Here's a point I read awhile back that I thought I'd share:
Have you ever rinsed something, or washed your hands so quickly that even though your tap was set for warm or hot water, the hot water didn't have a chance to travel through the pipes before you turned the water off?
Essentially you ended up using cold anyway - no big deal. But unless you had the tap set for cold (in our case, pushed all the way to the right), there was still water taken from the hot water tank and drawn into the pipes. This means that more water will have to be heated to replace it.
It's such a small amount (not even pennies?) each time, until you consider adding up every single time the tap is turned on and off (on and off, on and off).
If the still cold water that comes out of the tap is fine for what you need, why take it from the hot water tank?
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Showing posts with label cost. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cost. Show all posts
3.10.2009
10.26.2008
Are Cats Affordable Pets?
Any animal you bring into your house is going to cost some money, although the benefits of companionship among other things often time make it worthwhile.
If you're looking for an affordable pet and are considering a cat, I have some advice to pass along from personal experience:
1) Get a female. Now before you say "but spaying costs more than neutering", consider the fact that this is a one time cost, and the difference in price is not that much. However, if your male cat is unlucky enough to contract FUS, look out. Cha-ching cha-ching. We've sunk about $1,500 so far into keeping our male alive.
2) Make sure the cat you choose has a tail. Little know fact (at least it was little known to me): the nerves associated with bladder and bowel control are very low in the spine and close to the tail. We adopted a Manx and couldn't figure out why she peed everywhere and dropped pieces of fecal matter in the most inappropriate places. Turns out that Manx (stub tails) have control issues because they don't have complete tails. In fact because of this, there are regulations in place that prevent Manx breeders from breeding too many successive generations of tail-less cats.
Anyway, no tail = bathroom issues = $$$ spent on clean up. Ugh.
3) Litter tip: get cedar pellets. Wonderful stuff. A bag lasts an entire year because the cedar completely absorbs the smell; all you do is scoop out the poop. Safe for your dog as well; if you have a dog with the nasty habit of dining in the cat box, the cedar litter won't obstruct his bowel the way that clay based clumping littler will, resulting in fewer vet bills.
Have fun!
If you're looking for an affordable pet and are considering a cat, I have some advice to pass along from personal experience:
1) Get a female. Now before you say "but spaying costs more than neutering", consider the fact that this is a one time cost, and the difference in price is not that much. However, if your male cat is unlucky enough to contract FUS, look out. Cha-ching cha-ching. We've sunk about $1,500 so far into keeping our male alive.
2) Make sure the cat you choose has a tail. Little know fact (at least it was little known to me): the nerves associated with bladder and bowel control are very low in the spine and close to the tail. We adopted a Manx and couldn't figure out why she peed everywhere and dropped pieces of fecal matter in the most inappropriate places. Turns out that Manx (stub tails) have control issues because they don't have complete tails. In fact because of this, there are regulations in place that prevent Manx breeders from breeding too many successive generations of tail-less cats.
Anyway, no tail = bathroom issues = $$$ spent on clean up. Ugh.
3) Litter tip: get cedar pellets. Wonderful stuff. A bag lasts an entire year because the cedar completely absorbs the smell; all you do is scoop out the poop. Safe for your dog as well; if you have a dog with the nasty habit of dining in the cat box, the cedar litter won't obstruct his bowel the way that clay based clumping littler will, resulting in fewer vet bills.
Have fun!
10.22.2008
Saving Money On Hydro
Finally.... some results from all my unplugging and switching off and turning down and and and... you get the picture.
We have an equal payment plan with BC Hydro which enables us to more effectively budget our electricity costs from month to month. They estimate your monthly cost based on previous consumption and bill you accordingly. October is the yearly anniversary month, when they tally up where you stand.
If you've consumed more than you've been billed, you get a larger bill. However if you consume less, you get a smaller bill or a credit.
In the past we've gotten credits in October, but never close to this year: $400.52!! In addition to this, they've adjusted our monthly billing rate from $148 to $107. The net result of this is that we will get almost 4 months of "free" hydro (actually pre-paid), just as we're heading into the expensive holiday season.
Awesome!!!
We have an equal payment plan with BC Hydro which enables us to more effectively budget our electricity costs from month to month. They estimate your monthly cost based on previous consumption and bill you accordingly. October is the yearly anniversary month, when they tally up where you stand.
If you've consumed more than you've been billed, you get a larger bill. However if you consume less, you get a smaller bill or a credit.
In the past we've gotten credits in October, but never close to this year: $400.52!! In addition to this, they've adjusted our monthly billing rate from $148 to $107. The net result of this is that we will get almost 4 months of "free" hydro (actually pre-paid), just as we're heading into the expensive holiday season.
Awesome!!!
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