Saving Money as Prices Increase

[HawkinsHollow]

It is obvious prices are on the rise. It is not awful yet, but some think it will get considerably worse. I am not one to get caught with my pants down. SO, I was hoping to gain some insight on things y'all are doing or plan on doing to make the blow not quite as bad.

I am in pretty good shape, better than most probably but we can always do more.
Some things that I am planning on doing or everyday life things that help my situation.

Heating - We live in the SE TN so heating costs are not a huge issue. We have a reasonably efficient heat pump as our main source of heat. On top of that we also have a wood stove in our living room that we use to supplement in the winter. When it is cold and I am home like on weekends our heat pump doesn't run. NEW PROCEDURE - I also plan on running an oil filled radiator during the week while my wife is home so the heat pump doesn't have to work too hard. Probably one in her office and one in the main living space.

Transportation - We both drive 28 to 30 mpg vehicles as our daily drivers, so that helps. And my commute to work is 4 miles, wife works from home. My farm truck is a 85 F250 that get 7 mpg, not much I can do about that except drive it only when necessary.

Food Stuffs- Prices of food are on the rise. Beef and other meats are following right along. I have a deer and a half in the freezer and half a wild boar. Hopefully put another deer in there soon. Also plan on doing the usual gardening this spring. Hopefully seeds will not be in short supply. Might even start it out a little early this year with a cold frame or DIY greenhouse.

Those are the things I have thought about so far. What else have y'all thought about to help ease the sting of rising prices. REALLY value the collective braintrust that is TBN. What are you doing/gonna do different?

 

[ultrarunner]

Cut back a lot the last 18 months and see no reason to change now...

Just about everyone I work with is on a travel binge with Hawaii and Vegas topping the list...

Hundreds of dollars for Covid Testing, Out of this world car rentals, high food costs, etc...

Staying close to home is one way to save...

Not going out, doing more yourself avoids the labor shortages are all ways to keep expenses in check...

 

[Jstpssng]

I've got my winter supply of wood in for "free" heat. My freezer has pork, chicken and turkey enough to last me a long time, plus I have another pig in the field waiting to go to slaughter. (Only half is mine this year, I gave the other half to neighbors who looked after my animals when I had to be away unexpectedly.) I have a company truck so they pay for gas in that. Also enough canned goods on hand to last around 3 weeks... after the food in two freezers are gone. Those are the easy things...
Although winter's approaching I have multiple coled-tolerant vegetables started out in the garden including broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, chard, and lettuce. I plan to build hoops over the beds to help keep heat in and hope to be able to start harvesting around Thanksgiving. Some of my laying hens are getting old and may become dog food as winter approaches. They laid like gang busters for almost a year but now are tapering off; I've been giving dozens of eggs away anyways so won't miss feeding them.

 

[jaxs]

There's not many opertunities open to cut back since I'm no longer working and already living on a tight budget. at 77 it get's harder every year to handle yard work,vehicle repair and keep the house up. I'll soon be in trouble when I start hiring everything done.

 

[Doughknob]

I plan on making more money to ease the sting.

 

[etpm]

It is obvious prices are on the rise. It is not awful yet, but some think it will get considerably worse. I am not one to get caught with my pants down. SO, I was hoping to gain some insight on things y'all are doing or plan on doing to make the blow not quite as bad.

I am in pretty good shape, better than most probably but we can always do more.
Some things that I am planning on doing or everyday life things that help my situation.

Heating - We live in the SE TN so heating costs are not a huge issue. We have a reasonably efficient heat pump as our main source of heat. On top of that we also have a wood stove in our living room that we use to supplement in the winter. When it is cold and I am home like on weekends our heat pump doesn't run. NEW PROCEDURE - I also plan on running an oil filled radiator during the week while my wife is home so the heat pump doesn't have to work too hard. Probably one in her office and one in the main living space.

Transportation - We both drive 28 to 30 mpg vehicles as our daily drivers, so that helps. And my commute to work is 4 miles, wife works from home. My farm truck is a 85 F250 that get 7 mpg, not much I can do about that except drive it only when necessary.

