How Can We Save?

[Ed Rooney]

 

We all need a basic functioning kit to capture stuff. But I will need to be more frugal to deal with inflation and live on my small fixed income. 

 

One thing I do is cut my own hair. I have less chance of getting Covid or flu by doing that too. It would be a better idea if I were not such a terrible barber. Should we eat less, drink less, and smoke less? I never smoked, and I don't eat dinner now. Drink less than I drink? Don't get too close to me and say that. A doctor I had in NYC suggested I stop drinking alcohol altogether. I made the appropriate change. I found a new doctor.

[John Mitchell]

When not cutting straws in half to save money, I do grudgingly buy the occasional used piece of camera equipment, usually in pristine condition and a fraction of the original price. Can't see myself ever buying new again since there's so much good stuff floating around out there. People often buy cameras and lenses these days and then end up using their phones instead. I've also dusted off and sold all my old gear, which I came to realize I was keeping for purely nostalgic reasons. Some of it was hard to part with, but I've gotten over it. ☺️

[StokeCreative]

This should probably go in Good News...I retired on Friday yay!

 

But since we're talking money, I'll have to have a re-think of all my subscriptions. I've got too many TV ones, Netflix, AppleTV, Prime...but aso Apple Music (which I love) and Apple News which is incredible value considering the amount of publications on it (From Scientific American to the NYT via a number of Photo mags)but its still £9.99 a month. My teaching Union subs were £26 pm which I've of course cancelled now, so winner winner, chicken dinner! You don't need to know all my finances of course, I'm boring you now...

 

Although retiring from my current job Im carrying on being an External Examiner at another institution, guess what, I still get Adobe CC for free becuase I have an academic email address!

 

Looking forward to having more time for me now, and losing all that stress, of what has sadly become a corporate business (Higher Education).

Hugh

 

[Finish Line ouside Battersea Power Station!]

[John Mitchell]

9 hours ago, Martin L said:

You can nip in while John and I are untangling our beards (assumption is if John is on the frugal side, he foregoes razors like me 🧔)

 

Yup, shaving is for rich folk.

[Rebecca Ore]

I retired to Nicaragua.   Savings in heating, air-conditioning (I live in the mountains), house cost (within $5 of a US-dwelling brother's HOA monthly fees), and part-time butler, shopper, dog walker and house cleaner for $160 a month, for which his other employer, a Nicaragua, scolds me for paying too much.  Cancelled the various subscription services, and buy mostly used clothes.  Haven't tried cutting my own hair, but the cost for that is around $6 US.  Don't need a car, walk to many places, and take a taxi or sent Luis out for shopping without me.

[sb photos]

11 hours ago, John Mitchell said:

When not cutting straws in half to save money, I do grudgingly buy the occasional used piece of camera equipment, usually in pristine condition and a fraction of the original price. Can't see myself ever buying new again since there's so much good stuff floating around out there. People often buy cameras and lenses these days and then end up using their phones instead. I've also dusted off and sold all my old gear, which I came to realize I was keeping for purely nostalgic reasons. Some of it was hard to part with, but I've gotten over it. ☺️

 

Have all the DSLR photographic kit I need, but I still have some of my old film camera kit. I toy with selling it for whatever I can get, but haven't yet. There's and old Linhof 6x9 view camera, a Linhof 4x5, a Toyo 45a 4x5 with 5 lenses, a Mamiya C220 TLR with 3 lenses, and a Canon T90 with 6 lenses. Older DSLR's, a Nikon D7100 and a D7200 with 16-85 lens went to my sister recently. One of my 5 tripods went to my sisters husband last year. 

[Bryan]

Yesterday I made a rare photo only outing, a trip to shoot a specific site. Cycled there and back, didn't cost too much, some tyre and brake wear, maybe made me hungrier. We have minimum subscriptions, BBC, National Trust etc, but no streaming services, no Adobe, no Prime. Grow a  lot of our own fruit and veg, collect rainwater and recycle grey water.  In the winter we close down part of the house to avoid heating it, and bedrooms not heated. Most of my lenses  bought used.

 

Considered doing a PhD in parsimony, but too mean to pay the fees.

Edited October 5, 2023 by Bryan

[gvallee]

Many people in Oz balk at the price of the Starlink equipment. A$599 ($382). So did we. Then we bit the bullet. The cost was recovered within 3 weeks or less. How? Although our motorhome is fully equipped for off-grid, we were staying in caravan parks way too often just to get the internet. We also cancelled our satellite phone subscription made redundant by Starlink. I do have Photoshop CC, wouldn't do without, I love it.

[Ed Rooney]

 

You're never boring, Hugh. Enjoy retirement.

