My money isn't going in the trash. Most of my money goes when the mail comes, for the utility, tax, and insurance bills. After that is gasoline expense, even though I hardly buy any! Then food. Yes I have gone through the budget almost down to the penny for several months to find out where it goes. Many of us would be surprised. Even I, who have been tracking this stuff for years, find it surprising that my bare-bones and economical driving still ranks as a top expense. I guess that's because the rest of my budget is
even more bare bones!
Re: trash: I separate out the glass, cans, and plastics; the burnables go in the burn barrel. I only have to empty out the recyclable trash can 2-4x/year!
Someone made a comment about buying the thinnest shingles available. Perhaps that's OK if you are planning on selling soon. Otherwise I think the best strategy is to buy quality. The roof on my place is the original- put on in '68. It's totally due for replacement but isn't leaking yet. I think I'm going to buy quality for the replacement; perhaps then the job won't need to be done again for another 43 years.