Like many people I know I have a tendency to buy on impulse. Sometimes it's a 20$ item, but I've done it too with items more towards $1000. Recently I decided I wanted to start DJing parties, so I researched online and ended up with 2 CD players costing me around $850.
$850. To play some parties. I already have a fully capable laptop (and it's actually easier to use). I've since decided to get rid of these players (anyone wanting 2 lightly used Denon DNS-1000 cd players? I'm looking for $650 for the pair, a great deal ;).
As a software designer I often fix problems in two ways - the first is to fix the problem directly, the second is to fix the problem that allowed the first problem to occur. Applying that logic to this purchase, I solved the direct problem by (hopefully) selling the cd players. But to prevent it to happen, I invented... "The List".
What is the list? It's simple. Any time I want to purchase something over $100, it must first sit on a list of things I want for a full 30 days. This gives me 30 days to stare at the item, dream of holding it, and also stare at the price tag for the item and see it floating away in the sky. By 30 days if I still want it, I can purchase it. If I decide mid-term I don't want it, hey I just saved myself all that money.
There's some exceptions obviously: anything that is a life necessity (car breaks down, etc.. doesn't require the list), and anything that is a fleeting deal (cheap vintage synthesizer on craigslist for example) do not need the to sit on the list.
But otherwise, this should stop some frivolous buying.
Friday, November 14, 2008
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Daily Expenditures Add Up (Food)
You always hear people say that the small stuff adds up. Let's play with some numbers and figure out just how much. Not all of these fit this blog's mandate (mainly, do not impact your quality of life) but many of them are changes you can make without changing anything really.
Let's first define some metrics. There's 365 days in a year. There's 52.1 weeks in a year. For simplicity let's say that there's 104 days in the year where you do not work (assuming 5 day work weeks). That leaves 261 days of work. Subtract your 10 holidays and a sick day, let's stick with the nice rounded number of 250 days a year where you go to work.
Purchasing Food:
1. Daily coffee @ $1.45 = $362.50
Add a bagel @ $1.25? Make that $675/yr.
2. Daily fast-food lunch combo @ $8.00 = $2000
Making @ Home:
1. Coffee at home
(We Buy PC Organic Fair-Trade Coffee, $8.99/pound, and it lasts about 3 wks.)
So we buy about 18 pounds of coffee yearly resulting in $161.32. And that includes coffee for both of us in the morning and on the weekends, and the coffee is quite a bit better.
2. Lunch
I eat a pretty simple lunch usually, I get it from my Dad. I usually have:
1 peanut butter sandwich with honey
1 Apple
1 Banana
tapwater to drink.
Total cost for this lunch is probably around $2.50 a day, if that. So lets say $625/yr.
Differential
Coffee -> $362.50 - $161.32 = $201.18
Lunch -> $2000 - $625 = $1375
Total Savings: $1576. And that's not even trying!
You might claim my lunch isn't interesting enough. I'm definitely in a minority eating the same simple lunch day after day. But you don't need to chose something that simple! Just buy it from the grocery store and instantly you will be saving over 50% of the cost for the unhealthy fast-food alternative.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Wesabe after a month
I've been using wesabe for about a month. I could not get the "auto-importer" to work with my bank (td canada trust) so I have to manually add my account activity logs every few days. But it's worth it. I can get monthly spending/earning, then look at tags and groups of tags for reports to see that I spent more on gas, or less on this or that.. very quickly once your transactions are tagged you can see patterns emerge that you didn't accumulate before. It has some simple "goal" settings (basically a goal for certain tags IE spend no more than $x/month on transactions tagged as FOOD).
The bads: It's a bit slow. Sometimes it's hard to tell what your report is really showing (ie it sometimes duplicates items with 2 tags.. so your $200 gas that is also $200 tagged as "bill" will come up as $400 spent. YMMV). Some other small bugs such as events for "today" will not show up. Ever. So you might see it on your account activity but when you upload it it won't be there until the transaction occurred in the past.
The goods: Everything else. They are actively working on fixing bugs (one of the biggest community groups on wesabe is "help make wesabe better").
It has made us much more aware of how we spend our money and it is very interesting to make custom reports to see what is going on.
