Frugal Or Tightwad? Just More Ways To Save Your Money!
OK, I have to admit it! I've been called a tightwad a few (maybe a lot) of times in my life. I prefer to think of myself as frugal, but either way, I know the value of a dollar. Shoot! I still stop and bend over to pick up a penny on the sidewalk.
Very few things irk me more than to purchase a product only to have it not last very long and then I have to spend more money to get a replacement, to say nothing of the time and effort wasted. If I'd just spent a little more money for a top quality product in the first place, I'd have saved money in the long run.
That line of thinking is what has driven me to choose only the top quality gear you find on these pages. I honestly want to save you money too! Below you will find some 'tightwad' tips that I have used over the years to save a bit of my hard-earned cash. You may find a few tips that you can incorporate into your trips to make it not only more enjoyable but less expensive too.
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Really Cheap Drinks To Go
1) I really enjoy iced or just cold tea. I have a 12 volt cooler next to my seat in the semi and I stock it with bottles of home brewed tea. I'm really not that wild about the commercial teas out there, so I, or my wife brew a big batch or two every week-end when I get home. We can brew a batch of 10 bottles for a total cost of about 35 cents which includes the tagless bags (about 2 bags per bottle), plus the cost of the sugar or sweetener and the lemon juice. Now the way I look at it, 3 1/2 cents a bottle sure beats the $1.39 or more price in the stores, and, I get it just the way I like it.
Now, about the bottles to put the tea in: On the occasion that I do get caught without a supply of tea, I break down and buy a drink from the store. When I do buy that drink from the store, I always choose from the ones that come in the heavy-guage plastic bottles with the screw-down caps. Those bottles are then rinsed out and taken home for a thorough cleaning and they become my tea bottles. They also work great for orange juice or about any type of noncarbonated drink you prefer.
If you choose to do something like this, be sure to keep the drink refrigerated in your cooler and don't expect more than about a week of freshness, since the bottles are not 'canned' under vacuum or totally sterile conditions. When storing the cleaned out bottles I always leave the lid off so the bottles keep aired out. Also, do not put the tea or other beverage in the bottles while it's hot. Let it cool down completely before pouring it in the bottles. (See the next two paragraphs.)
Johns Hopkins recently released the results of a study on breast cancer that may be caused by dioxin released from the plastic bottles when they get hot. Here is an excerpt from the email I received:
"Women should not drink bottled water that has been left in a car. The heat reacts with the chemicals in the plastic of the bottle which releases dioxin into the water. Dioxin is a toxin increasingly found in breast cancer tissue. So please be careful and do not drink bottled water that has been left in a car."
As long as we're on this subject, let me put in my 2 cents worth on bottled water: I suppose it wasn't such a big deal when the economy was doing so well, but now is a totally different story. Have you ever stopped to think about the cost of bottled water compared to gasoline? We gripe like the devil about the high cost of fuel while we're at the register buying a bottle of water that we're paying $10.00 or more per gallon for. (Do the math; 8, 16oz bottles per gallon @ about $1.39 per bottle is over $11.00 per gallon!) If you want filtered water on your trip, I would suggest getting a water filter or distiller and use the above bottle recycling method. Think of all the money you'll $ave.
While we're looking at saving money on cold drinks, let's talk about hot drinks. I've got a microwave in my semi. Therefore, I don't have a real problem heating my coffee or chocolate when I'm stopped. However, when I'm moving down the road I can't go back and heat something up. That's why I keep what we used to call a 'stinger' right next to my cupholder. This thing plugs in to the lighter socket and you stick the other end in your mug (ya gotta have liquid in it) and in a few minutes you've got a great hot drink.
I use mine for re-heating coffee, making instant coffee, hot chocolate, heating the water for those instant soups etc., etc. Now, don't go reachin' around and searching all over your vehicle to do this, but your passenger can do it while you're moving. YOU keep your hands on the wheel and eyes on the road!
I have not been able to find these at a good wholesale price, but you can find them on the web by searching 'Road Pro 12 volt beverage heater'. They sell for about $15.00 and you'll be able to save that much real quick. Also I have found them at some truck stops.
Slow Down and Save Money
2) In the last several months I've seen a marked slowing down of the general traffic flow. High fuel prices are the main reason for this slow down. One of the easiest ways to increase fuel mileage is to slow down. In light traffic I set my cruise control on or very close to the speed limit and sit back and enjoy the ride. In the higher speed limit areas I will set the cruise on pretty close to 62-64 mph to get pretty close to the best fuel mileage I can get. (Remember, I've got 13 gears and at 60 mph I'm just barely able to get into high gear.)
If you've got one of those fancy thing-a-ma-jigs that tell you the mileage you're getting while you're driving, it won't be a problem finding the best speed for your best mileage. If you don't have one of those things, you will have to do some guess work, but I'd bet that you'll get your best miles per gallon somewhere around 55-65 mph. Do not slow down, speed up, slow down etc. etc. A constant speed on the open level road will get you your best mpg.
Jack Rabbits Don't Save $$$$
3) Jack rabbit stops and starts will cost you money, not only by severely decreasing your fuel mileage but also in costly repairs needed before they should be. If you slam on the brakes when you don't need to, you'll be replacing brakes pads or shoes and rotors and other related parts a lot sooner than you would if you come to stops more slowly, and take off more slowly instead of jamming the throttle to the floor in a drag race to get up to speed.
Believe me, at the end of the day you'll be very close to just as far down the road and will be much more relaxed and ready to enjoy the evening and it will feel great knowing you've saved some money too. I've right now got very close to 1/2 million miles on my '06 Pete and have yet to have to replace any brake parts.
Along these same lines: I am ever amazed at how many people I see going down the road with their brake lights on. If you have an automatic and use your left foot for braking, when you get going again, git yer foot offin the dang brake! Even the slightest pressure on the brake pedal will cause a contact between the brake pads and the drums or rotors, thus wearing your brakes out way too fast and maybe causing heat build-up which can cause brake failure just when you need them most! This is to say nothing about the fact that those behind you have no warning when you're stopping if your brake lights are on all the time. Please be careful!
Again along the same line: When you are traveling on vacation or an extended trip, you probably have your car or pickup loaded heavier than normal. This extra weight will increase your stopping distance as well as increasing the pressure on your braking system. Be sure to follow at a greater distance than normal to allow for the added stopping distance.
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