, wash dishes, or open the refrigerator. A tankless water heater provides instant hot water that never runs out, and although it has a high initial cost, the energy savings are considerable. Even low-flow faucets, showerheads, and toilets reduce energy costs. Of course, you use less water, but you also use lesshot water, for even double savings.

In our thrifty retirement, sometimes we have to spend a little to save a lot. The long-term savings offered by improving our energy efficiency will pay us back in the long run and give us a warm internal glow right now for helping save our planet.

Copyright © 2009 – all rights reserved.

As the winter season closes in on us, we all begin to think about the cost of winter energy bills. If you are lucky enough to live in a location that’s warm year round, you probably welcome the relief from high air conditioning bills. But for those of us who have four seasons, winter poses the heaviest burden of energy use and the highest utility bills. You can ease the pressure of those bills, especially in today’s uncertain economy, by using cheap and simple measures to reduce energy use and save money.

The easiest thing to do must be to replace your incandescent light bulbs with CFLs, compact fluorescent lighting, in as many places as possible. During shorter winter days, you will probably have lights on for more hours, and energy savings can be substantial. Start with the lights that you use most often and for the longest periods. It’s best to install CFLs where they will be on for at least 15 minutes at a time, so a closet, hall, or stairway where the light is turned on and off after just a few seconds is not necessarily a good place for a CFL. Although it uses less energy, each on-and-off click shortens the overall life of the bulb, and your savings might be minimal.

Turn down the temperature on your water heater to 110 or 120 degrees to save money and energy. In retirement, most of us have only two living in our household, so you’re not likely to run out of hot water. And while you’re there, insulate your water heater. You can buy precut blanket-style insulation made especially for a water heater to make installation easy.

Replace your furnace filters at the beginning of the heating season and check for dust accumulation in the middle of the season, as well. If you have a permanent type of filter, be sure to clean it thoroughly. Also make sure the humidifier on your furnace is working properly. Air that is more humid feels warmer than dry air of the same temperature, making your home more comfortable. Check the humidifier water pad and replace it if it is caked with lime and scale.

Turn your furnace thermostat down a couple degrees in winter and up a couple degrees in summer. The rule of thumb is that you save about 5% of your retirement dollars on heating bills for each degree of adjustment. Wear an extra layer of clothing, like a sweater or long-sleeved shirt, if you get chilly, or use a small space heater to warm the room in which you spend most of your time.

Take advantage of free heat and humidity for your dry winter air by opening your dishwasher and allowing dishes to air dry. As you open the door, the moist steamy air rolls out and both warms and humidifies your home. Now that’s thrifty retirement! You save the energy that would have been used to dry the dishes, and you warm your home while saving money. If you have an electric clothes dryer, you might be able to vent it indoors in the winter, taking advantage of that warmth and humidity, as well. Gas dryers should always be vented outdoors.

Check doors and windows for drafts. If cold air comes in under doors, purchase and install weather stripping that is designed for doorsills. Alternatively, you can roll up a small rug to place in front of it or buy a decorative “door snake” to block the draft. For windows, the clear plastic shrink-to-fit kits you install yourself are amazingly effective at saving energy and saving money. The kits come with double-stick tape to apply around the window. Then you cut the plastic film to size and stick it to the tape, sealing all edges. Finally, use a hair dryer to shrink the film and render it virtually invisible. In the spring, the tape and film are easily peeled off, leaving no residue. For windows that you never open, or that are in rooms you seldom use, you might want to leave the film on all year.

These tips on reducing winter energy use cost little or nothing, but they can add up to major savings on your winter energy bills. In our thrifty retirement, we can use the knowledge we have gained along the way to reduce our utility bills and make our lives warmer.

Copyright © 2009 – all rights reserved.

We all like to go out to eat, but we know cooking at home is much less expensive. In our life of thrifty retirement, there are ways to enjoy restaurant dining without emptying your wallet.

