Recessionland money saving tip #1
Well, today we officially went into a recession according to some ‘very important’ economists in a faraway land. I’ve always been fairly good at saving money. We grew up that way in the Great North Woods. It was second nature. Just because you had lots of money one week, you didn’t go out and blow it. There may be a financial dry spell for the next 3 months. We were taught to buy a cupboard full of can goods during good times.
This weekend, I was discussing with Dawn that financially, there are 3 kinds of people in regards to budgets.
- The kind who work hard and spend hard. They don’t mind getting their hands dirty, but they tend to spend heavy on meals and entertainment towards the weekend.
- The kind who expect handouts. These are the lazy. They don’t want to work. They expect everything to be handed to them because of some kind of created victim status.
- The kind who work a modest amount, but know how to make every dollar stretch. These are the people who have a great idea of the value of things. They have a modest lifestyle. Generally, they are relaxed.
I tend to fit into group 3. I hate working, but I don’t like getting handouts from others. Anyway, it’s during financial times like this that group 3 tends to thrive. We’re used to making dollars stretch and having less than 40 hours per week to work.
The idea for me is to share some of my crazy ideas that save loads of money.
Tip #1 Crockpots that heat you from within.
We’ve heard at least 4,283 times that turning the heat down to 65 in the winter can save you heaps of money. The problem is that many people don’t feel comfortable at that level. There are two cheap ways to stay warming during these times.
- Get a crockpot and put some hot food in there. Keep it on low all day long. Don’t eat meals as much as getting a small bowl or two every so often. Little bites of hot food can heat your body much much faster than a hot room. Today we had mashed potatoes, mac and cheese and stuffing in there. It was left over from Thanksgiving. You can put in chili, a roast, a big chicken and potatoes, whatever.
- Tea or coffee also work. Make a huge batch and store it in a thermos.
Our house has been 65 all day and it hasn’t bothered me as I work at the computer. Usually it does.