GlockSpock

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Available+Jobs+in+Tennessee   Saw this earlier today in the breakroom on CNN. Doubt it'd ever happen, but with the recent happenings on marijuana, perhaps a state will give NFA laws a try and see what happens?

As many of you have probably realized, I take great care to make sure I am getting my money's worth on any service I pay for, and try to be as financially responsible as a gun lover can be. So I figured that I'd pass along a tip that I use to maximize cash-back bonuses on money I do spend. I average $25-$50 cash-back bonus per month, depending on the month.   Interest rates on saving accounts are low. However, that does not mean you cannot make your money work for you! Most people tend to look at how to increase their rewards for saving money. That is important, but a point that is often overlooked is how to increase your rewards for spending money. Hi! I'm Matt, and this is how I spend!   First, let me breakdown the steps that I use:   Earn Money Budget Money Spend Money (on credit) Pay Credit in Full It is that easy!   Step 1: Earn Money   In order to have money to spend, you must first earn money. I work an 8-5 job five days a week, but your results may vary. Chances are that you are already doing this!   If you are not already doing this, might I suggest this link?   Step 2: Budget Money   I use YNAB. That stands for "You Need a Budget". That part is true. It is also true that YNAB is likely the most intuitive budgeting software that exists.I have tried many finance/budgeting programs, but I always ended up dropping them due to the fact that they never really changed anything. I like to think of it in the following way: Most budgeting programs are like a giant magnifying glass inspecting what you have already spent, and YNAB is like a giant telescope telling you what you are going to spend in the future.   I wont' get into too many details here regarding YNAB's "Four Rules", but essentially, it is important for you to budget your money so that you do not spend more than you make. It's that easy. In this particular write-up, we are attempting to maximize cashback bonus. In order to do that, we cannot afford to be charged any interest on our credit card. That would very quickly offset any cashback bonus we may earn during the month.   If you want to save even more money when purchasing YNAB, use a coupon!   $6 Off Coupon for YNAB   Step 3: Spend Money (on credit)   Placing all my purchases on a credit card to maximize cash-back was something I attempted several years ago. It ultimately ended with me spending more than I made each month, and then of course accruing interest charges on the card.  So I stopped this practice and started using my debit card for everything instead. However, once I started using YNAB, I then could safely put all my spending on a credit card and now is exactly what I do once again.   I have my internet setup on Discover. Anything shipped via USPS is paid via Discover. Anything I eat I place on Discover. In a few shorts words, if I can place it on Discover, I do. But since I have budgeted every dollar that I spend and stick to that budget very closely, I have never been charged interest on any of these purchases.   However, here is my method. Take advantage of any bonus programs that you might have. I get 1% cash-back on every purchase through Discover. However, I also get 5% through iTunes, 10% through Sears, 5% on fuel and so on and so forth. There is a huge trick here though. I am offered 15% cash-back through Groupon. Assuming that you are placing restaurants and other social things to do, focus on this. If you budget $300 for a month's worth of restaurants and then are able to spend most of that on Groupon for food deals, not only are you likely getting close to $600 worth of food, but you would also be getting close to $45 cash-back. That adds up pretty quickly once you figure in other possible cash-back rewards.   Your results will vary based upon your credit card, but I would highly recommend Discover. They generally have the highest cash-back rate, and have a special category for each quarter of the year (this quarter is 5% on fuel, next quarter is 5% on online shopping).   Become a Discover cardmember and you’ll get $50 Cashback Bonus with your 1st purchase within 3 mos.   Step 4: Pay Credit in Full   This part is easy. As long as you have stuck to your budget, you already have enough money sitting in your checking (or better yet savings) account. Pay your credit card off in full each month so you will not accrue any interest on your purchases.   Summary   Budget money before you spend it, place all possible purchases on credit cards that offer cash-back, pay your credit cards in full each month and then enjoy your cash-back rewards!   So, what about you? Do you have any tricks or tips for maximizing how well spent money works for you?

And that...would probably be the best thing he could possibly do. Not to mention the iPod is made in China!

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/09/07/wh-goes-all-out-to-win-syria-strike-support-ahead-obama-tuesday-speech/ Looks like he is at minimum still standing behind his bluff. At most, he doesn't care and really, really wants some action.

You forgot the part where it dies every other chew and you have to start it again.

That's the settings on the Web GUI, it's pretty much all that there is on the unit as well. I think it is good to go. Thoughts?