Eating out is many times a social experience more than a nourishment experience. We often go to a restaurant to join friends and bask in the ambience as much as to relish the food. If joining friends or family is the reason for the trip, consider alternatives to a lavish four-course dinner. Meet your friends for lunch. Some of the finest restaurants offer lunch-sized portions at prices much reduced from dinner prices. Of course, early-bird dinner specials are another common option to save money. You can enjoy your friends or family and the same wonderful atmosphere while saving money, with a much lower dent in your retirement dollars.

Meeting for breakfast, especially a late breakfast, is another option. You can consider it brunch, but avoid overpriced weekend or holiday brunches at hotels or restaurants. They offer more food than you could possibly eat, so you end up paying for the selection rather than the meal. Instead, choose a restaurant that specializes in breakfast and lunch only. Menu items are usually fresh and healthy, and costs are far below those on dinner menus.

You could alternatively meet at a coffee shop to enjoy a warm and soothing latte or cappuccino. If you want this to substitute for a lunch or breakfast, you can have one of the decadent pastries with your coffee. Keep in mind, the nutrition is minimal and the calorie count is scary, but cost will be less than most full meals.

If evenings are your preference or your only option, savvy ideas can help you save money here. If you like early dining, consider having cocktails and appetizers. It seems nearly every bar or cocktail lounge has happy hour specials, which often include appetizers for $5 or less. You can enjoy your favorite cocktail and split two or three appetizers rather than buying a full meal. The cost is sometimes amazingly cheap and it can be a lot of fun in your thrifty retirement. Of course, it’s “bar food” and sometimes not healthy eating, but salads and soups are often among the selections. Choose wisely.

If cocktails are not what you want, you can save money on a pricey main course by going out for just dessert. Enjoy a simple salad at home and then splurge by splitting a decadent dessert, followed by luscious after-dinner coffee. The best part of the meal is at your favorite restaurant, where you can relax and leisurely enjoy the atmosphere and the company.

But if it’s a special occasion or you want the complete experience, a full-blown dinner at a 4-star restaurant might be the only thing that will do. First, check the restaurant’s website, or other websites featuring coupons, to see if you can take advantage of any specials they offer. In this economy, even the finest dining establishments offer coupons featuring 20% to 50% off. If those are not available, you might want to split an entrée. There is sometimes a small charge for that, but it’s almost as good as getting one dinner free. In the end, if you each want your own entrée and you have no discounts, take consolation in the fact that you can take home half your meal and eat it the next day. It’s a little like reliving the pleasure.

Copyright © 2009 – all rights reserved.

The economy is not looking much better as we approach the holidays this season. The stock market has posted only the shakiest of recoveries, our retirement CDs and savings accounts still pay almost nothing in interest, and the largest spending season of the year is on our doorstep. This year you’ll want to make best use of your retirement dollars as you search for holiday gifts.

Getting the family together for a big dinner is a holiday tradition shared by nearly every ethnic group. If you, as the parents, have always footed the responsibility for that, this might be a good year to initiate a new potluck tradition. Assign a dish to everyone so each cook can shine with his or her own special creation. If you have dishes that are a tradition in your family, whether a spectacular mince pie or a luscious casserole, this is the year to share the recipe with grown children and let them learn the secrets.

For generations, it seems that we have been over-indulgent parents and grandparents, showering our children and grandchildren with toys and gifts. Their rooms overflowed and they often lost interest in a toy as soon as the next one was opened. Nearly every grandparent in thrifty retirement has fretted over what to buy that the grandchildren would treasure and appreciate for more than a few days. Many have resorted to handing over cash and letting the kids decide for themselves. Do you wonder if that’s all it has come down to?

This year, think about taking the path less chosen. Consider giving a share or two of venerable stock that can appreciate as the child grows. Start or contribute to a college fund. If you are strapped for cash and want to spend less, start a family history. Assemble all those old snapshots of family holidays and vacations and make a scrapbook for each child. It’s easy to make copies of old photos, or if you were a real shutterbug, you might be able to make each book unique, with different pictures that would interest the individual child.

