Author: Andrew

Our Other $5 Find

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I wrote previously about how we walked around our neighborhood last weekend looking at garage sales.  This was the result of the other $5 that we spent.

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It’s hard to get a photo of him because he is always moving!

Here he is mesmerized by the aquarium.  Just look at all that future baby proofing we’re going to have to do.  🙁

IMG_3711Like the Bumbo chair we picked up second hand, this entertainment doodad normally retails from $35-40.  Frugal Boy doesn’t know or care that it is used though!

 

Garage Sales

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Frugal Boy is growing like a weed and now does things like drool incessantly.  Sometimes you’ll be holding him and feel a very wet, slimy dollop of drool land on your hand, arm, knee, or foot.  Kind of like this:

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Our neighborhood garage sale event was this weekend so we had to go out and try and score some finds.  It was also interesting to see some parts of the neighborhood that are normally obscured from view like this homemade koi pond.

IMG_3687I guess that’s one way to use a claw foot tub.

After walking up and down and all around we did end up spending $10.  $5 of that was for a bumbo chair.  They retail for around $40 and used on Craigslist they list for about $20.  This was one of the original models before the recall, but we were able to go home and get the safety kit sent to us for free by going to the recall website.

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You’d better watch that mouth kiddo.  A fly is going to land in there.

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Free Summer Fun

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School is out for summer around here and that means that Summer reading programs are starting up.  Our public library offers three programs, one for kids, one for teens, and even one for adults.  Signing up was as easy as going online and filling out a form.  All we have to do to complete the program is read 22 hours worth by August.  Participants who complete the requirements are entered into a drawing for prizes.  Last year they gave away nice things like iPads.  Not a bad deal eh?!

We have been going to bed much earlier now that Frugal Boy is starting to get into a bit of a routine.  Reading before bed is a great way to relax and unwind from a long day and it also makes reaching that 22 hour goal a walk in the park.

The first book that I am reading for the program is The Millionaire Next Door.  I’m about a 3rd of the way through the book and it has had some good points even if it takes a long path to get there.

The book starts by categorizing everyone into 3 groups, under accumulators, average accumulators, and prodigious accumulators.  It does so by using a somewhat controversial formula to determine one’s expected net worth.

Expected Net Worth = Age * Gross Realized Annual Income * 0.1

If your spouse works, then average your age and use your household income.  Your net worth should include all of your assets (including house) minus any liabilities (mortgage, car payments, student loans, etc).

The authors say that anyone with half the expected net worth is an under accumulator of wealth and anyone with double the expected is a prodigious accumulator of wealth.  Everyone else is average.  Our ratio of 0.93 would place us in the average category.

The rest of the book goes on to examine why people are in the under or over groups.  Most of it can be summarized by simply stating, wealthy individuals are frugal.

What books are you wanting to read this summer?  By the way, if you have a public library, by all means use it.  It is *free* only if you do not pay property taxes.  Our *free* library cards cost us around $280 in taxes last year, so you’d better believe that we are going to try and get every dollar out of them.

 

Coldest Winter Ever – How Much Did it Cost?

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Now that it feels like summer time, it seems like a good point to turn back and reflect on this past winter.  On the books, it was our coldest and snowiest winter ever recorded (it might have been 2nd coldest, idk).  We practiced some good energy saving tips such as keeping the thermostat set low (62 for most of the winter), closing unused rooms, wearing extra clothing, and sealing up any leaks that we could find.

Below is our gas usage history.  Our utility company estimates the meter every other month, that is why January, March, and May (actual readings) are high while December, February and April (estimated readings) are low.

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In the summer months when we were only using gas for cooking and the water heater, our bill was about $15.  If I subtract out $15 from November-May, our furnace gas consumption for the coldest winter cost us $632.83.  That’s right around $90/mo for heating.

Other heating costs included one routine inspection, $99, and one furnace breakdown, $230.

How’s that compare?

I’m always looking for good quantifiable data.  I suppose it is the scientist in me that wants to be able to say, “here are the facts.”  This article from Chicago Business talks about what Chicago residents paid on average for heating in 2014.  Most of the article discusses the stark pricing difference between Chicago gas and suburbanite gas.  While we don’t live in the suburbs of Chicago, we do have the same gas company mentioned in the article.  Yep, Chicagonites paid an additional 78% per therm compared to us ($1.21 vs $0.68).  Ya gotta love the city that works.

On average, the not gauged folks paid $626 for heating from November through March.  We paid $633 for November through May.

Conclusion

In conclusion, we paid a little bit less than the average for our area.  Our circa 13 year old furnace did break down once and the repair cost put us over the average. So long winter!

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Hello summer!  Did I mention our AC is broken?