Food Stuffs- Prices of food are on the rise. Beef and other meats are following right along. I have a deer and a half in the freezer and half a wild boar. Hopefully put another deer in there soon. Also plan on doing the usual gardening this spring. Hopefully seeds will not be in short supply. Might even start it out a little early this year with a cold frame or DIY greenhouse.

Those are the things I have thought about so far. What else have y'all thought about to help ease the sting of rising prices. REALLY value the collective braintrust that is TBN. What are you doing/gonna do different?

Please explain how an oil filled radiator lessens the work, and hence the energy used, by your heat pump. I am truly curious about this.
Thanks,
Eric

 

[HawkinsHollow]

They are a small electric radiator that is filled with oil. So once they get up to temperature it does not take much energy to keep them there. They are way more efficient than your average radiant electric coil heater, I have been told, but honestly I have no real numbers to support that. They do a surprisingly good job heating smaller spaces. They look like this.

 

[4570Man]

They are a small electric radiator that is filled with oil. So once they get up to temperature it does not take much energy to keep them there. They are way more efficient than your average radiant electric coil heater, I have been told, but honestly I have no real numbers to support that. They do a surprisingly good job heating smaller spaces. They look like this.

View attachment 719714

Electric resistance heat is already 100 percent efficient. I don’t see how any of the so called magic heaters do anything special. The only way any space heater could save energy is by heating a smaller area than your main furnace. But any $20 space heater could do that.

 

[etpm]

They are a small electric radiator that is filled with oil. So once they get up to temperature it does not take much energy to keep them there. They are way more efficient than your average radiant electric coil heater, I have been told, but honestly I have no real numbers to supp

They are a small electric radiator that is filled with oil. So once they get up to temperature it does not take much energy to keep them there. They are way more efficient than your average radiant electric coil heater, I have been told, but honestly I have no real numbers to support that. They do a surprisingly good job heating smaller spaces. They look like this.

View attachment 719714

Every electric heater is 100% efficient. That is to say that all the electricity they consume is turned into heat. Heating an oil filled radiator does not change the efficiency. The hot oil, acting as a heat sink, may cause the best pump to cycle less, but the heater will still use the same amount of energy, electricity, as any other heater that heats the room to the same temperature for the same length of time. This is basic physics.
Eric

 

[jyoutz]

It is obvious prices are on the rise. It is not awful yet, but some think it will get considerably worse. I am not one to get caught with my pants down. SO, I was hoping to gain some insight on things y'all are doing or plan on doing to make the blow not quite as bad.

I am in pretty good shape, better than most probably but we can always do more.
Some things that I am planning on doing or everyday life things that help my situation.

Heating - We live in the SE TN so heating costs are not a huge issue. We have a reasonably efficient heat pump as our main source of heat. On top of that we also have a wood stove in our living room that we use to supplement in the winter. When it is cold and I am home like on weekends our heat pump doesn't run. NEW PROCEDURE - I also plan on running an oil filled radiator during the week while my wife is home so the heat pump doesn't have to work too hard. Probably one in her office and one in the main living space.

Transportation - We both drive 28 to 30 mpg vehicles as our daily drivers, so that helps. And my commute to work is 4 miles, wife works from home. My farm truck is a 85 F250 that get 7 mpg, not much I can do about that except drive it only when necessary.

Food Stuffs- Prices of food are on the rise. Beef and other meats are following right along. I have a deer and a half in the freezer and half a wild boar. Hopefully put another deer in there soon. Also plan on doing the usual gardening this spring. Hopefully seeds will not be in short supply. Might even start it out a little early this year with a cold frame or DIY greenhouse.

Those are the things I have thought about so far. What else have y'all thought about to help ease the sting of rising prices. REALLY value the collective braintrust that is TBN. What are you doing/gonna do different?

