The Electric Bill

I know I said I wasent going to share this months electric bill since after doing the calculations on how to save even more on my electric bill found HERE and since I've only been really putting into effect these other energy saving tips for a couple of weeks now , I got the bill and I couldnt resist!

Last month was $106.14
This months bill $69.14 YIPPIE!!!

Because we used less it threw us into a different tier level with a lower price :)

I couldnt believe it. Pick me up off the floor!! I guess all the unplugging, switches off doing, and turning pc's off, it paid off. At first I thought it was because of Southern CA. Edisons summer discount plan Im on during the 4 months of the summer. We receive a $40-$50 a month discount for having the unit put on our a/c unit so they can turn the a/c unit off remotely at any time if they need to conserve. We never use the a/c unit since we have a swamp cooler so it works out perfect :) giggle

Oh happy day! Im $40 richer :)

The Electric Bill

Im totally agree that if you save alittle here and alittle there, its starts to add up and you'll be saving alot. So Im starting to work alittle on the electric bill. Something we can control.

I started posting my electric bill awhile back when I plugged in all those power surgers. Well, so far my bill has gone back up.This month its was $106.xx. When I call the electric company they just say that for the size of my house (2700 sq ft) that is an excellent price. Well, Im not happy with that price. I worked really hard turning off those power surgers. Makin sure they were all off when the appliance wasent being used, driving my family crazy to turn those lights off!

So yesterday I spent about 3 hrs researching what everything costs in my house. I wanted to know what was using the most. My moms electric bill is in the $30's. (1800 sq ft) I thought I have almost exactly what she has so why is mine so much higher? Well, after comparing my moms, and our electric bill I figured it out.

I found a website that helped me work the numbers. I didnt want an exact number, just a very close number and this website matched what I came up with. Link

Also here in Southern California they charge you in Tiers. So the more you use they move you up a tier and you pay more and more.

I couldnt believe how little electricity somethings in the house used compared to others. Did you know that my coffee maker that runs 2 hrs a day (auto shut off) cost more a month to run than my fridge or my freezer that runs 24 hrs, 7 days a week. Heres the approx break down so you can see how things add up. These are approx. but their close. Theres a few items not listed like the oven digital clock and plugging in the cellphones to charge.

_My house_____
55" big screen tv $15.73 (15 hrs daily)
Coffee maker $7.28 (2 hrs daily auto shutoff)
Laptop $2.17 (12 hrs daily)
Hubbys pc $14.56 (24/7)
My pc $7.28 (12 hrs)
Twins bedroom tv $0.60 (1hr daily)
Twins bedroom tv $4.03 (8 hrs daily)
Dryer $13.78 (4 days month 4 hrs each day)
Washer $2.24 (4 days month 4 hrs each day)
Fridge $5.46 (24/7)
Freezer $5.46 (24/7)
DVR $2.86 (24/7)
Lightbulbs (11)$3.96 (energy savers 5 hrs daily)
Microwave $2.86 (30 min daily)
Dishwasher $9.36 (20 days mo. 1hr each day)
PS2 $.85 (8 hrs daily)
Wii $.25 (2 hrs daily)
Fax/copier $5.40 (24/7)
Electric blanket $4.03 (10 hrs daily, auto shutoff)
Total $101.34 not including taxes and fees

It amazes me how things add up. Now that I know what is using the most Ive decided to cut down on the use of those appliances to see if I can save.Less tv, Less dishwasher, less dryer, hubbys pc will be turned off unless in use, and so will mine when were not doing school. And that COFFEE MAKER, Im setting the timer for 1 hrs and I'll manually turn it off. Their reading our meter in 2 weeks so I might not post the next bill but I'll post the following bill since we'll be starting this money saving goal starting today. OH and yes I'll still be turning off those surgers :)

If you have a money saving tip, please post it. I would love to hear them. :)

This Weeks Coupon Deals

Went shopping today and heres how I did ......

