# Money saving gadgets ... ???



## rikk (May 28, 2012)

This may be a bit of a frugality strech but it saved me about $1500 ... my hand me down stove is probably older than me and now that I'm retired I'm thinking geez it would be good to take the time to cook up some roasts for meals, leftovers ... except I'm not so sure about that old oven ... e.g., temperature, the timer no longer works ... so I was browsing new ranges ... what? Over $2K for a new stove ???

What I bought, for $21.95, is a digital temperature probe/alarm ... the thing sits on the kitchen counter with a lead to the probe in the roast in the oven ... I can now cook e.g. roasts perfectly ... even in my ancient oven. You can even get these things with a remote alarm you can carry around the house.

A very user friendly, useful gadget ...


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## Sampson (Apr 3, 2009)

Is this actually a money saving gadget? or a roast and dinner-guest saving one?


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## Barwelle (Feb 23, 2011)

Sampson said:


> Is this actually a money saving gadget? or a roast and dinner-guest saving one?


All of the above?

Great thinking rikk. The only downside is that the old stove is likely less energy efficient than a newer one. But keeping the old stove means saving all the energy and money that would have been used up producing a new stove. So there's a balance somewhere in there.

Now... if you're retired, you must have a few decades under your belt. And you say that the stove is older than you yet? That stove has cooked up many meals...


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

In the winter, stove energy efficiency is not that important, as all the heat is dumped into your house and offsets heating costs. But in the summer time with the AC blasting, sure.


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## rikk (May 28, 2012)

Barwelle said:


> All of the above?
> 
> Great thinking rikk. The only downside is that the old stove is likely less energy efficient than a newer one. But keeping the old stove means saving all the energy and money that would have been used up producing a new stove. So there's a balance somewhere in there.
> 
> Now... if you're retired, you must have a few decades under your belt. And you say that the stove is older than you yet? That stove has cooked up many meals...


There is an added bonus ... not only did I save big bucks by not buying a new full size oven/disposing of the old one, this thing works just as well in the counter top toaster oven ... where most of the roasts, chickens, ... get cooked ... so rest easy you guys that think I'd use a full size oven for those small jobs 

So ... let me just propose that the $100 counter top toaster oven is a money saving gadget ... made that much better with a $21.95 digital probe ... that arrived free shipping through Amazon.ca


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## rikk (May 28, 2012)

andrewf said:


> In the winter, stove energy efficiency is not that important, as all the heat is dumped into your house and offsets heating costs. But in the summer time with the AC blasting, sure.


AC blasting? I have a new, efficent, window ac unit that cools my living space just fine as required ... or just as fine as a central unit ... at about 10% the cost ... another application of less expensive appropriate technology :chuncky:


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## rikk (May 28, 2012)

Sampson said:


> Is this actually a money saving gadget? or a roast and dinner-guest saving one?


Well ... the oven isn't on any longer than it needs to be.


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

rikk said:


> AC blasting? I have a new, efficent, window ac unit that cools my living space just fine as required ... or just as fine as a central unit ... at about 10% the cost ... another application of less expensive appropriate technology :chuncky:


Not casting aspersions on A/C, window or central. Just an inefficient, leaky oven+A/C (no matter how efficient) being a problem to consider.


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## lonewolf (Jun 12, 2012)

Hi Rikk, some good thinking

Heres a couple of others

For skiers, who want to save money on purchasing goggles with fans. 
with a twist tie, tie in a verry small computer fan inside the google then with electrical tape connect ends to a small battery then tape battery on top of goggles.

Instead of buying a boot horn to put on ski boots, Cut up a 2 litter pop bottle in the same shape.

If the clock in the car stops working & it is not a simple fix such as a fuse. Remove the straps from the cheapest watch & with double sided tape place it on the most practical place on the dash.


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## lonewolf (Jun 12, 2012)

Years ago when I was in school & had no money for new shoes. The soles of my shoes were worn on an angle so I clamped them into the milling machine & milled the soles to take out the angle. The teacher could not stop laughing after he asked me what I was doing but after I was finished they were so much more comfortable.


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## rikk (May 28, 2012)

andrewf said:


> Not casting aspersions on A/C, window or central. Just an inefficient, leaky oven+A/C (no matter how efficient) being a problem to consider.


Sure ... fwiw the gasket on the oven door is fine (easily replaceable) ... and afaik, the heating element in old electric stoves work the same as the ones in the new ones ... pass current through a resistance et voila ... heat. As to being frugal ... I'm not at the obsessive end of the scale ... just saying this digital probe is imo a very practical little gadget that has saved me the cost of a new oven, a little on electricity since the oven is on only as long as it needs to be, and which will help prevent overheating my living space in summer ... actually, I don't use the oven in summer so scratch that.


