Sneaky ways to save the pennies

Anastacia

Anyone know if it is better to charge phones/MP3 players from the computer, if it is on anyway, in car charger or plugged straight in the socket?

prowla

Anastacia wrote: »

Anyone know if it is better to charge phones/MP3 players from the computer, if it is on anyway, in car charger or plugged straight in the socket?

I would say it's best not from the computer (I keep catching my son with his computer on just to charge his iPod!).
Of course, the cheapest way is to charge it via someone else's computer (eg. at work).

Reverbe

Right now Geordie sadly to me 1p is a lot of money

Barneysmom

Reverbe wrote: »

Right now Geordie sadly to me 1p is a lot of money

Reverbe I can't believe the gingers that the kids drop on their way to school and don't bother picking them up. I picked up a 2p the other day and as I was picking it up, some kids were behind me and I heard another coin drop. I waited till they'd gone past and picked it up, a 1p piece.
I always pick up money off the floor if I see it. I'm not proud.

geordie_joe

Reverbe wrote: »

Right now Geordie sadly to me 1p is a lot of money

Sorry to hear that, although being unemployed for a month now, I am beginning to know what you mean.

Having said that, 1p is not a lot of money even though it may seem like a lot to someone who doesn't have much money.

geordie_joe

Barneysmom wrote: »

Reverbe I can't believe the gingers that the kids drop on their way to school and don't bother picking them up.

That's because they place a different value on money. They get money for nothing, and when it's gone their parents give them more. So for them it is not worth picking up, it's easier to get more of their parents.

Confuzzled

~BamNaggy~ wrote: »

I love the vinegar left over from pickles, particularly onions. Tastes fabulous on chips...it always get added to an empty vinegar bottle in our house.

nice tip BamNaggy, I'll have to try that!

that reminds me, last night i watched Jamie Oliver at home and he was going on about how much tastier roast veg is if you douse it in a bit of appropriately flavoured vinegar...

the vinegar left over from beetroot would surely be excellent on beetroot and i would think the stuff left from onions would be lovely with potatoes and carrots, so i think next time i have some left over i'll give that a go

Olliebeak

geordie_joe wrote: »

That's because they place a different value on money. They get money for nothing, and when it's gone their parents give them more. So for them it is not worth picking up, it's easier to get more of their parents.

Hear, hear, Joe! I've seen them tossing small change coins on the floor as soon as they come out of shops. For goodness sake, if they don't WANT the change, why don't they just put it into collecting boxes - most shops have one or two by the tills these days.

It's almost as if they're expressing some kind of 'contempt' for something that they see as being of little value - horrible attitude.

Confuzzled

Anastacia wrote: »

Anyone know if it is better to charge phones/MP3 players from the computer, if it is on anyway, in car charger or plugged straight in the socket?

i don't have any scientific details behind this but it would seem to me that if you're using the computer anyway charging it up from that would just be a very tiny initial increase in power usage, perhaps less than having it charge on it's own in it's own socket as

i shouldn't think it would be even worth mentioning for extra petrol useage but i haven't driven in many years (very moneysaving but mostly stress saving!) so i can't say that for certain

i know that i purposefully bought a wii docking station/battery recharger for teh wii remotes and for recharging batteries for the wii balance board that both run off usb simply because i use my computer all the time so it's on anyway but if i had the regular type i'd have to find another socket AND remember to go over there, check they are charged and then remember to unplug them so they don't continue to draw energy

i don't think there is really a hard and fast answer to this as a lot has to do with your habits. when i had my usb mobile charger it was great as i always remembered to stop charging right after it was done, after all it was right there in front of me so it was a reminder, the same will work with the wii rechargers...

if i drove then it might make sense to charge up on a long drive etc and again i'd remember to stop unplug it because it would be right there in front of me

i think perhaps it's best to have a variety of options... as for the child turning his computer on just to charge his phone... if mum or dad haven't supplied him with a plug in the wall charger then i think the time is right now, obviously having the computer on specifically to charge a phone and for no other reason is wasteful but if you're actively using it then really i'd say it's fairly efficient but as i said, it's all down to your habits and ability to remember to unplug things at the right time!

geordie_joe

Confuzzled wrote: »

i don't have any scientific details behind this but it would seem to me that if you're using the computer anyway charging it up from that would just be a very tiny initial increase in power usage, perhaps less than having it charge on it's own in it's own socket as

I don't have any scientific details either, but I suspect it would use the same amount of electricity and cost the same whether you charge it via a computer or straight from the mains. The amount of electricity the phone needs won't change just because of what it is plugged into.