The bads: It's a bit slow. Sometimes it's hard to tell what your report is really showing (ie it sometimes duplicates items with 2 tags.. so your $200 gas that is also $200 tagged as "bill" will come up as $400 spent. YMMV). Some other small bugs such as events for "today" will not show up. Ever. So you might see it on your account activity but when you upload it it won't be there until the transaction occurred in the past.
The goods: Everything else. They are actively working on fixing bugs (one of the biggest community groups on wesabe is "help make wesabe better").
It has made us much more aware of how we spend our money and it is very interesting to make custom reports to see what is going on.
Monday, July 28, 2008
DIY Auto Repair: Brakes
This weekend in an effort to save money I did the brakes on my car in my parking lot. It isn't just the cost of the job - every time I bring my car to the mechanic I feel as if it's a random chance whether or not they are doing to hold my car hostage for unneeded repairs. Plus, I want to learn about it both to save myself from being screwed in the future, and since it's useful to know.
Before we begin, a disclaimer: Follow the safety manual presented in your car's manual and your maintenance manual before starting any work. Use the right tools. Under no circumstances will I be responsible for your or anyone else's injury or death or anything else. I'm just telling you my experience.
I did the front pads and rotors on my 1997 Toyota Corolla. What I needed:
General:
- Haynes auto manual (must have.. even if you don't do your own car maintenance, you can read the section before bringing your car in to the shop so you know what parts are in there and what the mechanic is going to do so you know they did a sane job)
- Jack (basic scissor type is fine)
- Jack stands (ask your friends and borrow some, save you ~$50. you need 2.)
- Lug wrench (if you just have a J-shaped lug wrench I suggest spending $20 on a decent T-shaped wrench from your local part store. It's much easier to get the wheel off with that)
- Wrench/Socket set - basic $20 wrench set might work, but a variety of tools can sometimes be nice when in rough spots such as a rachet set with multiple sized handles
- Hammer - for loosening up bolts.
- Misc: WD-40, clothes hanger, brake cleaner, rag. A suggestion is to have a friend on call who can come pick you up in a moment's notice and drive you to your parts shop in case you're missing anything.
I will not include the cost of these tools in the cost equation for the job because you should be able to find someone who you can borrow them from, or just get them and they will pay for themselves by the time you're done the brake job.
Now, the parts:
- new pads (set of 4, $80)
- new front rotors (2@$20, total cost $40)
total parts cost: $120.
Note that if you buy your parts yourself you can still get a shop to install them - they just won't guarantee the parts, only the labour.
I'm not going to walk you through how to change your brakes.. there are plenty of better tutorials out there so go read them, and read your car's maintenance manual instructions as well. I will however offer you some tricks I learnt while dealing with stuck parts. It seems as though rusted on parts is probably one of the harder things an amateur can deal with, and is probably the reason many people end up giving up their brake job and taking it to a shop.
Note: Almost all of these tips are dangerous. Don't do them without considering the risks, and again.. YOU ARE COMPLETELY RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR ACTIONS NOT ME.
Stuck lug nuts - did you get a good lug wrench? Put the lug nut in the wrench, and stand on the end of the wrench. You should be able to turn it. If not, purchase a metal pipe a few feet long, run the lug wrench arm through the pipe, and push on the pipe. Adding length to the wrench arm gives you added torque, so the same force applied twice as far away as before will actually be twice the force on nut. NOTE - be sure to loosen all your lug nuts BEFORE RAISING THE CAR ON THE JACK/JACK STANDS. Applying this much force necessary to loosen the lug nuts could push the car off the jacks and could hurt you very badly.
Stuck wheel - With the lug nuts off will the wheel not budge? You shouldn't have to take anything else off to get the wheel off except the lug nuts, unless your maintenance manual says otherwise, so don't start removing the bearings or anything like that. My Dad gave me this trick, and it worked: Put the lug nuts back on the wheels, but leave them loose (about a 1/4 inch space between nut and wheel). Take the car back off the jackstands (annoying, I know, but it works), and drive the car about 10 feet. You should hear the wheels unstick themselves and begin to wobble when you start moving the car. Now raise the car back up (safely) and the wheels can be removed with ease!
