Frugal for a Year

One Last Post Here

2009-04-13T09:50:00.001-07:00

Just a reminder that I am now posting on my own site, http://blog.yearoffrugality.com/ . This just makes my rather hectic life easier (plus it gives me a bit more copyright protection, should I ever choose to write a book or something of that sort). This is my LAST post on blogger, I'm moving 100% to the new site. I'll keep this one up for archives, but won't be posting any new posts here.

My Last Post on Blogger
According to the old adage, “Time flies while you're having fun.” I have to say it also flies when you're busy and tired. I hadn't realized how long it had been since I posted, but I'll catch you up on how I've been doing with everything.

I had to spend a bit more money than I thought I would this month, my old glasses broke. I bought prescription sunglasses last month, and pretty much as soon as I got them, my old glasses bit the bullet. Thankfully, I always keep a spare pair of glasses around, or I would have to wear my sunglasses all day. The spare pair aren't quite the right prescription, though, as they are about four years old, so I've been getting headaches thanks to the eye strain. I finally got new glasses ordered Saturday morning (I couldn't find a pair I liked until then). Hopefully they'll come in early and I can pick them up when I'm back in town on Friday.

I made another trip to Kansas City next week and I did okay. I spent $15 at Office Depot, but I got a lot of stuff for my $15. I had a gift card for $28 and I got things which were on sale. Everything but the blank CDs was on clearance. I got some porous point pens which would have been $15 off the shelf for $1.50, nearly everything was at least 50% or more off. I didn't get too much for school, but I got Christmas gifts for my two nephews, so that's not bad for $15. I also went to Fashion Bug and got some new clothes. As the weather gets warmer, and I slowly get smaller, I am finding that I don't really have anything which is summery to wear. I bought a skirt and blouse for under $40, they weren't even on clearance. The entire store was having a 30% off sale, and then I had a coupon for $10 off my $40 purchase. That still makes them nearly $20 each, but it seems like you can't get clothes which will last for much less than that. I found out long ago to buy work clothes which are a bit more expensive, they just last longer. Occasionally, I find career wear at Wal-Mart, but this is a rarity. Normally, I go to Fashion Bug or Dress Barn for work clothes, more expensive, sure, but I have yet to throw out anything which I bought there. They still have plenty of wear in them when I pass them on.

In the last couple of weeks I have been in search of a pressure canner so that I can can some fruits and vegetables this summer. I still havn't been able to find one with I like and can afford. Finally, I gave up and got a boiling bath canner. I'll see how it works. What is amazing is that the boiling bath canner is 1/5 of the price of a pressure canner. I will probably still buy a pressure canner at some point, I just don't seem to trust a boiling bath one...maybe that's coming from my mother and grandmother, or maybe from the fact that I've never really used one before. I'm going to try it out later today if I have time, I have to clean house and grade a pile of papers first, though.

I have saved enough money by not shopping that I could pay off the first loan from my parents. I paid the final installment on Friday, all $3,000 of student loans is paid off. I'm not sure if I want to burn the note or frame it. I still owe them quite a bit of money, but the fact that I was able to pay off one of the two loans feels really good. Now I can focus my efforts on the larger one, for my weight loss surgery. What is really scary is that I am considering putting myself further into debt. I am looking at post-grad schools, thinking about getting my PhD. That will cost quite a little bit of money, $60,000 is a conservative estimate. In the long run, it will be worth it, but in the short run, it will still make me very uncomfortable. This means that being frugal will be a way of life, I won't have any money to go shopping with.

This past weekend, I went back to my parent's house and spent Easter with my family. It was nice to see everyone. We celebrated my grandmother's 90th birthday. It is amazing to think that someone could have lived for that long. The things she has seen...I can only imagine. It was really nice to see how much some of my cousins have grown up. I haven't seen some of them in several years. On Sunday morning, the Easter Bunny came again, and even though I'm 26, I still got my egg filled with money. The $100 was nice, but not necessary, which was a good feeling.

Later today I am going to go to Hy-Vee and pick up an Easter ham. They have them for $1.98 a pound, a fairly decent deal, I think. I will bake it some more, then package it into individual servings. I put them in foil, so that I can easily put them in my toaster oven to get a bit browned. Ham which is slightly browned is my favorite, it just makes it taste so good. I also like to fry it, yum. Okay, now I'm hungry and will have to go get dressed so I can go get some ham. Once I get these silly papers graded today, I will have a bit more time. I promise I'll write again soon.

Remember, if you want to keep reading my stuff, you need to go to http://blog.yearoffrugality.com/
I even have a page of frugal tips over there. I will also be adding a page of helpful websites and books once summer gets here and I have a bit more time to work on things. The months of April and May are always busy for me, but then come summer, ah, I'm looking forward to it already. Feel free to comment on the new site, and let me know if you have any problems commenting over there.

Spring Splurge

2009-03-30T20:56:00.001-07:00

I splurged. Yeah, I know it, and I feel bad about it. Okay, not bad enough to take back the things I bought, but bad nonetheless. I had purchased a cute vintage purse for 25 cents at our local thrift store, but I guess some things just aren't meant to last. The strap broke. I fixed it, and it broke again. I fixed it again (removing the broken link) and the stupid thing broke again (this time on my way out to my car, spilling the contents). So tonight I broke down and bought a new purse. While I was there, I found a wallet set that I really liked. The purse was $16.00, the big wallet was $10.00 and the two smaller wallets, one for cards and the other for cash (so that I don't have to carry around the whole purse or my big wallet all the time) were $5.00 each. However, I now feel nice and organized. I have my driver's license and other “go for a quick trip” things in a small wallet with a wrist bracelet (my license, one check, $20 cash, some change, my library card, and a movie rental coupon). I have the rest of the cards I use on a regular basis, as well as my checkbook in a larger wallet with a wrist bracelet (for trips more expensive than going to the grocery store or movie rental store). Finally, I have all the cards that I rarely ever use but seem to need when I don't have them with me in the card wallet (Insurance, Teacher's Association, etc). It will just stay in the purse until I need one of them. Everything fits nicely into my new purse, which has room to hold my sunglasses and even a book to take along.

Other than that, I did pretty good at Wal-Mart. I stuck to my list pretty well. I got some laundry detergent, Clorox for colors and Woolite (thank you to whoever put the $1.00 off coupon by the Woolite!) I also got more 99 cent a pound General Tso's Chicken. I'm planning on making rice tomorrow, and am looking forward to more yummy meals. I'll let you know exactly how much it costs, but I think it's about 33 cents or less for a meal made this way. Just make sure you're at the Wal-Mart deli counter at about 8:40, the chicken always goes really fast...

It's nearly the end of the month. Last year at this time of the month I would have been worrying about my bills, wondering if I had enough money in my bank account to pay my rent and my parents. This year, now that I am practicing Voluntary Simplicity, I don't have to worry. There is plenty of money in the bank to cover my bills, as well as any incidental costs which I might have (like replacing a tire or two). I even have some extra money in the bank, about $1500, to be exact. That's what I'll have left over at the end of this month in my bank account after paying $400 to my parents (student loans), and $525 for my rent (utilities but phone, cable and Internet included). Not too bad considering the near zero balance I had at the end of every month last year (I can recall checking my balance and having less than $40 in my account). It's only the end of March...I can't wait to see how much money will be in my savings account at the end of the year. What' funny is that I don't really feel deprived. I don't think I've given up anything major. I mean, sure, I don't come home with bags of goodies from my shopping trips, but I'm not really missing anything. I still have food to eat, soda to drink and, yes, even new purses to tote around. I don't go out to eat as much, but if I really want to go out with friends, I do. I'm just conscious of how much money I've spent and how much I have left to spend. I think that the biggest thing which has helped me save money is that I don't carry my credit card. That's right, I don't carry it. I don't need it, so why carry it? I pay for everything in cash (though I did use my debit card to pay for my new prescription sunglasses, as I don't carry $200 around with me all the time). If I don't have the money in my wallet for it, then it wasn't on my shopping list and I don't need it.

Well, I'm off to bed now. I'll try to write again later this week. I've been doing quite a bit of research lately and will be adding the ideas of others to mine. My Composition students are working on their long research papers, and I thought it would be fun to do research with them. I'm really enjoying the things I've found to read so far and will let you know what I discover. Tomorrow is the big day... the piece about frugality I participated in will be on Fox 4 news out of Kansas City. I'll post a link to the video as soon as it is available. Have a wonderful week everyone, and don't be lured in by the new spring collection of clothes (or bright spring colored wallets). Wait a month, and they will already be going on sale.

