Author Topic: First month Mustachian  (Read 5638 times)

Fatmouse

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First month Mustachian
« on: June 16, 2014, 08:53:02 PM »
List of small things that have changed in my life within a month of finding this blog:
Self-reliance:
1. Dismissed idea SO and I had been considering re: getting  housekeeping service
2. Took on a minor cosmetic home repair that I was going to hire a handyman for (and it turned out to be stupid easy!)
Power usage:
3. Have relied on ceiling fans, opening windows at night, adjusting blinds.  Almost no A/C
4.  Stopped "heated dry" on dishwasher
Food:
5. Bulk-purchased healthy snacks and tea for office, eliminating need for individual outings for snacks and coffee (will just take short walks instead, as I still enjoy the break)
6.  Love the MMM suggestion of mixing cereal with raw oats, box of cereal lasts 4x as long and breakfast keeps me fuller longer.  Also started using almond milk, which is budget neutral compared to what I used to buy, but tasty!

Starting to identify the bigger dollar things in my life that can change, but right now I am enjoying the stubble!

Suit

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Re: First month Mustachian
« Reply #1 on: June 16, 2014, 09:10:48 PM »
Good job! Keep it up!

Neustache

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Re: First month Mustachian
« Reply #2 on: June 17, 2014, 06:56:10 AM »
You've inspired me to go without "heated dry" on dishwasher.  Any idea of what it costs to have it heated?  That will inspire me even more! Ha!


4alpacas

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Re: First month Mustachian
« Reply #3 on: June 17, 2014, 11:01:17 AM »
List of small things that have changed in my life within a month of finding this blog:
Self-reliance:
1. Dismissed idea SO and I had been considering re: getting  housekeeping service
2. Took on a minor cosmetic home repair that I was going to hire a handyman for (and it turned out to be stupid easy!)
Power usage:
3. Have relied on ceiling fans, opening windows at night, adjusting blinds.  Almost no A/C
4.  Stopped "heated dry" on dishwasher
Food:
5. Bulk-purchased healthy snacks and tea for office, eliminating need for individual outings for snacks and coffee (will just take short walks instead, as I still enjoy the break)
6.  Love the MMM suggestion of mixing cereal with raw oats, box of cereal lasts 4x as long and breakfast keeps me fuller longer.  Also started using almond milk, which is budget neutral compared to what I used to buy, but tasty!

Starting to identify the bigger dollar things in my life that can change, but right now I am enjoying the stubble!

This is my big weekday saver too!  Plus my snacks are so much better than the vending machine.

Greg

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Re: First month Mustachian
« Reply #4 on: June 17, 2014, 02:11:53 PM »
You've inspired me to go without "heated dry" on dishwasher.  Any idea of what it costs to have it heated?  That will inspire me even more! Ha!

The heating element is best suited for heating water, so it's a pretty big user of electricity when drying the dishes.  Probably (WAG here) about 1/3 or better of the total energy of a load of dishes.

I've found that by not using the heat dry, and simply opening the dishwasher when the cycle is complete, the dishes are hot enough from the water that they dry pretty quickly just air drying.  It also serves as a reminder that they need to be emptied.

SingleMomDebt

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Re: First month Mustachian
« Reply #5 on: June 17, 2014, 09:27:36 PM »
Nice job! Keep it up!

Regarding MMM DIY projects, I learned how to fix my DVD player for a $5 part from Radio Shack (and learned how to solder, too).

La Bibliotecaria Feroz

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Re: First month Mustachian
« Reply #6 on: June 17, 2014, 10:25:12 PM »
Good for you! I tried the raw oats with cereal, but couldn't hack it. For my kids, though, I do the uncooked overnight yogurt oatmeal, which is another healthy way to eat more oats.

Fatmouse

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Re: First month Mustachian
« Reply #7 on: June 18, 2014, 06:29:37 AM »
Back to add one more, in the Self-Reliance category:  my SO agreed tom let me cut his hair.  He gets a very simple buzz cut once every two months or so, usually for $20 a pop.  Let's say 50 haircuts over 10 years at $20 a pop (this service is expensive in DC), amounts to $1,000 savings.  :)

Ottawa

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Re: First month Mustachian
« Reply #8 on: June 18, 2014, 06:41:12 AM »
Good for you! I tried the raw oats with cereal, but couldn't hack it. For my kids, though, I do the uncooked overnight yogurt oatmeal, which is another healthy way to eat more oats.

