family of four stats

Big Box America. Maybe our middle class is vanishing because they’re buried under a pile of stuff.

The average U.S. household has 300,000 things.

Let that sink in for a second. Okay, how about this one: Children in the United States make up only 3.7% of children on the planet but have 47% of all the world’s toys and children’s books.

Who comes up with these stats? As it turns out, quite a few people. Anthropologists and archaeologists, sociologists and economists are all studying our addiction to stuff. When you think about it, it’s fascinating. Writers and academics want to document this phenomenon so that thousands of years from now when an archaeologist comes across 750 plastic toys at a single family dwelling dig site she will be able to explain why.

Life at Home in the 21st Century

The UCLA Institute of Archaeology Press recently published a book called “Life at Home in the 21st Century.” The book is filled with U.S. stuff statistics, but what I found more interesting was the thousands of photographs from families who bravely opened their doors to researchers. [Read more…] about Big Box America. Maybe our middle class is vanishing because they’re buried under a pile of stuff.

Individual Containers of Crap

11/13 by The Frug 2 Comments

A Frug Rant about Doubling Down on Duplication

By Brad Beckstrom

Okay, once a while I just need to do a quick rant to get something off my chest. In this case, about 40 plastic bottles of shampoo, conditioner and body wash.

Growing up, we had two types of shampoo (Pert and Head & Shoulders) and a bar of soap, usually Dial, or if someone got fancy, “Irish Spring.” In college, I had a roommate who shaved, showered and shampooed with one bar of soap. He was ahead of his time.

Alas, my simple living college days are over. With a teenager, a tween and my lovely wife SuperK, the shampoo, conditioner, body wash situation has gotten a bit out of control. I did a quick count including our three bathrooms and various other cabinets around the house. Grand total: 41 bottles of shampoo, conditioner, face soap, and body wash.

We may be uniquely ridiculous in this regard but I was so fascinated, I needed to share it. Turns out, with all the different flavors of body washes and rinses and shampoos, the kids and SuperK have been trying certain products out, then not finishing the less popular ones.

Looks like a lot of these bottles just get chucked in cabinets or put into the rarely used basement bathroom. I guess we’re hoping some guest will love one of the seven or eight bottles of three-year-old shampoos that we’ve displayed for them. There was also a dog shampoo in the basement bathroom. I did not include that in the total count.

I have no problem with grooming but we need to really work on using up all of these individual containers of crap. I tried setting an example by complaining to the family about it at dinner, letting them know that I was personally using up all of their unused soap. That was until I tried using some of my son’s AXE Shock Body Wash Gel. It had pieces of mint scrubbing crystals in it and smelled like a very strong industrial cleaner. It made my eyes water and burned hair out of my sinuses.

I also bought some nice soap and tried to explain that this was a better way to keep clean and get rid of all these plastic bottles. They just end up having a third of the gel/crap stuck to the bottom, unused or in some landfill somewhere. This suggestion was met with outrage and angry stares.

Well, if it was up to me, I think an ideal solution would be something like this:

Yea, it’s called MAN 2.0. It’s a combination body, shampoo and shaving bar. I guess once we use up the other 40 containers I’ll give this a shot.

I’m not going to kid myself and think that we’ll end up with my ideal solution. However, I am hoping to go from 40 to about six bottles total.

Frug rules for containing shampoo gluttony

Don’t buy any more shampoo until the current three year inventory is used up.
When you must buy shampoo, soap etc. open it up in the store and smell it, they won’t mind. You are a great customer.
Replace all body wash with a quality bar of soap.
Find a good combo shampoo conditioner.

That’s it, end of rant. Look for future rants on other types of individual containers of crap. I’m happy to have problems as insignificant as these, and share my futile attempts to save the planet.

Breaking Bad on your Cable TV Bill with Curated TV

11/13 by The Frug 4 Comments

As a child, pre-cable, we had four flavors of television — ABC, NBC, CBS and some crazy channel on UHF 45 (ultra high frequency) called WBFF TV which later became Fox. Watching TV was a privilege, Saturday morning cartoons or an hour or two after homework during the week. And then on Sunday, some shared TV. The family would gather for Baltimore Colts games, 60 Minutes, some big Disney or Mutual of Omaha Special .

It all seemed very planned, almost curated. And it was free.

Then it got ridiculous.