[Allan Bell]

Yearly subscriptions: Car (road tax, insurance, servicing, MOT, recovery).  Property insurance.  Tv license.  009 Society (Will cancel next year at a massive saving of £20/yr).

 

Monthly subscriptions:  Council tax. Electricity, Gas, Water/sewage. Living (food etc). Hair trim. Window cleaner, Mobile phone. Mobile broadband. Car fuel. Adobe LrC.

 

Apart from the 009 Society I consider the rest to be absolutely necessary.

 

Allan

 

[NYCat]

I don't have a car and almost always use public transportation. I do pay attention to how expensive a restaurant is but then don't worry about the luxury of dining out. At my age I deserve a treat! I used to buy wonderful clothes in thrift stores but after bedbugs arrived in NYC I stopped even going into a place with used goods. Probably an extreme view but some things I don't want to take a chance on.

 

Paulette

[spacecadet]

12 minutes ago, Allan Bell said:

Car  servicing, recovery

Are you already with Green Flag, which is cheaper than AA/RAC, and can you DIY any of the servicing? Routine services, unless to maintain the warranty, don't do anything to prevent breakdown, and most of it is pretty straightforward. We've never done it as such, just keep an eye on things as per the Haynes manual. Our garage is very reasonable for oil changes if I don't want to do it myself.

We ditched the window cleaning after ours just stopped coming round. I still use non-sub LR 5.7.

[Ed Rooney]

 

Here's a thought. Instead of cutting out or cutting back on stuff, why don't we just ask Alamy to increase our percentage of sales and stop selling our images for less than $50? That would work. I bet Alamy would be happy to consider it.   I think.

[spacecadet]

16 minutes ago, Ed Rooney said:

 

Here's a thought. Instead of cutting out or cutting back on stuff, why don't we just ask Alamy to increase our percentage of sales and stop selling our images for less than $50? That would work. I bet Alamy would be happy to consider it.   I think.

 We need a scamp, Ed, and you're it.

[geogphotos]

1 hour ago, Ed Rooney said:

 

Here's a thought. Instead of cutting out or cutting back on stuff, why don't we just ask Alamy to increase our percentage of sales and stop selling our images for less than $50? That would work. I bet Alamy would be happy to consider it.   I think.

 

 

Not holding my breath for that to happen but maybe one day Alamy will realise that they gain through nurturing and encouraging contributors.

 

Perhaps the penny might drop that images do have to be created and those creators do need reward. Otherwise supply diminishes in some way - quality, quantity, both.  

 

 

[StokeCreative]

6 hours ago, Ed Rooney said:

 

You're never boring, Hugh. Enjoy retirement.

      Many thanks Ed

[Allan Bell]

5 hours ago, spacecadet said:

Are you already with Green Flag, which is cheaper than AA/RAC, and can you DIY any of the servicing? Routine services, unless to maintain the warranty, don't do anything to prevent breakdown, and most of it is pretty straightforward. We've never done it as such, just keep an eye on things as per the Haynes manual. Our garage is very reasonable for oil changes if I don't want to do it myself.

We ditched the window cleaning after ours just stopped coming round. I still use non-sub LR 5.7.

 

I used to service my cars many years ago but that was when cars were cars and men were men.

 

Cars these days are filled with too much electronic gadgetry and you need special tools to dismantle and reassemble and each time you get a new (second hand) car you need to get a new set of tools cos they are all different. If I want to sell my car I have a full garage service history which bumps the price up.  When I checked AA was better than GF.

I went with LrC sub for all the updated tools. Still have LR 16.4 on my computer and will drop sub LrC should I need to.

 

Allan

[John Mitchell]

11 hours ago, Rebecca Ore said:

I retired to Nicaragua.   Savings in heating, air-conditioning (I live in the mountains), house cost (within $5 of a US-dwelling brother's HOA monthly fees), and part-time butler, shopper, dog walker and house cleaner for $160 a month, for which his other employer, a Nicaragua, scolds me for paying too much.  Cancelled the various subscription services, and buy mostly used clothes.  Haven't tried cutting my own hair, but the cost for that is around $6 US.  Don't need a car, walk to many places, and take a taxi or sent Luis out for shopping without me.

 

Sounds like you made a wise decision. Good to know that there are parts of the world where life is still affordable. Vancouver isn't one of them. 😟

[John Mitchell]

1 minute ago, Allan Bell said:

 

I used to service my cars many years ago but that was when cars were cars and men were men.

 

Cars these days are filled with too much electronic gadgetry and you need special tools to dismantle and reassemble and each time you get a new (second hand) car you need to get a new set of tools cos they are all different. If I want to sell my car I have a full garage service history which bumps the price up.  When I checked AA was better than GF.

I went with LrC sub for all the updated tools. Still have LR 16.4 on my computer and will drop sub LrC should I need to.