This is awesome - our 5 yo loves the stuff.  It is also infinitely variable in flavours and permutations.  It is a large time saver in the morning too! 

frugalparagon - we make two mornings worth at a time - do you stretch it out more than this?  It would be great if you could make the whole week, assembly line style, on Sunday night.  Would Friday morning's fridge oatmeal be...dodgy?

HairyUpperLip

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Re: First month Mustachian
« Reply #9 on: June 18, 2014, 07:49:17 AM »
Back to add one more, in the Self-Reliance category:  my SO agreed tom let me cut his hair.  He gets a very simple buzz cut once every two months or so, usually for $20 a pop.  Let's say 50 haircuts over 10 years at $20 a pop (this service is expensive in DC), amounts to $1,000 savings.  :)

I cut my own hair and also sport a buzz cut style - clippers with no guard.

I'd suggest increasing the frequency of the haircuts. Will help always have a cleaner look. I try to do mine every other week.

and also--- AWESOME work on everything! keep it up!

La Bibliotecaria Feroz

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Re: First month Mustachian
« Reply #10 on: June 18, 2014, 08:36:07 AM »
Good for you! I tried the raw oats with cereal, but couldn't hack it. For my kids, though, I do the uncooked overnight yogurt oatmeal, which is another healthy way to eat more oats.

This is awesome - our 5 yo loves the stuff.  It is also infinitely variable in flavours and permutations.  It is a large time saver in the morning too! 

frugalparagon - we make two mornings worth at a time - do you stretch it out more than this?  It would be great if you could make the whole week, assembly line style, on Sunday night.  Would Friday morning's fridge oatmeal be...dodgy?

I would think so! It only takes a minute to mix it up, so I do it the night before. It seems like if you tried to stretch it too long, the oatmeal would swell up and get nasty. And milk, of course, is only good for seven days in the fridge, so you would have to have brand-new milk. Maybe just try doing, say, a third day and take it from there!

I saw someone commenting on cutting their SO's hair--my husband is very particular and won't let me try this (nor would I want the responsibility) but he does cut our two toddlers' hair with clippers. We figure by the time they are old enough to care much, he will have gotten pretty good :-).

Fatmouse

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Re: First month Mustachian
« Reply #11 on: June 18, 2014, 07:44:34 PM »

I'd suggest increasing the frequency of the haircuts. Will help always have a cleaner look. I try to do mine every other week.

and also--- AWESOME work on everything! keep it up!

Agreed!  In addition to being more wealthy, this routine may also result in SO looking more "well kept"! Lol.  He tends to look pretty darn shaggy between buzzes.  He used to procrastinate on getting it cut because it took him forever to drive to a place to get his haircut.   The Mustachian points multiply further for eliminating this additional excuse to be in a car!  Also, he says he really likes getting his hair cut by someone who loves him. Win win win.

dude

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Re: First month Mustachian
« Reply #12 on: June 19, 2014, 08:29:01 AM »
congrats!  always eye-opening when you take a microscope to the spending situation!

purplepants

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Re: First month Mustachian
« Reply #13 on: June 19, 2014, 10:59:42 AM »
frugalparagon - we make two mornings worth at a time - do you stretch it out more than this?  It would be great if you could make the whole week, assembly line style, on Sunday night.  Would Friday morning's fridge oatmeal be...dodgy?

I've experimented with this, and it does get pretty nasty after two days.  Plus, if your schedule changes at the last minute, you have all these premixed oatmeals going bad in your fridge.

I've found that an easy solution is to mix up the wet ingredients (milk, yogurt, honey, apple butter, whatever...) in the individual jars on Sunday night.  Then I measure any dry ingredients (oatmeal, flax seeds, nuts, dry fruits such as blueberries) into either a reusable container or sandwich baggie which is placed atop the jar in the fridge to be mixed in the night before use.

It saves a good bit of time from not having to measure ingredients and wash measuring implements every night. Also, if one of your target consumers (ahem, DH) is averse to eating the same flavor of oatmeal every day, you don't have to be inventive at the ungodly hour of 4:00 a.m.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!