I get 2 steer calves every third year and feed them out. I sell one steer and send the other to the packer for us. Enough to fill the freezer for the next 3 years. The garden fills the other freezer and jars in the store room.

 

[jyoutz]

They are a small electric radiator that is filled with oil. So once they get up to temperature it does not take much energy to keep them there. They are way more efficient than your average radiant electric coil heater, I have been told, but honestly I have no real numbers to support that. They do a surprisingly good job heating smaller spaces. They look like this.

View attachment 719714

I love those. We have one in our garage store room and use it during the winter.

 

[not2old]

About 1/2 of our income is from condo rentals. We will get by, but it would be a lot easier if the government didn't force us to subsidize our tenants. One condo is rented at current market at $1100 per month. Four just got their rent raised by $12.00 to $812, maximum allowed after three years with no increase, due mostly to covid. If this continues, we will sell out and reinvest elsewhere.

 

[Diggin It]

Weird the stuff people argue about.

An electric radiant heater may be '100% efficient' but only when it's on and burning watts. The oil in those heaters retains and distributes heat between power on cycles. On for five minutes, off for ten uses less watts than on for fifteen minutes. Many of them are 1,000 or 1,500 watts instead of higher wattage 'glowing' red hot' radiant units.


On canning and freezing. Considering the months of growing and all the costs of seed, fertilizers, insect and disease control, the labor involved in all of that plus the harvesting, then the labor and energy used in preparing, canning or freezing, not to mention the supplies needed for those, are you really saving anything? Has anyone really counted the beans for all of that? And then, is the resulting food really all that much better? Fresh is, I won't argue that, but this is about the stored stuff six months later. Heating a kitchen for days at a time (between cooking what needs to be cooked and heating the canning jars) isn't free. Standing over a hot stove or sink isn't fun.


It's the same with wood for heat. It ain't 'free'. It may or may not cost less overall than utilities, and it's nice to have heat when there is an outage of some kind, but it's an incredible lot of work. I've only done it for less than 10 years and I'm about done with it. I have no wood stored for this winter, opting for gas this time around. I have a few small sections of log I could cut and split in an emergency. I changed home owner's insurance and this company doesn't cover 'solid fuel' sources which saved me a few hundred dollars. At least they didn't require removal of the stove and vent pipes (yet), so I could use it at my own risk.

It's all about individual choices and what works for one, won't for another. There is no one right way to any of these methods.

 

[HawkinsHollow]

Every electric heater is 100% efficient. That is to say that all the electricity they consume is turned into heat. Heating an oil filled radiator does not change the efficiency. The hot oil, acting as a heat sink, may cause the best pump to cycle less, but the heater will still use the same amount of energy, electricity, as any other heater that heats the room to the same temperature for the same length of time. This is basic physics.
Eric

So you are telling me one of these

Heats a slightly drafty 1950's rancher as effectively as an oil filled radiator using the SAME EXACT amount of watts?
I would have to argue that. OK, maybe they are not "way more" efficient, excuse that false claim. But they are also less noisy than those fan ones and safer.

Now maybe put them both is an insulated box without windows or doors opening, maybe.

Regardless, it makes me feel like it's using less energy, and feeling good is good enough for me and Bobby McGee!

 

[HawkinsHollow]

Weird the stuff people argue about.

An electric radiant heater may be '100% efficient' but only when it's on and burning watts. The oil in those heaters retains and distributes heat between power on cycles. On for five minutes, off for ten uses less watts than on for fifteen minutes. Many of them are 1,000 or 1,500 watts instead of higher wattage 'glowing' red hot' radiant units.


On canning and freezing. Considering the months of growing and all the costs of seed, fertilizers, insect and disease control, the labor involved in all of that plus the harvesting, then the labor and energy used in preparing, canning or freezing, not to mention the supplies needed for those, are you really saving anything? Has anyone really counted the beans for all of that? And then, is the resulting food really all that much better? Fresh is, I won't argue that, but this is about the stored stuff six months later. Heating a kitchen for days at a time (between cooking what needs to be cooked and heating the canning jars) isn't free. Standing over a hot stove or sink isn't fun.