For grown children, assemble a book of favorite family recipes, or have old family movies or slides converted to a DVD. Pass on a family heirloom before you pass on. If your grown children have the hectic lifestyle that is so common today, give the promise of fixing dinner for them once a month by sending over a favorite family meal. Offer your handyman services to fix their broken light switch or their leaky faucet.

Even better, buy a tape recorder and create an oral history of your family. Talk about your childhood, your parents, and your grandparents. Talk about long-lost cousins or estranged siblings. Recite the history of the family treasures. Explain why the antique bed is important, describe living next door to the artist who painted that picture, and tell why your grandma loved the little doll so much. Even if your family acts tired of hearing the same story now, someday they will appreciate this treasure more than imagined.

If you have a massive gift exchange with extended family, downsize giving by drawing names–separately among children and adults–and give only one gift rather than ten, twenty, or more. This custom makes the season easier and more enjoyable for everyone. Gift buying is doubly difficult for relatives you might see only once a year. If you exchange gifts with your card club or bowling league, give something homemade instead of another dust-catcher or gag gift to clutter up their homes. Share some of your favorite holiday treats, such as tangy cranberry-orange relish or mini-loaves of yummy pumpkin bread, and be sure to include the recipe.

Holidays don’t have to bankrupt your savings or turn family pleasures into panic. In your thrifty retirement, you can give meaningful gifts and save your retirement dollars.

Copyright © 2009 – all rights reserved.

Rising costs have everyone pinching pennies, and those of us who are retired feel the pinch at least as much as others do. In our thrifty retirement, we want the best value for our dollars. At the grocery store, years of experience have taught retirees to be aware of cost per ounce or cost per serving, as well as overall cost.

That has never been more important than it is in today’s marketplace. Boxes, cans, and containers are shrinking at faster rates than ever before. Package sizes are jumbled, with little uniformity left. Virtually nothing (except fresh milk and eggs) still comes in the same size package as it did a generation ago, when we were raising our families.

Canned fruits and vegetables used to weigh 16 ounces, and a can would provide a meal for a family of four. Now cans weigh perhaps 14 or 14.5 ounces, and often, a good deal of that is juice. The three peach halves in a can will not feed four people. A half gallon of ice cream? It’s a challenge to find that anywhere, yet the price has not dropped. Your best strategy might be to try a few different brands and compare contents. Surprisingly, a store brand turned out to be the best in our area. The cans of fruits and vegetables are filled with produce, not juice, and the cost is lower than national brands.

Laundry detergent used to be sold in standard sizes, regardless of the brand. Then manufacturers began a series of changes that now makes it nearly impossible to compare prices. They added softener or fragrance or bleach, then they concentrated it (2X? 3X?), and then they downsized from 100 uses or 50 uses to odd multiples like 40 or 70 uses. Again, prices stayed the same. If you are loyal to a brand, you probably continue to buy it. If you’re adventurous, you might try a different brand, or perhaps alternate use of a store brand and a national brand.

Paper products are worse. Even with the extra time we have in retirement, unless you carry a calculator, it is impossible to compare prices. You must consider how many rolls of toilet tissue or paper towels are in the package, and then whether rolls are single, double, “big,” “giant,” or some other size. Then you determine how many squares are on the roll and whether they are single ply or double ply. Maybe the tissue is extra soft or extra strong, or the towels are extra large, extra small, selectable, or just basic. It is a real chore to figure out the best value for our retirement dollars.

