Showing posts with label saving pennies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label saving pennies. Show all posts

12.01.2009

Saving Pennies, Ch. 1


Erik and I are simple people. We like things to be as easy and stress, worry, drama, anything 'free'. So when we were constantly clicking the buttons on our thermostat up and down every morning and night to get the most efficient use of our heating and cooling system, I knew we needed a better solution.




We picked up this little guy from Hunter. It is their 7-day Energy Star Programmable Thermostat. It was a chore to install- I highly recommend keeping the help line number at arm's distance- although to be fair, I have zero experience with electrical stuff, but the guy I spoke to was super nice and knowledgeable. Once it was installed it had to be programmed. I chose the energy star settings that turn the heat low during the night and while we are at work, and then the house gets warmed up in the morning when we are getting ready for work and it is toasty by the time we arrive home and until we go to bed. It has eliminated our need to manually lower the temp. and it gives us the flexibility to change the settings as we need them. Plus it has the awesome ambient red light for the heat and a cool blue for the AC.

I must say, it is working like a charm. Our gas, heat pump system is working great and the gas bill is staying in the low $20 range! This is just another way for us to make the most of our hard earned money to keep our house a cozy home!


What types of money saving upgrades have you made lately?

9.13.2009

Gravy on Sundays





Sunday mornings have been marked by warm gravy with biscuits lately. Erik and I are trying to recreate one of our favorite weekend pastimes at the house- enjoying a yummy breakfast together. We used to get up and go out to one of our favorite spots to enjoy a late breakfast, but we have been trying to watch our pennies so making breakfast in-house has become our new tradition.

In the past we would do the usual muffins with fruit for me, and eggs and sausage for Erik. But the past two weekends have brought biscuits with white gravy. Holy goodness.

Going out and letting others cook our breakfast, on average, would cost us about $15-$20 with tip. Now a trip to the grocery store for biscuits for 3 breakfasts, gravy, OJ, and eggs runs about $10. Pretty nice, and the biggest bonus, we don't have to get dressed!!


So tell me, what is your favorite weekend tradition?