How much do you pay for water?
kadefol
4 years ago
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How much do you pay for lawn care service?
Comments (22)If I am remembering correctly a cut/trim crew needs to be charging about $2 per MINUTE they are on the property working to stay in business, that number may be regional, but it is a way to evaluate prices. We are paying $175/month annual to cut, trim, blow 1 acre and maintain 6 planting beds. The beds get roundup as needed and the hedge lines are kept shaped. This was bid as $150 for the cut/trim/blow and $25 for the beds. The crew is on site ~20 minutes with two mowers running. In the summer they need to double cut if there is rain, winter they cut bi-weekly or less. For the combo service including application of chemicals you will get a cheaper rate because the crew can apply during a trip to cut. There is also the possible benefit that the cutting crew MIGHT see issues before a scheduled application - but don't count on it. The cutters who apply chemicals are often just trying to make a buck by marking up the materials a little while undercutting the competition. They may have no clue what they are applying... so do consider the cost of losing the lawn to pest or disease. We pay $60/month annual contract for a minimum of 6 applications and whatever else is needed to maintain healthy grass....See MoreHow much do you pay for your all natural peanut butter?
Comments (16)I'd love it too! I like to eat all over in Grand Rapids, I've got a list of new places to try and I have old favorites too. There's a relatively new Mexican place downtown called maggie's Kitchen, they even have barbacoa made of beef cheeks, there's a Caribbean place with some kind of goat dish that's only got curbside service, a fish place on Kalamazoo down by the Mediterranean Market, and there are old standbys like Pietro's. I love the Blue Water Grill but that's clear over off Plainfield on East Beltline, and there are a lot of places I haven't even tried downtown near VanAndel and The B.O.B. Any preferences? Sushi? Indian? Fish? Diner? Even chain restaurants if you have a favorite, heck, we've even got a Sonic now, right across the street from Gordon Food Service on Alpine, LOL. You tell me when and we'll find a where! I'm definitely going to have to check D&W for Koeze's, though, and the one on 44th has DeRueze's Gourmet Market right next door. They now have a cut rate gourmet department where they get pallets full of stuff for really cheap, it's fun but you never know what you'll find for a buck... Annie...See MoreHow much do you pay for utilities?
Comments (70)cynic: Someone else mentioned the position of the heating elements in an electric water heater in explaining why the lower water temp at the bottom, where the cold water inlet is, can encourage bacteria growth. Perhaps electric tank design will change to a bottom-heating element as in gas heaters to address the bacteria growth issue? I can't help but wonder if there's more contaminants in our water today that is making this a problem now, or if it always existed but we simply didn't know about it? It seems like if this involved an automobile manufacturer, there would be a recall. There was a period when electricity rates were much lower and in low-demand situations (like mine), an electric heater cost less to operate than a gas model. This is because electricity is 100% efficient when used for heating purposes. Standby heat losses with an electric water heater are also much less than a gas model because it can be totally encapsulated with insulation where a gas heater requires exposure of the bottom surface for the flame to transfer heat to the water. A gas water heater loses some heat to room air from the flame and the exhaust as it is piped outdoors. This is "free" heat in the winter, but it increases the air conditioning load in the summer. The difference in cost per energy unit of gas vs electricity has widened considerably over the last thirty years. In fact, natural gas prices in my area have recently declined, while electricity rates have continued to soar. The electric water heater is the original one installed by the builder thirty years ago and it is still functioning problem-free. I know of several homeowners who have conventional gas water heaters that required replacement three times during this period. Tankless on-demand water heaters sound good in theory, but they don't achieve the energy savings originally claimed by manufacturers. In fact, those claims had to be modified in point-of-sale displays. Reliability issues and high repair costs merely add to their high initial purchase price. I closely monitor my energy consumption and utility bills (as you might have guessed). I have all my utility bills filed from when I purchased the house in 1986. A new rotary compressor refrigerator and an LED TV take credit for some of the reduction in hydro use. While electricity consumption has decreased, but the bills have not. If it weren't for all the extra fees, charges and taxes, the monthly bill would be closer to the $20/month I paid in 1986 and not the $50/month bill I receive today. On the brighter side, my phone bill dropped $10/month to $15 when I switched from a dial-up landline to a pre-pay voice only monthly cell phone. I have a roof antenna that receives 42 off-air TV signals, but what I save not paying for cable I pay for Internet (which didn't exist thirty years ago.) Water/sewer used to be flat-rate in the good ol'days with no restriction on consumption. Property taxes however, have increased far more than any utility where I am located. We used to be a small, efficiently-run town that amalgamated with a much larger city. My property taxes have increased from $2,000/year in 1986 to $10,000 this year (which doesn't include a huge increase in water rates). Policing, fire, social services, schools, garbage collection and public transit are responsible for most of the increase. There's also been some extremely wasteful spending/mismanagement reported by the local newspaper. Bigger is definitely not better, or more efficient, in this case!...See MoreHow much do you pay monthly for your car?
Comments (23)Orchid, we've owned many mazdas (we being he and I when was married). Daddy loves them too. Great cars. The current car is a Miata. I have loved that gal to death! It's one of the reasons I haven't let go. I say she's better than therapy. Toss the top down and off we go. Ah. My friend and I fight over whether your hair is supposed to whip wildly in the wind (me!) or you should wear a ball cap (him, in his saab), but whichever you pick, a convertible is just fun. Even being a girly girl, I have no qualms about pulling out the brush at the end of the ride. Lucky I have straight hair, that may help keep it reasonable. chi, I totally agree with you. I think most of us buy a car outside of our financial grasp. My car payment (not gas, insurance, upkeep) was something like $300 a month and that was 23 years ago. Why? I hadn't paid off the Eclipse before trading. I learned the very hard way, car payments are killer. I've told my son, instead, save what you'd pay in payments until you have enough for the car. Why didn't anyone tell me that at 14 years old (or to begin saving at 8 years old)? Maybe I'd never have had car payments, but then again, maybe I would've. He won't. He likes riding the bus. He can read, play games on his tablet, and save his bucks. I'd ride the bus except it's really hard to get errands run without a car. Grocery shopping especially!...See Morekadefol
4 years agokadefol
4 years agokadefol
4 years agokadefol
4 years agokadefol
4 years agokadefol
4 years ago
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