Managing Home Maintenance Costs

This is not really about home maintenance, but it is all about saving money so we thought that we would include this post on our blog. Many people are going on vacation in the spring and in the summer and although a vacation can be expensive, there are ways to control or decrease your costs.

One of those is to take advantage of Happy Hour offers when you go out to eat. They may not be for everyone, however if you are looking for an inexpensive meal and do not mind eating early, you can save a lot of money and still have a nice time out with the family and friends.

Happy Hour Times

Many restaurants experience a slow period from about 4 pm until 6:30 pm in the afternoons. After 6:30, more people will typically show up for dinner and evening meal. Many restaurants have decided to offer happy hour during this slow period in order to fill their restaurant and generate additional revenue as well during a period that typically would not make much money.

Every Body Wins

Customers get better deals on booze, which are often half price and also on smaller meals that are discounted or also at half price. Sometimes you must eat in the bar area, however there is nothing wrong with that since there is more going on in the bar area anyway.

The restaurant makes money in a period that would otherwise be slow and they can keep their staff working longer as well so the staff makes more money and they make more tips. So really it is a good deal for all concerned.

Not All Restaurants Offer Happy Hour

Every city has them, but not all restaurants offer happy hour every day or even at all. You have to look for them and watch for them. We will often go up to a receptionist in an area were there are a lot of restaurants and ask if they have a happy hour. If they do great if not, we try some other place and they learn that customers are looking for deals and maybe they will get the idea to also offer a happy hour.

Some places have one specific day, such as wing Tuesdays, or even during football games. Once place we went to had beer on half price as long as there was a football game playing on TV. Great way to watch the game at a great location.

Check them out and save some money. You and your significant other can go out more often with the money you save and that always goes over well !

Winter time is a great time to take a vacation, get away from the cold weather and snow to somewhere sunny and warm.  Most people are really excited about their vacation and forget to think about their homes while they are away. One person I know left for two months without considering what would happen if the furnace stopped working and the heat turned off and the pipes froze while he was away. $95,000 later is what the bill cost him to have the repairs completed for water damage from cracked pipes from the frozen water in the pipes.

For the record you should never turn your furnace off While on Vacation. You may want to turn the thermostat down while you are away to save money and reduce your heating costs.

Most people will turn down the thermostat in their homes when they are away for an extended period.  With the cost of heating fuel these days it is becoming more important to do this to save money and reduce your heating and electrical bills. The question is what temperature should you set the thermostat to while you are away? The answer really depends on a number of things.

• Do you have plants
• How long are you going
• Do you have pets that will be at home
• How cold does it get outside
• Are there water pipes along exterior walls that might freeze
• What does your insurance company require

If you have pets, you probably want to maintain the temperature at a level they are used to. Otherwise they will suffer needlessly during cold evenings and nights. Some plants may also not do well if the home is too cold.

If you are planning to leave for more than a few days on vacation or a business trip there are a number of items to think about before you go so that you will not have to deal with a catastrophe when you return. We all want to save money, but there are some things that we just cannot avoid, otherwise the cost could be much greater than what we are saving. Here is a partial list of items to consider. For a more complete list click here.

We put together a brief checklist of items that you may want to consider before leaving your home empty while on vacation.

• Call your insurance company to confirm what they require to maintain your insurance. Many will not approve your claim unless you are following their guidelines.
• Turn the water off before you go. Even if the furnace  is off and your pipes do freeze there will be far less damage to your home.
• Turn down the thermostat to a reasonable level. We turn ours down to 60F or 17C, while other people are even more aggressive turning the heat down even lower.
• Unplug all TV’s , radios, etc so that your electricity bill is minimized while you are away
• Set lights on timers so that passersby will think someone is at home
• Arrange for someone to clear the snow off the driveway while you are away
• Arrange for someone to pick up the mail and look after pets if you have pets
• Arrange for someone to check on the house on a regular basis following the guidelines of your insurance company

More and more people are also installing smart meters which allow them to control the temperature of their home remotely. For some this is a great invention which allows them to monitor the temperature and remotely set it to correspond with colder or warmer outdoor temperatures.

You can also check out a more comprehensive web site by clicking here to review a full list of do’s and don’ts. Our travel web site as well has a list of steps to consider if you are moving to another country or going on a longer vacation.

We appreciate comments and suggestions about this topic. You can save money by reducing the heat while you are gone on vacation, however it pays to be smart about it and avoid larger expenses by not going overboard!

My wife and I have talked about getting an RV to travel across the country, stopping wherever and whenever we wish, spending time sight seeing and just plain enjoying ourselves. This web site is about saving money and we have concluded this is a big time saver to talk about. RV’s can be enjoyable, however it is not in our opinion a way to save money. Read on.

A lot of people every year do this and seem to have a great time. In fact if you pass by many RV parks, you may see thousands of them congregated in one park. Not to my taste with not much room etc, and having to pay $50 or $60 a night for hook up fees. There are ways around hook up fees, however they are equally unpleasant.

Other times they will be in Walmart parking lots RV’s Parked at a Walmart for the night and many are finding that the Casinos offer free parking with no services for people to park their RV rigs for the night. The casinos of course really want you to come and spend your money at the casino or perhaps in one of the many restaurants that they will have.
We have concluded that it is really about the lifestyle that you want to lead while vacationing and really not about the money you may spend or save while owning or renting one of these big RV units. If you are thinking that you will save money forget it. Owning an RV will NOT save you money at all both in carrying costs to own the RV, operating costs and then parking and utility hookup costs.

Our feeling is that you can go on a relative inexpensive vacation , staying at motels that provide free parking, free breakfast in the mornings and always having clean sheets every night.

We would like to get your comments and thoughts about owning an RV and whether an RV vacation is more expensive than a hotel vacation. The following are a few more comments about owning and operating an RV!

There are other drawbacks as well about RV’s. They take a lot of gas, you cannot just park them anywhere and what do you do with it when you are not using your RV. Most municipalities do not allow parking in your driveway for any length of time and besides your neighbors probably would not talk to you if you did. Many people need to have a special garage built for them so they can store their vehicle in the winter months or off season months when they are not in use. Unless you are retired, you cannot travel around all of the time. While it would be nice if you could head out in your RV for the entire summer, the reality is most people only get to use their units now and then during camping season.

In addition to providing  storage, you also must make sure you have proper insurance for both off season as well as during your travel time.

If your RV is going to be left in storage, it’s important it is properly insured. Check with your insurance company or find someone who insures RV’s. YOu will likely get a better deal, however it always pays to comparison shop for RV insurance.

Maintenance is or can be a major issue for many people. Although you have your house on wheels and have everything you need with your for an extended stay somewhere, this is a vehicle and like a car needs maintenance. At the very lease oil changes, battery checkups, brakes, the usual mechanical things that a vehicle needs. There are other items that need attention.

For example, the batteries which provide emergency power,  cleaning and emptying waste tanks, general maintenance of your RV, removing all fluids if the temperature falls below freezing and so on.

Even the water you use can be an issue. Water from a city source is treated and has had all of the bugs etc eliminated. Campground water is quite another thing. Empty your tanks on a regular basis  and check before filling to make sure it is good clean water.

Like a home, your RV needs to be aired out once and awhile. You cannot keep it shut up for a long time and not expect it to smell. Never leave food inside it with everything shut for any length of time or you may pay the price of smelling that odor for a long time. Damp environments need to be dried out as well from time to time.