Why I Shop

2009-03-22T20:35:00.000-07:00

I have often wondered where my obsession with owning things has come from. Does it come from my upbringing, from going shopping with my mother and grandmother on a weekly basis? Does it come from my desire to prove to everyone that I am a successful, independent person? Does it come from some desire to fill the voids which are in my life? I am coming to discover that it is perhaps from a combination of the three.

I'm not sure how old I was the first time I went shopping with my mother. I'm sure I was very young, so young that I cannot recall it. I do remember that, from the time I was five or so, my father would give my mother and myself money for our shopping trips. Saturday was our day to go shopping. Naturally, we did not go shopping in our small hometown, but rather drove for an hour to a nearby city which had craft stores and a mall. I can remember my father handing me $20 and my mother telling me to put it into my pink, plastic wallet, I think it was Strawberry Shortcake, but I don't recall for sure. He handed my mother a $50 bill and she tucked it away into her much larger wallet. This was back in the late 1980s, and $20 was quite a bit of money. I'm not sure how it compares, but I know that I could shop all day with that $20 and buy pretty much anything I wanted. This was especially true when our weekly shopping trip consisted of going to a local flea market. I learned to bargain early, and though I don't exactly recall my first bargaining deal, I will never forget the vendor who gave me a pile of books for $1.00 less than they were asking because they thought it was cute that someone so young would be courageous enough to offer less. By the time I got into high school, I was an expert at bargaining, something which I maintain to this day. At flea markets and garage sales, I rarely pay sticker price for things, though I normally viewed anything costing less than $1.00 not worthy of bargaining for, and paid sticker price. In college, my friends would take me along with them when shopping so that they could get better deals on things, since I “had an eye for a good deal.” I'm afraid that this eye of mine gets me in more trouble than it's worth sometimes, however. I think that the hardest thing to get over is the thrill of finding something for a good price. I love buying things for less than they are worth...whether it is the $1.00 DVD I'm watching or the $0.50 vintage sheet set I'm sitting on. I can recall what the price I paid for nearly everything I own...and I'm pretty sure that's not normal.

On some Saturdays I would come home with money left over, money which I always offered back to my father, and money which he refused to take back. I do remember that when I came home with quite a bit left over, he would reward me by giving me more money to put into my bank account. I was eight years old when I opened my first savings account, ten years old when I co-signed for my first loan, and twelve years old when I got my first personal checking account. By the age of 18, I had over $5,000 in my savings account, thanks to my years of learning to get by on less than my father gave me. I was taught the importance of saving...I was to put 10% of everything I got into my savings account, and I thrilled as my money accumulated. My childhood probably wasn't normal. Rather than getting 25 or 50 cents for a tooth like my friends got, I received $100 with a note to put 95% of it into my savings account. How the tooth fairy knew I had a savings account, I'll never know, but apparently she shared the knowledge with the Easter bunny. To this day, I get an Easter egg with $100 in it. The note to put it into my savings account is long gone, replaced with the idea that it should go to buy things such as groceries or the like. I don't think that my spending problem ever had anything to do with buying expensive things, I have a tendency to buy lots of inexpensive things. Take my $1 DVD...I don't own just one DVD, I probably have 400. And I'll be the first to admit that I paid a bit more than $1.00 for some of them. The most I have paid, however is $10.00...still half of the normal price for a new DVD. But still, if you think about it...that's over $2,000 spent on movies (400 x $5.00), and that's just too much.

My first year as a completely independent person was perhaps the year I spent the most money (that was last year). I had a job, I was earning my own money, and felt that I could spend it however I wished. And I did. At the end of last year, I did not have any money saved in the bank and had I kept accelerating my spending as I was, I would have used up my savings money as well. I think I may have been trying to show the world that “I made it.” I bought a new laptop, several new movies, and pretty much all the clothes that I wanted. I guess I was just so tired of taking money from my parents that I wanted to prove to them and myself that I could pay my own way.

As for the third reason, to fill in the other gaps in my life. I think that shopping was starting to take the place of any real relationships in my life. I would use shopping as an excuse so that I wouldn't have to go out and meet people. If I was shopping, then I was happy. If I was shopping, I had no reason to spend a Friday or Saturday night alone, I could be at the store...surrounded by strangers, but never truly alone. Since I have stopped shopping, I have done some soul searching and discovered that I really don't mind my own company. When I stay home, more things get done. If I don't have shopping bags laying on the floor (because there is nowhere to put them away), my house is quite a bit more comfortable to live in. Along with being more comfortable for me, I am finding that I don't mind inviting people over for things. I'm not ashamed of my house, it is nice an clutter-free...and I don' t feel like an addict trying to hide my habit. Because that's just what shopping is...a habit. It's one of the most difficult habits to break, since there is a certain amount of shopping which is necessary. Going into a store is like being on a diet while at a gourmet restaurant. The sights and smells tempt me, and I must muddle through them to acquire my pared down list of necessities, while being strong and avoiding the temptations.

Friday night was a huge temptation for me. I went to Chillicothe with a friend. She and I went to Wal-Mart to get hair dye. My last round of highlights had grown out quite a bit and I didn't want to spend the money to get new ones. It was much cheaper to dye my hair myself. I decided that highlights were too complicated, and dyed my hair back to my natural color (or as near as I could find). I also had to get a new phone card for my cell phone, as I was down to 9 minutes. I haven't purchased a phone card since the day after Christmas and had forgotten how expensive they were. Thirty dollars for 240 minutes isn't too bad, though - especially considering that I only buy four of them a year. I wound up spending $80 at Wal-Mart, which is not too bad, but isn't great either. The only things I bought which aren't necessary are a new brush for my cat, and a Swiffer Pet Hair Sweeper to try and get the cat hair off my furniture. I'll let you know how well the Pet Hair Swiffer works after I've used it. Since I had my friend there, I also went ahead and ordered some prescription sunglasses. I thought about getting contacts, but after attempting to wear them again after a nearly 8 year break from wearing them, I found that I just couldn't stand the feeling. The only reason I wanted them was so that I could wear sunglasses in the summer, so I decided it would be better to give up on the idea of wearing contacts and just break down and buy the sunglasses. I thought they were quite pricey at $150, but after talking with my mother and finding out that her last pair of prescription sunglasses were over $300, I felt much better. I just keep having to tell myself that I'm actually saving myself about $400 a year by not getting contacts (I have severe astigmatism and my contacts aren't cheap). If the sunglasses work out well (I sometimes have issues with the way glasses are made), then I will get a new pair of glasses as well. I've had the ones I'm wearing at the moment for over four years, and they had an unfortunate accident last fall which has made one of the lenses prone to pop out at random moments. Hopefully, the glasses I order won't cost more than $200, though I'm guessing that in order to get some nice, sturdy frames I will have to spend more than that.

On a technical note. Some people have written me that they are having problems submitting comments. I'm not sure why that was, but I have changed some settings, so you should be able to post them now. Also, as of April 1, I will be posting only at http://blog.yearoffrugality.com/ . It is far easier to only post on one site. You should be able to subscribe to my blogs through that site. If you cannot, please let me know, and I will get it worked out. I'm getting anxious again. Only nine days remain until my piece on Fox 4 airs...I really, really hope that I don't get misquoted.

Paycheck Stimulus

2009-03-17T17:56:00.001-07:00

Today, I opened up my ever-anticipated monthly paycheck. I always look at the number...just to see what sort of money I am putting into the bank. Today, my check was $40 more than it had been the month before. My credit card bill, now paid, was under $400 for the first time in a very, very long time. I know I said I wasn't going to use my credit card, but at the beginning of February I was still a bit cash-poor, so I used my card for about $50 worth of gas, $60 at the Goody's going out of business sale, $120 to the phone company, nearly $100 to Amazon for purchases for my mother (which counted as a payment on my loan), and $23 for a subscription to Audible, which I forgot to cancel...anyway, everything added up to be $385. Not too bad...but still not as good as I'd hoped for. I have paid for everything else in cash this month and am happy to say that I still had money in the bank at the end of the month. I'm really looking forward to getting my federal income tax returns so that I can go in and set up a savings account, something I haven't really had since I was in high school (okay, so I've had them...I just haven't had the money to put into them) Next month, I'm hoping that my credit card bill will be under $150...just the things I have set up to be paid automatically on it.

