Frugal Living: Downsize Your Living Expenses
Karen L. Harris

Companies downsize all the time. It is a way for them the save on expenses in the hopes of earning a larger profit. It's a great idea (unless, of course, the downsizing means you'll be out of a job!). The concept of downsizing can be applied to your household budget as well. It is fairly easy to do if you're dedicated--and I guarantee you won't have to "lay-off" the kids. You simply need to be conscious of what your true expenses are and take steps to control spending.

Money constantly slips through our fingers. It happens to everyone. The key to frugal living lies in making your finger water-tight to stop the flow of wasted money. Obvious tips like curbing impulse spending and cutting back on credit card debt help tremendously but there are so many other areas in which cost-cutting can yield big savings. There are tips and tricks for nearly every area in your home and in your life that can be applied to save you money. Take, for instance, something as mundane as washing dishes.

Your dishes come just as clean in cold water as they do in hot water, and water temperature has no bearing on how sanitary your dishes are. I heard that tip from a health inspector. So you can save a little on water heater cost by washing your dishes in cold or warm water rather than hot water. And in the heat of the summer, it is really refreshing to plunge your hands into chilly water.

If you have a dishwasher, you can save, too. First, I know it sounds obvious, but don't run the dishwasher unless it is full. In the past, I found myself running the dishwasher when it was half full because I have company coming over and I thought it was vitally important to have all the dishes clean. It took me a while to realize that, more often that not, I didn't unload and put away the dishes before the guests arrived. The dishes just sat in the dishwasher. They could have just as easily sat their unwashed until later. My friends and family have yet to look in the dishwasher and chide me for having dirty dishes.

Another way to save is to buy the cheapest dishwashing soap you can find and fill the rinse cup with vinegar every time you wash a load of dishes. Vinegar is cheap, especially if you buy off-brands. Your dishes will come out sparkling and you don't need to waste your money on expensive dishwasher rinsers. Also, try reading the

label on your dishwasher soap box for the suggested amount of soap. Most people over-fill the soap containers in their dishwashers, wasting soap. Half full will often do the trick.

Check your water heater temperature. Most water heaters are set at 140 to 160 degrees but they don't need to be that hot. Lowering the temperature to 110 to 115 degrees will lower your utility bills but won't make a noticeable difference in how clean your dishes are.

Another money-saving tip is to shut off the dishwasher before it hits the dry cycle. The dry cycle runs for a long time and using unnecessary energy. Just shut off the dishwasher and open the door to let the dishes air dry. They actually seem to dry faster this way and it adds moisture to the air. We heat with wood so any way we could add humidity to the air, we try, and this one really works. Check back here often for more frugal tips and links to some of the best frugal web-sites on the net. I'll be talking about frugal Christmas gift ideas, post-Halloween savings, laundry tips, and ways to save money at the grocery store. Until next time, keep pinching those pennies!