  Ok, I changed the aux. heat from gas to electric in the settings. I now have two additional settings available. The first one asks when to use the heat pump compressor when the temperature outside is above: (default is always). The 2nd additional setting asks when to use the aux. heat (default is 50f or below). Sound good? It is typical for the aux. and heat pump to work when it is super cold, right?

That is great information! I have been running the AC around 78 this previous week. So is it even worth letting it go up to 80 or so when I am not here? I have always wondered about efficiencies and what not, I just wish that the climate was steady enough to test everything in various ways.

A bit more "statistics" that I'm using to hype myself up over this:   What I've done is exported all available data from my electric usage, sorted it all by average temperature and then sub-sorted it by usage. I have this to show:   The following is for all days with an average external temperature of "77", with the high and low following the average temperature. I've sorted these records by usage, and as you can see the "Nest" day falls into 7 of 16th place in lesser usage.     6/21/2013 32 Kwh $2.87 77 87 69 7/25/2013 32 Kwh $2.83 77 87 66 6/20/2013 35 Kwh $3.14 77 87 69 8/12/2013 38 Kwh $3.35 77 87 72 7/26/2013 39 Kwh $3.45 77 88 66 8/13/2013 39 Kwh $3.44 77 87 73 Nest 39 Kwh $3.44 77 86 73 8/20/2013 41 Kwh $3.62 77 85 71 7/28/2013 44 Kwh $3.89 77 85 70 8/5/2013 45 Kwh $3.97 77 87 68 5/31/2013 46 Kwh $3.98 77 85 70 7/27/2013 49 Kwh $4.33 77 86 72 9/1/2013 49 Kwh $4.32 77 84 73 7/8/2013 50 Kwh $4.42 77 87 72 8/3/2013 52 Kwh $4.59 77 84 69 8/27/2013 62 Kwh $5.47 77 89 66   The following is for all days with an average external temperature of "80", with the high and low following the average temperature. I've sorted these records by usage, and as you can see the "Nest" day falls into 1 of 9th place in lesser usage.     Nest 29 Kwh $2.56 80 90 73 7/16/2013 35 Kwh $3.09 80 90 72 8/4/2013 36 Kwh $3.18 80 89 73 8/30/2013 48 Kwh $4.24 80 90 75 8/9/2013 50 Kwh $4.41 80 90 72 8/10/2013 50 Kwh $4.41 80 88 73 7/15/2013 53 Kwh $4.69 80 88 71 6/11/2013 54 Kwh $4.84 80 91 71 8/28/2013 64 Kwh $5.65 80 90 70   The "77" doesn't impress me as much, however, the "80" excites me quite a bit!

Well, first status report in! My utility allows us to view near real time usage via a web interface. I know it is far from scientific (give me a few more months and I'll have cold, hard statistics). However, I think so far this is a good sign. Nest was initially installed on September the 2nd. You can of course see the avg, max, and min degrees F of the outside temperature. Monday was when I first installed it (in the evening), and it saw the lowest usage amount for the shown period as of that date. Then, Tuesday, it showed a lower usage amount for the shown period. It is possible that Wednesday is not a complete usage yet (as in, the next time the usage is "pushed" to the server it could update). However, comparing Tuesday, September the 3rd to Wednesday, August the 28th is a very good sign. Both of them had the same average outdoor temperature, but usage was 64 vs 29. That's of course also dependent on other things, such as washer and drier usage, etc etc, but I think it is a very good sign starting off! I have data for the previous year that I can compile into statistics based on average temperature. I can then compile statistics based on average temperature after I've installed the Nest. That should provide me with quite accurate savings estimates.

  Well then I really hope to see my bill drop 30%! I just purchased the Nest thermostat. It costed a bit more than your $50, but it has a pretty screen and iOS comparability (I go for that sort of stuff). Honestly, a more efficient shower head is something I've likely overlooked, as well as stuff for the sink.   This could become quite a hobby/addiction (trying to get your water and electric bills as close to $0 as possible)!

  I was thinking about these, particularly the window tinting and seal/insulation kits for doors and windows. Any information on these?

I have a $100 gift card to Walmart. Instead of blowing it on something I probably don't really need, and I don't want to stand in line for .22lr ammo, I am thinking of purchasing something for energy savings. I just don't know what! I am attempting to cut my electric bill a noticeable amount. I've already setup the Nest thermostat and awaiting my first reports in relation to savings.   Things I am considering.   Fancy light bulbs Timers Dehumidifier (possibly)   I don't really know, but I am sure you do! Do you have a way I might be able to spend my $100 to help curb my electric cost? I'd be nice if it were to pay for itself (the $100) over the next year. Give me some ideas!

