Frugal Friday #6: Use Rechargeable Batteries
May 4, 2007 by Karen Weideman
Filed under frugal friday, frugal living, money saving idea
If you replace your batteries at least once every 6 months for a particular device, then you should strongly consider using rechargeable batteries. Some items that quickly drain your batteries are digital cameras, MP3 players, toys, and radios.
My husband and I have been using rechargeable batteries in his digital camera for years and I’m sure they have paid for themselves at least 100 times over. I remember one day my husband had forgot to recharge the batteries for his camera and he had to use disposable batteries. They didn’t take half as many pictures as the rechargeable ones. I was instantly sold on how frugal they are.
We had a few toys that kept requiring battery changes and I replaced those with rechargeables. It was great that I no longer had to switch out the batteries as often.
Rechargeable batteries are also frugal for the environment, since there is less waste. The picture of the batteries shown above is from Wal-Mart. These batteries can be purchased for $10.47, which isn’t much more than disposable batteries.
So, tell me . . . do you use rechargeable batteries? How do you like them?
I don’t, I should, I will… soon
Dawn, I’m sure you’ll like them as much as I do. I don’t use them for clocks and other things that don’t take a lot of power, but they certainly are a money saver with our camera.
I like the idea but have found that they jsut don’t last as long as regular batteries and they clutter up some part of my house with charging time. And if you have seen my house, you know they will either get lost and then I can’t find them or they will just add to the clutter that I am trying to get rid of.
We have used them in the past but don’t use them any more.
Kelly, I’ve had just the opposite experience. Our rechargeable batteries last way longer than the disposable ones, especially with our digital camera. I can’t begin to say how much money the rechargeables have saved us just with the camera.