Last night, I needed a couple of things at Wal-Mart to make my classroom run a bit more efficiently. I got some sheet protectors (I was out of these, I use them to help me organize information and a box which holds hanging file folders. I've been starting a a box of decorative paper (a big box) for the last two months. As my students use out of the box, it has been getting more and more dis-organized, and papers were being destroyed (they were just sitting on their edge in this box. The creasing of papers (and seeing unused, but creased papers in the recycling box) really got to me, so I got a big, clear box which houses all of my decorative papers. I have about 25 different designs. I encourage my students, especially those in Creative Writing, to use decorative papers...it just makes their projects stand out more. Now, they are nicely organized and hopefully the creasing of papers will be a thing of the past. Really, I should put them in a drawer of my filing cabinet, but I like the option of putting them into a locked cabinet if people start taking advantage of my supplies (sometimes school supplies like walking out the door).

I've decided to attempt to save as much money for my school next year as possible. I belong to Office Depot's Recycling Rewards program and as such, get $3 worth of in-store credit for every empty ink cartridge I bring back to the store. I can take a maximum of 5 cartridges in per day, and I go to Kansas City once a month. That means that I can get $15 worth of store credit per month (more if I go visit a friend in a town that has an Office Depot between these trips or if I give a friend a copy of my card so that they too can return cartridges for me). So that I have enough empty ink cartridges to take in five per month, I am asking my students to bring in their cartridges rather than throwing them away. Hopefully, I will be able to purchase the majority of my school supplies using this money. I have always been an excellent shopper, and am able to find really good deals on things when I look, so I'm sure I will be able to get at least half of my school supplies this way. After all, last year I managed to buy several cabinet packs of Post-It Notes for $1 a pack...usually these cost $18 -$20. That's not the only thing I have found on sale, it's just the best deal I managed to get so far. On this, I won't count shopping for office supplies as cheating on my frugality, but I will try to use no more than $1 or 2 over the amount of the card...I'm hoping for getting as close as I did last week at K-Mart.

I did splurge a bit at Wal-Mart last night. I found a couple of skirts on sale for $5 each. Ironically, they are nearly identical to the style of skirt I tried on last week at Dress Barn. The skirt at Dress Barn was $54...nearly 10x more than the one at Wal-Mart. I haven't decided if I'm keeping the skirts or not...they're a bit shorter than the ankle length skirts I'm used to, and I have to put together a couple of outfits using them, but that's what returns are for. I don't have any summer clothes that fit, so I'm going to have to invest a bit of money in these. Technically, these skirts are “winter,” but I don't really see the difference other than fabric...I mean purple flowers are purple flowers and black stays fashionable all year long. It was really hard to pass them up, though...they're a size 20, significantly smaller than the 26/28s I was wearing this time last year. I'm actually thinking of wearing one of them tomorrow...if I can find a shirt I like with it. I'm not sure why, but I've felt like wearing skirts here lately...maybe it is because I can finally find skirts that fit again. I feel really bad, but I completely forgot to look at the “made in” portion of things...I think that 85% of the things I bought were made in America...though I'm pretty sure the clothes weren't. It is nearly impossible to find something other than a plain, cotton t-shirt which is.

After I got the skirts, it was nearly 8:45, so I thought I might try to get some more $1.00 a pound General Tso's Chicken, so I went and got the few groceries on my list. Unfortunately, the “exotic” cheese section of the store is near the deli, and I wound up spending a few minutes waiting around the cheeses... I sometimes feel terribly backwards, as I am hesitant to try new foods. I was looking at the mozzarella ball, thinking if I would actually use it before it went bad, and saw the Brie sitting next to it in a nice, neat little circle. I've never had Brie, and decided that I should at least try it. I have to say, I really rather like it, though I don't like the outside bit...(it's a bit too “aged” for me...it just tastes bitter). I'm not sure what a wine and cheese connoisseur would say about it...but I carefully cut off the edges and ate the yummy middle. I will probably buy this cheese again, though I'm going to see if I can get a variety without the “aged” bit around the edges. I also got some “Laughing Cow Spreadable Cheese.” I'm trying to get more dairy and protein in my diet and cheese is a good way of doing this. One of my favorite snacks is Ritz crackers and Velveeta cheese...something with pretty much no nutritional value. I looked at the protein content of the “spreadable cheeses” and settled for Garlic and Herb Light Cheese. I tried it this evening as well, and though I don't know that I'll buy it again, I will most certainly eat all the wedges I got (8 in a package). Perhaps eating something like this as a snack will keep me going better than a sugary snack would. I think I'm going to try a new meat or cheese each month...I mean, I learned to like blueberries, how hard could goat cheese be. That way, the next time I go out to a fancy restaurant with my family, I will know if I like the gourmet cheeses in a dish or not.

Sorry if I've been rambling a bit...I think I'm tired and my mind is running away with me. I hope that you all have a wonderful week and that you enjoy the lovely weather. I know that I fully plan on going outside as often as possible. Here's hoping that the nice weather continues.

Our Government's Frivolous Spending

2009-03-14T10:46:00.000-07:00

Last night, I talked on the phone with my mother about the state of our economy. I'm not sure why, but she and I have always discussed money, who's spending it and how they're spending it. She told me that a small airport near our home is going to get millions in the economic stimulus. They are going to build an entirely new airport, a new runway and the works. This really upsets me, I realize that building this airport will create a few new jobs in the short term, but no real benefit is gained in the long run. This airport isn't going to serve the community, there are only a few planes which ever land at this airstrip. Of those, none are big, commercial planes, the largest of the planes which land at this particular airport probably carries no more than 10 passengers. Once this new and improved runway is built, will there be money to continue it's operation? Probably not, if it is anything like the state of the another runway built in another small town less than 10 years ago. Today, that airport is broken up, with saplings growing in the middle of the runway. Smart spending on the part of our government? I think not. It would be far better to employ two or three people to maintain the airports than to spend millions to build a new one only to abandon it as soon as the money runs out (which it always will).

As I look at the plans for spending the economic recovery money, I keep wondering “At what point to politicians lose touch with what is important?” The money should be going to repair the potholes in our roads, the energy efficiency of our schools (our schools roofs'...I have a leaky roof in my classroom), and a multitude of other things which are actually important to the majority of people. How many people will use the new airport in a year...probably less than 100. How many people will drive down I-35 from Des Moines to Kansas City in a year....too many to count. Which program would be better? Building an airport which serves only those who can afford to take a private flight or fixing a road which is vital to our nation's merchandise dispersal system? The answer seems obvious to me, but my opinion doesn't seem to count. How many of you have heard of a frivolous use of governmental money?

I think one of my students had the right idea in a paper they wrote this past week. When asked how they would “change the world for the better” this student said “I would make sure that politicians used common sense when they make their choices.” I have often wished to be an advisor to someone in power...to remind them that they should use common sense in all of their choices. In all of my choices, I try to think about the long term gain rather than the short term fix.

With clothes, for example, is it better to spend $40 for an outfit I will wear multiple times or $10 for something which will fall apart after 5 or 10 washings? Sure, $40 hurts, but in the long run, it will do me more good than the $10 would have. And after all, my $40 outfit probably cost someone else $100, since they bought it right off the rack, as soon as it came out, while I waited until it was on clearance. I'm not sure if you followed my analogy there...I'm not even sure that I followed it, but what I'm trying to say is that our government needs to think about saving money in the long run, not spending billions for something which won't be a long-term fix. If they spend a small amount of money on a lot of different things, in ten months or a year we will be in exactly the same position we're in now (or worse, since our country will be further in debt). If they take the time, think things through, and make an investment in something that will be sustainable with minimal upkeep, then we will survive this recession and learn a valuable lesson from it. If nothing else, I think that the majority of Americans will have realized that living above your means is not a good thing. Now, I just wish our government would learn this valuable lesson.

Simple Pleasures

2009-03-11T17:38:00.000-07:00

Today, I went to Kansas City for a doctor's appointment. I was very happy, another seven pounds lost! My mother drove over last night to go with me. We ate out, and I rented a movie, she paid for dinner, and the movie only cost $1, so I came out ahead. Unfortunately, I fell asleep before the movie was over (okay, almost before it got started...), so I didn't get to see it. Oh well, I needed the sleep, so I'm okay with it. I seem to have been falling asleep about 6 p.m. every night...it's starting to get very irritating, I can't get any work done at home.