Stuck/Rusted Bolts: You are almost definitely going to encounter a stuck bolt while working on your car. Some ways to fix:
- hammer time. Some people suggest putting a socket onto the bolt, then hammering the socket, and it will loosen up the bolt. I don't like this because I'm directing a hammer pretty much right at my car parts.. one slip and I need a new caliper or something else I wasn't planning on fixing. Instead you can try hammering the end of the wrench while the other end is on the bolt. Note that the wrench could fly off and stab you or someone else around so please BE CAREFUL.
- WD-40 and a beer. Spray it, go have lunch, come back, try hammering it again, and it should be quite a bit easier to move.
- Dangerous way!! Do not try this at home! For a really stuck bolt, position the wrench horizontally on the side where if the wrench were to go UP, the bolt would be loosened. Now take your jack, put it under the wrench, and jack up the jack till it moves the wrench. Your jack can lift probably 3000 lbs, so it will definitely be able to move this bolt. However, THIS IS SUPER DANGEROUS!! You are creating a system under major pressure when you start jacking the wrench before it moves. If that wrench were to slip off the bolt or off the jack it could easily go flying and impale someone. SO don't do it.
Hopefully with these tips you are successful in doing your own brakes servicing. Even if you fail, you will learn tons in the process! And if you succeed, that is anywhere from $100-$300 (judging by googling for "average brake job cost") you have saved!
Before we begin, a disclaimer: Follow the safety manual presented in your car's manual and your maintenance manual before starting any work. Use the right tools. Under no circumstances will I be responsible for your or anyone else's injury or death or anything else. I'm just telling you my experience.
I did the front pads and rotors on my 1997 Toyota Corolla. What I needed:
General:
- Haynes auto manual (must have.. even if you don't do your own car maintenance, you can read the section before bringing your car in to the shop so you know what parts are in there and what the mechanic is going to do so you know they did a sane job)
- Jack (basic scissor type is fine)
- Jack stands (ask your friends and borrow some, save you ~$50. you need 2.)
- Lug wrench (if you just have a J-shaped lug wrench I suggest spending $20 on a decent T-shaped wrench from your local part store. It's much easier to get the wheel off with that)
- Wrench/Socket set - basic $20 wrench set might work, but a variety of tools can sometimes be nice when in rough spots such as a rachet set with multiple sized handles
- Hammer - for loosening up bolts.
- Misc: WD-40, clothes hanger, brake cleaner, rag. A suggestion is to have a friend on call who can come pick you up in a moment's notice and drive you to your parts shop in case you're missing anything.
I will not include the cost of these tools in the cost equation for the job because you should be able to find someone who you can borrow them from, or just get them and they will pay for themselves by the time you're done the brake job.
Now, the parts:
- new pads (set of 4, $80)
- new front rotors (2@$20, total cost $40)
total parts cost: $120.
Note that if you buy your parts yourself you can still get a shop to install them - they just won't guarantee the parts, only the labour.
I'm not going to walk you through how to change your brakes.. there are plenty of better tutorials out there so go read them, and read your car's maintenance manual instructions as well. I will however offer you some tricks I learnt while dealing with stuck parts. It seems as though rusted on parts is probably one of the harder things an amateur can deal with, and is probably the reason many people end up giving up their brake job and taking it to a shop.
Note: Almost all of these tips are dangerous. Don't do them without considering the risks, and again.. YOU ARE COMPLETELY RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR ACTIONS NOT ME.
Stuck lug nuts - did you get a good lug wrench? Put the lug nut in the wrench, and stand on the end of the wrench. You should be able to turn it. If not, purchase a metal pipe a few feet long, run the lug wrench arm through the pipe, and push on the pipe. Adding length to the wrench arm gives you added torque, so the same force applied twice as far away as before will actually be twice the force on nut. NOTE - be sure to loosen all your lug nuts BEFORE RAISING THE CAR ON THE JACK/JACK STANDS. Applying this much force necessary to loosen the lug nuts could push the car off the jacks and could hurt you very badly.
Stuck wheel - With the lug nuts off will the wheel not budge? You shouldn't have to take anything else off to get the wheel off except the lug nuts, unless your maintenance manual says otherwise, so don't start removing the bearings or anything like that. My Dad gave me this trick, and it worked: Put the lug nuts back on the wheels, but leave them loose (about a 1/4 inch space between nut and wheel). Take the car back off the jackstands (annoying, I know, but it works), and drive the car about 10 feet. You should hear the wheels unstick themselves and begin to wobble when you start moving the car. Now raise the car back up (safely) and the wheels can be removed with ease!
