Last week I wrote about how Northwest Airlines had issued some money saving tips to it's employees which created quite a controversy. Well, in this week's issue of BusinessWeek they highlight a few more ideas from the Northwest list of "101 Ways to Save Money" and I thought I'd share them with you. Here goes:
- Replace 100 watt bulbs with 60 watt.
- Get hand-me-down clothes and toys for your kids from family and friends.
- Take a shorter shower.
- Make your own baby food.
- Shop in thrift stores.
- Change the oil in your car yourself regularly.
- Don't be shy about pulling something you like out of the trash.
My thoughts on these:
1. We've been at 60 watts for a long time. Check your lighting fixtures too -- many don't recommend anything over 60.
2. We use hand-me-down clothes for our kids all the time. Many kids' clothes (especially "dress up" clothes) are hardly worn at all and are in great condition. Plus, we have friends who have expensive tastes in clothes, so the stuff is REALLY nice. ;-) We also pass down our used clothes to friends with younger children. As far as the hand-me-down toys go, my experience is that toys don't last as well as clothes. So we buy most of our toys new.
3. I know I should take a shorter shower, but the warm water feels so good! ;-)
4. I know lots of people who make their own baby food. It saves a ton of money and is/can be much healthier for the baby.
5. Thrift stores are GREAT! If you're willing to dig a bit, you can often find some wonderful deals.
6. I'm not up to the point of changing my own oil yet, but it's not a bad money saving tip.
7. This is the tip that's getting all the play -- and the one that's causing the headache for Northwest. It's not a bad tip (not the greatest either), but seems a bit insensitive given the fact that their employees have taken such an income hit. It's kind of like rubbing salt in the wound. Without this tip (and maybe a few others), it's likely there would be no controversy.
I can't support the "change your own oil" recommendation. Raw materials (oil, oil filter, etc.), equipment (jack, axle stands, oil bucket, etc.), and hastle (safety, proper disposal, quality of work, etc.) fall quite short of the value of a $20 quick change place. A few tips:
1. Scour for coupons. Often, I can get the charge down to $15 or even $10 with mailers or online coupons.
2. Refuse the "add-ons". It is relatively easy to change an air filter or windshield wipers. I saved $20 replacing the airfilter on my wife's car. There's a huge mark-up at the quick-change.
3. Use customer loyality programs. At my oil place, they give me a free change for every 5. That cuts down my unit price.
4. Follow the manual. The "change your oil every 3,000" is just a recommendation. Check your manual. My Accord manual reads, "...every 7,500...". Half as frequent makes a big difference.
After the investment in tools and effort, I just can't justify doing an oil change myself (and I just finished spray painting 1800 sq. ft. of fence myself). Additionally, you'll likely receive a 10+ point check for all mechanisms, you'll be developing a relationship with a shop that can help you when real trouble comes up, and you won't be putting yourself between 2,000 pounds of car and your driveway. ;-)
Posted by: Jeff H | September 06, 2006 at 04:13 PM
I used to agree with Jeff's points on the oil change - BUT - I now do my oil myself.
In the last several years the quality of the works at many of these quick oil change shops has decreased significantly (at least where I live). They have stripped the nut on my oil pan, not tightened the filter, etc, etc. I just love the add-ons! I had one kid tell me that I needed a new fuel filter (he didn’t ask). I said “How do you know?” He said “Because it is dirty on the outside, it must have been on there for a while.” Never mind it is a pickup truck often used off road. At the good places here, you have to leave your can or wait a very long time and that adds to the hassle factor.
I actually enjoy changing my own oil now. I get the satisfaction and knowledge it is done right (I’m picky in my old age). I purchase several 5 qt jugs of oil and a few filters from walmart so I have them “in stock” when I am ready. I can do both of my cars in less time than it would take to drive to the shop and back. Our city has an oil recycle dump around the corner, so disposal is easy. I think I am out about $12.
Either way – I don’t think you can go wrong. If you are not good at mechanical work, then you probably will save in the long run having someone do it rather than pay to fix a costly mistake. If you love DIY – go for it!
Posted by: Terry | September 06, 2006 at 06:23 PM
I agree with Terry; I can't support getting your oil changed at the quick-lube places. They simply don't have the specialized knowledge that you or your dealership has about your particular make and model car. For example, one of my former coworkers took his wife's VW "New" Beetle into a quick-lube for an oil change, and they stripped the threads on the oil pan, causing the car to develop a fairly serious oil leak. If he had taken it to the VW dealership as he usually does, they would have known the car had an aluminum oil pan, and they would not have stripped the threads out by applying too much torque.
My wife's dealership charges $24.99 for an oil change, and they wash the car for free every time it's in for any service. On her car, I consider this to be a worthwhile expense; my wife is a PhD student and she often has enough free time to take the car in to the dealership while they are not busy. On my car, I usually change my own oil. My work schedule typically precludes me from visiting the dealership while their service department is open. Oil prices being what they are, it is difficult to change your own oil for less money than the dealership, especially when they are running a special. For example, my dealership is charging $15.99 for an oil change right now. That's almost exactly equal to the cost of the same quality oil and filter when I do it myself. In my case, however, I lose an hour of work by taking my car to the dealership, while I can change my own oil in less than half that time later at home. Changing my own oil doesn't save me any money, but it does save time.
Posted by: GHoosdum | September 07, 2006 at 10:41 AM
Well, I'm only going to comment on the first and last sugggestions.
Replacing 100 watt bulbs with 60 watt bulbs is frankly a stupid suggestion. A far better idea would be to replace those 100 watt bulbs with 60 watt equivilent Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFL) that only use about 15 watts. I've switched over to mostly CFL's in my apartment, and once you get past the initial adjustment theres no going back. My electric bill is going to be dirt cheap every month, even though I have a very old and inefficient electric hot water heater! Oh yeah, and its great for the environment! (Just please make sure to recycle CFL's as they do contain a small ammount of mercury.)
As for the trash picking suggestion, WTF were they thinking??? I'm certainly not above taking a nice table or an old Atari 2600 from the trash, but to actually suggest it to people whose lively hood you just trashed is way beyond cold. Prehaps if they had qualified it with what I said, about looking for a table, or a chair it would be better. The way it comes off though is that they should be looking for discarded scraps to feed their children.
Anyone think that the Northwest CEO is going dumpster diving?
Posted by: Tom | September 07, 2006 at 02:59 PM