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Home > Got Paid Again. Savings Up. Retirement Up. Debt is Down! Yeah!

Got Paid Again. Savings Up. Retirement Up. Debt is Down! Yeah!

March 17th, 2012 at 04:23 pm

Hello, everyone. I am starting to love payday. I used to hate it, because that's when I would see a mass amount of my money vanish from my bank account to debt and stuff I didn't really need. But things are looking up and that's good, very good. For example, the hubster and I have gradually migrating our entire house's light bulbs to LED. At first, they were a little expensive, so we would buy 1 bulb a month or something. But the price has come down to about $10.00 a bulb lately. And no, I do not want to discuss CFLS AT ALL. The mercury is bad for the environment, so I don't care how cheap they are. Anyway, on payday, I was paying the electric bill and wanted to see what impact this has had on the electric bill, because we had replaced 4 bulbs last month. From one month to the next, it went down 150 kilowatts! Wow. That's amazing! We just replaced 4 more on Friday, so I can't wait to see what happens next month.

My retirement account has increased quite a bit in the last few months. My house and emergency savings were somewhat depleted due to the need for tuckpointing on our house. Without it, we could have had serious structural issues down the road.

In the second week of April, I will be attending a professional conference in my state. It should only cost around $400 or so to attend, but I will only be reimbursed for $122. My professional savings account will be cleaned out for that. Ugh. Bummer. But I already have a plan for that reimbursement loot. I have agreed when I get my reimbursement that we will buy a ladder so that we can do some maintenance around our house a little easier. Changing light bulbs in some rooms and also outside is impossible without a ladder.

Well, I am still continuing my Food Challenge to be not only healthier but also financially free. Here are my meals for the week:

1) Spinach salad with cucumbers, onion, tuna, olive oil, apple cider vinegar. Side of walnuts and an orange. (3 meals)

2) Chicken salad with onion, salt, and pepper. Side of walnuts and an orange (2 meals)

3) Eggs with ham. Either omelets, scrambled, or fried over hard. Add seasonings and veggies. Smoothie with almond milk, flaxseed, oranage juice, and banana for a side. (3 meals)

4) Oatmeal with honey, raisins, almond milk, and cinnamon. (4 meals)

5) Stew made with ground bison meat, carrots, onions, black beans, and brown rice. (3 meals)

6) Spaghetti made with ground chicken, tomatoes, tomato paste, onions, mushrooms, and seasonings. (2 meals)

7) Chicken breasts and side of vegetables and rice. (2 meals)

7 Responses to “Got Paid Again. Savings Up. Retirement Up. Debt is Down! Yeah!”

  1. LuckyRobin Says:
    1332004394

    I have some questions about LED lights as I have been considering switching to them. Are they making them in the size to replace the standard bulbs that fit in most lamps and overhead lights? Where do you buy them. I've not seen them in the common places like the grocery stores. Do you have to go to a home improvement store like Lowe's or Home Depot? Or would somewhere like Walgreens or Walmart carry them? What does 150 KW translate into for money savings on the electric bill? Was there a noticeable dollar drop? In my experience, LED's can be violently bright. Do they have ones that put out a light similar to a 40 watt incandescent in light quality?

    I've got a couple I'm planning to start with, like the hall lamp that gets left on all night because the youngest does not like coming out in the dark to use the bathroom, or the porch light, and of course my reading lamp. Then like you, I will replace a few a month until they are all done. I've used the CFLS for years, but never really liked the glow they give off.

  2. Joan.of.the.Arch Says:
    1332004730

    The argument I have heard proposing that the compact fluorescents actually put less free mercury into the environment goes like this: Incandescent bulbs use a lot more electricity. In areas where electricty is generated at power plants burning coal, much more coal has to be burned to power those incandescent bulbs. Coal is full of mercury which is released when burned. Supposedly more mercury gets released through all that coal burning than through the production, use, and disposal of CFs. I have not really investigated this claim, but it is what I have read more than once.

  3. crazyliblady Says:
    1332008077

    Luckyrobin - They are making them in sizes to replace regular light bulbs. We did try a 60 watt LED bulb, but it seemed a little too bright. 40 watt ones seem perfectly adequate for our needs, except for really dark rooms like the basement. We have bought them at Home Depot and the brand we have been buying is Ecosmart, but there are others out there. The 40 watt ones consume about 1.4 watts or something like that. I have not seen the impact on my electric bill yet, except for the wattage, because I am on a level payment plan. The amount will reset in July. I don't know about whether they are at Walmart, as I refuse to shop there, but I have not seen them at my local Walgreens. For night lights, you might try LED night lights, which use about .3 watts.

    Joan.of.the.Arch - I don't know anything about coal and what it releases when burned. Our local power plant is powered by coal and there is nothing I can do about that other than getting a renewable energy source, like solar or wind. (I do plan to do that, by the way, but cannot right now.) I think to compare LEDs with incandescents is futile at this point, because we won't be able to buy incandescents soon. I don't care anyway. I would still go with LEDs just for the energy savings.

  4. PatientSaver Says:
    1332028473

    I feel very frustrated about all this cus i've read about how much better LEDs are compared to CFLS, and i went thru considerable expense to switch 90% of my bulbs to CFL. I don't like the idea of accidentally spewing mercury through my house if I drop and break one.

  5. ThriftoRama Says:
    1332087444

    Huh. $10? I had stopped considering them because a few years ago they were still $30 each. You've inspired me. I'm going to go buy a couple today and put them in my most-used fixtures. I'm amped! Thanks for the post!

  6. crazyliblady Says:
    1332091666

    You're welcome, ThriftoRama. If you can't find them locally, you can order the Ecosmart brand at the Home Depot website. I don't know how much shipping is.

  7. LuckyRobin Says:
    1332137530

    Thank you for answering my questions. I'm going to buy a couple tomorrow.

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