Eco Alley
Living Green with Connie Pumphrey
Happily Ever After?
It’s easier to survive a downturn in the economy if we don’t have free spending habits. My husband is a frugal man (you did not hear cheap from me) and calculates the “after-tax” hours he would need to work to purchase non-essential items. As an example, he considers owning more than one pair of each type shoe (tennis, work, dress) a frivolous waste of his hard earned money. My goal is to use as few of Earth’s dwindling natural resources as possible so, without effort, we have compatible goals.
Using his analysis of expenditures, we calculated how many hours the “average” household works each month for basic expenses: Gas for trips to work (10 hours); electric bill (11 hours); heating fuel (avg 4 hours/mo); water & sewage (3 hours); cable/telephone/internet (10 hours); and mortgage/rent (85 hours). Totaled, people spend +75% of their working hours keeping a roof over their heads, the utilities on and the computer running. That figure caused hubby to swoon.
Interjecting my desire to conserve, most of our fixed expenses have been reduced by 15-20% and it wasn’t painful. We use less of Earth’s wonderful resources and save money in the process. It’s great to think that more of our hard earned money is going into savings for early retirement, a fishing boat, a decent vehicle, or college for my niece - instead of being frittered away just to keep the cat cozy (bless his heart).
Using my ancient HP, I calculated the retirement value of dollars saved spending less on utilities and it could add up to $75,000 (or more). Do I sound like my father? I’m willing to admit (now) that he made sense in many ways….waste not, want not – penny saved, penny earned - are you trying to heat the entire neighborhood? - you know the lectures. I LOVE shoes and have been accused of keeping new ones in a holding tank (trunk of car) but have honestly made progress there as well!
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Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 11/03/10 at 07:49 PM
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