First stop Walgreens

Total without sales/coupons $57.52

I paid $27.13

Used remaining balance on rechargable Walgreens gc $14.30

Paid OOP $12.83

Getting $10 rebate back from rechargable battery unit and extra batteries (middle of pic) for the twins Wii controllers so everything cost $2.83!! SCORE!

Walgreens

Second stop CVS

Total without sales/coupons $63.16

I paid $13.76 OOP

Minus the listerine, floss, and toothbrush. I accidently put these in the cvs loot. I got those in the above photo from Walgreens. Im tired. I gotta go find my ginormous hershey bar. That will help me wake up :) Big grin!

CVS

Third stop Riteaid

Total without coupons/sales $31.94

I spent $16.86

Getting back $13.99

So basically everything cost me $2.87 :)

Riteaid

4th stop Staples

Total without coupons/sale $70.46

I paid OOP $50.59

Getting $32.95 back in rebates

So everything cost $17.64 Score!

Staples

Have a great week everyone :)

Coupon Deals Today

Went coupon shopping with my friend Linda and heres how I did!

First stop Walgreens:

Total $114.37

After coupons & sale prices $35.49

Put it all on my rebate rechargeable Walgreens Giftcard so ZERO out of pocket!

Second stop CVS. Did 6 seperate transactions . Total of those came to:

Total $109.97

After coupons & Sale prices $19.83

Plus I have a $5 ecb to use next Monday when we go :)

Im thinking I need to invest in a new digital camera. Seems like my pictures keep getting worse. Or maybe its the photographer! LOLOL

Have a great week everyone :)

LaSt Monthly Spending Challange Post.

This will be my last post on the spending challange. Im proud of myself for keeping track for this long. Thanks Marva for the encouragement to keep going. I appreciate it.

Okay, this is going to be alittle confusing. I put several bills on CC that reward me for doing that. It also makes it much easy since I dont have to worry about late fees and I can pay one bill (the Creditcard) instead of 5 or 6 seperate ones. So I wont actually spend money out of pocket for these charges till next month so Im not going to count them. So here is run down for the Actual out of pocket spending for the month of Feb. So heres goes ... (totals are rounded)

House $1790.00 (includes equityline)

CC $400.00 (health insurance and a little more to help pay it down)

Discover card $586.00 (Only gasloine and food are on this card to keep track)

Phone $ 21.00

Alarm Co. $ 60.00

American Express $ 810.00 (Several bills on this one like Internet service, Directv, Cell phones, propane, horse feed, dog food etc)

Magazine $10.00 ( I LOVE THIS MAGAINZE!!! Simple & Delicious magazine sub. They send me a 1/2 off deal and I couldnt resist. YIppie!)

Tithe $ 45.00

vet supply 10.00 (rat and gecko food)

Elec $91

vet supply $2

Disneyland $40

Grand total $3865

The dreaded Spending Accountablity Challange

LOL Okay its not too dreadful but Im really tired of keeping track.

But I tell you, I cant remember from a week ago what I spent so it goes to show you, writing it down and seeing it on paper really does help!

Okay, heres the run down.

Starting total $1151.84

Feb 17 None

Feb 18 None

Feb 19 $19.31 (We drove almost an hour to a field trip so I rewarded the twins with lunch)

$ 150.84 Cell phone bill

Feb 20 $86.09 DH going on a huntin trip.

$62.00 Gasoline

Feb 21 $73.27 Target food

Feb 22 None (yippie)

Feb 23 $24.42 (but getting $26.98 back in rebates SCORE!)

New spending Total for month $1567.77

Monthly Saving Challange ~ February 15 & 16

No spending these two days.

Monthly spending total still @ $1121.51

(edit: messed up on gasoline total need to add another $30.33 so total is actually $1151.84)

Monthly Saving Challange ~ February 13

Welp, had to pay some bills today and Dh surprised us with pizza and breadsticks for dinner :) Yippie.


