Do you vaccinate your dog or cat regularly? How regularly? Once a year?
It might not be necessary. In fact, the Australian Veterinary Association now advises vaccinations once every three years, but many (most?) vets are ignoring the guidelines.
It’s pretty obvious why. But don’t take my word for it, check it out here:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2010-08-18/vets-accused-of-over-vaccinating-pets/949038
You might even be harming your lovely pet by thinking you are doing the right thing.
I’ve mentioned generic brands before with headache tablets – aspirin for example. In Australia they are branded (they have a name), but are considerably cheaper than better known tablets.
But you can find generic brands everywhere, in supermarkets especially.
You might think that generic brands are not as good as the real thing. Sometimes it’s true. But often they ARE the real thing. Try them out and see.
Make it a game to see if a generic version of an item is available.
Wine is a good one to try for. Cleanskins are sometimes real value and quality too. But you’ll have to taste them to find out. I return cleanskins, though, if they taste like vinegar. You’ll usually get your money back – you won’t if it’s a branded wine, unless the cork has really failed. But these days, corks are hard to find.
Sometimes generic brands are not as good as the expensive branded items. Take batteries, for example.
Cheaper batteries don’t last as long it’s true. But they can still offer a considerable saving when they are sold at nearly half the price.
To really save on batteries over time you should buy rechargeables, some of which can be recharged up to a 1000 times.
Make sure you get a recharger that does the job in 15 minutes instead of 15 hours! Of course, they cost more.
Lithium batteries are the best, but all rechargeables will benefit from being placed in the freezer – retaining their charge much longer.
Unfortunately, ordinary batteries don’t benefit much from being frozen, and the type of use you require of them is usually different i.e. instant light from a torch.
Frozen batteries must be thawed first.
There is often a cost to saving money. It would be nice to be rich enough not to worry.
But waste is for everyone to consider. And over-showering wastes money…and water.
The cost is the loss of the enjoyment of hot water on your back for 15 minutes…
15 minute showers can cost anything up to 50c depending on where you live.
You can always do better.
Take a kitchen timer into the shower with you and speed up – see if you can do your thing in under 3 minutes. Make it a game.
Brushing teeth and shaving can easily be done while NOT showering, but many do.
My husband actually turns of the shower while sudsing up his hair and body. A shower break!