Operational Efficiencies in a Time of Economic Turmoil

I’m tightening my belt.
Companies all over the world are doing the same.
In times of uncertainty, it’s *prudent* to be conservationist when it comes to finances. Of course, I’m not saying anything you don’t already know.

But in our house, there are a few levers we can pull to reduce operational expesnes: 

1.  Be more practical with groceries: no more silly purchases. Just the food, ma’am. The diet we are on has helped cut down on frivolity significantly. I don’t buy *too* much any more or end up throwing out foods that have spoiled.  We also don’t have many leftovers any more. Good news for us. Bad news for the dog.

2.  Thermostat: 69 degrees. Full stop. I’m working on getting the Wiz down to 68, but he’s getting old and feeling the cold more ;-)

3.  No more PPV movies. (and no more rented movies) As easy as it is to succumb to PPV movies, we’ve now got such a build up of shows and movies that are PVR’d that we could watch pre-recorded entertainment until Spring 2009.

4.  Controlled Christmas Spend. This is the first year I’ve actually put together a Christmas Budget. In a spreadsheet. In a Google Docs spreadsheet, so I can get to it wherever I am, and from whatever computer I happen to be at. Sure, we usually have an idea of what we spend for Christmas, and it’s always too much. This year, I’d like to have our January bonus (which is likely going to be slimmer this year than in previous years) to go to something other than the Amex bills.
I’m making more gifts this year. :-)

5.  Reducing vehicle costs. The leases on both our vehicles are up this spring. Already we are sussing out the new alternatives. Already we’ve put limits on how much we want to spend. :-) We are going to be able to go from $1100/month on vehicles down to about $800. That’s an exciting $300/month more in our bank account. If’ I’m really tricky, maybe we can get it even lower!! :-)

How are you creating operational efficiencies in your home?

operational efficiency, economy, savings, budget