One of our favorite shampoos went through at least three different bottle designs in about two years. Now it is a different product, clear and colorless instead of pearly white. Without our glasses in the shower, we had a hard time determining how much we were pouring into our hand. Even worse, the new formula made our scalp and skin break out. But it still bears the same brand name, and, oh yes, a fancy new price. This is no longer a good value or a good way to spend our money. Toothpaste has also recently seen a price increase. Costs jumped from around $1.50 to over $3.00 in just a couple months. Those of us in retirement must watch for sales and not be lured by coupons used to cover up price increases.

Breakfast cereal is another challenge. Serving size: well, maybe ¾ cup, maybe 1 cup, or maybe 1½ cups. All calculations you try to do for price, or for calories or fiber or sugar, must first be adjusted for the same size serving. And the serving size should be reasonable. A breakfast with only ¾ cup of cereal is going to be a bit scrawny for the average person.

Solutions for the dilemma of the incredible shrinking package and the other techniques manufacturers use to confuse consumers are difficult to find. I have only suggestions that urge caution. As seniors interested in a thrifty retirement, we must remain vigilant and keep an eye on our pennies. Compare sizes, compare cost per serving, compare cost per unit, or use whatever basis you can find for comparison. Mostly, remain aware of what manufacturers do to products we all purchase, and spend your retirement dollars wisely.

Retire on the cheap. Save your money. Don’t buy anything. Hunt for bargains. All of these are phrases we think of when we ponder how to make whatever dollars we have last longer. We want to retire cheaply, but we still want to enjoy our senior years. I believe we can do both.

I have been thrifty most of my life. I’m sure some people would use other words, like frugal, cheap, tight, or less flattering terms. Raised by parents who believed in saving and making do, the lifestyle I learned became so common to me that I was amazed as I grew older that more people didn’t live the same way. Over the years, I’ve learned that you can be thrifty without being stingy, and you can be frugal without giving up everything good in life. Thrifty is an attitude.

Like all attitudes, becoming thrifty requires a change of heart and mind. It might take awhile to adopt this way of thinking, particularly if you have lived an expansive lifestyle for most of your years. First, you must get over the idea that thrifty means doing without. You should concentrate instead on building from what you have, not what you don’t have or don’t buy. You can find richness and fulfillment in current possessions and modest activities, as well as in grander ventures.

One place you can start is to think about eliminating waste from your life. Build your meals around leftovers rather than buying a host of ingredients for a new dish. Check your pantry and frig for interesting sauces and spices that are languishing in the back corners. Pad Thai sauce makes a marvelous stir-fry of leftover chicken and fresh or leftover vegetables. We look forward to the big pot of simmering soup that will emerge from the leftover bones of the roast turkey breast.

Look around your home. Do you have shelves and closets full of items you no longer use? Too many serving dishes or pots and pans in the kitchen? Too many tools and gadgets in the garage or workshop? At some time, I’m sure you thought every single piece was critically necessary to your existence. If you have changed your mind about some of those items, now is the time to do something about it.

Rather than buying something new, consider how you might repurpose some of the things that clutter up your home and life. If you have clothes that no longer fit, the answer is no, they are not salvageable. Give them to charity or sell them at a yard or garage sale. They can do someone else some good rather than waste away in your closet. Vow not to purchase another trash bag until you have used up every plastic grocery bag in your house.

If you are thinking about a new purchase, think about what you already own that might work instead. Dig back through your mind (and your storage shelves) to see if you already have a substitute. Maybe you have an end table you could paint or refinish, or a footstool you could reupholster as an ottoman. Try rotating household accessories with the season, rather than buying a new artificial flower arrangement or decorative item every time a new style rolls around. Ask yourself if you really need new golf clubs or a new bag. Maybe you can use some elbow grease to spruce up what you already own. Luggage shops and shoe shops can repair small tears or loose stitching.

An overall attitude of thrifty retirement can allow you to revel in the freedom of fewer possessions and a more relaxed lifestyle. Less stuff in your house lets you clear your mind of wanting more, more, more–and then wondering where to put it. You can look for simpler pleasures and take joy in each thing you do during retirement, rather than running from here to there, on the go constantly. You can’t enjoy anything if your mind is already thinking about where you have to be tomorrow before you have left this event, or what you want to look for next as soon as you get these latest purchases home. Relax: truly, less is more.