Anyway, after going to the doctor, we went shopping for a bit. We went to Salvation Army, where I found a pair of black dress pants for $2.10. I'm sure they were expensive to begin with, as they are Daisy Fuentes brand (this brand of pants ranges from $30-$50 at Kohls.com). After that, we went to Hobby Lobby, where I bought nothing. That's right, I managed to get out of the store without a single thing, though I admit that I drooled over the big pictures for quite awhile. I have a big picture frame which I have been looking to fill for the last six months or so. I found a print that I liked today, but even half price, it was still $17.00, so I decided to be happy with the enlarged photos from my trip to Italy which are currently hanging above my couch. I think I will just sell my big picture frame at my yard sale, so that I'm not tempted to spend nearly $20.00 for a picture to put in it.

After Hobby Lobby, we had lunch at a little Italian Deli ($18.00 for the two of us, including some delightful chocolate cheesecake). I had them put my meal into a take-out container, so that I could bring it home with me. I have enough homemade ravioli to make up four frozen dinners. After that, we went to K-Mart. I had a $50 gift card, which I originally thought I would make last for several frivolous shopping trips, then I realized that the more trips I made to K-Mart, the more likely I would spend more than the $50. I think it is best to just avoid the temptation. I admit, I spent every penny of the card today, I wanted to do this so that I won't have any money left on the card as an excuse to go back to the store. I did buy some things which I will use, rather than things I just want. I got some freezer bags, Kleenexes, laundry detergent, Clorox for colors, and cat litter. Really interesting stuff... I also got a Snuggie for my mother (she was with me and paid me back in cash). I had a coupon for $5.00 off your $50.00 purchase, so I got as close to $55.00 worth of things as possible. I got pretty darn close, and came out of K-Mart having spent a grand total of $0.66. (Actually, I came out of there $14.84 ahead as Mom gave me $15.50 for the Snuggie)

I have noticed that prices are starting to go down in stores...it seems that some things are getting cheaper. I'm not sure if this is because of the recession or not...maybe stores are trying to keep the customers coming. The few groceries which cost me $10.00 a few months ago (½ gallon of milk, ½ gallon of orange juice, 1 package of shredded cheese, and one small bag of cat food) now cost about $8.00. Milk is down to $1.75 from $2.25, orange juice is down to $1.70 from $2.35 and so forth. Is anyone else noticing this trend?

It seems that all I read in the news and see on television is how bad things are getting. It seems that all anyone can ever talk about is the bad things which are going on. What about the good things? Since parents are no longer spending money on going out to eat, they are cooking at home, which means they are spending more time with their children. People are doing away with luxuries, which will perhaps make us all appreciate the things we get more. Perhaps if children aren't given everything they want, they will learn to use their imaginations more, and will, in the long run, be happier adults. Perhaps, if the media focused on all the positive things which are happening in our lives, people would not be so pessimistic. That is what I would like everyone to do this weekend, forget about the recession - cook a meal at home, get out a board game or a deck of cards and spend some time with your family. Enjoy them, and remember that no matter how bad things get economically, you will always have people who love you.

Four Days, No Stores

2009-03-05T19:06:00.000-08:00

On Monday, I still felt bad, so I called my doctor and asked for more antibiotic. I am quite glad that I have insurance, as the pills I am now taking would have been over $120 had I not had coverage. Even with insurance, they were $35, still quite pricey. In honor of spending so much money, I haven't even been in a store this week. I haven't gotten groceries or anything, and feel like I've probably saved quite a bit of money. I did spend some money tonight, I went out to supper with a colleague. I don't feel too bad about it, though...I do need to have a social life and I have enough leftovers to feed me for a week. Ten dollars isn't too bad for an evening out.

I'm reading a book Money, A Memoir: Women, Emotions and Cash at the moment. So far, it is a very interesting book. It's slow going, though, since I got White Witch, Black Curse in the mail on Tuesday. Naturally, I had to get it read, I'd been waiting for it. It was an excellent book, I really would recommend it to anyone who reads paranormal romance (though you have to read the other six books in the series to know what's going on).

This weekend, I'm planning on having some people over to BBQ and play a game or two of cards. It is a nice, inexpensive way to have fun. I haven't played Spades for quite awhile, so it should be fun.

In the coming weeks, I'm going to try to stay out of even grocery stores, unless it is absolutely necessary. I shouldn't need anything but milk and eggs for awhile. I have enough frozen meals to last a long time, and I still have hamburger and all the other ingredients to make some killer spaghetti. Until I stayed out of the stores completely, I didn't realize how often I had been going shopping for groceries, and how often I was able to talk myself into something that I didn't really need. In order to help with this, I've stopped carrying my credit and debit cards with me on everyday trips. I normally keep them hidden in my car so that I have them in case of emergency, but they aren't there tempting me into buying more than I can afford and I only spend part of the cash I have on hand.

Buying only those things Made in America hasn't been as difficult as I thought it would be. It will probably be difficult next week, when I make my journey to Kansas City. I have gone from a size 26-28 to a 20-22 in the past few months, so none of my old clothes still fit, so I have $50 to buy new clothes in Kansas City. I have a feeling it will be difficult to find clothes which are “Made in America.” I'll keep you updated on how easy/difficult this is.

I hope that everyone is doing well, and has a happy, frugal weekend.

Made in America - Here I Come!

2009-03-01T11:17:00.000-08:00

Friday night, I went to Chillicothe, as planned, and saw Confessions of a Shopaholic. It cost me nothing to see the movie, though I admit that I splurged and bought some popcorn at the theater. I won't be doing that again. Four dollars and twenty-five cents for a small bag of popcorn! Outrageous! The movie was really good, thought I thought they would stick to the book better. It turns out that they combined a couple of Kinsilla's books into one movie.

Before going to the movie, I went to Walmart to get some lotion and some groceries. When I got there, I recalled something one of my friends and I discovered in college, that Walmart sells their leftover chicken for $1.00 a pound at the end of the day. Since it was nearly 8:45, I decided to ask and see if they did this at this particular store. They did! I bought about 6 lbs of chicken for only $6. That just made my night. It was cold enough that I could keep the chicken in the car while I went to the theater, so I did.

Yesterday, I bought some frozen French fries at Hy-Vee for $2.00. I baked the entire bag, coating them with seasoned salt as they baked. I also made two batches of white rice. After I was done cooking, I let my stuff cool for a bit then put together my meals. I have enough chicken strip and French fries meals to last for a good, long time. My freezer is full of my own homemade freezer meals, and it cost me less than $10. I think I have 30 meals in all (and I still have more chicken in the fridge, I'm having to re-arrange the deep freeze to get everything to fit). That's less than 30 cents a meal, not too shabby.

I also went over to the local Amish store yesterday. I'm not sure why I went, something told me I needed to go. I get frozen fruit there to make smoothies with (every morning I make my own smoothie to take to work, it is a fairly inexpensive way to make sure I get all of my fruit servings in a day). It is a good thing I did, because I got the last two pounds of blueberries they had. At Walmart, blueberries are selling for $5.65 a pound, and I got mine for $2.55, a significant savings. In order to save time in the mornings, I mix up my frozen fruits ahead of time then all I have to do is empty a bag into my blender (Sunbeam's version of a Magic Bullet), add juice and go.

Today, I am starting my month of only buying American made goods. This shouldn't be a problem since I really don't need anything at the moment. Sure, there are some things I would like to have, but I really don't need anything, so I'm not going to go shopping and buy anything anytime soon. One thing I've done when I go to the grocery store here lately is leave my debit card at home. I've been carrying cash more often, and I decided that if I don't have enough cash on hand, I probably need to put something back. I'm going to try and limit myself to spending $20 in groceries a week, now that I have plenty of frozen dinners, this shouldn't be a big deal. The only things I really need to buy any given week are milk and juice. It seems that every day I hear about someone else who is feeling the effects of the state of the economy. People around me are losing their jobs, their house, and their retirements. It just reminds me of how truly lucky I am and reminds me that I have to save for a rainy day. It is my goal, that at the end of this year, I will have enough money in the bank to support me for 3-4 months should something happen. I've never really worried about saving for a rainy day before, but all around me I see people who are in the middle of a thunderstorm, and it makes me realize how quickly everything I have could disappear.

Well, I'm off to clean house...I have laundry piled up that needs to be done. I'm not sure how I always manage to have so many dirty clothes...I live alone...maybe the neighbors are bringing their laundry.

Rainy Day

2009-02-26T20:08:00.000-08:00

Today was another regular day of work. After work, I had to drive to a doctor's appointment an hour away from where I live. I could probably find a doctor in this town, but I trust my old doctor, who has known me since I was three or four, when I am truly sick. I'm willing to go to anyone when I'm only slightly sick, but when I'm feeling terribly, I like going to someone that knows my body nearly as well as I do. I got a nearly clean bill of health and am happy to say that I feel immensely better than I did this time last week. I think that follow up appointments should be free...it seems silly to see the doctor for five minutes and have him say “Yep, you're looking and sounding better” and then have to pay them $30 (or more, that just happens to be my co-pay) to tell you that you're better.

