How to Save Money by Proper Usages of Things We Owned?

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As a frugal homebody, I realize that there are things at home that once misused will cause us to incur unnecessary spending, which greatly affects our financial management.

Misuse renders household equipment worn-out or broken, to say the least. These happen specially when we are not fully aware of DO's & DON'Ts of particular household objects.

Once a furnishing or any equipment gets busted or damaged, there are some inconveniences that when immediately surface it would dawn to us that the impending spending is inevitable.

Once our situation becomes inconvenient, our natural inclination is to get out of that situation by means of undergoing a process such as replacement or repair, or even disposal of such items.

What happens is we're going to buy things not in the schedule. And that is a big minus sign on our financial management.

Things at homes that exposed to misuse & have basic DO's & DON'Ts that must be followed

1. Refrigerator door

You can save money in the integrity of your fridge door by not tying kitchen towels on the handle.

Here we're talking about the door handle of your refrigerator. If your fridge has this bar pull as its handle, don't hang kitchen hand towel on it.

Most households have kitchen towels tied to their fridge's doors.

Yes, it's convenient. Wiping your hands while cooking is done on the fly.

But it is actually a culprit with regards to ensuring your refrigerator's optimum performance.

Wrong uses reinforced

A kitchen towel hanged on the fridge door is always used. We will not tackle all of the ways you use the towel.

But even a simple task of opening the fridge door, kids as well as adults have tendencies to hold the towel and pull it to open the fridge.

Now that's a sure way to damage the ref so that you get to buy a new one if not call a refrigerator repair service technician. Please pay attention now because this is what happened to my fridge.

Gradual breaking & Electric-use increased

After just about 15 months of having my kitchen towel tied to the handle of my fridge, I noticed that what used to be dry vertical surfaces inside the ref such as my chiller compartment located immediately below freezer had developed water droplets dripping down the bottom of it.

It became wet as if it rained inside the refrigerator. My electric bill had risen, too.

I looked into the matter closely, and two negative changes accentuated in front of me.

• First, the handle wobbled a bit.
• Second, fridge door misaligned and lowered at the other side.

From that time on, I exerted effort in shutting the door — lifting it and pressing it further.

Since then, the droplets had gone, and the inside of my fridge is now back to dry normal state.

How towel on a fridge door breaks the ref?

What happened was that the way I pulled the kitchen towel every time I opened the fridge took a toll in the structural integrity of the handle and door itself.

There were times that I held the towel and yanked the door hurriedly. So I am quite sure now that it went to different directions multiple times.

Hence, the wobbling of handle and misalignment of the door. I now removed the kitchen towel from the handle.

Today, I open the fridge door the right way — through the handle and towards my body.

I'll have it repaired later. In the meantime, I have to pay the price of misusing the appliance.

2. Plugs & Outlets

By not skimping on electrical outlets and plugs, you save money. Sub-standards don't last for months.

Never ever buy a plug or set of electrical outlets, and switches which are considered as substandard.

It would not only a waste of money even if you buy them cheap because soon they'll all malfunction.

Those imitative items are fire hazards as well and endanger the lives of members of your family.

Substandard electrical plugs & outlets

Substandard electrical materials are those that don't pass safety & performance requirements as required by our DTI or Department of Trade & Industry.

That means those shady items are unreliable and destructible.

The least that you would experience in a substandard electrical outlet, for example, is an intermittent power as you plug-in an appliance like the rice cooker.

Substandard breaks easily & quickly

It happened to me.

• I plugged in and the cooker was powered on. But momentarily, light turned off.
• Then I tried to wiggle the plug in the outlet and then the light kept turning on and off.
• Apparently, the receptacle inside the outlet was either loose or not properly installed.
• I had spent about 10 minutes before successfully powered on my cooker without anymore interruption.
• And it also happened to all electrical devices and appliances that I plugged in the substandard outlet.

It went that way every time until I finally replace all of my electrical outlets with original and standard products.

And you can imagine how I wasted money on those contraband.

Where not to buy?

If you're a follower of financial management, don't buy knock-off goods. It's one of the don'ts.

Substandard electrical products are those you see in hucksters and ambulant vendors in Quiapo, Carriedo, Divisoria, etc.

They are also sold in rented stalls in Baclaran, Carriedo, Raon, etc. By all means, avoid buying from them.

Make sure the product you buy has PS or ICC mark.

These marks determine the product has passed Philippine National Standard tests & requirements.

3. Microwave Oven

The microwave oven is a bit expensive. But it is one of the best ways to save money as it lasts for years — if you use it properly.

It has become a necessity today, because the microwave oven is a practical way of saving money as time is used wisely, and productively.

As a first time owner of a microwave oven, I came to know that certain simple things must be done before you start reheating a food.

This is to ensure the oven will last to the maximum. You never worry about the repairs and/or the buying of a new unit so soon — keeping your money intact.

DOs in microwave oven uses to preserve it for many years to come

1. Do cover pork & other meat before microwaving.
2. Do use plastic wrap to cover food as it is safe.
3. Do clean the oven every three or four months.

