Economy Sucks and getting worse...here is a way to save money

unless you stole those solar panels, or the panels paid itself already, it's not free electricity.

american dream v2.0.

but it's happening in the EU as well.

Yup, it sure is. Sad.

lol, no complaints at all. My job IS one of my lifestyle choices. I prefer the time to the money. I understand that we work 180 days out of 365 and I believe our pay fairly reflects that. I covet my summers, and I didn't mind working two jobs during the year to set a little aside. We also have to factor in the cost of our health care benefits, it is about an $8000 value. I"m very happy

I LOVE the span of time off because I can write, read, and study. I wouldn't trade the pay for summertime off for anything. It just means planning ahead and making lifestyle adjustments in the frugality department, lol. Most of which means doing all the little dinky things I mentioned above to save even further $$. See you around, Brief. I am going to take a nap.

Put a pan or bowl of water or ice cubes in front of it. Then you get a cool mist of a breeze.

Me too.
Warm/hot water spreads germs-read it on Rense.

Baking soda is an extremely inexpensive item you can use for hundreds of things.
As toothpaste, laundry soap, cleaner, medicinal.

LOL Goin' Greek!!

That is too fucking funny.i can just picture someone dragging their ass like a dog does.

Great post this has been very helpful.

My God, the God of Israel, is a racist who hates sodomites.

A few decades ago miscegenation was illegal where I live...
and sodomy was illegal until a decade ago.





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I used to have a very serious problem of the house heating up in the mornings due to a fairly large window (about 4 feet x 4 feet) that was exposed to the morning sun. Even though the window was tinted with something that was supposed to keep most of the IR radiation out, the house was really getting hot which forced me to run the a/c and run up very large cooling bills.

So I a bought a big roll of reflective mylar, maybe similar to this "Metalized Reflective Polyester Film" which I used to cover that whole side of the house, because I mistakenly thought that the sun must be heating up the whole outside of the house on that side and that was why it was getting so hot on the inside.

The reflective metalized mylar worked really well and really stopped the heat buildup inside the house, but I was amazed to discover that the wall of the house was well insulated and that the heat buildup inside the house was caused by the heat coming in through that window. I was dumbfounded that so much heat buildup inside the house could be due to the window only.

The downside is that it stops the light from entering the window also, so the house is a lot darker on the inside.

I still have a lot of the roll of metalized mylar and if the weather gets hot again this summer I will be wanting to try a new idea to make it easier to block the windows. What I'm thinking of doing is to put some screws in the exterior house wall around the windows so that I can hold the metalized mylar in place with magnets. In other words, I can cut a piece of metalized mylar to the right size for a window (the right size being slightly larger than the window), and then I can put the mylar over the window and use strong, little permanent magnets to hold the mylar to the screws around the window. This would make it easy to put up and take down the mylar sheets over the windows, and I can roll up the mylar sheets for easy storage. I would use small permanent magnets that are epoxy coated (so they are weather proof).

I haven't tried this exact thing yet, but I think it is do-able, and all the ingredients are easily available.

The metalized mylar material is very durable and strong and lasts a long time.

MY IDEA TO HELP OFFSET THE EVER INCREASING ELECTRIC BILLS. 1 = WALK TO THE CLOSEST MINI MART 2= PURCHASE A LOTTERY TICKET, ( preferably one that equals more $$$$$ than you paid for said ticket ) in other words a winner, cash ticket and use the proceeds to cool your domocile to a comfortable temperature. 3 =repeat the process as needed.

In the northeast, people do this every year - in the fall. Saves on heating oil.

Get a dishpan and fill it with cold water. Put your feet in cold water, and you will be much more comfortable without air conditioning.

I built a little mini kitchen outside next to the BBQ. I've got two electric burners and an electric convection mini oven. Makes a big difference when I'm not using the inside stove(and mine's an old pilot light Wedgewood, which in winter does a great job heating the kitchen). Fortunately I'm in SoCal so bugs aren't a night time problem. If they were I'd just screen that area in.

I use plastic grocery bags for garbage and take it out a couple times day. I use boxes from liquor store for large heavier trash.

I save on paper towels by cutting up old towels and using one in the kitchen and one in the bath for wiping up.

I pay bills online and save on stamps, checks, envelopes.

I take short showers and turn off the water while I scrub.

I wash clothes on the shortest cycle in cold water.

I wear heavier clothes around the house in the winter time and turn down the heat. The opposite in the summer.

I unplug coffee pot and any other appliance when not in use.

I have nightlights in every room so no need to turn on lights while walking through the house at night.

I have ceiling fans in every room.

I cook enough for lots of leftovers. I do not mind leftovers. In fact I only cook once a week. Winter time, lots of soups. Summertime lots of salads.

I buy juice but only flavor my water with it so it goes a long way.

