20% Pay-Cut (furlough). How about some money saving ideas...
Hi guys,
There are a number of us OSA members that’s going to have to endure the 20% cut in pay (i.e. work week reduced to 4 working days). Some people are already living paycheck to paycheck with little extra cash, so this cut will be very difficult.
When cash is short, there are two options available:
1) Find alternate income, or 2) reduce your existing spending.
Option 2) is more easily within our control and is most easily overlooked since we’ve all grown accustomed to the ‘normal’ monthly bills. So I’d like to start a thread about ways to help cut spending.
Not all options will be viable for everyone, so this is a thread for brainstorming ideas for ways to cut costs. Remember – this 20% cut is for (up to) 6 months, so think short/mid-term. We have about 1.5 to 2 months until the pay-cut kicks in, so this allows some time to make arrangements and prepare.
I’ll start with the easy ideas (no order):
1) Insurance. Review your house and car insurance - think Deductibles and Coverage’s. Increasing your deductible from $250 to $1000 can save you a lot in premiums. Is your coverage still correct? Can you handle less coverage? Do you still need full coverage on the vehicle?
2) Cable TV. Look at your cable bill. Cut back to basic, or cut it off completely if you can handle it.
What – NO TV?!?!? Yah, I know. Here’s some ways to help you find your fix: Get a Free-to-air-Antenna, Watch movies free Online (Hulu), or go to the library and check out VHS/DVD movies.
(Tip: For Hulu – consider ways to connect your computer to the big-screen TV – but also review your internet download limits.)
3) Cell-phone. Can you scale back on your options? If necessary, cancel the contract - pay the cancellation fee ($200~ish?) and save the expensive monthly cell plan ($100+/month). Remember this furlough is for up to 6 month. So $-200 up front and save $600 down the road.
…Consider a cheap basic pre-paid no-contract phone such as (TracFone, Straight-Talk, Net10).
I bought my (two) basic phones outright ($50-$80/each) and then buy the minutes as you need them. Total upfront $150-200 (total for both phones + 1200 minutes included for each) and I spend a total of $17 per month for 2 phones using the TracFone Family Value Plan. Search eBay for ‘TracFone Triple 1200’.
Note: I am not a heavy phone user, and NO – it’s not the coolest phone. BUT IT’S NEW, IT WORKS, AND IT SAVES MONEY.
4) Home Phone. If you don’t use the home phone much, consider cutting the home phone. Lots of people cut the home phone and go completely with cell-phone only.
Or keep the home phone and get the lowest cost (local only) option. Cut the long-distance carrier, and use the cell-phone for long-distance.
5) Electric bill. Think home electric consumption. It’s common knowledge that turning down the thermostat can save you some money. Go buy a $20 programmable thermostat and set it to automatically turn the temperature down when you’re asleep and when you’re away at work. When you’re at home, try to handle a (slightly) cooler setting and wear that Turtle-neck sweater your mother-in-law gave you.
...And for this summer - consider enrolling in the OG&E Smart-hours program. Use less Energy DURING PEAK HOURS - and you can save some good money off electric bills. For first-time Smart-hour customers, OG&E guarantees you save money or they'll charge you the equivalent cost if you were not enrolled. (WIN-WIN) (They've done this in the past, but verify before enrolling)
6) Eat-out-less. This is pretty straight forward.
Home: Buy more at the Grocery store (no, not the junk food) - and don’t eat out as much.
Work: Think about taking lunches to work also. Eating at the work cafeteria gets expensive also.
7) TSP savings. (Fed employees only) Are you saving for your retirement via TSP? If so, consider reducing the % contribution. Take note - going below 5% reduces your agency matching. But if times are tough, you got to do what you got to do….
8) Carpool. Gasoline gets expensive. Can you split the costs with another neighbor worker on the same shift schedule?
9) Habits/Hobbies. Try to reduce or limit the expensive costs. (Reduce smoking, drink less, spend less on the Hot-rod, Shoot the cheaper bullet calibers, play with the electric RC car instead of the Nitro-gas RC, etc….)
10) Sodas. Drink water instead. Or bring home-made tea for drinks. (The boss might not approve of bringing the long-island tea, haha)
11) Internet access. Depending on what tier of internet access you have (super-fast), then possibly reduce your level of internet speeds. This depends on if your internet provider has options.
12) Refinancing debts.
Home: Home financing rates are low right now. You may be able to get a lower rate on your home loan, and reduce your monthly bill.
Credit Cards: If you have month-to-month Credit card debt at high interest rate, consider moving to a lower rate card or roll it into the house loan.
13) Water bills. Don't water the lawn. ...during a drought.
Ok, that’s all I got. These are just brainstorming ideas.
I have already done quite a few (not all) of the above, but these may not be right for you.
***YOU*** must do your own research. Run the numbers before initiating anything.
Now is the time to start saving, before you get in a pinch.