After the doctor's appointment, I went out to supper with my parents at a Mexican restaurant. You may have noticed by now, but the only restaurants I eat out at are Mexican or Chinese. I am a fairly decent cook, but for some reason I cannot seem to get these two types of dishes right. I very rarely go out for “American” food, since I can cook it better and cheaper at home. The same is true of Italian food. I just don't like spending $10.00 for a meal that I can make for $3.00 or less at home. I do love going out to eat with my parents, since my father always manages to get the check before I can...some day I'm going to sneak in and pay before we even order, I've had to do that before with a college advisor.

Next, I needed a few things at Wal-Mart, some household items I am nearly out of and wanted to get before next month's abstinence from all things not American made begins. It is amazing how fast personal items and cleaning items can add up. By the time I got everything on my list I had spent $70. I was a bit ashamed of myself, but I didn't get anything not on my list, and I didn't slowly getting the items and tempt myself more with repeated trips to the store. What is truly amazing is that when I got home tonight and got the mail I discovered two envelopes that I had completely forgotten were coming. One held the $20 rebate from my purchase of Microsoft Word in December and the other was a $50 gift card for K-Mart. My credit card gives me a penny for every dollar I spend, and I had been saving these points up for quite awhile to get some new DVDs. I have realized that I really don't need to own any new DVDs, and that the site egregiously overprices their DVDs when I compare their prices to those at discount stores. I decided to trade my points in for something I could use, a shopping card. This way, I get to have a little bit of a splurge when I go to Kansas City the next time. I think that I can make that $50 shopping card last for my next two months of going to Kansas City, but we'll see. I don't really see this a cheating, since I didn't have to pay for the card. I suppose I did, in a way, from my irresponsible spending in the past, but it is over with now, and I won't be earning any more shopping cards anytime soon. Now, the only things which go on the card is my automatic payment for my phone/Internet/cable (yes, I know cable is a luxury, but it would only save me $5.00 a month to get rid of it).

Tomorrow, I'm going to use the coupon for a free trip to the movies I got in the mail. All I have to do is take in a can of soup for the soup kitchen (I'll probably give them two since it is a for a good cause). It will be a nice evening out. I'm going to take my bottle of water with me so that I don't have to buy soda (if they get grouchy about this, I'll just tell them that I have to have water for my cold). If you feel bad about sneaking in a bottle of water, most movie theaters will give you a glass to get water from the fountain at, or sell you a cup of ice for $0.25, which is far cheaper than paying the $2.00 they want for a bottle of water. Who knows, maybe I'll go crazy and stick a few Hershey's kisses in my purse so that I have something to snack on while I watch my free movie.

Made In America

2009-02-24T19:21:00.000-08:00

In a few minutes, President Obama will begin speaking about the state of our national finances. I am looking forward to hearing what he has to say on the issue. I often wish that the national advisors would listen to ordinary people; it seems that everyone in a position of power has the ability to be frivolous in their spending. When someone can spend millions of dollars on campaigning, how can they really understand what everyday people are going through?

If someone were to ask me about my opinion on the financial crisis our country is facing, I would tell them that it was inevitable. Any time you are spending more than you make, you are setting yourself up for failure. For the last several decades, we, as a nation, have been spending more than we make. We are outsourcing our jobs to other countries in order to lower the prices we pay at the grocery store. It seems that everything you pick up is stamped “Made in China.” Yes, buying things which are produced in bulk like this makes things cheaper to buy at big chain stores like Wal-Mart. However, you have to look at the effects this outsourcing is having on the structure of our country and weigh the benefits with the devastating consequences. Every item we buy, which is made overseas, is something that is NOT being produced in America. Every trip to fill our shopping carts with foreign-made products is another job lost, another factory closed. Our country must seek to balance out our jobs. We cannot afford, as a country, to import more than we export. We need to bring manufacturing jobs back to America.

My challenge for everyone who is reading this right now is to go for one month without purchasing anything which is made outside of America. I have not done this up to this point, but for the next month, the month of March, I will only purchase items which boldly proclaim “Made in America” on their label. If you want to take me up on this challenge, feel free to leave a comment and share your story with myself and the other readers of this blog. If we support American industries, we will help keep jobs in our country and in the long run, will help the economy.

President Obama has pledged to help by “Ending the tax breaks for corporations that send jobs overseas.” Let’s help him out in his attempts to make America recover by no buying from these corporations for a month, it is the least we can do. Just think of the impact this could have on our economy if every American did this for a day…a month…or even a year… After all, “It is time for America to lead again.”

In the next few days, I will be responding to the things I heard in President Obama’s speech, feel free to share your reactions to what you heard as well.

To access the text of Obama's Speech
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/obama_text

Unnecessary, but hours of fun

2009-02-22T20:24:00.000-08:00

Okay, today I didn't leave the house, but I still managed to spend $26.00. This past week, while sick, I read all of the Rachel Morgan series by Kim Harrison. I was browsing my Paperback Swap Wish List and saw that I had one of the series on my Wish List. I thought I owned them all, but apparently a new book is coming out on Tuesday. I know I should wait to get it through PBS, but I'm impatient, and I just read the others, so I went ahead and ordered it on Amazon. It was only $16.00, over $10.00 less than I would have paid for it in a bookstore. The problem is, that to get free shipping I had to spend $9.00 more, so I wound up buying another book, one of the Voluntary Simplicity books I have been wanting for quite awhile. I should get the books in a week or so, so that will be a nice surprise. I really like getting books by mail, it makes me feel like I'm getting a present.

I did manage to avoid buying the DVD binder I finally found online. I bought some DVD binders to organize my DVD collection on clearance at Pamida last summer. I have been looking for one like them for quite awhile, but to no avail. I finally found them on Walmart.com today (I know, I shouldn't have been looking there...but it is safer than getting out and going window shopping). I bookmarked the page, and will probably wind up buying another binder before my garage sale, so that I can sell the empty DVD cases and make some of the money back.

After my Amazon splurge, I reviewed student papers for the rest of the day while doing laundry. I read a bit, folded a bit, and it worked pretty well. I got six papers reviewed, and got three loads of laundry done. I also managed to watch some of the NCIS marathon, though I sort of zoned out a lot. I'm not sure, but I think I took a quick nap sometime this afternoon as well. You know, one of those naps when you're half awake and your eyes are open but you just space out? I finally have a bit more energy and haven't taken my cough medicine since this morning, so that's good. I'll take it to go to sleep, but maybe I'll be over this cold by the middle of the week.

I'm hoping this final load of laundry gets dry soon, my comfy red pajama pants are in the dryer and I'm quite ready for bed. I'm sitting here in some not so comfy black work out pants (they have seams down the outside of the leg and I always wake up with bruises) and for some reason I still have a pair of my new shoes on. I guess I feel that I have to justify their purchase by wearing them...actually, I just think I'm trying to get them broken in before I wear them out for something. Last year I wore a pair of shoes to graduation for the first time and had blisters before I was inside the building...never again...I learned my lesson and wear my shoes around the house a bit first now. Okay, I'm rambling again and the dryer just buzzed, so it is time for bed.

I am posting all of my entries here and on my new website www.yearoffrugality.com, so feel free to go ahead and start reading over there. I am updating both of them, and will eventually phase this one out.

Necessary Expenses

2009-02-21T19:10:00.000-08:00

I have been quite lax about updating my blog lately. Today is the first day I've felt close to normal in the past couple of weeks. I've been sick since sometime in January, I'm not sure if it is a cold, or what, but I've been under the weather. Life just isn't too much fun when you fall asleep as soon as you get home at 4:00. I've been taking it easy, taking the pills the doctor gave me and sleeping as much as possible. Hopefully, this most recent round of antibiotics will kill all the bugs and I'll be back to myself soon enough. I thank my lucky stars that I have insurance, though...I don't even want to know how expensive my trip to the doctor would have been without it. I do know that the anitibiotic I'm on would have been $82 without insurance...a lot more than the $12 I had to pay.

