Southern California Edison offers an incentive for getting rid of an older refrigerator, and a rebate for purchasing a new energy efficient one. I debated on whether to count this separately from last week's entry, or wrap it together. I decided they should be separate entries for three reasons.
One, it was possible to purchase a refrigerator that did not qualify for the rebate, so that monetary gain was not directly tied to our price negotiations from last week. Two, the recycling incentive is connected to the old fridge, not the new one we just researched and purchased.
And three.... I still need 35 more entries to get to the end of the year.
Once the decision to purchase a new refrigerator was made, it wasn't difficult to find the rebate information. We had references to it among the inserts in our electric bill, so it was on our radar. It's basically a $50 rebate to influence the purchase of energy-efficient appliances. Filling out a little bit of paperwork was the only little annoyance.
The other part of the equation is the incentive to get an older fridge off the grid. We called the program number, got an appointment, and within a few days two guys came and hauled off the old unit. A check for $50 is on it's way.
If you live in Southern California, are a customer of Edison, and are thinking about buying a new fridge or getting rid of the old refrigerator or freezer in your garage, click here for the information on the rebate and recycling incentive.
Rebate and recycling savings: $50 + $50 = $100
Total savings to date: $2,709.22
Showing posts with label savings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label savings. Show all posts
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Week # 16: Take the Floor Model
It's time to replace our refrigerator. It's a hand-me-down from Trish's brother's family and we've had it for 11 years, so we think it's at least 15 years old. It certainly shows. The ice dispenser is always frozen, shelves are creaky (one has cracked), and I'm guessing the unit is an electricity hog, compared to new models.
I left this mostly up to Trish to figure out how to get a good deal on a good refrigerator. The end strategy: establish a relationship with the sales dude, and don't be afraid to take the floor model.
Trish started by looking at all the current features and models, settling on a style (bottom freezer and middle drawer), and then narrowed it down to a few makers and models, including Maytag. Once the model was decided, the objective then was to see if we could make a deal $100 better than what was commonly available. Lowe's, the closest appliance store, posted the retail price as $2294, and had it marked down for clearance at $2196, so we used that as our benchmark.
That sounds like a lot for a refrigerator, but we tend to run things into the ground, as with our current fridge, so I don't have a problem paying a little more for above average quality and features for something we'll undoubtedly still have 15 years from now.
Online searches showed the model posted anywhere between $2196 and $2600 (Best Buy). A check of other local appliance stores showed tags similar to or higher than Lowe's. Nearly all were out of stock for this model. So Trish went back and chatted up the salesman, who couldn't have been nicer. That's when we learned the model appears to have been discontinued so no new ones were available, but they had the one Trish had originally seen left on the floor for show, and offered a 10% discount beyond the "clearance" price if we took it home.
Normally, we don't go for pre-owned or used items. Always have bought new cars. Just feels more comfortable. But... cognizant of this blog, we went back to Lowe's and struck up another conversation with Jose. The 10% discount already qualified us for blog-worthy savings, but Jose was feeling generous and offered ANOTHER 10% off the already reduced floor model price. I guess he sensed we were interested, and needed the floor space. So for $1788 plus tax, we acquired a fridge that appeared to be the equivalent of a $3000 Samsung version right next to it. And the reefer we selected DOES hold magnets, while the front of the $3K fridge is NOT magnetic, despite both having a stainless steel finish. Well, THAT clinched it, of course.
We have to live with the fact that the stainless steel in front is kind of an unintentional two-tone because of some large promotional stickers... but that will be covered with pictures and magnets within a couple of days anyway.
I'll count the savings based on the $2196 amount, since that's the "before research and negotiations" price that we could have paid without establishing the relationship with Jose and checking around.
Savings for settling for something a little less than new: $2196 - $1788 = $408
Total blog savings to date: $2,609.22
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Week # 15: Poker
Sorry... Way behind. April, being Earth Month, is traditionally busy for anyone in an environmental field. But no excuses... I do intend to get to 52 weeks, so I'll post a little more frequently for a while (I hope).
Apologies to anyone following this who received incomplete messages that I had preset to certain posting dates and then failed to write up the text. I have abandoned that strategy and will just post as I write from this point.
Today's subject was not one of my choosing. As you may have heard last month, the US Dept. of Justice shut down the three largest online poker operations in the US, among them PokerStars, where I had an account with $302.42 that I was using to play in tournaments ranging from $1 to $5 buy ins.
That account was started with money from my Ridesharing earnings. It hasn't changed too much since it began a few years ago, and would have sat there for several more years. However, the federal government in all it's wisdom has decreed that I must cash out that account and henceforth play online poker only for pride and Zynga gotchkas, rather than for anything with any actual value. Not to get too soap boxy, but for a nation that bills itself as the land of the free, it seems odd that we now have one of the most restrictive poker policies of any nation on Earth. Even more odd, considering the roots of the game are firmly planted in American history.
