Tag: frugality

Are LED bulbs worth the cost?

Posted on by SmartMoneyMD

are led bulbs worth costAs part of my cost saving habits, I started looking into changing out my lightbulbs to LEDs, since I’ve read that they are more akin to incandescent bulbs in tones yet are as energy efficient (or more) than CFLs. Many of the local hardware stores also have rebates subsidized by the local utility companies (maybe they have governmental subsidies as well?).

Many of my fixtures are already using old CFLs from years ago—they take about 30 seconds before becoming sufficiently useful. I’ve found that with my short amount of patience even thirty seconds can irritate me. Moreover, none of my CFLs support dimmer switches. I still have a few residual incandescent bulbs for those fixtures.

Let’s look at the energy consumption of the three bulbs:

Incandescent CFL LED
Power consumption 60W 14W 10W
Initial cost free (already using) free (already using) or $2 $4
Energy cost $0.12/kwh $0.12/kwh $0.12/kwh
Extra hours of use needed to equate cost of Incandescent — 4.3x + $2 (cost of new bulb) 6x + $4 (cost of new bulb)

If you look at the extra number of hours of use needed to justify the cost savings, there is no way that any energy-saving bulb is worth the cost. Sure, incandescent bulbs blow out and you have to replace them yearly, but most of us have boxes of them in storage.

CFL vs LED Bulbs

I do see the merit of having LED over CFL bulbs if you are choosing between the two. In my experience, LED bulbs only cost marginally more than CFL bulbs. However, CFL bulbs have two major downsides:

(1) Most of them do not work with dimmer switches.

(2) It takes much longer for a CFL to “warm” up and become bright. Usage for short periods of time actually decrease longevity of the bulb.

If you already are using CFLs, the energy savings difference seen in switching to an LED is negligible. The cost LEDs, while much lower than they were several years ago, still lags behind that of CFLs. It would take several years of extended use to replace a CFL in use with an LED.

What bulbs did I switch?

My pre-existing fixtures with incandescent bulbs on dimmer switches were all switched to LEDs. Costco was selling 60W equivalent LED flood bulbs for $2.49 apiece. I use these lights approximately 3-4 hours a day in the kitchen, and more on the weekends. The rest of my CFLs remained CFLs. I saw no need to replace them since they were already energy saving.

How much of your home is powered using LED bulbs?

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(Photo courtesy of Flickr)

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Frugal vs cheap – doctor edition

Posted on by SmartMoneyMD

There are many articles on the web that argue the differences between frugality and cheapness. One of my favorite summaries include one article by Mr. Money Mustache. Much of his ramblings are applicable to all walks of life.

For professionals such as doctors, there is a strong emphasis on presentability. If you want to be frugal, you have to make sure you don’t look cheap.

The rule of thumb on material wealth is to have enough to sustain happiness, but not in excess. The criterion for every person will be different, but as a doctor or high income professional you probably will have a more lenient threshold before you result in financial bankruptcy (but there are plenty of doctors that end up in financial ruin).

 

Clothing: This is where you can go buck wild with your expenditures. You have to look like a doctor right? Some frugal suggestions that I have been given and tried over the years include:

  • Men and women: air dry blouses, dress shirts, and dresses. Some dry clean only clothing can be hand washed or spot cleaned. Remember, you probably aren’t waddling in mud during the day. Press your own clothing.
  • Great resources for discount fashionable clothing include: Nordstrom Rack, Ross, and even Goodwill.

 

Cars: I’ve concluded that the appearance of a doctor’s car matters very little. I’ve seen internists with high-end German luxury cars, and vascular surgeons with 13 year old pickup trucks. The key is to have a reliable car that is well-maintained.

  • A new car will depreciate immediately it leaves the dealer’s lot. Most cars depreciate 40% over 3 years. By 5 years, the car will lose approximately 60% its original value. Fancy cars like the Mercedes AMG63 depreciate about 50-60% over 3 years. Think about it, there aren’t too many fancy toys that you buy for $100,000, plow through 15 miles/gal of premium gas, cost a ton to maintain, and be worth only $50,000 after 3 years.
  • Go for a reliable, used car. Get a fancier one once you cash in your first million, and maybe a fancier one once you become financially independent. (yes, high income people like to work with big numbers).

 

House:

  • Unless you entertain frequently, the size of your house is dependent upon your personal and family preferences. Make sure you don’t buy more house than you can chew (like taking out a jumbo mortgage before you are truly settled in your practice).
  • Profitability from buying a house will be limited to the market and also how long you plan to stay in the area.
  • Obviously if you have a family and kids, you will want to look at the appropriate school district to send your kids to school. I’ve met people who toil over what school districts are best, pay top dollar for a house in the area, and end up sending their kids to private school. Not the most financially brightest decision, I might say.

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Lifestyle: I would say that if your “frugal” lifestyle choices don’t disrupt others or embarrass you, your family, or others, go for it:

  • Opt for OTA television channels versus cable/satellite channels. You can save good deal of money long term by cutting the monthly fees, assuming that you aren’t a television junkie.
  • Exercising at a home gym, outdoors, or even through home chores can save you time and money over a gym membership.
  • Be careful about hypermiling. Yes, you can save on gas, but do you really want to piss off other drivers on the road? If no one is behind you, go on ahead. Otherwise, be wary of your surroundings (which you are anyway if you hypermile)
  • If you decide to bike to work or on errands, be mindful of the traffic around you. I’ve seen plenty of bikers using the main road (speed limit 55mph) with a Class I bike lane that is parallel to it. I guess those bikers like to be on the same road as a Hummer. I wouldn’t.

 

Comments or suggestions? Please sound out below!