Thursday is the day that I went to see the doctor. After I got out of the office, I admit that I did shop a bit. I went to Goody's, which is going out of business. I bought two pairs of jeans, a pair of dress pants and three nice pairs of dress shoes for a grand total of $56. One pair of shoes was origionally marked at $55, so I feel like I got a pretty decent deal. I am absolutely in love with one pair of the shoes, they are quite a bit more comfortable than the $6 flip flops I usually buy ever summer. I can't wait for the weather to warm up so that I can wear them. Now that I've lost some weight, I feel more comfortable wearing high heels and bought my first pair. I'm looking forward to the ice going away so that I can wear them safely (thanks to a fall on the ice last year, I stick to shoes with good tread in the winter). I also spent $50 at Wal-Mart, but I got some basic things like 2 in 1 shampoo and conditioner, toothbrushes, groceries, and the like...so I don't feel that I did too bad. My resolve was weaker, I think, because I was sick, but I havn't stepped foot in a store since then, so I am trying to make up for my slip.

I spent today reading a good book (Kim Harrison's The Outlaw Demon Wails) and dozing off and on. I planned to sleep in this morning, but I woke to a cold kitty paw on my face. When I sleep too long, or too deeply, my cat, Skidget, gets concerned and tries to wake me up. It can be irritating, but normally once I pet her for a little bit, she lets me go back to sleep. This morning, she must have been trying to remind me that I needed to feed her because she wouldn't let me go back to sleep. When I rolled over, she just crawled over me and licked my nose. I'm rather glad she did...it was nearing 11:00 and I needed to go to the post office this morning. I mailed my tax returns. I'm looking forward to getting my refund check, nearly $1,500!!! Normally I get about $100 back, but last year was my first full year of having a full time job, so I paid in significantly more than I had in previous years. Next year I may attempt to do my own taxes, but I will probably hire someone to do them again. I've always had them done by someone in my hometown, I like the safety that gives me. I wonder how much H and R Block charges...they seem to have a lot of commercials...

Well, that's all I have for now, I'm sorry if this post is a bit more rambling than most...I'm still rather out of it, but thought I'd let everyone know I'm still alive and am finally starting to feel better.

Weekend Recap

2009-02-17T17:06:00.001-08:00

This weekend, we had an extra day off of work. The more time I spend at home, the more I just want to stay at home. Why is it that when you have vacation your body decides it is time to get sick. I was sick over Christmas break (the flu) and am sick over this short break (a cold). It makes it quite difficult to get anything done when all you want to do is sleep and eat. I got two more applications mailed out on Saturday. I really wish that there were one application form for all college positions, something that you could just mail to the different places. Spending an hour and a half on each and every application makes you really, really consider twice before applying to too many places. I spent $3.00 on mailing out two application packets at the post office, then I went to the local thrift store. I really just meant to look, but I wound up spending a little money there. I got six books and an antique clutch (hand held purse) for $1.50 as they were having a ½ price sale on their books. I found three hard-backs and three paperbacks. One of the hardbacks is a Voluntary Simplicity book, so I feel like I did pretty good (even getting it from PBS would have cost me $2.50). I really don’t need anything that I bought, but it was so much fun to go shopping, and I didn’t spend hardly anything. I had needed a shopping fix, and by spending the $1.50 there, it squashed the need to drive to Chillicothe and go to the stores there. It is weird, I’m not bored, I have a ton of stuff to do, but I am feeling the compulsion to go shopping quite strongly this week. I think it is because I do have so much work to do, I’m stressed and want to shop as a stress relief.
After going to the thrift store, I broke one of my own rules. I went to the grocery store while hungry. All I actually needed was a dozen eggs, but I wound up spending $8.00. I got eggs, some potato chips and a couple of brownie mixes. I didn’t do too terribly bad, but had I not been hungry, then in all likelihood I would have gotten out of there for under $2.00, the price of the eggs. I didn’t really need the chips or the brownie mix (I’m pretty sure I already have some cake mixes), but I will use them, and they’re not the pre-made brownies that my hungry stomach really, really wanted me to buy, so I’ll take the small victory. I’ll make sure that when I’m in Kirksville on Wednesday night I’ll eat before I shop.
Let me know what you all think of my new website. I’m going to be posting all of my new posts over there as well as here for a bit. I am going to eventually transfer completely to www.yearoffrugality.com, for a variety of reasons. Let me know what I can do to improve the site and make it more user friendly.

Day 41 - Bought a Domain

2009-02-12T20:21:00.000-08:00

I spent $60 today. I really didn't need to, but I'm hoping it will pay off in the long run. I bought a domain and a year of web hosting from Go Daddy. I'm pretty darn hopeless with the Internet, so I'm hoping to convince our Web Design class to create a really, really simple website for me. Maybe I can cheaply hire one of the students... What prompted me to buy a domain, you ask? I received an e-mail today from someone who wants to advertise on my blog. I thought about it, and decided that should I decide to advertise on my blog, I should probably go ahead and develop a full website, so that it will be easier to add content. Also, that way I can move things around easier (in theory), and I have a bit more security. I don't want to violate any terms of use or anything like that. Also, I can use the 1 GB of web hosting to upload some of my course documents, and create a website for my class. I love blog spot, but I'm afraid that when the link for my blog goes on the Fox website that will be too much traffic for this site. What do you all think? Did I make a good decision?

I registered my domain for two years and got a year of web hosting. The new website will be www.yearoffrugality.com It doesn't look like it now, but it is mine, all mine. Hopefully I'll have some content on there this weekend, but don't hold your breath. I'm going to transfer all of my posts, so they will still be available, and will be posting on here until I get things running 98% smoothly over there (let's face it, I'm always going to have computer issues). Other than that, I didn't spend anything...but that's enough money for one day. I guess I could see this as an investment in my future...just in case I decide to turn this into a book, I'll have my domain already registered.

I'm not sure why, but this week has really seemed quite long. Tomorrow is only a half day and I had the day off yesterday (I just love driving for two hours each way only to see the doctor for 10 minutes, don't you), but I'm just ready for the long weekend. I'm going to do some laundry, cook up some more frozen dinners, as I'm getting tired of spaghetti, fill out applications, read research papers, and try my hand at web design. Hum...where did my weekend go? At least my list doesn't include shopping, right?

I've done fairly well in the last month and a half, and I get paid next week, so that's always good. This will be one of the first times since I started drawing a paycheck that I'm not hurting for money the week before payday. I have to say, it is amazing how much less stress being able to buy gas without worrying how you are going to pay for it is compared to the alternative. Who knows, perhaps in a month or two I'll be able to set up a savings account. I haven't had one of those since high school, when I got wages for working on the farm but still had my parents paying for all the necessities of life. Who knows, maybe I'll start saving for a newer car, or for a down payment on a house. Though I am nowhere close to being financially secure, just having money in the bank makes me feel very, very satisfied.

Day 40 - Kansas City

2009-02-11T18:30:00.000-08:00

Today I had a doctor's appointment in Kansas City. Normally, I would have gone shopping after my appointment, but today I managed to get out of Kansas City having only spent $14.20 on non-essential items. I decided I was allowed to spend $8 at Salvation Army in honor of the 8 lbs I had officially lost since my last appointment (yea Lap Band!). I got some books for myself and some for my mother (after consulting with her on the phone and determining that she didn't already have them). Since I am technically still a "student" I get a 20% discount at Salvation Army, so my total spent was $7.20, not too bad, considering I got 11 books and a bag of old (1960s era) cookie cutters, including a donut cutter with a removable center to make biscuits. This is one kitchen implement which I did not yet have, and one which I had been looking to buy for quite some time. The other $7.00 was spent at Hobby Lobby. I returned $19.00 worth of beading supplies (I thought I was going to make Christmas ornaments, but never found the time and wound up just buying more pre-made ornaments after Christmas). I got some scrapbooking supplies for the project I'm working on for Creative Writing. I got some sheets of cute paper, some vellum and a mouse stamp (the project we're working on is called "the mouse and the poet"). I also got some stickers and some empty sheets to add to the scrapbook I already have. I really didn't want to go over my $19.00, but I managed to get pretty close. I did have another $15 worth of things picked out to buy, but put them back as I decided they weren't "necessary" to my project. Though I did spend some money, I got about 3 hours of fun shopping time from my $14.20. That's a lot cheaper than my normal fare from last year would have been...$20 at Salvation Army and another $20 or $25 at Hobby Lobby, $10 - $20 at Office Depot to buy more office supplies that I really didn't need, not to mention the obligatory stop at Wal-Mart, which invariably cost me at least $50. So comparatively I spent at least $86.oo LESS this trip than I did every time I went down last year. That's over $1,000 a year saved, just by not taking advantage of my monthly trip to Kansas City to go shopping.

