Xmas / New Year - Time to Review Your Finances (page 2)

Lostandfound

Simon, point about WIFI is the need to have a land line when it is not used, yes have a router and for 2/3 years I complained to BT about dropping broadband, especially when it rained, always BT said it was impossible , eventually I wrote toCEO and then they tracked line and said it dropped more tha it was on, Engineer came and checked router and all internal wiring, said it all Ok but sent a 2nd engineer next day as BT now technically split broadband into Openreach , that engineer spent hours up telegraph pole and at BT box on corner of road, afgain he saiid it al OK but not working, he went though house liooking for any equipment that could have interfered, in the end he was on his way out when he asked were the line came n to house, he had a look outside and said he was amazed we ever got an phone signal as the original phone line from over 40 years entered. House after connecting at an old BT junction box that was Corroded completely inside , he was amazed that when we go fibre it was not changed to a new waterproof box but engineer then just used it, instant broadband working 24/7 at more than 150 mb

Internet offerings here all stipulate line rental for land line which are becoming a thing of t past.

Canada looks to be working very well for you and family, Best Wishes for continued success in 2017

Dagney

Good suggestions Simon and good topic.

I cut my cable to basic and went with a streaming device (Nvidia Shield) for programming. It's a different way of watching TV, because you can choose what you want to watch instead of surfing to find what you want to watch. My internet is dodgy, so programs load slow, but I'm used to it now...and saving $70 a month.

I went to an internet phoneline for a year, and finally cut that as well about 6 months ago and now only use cell. I'm not much of a phone talker...so that is another savings of $25 per month. The cell bill...well that's still a challenge. I'm in an odd pocket were other services just do not give good reception, but my pricey AT&T still does. So still working on that one.

Quarterback

I used to purchase the old incandesent light bulbs because the newer LED bulbs were 3 times as much. Then I finally caved in, and bought my first LED bulb. I was sold with the fact that it would last 18 years, use only a fraction of energy of the old bulbs, and I didn't compromise on lifestyle.

Simon

I love your money saving tips. I think they are practical and realistic, based on the actual way people live.

Yeah, it's like dieting - it has to be something you can do for the long term, not just a short term fix that you over-do and then relapse on. With TV you end up watching some things out of habit, just because there is nothing better on

Stop.

Have a look at some of the fantastic documentaries that are available (just watching Oliver Stone's "The Untold History of the United States" and it's amazing) or older shows that you can binge watch.

Stop credit diarrhea and borrowing money

This is the key to me. Zero has a negative gravity. The further your bank balance is away from it in either direction, the harder it is to get to it and cross over.

Save money, then get paid for having money. Don't give in to the addictive "shopping" satisfaction that is transient especially if you do it on credit - calc the real cost of the items you buy based on what you end up paying PLUS the opportunity cost of what that money could have earned you (and bought you later after it had grown).

Look at the old phone gathering dust in the draw (better yet, sell it) ... remember how much you paid for it? However shiny and amazing the new one is, it will end up like that.

Sounds as though your cable phone service was already a reasonable amount.

$18 is quite a lot when you consider that they basically just give you VOIP anyway. They hide the expense by pretending to give you a discount for having multiple services but really you pay for it.

I never tried Magic Jack. Ooma seems to work OK, esp if you put it between your internal router and your modem so it can prioritize traffic (and QoS is finicky and funny to setup - you need to set the right bandwidth amount for it). I did try the WiFi adapter with it but it wasn't as good quality / latency wise (too many internal devices competing). I could have lived with it but it made sense to just move things and forced me to tidy up some wires.

My internet is dodgy, so programs load slow, but I'm used to it now...and saving $70 a month.

Netflix now lets you download things to watch rather than having to stream them. If you have a lower speed or quality internet service it might makes it a viable option and more watchable.

... so that is another savings of $25 per month

For me, it it's the monthly amount spread over 5 years. You forget about it and it adds up. Bundles are priced to make you think you're getting a bad deal if you pay $50 for 10 channels you watch vs $75 for 11 channels you will watch + 39 more that you won't (and the bundle choices deliberately complicated to make you punt and go for the ready-made option).

That $25 may not sound much ... but per month, over 5 years, it's $1,500 even before you earn any interest for it.

So reverse it - imagine someone will pay you $1,500 to not watch a couple of channels. Hells yeah I'll switch over!

Finkelstein

Another idea that one might consider is lowering your monthly food costs.

For a family of four spending $600 to $700 a month for food you consume at home is not unusual. Yet the latest health information that been released says that we consume far too much food, causing a new unhealthy epidemic, obesity.

I've recently refocused my eating habits to eating more fruit and vegetables as the bulk of my food intake and a found two pluses in doing so, I've lowered my food costs at the grocery store at the same time lost a bit of weight as well ...... a double win win.

For starch/carbohydrate intake I eat more brown and wild rice which efficiently gives you that full feeling after eating and you can usually buy in bulk which saves you money as well.

Simon

Yeah, food can be expensive, easting out too much really kills your budget. Something to really watch is fast-food - it's got to the point now where it's sometimes close to the same price as going for a proper meal (what adds to cost at pub / restaurant is drinks) with zero waitress service and often slow (is it just me? did fast food used to be fast?)

If you do make your own food, make sure you don't over-pay for things ... e.g. buy a real lettuce for a fraction of the price of the pre-chopped + bagged version and it lasts way longer too.

This will sound funny ... but I started eating dogfood. Wait, WTF? Hold on, I'll explain ...

When our dog has been poorly, we make her a rice meal. We add chopped up ham, some chicken, some peas and basically anything else we have (she loves carrots).

Turns out, it's actually pretty delicious! So when I make her some, I make extra for myself. Mmmn, gourmet dog-food, only the best for me :D

Finkelstein

Ironically Simon your probably healthier in doing so. just don't bark at people when your wife takes you out for a walk.

Finkelstein

Oh yes and make sure your wife observes the Curb Your Husband signs, we don't want to leave little markings in public

Dagney

Netflix now lets you download things to watch rather than having to stream them. If you have a lower speed or quality internet service it might makes it a viable option and more watchable.

I saw that. But what does it download to? The shield has the option of a SD card, so would do it? Or add an external HD? What do I attach it to?

Inquiring minds want to know...

I agree...need to annualize costs and know what the long term usage is actually costing you and the options.

Simon

I saw that. But what does it download to? The shield has the option of a SD card, so would do it? Or add an external HD? What do I attach it to?

It may depend on the client you have. I don't know about the shield - you'd probably need to find some support forum more specific to that device.

Xmas / New Year - Time to Review Your Finances

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