I am not going to give up poker entirely - I'll get my fix in a local casinos here and there - but from the amount being refunded to me, I will set aside $100 that I will put back in my general bank account to pay regular everyday bills. There's my $100 savings for this posting.
The remaining $202.42 will be my poker bankroll for playing local tourneys, and the occasional trip to Vegas. If that bankroll goes away by the end of the year, I'll quit playing until 2012 and at least I'll have the $100 in savings locked in. (I actually made a trip to the Commerce Casino a couple of weeks ago and came out ahead, so the bankroll has started out in a positive direction.)
Savings from US Government Mandates: $100
Total savings to date: $2,201.22
Apologies to anyone following this who received incomplete messages that I had preset to certain posting dates and then failed to write up the text. I have abandoned that strategy and will just post as I write from this point.
Today's subject was not one of my choosing. As you may have heard last month, the US Dept. of Justice shut down the three largest online poker operations in the US, among them PokerStars, where I had an account with $302.42 that I was using to play in tournaments ranging from $1 to $5 buy ins.
That account was started with money from my Ridesharing earnings. It hasn't changed too much since it began a few years ago, and would have sat there for several more years. However, the federal government in all it's wisdom has decreed that I must cash out that account and henceforth play online poker only for pride and Zynga gotchkas, rather than for anything with any actual value. Not to get too soap boxy, but for a nation that bills itself as the land of the free, it seems odd that we now have one of the most restrictive poker policies of any nation on Earth. Even more odd, considering the roots of the game are firmly planted in American history.
I am not going to give up poker entirely - I'll get my fix in a local casinos here and there - but from the amount being refunded to me, I will set aside $100 that I will put back in my general bank account to pay regular everyday bills. There's my $100 savings for this posting.
The remaining $202.42 will be my poker bankroll for playing local tourneys, and the occasional trip to Vegas. If that bankroll goes away by the end of the year, I'll quit playing until 2012 and at least I'll have the $100 in savings locked in. (I actually made a trip to the Commerce Casino a couple of weeks ago and came out ahead, so the bankroll has started out in a positive direction.)
Savings from US Government Mandates: $100
Total savings to date: $2,201.22
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Week # 8: Bottles and Cans and Dogs
Our kids are teenagers - one in college and the other a high school senior, both living at home - so they know about this little experiment. My daughter saw me working on the blog last weekend and commented, "Oh, I didn't know you were actually still doing that." She hasn't noticed any change to her normal lifestyle, so she assumed I'd given up on the resolution, like many others before.
Now that I think about it, apart from coming up with a new idea each week and attending to the administrative details of this blog, nothing much has changed. Our quality of life is exactly the same. That is certainly an indication that we have subscribed to and spent money on things we could easily live without. After seven cuts of $100 or more, the one and only thing I truly have missed is the summary of games on TV in the Register sports section. Maybe we'll make it farther into the year than I thought before we have to get really creative.
Number eight is also not much of a sacrifice; just a little extra collection work.
Bottles and cans in California have a redemption value associated with them. We pay the grocery store a CRV (California Refund Value?) for each glass and aluminum container, usually a nickel.
When we finish with a bottle or can here at home, the container goes into recycling to be whisked away by Waste Management. I would be interested to know if they collect the bounty and add it to their bottom line. For a large company collecting millions of recyclables, that could be a significant boost to revenue. For a small household, it still offers an opportunity to save at least $100.
My employer actually has a program in place to collect recyclables. There are receptacles at every major employee entrance. Money collected from cashing in the bottles and cans helps to fund training and development of guide dogs for the blind. Occasionally, the trainers are colleagues who bring the puppies with them everywhere, including our office building. It gives the charity a very tangible feeling; we can see the results of the collected money in action.
The sign on the side of the container says they get a nickel for each bottle and can. Instead of tossing them in our recycle bin at home, I will bring our cans and bottles to work each time a batch of 20 (worth $1) is collected. Can we collect 2000 cans before the end of the year? I think so, but whether we do or not, I don't know why we wouldn't just keep doing this, so we'll get there eventually.
Even though this $100 is not staying in our pockets - and not adding to our savings directly - I'm counting it for credit toward the challenge because we're creating $100 in value for a charity we want to support, without having to write a check to do it. I was able to find 20 bottles and cans ready to be recycled this weekend, so it's $1 down, $99 to go! I'll update the tally at the end of each month, along with other strategies that require some tracking.
