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It's crazy how we have so much stuff flowing through our homes,
and we have no record of what has happened.
Collecting this data and tracking this movement gives us KNOWLEDGE, POWER, and FREEDOM!
Usage rates are a key example of what we've been missing.
What Is A Usage Rate?
It's simple: a usage rate is the statement of how fast you use up supplies and apparel items.
All of your supplies and apparel items have usage rates. Here are a few examples:
- I use 1/2 fluid ounces ("0.5 floz") of shampoo each day.
- We use 2 34.5 oz cans of coffee each month.
- We use 4320 paper clips each quarter.
- I wear this shirt once per week.
Hey! I Don't Know My Usage Rates!
Of course you don't. Nobody does.
You may be able to guess pretty closely what some of them are, and be way off on others.
Only in certain specific cases (e.g. I always take four 500mg Vitamin C tablets each day)
will you know your usage rates exactly. But don't worry.
MakeLifeEasy lets you take rough a "guesstimate" at first, then
you will "home in" on what your actual rate really is. Over time, you and MakeLifeEasy "learn" your actual usage rates.
What Usage Rates Do For You
Usage rates are so important because when you couple them with other information,
you get powerful results that lead to powerful decisions. Here are some of the
benefits of knowing your usage rates:
- Smart Shopping Lists.
For a shopping list to be "smart", it needs to know which items you need and when.
Usage rates allow you to know: The amount of an asset you have remaining
divided by its usage rate is its "Days Left".
In other words, MakeLifeEasy uses usage rates to predict your inventory levels
so that you don't have to constantly update your database to have a reasonably accurate shopping list.
For example, if you use 1/2 floz of shampoo per day, and you have four 15 floz bottles,
then you have 120 days left of shampoo.
MakeLifeEasy automatically adjusts this figure daily to make your shopping lists smart.
- Avoiding Overbuying.
Overbuying is a common error when buying in bulk.
You can compare your usage rate of a product with its expected lifetime to assure
that you don't buy any more than you can use.
- Avoiding Overusing.
Once you know your usage rates for your assets, you can compare them with others' usage rates.
You may find that you overuse certain products, and you may learn ways to reduce your usage
from other members.
Depending on the item you're overusing, this can be good for your budget, your health, the environment, or all three.
- Avoiding Overpaying.
This is a paradox, but it's true. Time and time again you can avoid overpaying for a product
by avoiding underbuying. Underbuying occurs when you are offered a good price
on a product but you don't buy as much as you can, because you don't know how much you
can stock up on before overbuying. Then, the next time you buy the product you don't get the
good price, so you essentially overpaid.
- Balancing Priorities.
Usage rates also allow you to know your "Cost per Day" to satisfy each of your needs.
Basically, the price divided by the amount times the usage rate of the item is your "Cost per Day".
For example, if you pay $6.95 on average for a 15 floz bottle of shampoo,
and you use 1/2 floz/day, then your cost per day is $0.23/day.
You can stack up the "Costs per Day" of covering your needs to see if you're spending more on some needs
than your personal priorities indicate that you should.
You can also group these together,
- Linking with Merchants >> Freedom From Shopping.
This is a direct result of having smart shopping lists.
When you do have smart shopping lists, you can link with your merchants
to achieve freedom from shopping.
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