Monday, July 20, 2009

New Blog



This is my new blog dedicated to my frugal year. I was looking for a synonym for thrifty that hadn't been used to death (cheapskate, tightwad). Anyway, I came up with parsimonious; doesn't it sound clerical, even spritual?? Soldier is a good word for someone who has to work hard for the greater good.

This economy is having a huge impact on people. I've seen nothing like it in my 46 years of living. Have you noticed an increase in second hand stores in your area? We have no less than 3 new ones open in the last six months. I guess it is a sign of the times. I love that everyone is turning on to frugality. One of my all time favorite books is "The Tightwad Gazette." I actually tried to make paper out of dryer lint once. I made picture frames out of metal juice lids, and I still re-purpose junk mail envelopes for my grocery lists and coupons. I have never been too proud to pick up good items out of other people's garbage ("shopping for skanks" as one of my favorite clients once said). I do draw the line at diving into a dumpster and making my own deodorant. I love saving money and I love talking about saving money.

Let me first say I have always been parsimonious. My parents came out of the depression with deeply ingrained frugality. My grandmother once won a rolling pin throwing contest and the prize was an egg. The poor thing broke the egg in her purse on the way home, and was quite disturbed. Despite their thrifty ways, my parents managed to accrue a nice nest egg and there were some things never scrimped on: dentistry, shoes (at least for my mom), education.

This is my frugal year because I will be completing my internship on a small stipend, which I am truly grateful for (many of my colleagues are doing unpaid internships or losing their social service jobs) but that will reduce our income by about 1/3. Thus, I am dedicating this year to slashing expenses while being as creative as possible. I am looking for new ideas that are actually useful. I can't believe people keep writing articles about how to save money by scaling back on spa visits, cutting out the daily triple frappe-latte-mochas, no more fake bakes, buying on sale, popping your own popcorn, spurning Caribbean vacations, $10 cocktails and giving up the SUV. Not the SUV!! Tell me something I don't know!

I just read a story on retirement which stated that people with incomes of 40-50K won't ever be able to retire unless they have a very modest lifestyle. Wouldn't a person in that income range have a modest lifestyle by definition?? I am blown away by this culture's addiction to living beyond one's means and accruing thousands and thousands in credit card debts to support an unnecessary and highly unsatisfying lifestyle.

Here are some steps I have already taken in preparation for this drop in income:

letting newspaper and magazine subscriptions expire (use the library or other people's cast-offs, or ask for gift subscriptions)
driving a Toyota Corolla manual transmission over a minivan
sitting on the porch, game nights and taking walks and bike rides for entertainment
riding bike and walking as transportation whenever possible
Freecycling my unwanted goods (what goes around comes around)
using leftover coffee for iced coffee with a little half and half and Splenda
taking more showers at the Y (I'm almost embarrassed to say that)

Here are some things that appear non-negotiable at this time: cable/HD package, our cell phones which are higher than the traditional land line but to which we are now committed and dependent, air conditioning (in moderation, though we could be better), and my Culligan water cooler (I swear this saves us money on soft drinks and bottled water, I know tap water is even cheaper), our beloved Ipods.

Areas to think about: Internet. I can get the WiFi signal from the YMCA but I'm not sure that is dependable enough to complete my on-line courses this fall/spring. Operating on cash as much as possible, those end of month credit card bills can kill the budget, likewise too many debits. Home haircuts are definitely in for all the boys.

Now, about the fish pictured above. I did try fishing, but I do not have the patience or the skills. It took over one hour to catch this (small)big mouth bass. The fish were biting, they were just getting away with the worms. I wasn't able to bait the hook. The worm was just too freaky and wiggling when I tried to skewer it. I couldn't set the hook, that seemed like their ticket to get away. I did reel this guy in, but when it got close and started flopping around, I couldn't touch it. When it was all cleaned and filleted, there was about 3 bites of fish. I don't see this as a practical money saving idea. But, I'm glad I went and confirmed that I am truly not a fisher-person.

Goal for today: re-work budget for the next year since I may not be fully employed until August 2010. Start checking Orbitz and Travelocity for hotels for our vacation.

I am hoping to get some meal ideas for $5 or less to feed five.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Nice catch! Were you fishing with clothesline?