It's the same with wood for heat. It ain't 'free'. It may or may not cost less overall than utilities, and it's nice to have heat when there is an outage of some kind, but it's an incredible lot of work. I've only done it for less than 10 years and I'm about done with it. I have no wood stored for this winter, opting for gas this time around. I have a few small sections of log I could cut and split in an emergency. I changed home owner's insurance and this company doesn't cover 'solid fuel' sources which saved me a few hundred dollars. At least they didn't require removal of the stove and vent pipes (yet), so I could use it at my own risk.

It's all about individual choices and what works for one, won't for another. There is no one right way to any of these methods.

In your first breath you say it is funny about what people on TBN argue about (which I totally agree with, never seen more know it alls in one place, ever) and then in your next breath you refute the usefulness of canning, gardening and heating with wood to save money. Hard to defend your logic here.

I don't think I asked your opinion about the things I am doing to save money. I asked if you are doing anything different as prices increased.

I have gained so much knowledge from TBN, lots of smart people here. But one thing I hate about it is the amount of times threads turn into a pissing match about who is doing things right and who is doing things wrong. IN THEIR OPINION!!! There are times when it is useful, often times it is not. Think about how often that happens here, you know it does. Have a great weekend!

 

[tibadoe]

They are a small electric radiator that is filled with oil. So once they get up to temperature it does not take much energy to keep them there. They are way more efficient than your average radiant electric coil heater, I have been told, but honestly I have no real numbers to support that. They do a surprisingly good job heating smaller spaces. They look like this.

View attachment 719714

We have one of these for many years also. Does a great job at fraction of the cost to operate. When it gets really cold we pull it out of the closet.

Not doing anything really different than the OP. Besides staying around home most of the time: Freezer & nonperishable items good to go. Wood & propane good shape. I did stock up on 2 oil services worth of supplies (oil, oil filters, fuel treatment, cabin& engine filters) for each vehicle, tractor, and small engine - just in case. Should be good to go.

 

[HawkinsHollow]

@tibadoe I like your idea about stocking up on oil services. I need to change the oil anyways. Thanks for that tip!

 

[Doughknob]

I plan to burn wood. Oh wait.....i already do.
I plan to not use AC. Oh wait..... i don't have AC.
I plan to work from home. Oh wait..... i already do.
I plan to eat out less. Oh wait.....i dont eat out now.

 

[Paddy]

HawkinsHollow,

Comments about efficiency is either a truth or not. opinions do not come into play in physics. You made a comment regarding saving money by using such a device. Your friends here just informed you that there are no cost savings.

One point I did not see yet was, the Heat pump is in fact far more efficient, many modern units have a coefficient of nearly 3. This means for every 1 Btu you buy in power, you get 3 Btu's back!

 

[EddieWalker]

We're trying to adjust to inflation by cutting expenses where we can and be more mindful of what we buy. My wife has started working from home most days and when she does go in to her office, she makes a full day of it to deal with everything that needs to be done while there. We have switched to heating the house with wood 100%. I believe the cost of gas to run the chainsaw, log splitter and diesel for the tractor is less then what it was to heat the house with electricity. It also makes a huge difference when the power goes off, like it did for almost a week last year. We are up to 100 chickens and we're selling and trading eggs, but also eating them. We canceled Dish and use an Antenna now for TV. I've been clearing my fence line for years, but now it's become a priority to get the fence built so we can increase our goat numbers and have a few steers for meat. This is going to be a big expense now, but we feel that it's a good long term investment. I'm also increasing what I charge clients by a small amount to deal with the jump in gasoline and all of my other expenses. So far, they haven't complained or said anything, but it makes me nervous to charge more when they are spending more for everything else. A lot of my work is starting to change from remodels to home repairs. People are wanting to make sure that what they have now, will last, and not spend it on making their homes fancier. I think that this is going to be the trend into the future if things remain the same.