When I got home, I went to the grocery store and spent all of $8.00. For the next couple of days I'm supposed to eat foods I don't have to chew, so I got some whole milk to make mashed potatoes with they just taste better with whole milk vs. the skim I drink. I also got some cheese (on sale 4 pkgs for $5) and a package of chocolate pudding cups. I like putting some cheese in my mashed potatoes, it makes me feel like I'm getting at least a bit of protein with my meal.

I'm really looking forward to my long weekend. I'm going to be sending out some more applications, always a fun thing to do... I'm thinking that I will spend all afternoon Friday filling out applications and doing laundry. I'm going to try and speed my application process up by having folders with all of the necessary extras in them already (transcripts, sample syllabus, references, etc) and then just putting the necessary information into each folder as I fill out the applications. Every application calls for a slight variation of these, so I'm hoping I can get 6 or 7 applications filled out that afternoon. Maybe I can get an application done in the time it takes for a load of laundry to get dry...that might be a good way to remember my laundry...check it every time I get an application finished.

I wish everyone a happy Valentine's weekend, but remember that the best gift of all is one which shows love, not how much money they spend. My favorite Valentine's Day gift so far has to be when my boyfriend at the time showed up at my house with a pound of bacon, a dozen eggs, a box of pancake mix and all the extras. He made me breakfast in bed in my own house (then did the dishes afterwards!). I don't remember if he got me roses of not, but I'll always remember seeing him standing at the door with the bacon and eggs in his hands, he'd paid attention when I'd told him how much I loved breakfast foods and how much I hated doing dishes. To this day, every time I smell hickory smoked bacon frying I think of him and how loved I felt on that particular Valentine's Day.

Day 39 - Things I've Learned

2009-02-08T19:27:00.000-08:00

Things I've discovered while shopping:

1) Never, ever shop while you're hungry. Pack a snack in the car, or in your purse, or pocket, wherever. If you shop hungry, you will wind up spending at least double the amount you've planned. If you don't have something to snack on, grab something cheap from the deli at the store (Wal-Mart's popcorn chicken is under $2 and quite tasty).

2) Carry a calculator with you. This is so that you can calculate the price per ounce (or any discounts off). Oftentimes, the smaller package is actually cheaper than the larger one. To find the price per unit, divide the price by the number of ounces (or items). Remember that 16 oz. = 1 lb. Once you have divided things out, you will be amazed at how close the off and name brand products are. I've found that about 1/4 of name brand items are actually cheaper than the store brand (primarily because they're on sale, but you never know...some things are cheaper every day).

3) Make more than one grocery list. Have a list on the fridge. Every time you think you need something, write it on this list. You may write something on the list once, you may write it on there several times before shopping day. On the day you have designated to go shopping, take your list off of the fridge and write down, on a new piece of paper, any item which is on the list more than once. If it is on there multiple times, put it at the top of your shopping list so that you are sure to buy it. If something only makes the original list once, you probably don't actually need it and don't transfer it to the shopping list. Exceptions to this rule are the true essentials which are also non-food items, like soap and toilet paper...those you transfer the first time you need them because they will get used up.

4) Don't be cheap when it counts. On big, multi-use item, buy for quality, not price. One good example would be cookie sheets. We all use them, I even use mine for baking pork chops (the shiny cookie sheet makes both sides browned), so why not get a good one? I recently talked to a friend who was complaining that she needed new cookie sheets, the fourth set she had purchased in as many years. I asked her why she needs so many cookie sheets and she told me that she buys the inexpensive ones from Wal-Mart and puts them in the dishwasher. They cost between $3 and $5 each time she has to replace them. I, on the other hand, should never have to buy cookie sheets again. I have four cookie sheets, two stainless steel and the other two commercial-grade aluminum. All were purchased at Mennonite or Amish stores for between $12 and $15 each. I have had them for about 5 years now and they still look new. So long as I take care of them, they will last me the rest of my life and will be something I can pass on to my grandchildren (though I suppose I need to have children first). I don't put them in the dishwasher, and I clean them as soon as I'm done with them. I have even used a stainless steel scratcher on them and they still stay nice. The same is true about my cookware. I have Farberware brand skillets and pans (True, I bought the set, which normally sells for $140 for $20 thanks to Wal-Mart's Clearance Aisle, but still...they're very nice). I have had them for eight years now and are still in great shape. They have lasted much nicer than the set a friend bought at as a "Back to School" special (you know those "Kitchen in a Box" deals they have). She has had them for a little over a year and they are already showing signs of wear. My two favorite pans to cook in were my Great-Grandmothers. They are aluminum and do a wonderful job of cooking just about anything I put in them.

Okay, that's enough for now, I will post some more tips tomorrow.

Day 37 - Weekend!

2009-02-06T14:20:00.000-08:00

Today was Friday, FINALLY. It has been a very long week. I managed to only spend about $25 dollars this week, not counting my rent, so I'm quite happy. The people from the KC TV station were here watching me type...it was rather nerve wracking. I really hope that I didn't sound like an idiot and that I didn't say something I didn't mean to say...looking back I can see a couple of quotes about how this has been taken out of context. They were here for an hour, and talked about a lot of things. I told them about ways that I've tried saving money, such as avoiding Wal-Mart and the like. I also told them how much some of the assorted things that I have in my house cost me.

I've always been quite frugal, which explains me $7 table (Duncan Phyfe) and my $5 coffee table (Ashley), both purchased at yard sales. The computer desk I'm typing at was free because someone in college in Kirksville couldn't figgure out how to put it together and put it out by the curb with a "free" sign on it. It was brand new...only partially assembled, and I know it had to cost at least $50. People are so wasteful it often amazes me. Looking around my newly cleaned house, I realize that I have far nicer things than do some people my age, and for that I am thankful to all those flea markets I attended as a child. They taught me the value of a dollar, and I know how to get my dollar's worth.

My problem has never been spending too much money on something, it is that I just buy too much of too many inexpensive somethings. I think the last piece of clothing I paid full price for are my work pants, which only cost $20, not too bad. I look at the clothes I'm wearing...blue jeans from Goody's $20, on sale from $40. Striped shirt from Sears, $12 on sale from $36 and a sweater from Fashion Bug, $15 on sale from $30. Not bad...

My house is nice and clean, and I don't have anything that I have to do tonight. My mother and grandmother are coming to vist me tomorrow afternoon. We are going to go out to lunch (Mom's treat) then play cards at my hosue. Whenever they come to visit we usually play card games, an old-fashioned family pastime that so many people have lost. We play Rook, Spades and Liverpool Rummy. I sometimes wish that our society made more time for these simple joys. The best times I can recall are of playing cards with my family. I'll never forget when we were playing Pit and my cousin hid the bell down his shirt so that nobody else could win the game. My family is very loving, but also very competative. I can recall when rings were banished from the game of Spoons when my aunt "accidentally" hurt my cousin's hand with her wedding ring. To this day, we still think it was on purpose, but I suppose we will never know. The only one exempt from this rule is my grandmother, who has worn her ring so long that it cannot come off. Even though my grandfather passed away in 1993, my grandmother still wears her wedding ring. I hope that someday I can find someone to whom I will be so devoted that I will wear his ring after we have parted. Okay, that's enough sentimentality.

I think I must be in a nostalgic mood this evening. I'm off to the grocery store. I need to get some milk and I want to rent a movie from Redbox. Never fear, though, I have a coupon for a free rental, so it will not be breaking the rules to rent a movie. I'm glad the interview is over, now all I have to do is wait until March to see how I look on camera...

Day 36 - Exhausted

2009-02-05T20:32:00.000-08:00

I'm very, very tired at the moment, so please excuse any typos on my part. I've been cleaning house all evening and have to say that it looks pretty nice. I've still got my bedroom and the bathroom to do, but as the two smallest rooms in the house, they shouldn't take much time. I'm now debating if I want to irritate the neighbors tonight by vacuuming or tomorrow morning...that's all I have left to do in the main rooms. For someone who is a bet obsessive when it comes to cleaning, I think things are going well. I'm not sure why, but my house either has to be completely neat, with everything in its proper place, or a complete mess. I'm hoping that I can keep the house looking neat, since I'm not buying anything new to clutter it up with. I've thrown away more things in the past 24 hours than I knew I had stashed away in corners and boxes. One of my students came over to help me out. Basically, her job was to ask me "do you need that" and if the answer was no we either put it in a box for the yardsale or threw it away. No second guessing, the stuff was just gone. I am spending money to pay her for help, but I view it as money well spent as I just don't have time to get everything done that has to be done.

