I've been browsing Clark Howard's message boards lately and came across this list, compiled by his readers. I removed a couple which were so dated as to no longer be applicable. Italicized comments are mine. See what you think.
1. Storage lockers. You've got too much stuff. Sell something and make room at home. Except as a temporary solution, moving perhaps?
2. Health club membership. Walk somewhere.
3. Cable, especially the premium stuff.
4. Cigarettes. They're really expensive.
5. Cell phones.
6. A home phone if you pay less for a cell phone.
7. Telephone extras.
8. A checking account. Find a free one with free online bill pay.
9. Extended warranties. They're overpriced and seldom used. Consumer Reports in 2004 recommeded them only for laptop computers, plasma TVs, and treadmills.
10. Insurance you don't need. If you've got no dependents, you don't need life insurance. Accidental death insurance is stupid. If you need insurance, then you need it all the time. Not sure I agree with this one. Accidental death is usually a rider on a life insurance policy. Hard to be financially prepared for an early, unexpected death. Completely different set of issues than being prepared for a natural death of old age.
11. Internet. Free at the library.
12. Magazine subscriptions. Most libraries now have freely accessible databases that provide content for tens of thousands of magazines, journals, newspapers and other educational, credible information issued on a periodical basis. You can use your own computer or the library's computer to do extensive research or just read up on your favorite interests. You can even set up alerts that deliver the full text of articles on your selected topics to your email account whenever they are published. Better for the environment too!
13. Movie rentals. Sometimes free at the library. If they don't have what you want, some grocery stores charge only $1 or so.
14. Trash removal. If you have a pickup truck, see if your local landfill will allow you drop off your trash there for free. Seems a little impractical.
15. Lawn service. Do it yourself. It's good exercise, and gets you out of the house.
16. Soda. Water is better for you and free.
17. Pets. Get one from the shelter. It saves a life and discourages puppy mills.
18. Pets. No pets means no pet expenses.
19. Gas logs. Might as well burn money.
20. Ice. Fill jugs and bags with water and freeze them. Ice cube trays work pretty well too!
21. An extra car. Car rentals are $20-30 per day and can be cheaper than keeping an extra car.
22. Join your local Freecycle. Check out http://www.freecycle.org/ to find a local chapter. This is a free exchange of goods. You absolutely cannot charge anyone or accept money for your items, nor are you expected to pay for items you have received. Whoever wants the item picks it up at their own expense.
What do you think of this list? What would you add? What would you remove?
Friday, January 23, 2009
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5 comments:
Here's my .02
The practicality of the trash one depends on the location; here we don't have to go to the landfill, we have "convenience centers" that have dumpsters for regular trash and all the various recycleables. We've been taking our own for all of the 11 years we've lived here and it's really no big deal. We pass it every time we go into town. (okay I have to be honest, I don't really like taking it, that's one of Bruce's jobs!)
I bet whomever submitted that one to Clark Howard (or Clark himself) lives in a similiar situation.
We don't even have home trash pickup here so clearly it's practical for me. We just dump it in the dumpster! I wonder why they thought you'd need a pickup? They must have a lot of trash! I think the convenience center thing would work better. I was thinking of people in big towns all driving to the faraway landfill! I also think that in most places your trash bill also includes other things like sewer that you couldn't opt out of!
Thanks for the comment!
I'm torn on the list. There's a lot on here that I personally wouldn't do (trash removal, internet, chucking out the dog). Still, it's worthwhile to question what we really have to pay for and what kind of alternatives there are. And what about food? Fruit trees and veggie gardens = free goodies all summer long!
Around here, you'd pay more for gas to schlep your trash to the landfill than you do for trash pickup. Besides, you can't opt out of the trash pickup bill: it's part of the water bill.
Annual flowers and herbs such as basil that grow from seed: Gather seed at the end of the growing season and use it the following year for your new garden.
Clark Howard seems a good guy and I thought his list was a good thing for you to have us take a look at. Some of those things address quality of life issues however – I guess we are lucky to be able to make choices on a number of these items. It does make one think about what we personally would chose to part with or pare down or put up with the inconvenience and what we would choose to continue to pay for.
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