Thrifty Home Improvement Part 2

Two weeks ago, I started a Thrifty Thursday series focusing on home improvement.  Part one focused on knowing your limits.

This week, I'm talking about the importance of planning ahead, prioritizing projects and paying cash.

Last summer, we had a list of projects we wanted to do before Emma arrived. We had saved money and had a set budget. That's step one to any project: set a budget and have cash. There's a time to use credit for home improvement,  in the middle of winter when the roof is leaking and you're expecting a storm. Yes, get the roof patched however possible. On the other hand, painting the house so it looks pretty is a cash project.

We made a list of all the projects we wanted to do and divided it into what we could do on our own and what we needed help with. We collected bids and calculated costs. We had also ranked projects in order of importance.  We were able to put in new windows, replace facia boards, replace gutters, repair stucco on front of the house, and color coat the front of the house. Painting the sides, back and patio cover would have to wait. Raised garden beds and planter boxes would also wait.

Next week I'll explain how we saved money on all these projects. (I know I promised part 2 would be about windows and paint,  but a discussion with a friend made me realize we need to talk about priorities and payment first.)

This summer we will be painting the rest of the house and patio cover, setting up raised planter beds for next year's garden, and putting in planter beds in the front yard. Each of these projects will be a post in the thrifty home improvement series.

Thrifty Thursday - Natural Living Blog Carnival

Welcome to the June 2013 Natural Living Blog Carnival: A Natural Challenge.

This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Natural Living Blog Carnival hosted by Happy Mothering and The Pistachio Project through the Green Moms Network. This month, our members took 1-2 weeks to explore a natural practice that they had yet to try. Today, they're going to tell you about their experience! Hopefully, you'll find some inspiration to try something new on one or more of the posts.

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This week I am participating in my first Natural Living Blog Carnival. Please come back next Thursday for Thrifty Home Improvement Part 2.

I've been reading the Natural Living Blog Carnival posts for about a year now and I finally decided to participate. I decided that since we already gave up our dryer (except for sheets since I can't figure out where I'd hang those), I would give up heat completely for laundry. For 2 weeks we washed all our clothes, including diapers, in cold water instead of a warm wash/cold rinse for clothes, and hot wash/cold rinse for diapers and we hung everything to dry (something we've been doing for about a year now). 

I was a little, well a lot concerned, that the diapers wouldn't be clean since everyone stresses to use hot water to get them clean. We had no staining or stink problems. I'm happy to say that our clothes all appear to be just as clean as when we use warm or hot water. I haven't received our  PG&E bill year, but I'm sure there will be a difference since we say a huge difference in our bill when we stopped using the dryer. 

The one thing I had to be diligent about was making sure to wash one load of laundry every day. I only have room for one load to dry on the rack at a time. Sometimes if we need things, I've cheated and used the dryer, but for these 2 weeks I was committed to staying on top of our laundry and didn't cheat. (This is huge for me.)

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Visit Happy Mothering and The Pistachio Project to learn more about participating in next month’s Natural Living Blog Carnival!

Please take some time to enjoy the posts our other carnival participants have contributed:









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Thrifty Home Improvement - Part 1

Thrifty Thursday is usually devoted to saving money on groceries.  This week & next week I'm writing about saving money on home improvement.

This week is about knowing your limits. It's one thing to paint your own home. It's another to rewire your home or mess with your plumbing. If you're not trained in electrical or plumbing, use caution with DIY projects and consider hiring help.

We recently replaced our guest bathroom toilet, installed a diaper sprayer and replaced our shower head. We hired a plumber to install the toilet and asked him about the other two projects. Since he was already here and they didn't take much time, he just did it for us at no additional cost. Awesome!

There's often a minimum time charged for maintenance jobs so even if your project takes less time you're charged the full amount, so be sure to use your time. Plan for all your plumbing and electrical projects to be done at once. This way you only pay for one service call.

Next week I'll be talking about saving money on windows and exterior paint.

Thrifty Baseball Game Outing

This week's Thrifty Thursday post is all about saving money at professional sports events.Robert and I are huge San Francisco Giants fans. We are lucky to live less than an hour from the stadium, so we can go to a game or two each season. Between tickets, parking and concessions costs, each game can easily run $250 or more. This simply isn't in our budget, so I've picked up some tips that have help save us at least $100 per game. 

1. Buy tickets when they're first on sale. Most sport teams use market rate pricing, so big games cost more and the closer it is to game day the tickets get more expensive.  We bought our tickets the day they went on sale and paid just under $100 total for 2 tickets. 4 weeks before the game they would have cost $118 each. 
2. Parking lots closer to the stadium are $40. If you're willing to walk a few extra blocks you can find parking for $30. If public transportation is an option you can cut your parking cost completely.
3. You can bring soft sided coolers into the stadium. Food has to be wrapped in clear plastic, and apples and oranges must be quartered. Unopened plastic bottles and juice pouches/boxes are allowed. I froze two Capri Suns to use as ice in our cooler. I packed 6 bottles of water, sandwiches,  chips, oranges, strawberries, and snacks. I bought a few candy treats and some peanuts from the bulk bins at Winco so we weren't tempted to buy anything at the stadium. We each had a beer to enjoy as our treat with dinner and called it good. 

 Our Cost - $186
Tickets - $100
Parking - $30
Gas - $20
Toll - $6
Beer - $20 (YIKES!)
Dinner & snacks - $10

Non-Thrifty Cost - $388
Tickets - $236
Parking - $40
Gas - $20
Toll - $6
Beer - $20 (YIKES!)
Dinner & snacks - $36

Water - $30 ($5 for a bottle of water is RIDICULOUS)

Total Savings - $202

Little things add up. Read up on stadium policies and see what you can and can't bring with you so you can save money and still see your favorite teams.

Lou Seal!

The happiest place on Earth!

Go Giants!

Sandwiches, and some snacks. I added more fruit and water before we left.