Ways to Save Money around the House

It's become a chore rather than fun to post here everyday and this isn't a newsletter, so I'm changing the titles of posts to topical ones rather than calendar titles.

SWMBO mentioned a few weeks ago about someone who knows somebody else who retired early and it made me think about ERE and MMM.  So I bought Fisker's book on Amazon Kindle and have been reading more posts of (finally found out his name!) Mr. Peter Adeney.

Here are some ways that can save money around anyone's home:

1. Shower: don't use much if any soap.
2. Shave: Switch to a safety razor and save hundreds a year on blades.
3. Deodorant: Most deodorants list ingredients like a Chemistry 101 course.  Make your own out of coconut oil, baking soda and lavender oil.
4. Coffee: Don't go to Starbucks.  Buy a French Press, stove-top espresso pot or drip pot and a big Thermos to cart around your own.  Use the psychology of "I already have one of those at home." to not buy one in the drive thru.
5. Not Eating: Try intermittent fasting.  It's surprisingly simple to skip breakfast.
6. Eating: Make casseroles (yes, even men can bake casseroles) to have a huge batch of meals for a week at a time.  Make a meal plan.
7. Computers: Switch to Linux instead of Windows.  Applications are free and so is the OS.
8. Movies: Back up your DVDs with Handbrake.
9. Cars: Buy used and drive to they have undercarriage rust, no A/C and felt hanging down from the ceiling.  My last vehicle was a Dodge Dakota with around 117,000 miles on it that we sold for cash to buy a Toyota Prius.  Quadrupled my gas mileage.
10. Auto service: Find a local mechanic who charges less than the dealership or do the repairs yourself.  There is a hobby shop I go to and only have to pay for shop hours.

Basically the philosophy of the two life-style frugal expert bloggers above is that you don't have to accept what society thinks is the only approach to life's system processes but can find ways that are better for your wallet, the environment and your stress level.