Comments on: Find and Plug Your Money Leaks

By: lstickle

lstickle — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 19:47:20 +0000

Also, how many people out there have their water heater temperature turned all the way up to HI? Not me, I turn it down about half way between HI and MEDIUM because 1. I don’t want to take the chance of my kids getting scalded, and it takes less money to keep it at a lower temperature. Not much but every little penny helps.

By: lstickle

lstickle — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 19:32:42 +0000

I don’t even know where to begin on this subject. Okay I do. I save so much money by making my own soap, laundry detergent, dish soap and household cleaner. I save about 90% of what I would pay at the store. I also use the shark steamer for cleaning. It can be pricey to buy but the savings add up and so do the health benefits. When driving my van I noticed that I would only get about 25MPG and that was not feasible for me, so I started using my cruise control where ever I went, even down the street. I have managed to get my MPG upto around 40MPG for the majority of the time I am driving. The cruise control function knows when to apply gas and not to. You save gas because your foot isn’t on the gas constantly while driving. It is amazing how much cruise control works.

By: Dave

Dave — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 02:38:39 +0000

Dumped the extended cable 14 years ago. I think it was around $60 a month. I just get basic cable now, $10 a month. Don’t miss the other channels at all. My kids grew up without watching all that junk. 14 years, 168 months X $50 = $8,400!

By: TootleDeetootleDum

TootleDeetootleDum — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 03:12:13 +0000

I personally had to plug a few leaks, since a store closure, lost me my sales job. I have always been conservative, but now on unemployment I had to re-vamp! I no longer have satellite TV, hooked up to an antennae. I do not have any medical insurance and I really try not to think about that. I am going to cancel a $79 a month cancer insurance policy that I have paid on for about 6 years. I will be growing alot of vegetables in my garden this summer, as I tried to do last summer. I turn off my electrical appliances and lights when not in use and have minimal useage. What to do next?

By: Chris

Chris — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 20:24:21 +0000

Unplanned children in a loving marriage can still be devistating.

By: Chris

Chris — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 20:19:07 +0000

Amazing how 1/2 a day at the office can convince you to do such terrible things….like blow your budget and your diet.

By: ChristineWithRegence

ChristineWithRegence — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 19:01:36 +0000

How about health care cost leaks? It’s difficult, because the costs of health care procedures and treatments are so mysterious. Check out this short video: http://www.whatstherealcost.org/45secondstoshare

By: echidnina

echidnina — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 17:09:05 +0000

That’s true, but in that situation you could eat beforehand and just order water and/or a side salad instead.

By: echidnina

echidnina — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 17:08:17 +0000

They don’t stand up to cats and/or college students though… Our plastic got ripped not halfway through December

By: echidnina

echidnina — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 17:06:51 +0000

You can just put holes in the potato with a fork (to vent), put it in a dish and nuke it for 5-7 minutes. Comes out delicious!

By: Minority Fortune

Minority Fortune — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 20:25:34 +0000

Great list of conventional and unconventional money leaks. After studying some celebrities with crappy behavioral habits, there are some other unconventional money leaks as well:

- Getting in a marriage where one partner is doing it for money, and the other is doing it to have arm candy (most likely will end in a costly divorce);
- Having unwanted, unplanned children (looking at 18 years of child support payments);

While this doesn’t happen to everyone, these are extremely costly. Just some crazy things we’ve noticed that should be thought about more.

By: Soccer9040

Soccer9040 — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:50:21 +0000

My back of the napkin calculation estimates that costs you about $2,000 a year. Wow thats a lot.

$7.50 * 5 days * 52 Weeks = $1,950

If you do that every day for your entire working life rather then put it in a roth, CD or whatever your favorite investment is, you could be loosing out on some serious cash!

By: Soccer9040

Soccer9040 — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:47:38 +0000

Those cheap window insulation kits actually do a great job. As long as you get the seal right it should completely seal out the draft.

By: Soccer9040

Soccer9040 — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:46:17 +0000

How do you microwave a regular potato? I’ve bought the kind that come wrapped in plastic and those are great. I also tried wrapping my own in seran wrap but it didnt cook as well as I thought it would.

By: Soccer9040

Soccer9040 — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:43:16 +0000

It would be nice if all cities spent the money to optimize their traffic signals. Too often everyone talks about adding more lanes. If the signals flowed together you would be constantly moving at the speed limit. Another good idea is traffic circles. So many people don’t like them, but I think they are great. You never really have to stop. Plus they are very safe. There is always the occasional idiot who stops before entering the circle or who stops in the circle, but its always good for a laugh.