Trimming the fat on home expenses

[SagaLore]

Originally posted by: Skoorb

You realize that soda is a completely worthless beverage, not to mention it's corrosive properties on your teeth (higher dental bills!)

I drink diet

The acidity of the soda is what eats away at your teeth, although the sugar itself doesn't help. Caffeine makes your teeth brittle and stained too. So unless you are drinking non-carbonated caffeine free diet soda, that stuff is still the nectar of the devil. Uh-oh I think I'm hijacking my own thread...

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: SagaLore

Originally posted by: Skoorb

You realize that soda is a completely worthless beverage, not to mention it's corrosive properties on your teeth (higher dental bills!)

I drink diet

The acidity of the soda is what eats away at your teeth, although the sugar itself doesn't help. Caffeine makes your teeth brittle and stained too. So unless you are drinking non-carbonated caffeine free diet soda, that stuff is still the nectar of the devil. Uh-oh I think I'm hijacking my own thread...

Actually, I don't think it's the "acidity" of the soda.. It's the fact that they use distilled water.

Water with no TDS(total dissolved salts) will very readily absorb any water soluble mineral it comes in contact with.

 

[Eli]

YADP..

 

[SagaLore]

Originally posted by: Eli

Originally posted by: SagaLore

Originally posted by: Skoorb

You realize that soda is a completely worthless beverage, not to mention it's corrosive properties on your teeth (higher dental bills!)

I drink diet

The acidity of the soda is what eats away at your teeth, although the sugar itself doesn't help. Caffeine makes your teeth brittle and stained too. So unless you are drinking non-carbonated caffeine free diet soda, that stuff is still the nectar of the devil. Uh-oh I think I'm hijacking my own thread...

Actually, I don't think it's the "acidity" of the soda.. It's the fact that they use distilled water.

Water with no TDS(total dissolved salts) will very readily absorb any water soluble mineral it comes in contact with.

I think it is a combination of all of them - although that is the first time I heard that, and that's makes a lot of sense.

 

[AlmostFunny]

2 words - Debt Consolidation

There are 100s of these 'non-profit' debt consolidation companies out there that will take all of your CC bills and other misc loans that you have and you make 1 payment for all of them. Usually @ 0% interest. so these 20% interest CCs that you MAY have you can combine them all in 0% interest loans through the consolidation program.
I would use the program but it doesnt work for mortgage and cars and stuff like that. Only 'unsecured debt'

Look into it.

 

[desy]

Drink water its healthier.
I cut back our milk consumption at home we we going through 3 gallons a week. we do half that now.
I installed a little switch to vent the dryer air back into the house in winter. It was cheap don't know what the payback would be.
But I figured I'm paying to heat that air I might as well keep it.
Drive slower you can save easy 10% on gas going slower and slightly increasing your tire pressure, combine trips.
We moved out of city so we stack things up and do it all in one trip instead of little ones.
Refinanacing would be a good idea, you will get a much lower interest rate in the short term and the way the economy is it is unlikely rates will increase soon
Home mortgages are cheap money right now, no hurry to pay them off if you have higher interest debt.

Consider a yard sale, We just did that and with some items in the paper made $1000 from stuff that was just laying about !!

 

[SagaLore]

Originally posted by: AlmostFunny
2 words - Debt Consolidation

There are 100s of these 'non-profit' debt consolidation companies out there that will take all of your CC bills and other misc loans that you have and you make 1 payment for all of them. Usually @ 0% interest. so these 20% interest CCs that you MAY have you can combine them all in 0% interest loans through the consolidation program.
I would use the program but it doesnt work for mortgage and cars and stuff like that. Only 'unsecured debt'

Look into it.

I was going to refinance our mortgage and the take out a home equity loan for the debt to do what you're describing.

 

[ragazzo]

10% of your income goes to church? wow. you're not judged by how much money you can give to the church.

 

[rahvin]

Originally posted by: ragazzo
10% of your income goes to church? wow. you're not judged by how much money you can give to the church.

Get off the mans back, his religious beliefs and charitable contributions are his own and frankly none your business.

 

[MonkeyK]

Your mortgage rate makes me think you have a fixed rate mortgage.

Refinance to an ARM and you should be able to do much better. I refinanced to a 5/25 balloon in May and went from 8.25% fixed to 3.875%. The only issue is that the low rate is only good for 5 years. Since I plan to move in 4 years, this is no big deal and my wife and I will save about 12K over those 4 years (even with all closing costs rolled into the new mortgage and a little cash out to pay off our car loan) on the mortgage and some more on the car loan we paid off with the cash-out.

Only problem is now my wife is bouncing off the walls thinking about a new house (she wants it NOW!).

 

[ragazzo]

Originally posted by: rahvin

Originally posted by: ragazzo
10% of your income goes to church? wow. you're not judged by how much money you can give to the church.

Get off the mans back, his religious beliefs and charitable contributions are his own and frankly none your business.

It would have been nonissue if he didn't come to the board asking for financial advices.

 

[SagaLore]

Originally posted by: MonkeyK
Your mortgage rate makes me think you have a fixed rate mortgage.

Refinance to an ARM and you should be able to do much better. I refinanced to a 5/25 balloon in May and went from 8.25% fixed to 3.875%. The only issue is that the low rate is only good for 5 years. Since I plan to move in 4 years, this is no big deal and my wife and I will save about 12K over those 4 years (even with all closing costs rolled into the new mortgage and a little cash out to pay off our car loan) on the mortgage and some more on the car loan we paid off with the cash-out.

Only problem is now my wife is bouncing off the walls thinking about a new house (she wants it NOW!).

I feel your pain! Everyone must realize all these threads I have been starting all directly proportional to the stress levels and demands of my wife!