Enjoy the sunsets, a favorite TV show, or a nostalgic CD by a favorite musician. Eat some popcorn. Make a cup of steaming hot chocolate. Lie in the sun; play in the snow, walk through the woods. Live more simply. Enjoy your life. Develop thrifty as an attitude.

We all know the standard money-saving tips that are now all over the media. Clip coupons, drive less, shop sales. But small areas you probably never thought about can save nickels and dimes that build up into dollars. These are easy, painless ways to put some extra jingle in your pocket.

1. Print your own greeting cards. I regularly receive unsolicited cards and envelopes from charities. Some have beautiful wildlife or outdoor scenes. I print my own greeting inside using my computer and send them to young grandchildren, nieces, and nephews for birthdays and holidays.
2. Don’t use drive-through windows—save gas. If you simply must go get fast food or coffee, park your car and walk inside rather than idling in a long line. But eating at home is cheaper and healthier.
3. Check your car insurance rates. You might qualify for a senior discount, a multi-car discount, or one based on low mileage driven. If your car is older, consider dropping some of the bells-and-whistles coverage.
4. If you won’t be driving for a month or more (foot in a cast; around-the-world cruise, snowbirding with your other car), call your agent and temporarily suspend coverage on the unused car.
5. Review your homeowner’s insurance. I recently refinanced to a lower mortgage rate and discovered the automatic inflation factor in my policy had my home valued at 50% over its appraised value. I asked the insurance company to re-inspect it, and I saved $100 per year with a more reasonable coverage limit.
6. Wash out and reuse plastic food storage bags. Swish around warm water with a couple drops of dish liquid inside, rinse, and let them dry on the handles of your knife block.
7. Don’t buy trash bags. Use bags from grocery or department stores. If you recycle as much as is allowed, you shouldn’t need giant trash bags. Setting out huge bags that are half-empty is like tossing a handful of change in your trash each week.
8. Try a less expensive brand of an old standby product you have automatically used for years: store-brand paper towels, the other brand of gelatin, different coffee, a substitute laundry detergent. You might find you can’t tell any difference from the other product—or the new one might be better. Continued purchases could save you money in the future.

When it comes right down to it, most things in life are a trade-off of time and money. Most of us today pay others (save time) to do things we could do ourselves (save money). At one extreme, none of us wants to grow our own cotton, spin the thread, weave the fabric, cut the cloth, and sew our own clothing. ’Way back when, our ancestors did just that. At the other extreme, few of us have servants to lay out our clothes, draw our bath, and fill our sherry glass. Most of us are somewhere between these two polar opposites. And in between lay the opportunities for savings.

Simple example: eating out. We are all perfectly capable of fixing our own food (save money). Now that we’re retired, we have plenty of time to do that, but at least a couple times a week, we pay others to do that (save time). It takes time to prepare a meal: plan, shop, cook, serve, clean up. If we don’t think we have the time, we pay others for their time.

In the kitchen, you can save money by buying in bulk and repacking into meal-sized or recipe-sized portions (save money). You can buy whole chickens and cut them up yourself. Dice and chop your own vegetables and fruits, rather than buying cored, peeled pineapple in a plastic container or cantaloupe in tidy little cubes (save time). Frozen chopped onions are convenient, but you can buy three pounds of fresh onions and dice your own for the same cost as a 12-oz. bag of pre-diced.

Another example: personal grooming. How about haircuts? We all go to someone else to cut our hair (save time). We could do it ourselves, but, good grief, how would we look!? If you had been cutting your own hair since you were 20 (save money), you’d probably look just fine. It’s not too late to learn. If you are talented with your hands (sewing, drawing, woodcarving, decorating cakes), you can probably do a passable job of haircutting.

