2livesimple’s Weblog


How do you save money?????
May 9, 2009, 1:22 pm
Filed under: SAVE $$$$$, Taxes

I have always hated reading advice on how to save money in ways that are saving you just a couple pennies, and taking you an hour for those two pennies.  Or in ways that result in dissatisfaction.

Imagine saving up all your little soap bits.  You find a little container to save them in.  Then find a place for your container.  After a year, you may have enough chips to equal a half bar of soap.  Unless your soap is worth its weight in gold I would suggest this is not a worthwhile endeavor.

Save that tea bag, and use it again.  Gotta love that hot water with a hint of tea in it.  Just enough flavor to make it not taste like water, but it does not taste like a good cup of tea either.

SO….. the question is how to save more money that proves to actually be worth the effort.

Today, I purchased a container of trimmer line for my weed whacker.  It was $4.71 for 300 feet (including tax).

To purchase 3 spools of pre-wound line at 30 ft each would have cost me $17.81.  So, lets do the math on this…..  My spool cost 47 cents for the line, and 10 minutes of my time.

My Spool

I did 2 of them while watching a movie, and timed the second one to see how long it actually took me.  Looking at the 3 pack (which saves money versus buying 1 at a time) a single spool costs $5.94.  At a savings of $5.47 this would be equivalent to $32.82 per hour (or 6 spools).

The majority of the U.S. does not earn $32.82 per hour.  If you wish to delve further into this, when you consider taxes paid on money you earn, this would be closer to earning $43.76 if you paid 25% in taxes.

Share some ways you save money that has a great impact.

Taxes (while important) should not be dismissed when saving money.  This year tax freedom day was 4/13/2009.  When you save money, also think about how much you would have to earn (before taxes)

Information on tax freedom day 2009

http://www.taxfoundation.org/taxfreedomday/