The Great Pellet Stove Purchase

Apparently Gune kitty really likes being warm.

So I have the stove breakdown for you guys. I used a 10% off coupon and we got a pellet stove, vent pipe kit, and hole saw for drilling for $1250. Hearth pads run an average of $350-400, but I saw an ad on craigslist and got our beautiful solid stone hearth for $30 from the Habitat for Humanity ReStore. It panicked me to spend that money, right down to my cold, numb toes.

I have to be realistic about costs, though. With the inefficient heat pump, our electricity was fastly approaching over $300 a month. We estimate at the rate we're currently burning pellets, we'll save nearly $75-100 a month on our electrical bill alone. The stove we bought also qualifies for a $300 federal tax credit, so we should recoup our cost in total by the end of next winter. That even factors in purchasing the pellets.

We had been without heat for two weeks as our heat pump was so horribly inefficient that it was only blowing cold air into our home. Being warm is such a small thing, but so vital. It has made me appreciate more the roof over our head and the food on our table. If you have the opportunity this winter, please donate a blanket or a coat to someone in need. Everyone deserves to curl up someplace warm.

7 Things I Stopped Spending Money On

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I went to Rite Aid yesterday to pick up deodorant for my husband and stood blankly in front of the makeup aisle for almost half an hour. I realized I hadn't really bought makeup in longer than I can remember. It was a luxury item I couldn't afford, and trust me, ten years ago they knew me on sight at the MAC counter. Now things are being plumped that used to just be lined and I have no clue what most of these personal care torture devices do. Since I can now afford the "or" and am not just "po," I treated myself to an eyeshadow kit and mascara. Granted it was buy one get the second item half off, and I managed to find the last double package of mascara, but it was still weird to spend money on something that had been so de-prioritized. Here are some luxury items I used to spend money on without thinking:

1. Makeup - God gave me a face and I'm lucky to be happy with it. When I was young I wasn't allowed to wear makeup because my Dad was worried it would ruin my skin. So of course the minute I hit my late teens I was two steps shy of Angelina Jolie in the movie Hackers. Now, I wear something for special occasions, and to even out the rosacea when I'm feeling a little too red, but that's about it.
2. New Clothes - I told my husband this morning, "Honey, I wanted you to know, I'm probably going to buy socks this week so I'll be spending money." He gave me the look, you know, the one that says, "Really? This is earth-shattering news?" But when you've stopped spending money for so long, indulging in a $3 pair of comfortable socks instead of a $8 6-pack seems overly luxurious.
3. Chocolates - Last week I bought a $5 box of Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramels. Not a need per se, but I'm pretty sure my husband thinks my PMS is more manageable with it than without.
4. Purses - I now have five purses. Total. The only reason I have a fifth one is my Aunt just sent me one in some hand-me-downs. I can only carry one wallet, so I can only carry one purse. If you really want to get technical, I have one purse, one beach tote, one clutch, one formal purse, and one gift purse. In my entirety of marriage (almost seven years), I've spent $45 on purses. It's a decent amortization.
5. Red Meat - My father was a steak and potatoes man, but unless it's an undesirable cut that I can stick in the crockpot all day to make something magical appear, we couldn't afford it.
6. Cable - While we used the internet, cable TV was unnecessary and way out of our budget. The cable guys are expensive. 'Nuff said.
7. Supplements - I remember at one point in my life I was taking nearly 14 supplements every day. I wasn't taking care of myself or eating right, so I needed them. The best thing about being in the working poor was it forced me to be more simple. I walk, I eat healthy in season food. And I don't spend ridiculous amounts of money on vitamins and minerals I should be getting in my diet.

What did/would you give up if poor?

When the "frugal" solution still costs

I'm in feetie pajamas, with a space heater next to me that I don't want to turn on, and our thermostat is set to 62. I'm pretty darn cold. Before you call me a baby I have poor circulation so I can be cold in the middle of the summertime, but Oregon winters are particularly hard on me. Our 1200 sf house has a rather inefficient heat pump, our electrical bill last month was over $250, and it's only going to be higher this month.

We examined our options and none are really great. To replace the heat pump would be approximately $4500. That's not realistic for us. Also, while it's not efficient, but it's not broken either, and I have a hard time spending more than I would on a car on something that's working. When we bought the house and I was starry-eyed, I thought about putting in a fireplace or stove as an ornamental feature. When I mentioned that to the tech who serviced our heat pump he said, "If you put a stove in your home, your heat pump won't ever need to turn on in the winter."

So we started examining stoves. To put a gas line to our house would cost $3000 because we live in "particularly rocky soil" according to NW Natural. Gas is out. We were down to a wood stove and a pellet stove. After looking at overall costs, a pellet stove seems to be the winner, but it's a winner that will cost $1200. We're hoping that with the reduction in our electricity bills, it will pay for itself within three years. Fingers crossed right?

My Secret Obsession

Image by j_mills via Flickr

No, it's not chocolate, excel spreadsheets, craigslist, beer, or bad puns. Those are all very well known obsessions. My secret obsession is shipping container homes. I'm obsessed with their design, their function, everything. When we bought our house, I looked at my husband and said:

"Guess what?"
"What?"
"We bought a manufactured home on real property. Do you know what that means?"
"I'm afraid to ask."
"We can put a SHIPPING CONTAINER HOME ON THE LOT!!!!!!"

I wish I could say the all caps wasn't me shrieking excitedly, but I'd be lying.

Why shipping container homes? Why not tiny homes? I'm a big fan of tiny homes, too, but I really love the concept of shipping container homes, their durability, modular construction, and if I'm being really honest, you can take the girl out of the playroom, but you can't take the legos out of her pockets. They don't have to look like modern boxes either, even though I'm a fan of that look.

I've been re-reading an ebook I bought called "Introduction to Container Homes and Buildings" by Alex Klein from The Life and Times of a "Renaissance Ronin." If you want the nitty gritty of this concept his blog is the go-to place. His book is even better. I don't get any sort of affiliate link or commission for saying it, I'm just a long-term lurker on his blog.

Besides, this is probably the only way a tightwad can afford an Hawaiian vacation home. ;)

Is Black Friday all it's cracked up to be?

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Each year I consider going out shopping in Black Friday. I've done the 5 a.m. shopper insanity thing once, but it wasn't about the shopping, it was about the fun people I was shopping with. Now that it's more of a Black Friday weekend of pretty good deals, and you have to brave mobs, pepper spray, panicked security guards, and more, is it really worth it?

For the past few years, I've decided "H-E-to the Double Hockey Sticks NO!" Saving money isn't about going bat poop crazy one day of the year to be one of 200 people that gets a screaming deal; it's about making wise purchases all year round. Truthfully, I didn't see that many great deals this year (maybe I was looking in the wrong ads), but I had a much better time relaxing with my family, then I would have out among the retailpocalypse.

How was your weekend?