Hypermiling your life
Posted
Jul 09 2008, 03:01 AM
by
Donna Freedman
Yesterday I was thinking about "hypermilers," those folks who go to great lengths to squeeze maximum mileage from their cars. While of course I strive for the best mileage possible, I don't hypermile -- with my car, that is. As a frugalist, I hypermile my whole life.
Meal plans, shopping, entertainment, transportation, utility usage, gift-giving -- all are done with an eye toward achieving maximum bang for the buck.
Plenty of you are right there with me, if posts on the Smart Spending message board and the comments about my articles are any indication.
Of course, some of you think I'm parsimonious, pitiful or a few quarters short of a roll. Perhaps that's because you've never felt the endorphin rush of a successful coupon coup or experienced the satisfaction of being debt-free and able to plan for the future.
Readers employ all kinds of hypermile frugality: snowflaking, shopping secondhand stores, working opposing shifts so someone is always home with the kids, taking second jobs to pay down debt, growing and preserving food, having one car (or no car), furnishing homes through Freecycle, biking to work, selling things on the Internet, recycling cans, feeding themselves the "freegan" way.
What price savings?
Back in September I wrote an article about the extremes to which some people will go to save money. Some reader ideas were clever, some were arguably false economies, and some were downright unethical. For example, I would never date someone just to get free meals.
And everyone has his own personal "ick" factor. I know that it makes ecological sense not to flush the toilet every time you use it. But…ick. I'm also not anxious to use someone else's bathwater -- a moot point, because I live alone -- or to wash and reuse dental floss. Double ick.
However, to me it's natural to brown-bag it, use up all leftovers, dry clothes on a rack instead of in the dryer, combine coupons with loss leaders, walk to errands, or use public transit whenever possible. To me, that's just common sense. To those who didn't grow up with frugal parents, it's all new.
A few examples
Familiar with the phrase "loss leader"? These artificially low prices can and should be combined with manufacturer coupons in order to help you fight recent increases in grocery prices. Some of my recent examples: pasta for 22 cents per pound, two 24-ounce jars of bread and butter pickles for $1.50, tuna for 33 cents a can, two 14-ounce bags of dark chocolate M&Ms for $1.50, canned fruit for 25 cents, Kellogg's cereals for 50 cents per box (they're headed for the food bank, since I'm an oatmeal purist), 12 rolls of toilet paper for 64 cents, and two bottles of barbecue sauce, two bottles of salad dressing and two 3.5-ounce Dove chocolate bars that were completely free.
Last week I transferred a prescription to get a free $30 gift card. In other words, they're giving me $30 for spending $4.97 on a product I would have had buy anyway. It's the fourth transfer for this particular medication, bringing me to $115 worth of cards. So far.
The "used bread" store recently mailed out coupons. I retrieved mailers tossed into the lobby recycle bin and was able to get six loaves of multigrain bread ($4.55 each in the supermarket) and two packages of onion rolls absolutely free. Because the bread outlet is only a little over a mile from my apartment, I didn't even have to drive.
Do you drop your spent printer ink cartridges in the e-cycle bin? Some brands are worth $3 in store credit at Office Depot, Staples and Office Max. Use the scrip to get free snacks, paper goods, trash bags, cleaning products, holiday gifts -- or office supplies. Recently I "bought" Sweet'n Low, pretzels and a 10-pack of juice boxes, plus school supplies for a social services agency to distribute.
Free, or nearly so
Thanks to the combination of coupons and single-check rebates, I've gotten a ton of free stuff recently: toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorants, tampons, antacids, diabetic cereal, shampoo and painkillers. Some of it I kept, but most items went to a local emergency pantry.
The garage sale season has begun. Two weeks ago I scored a fabulous deal on canning supplies, and last weekend I got a Sudoku book, a New York Times crossword puzzle collection and two great novels for a total of $1. In the past I've bought household goods, clothing, and birthday and Christmas gifts at yard sales.
A few days ago I bought a pair of brand-new Eddie Bauer jeans for 99 cents at a local thrift store. Like yard sales, secondhand stores may yield great gifts along with the necessities of life. A family member has had success buying items at thrift shops and selling them on eBay.
A little R&R
School ended for me on June 11. On June 12 I was at the public library, thrilled that I once more had time to read for pleasure. Magazines, books, CDs, DVDs -- and all of it free. The Seattle library system has an adult summer reading program, with prizes to be given at the end of the season. I'm in.
Recently I also did something that I hadn't done for more than a year: I went to the movies, twice -- and for free! That's because I'd sent away for tickets to AMC movie theaters through My Coke Rewards. I may also redeem a gift card to the Regal theater chain through the MyPoints program.
The past couple of university quarters have been stressful: full-time classes, a couple of part-time jobs, heavy reading loads, studying, papers, my daughter's wedding and a death in the family. I promised myself a reward: a 90-minute massage that with my student discount will cost $75.
That's a lot of money, but I'm going to do it anyway because I have begun to budget for the occasional treat. Besides, I can afford to splurge on some items as a result of saving money on everything else.
Why do this?
Some people who hypermile their cars see it as a kind of challenge: How can I wring every possible mile out of each tank? Others may have to stretch a fill-up because payday is a long way off, or perhaps they want to reduce their oil dependency.
I hypermile my life for all three reasons. It's a game to see how little I can spend to meet all needs (and some wants). Living prudently helps me conserve funds throughout a pay period, and beyond.
Most important to me is the feeling that I'm not dependent on stuff. I don't need a constant stream of new and/or expensive items and experiences. That's one reason that a 90-minute massage feels like such a luxury. I've waited for it, I've budgeted for it -- and since I'm using my student discount, I'm hypermiling it.
There's tremendous satisfaction to be gained from making every dollar account for itself. But there are some things I will not do, such as making my own soap with lye and bacon fat. However, there are plenty of things that I will do. That includes flushing each time I use the toilet.
