Your Daily Savings Tips

This post is Part 14 of our 21 part series designed to help you find ways to spend less and save more.  With over 41 tips you can already bank on, we’re still going strong.  Here are three more tips you can put to work immediately:

42) Use your microwave instead of your regular oven.  Which costs more to operate, a microwave or conventional oven?  The answer is your conventional oven costs more because it uses up to 3 times the energy.  In fact, according to a post at Treehugger.com even a countertop toaster oven will typically consume more power than a microwave.

If you think some foods cook better in microwaves than others, perhaps it’s worth trying a new technique.  I’ve always found microwaves great for reheating leftovers, but recently a friend put me on to using ceramic bakeware (with a lid) in my microwave for cooking main course meals.  I’ve cooked a complete chicken dinner in about 15 minutes this way…something that would take me an hour in the oven.

Try downloading an Amazon app to your phone. Talk about convenient.

43) Buy an e-book reader. There are now a number of options for e-book readers.  Why get one?  Because if you read many books at all, you can get all the latest titles at a huge discount off the price of a printed book.  Amazon’s Kindle is still the most popular, coming in both Wi-Fi and 3g+Wi-Fi models.  For a list of the top ten e-book models and how they stack up, check this post from TopTenREVIEWS.

What other options are there for cheap reading?  Of course, you can always go to the library to borrow a book, but if you have an Apple i-Phone i-Pad or i-Touch, you may already be familiar with Stanza, an application which lets you download and read thousands of titles (many for free). Note: If you have a PC, there is also a beta version of Stanza for PC’s available.

Why else should you consider buying an e-book reader?  (1) You can store an entire library of books on a device that will fit in the palm of your hand.  (2) You can help save trees by using less paper.  (3) Owning fewer books means you’ll have more space to store other things. (4) You can now get many textbooks as electronic downloads so you can cut down on the weight of carrying all those big heavy books.

Stop! If you're only washing a few items, cut down on the amount of detergent.

44) Use less laundry detergent. Doing the laundry so that your clothes actually get clean is a bit more complicated than dumping them into the washer, adding a cup of detergent and pressing the on button.   Getting really clean clothes is dependent on a number of things:  Selecting the correct water temperature, adjusting for the hardness of the water, selecting the correct cycle for heavy or more delicate fabrics, getting the correct ratio of clothes to water and using the proper amount of detergent.  Use too much detergent and you can actually end up with clothes that are saturated with soap scum.  Use too little and body oils may stick to the fabrics.  For a good post on all facets of doing the laundry see this New Mexico State University Guide.

If you’re basically happy with the way you do laundry, but are still looking for ways to save, consider adjusting the amount of soap you use for the size of load.  If you use a full cup of detergent for a big load, use half a cup for a medium load and a quarter cup for a small one.  Detergents are easy to use in excess which means you could be throwing money down the drain.  And let’s not forget about the environment: Though we have some new biodegradable options, most laundry and dish-washing detergents still contain phosphates which get in the ground water, seep into lakes and streams and end up destroying our fish and wildlife habitats.

Please tell your friends about us and come back tomorrow!

By Bob Anderson

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