Gas for F350 diesel $50 (edit: its $80.33 not $50)
Propane $130
Gas for explorer $10.24
Pizza $26
Elec. $90.63

New Monthy spending total $945.84

Monthly Saving Challange ~ February 12

No spending again today!!!

Yee Haw! Okay, confession time. I did try again. To spend some money. Still been looking for those jeans for the twins. Im on a mission to find the right ones at the right price.

Monthly spending total still @ $608.74

Monthly Saving Challange ~ February 11

Another NO spending day!! Yeah!!!

Still at $608.74

But its not like I didnt try. I was trying really hard to spend some hard earned cash but no can do. hee hee Been looking for some jeans for the twins that they want. Im only willing to pay a certain price. I got these jeans a year and half ago, 2 pair shipped to the house for $10 using free shipping codes and a discount code. Awesome price I know! So now Im spoiled.

Monthly Saving Challange ~ February 10

Today was a good day. :) Been freezing outside but we got alot of school work done. :)

The only spending I did today was a birthday present for one of the twins. I sent a limit and they get to pick what they want. One of them found a game on Amazon so I bought it. Im not going to count it in my spending since Im getting alittle over $400 back from our Costco/american express card this month.




Im taking out money for the twins birthday, stockup items I'll be buying from Costco, and the rest will be for Disneyland trips (we have season tickets) and to help with groceries for the rest of the month :) Gotta love Costco :) Getting paid to pay your bills and items you buy is a wonderful thing :)



Monthly total $608.74

Monthly Saving Challange ~ February 9

Mondays are normally my coupon shopping day. I was all excited to go to town get some deals, and go to lowes and get some wood for a project. Looked outside and it was SNOWING!!!! UGHUGH. It slowed down and stopped for alittle bit so my DH said "Hurry and go now". So I jumped in the car and ran to town.



I feel I did really well at CVS. I scanned my card twice at the scanner machine. First time it gave me a free $2 ecb. Yippie, free money!, The second time it gave me a $1.50 coupon for cvs female personal care item and and coupon for free 3 pk. CVS Antacids and $2 off tums.




I did two transactions. I spent out of pocket $20.84. I forgot to use the free $2 ECB. dUH. Oh well, next week. I used a $10 ecb I already had on the first transaction.



Heres what I got for $20.84 includes tax (reg. price would have been & $86.52+tax)



8 pk Bounty papertowels

8 ct. Duracell batteries

120 ct. Bounce dryer sheets

3 bottles Dawn dishsoap

3 heart boxes of chocolates (small ones for valentines)

2 valentines candies for the twins

Gillette power razor

60 ct. tums

2 pk. energy pack

22 ct. cvs pantyliners

cvs brand chewable asprins

3 pk cvs antacids

madagascar 2 movie (valentines present for the twins) !!!! Im so excited about this. They have been wanting this movie. I had a bunch of valentines candy in my cart, and decided to put it all back except for $5 worth and used the money to buy the items that helped me get the movie for $4.99 :)



Went to riteaid and got:



Finesse Conditioner

MortonSalt

Fructis hairspray

Durex lubricant (given to DH for valentines hee hee)



Total came to $11.66 with coupons

Getting back in rebates $10.98

So total was actually $0.68 Yippie!



Went to Walgreens and got:



2 bags 40ct Halls cough drops

1 roll Bounty basics

Zucol cold care 18 lozengers

Fructis shampoo

Revlon Age defying spa foundation

Revlon Creme lip gloss

3 cans of ajax



Total came to $33.18 out of pocket

Getting back in Rebates $32.26

So total was really $0.92 Yahoo!



Went to Lowes for my wood project. $21.33. Used GC so new total out of pocket was $10.31



Went to Target for juice and drinks. I also bought some strawberries. I want to make choc. covered strawberries and Im thinking of making them tomorrow and not wait till Sat. :)

Spent $15.12

Todays spending $91.11

Minus Rebates $43.24

Todays spending $47.87

$560.87 Starting
$47.87 spend today

$608.74 New running Total

Monthly Saving Challange ~ February 8

No money spent this day either. :) (doing backflips)

Still at $560.87 for the month. Not for long though. When the bills start to be due thats when this bliss of no spending will end :(

Monthly saving Challange ~ Feb. 7th

YaHoo! Didnt spend money today!