Fast-forward many, many years. At one point,we had 3 HD cable boxes, HBO, Showtime and about 650 other channels. Our cable bill with high speed internet at one point exceeded $165 per month. We were paying $30 a month for the 3 HD boxes alone, In my informal surveys among some friends, when you add in premium channels, high-speed Internet, some of their bills exceed this. Enough was enough.

About those cable boxes. Don’t forget about the energy all this equipment uses. This article in Popular Science quoted a study pointing out that cable boxes are the biggest energy suckers in many homes, using more power than refrigerators! So, including electric bills, we were looking at a monthly expense of about $175 per month. If you were to invest that money, compounded at 7%, you would have approximately $30,275 after 10 years. Formula explained here. It was time to cut our dependence on cable TV.

Define how much TV you really need.

The first step in cutting your cable bill is defining how much TV really need. Turns out SuperK and I were watching maybe an hour and a half of TV per day. We’ve since decided to cut this back to about an hour per day. As our kids get older, they watch even less TV, but man do they suck down some serious bandwidth with phones, laptops and iPads. More on this project later.

Now it’s getting better – TV becomes entertainment through curation

So let’s say you really can get by with just an hour or two per day of TV. If you’re going to spend less time in front of the TV then start by making it quality time. Most news today is dominated by pointless fear mongering to chase ratings. Politicians spend most of their time crafting 15 second sound bites for CNN or the evening news versus actually doing their jobs. Trust me, this is an easy one to cut first. Then you can get rid of any paid subscription channels outside of what’s included with basic cable. When you subscribe to HBO and Showtime you’re paying for a lot of content you don’t actually watch, specially after you pare back viewing significantly. (PS, you’ll still be able to watch any of these premium shows on your schedule. I’ll show you how.)

Stop renting cable boxes

If you read this blog, you know that I hate monthly subscriptions. Paying $5 or $10 a month to rent standard or HD cable boxes seems like an especially ridiculous subscription. I was even offered a DVR rental by my cable company for $15 a month. The HD boxes and DVRs had access to HD movie rentals, so I’d be paying the cable company for the privilege of spending more money with them. What a scam.

I got rid of all the cable boxes. The first one was easy. I added a cablecard to our TIVO box. The second cable box, we replaced with my son’s Xbox, It has access to Netflix, FIOS and a bunch of other options we really don’t use that much. This basement TV is all gaming. For the third TV, which is very rarely used, we just plugged in a $49.00 Roku Box. The Roku box is a great solution because between a basic Netflix streaming account and an Amazon prime account that includes free streaming video, you have access to more TV than you could ever watch.

How to curate your content

Okay, let’s say you’ve gotten rid of your cable boxes, cut all premium programming and reduced your cable package to the bare-bones minimum. At this point you’ll be about $50-$70 lighter per month. You have a clean slate to to build your ultimate entertainment set-up on.

The three most powerful tools in a basic or no cable TV package household are.

Roku
TiVo
with basic cable card
Netflix and/or Amazon Prime

If you use Amazon, I recommend upgrading to Amazon Prime as you get access to over 41,000 movies and TV episodes included, all via the Roku box. If you supplement this with Netflix,(also on the ROKU box) you have access to just about every premium TV show available, on your schedule.

With this setup, or something similar, you can begin to search for the highest rated content, using Netflix and Amazon, or just asking some friends. Using a free website like Flixter, I can search for movies rated in the top 25% and filter the ones available on my streaming services. In my case, Netflix and Amazon Prime.

The one drawback that most people point out in scaling back cable is the loss of original content on HBO, Showtime and other pay channels. Back in the heyday of The Wire or The Sopranos, this would’ve been a problem. Now, with networks like AMC producing shows like Mad Men, Breaking Bad, and Walking Dead, as well as new original content from Netflix and Amazon, you’ll have more than enough to fill your curated TV time.

The great news is all of those HBO and premium channel shows usually become available via Netflix or Amazon one season after the launch of the new season. Sure, there’s a few shows that you’ll be a season behind on, but you’ll more than make up for it by the fact that you won’t waste any time on shows that don’t have rave reviews after their first season.

Cutting the cable completely

Believe me when I say I’ve looked into this, testing various HD antennas etc. This is still a long-term goal. However, now that I’ve gone to the most basic cable package, and I subtract the cost of high-speed Internet (alone) from my total monthly $99.00 Verizon FIOS bill, the discounted cable TV portion adds up to only $39/ month which is about what it’s worth.

Conclusion

Cutting your dependence on the cable company takes a good amount of upfront work but if you do the math and include what you save long-term, you’re really giving up very little, for some significant savings.

