What if you don’t buy a daily latte?
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Are you tired of seeing the same money-saving tips that don't apply to your situation?
Low-Hanging Financial Fruit and What Comes Next
When it comes to making major changes in your financial situation, you’ll probably get some pretty standard advice for saving money: stop buying coffee every day, brown bag your lunch and start clipping coupons. That’s because these sorts of changes are low-hanging fruit.
Most financial gurus have a few favorite recommendations when it comes to the low-hanging fruit of your finances. Coffee, in particular, gets singled out for attention, over and over again. The fairly common habit of picking up coffee each morning has even been vilified as the Latte Factor.
But what happens after you’ve cut out coffee — or if you don’t drink coffee in the first place?
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9 Responses to “What if you don’t buy a daily latte?”
February 9th, 2010 at 3:31 pm
The one that really bugs me is the advice to “turn your heating down by one degree” because of the savings to the pocket/planet that will ensue. Surely there comes a point where it simply is not possible to turn it down any more? (And I think I’m near to it!)
February 9th, 2010 at 4:32 pm
Bella,
I see your point, but I also wonder how much we can acclimate to colder temps. After all, we southerners get used to 90 degrees in the summer, even though it’s 20 degrees above ideal for most of us. So if we really tried, couldn’t we adjust to 50 degrees in the winter?
Not that I’m about to try it…I’d have a mutiny on my hands…just can’t help but wonder…
February 9th, 2010 at 6:52 pm
A good way to look at your daily habits, and what you might be able to change for the frugal-er (more frugal?) is to look through your own trash, hopefully before it’s stinky! I started paying attention to our daily spending habits this way several years ago. Since then we’ve switched from paper napkins and paper towels to cloth napkins and dish towels, store-bought bagels to homemade English muffins, and single use batteries to rechargables, among many other things. I’ve also discovered that I’m addicted to Q-tips. :/
(We keep out house around 60. If I really want to warm up I figure out what I can bake, iron, or scrub!)
February 9th, 2010 at 9:40 pm
I get so sick of hearing that advice myself. It is always in the magazines, etc. We cut that type of stuff out years ago, so it does nothing for our family.
I have to chime in on the 50, I’m telling you it is hard. We have gone done to 55 because our bill is just too high for our budget. It is bitter cold, none of us can hardly function. We seem to go between 60 & 65 now. Sometimes I go to 58 at night when we are all bundled up under covers. My daughter has taken to wearing her winter coat in the house because 60 gets so cold.
It’s funny because people want that cold in the summer. I personally do not use air conditioning in the summer, so maybe I am just used to being warm & struggle more with it?
February 10th, 2010 at 10:29 am
it is downright cold in the house…extra quilts are on the beds and propane gas firelogs in fireplace help in evenings before bedtime. all lightbulbs are now cfl’s. ceiling fans are in every room. everything gets turned off and unplugged when not being used. the coffee in the mr.coffee brewer is put into an insulated carafe immediately after brewing. and we are back to daily birdbaths at the sink and a good hot soak on saturday nights. all of our clothing is recycled or repaired as needed. we use a clothesline instead of the dryer. i do not own a cellphone and i do not have long distance service. i have used just about every trick in the book and yet prices for the things we do consume keep going up. another year or two of this economy and some of us will have to install an outhouse in the back yard! the good news is: i am not in major debt to anyone yet and that is because i have lowered the household consumption enough to save a little bit. i have saved a good bit by making my own laundry detergent, using things up, wearing things out and making do.
February 10th, 2010 at 12:07 pm
I am glad to hear that I am not the only one who looks at these “good tips” and wonder if they are good or just what people do. I have started to make most of our food. The supplies to make bread for the month cost less than the price for two loaves of bread.
February 11th, 2010 at 2:49 am
I see your point, but I also wonder how much we can acclimate to colder temps.
February 11th, 2010 at 10:11 pm
I hate hearing the same things over and over again too. I’ll put up with them for the people who haven’t heard before.
February 23rd, 2010 at 8:42 am
Umm, yeah, I broke that daily coffee shop habit in 2000. Therefore, that popular tip didn’t help us in 2004 / 2005 when my husband was back and forth between unemployment and low-paying, short-term temp jobs.
That is why I look for, and post about, as many “out of the box” ideas as possible. I write about spending less money on Easter candy because one is being more selective on goodies; frugal food options for Lent instead of going to a Friday night fish fry; and making sure one meets the deadlines and application requirements for assistance programs / financial aid / college scholarships.
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