Monthly Saving Challange ~ February 6

YIPPIE!!!!! No money spent this day!

Stayed home with the rain. I love the rain.

Fire blazing in the wood stove. AAhhhhh Life is good :)

Im working on the Weekly Grocery Saving challange for next week.

I think I'll start on Monday. I'll be using food I already have, using the coupons from the Sunday paper and the Sale ads.

Few money saving tips for the kitchen

Well, since Im doing this money saving challange I thought I would share a few tips Im doing this month to save money.

1. We dont eat out alot but when we do we go to a fast food place called Del Taco. YUMMERS! They always give several napkins so Ive been saving them. Storing them up like a squirrel. I put some of these in the glove box and the rest go into the house in the kitchen drawer. I was buying the cute napkins from the grocery store to put in my cute napkin holder on the counter but this month instead I'll be using up those FREE Del Taco napkins :)

2. And when we make bean burritos (My DH thinks if we dont have refried beans and tortillas in the house the earth will stop spinning and all will perish.!!) we'll use those yummy hot sauce packets Ive gathered up from Del Taco to spice up our burritos :)

3. I bought a bread maker recently with money I got from my parent for Christmas. Ive been baking away. Im learning so its been a trial and error but the twins are my biggest fans :) Every loaf no matter how lopsided, or flat, they always give me the thumbs up :) What sweet hearts. I love the smell of the bread baking on these cold raining days and since the twins are eatting machines right now it sure helps keep them satisfied till dinner :)

4. We do drink some soda but Im slowing not buying as much. Ive been buying frozen lemonade from super target instead. Its only $ .77 a can and makes a huge container. It says add 4 1/3 cans of water but I add 6 and it still tastes great :)

5. I do use those little dishwasher tabs. Only if I get them really cheap using coupons. The reason being is my good friend Lissa explained it to me that when you use those tabs you are using exactly the right amount and when you use the powder or liquid soap you might be pouring too much which is wasting soap and money :)

Save money at Dinner Time

Lord have mercy! I visited a website that I think is going to be just awesome. Its called $5 dinners As I was reading down I was thinking... My family would eat that and my family would eat that!! I just love when I find a website that talks to me and gives such great ideas.

I found this site while visiting Amys blog regarding the Monthly spending Challange.

You all have to check this site out and let me know what you think. Gotta go read more about these awesome cheap meals!

Monthly Savings Challange ~ February

I just realized I accidently deleted the post regarding how much I saved on the electric bill (slap myself) So here it is again. Was $111 now its $90. Been more diligent this month turning off those surge protectors and Dh computer :)

Edit: Marva,I found her blog. I think I kept trying the wrong one. Everyone I tried wouldnt open up :(

Thanks Amy for starting this challange! You go girl!

On Marvas blog she is having a month saving challange where shes listing all her spending everyday for the month. So I thought I would join in and also list some of the ways I save money while Im at it. Gulp, this means Im really going to have to stay accountable.

Im starting 5 days late so heres what I have so far....

Feb 1st Renew DH business website $108.12 Gulp

Renewed AAA $119

Feb 2 Food for geckos $2.16

Internet service $31.00

Disneyland $40

Feb 3 horse feed $114.03

Gasoline for my car $40.16

Feb.4 CANCELLED a SUBSCRIPTION saved $15 Yippie

Feb 5 Super Target $105.41 Weekly grocery shop. (this includes all food only. Im stocked up on all paper products and toiletries)

Total spend so far $560.87

My goal for groceries was $75 for the week. But I went over as you can see. Im really trying. Ive done it before but my family wasent on board. Just yesterday my DH said to me "we should see how cheap we can eat for a week". I almost fell off my chair. Been waiting for this for a long time. So I think I'll try this challange next week :)