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## Sampson (Apr 3, 2009)

all it really takes is a watch/timer and some experience. The utility in the thermometer IMO is really for people who have little experience. Oven heats up at a defined, consistent rate, and the meat cooks in a defined consistent rate.

Perhaps the money saving tip is as lonewolf points out, not throwing stuff away to improve on one little aspect - the timer on the stove in this case.

You could also buy a $5 analog meat probe and save $15 over the digital device.


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## Barwelle (Feb 23, 2011)

lonewolf said:


> If the clock in the car stops working & it is not a simple fix such as a fuse. Remove the straps from the cheapest watch & with double sided tape place it on the most practical place on the dash.


I think at that point, I'd just ignore the fact that the clock isn't working, and wear the watch.

I didn't even know they had ski goggles with fans in them!


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

They also sell analogue oven thermometers if you aren't sure/trust the thermostat on the oven. You just hang them on the wire shelf inside the oven and use that to adjust up or down the temperature setting.


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## rikk (May 28, 2012)

andrewf said:


> They also sell analogue oven thermometers if you aren't sure/trust the thermostat on the oven. You just hang them on the wire shelf inside the oven and use that to adjust up or down the temperature setting.


The thing about the analog, which I have, is that it doesn't alarm at a preset temperature, and the thing about the oven is that the temperature is not what the analog setting says it is ... so you guys just sit there in the kitchen, pop the door open once in a while, take the lid off the roastpan, check the analog temperature on that analog probe, while your glasses steam up as you do so ... and I'll just rest easy in my lazy boy, drink and book in hand ... did I just here the digital beeper beep? ... time to go carve that perfectly cooked roast cooked in my perfectly good old oven :encouragement:


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## kcowan (Jul 1, 2010)

Bought a weather station worth $150 at XS Cargo for $10. Also bought HDMI cables there for $5.

(We have the thermometer hanging from the rack in our old gas oven. We have an electronic timer to signal when to take drip dry clothes out of the washer for air drying on hangers.)


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## Sampson (Apr 3, 2009)

rikk said:


> so you guys just sit there in the kitchen, pop the door open once in a while, take the lid off the roastpan, check the analog temperature on that analog probe, while your glasses steam up as you do so ... and I'll just rest easy in my lazy boy, drink and book in hand ... did I just here the digital beeper beep? ... time to go carve that perfectly cooked roast cooked in my perfectly good old oven :encouragement:


I still don't see this as a money saving gadget, simply a way for inexperienced to make a good meal.

I often don't even use a thermometer, all one needs is constant heat, known size and thickness of meat, and a watch. The digital timer doesn't even save you from buy a new oven since no ovens will tell you when your meat is cook properly anyway. There is no need to keep the oven on longer than it needs to be, and there is no need to over cook a roast either.


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## Sampson (Apr 3, 2009)

I did have to go back and read your original post. It seems your old oven doesn't even report the temperature? Do you set the temperature using an analogue dial, or is that at least digital? i.e. you set the temp., but you have no timer on the machine?

rikk, sounds like you may actually have saved yourself a tonne, but for anyone able to set a fixed oven temperature, I still trust experience over the thermometers.


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## rikk (May 28, 2012)

One more try ... I'm not using the probe timer function ... the objective of cooking is to get the roast to the particular temperature that I like roast cooked to ... simple chemistry made repeatable through modern technology ... I like roast pork rare ... I set the probe to alarm when the roast reaches 145, I set the old analog temerature dial on the oven to 325 which is probably somewhere between 300 and 350 ... ovens vary anyway as they turn on and off ... hysteresis ... that's it, that's all ... the probe beeps when the internal temperature of the roast reaches 145 ... I turn off the oven and eat the roast. 

I could have gotten a new oven with accurate temperature and timer and through experience ... destructive testing  ... determined that say a 2 kilogram roast will cook the way I like it in 90 minutes at 325 ... but I didn't ... saving myself probably $2K with the added bonus that my roasts these days practically cook themselves, and perfectly, no matter what the size, in an old old oven that's perfectly up to the task when fitted with this gadget ... money saving a matter of opinion, circumstance.

Just suggesting that anyone with an old oven who is considering purchasing a new one, might not only save themselves a lotta money, but also end up with with something that actually outcooks the modern $2K plus ovens, by incorporating a digital probe into the process. Even a person with a new oven might save a few pennies by shutting off the oven when the roast reaches their preferred temperature.