Stuck/Rusted Bolts: You are almost definitely going to encounter a stuck bolt while working on your car. Some ways to fix:
- hammer time. Some people suggest putting a socket onto the bolt, then hammering the socket, and it will loosen up the bolt. I don't like this because I'm directing a hammer pretty much right at my car parts.. one slip and I need a new caliper or something else I wasn't planning on fixing. Instead you can try hammering the end of the wrench while the other end is on the bolt. Note that the wrench could fly off and stab you or someone else around so please BE CAREFUL.
- WD-40 and a beer. Spray it, go have lunch, come back, try hammering it again, and it should be quite a bit easier to move.
- Dangerous way!! Do not try this at home! For a really stuck bolt, position the wrench horizontally on the side where if the wrench were to go UP, the bolt would be loosened. Now take your jack, put it under the wrench, and jack up the jack till it moves the wrench. Your jack can lift probably 3000 lbs, so it will definitely be able to move this bolt. However, THIS IS SUPER DANGEROUS!! You are creating a system under major pressure when you start jacking the wrench before it moves. If that wrench were to slip off the bolt or off the jack it could easily go flying and impale someone. SO don't do it.
Hopefully with these tips you are successful in doing your own brakes servicing. Even if you fail, you will learn tons in the process! And if you succeed, that is anywhere from $100-$300 (judging by googling for "average brake job cost") you have saved!
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Trim your bills - good and bad
From staring at my monthly bills on wesabe for awhile I decided to try to trim my bills a bit. Here's my 2 experiences (so far) this week:
The Bad
$60/month for cellphone? Insanity! I call my cell provider (rogers) and remove this crazy... "cell essentials pack" costing me $11/month and replace it with a text message plan that is cheaper ($5/month) to save a crazy amount of money (like.. 4$/month since the $11/month had a 30% discount on it).. and lose my voice mail and caller id. woops. My plan is to get a couples plan with my girlfriend and hopefully that will actually reduce our payments.
Total savings yearly: About $50. Hopefully more with couples plan.
The Good
$50.51/month for internet with Bell. That is insane. We get ~30kbs up/down at most times. Plus Bell is actively and admittedly using DPI to filter out pretty much everything. Plus their customer service sucks (no I don't want to talk to Emily thank you very much). Looks like we can get for under $40/month from teksavvy or ncf the same service we get now, except with teksavvy we will be paying a company that actively is against the filtering of it's users.
Total savings yearly: $140, depending on final bill total from teksavvy.
The Bad
$60/month for cellphone? Insanity! I call my cell provider (rogers) and remove this crazy... "cell essentials pack" costing me $11/month and replace it with a text message plan that is cheaper ($5/month) to save a crazy amount of money (like.. 4$/month since the $11/month had a 30% discount on it).. and lose my voice mail and caller id. woops. My plan is to get a couples plan with my girlfriend and hopefully that will actually reduce our payments.
Total savings yearly: About $50. Hopefully more with couples plan.
The Good
$50.51/month for internet with Bell. That is insane. We get ~30kbs up/down at most times. Plus Bell is actively and admittedly using DPI to filter out pretty much everything. Plus their customer service sucks (no I don't want to talk to Emily thank you very much). Looks like we can get for under $40/month from teksavvy or ncf the same service we get now, except with teksavvy we will be paying a company that actively is against the filtering of it's users.
Total savings yearly: $140, depending on final bill total from teksavvy.
Learn your money - Wesabe.com
If you haven't seen it I cannot more highly recommend signing up and diligently using wesabe.com. It allows you to upload your transaction statements from your bank, tag your transactions, and start looking at and understanding your spending. For example, I tagged all my eating out as "restaurant", and also put "good" or "pub", the latter denoting when I really didn't need to go out for food but ended up getting something greasy with a beer to wash it down. I found my "pub" monthly spending was almost half what I spent on food every month!! Extremely useful website.
I have not been able to get the automatic uploader working with firefox in either linux or osx but I think it's because my bank's online site does something funky with the login form that the wesabe script recorder cannot parse.
I have not been able to get the automatic uploader working with firefox in either linux or osx but I think it's because my bank's online site does something funky with the login form that the wesabe script recorder cannot parse.
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