| This is probably the most "off the beaten path" type | | | | paid for in Florida? |
| thing that I use to save money in my everyday life. | | | | Fast forward to the year 2000, when I purchased |
| Feel free to laugh, poke fun, or comment however | | | | my first home. As part of my starter pack or |
| you wish. | | | | whatever I received, I got all the information and |
| There is a very simple and easy way to save money | | | | phone numbers to sign up for my trash disposal. Well, |
| on your garbage pickup. It takes very little effort, | | | | guess where that information went? In the trash |
| and the savings, when tracked over time, can be | | | | disposal itself. |
| quite substantial. | | | | The easiest and simplest way to save money on |
| Let me tell you a little story. I was born and raised in | | | | trash pickup is to not sign up for the service. |
| Ohio, and back in those good ol' days, we kept about | | | | Honestly, are you kidding me? Pay for trash pickup? |
| 4 big huge stainless steel garbage cans in the | | | | Does anyone else not see the insanity in this? It |
| backyard. I think it was always my duty to drag | | | | currently would cost me approximately $240 per |
| those suckers out to the road each Tuesday morning | | | | year to have my trash taken away. I'll get back to |
| before school. The garbage men came by, picked up | | | | that number in a minute. |
| the trash, and the cycle started over again. The key | | | | Needless to say, I have never paid for it. I keep |
| point here is that this service was included in | | | | several small garbage cans around the house (which |
| whatever city or local taxes my parents paid at the | | | | is what I assume most households do). The one in |
| time. | | | | the kitchen fills up just about every day, the ones in |
| In 1985, my family moved to Florida. Quite an | | | | the bathrooms a few times a week. When the bags |
| interesting transition. Included in this transition was | | | | get full, I tie them off, throw them in the trunk and |
| adjusting to new trash pickup. The system was | | | | drop them off at the dumpster behind my office at |
| exactly the same, with one small change. Shortly | | | | work. It probably takes an extra 30 seconds out of |
| after moving in, my parents asked a neighbor which | | | | my day. |
| day "garbage day" was. On the assigned day, we | | | | For those that think this is nasty, compare it to the |
| dragged our trash out and surprise, everybody else's | | | | nastiness of having a 100 gallon plastic bin in your |
| was picked up but ours. Thinking there was a | | | | backyard that simply fills up with trash every day of |
| mistake, we left it there for a day or two. We did | | | | the week. I think I know which if the two scenarios |
| not figure out the problem until another sympathetic | | | | I'd pick. |
| neighbor came stopped by to tell us that you actually | | | | Simply put, I have saved myself right around $2400 |
| had to pay for the service to get your trash picked | | | | by this method alone since moving into my house. |
| up. | | | | That translates into right around 3 ½ free |
| My parents signed up with no qualms. I mean, really, | | | | mortgage payments for me. |
| what else could you do? This incident kind of stuck | | | | I hope you're not still laughing about my silly idea to |
| with me though. I didn't understand. If our tax money | | | | save money on trash pickup!! |
| could pay for the service in Ohio, why couldn't it be | | | | |