Old cable package versus new Verizon Fios.

	old	new

Cable TV	$59.95	$49.00
Premium bundle HBO Showtime others	$24.99	$0.00
3 HD Boxes	$29.85
Cable card		$4.99
High-speed Internet	$42.85	$38.00
taxes surcharges fees	$7.99	$7.32

Total	$165.63	$99.31

Savings less Netflix fees $600 per year. Amazon Prime Instant Video
is included with my prime membership.

Feed The Pig

09/13 by The Frug Leave a Comment

This photo does not do justice to SuperK’s seafood gumbo. It tastes even better the next day. I’ve always been a huge fan of leftovers. In our family, groceries are our second-largest expense, so as The Frug, I am always going out of my way to make sure nothing goes to waste unless it’s absolutely necessary (mold growing on it, stinks, slimy to touch etc.).

The average family of four in the US spends about $1025 a month on groceries. In urban areas, like the DC Metro area, this number is closer to $1250. My wife SuperK tells me our grocery bill is even higher due to the fact that we eat lots of Meat, Seafood and other high protein delicacies.

So, it’s a bit of a conundrum to be a Frug and still really enjoy giant lumps of crabmeat floating in your gumbo! One way we like to deal with this is maximizing the leftovers. Years ago, I came across the website http://www.feedthepig.org/. It has links to some simple calculators and ideas to put your savings in high gear by skipping all kinds of things, including expensive lattes, $13 lunches and premium cable plans. Feed the Pig also lists all types of expense slashing ideas (by habit) to help you reach your savings goals.

Replacing some lunches out with leftovers is a great way to do this. One big advantage of working from home, or an office with a nice fridge, is the ability to really tap into the leftovers and skip a few lunches out a week. You’ll also find that, if you do it right, most of the leftovers will be a lot healthier than what you might find at that gourmet burger joint or KFC.

Here’s a quick look at some results from the lunch calculator. Notice I still eat out once or twice a week. The key message here, is that you start to apply these frugal tools to other expenses in life, like a latte-a-day habit or shoe addictions, you can really start to see results. As you get closer to financial independence, you’ll find that you’ve applied this type of thinking to many parts of your daily life and have started putting those dollars to work for you. Keep in mind every dollar that you save and invest will continue to work for you and produce returns year after year long after you’ve stopped working for a paycheck.

21 Things My iPhone Replaced

08/13 by The Frug 2 Comments

Most people would think one of the worst money-saving tips I could offer would be to purchase an iPhone. We constantly hear about expensive Apple products, overpriced data plans, unnecessary upgrades, monthly overages, wasteful app store purchases and how overpriced smartphone plans are in the US versus Europe and Asia.

Yes, the Frug family has 4 Apple devices on an AT&T family plan, three iPhones and an iPad. True, the bill does make me cringe, especially the three different types of telecom tax. The phone and the taxes add up to about $55 per device per month. That’s not really what this post is about.

I was recently trying out Listly and created a list of all the things my iPhone replaced. I have dropped in the list below. Basically the iPhone since its introduction in 2007 has allowed me to get rid of a lot of stuff including some of the worst kind of stuff that has monthly recurring fees.

You’ll be able to tell from the list that I’ve always been a bit of a gadget addict. The iPhone is really helping me with that, replacing 20+ gadgets with just one and using free apps to do all the work. I mention a few of these apps below.

Here are some big items right off the bat.

Landlines – I was going through some old files the other day and came across some of our old phone bills. $65, $120, $85. This was back in 2006 when we were still using a landline and then later digital on Comcast, Vonage etc. My home number is now my iPhone and I give out a Google voice number to solicitors, websites, banks, etc. My wife does the same and we list each other as emergency contacts. If someone leaves a message on our Google voice number we get a nice transcribed email we can delete. We used to get calls at 6 PM every evening like everyone else. Now silence.

International long distance – We travel a good amount and I remember international long distance charges anywhere from $120-$350 per trip. That quickly added up to over $1000 per year. True, some of this was business-related, but as a business owner it was still my expense. I now use the Skype app or Facetime via hotel or restaurant Wi-Fi. It’s gotten a lot easier since I first tried this out in a Starbucks in Mexico. On a recent trip to Barcelona, I had daily FaceTime calls with the family, total international long distance cost $0.00. Only problem with FaceTime is that even my youngest can tell when I’ve had a few beers.