Bottle / Can value so far: $1
Total savings so far: $1,339.40
Now that I think about it, apart from coming up with a new idea each week and attending to the administrative details of this blog, nothing much has changed. Our quality of life is exactly the same. That is certainly an indication that we have subscribed to and spent money on things we could easily live without. After seven cuts of $100 or more, the one and only thing I truly have missed is the summary of games on TV in the Register sports section. Maybe we'll make it farther into the year than I thought before we have to get really creative.
Number eight is also not much of a sacrifice; just a little extra collection work.
Bottles and cans in California have a redemption value associated with them. We pay the grocery store a CRV (California Refund Value?) for each glass and aluminum container, usually a nickel.
When we finish with a bottle or can here at home, the container goes into recycling to be whisked away by Waste Management. I would be interested to know if they collect the bounty and add it to their bottom line. For a large company collecting millions of recyclables, that could be a significant boost to revenue. For a small household, it still offers an opportunity to save at least $100.
My employer actually has a program in place to collect recyclables. There are receptacles at every major employee entrance. Money collected from cashing in the bottles and cans helps to fund training and development of guide dogs for the blind. Occasionally, the trainers are colleagues who bring the puppies with them everywhere, including our office building. It gives the charity a very tangible feeling; we can see the results of the collected money in action.
The sign on the side of the container says they get a nickel for each bottle and can. Instead of tossing them in our recycle bin at home, I will bring our cans and bottles to work each time a batch of 20 (worth $1) is collected. Can we collect 2000 cans before the end of the year? I think so, but whether we do or not, I don't know why we wouldn't just keep doing this, so we'll get there eventually.
Even though this $100 is not staying in our pockets - and not adding to our savings directly - I'm counting it for credit toward the challenge because we're creating $100 in value for a charity we want to support, without having to write a check to do it. I was able to find 20 bottles and cans ready to be recycled this weekend, so it's $1 down, $99 to go! I'll update the tally at the end of each month, along with other strategies that require some tracking.
Bottle / Can value so far: $1
Total savings so far: $1,339.40
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Week # 4: Cancel Wine Club
Much as we enjoy a glass of vino to end the day, the James Gang wine club (Tobin James Winery) is a twice yearly credit card charge we can live without. We do enjoy their wines, but right now we have enough wine in the house to last us for at least a few months. We'll focus on consuming the stash we already have and help out the credit card a little bit.
Each shipment was $155.51 and there are two scheduled per year, so...
Savings: $311.02
Total Saved to Date: $689.13
Each shipment was $155.51 and there are two scheduled per year, so...
Savings: $311.02
Total Saved to Date: $689.13
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Week # 3: The Lunch Adjustment
The long holiday weekend was busier than expected, so this post is late. Still shooting for Sundays.
One of the first things you hear about when thinking about saving a few dollars is how much is spent on lunch at work. True... Considering a $6 daily average, which is conservative at many eateries, lunch expenses can add up to more than $1,500 per year.
The first thought is usually to pack a lunch. The second thought is that usually means eating at the desk. Hmmmm... I do that when I need to, but much prefer to take some time in the middle of a busy day (which is basically EVERY day) to get away for a short time and reset the brain, or catch up with a friend or two. It would be tough to give that up.
My alternative plan is still a sacrifice. I'm giving up french fries and sodas during the weekday lunch hour. Over time, I will track the difference between the "meal" option and the solo sandwich, take water with me, and add up the couple bucks (and the calories) saved each day.
After one week, I am noticing the difference is usually a little over $2, so I will hit the $100 savings target sometime before my 50th lunch. I am tracking the daily difference and will update this post as I go. If I lose any weight I'll try to document that too. Perhaps I will be able to also capture $100 in reduced medical expenses as a result of eating better.
Saved so far: $11.47 in five lunches as of 1-19-11.
Total saved to date: $378.11 in three weeks.
One of the first things you hear about when thinking about saving a few dollars is how much is spent on lunch at work. True... Considering a $6 daily average, which is conservative at many eateries, lunch expenses can add up to more than $1,500 per year.
The first thought is usually to pack a lunch. The second thought is that usually means eating at the desk. Hmmmm... I do that when I need to, but much prefer to take some time in the middle of a busy day (which is basically EVERY day) to get away for a short time and reset the brain, or catch up with a friend or two. It would be tough to give that up.
My alternative plan is still a sacrifice. I'm giving up french fries and sodas during the weekday lunch hour. Over time, I will track the difference between the "meal" option and the solo sandwich, take water with me, and add up the couple bucks (and the calories) saved each day.
After one week, I am noticing the difference is usually a little over $2, so I will hit the $100 savings target sometime before my 50th lunch. I am tracking the daily difference and will update this post as I go. If I lose any weight I'll try to document that too. Perhaps I will be able to also capture $100 in reduced medical expenses as a result of eating better.
Saved so far: $11.47 in five lunches as of 1-19-11.
Total saved to date: $378.11 in three weeks.
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