If you have any other ideas, let us all know.
Hi guys,
There are a number of us OSA members that’s going to have to endure the 20% cut in pay (i.e. work week reduced to 4 working days). Some people are already living paycheck to paycheck with little extra cash, so this cut will be very difficult.
When cash is short, there are two options available:
1) Find alternate income, or 2) reduce your existing spending.
Option 2) is more easily within our control and is most easily overlooked since we’ve all grown accustomed to the ‘normal’ monthly bills. So I’d like to start a thread about ways to help cut spending.
Not all options will be viable for everyone, so this is a thread for brainstorming ideas for ways to cut costs. Remember – this 20% cut is for (up to) 6 months, so think short/mid-term. We have about 1.5 to 2 months until the pay-cut kicks in, so this allows some time to make arrangements and prepare.
I’ll start with the easy ideas (no order):
1) Insurance. Review your house and car insurance - think Deductibles and Coverage’s. Increasing your deductible from $250 to $1000 can save you a lot in premiums. Is your coverage still correct? Can you handle less coverage? Do you still need full coverage on the vehicle?
2) Cable TV. Look at your cable bill. Cut back to basic, or cut it off completely if you can handle it.
What – NO TV?!?!? Yah, I know. Here’s some ways to help you find your fix: Get a Free-to-air-Antenna, Watch movies free Online (Hulu), or go to the library and check out VHS/DVD movies.
(Tip: For Hulu – consider ways to connect your computer to the big-screen TV – but also review your internet download limits.)
3) Cell-phone. Can you scale back on your options? If necessary, cancel the contract - pay the cancellation fee ($200~ish?) and save the expensive monthly cell plan ($100+/month). Remember this furlough is for up to 6 month. So $-200 up front and save $600 down the road.
…Consider a cheap basic pre-paid no-contract phone such as (TracFone, Straight-Talk, Net10).
I bought my (two) basic phones outright ($50-$80/each) and then buy the minutes as you need them. Total upfront $150-200 (total for both phones + 1200 minutes included for each) and I spend a total of $17 per month for 2 phones using the TracFone Family Value Plan. Search eBay for ‘TracFone Triple 1200’.
Note: I am not a heavy phone user, and NO – it’s not the coolest phone. BUT IT’S NEW, IT WORKS, AND IT SAVES MONEY.
4) Home Phone. If you don’t use the home phone much, consider cutting the home phone. Lots of people cut the home phone and go completely with cell-phone only.
Or keep the home phone and get the lowest cost (local only) option. Cut the long-distance carrier, and use the cell-phone for long-distance.
5) Electric bill. Think home electric consumption. It’s common knowledge that turning down the thermostat can save you some money. Go buy a $20 programmable thermostat and set it to automatically turn the temperature down when you’re asleep and when you’re away at work. When you’re at home, try to handle a (slightly) cooler setting and wear that Turtle-neck sweater your mother-in-law gave you.
...And for this summer - consider enrolling in the OG&E Smart-hours program. Use less Energy DURING PEAK HOURS - and you can save some good money off electric bills. For first-time Smart-hour customers, OG&E guarantees you save money or they'll charge you the equivalent cost if you were not enrolled. (WIN-WIN) (They've done this in the past, but verify before enrolling)
6) Eat-out-less. This is pretty straight forward.
Home: Buy more at the Grocery store (no, not the junk food) - and don’t eat out as much.
Work: Think about taking lunches to work also. Eating at the work cafeteria gets expensive also.
7) TSP savings. (Fed employees only) Are you saving for your retirement via TSP? If so, consider reducing the % contribution. Take note - going below 5% reduces your agency matching. But if times are tough, you got to do what you got to do….
8) Carpool. Gasoline gets expensive. Can you split the costs with another neighbor worker on the same shift schedule?
9) Habits/Hobbies. Try to reduce or limit the expensive costs. (Reduce smoking, drink less, spend less on the Hot-rod, Shoot the cheaper bullet calibers, play with the electric RC car instead of the Nitro-gas RC, etc….)
10) Sodas. Drink water instead. Or bring home-made tea for drinks. (The boss might not approve of bringing the long-island tea, haha)
11) Internet access. Depending on what tier of internet access you have (super-fast), then possibly reduce your level of internet speeds. This depends on if your internet provider has options.
12) Refinancing debts.
Home: Home financing rates are low right now. You may be able to get a lower rate on your home loan, and reduce your monthly bill.
Credit Cards: If you have month-to-month Credit card debt at high interest rate, consider moving to a lower rate card or roll it into the house loan.
13) Water bills. Don't water the lawn. ...during a drought.
Ok, that’s all I got. These are just brainstorming ideas.
I have already done quite a few (not all) of the above, but these may not be right for you.
***YOU*** must do your own research. Run the numbers before initiating anything.
Now is the time to start saving, before you get in a pinch.
If you have any other ideas, let us all know.
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