I buy food and staples on sale and in quantity.

I seldom eat out, go to movies, or rent movies.

I get up with the daylight and go to bed soon after dark. Less lights used, less heat or air conditioning used as I can turn that off in every room but my bedroom where I can use my laptop or read.

I use a down comforter in winter so I can turn off all heat when I go to sleep.

I do not let the water run needlessly.

I clean the dryer filter before every use. I cannot hang clothes outside because of black dust from automobile traffic. I got rid of carpeting so no vacuuming, just dust mopping. I clean or replace the ac and furnace filters often.

I have an older toilet so I put two bricks in the tank along with a large plastic bag of water. This leaves plenty of water in the tank for flushing.

I keep curtains and blinds open in the winter and closed in the summer.

You can start as small as you want...I only buy BP panels, yeah I know, but they have a great warranty and the ones I bought in 1999 still work perfectly, even after an invasion of red ants one year...anyway they have all sizes and prices, but one deep cycle battery, one panel, one charge controller and a DC florescent light will get you started...or if you just want to power a couple of computers then get a small inverter and run them...there are a million ways to build your own system, so decide where you want to start and you can always build onto it without ever wasting any equipment...just keep adding.

Last Edited by BRIEF on 06/07/2011 04:11 PM

About to cancel Dish and cell phones. Out of a contracts now will save about $250 per month. Just keep internet you can pretty much get anything hooked up to your TV.

rent an all bills paid apartment if you can.
i didnt even know they existed till I moved to Texas and
they have quite a few.

It's free...look, what are you going to do with piles of useless paper when the world's economies completely collapse? I'd rather turn my money into something more useful than toilet paper...

Find a place where internet is included in the rent. Magic jack, allows you to use your computer for all calls. (eliminates phone company completely)
Grow a garden
Locate bars that have free buffets and cheap beer, Always carry a couple baggies in your pocket, (for take
home)
Food stamps, pantry…Stock up as much as you can.
Quit excessive smoking, drinking, etc.
Sell everything you have, even at a loss…
Learn how to beg.
Don’t drive, - (only bicycle, or hang glide.)
Stay as healthy as possible…(move to southern hemisphere)

You are kidding...right???

what we did:

bought a very small cabin, painted it totally white, put in insulated windows, shutters, solar heaters, solar power - flexible style so no breaking,

biogas, solar cooker/water heater, chest freezer converted to frig, eleminated most appliances,

collect rain water (no city water),

built ground water cooling system (it helps but isn't perfect, still need air conditioner for very hot days),

converted wood heater to wood/wvo, installed meatl tank behind wood heater to make hot water in winter,

turned discarded washing machine into emp box,

toilet trained the cats,

are going to purchase feminine cups - no more feminine products,

no tv (only internet), no subscriptions, no memberships, no cell phone,

got rid of carpet - sweep floors and throw rugs,

use shutters to keep sun out of hot side,

use biogas waste water for sustainable gardening,

grow sprouts,

no blow dryer, no barber visits,

no driving without pre-planning the trip to get as much accomplished as possible,

thrift stores are better than walmart,

unplug everything, use nightlights, don't buy anything not absolutely needed,

stocked up on bulk toilet paper/soap, made own laundry soap,

don't use canned goods- save for shtf, reduce meat/bread/milk/processed food/sugar use - saves money and better health,

no movies/fast food, no newspapers, no cable, no unnecessary long distance calls, buy cheap pet food,

How did you mess up my quote...I mean it's the gist but you reworded it weird...

and... sell everything that is NOT NEEDED - which is most of what most folks own , even at a loss - use that for preparing now while you can

use a motorcycle or bike if you are able, or find small car - no gas guzzlers

turbo aire fans work great but expensive

learn to be happy with less

homemade air conditioner instructions - this is what we use all summer - it handles all but the hottest days - when used with attic fan:

dig deep trench - deeper the better - put in pipe, copper is best but expensive - we used pvc.

run the line into the house and put in stone then cover. the stone will help keep water draining into your hole - water will help keep it cooler

use a circulator pump - and attach pvc pipe to copper pipe.

make the copper pipe into a loose coil - place a turbo aire fan (or any fan) behind the cooper coil. we also included a car radiator but that doesnot seem to be an improvement.

fill system with water/radiator fluid. turn on circulator pump and fan - enjoy cold air!

Look into a roku, or a gaming console if you already have one for wireless TV content.

I ditched cable for DSL wifi + Netflix, it takes some getting used to, but it's one of the best things I've done. Plus it feels great to give the finger to those bastards at Cox Cable.

[link to www.roku.com]

In other words....a home made GEOTHERMAL cooling system.

I buy my clothing at garage sales...haven't stepped foot inside a mall in more than 10 years. Top that