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## steve41 (Apr 18, 2009)

A pair of scissors...... insert credit card, and snip.


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## MrMatt (Dec 21, 2011)

How about a pen, and apply for a credit card.

I save hundreds with mine.
Cashback, no lost change, no fees, interest free loans of a month on all purchases.
Throw in an easy dispute resolution process, and the occasional lost transaction, using a credit card is a no brainer.


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## heyjude (May 16, 2009)

I found a basic 2 quart slow cooker on sale for $9 at Superstore a few months ago. It's wonderful for using leftovers to create delicious healthy meals. As I live alone and travel a lot, I used to waste a lot of wilting veggies. But not any more!


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## rikk (May 28, 2012)

heyjude said:


> I found a basic 2 quart slow cooker on sale for $9 at Superstore a few months ago. It's wonderful for using leftovers to create delicious healthy meals. As I live alone and travel a lot, I used to waste a lot of wilting veggies. But not any more!


Heyjude ... just googled "money saving gadgets" ... there aren't any, well, not many worth considering ... EXCEPT ... the crock pot/slow cooker with rationale cooking at home saves money ... including your rationale, I'm thinking your $9 slow cooker is the unbeatable money saving gadget :encouragement:


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## protomok (Jul 9, 2012)

Here's a couple of my tricks for saving money with technology:

*Cables - HDMI, Ethernet, Audio, etc.* - www.monoprice.com. They are the best. I'm talking $2 HDMI cables, $1.35 for 7ft Ethernet cables, etc.
*Cell Phone* - Work pays for phone and plan.
*Land Line Phone* - I ditched my landline phone a while ago and bought a PBX for around $60. The PBX I'm using is called the Obi 100. It's a small box that connects to your router and to all of your phones in your house. I then pay $0.99 / month for an Ottawa phone number, plus dirt cheap rates for calling, the calls are routed through voip.ms, highly recommend! I generally pay <$5 / month for phone line.
*Internet* - Currently on a 50% off retention plan + free Modem rental with Rogers. If you've been with Rogers for >1 year, simply call and ask to speak with the "Retention Department". You will be amazed at the deals they can give you. But again, _only_ deal with the retention department to get the awesome deals!
*TV* - Currently on a 20% off + free HD PVR rental retention plan w/ Rogers. Only cause the Wifey refuses to give up Slice & TLC . Hopefully will eventually drop cable for Netflix + Antenna depending on how the next round of negotiations go.
*Buy all books online* - This saved me in University but I still do it now. I'll go to Chapters to look around, but I almost always use Amazon for buying books.


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## rikk (May 28, 2012)

protomok said:


> Here's a couple of my tricks for saving money with technology:
> 
> *Cables - HDMI, Ethernet, Audio, etc.* - www.monoprice.com. They are the best. I'm talking $2 HDMI cables, $1.35 for 7ft Ethernet cables, etc.
> *Cell Phone* - Work pays for phone and plan.
> ...


So would you sum that up as the money saving gadget being a PC (hardware/software) or equivalent with internet access? Mine's saved me $$s on repairing stuff myself (youtube videos) to shopping for best price for various items ... and my wife has saved considerable using her kindle vs hardcopy.


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## Jim9guitars (May 5, 2012)

What? No mention of duct tape yet?


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## rikk (May 28, 2012)

Jim9guitars said:


> What? No mention of duct tape yet?


I see you're in Kingston ... was wandering around the market area there a few years ago ... a guy was fixing a storefront awning ... his toolkit laid out on the sidewalk ... vice grips, a hammer, and duct tape ... nice :encouragement:


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## Ponderling (Mar 1, 2013)

lonewolf said:


> Years ago when I was in school & had no money for new shoes. The soles of my shoes were worn on an angle so I clamped them into the milling machine & milled the soles to take out the angle. The teacher could not stop laughing after he asked me what I was doing but after I was finished they were so much more comfortable.


Same concept - I wear one side down on my heels. After buffing with a bit of sand paper to imporve adhesion I build a dam of masking tape to the right elevation, and invert the shoe on the work bench. Then squeeze some 'shoe goo' out of the tube, spatula into place with a toothpick or two and leave overnight.

Sprinkle with salt if you want a bit more traction. Peel off the dam in the morning, The tape leaves a bit of a rough surface that allows the appropriately coloured sharpie marker to colour the edge of the clear patch to match the rest ofthe heel material.

Oh, and own enough leather shoes if you are man who needed dress shoes for the office to wear them only every other day.
Then the leather has time to dry, and the shoe uppers will last and keep their shape many times what you get out of wearing the same pair every day.


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