 

Allan

 

I too used to do my own tinkering back when it was still possible to figure out what was going on under the hood. Have to say, though, that today's cars are much easier and cheaper to maintain. Our little, fuel-sipping 2007 Toyota (bought slightly used in 2008) has never needed a tune-up. I haven't even replaced the spark plugs. Which reminds me, I need to get the oil changed, which is a lot more expensive than it used to be. 🙁

[Allan Bell]

6 minutes ago, John Mitchell said:

 

I too used to do my own tinkering back when it was still possible to figure out what was going on under the hood. Have to say, though, that today's cars are much easier and cheaper to maintain. Our little, fuel-sipping 2007 Toyota (bought slightly used in 2008) has never needed a tune-up. I haven't even replaced the spark plugs. Which reminds me, I need to get the oil changed, which is a lot more expensive than it used to be. 🙁

 

Changing the oil is a job for the servicing garage or you have to find some where to dispose of the old oil. Can't just dump it in the nearest drain.

 

Allan

 

[John Mitchell]

12 minutes ago, Allan Bell said:

 

Changing the oil is a job for the servicing garage or you have to find some where to dispose of the old oil. Can't just dump it in the nearest drain.

 

Allan

 

 

For sure. Dirty engine oil is toxic stuff. I'd be going electric if I could afford it. Wish I could do without a car altogether but not really feasible at the moment. As it is, I try to drive as little as possible. 🚶‍♂️

[Normspics]

On 04/10/2023 at 16:01, StokeCreative said:

This should probably go in Good News...I retired on Friday yay!

 

But since we're talking money, I'll have to have a re-think of all my subscriptions. I've got too many TV ones, Netflix, AppleTV, Prime...but aso Apple Music (which I love) and Apple News which is incredible value considering the amount of publications on it (From Scientific American to the NYT via a number of Photo mags)but its still £9.99 a month. My teaching Union subs were £26 pm which I've of course cancelled now, so winner winner, chicken dinner! You don't need to know all my finances of course, I'm boring you now...

 

Although retiring from my current job Im carrying on being an External Examiner at another institution, guess what, I still get Adobe CC for free becuase I have an academic email address!

 

Looking forward to having more time for me now, and losing all that stress, of what has sadly become a corporate business (Higher Education).

Hugh

 

[Finish Line ouside Battersea Power Station!]

Congratulations on your retirement Hugh, you earned it!!

[Normspics]

3 hours ago, John Mitchell said:

 

For sure. Dirty engine oil is toxic stuff. I'd be going electric if I could afford it. Wish I could do without a car altogether but not really feasible at the moment. As it is, I try to drive as little as possible. 🚶‍♂️

Still worried about electric car battery fires

[Mr Standfast]

On 04/10/2023 at 21:01, StokeCreative said:

This should probably go in Good News...I retired on Friday yay!

 

But since we're talking money, I'll have to have a re-think of all my subscriptions. I've got too many TV ones, Netflix, AppleTV, Prime...but aso Apple Music (which I love) and Apple News which is incredible value considering the amount of publications on it (From Scientific American to the NYT via a number of Photo mags)but its still £9.99 a month. My teaching Union subs were £26 pm which I've of course cancelled now, so winner winner, chicken dinner! You don't need to know all my finances of course, I'm boring you now...

 

Although retiring from my current job Im carrying on being an External Examiner at another institution, guess what, I still get Adobe CC for free becuase I have an academic email address!

 

Looking forward to having more time for me now, and losing all that stress, of what has sadly become a corporate business (Higher Education).

Hugh

 

[Finish Line ouside Battersea Power Station!]

Welcome to the 7 day weekend!

[Mr Standfast]

Frugality...

 

Due to the cost of living, inflation and such like, I had to let the Butler go.

Very sad. I shall miss Morrison.

He was very organised, a place for everything and everything in it's place. Very neat.

Wish I'd asked him where he kept the silver before he went.

Damned if I can find it.

 

G'night.

[Betty LaRue]

19 hours ago, sb photos said:

 

Have all the DSLR photographic kit I need, but I still have some of my old film camera kit. I toy with selling it for whatever I can get, but haven't yet. There's and old Linhof 6x9 view camera, a Linhof 4x5, a Toyo 45a 4x5 with 5 lenses, a Mamiya C220 TLR with 3 lenses, and a Canon T90 with 6 lenses. Older DSLR's, a Nikon D7100 and a D7200 with 16-85 lens went to my sister recently. One of my 5 tripods went to my sisters husband last year. 

I have a boatload of photography stuff to sell. Hopefully I’ll get to it this winter. Three family members (male) recently added 4 shelving units to the one I already had in my basement storage room. I’ve been getting things organized down there and putting like items together.

I have several cameras, bags, tripods, SB800s, and scads of other things.