Why cover the food?

Be serious about this. I always forgot to cover pork dishes.

So the surface inside of the roof had bubbled over and became rusty with paint peeling off, and it's so dingy. I am sure it would be costly to repaint that area.

Pork and other fatty foods pop and splatter inside the microwave.

And those fatty splatters that clung on the roof, which I overlooked, and didn't clean up over time caused the rusts to develop chipping the coating.

There might be some reactions also to paint making contact with hot liquefied food while in the beam is on as shown by paints bubbling over.

Why plastic wrap

“According to the FDA though, rigorous testing proves that the chance of plasticizers leaking from plastic wrap when heated is slim to none. Manufacturers must test their plastic wraps so that they adhere to FDA regulations and only then can the products carry a “microwave safe” label. The plastic wraps you'll find in the supermarket all have been okayed by the FDA and are safe to use. They should all say “microwave safe” on the packaging.”

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Do tight the plastic wrap, making sure it won't touch the food as it might melt once food touches it.

Why clean the microwave?

Even if you cover food in microwaving, still dirt skips outside the vessels.

So, for much needed-layer of protection for your microwave oven, clean your unit at least once every 4-months.

How to clean inside of the microwave oven??

1. Squeeze around 8-pcs of lemon in a small bowl.
2. Microwave it for 3-minutes.
3. Let it stand for 1 more minute & take the bowl out.
4. Get a good clean cotton towel.
5. Wipe the inside of the microwave entirely.

If you do it right, the inside of your microwave stays its brand-new look longer than you imagine.

Tip: Always use microwavable containers for your safety. Buy containers or plastic wraps with microwave-safe label on them. Only use glass and ceramic cookware which are microwaveable-safe.

4. Table-top

It's so classic to use table-top made of wood without cover. It gives rustic vibes. However, to make it last with the same look, you need to have counter-measures against elements that will destroy the beauty.

There are wood finishes that look great and elegant. They last more than 10-years.

But you need to be in the know of how to use it.

• There are dining tables which are coated in varnish, wood preserver, etc.
• There are some table finishes that, when the surface makes contact with water-spills longer, blisters.

Although the phenomenon mentioned above is very isolated, the small bulge could be an eyesore on the whole surface.

If you have any furnishing or wood top:

1. Make sure to wipe it up immediately once it makes contact with any liquid.
2. Don't put a hot pot or kettle on the table without pot mat or any protection.

The table-top usual cause of damage

Many of us use an induction cooker. We have the tendency to put the pot on any surface because the underside is clean.

But the heat will ultimately damage a surface.

It's always advisable to get a potholder. Especially in a wooden top finished in any kind of chemical.

5. Cellphone Network

Telecom networks have many third-party-advertisers, which bombard us with spammy text. They don't help in saving money. So, you need to know how to dispel them.

This is actually a service in which you are a prepaid subscriber. You might haven't experienced it yet. It's better to be prepared than sorry.

You know as a heavy user of the prepaid cellphone service, I have had a lot of bad service experiences.

But nothing compared to being wrongly debited daily for the amount ranging from 5 pesos to 15 pesos.

How some prepaid networks debit us?

1. This happens once you've been tagged as subscribed to a questionable third party advertiser of your telecom network.
2. Third party advertisers connect to us subscribers by sending us spammy text messages.
3. These text messages are so tricky. They trick us into believing that what's in a text message they send is a freebie.
4. But in the end, there's a trigger in your action to a message that will subscribe you automatically to a paid service.

How to stop phone networks in debiting us?

It is smart to apply the DON'Ts here which are:

1. Never replied YES to an offer even if it's free.
2. Never say YES for a (month or week) free trial.

Another best way to avoid being wrongly debited is to ignore all text messages coming from 4-digit numbers.

All 4-digit numbered senders in your text messages inbox come from what telecom networks called third-party value-added-service providers, which in reality are 'third-party-advertisers.'

There are some third party advertisers that don't use 4-digit numbers.

Instead, they use their own company name. Hence, we also receive spammy messages from manufacturers of soap, toothpaste, etc.

Here's a DO if you're using a smartphone

You can only apply this to all advertisers using 4-digit numbers.

Add each number to your 'spam numbers':

1. Open a message from a 4-digit number.
2. Tap the button for Options.
3. Scroll down to 'Add to spam numbers' and click it.

Final thoughts

By adhering to proper usages of things we owned, which we acquired with hard-earned money, it is our financial management that greatly affected in a very positive way. In fact, we unconsciously manage our finance well by utilizing our assets with 99% accuracy.

Do you have a money-saving tip in using an appliance or tool in your home? Share with us below. Let's help one another :)

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Vernie Mallorca

Vernie Mallorca is an entrepreneur and blogger with years of experience in selling to institutional accounts. He gradually shifted to blogging when he found out that it is his calling to write timely and helpful articles online that can help others to save money, make money, and secure their future by handling their income smartly. In this blog, he shares both managing your finances, however small it is and valuable information on running a small business.