Also, lets talk about humidity and HVAC. I've read that having a higher relative humidity makes it more difficult for your HVAC to adjust the temperature inside. My nest tells me my relative humidity level, it's currently at 56%. I've read the 45% is probably the more optimal relative humidity level for comfortable temperatures inside.   Nest as a "Cool-to-Dry" setting, which means it mumps AC into your house to reduce the relative humidity. It also warns this can get quite expensive, although I don't see any statistics or settings regarding what humidity level it attempts to keep it at.

Pictures!

Yeah...something does seem off. Supposedly it is cooler outside (somewhere between 69 and 75). Thermostat is set to 76. Currently showing 80 on the indoor temperature and is down from 82 or so from 1.5 hours ago. I never really payed attention to heating and cooling time with the other temperature because I typically left it at around 74 all the time. What is typical cooling time per degree in an 800sqft house? 1 degree per hour? 4 degrees?

Well...honestly one of my first thoughts was that the air didn't seem as cool. However, I chalked it up to be one of those things you don't really notice much about until you really start thinking about it. Besides the meter and les than scientific method of feeling the temperature...any other ways to check this?

Yeah...I have been told I do this by multiple people.

How?

  I don't believe Rh and Rc need a jumper. I'll take a photo tonight of the manual, it says if your old thermostat had a jumper not to worry about it, that an R wire can be plugged in to either and I suppose it just knows to take current from either. In fact, I'd bet that there is possibly a built in jumper between Rh and Rc, however that's just a guess and perhaps there isn't just in case sometimes you would not want that.   I'll look more into the gas heating and whatnot. So this upcoming winter, you think I'd benefit financially from having gas heat when it is quite cold outside? There is a setting to use W2/AUX whenever it drops below a set temperature set by you. I think the default is 30F.

Ok, I think I figured out that I have an O wire, or else it would be blowing warm air when cooling and cool are when warming. Correct?

Also, here is the way the Nest interprets the wires: And of course here is how it is actually wired:

Ok, I entered into the settings and setup the * to use it for the Emergency heat. I also found a setting that asks whether I have an O or a B wire. It states that the O wire is more common. I selected "I don't know". How do I find that out? And am I correct in figuring out that the W2/Aux controls the gas?

Well, it will be pretty hard to give an exact number, but I will attempt to update this thread with as many statistics as possible and then allow you to draw your own conclusion based upon those statistics. Ultimately, I believe it would be up to the user as to how much they save. I just programmed this schedule in via my computer, it's easy peasy! Everyday at 1AM, 82F, Everyday at 6:45, 78F, Everyday at 5PM, 78F. I think that perhaps that schedule means less that it should because of the auto away function. However, it's just a starting point and we'll see how it works. Honestly, the other thermostat was programmable but I never fooled with it because I never took the initiative to do so. Keep in mind that you are also paying quite a pretty penny for the fact that it was created by Mr. iPod Engineer. Now, it does indeed look great and turning the dial to set the temperature and other things make you feel like you are turning the dial on a high end safe. I for one love the idea of the mobile app because it will allow for me to keep the house a bit more efficient whenever I am not home but also allow me to set that comfort level if I know I am going to get home early. So we'll see. There is a lot of information available on their website. They claim an average savings of 19.5%. If I reached that, I'd be more than thrilled. Claiming the highest reported savings at 36.1%. Honestly, 10% savings would save me around $15 a month, so a year and a half it'd pay for itself. Considering that I wanted the Nest also for the "smart" features, I'll consider payoff a bit earlier. If it goes above 10% energy savings, that's even better. I will try and get a spreadsheet of energy usage per month over the previous year and then start comparing it to once I installed the Nest. Hard to say, but I'll see what I can come up with.

Here is a snap of the manual: (Emphasis added my me) The * is, I suppose, a multi-use input by which it is accepting my "E" wire. So does that mean, I suppose, that the only other possible issue is the possibility of a needed jumper? I think I remember reading somewhere that either jumpers are not needed or not supported. I am looking for that right now. EDIT: Found it. Documentation suggests that an R wire can go into either Rc or Rh, and Nest does not need a jumper between the two. So what are your updated thoughts and input?