Hair coloring to hide our emerging gray? We can do that at home (save money), but many of us hire someone else to do it (save time).

Nail care takes only an emery board, a nail clipper, and a bottle of polish at home (save money). At a salon, it takes at least $30 for someone to do that for us (save time).

Simple auto care is a time vs. money area. We can fill our own tanks, check our own tire pressure, and change our own oil (save money). Rotating tires is a long and dirty job and most of us pay someone else to do that (save time), but as retirees, we have the time, if we want to spend it.

Yard care is a familiar time vs. money area. Of course, we can mow our own lawns, rake our own leaves, and trim our own shrubs (save money). It’s good exercise for us and we can make sure the work meets our own picky standards. But many of us hire someone to do that (save time), whether it is a neighborhood teenager or a professional lawn service.

Most home repairs are simple enough to do ourselves (save money). Need to fix a leaky faucet? Spend time on the Internet to find all the information you need. Brand new faucets come with do-it-yourself instructions (save money). You can paint walls, fix a light switch, replace a doorknob, scrub your deck, and unclog a toilet. Or you can pay someone else to do those things (save time).

If you are serious about sticking to your budget, you should be serious about investing your time to save your money.

Your water bill is likely not a major worry for you. Other utility bills are much higher and water is a necessity, after all. In today’s economy, however, all bills are fair game for reduction and water bills can be cut with little effort. Besides cash, you’ll be helping to conserve water and save the planet.

1. Water consumption peaks in the summertime, as do your water bills. Watering the landscape is the biggest use of water, and even if you want to keep your lawn and garden green, you can increase efficiency and save water while doing that. Water during the early morning hours, when overall water usage is low. Temperatures are lower and winds are generally calm, so more water will end up on your plants and less will evaporate into the atmosphere. Water deeply and less often.
2. Use a rain barrel to save water for your garden. You can buy a commercial container or make your own. A spigot in the bottom of the barrel simplifies draining its contents. Consider mini-rain barrels inside. Think about the water that runs down the drain as you wait for it to get hot in the shower or the kitchen sink. Save that water and use it to water indoor or outdoor plants.
3. Use a broom, not a hose, to clean your driveway, sidewalk, garage floor, and deck.
4. Fill a pan or bowl with water to clean a few small items in the kitchen sink, whether dishes or vegetables, rather than letting the water run to wash them. Along the same lines, turn off the water while you brush your teeth.
5. Repair leaks in faucets or toilets. In addition to being annoying, they can waste hundreds of gallons of water a year. If you can hear a toilet “running,” call a plumber, even if you can’t see the leak.
6. Be sure all your faucets have aerators, the little screen-like devices that screw into the end of the spout to improve the spray. They increase efficiency, reducing the volume of water you need to wash up, and they cost almost nothing.
7. Skip rinsing your dishes before you load them into the dishwasher. Studies have shown that the dishes get just as clean when you load them directly from the table, so pre-rinsing only wastes water unnecessarily. Wash only full loads of dishes, as well.
8. Buy a water-saving showerhead for every shower in your house. New ones use a fraction of the water of older ones and still deliver a great-feeling shower. And take shorter showers, while we’re on the topic. If you have a family member who regularly drains the hot water heater with marathon showers, either set a timer or rap on the door to roust the water-waster.
9. Replace your old toilets with new low-flush or dual-flush models. Manufacturers have worked out the kinks and new toilets now deliver truly efficient flushing in addition to water savings. That might sound like an expensive way to save water, but it pays off in the long run.
10. Finally, don’t buy bottled water. Many of the brands are just tap water from a different city, and the cost is outrageous. If you have a refrigerator that dispenses water, it is probably already filtered at least as well as the water in the bottle. If your refrigerator doesn’t dispense water and you are concerned about water quality, buy a filter pitcher. But chances are that your own city water is as good as or better than what you buy in a bottle.