Quest for Enlightenment

There was a survey on our electric company's website, it rated PowerSmart savvy. So after taking the quiz, not liking the score and being slightly competitive, I read up on energy saving tips so I could redo the quiz. Okay, not only read about tips, but implement a few and possibly save some money.

We were amazed when our electric bill arrived, more on that later.

Most of the incandescent bulbs we had were replaced with CFL (not the Canadian Football League), Compact Floursent Lights. We started with a couple, then added a few more, until most of the main floor has CFL. It takes a few minutes for them to reach full brightness, but when they do they are bright! For a cozier atmosphere we used lower watts bulbs in some rooms.

Next was something that we hadn't heard about before, standby energy. Did you know that cell phone chargers left plugged in use energy, even if the cell phone isn't attached. Or that TV's, stereos, DVD players, any electronic equipment that has a clock feature is using electricty even when its turned off. And that computers left on 24/7 add about $45 to your engery bill jper month. I didn't! So we unplugged all the electronic equipment and connected them to powers bars. It took a bit of fiddling to get the different components in a workable configuration, but now it's a simple flip of the switch. Any electrical item that is not being used is unplugged.

Then there are the basics: turn the lights off when you leave a room, do only full loads of laundry, air dry laundry if possible, do full loads in the dishwasher, etc.

Now for the electric bill. Our electric company lists the average kWh used for both the current month (ie November) and for the same month the previous year. There wasn't any difference in the amount - to make budgetting easier we use the equalization plan, our yearly usage is divided by 12, so we pay the same amount every month.

November 2006 we used on average 27 kWh



November 2007 we used 3 kWh, yup a reduction of 24 kWh!



Pretty impressive, huh. The real test though is going to be the next couple of bills. December 2007 only had a reduction of 1 kWh (not so impressive), but then again we did have twice the amount of Christmas lights as the year before. We're waiting for the January 2008 bill to see of the November bill was just a fluke.



Imagine that, we are actually looking forward to receiving a bill!



Haven't taken that quiz again, my competitive nature has been quelled for the moment, at least until the next bill arrives.

Saxie Mom

Books and Budgets

Okay, so like a lot of people we are trying to cut back on spending. A common piece of advice that can be found on websites, in books, etc., is to use cash and cut up credit cards. That's two pieces of advice actually and both are difficult, really, really difficult.

By using cash, there are a lot fewer debit slips so the monthly budget spreadsheet is much easier to keep up-to-date, and we have found that we spend less with cash. As for cutting up the credit cards, that was, very . . . weird. We were so used to having the cards in our wallets to use whenever we felt like it. Now we have to think, and think hard before we spend money - it means having to go to the bank or ATM to take the money out. Is it worth the trip? Not that the ATM or bank is far, just not always convenient. Then those fun service fees for using another bank or ATM. Once I used a different machine and was charged a fee by the "establishment", then another fee by the ATM, and my bank charged me a fee also. All for $20.00. Then to top it all off, I found a twenty in my wallet. A big waste of money! So now we make certain that we use the correct ATM's.

As for cutting up the credit cards, it has eliminated spur of the moment spending. Unfortunately, knowing the account numbers makes it possible to shop on-line. It is however, much, much less than it was before, but Amazon is still a temptation. Which leads me to another tip frequently bandied about, use the library instead of buying books. The title of this is Books, Bags, and Budgets, so it doesn't take a genius to figure out I like books, a lot! This tip I avoided for the longest time. I like my books, and I like my bookcases full of books. To stop buying books and use the library is more difficult than cutting up the credit cards. Really? How do I know? Because we have cut up the credit cards but still buy books. To be fair I do buy fewer books and am more selective about what is bought. The library? Yes I do use the library now, quite a bit actually. Usually for books that are non-fiction, information or instruction type books, ones that I wouldn't necessarily purchase. When it comes to favourite authors, or favourite hobbies, that's another story (pun intended). The library is also a great place to borrow CD's, DVD's and magazines. The music collection is varied, you can listen to stuff that you wouldn't normally buy. Or, listen to the full CD before buying it, to make sure you like all the songs on it.

So far on our quest we have done the following:

1. Use a budget.
2. Shop with a list.
3. Use cash.
4. Cut up credit cards.
5. Use the library.

That is a start, but it finishes this entry.

Saxie Mom

Spreadsheet Mania

Trying to save money is difficult, especially when it seems that everyone else is trying to get you to spend it. Finding sites that offer to help you save money is easy. The thing is though, you have to pay for it. They have books, newsletters, and emails all full of helpful advice and tips, but you have to buy them. I know it takes money to make money, but I'm really trying to save. Besides, if it took spending money to make money, I'd be a gazillionaire. There are some tips that were free, some weird and others very funny. One tip a lot of them had in common was the use of a budget.

One of the first things that we did to save money was make and use a realistic budget.

The next was to use a list when shopping.

Budgets are easy, to make that is. Keeping to a budget is very difficult so making a realistic budget is important. We have to remember to include items that don't occurr on a monthly basis; car insurance, property taxes, income taxes, family vacations (wouldn't that be nice if it were a monthly occurrance!).

We have a Monthly Budget spreadsheet, with entries for expenses, deposits, etc. It looks good, but I don't keep it up to date as much as I would like. I try, but all those debit card transactions are a pain to enter. It does however remind us of upcoming expenses, so we can curtail spending.

Then there is the Grocery Shopping spreadsheet. Now that one is useful. It took a while to put together, but shopping now is easier. Sticking to a list and not deviating from it can help avoid unnecessary spending. The template has all the items listed and the price. By entering the quantity can see before hand how much it is going to cost. Our list is three pages but we don't buy EVERYTHING on the list, it's there for when we do need it. Also it's a great way to check if you're forgetting something.

Then we have a fun one, the Christmas List spreadsheet. Sticking to a certain dollar figure . . . not so much fun. It keeps all the Christmas lists, budget, items ordered, purchased and received, all in one, making it easy to get organized (staying organized is another matter). We did go overbudget on this on, so what else is new?

When I first learned about spreadsheets 20 years or so ago (I was a child at the time. . . yeh right), I thought they were amazing and difficult. I still think they are great and with a little practice they are not so difficult. I make them all the time. Maybe I should make a new spreadsheet, one for keeping track of money that I saved or didn't spend.

Saxie Mom