SiriusXM Satellite Radio – Satellite radio had ratcheted up to about 19 bucks a month before I discovered Pandora on my iPhone. Now can I can listen to truly commercial free music via Bluetooth. The iPhone automatically connects when I get in the car and any calls that come through pause the music. The music and calls are delivered via Bluetooth over the cars sound system. I just needed an adapter installed for my radio. The quality of Pandora and iTunes over Bluetooth to my car stereo really surprised me. I find it to be better than CDs or HD FM radio. Savings of about $200 a year after the annual pandora fee is subtracted.
Garmin GPS – The iPhone replaced my handheld GPS unit. I really enjoyed it for hiking, finding my way around strange cities, even on the water. Problem was it required CDs, expensive downloads that only worked on a PC, international city packs etc. etc. I understand that some GPS units even had a monthly fee. That’s all gone now. Not only is the iPhone a fantastic GPS device, it’s apps integrate information sharing like speeding cam locations on WAZE. WAZE should save even the most conservative driver a ticket every few years or find you a great local diner with low prices. Google maps free GPS is the best I found and, most importantly, covers walking and cycling directions that the others don’t. For hiking the everytrail app is awesome as you can share and discover great walks.There are a ton of options for hiking and running these are just a few.

When I add all this up and multiply it by several family members, I really believe the iPhone allows us to get rid of a lot of stuff. See the full list below and save a lot of money on unnecessary monthly fees that creep onto your credit card bill every month.

As I look at the list below I also realized all the time that was necessary to deal with all this stuff, racks of CDs, busted digital cameras and video recorders (now we just bust the iPhones) annual BS increases in satellite radio fees, and landline or digital long-distance fees. Lots of extra crap to pack when traveling like headphones, books, magazines, cameras extra batteries, etc. All replaced by an iPhone.

The message here was that the iPhone is worth every penny of the costs as it is something I use every day. And as a bonus it actually saves me time and money every month.

Live Lean. Work Lean. Travel Lean.

This camera took great panoramic shots. But used traditional film which sometimes I rarely got around to ever getting processed. I love photography and the idea of film but I found the best camera is the one you always have with you. iPhone. And I can also get a great panoramic shot as well.

Upvote

If the full list doesn’t show up in this post you can see it here. http://goo.gl/65hced

Let me know if I missed anything. What has your smartphone replaced lately? Please add your comments here.

Are you an energy hog? Track and compare your electric, gas, and water usage with friends and neighbors.

07/13 by The Frug 5 Comments

I’ve been using a great service to track our family’s energy use over the past few years, myenergy.com . The service recently got a makeover and is now a Nest Company. Nest makes those high-tech energy saver thermostats. As you can see, The Frug is not so frugal when it comes to energy usage. Looks like our family of four is spending double what the average energy user in the area is spending. You can track by total bill, or in the case of electricity, actual kilowatt hours. You can also track and compare with your neighbors or with friends anywhere in the country. Either way, we are off the chart. I still get quite a few complaints that the house is not cool enough. The source of the complaints is a two level heating and cooling system linked to timed zone thermostats downstairs and upstairs. I have them set up to cut off the air conditioning downstairs when no one is around and vice versa, upstairs. I need to reprogram them every time daylight savings rolls around and even need to get the system rebalanced occasionally! All of this to spend more money than my neighbors!

I think many people including myself focus on the heating and air-conditioning, but don’t realize how much energy appliances and electronics consume. A few years ago I read that cable boxes use more energy than an average size refrigerator even when the TV is off. We’ve gotten rid of all of our cable boxes, soon to be followed by the cable company. More on that later.

I’d be interested to hear what other folks spend on their electric or gas bills. I must say that we’ve done much better on the gas/heating bill over the past few years. I’m going to be sharing other family of four stats on this blog. A lot of the economic reports include great detail on family of four spending. I will be trying to get to the bottom of why our family of four spending often bears no resemblance to the stats. For example, I am continually blown away by the amount of water we use for a family that doesn’t water the lawn or have a pool. Is our water meter rigged? Do our toilets run all night? (They don’t. I did the food dye test) There are also the families that spend way below the averages, this is where we want to be. Mr. Money Mustache publishes his family’s entire budget. He was recently featured in the Washington Post. People around here have really had a hard time getting their heads around how he pulls this off. It’s good reading.

Example of some of the charts on myenergy.com. As an added incentive the service is free and you also get points for lowering your energy bill.