Tomorrow's the big interview about how I've been saving money. I'm still thinking of things to say... I'm not really sure why, but I'm nervous...I'm afraid I'll say something wrong or they'll take it out of context. I'm really hoping that the news story will have a link to my blog, which will increase my readership. I spent $15 today on two pair of dress pants for work. I've had them for forever, but just hadn't gotten around to paying my coworker for them yet. They were brand new Lane Bryant pants, still with the tags, so I paid her $7.50 a pair. Not a bad deal at all considering they were marked $40.00 to start with. I'll pay my helper tomorrow, I'm thinking $50, since she was a really big help and I'm debating hiring her to come over and help me declutter again (though I'll only pay $20 the next time as it won't be such a big job or with the time crunch). Well, I guess that's all for now, this post is shorter than average but I'll make up for it tomorrow night when I tell about my brush with fame.

Day 35 - Cleaning

2009-02-04T19:47:00.000-08:00

Today, I felt terrible when I got up. My cold is fighting the antibiotics and the result isn't pretty. I called in sick and got back into bed and slept until noon. Needless to say, I feel much, much better this evening. I'm thinking that the sleep plus the medications are finally helping. Hopefully I'll be better by this weekend. I don't want to be sniffling for my interview.

Today, after I woke up for the second time, I cleaned house. I sorted through things, packed some to be sold at my yard sale and threw others away. I feel like I accomplished quite a bit, my bookshelf is no longer overflowing onto the floor, and actually looks pretty nice. Books are only double stacked on two shelves, and those are all my mass market paperbacks (mostly romance novels), so that's not too bad. I still have to find a spot for my audio books, but overall, I'm quite proud that all of my books fit. I'm definitely not going to get any more until my bookshelves are no longer double stacked, and I've read every book on my shelf. Who knows, I may get desperate for reading material and actually read Les Miserables (I know it's a classic, but wow is it daunting, even for an avid reader such as myself).

In addition to cleaning off my bookshelf, I got my curtains back up. I vacuumed the cobwebs out of the corners before I put them back up, but I didn't bother washing the windows. I'll do that when I'm ready to move, it isn't like I ever look out of those windows (they're old, leaded glass, so I really can't tell when they're clean, they stay milky and wavy all the time). I also got my vacuum sweeper bags changed, and made sure they were put on right this time. The last time they got changed, apparently the seal wasn't on good so everything I vacuumed up wound up in the sweeper bag compartment, not in the bag (something I didn't discover until I went to change the bag...). That's why I am immensely happy I have two vacuum sweepers, I just used the other one to clean it out. I really need to store my spare sweeper in the shed, though, as it takes up quite a bit of room that I don't really have. The house is starting to look decent, but I still have a lot of work to do tonight and tomorrow.

Hopefully when I get this all done it will be easier to keep clean, and since I'm not shopping I won't have anything new to find a place for. I'm already discovering that what I do buy gets used up fast, since I don't have stockpiles of so much stuff. One thing that I did tonight, which I need to keep up, is sorting all of my "important paperwork." I had just been tossing all of this into a container, but I put it into a binder instead. I separated it all into about 10 categories and used protector sleeves to organize the binder. That way I don't have to take the time to hole punch everything, I can simply stick the paperwork into the appropriate sleeve to be dealt with later. It certainly looks more organized than the box sitting on my desk did, so that's a start.

Day 34 - A Penny Saved

2009-02-03T18:24:00.000-08:00

Well, I've saved a lot of pennies this month. I went to the bank tonight to deposit a check for the Monday night class I teach and I found out that I've saved a lot more than I thought I had. Normally, at the first of the month (when rent is due), my bank account is quite strained, this is when I have problems paying bills, and get worried about money. This month, thanks to my new-found frugality, this is not an issue. I found out I had $500 more in my account than I thought I did. I know some of you out there are wondering how this is possible...I'll be honest, I'm terrible at keeping track of how much I take out of my account normally. Before this past month, I just swiped my card and bought what I wanted. This month, however, I have been trying my best to only pay with cash and not swiping that little plastic devil. It has most assuredly paid off and now rather than wondering how I am going to buy gas and groceries in these next two weeks until payday I can relax, take a deep breath and not worry. I have enough in the bank to pay my rent, any groceries I may need to buy, and even enough to replace some moderately priced car part (because you never know when you're driving an eight year old car). I have to tell you, it is a wonderful feeling. I went to the bank tonight, thinking that the $300 I was depositing couldn't have come at a better time only to discover that I didn't really need it that much. I think next month (after the last of my credit cards are paid off) I will set up a savings account. I know that $500 or $1000 isn't much to put into a savings account, but every little bit of interest helps.

Just think of how much money I will have saved by the end of this month! And what is truly amazing is that I really don't feel all that deprived. I'm still buying name brand foods, I'm still buying soda (I've deemed this a necessity due to long hours of work and my tendency to get migraines when deprived of caffeine). The only things I've done away with so far are things that I don't really miss. Take last night, for example, when I was at Wal-Mart. Last year I would have trolled the Clearance aisle looking for "bargains" which I would buy because they were a "good deal" but which I would never use. My house is slowly getting cleaner, and my life is getting less cluttered. I'm starting to realize that I was getting so obsessed with owning something that I then didn't take the time to really use the item. I mean...who really needs the 20 packages of Post-It notes that I have sitting on top of my bookshelves? Sure, I've been slowly using them, but will I get them all used before the sticky on them dries up? I'm really not sure about this...does anyone know if Post-Its ever go bad? That's beside the point, though. I don't NEED all those colors or shapes. Sure, they're useful, but are the useful enough to justify taking up a 12x12 place in my house? Probably not. I'm not going to get rid of them, but I'm certainly not going to buy any more until they are all used up. I'm thinking they'll come in handy if I get a job...I'm going to put Post-Its around the house so the movers know where to put my furniture. If I do move, this is one expense I will be more than happy to incur, I will be paying for movers, as the last time I moved I put my back out of place and spent more money on chiropractors getting it back in than I would have spent paying someone to haul all of my heavy stuff.

I'm also hoping to have far less stuff to move...I've nearly filled my storage shed with things I've determined I don't really need. They'll be sold at my yard sale, so they don't have to move with me. Hopefully my yard sale will bring in enough money to pay for movers, who knows. I'm really looking forward to spring so that I can have this sale and get all of the random stuff that has been cluttering up my life and mind sold and out of my way.

Well, that is enough for tonight, I have more cleaning to do. I'm hurriedly de-cluttering my house (which I had torn apart last weekend for deep spring cleaning) and boxing up all things I feel are "unnecessary" and putting them in the shed. I have a couple of students coming over tomorrow, one to carry boxes out and one to help hang my curtains (did I mention that I have a huge picture window and homemade, quite heavy curtains) and do assorted other cleaning things.

For my PBS friends, you may notice that my bookshelf is empty on PBS. I offered my entire bookshelf for 5 credits and found someone to take part of it for 5, so I'm boxing up the rest to go in the shed for the yard sale. I decided that my books had been on there long enough and that I wanted to start new. I'm going to be sorting through the books which I previously set aside to keep and posting an all new bookshelf in the weeks to come. I'm going to adopt a "post it after I've read it" philosophy, and hopefully I'll have fewer books soon. I really, really want to be able to see the back of my bookshelf by this summer (my books are still double-stacked, though thankfully no longer triple-stacked, that was just dangerous).

Day 33 - 66 cents at Wal-Mart

2009-02-02T19:36:00.000-08:00

I am so proud of myself. I only actually spent 66 cents at Wal-Mart tonight. I had some stuff to take back which I didn't have the receipt for, so I got a shopping card from them for it. I tried really hard to as close as I could to the amount I had on the card and I was only 66 cents over. I bought all sorts of interesting things...soy sauce, teriaki sauce, potato chips, some chocolate candy (completely unnecessary but oh so yummy), and some snack crackers. Yep, that's all...no random office supplies, no clothes, no anything other than food items.

I did spend $8 at the dollar store, I got a pair of sunglasses (which retail for $14.99), four books (two of them bestsellers), a stamp for a class project, a six pack of sponges ($3.50 at Wal-Mart) and an eight pack of scourers. Not too bad, and other than the books nothing that was not "necessary." I abstained from getting any of the pretty papers they had, or from any new jewelery (though I admit that I looked). I was hoping to find a mouse stamp for my "Mouse and the Poet Project," which my Creative Writing students are working on, but I didn't find one, so oh well.

On Friday, someone from a Kansas City news station is coming to interview me about my attempts at frugality, so I have to have my house clean. I'm hoping for spotless, but in an old house that is just never quite possible. I'm trying to think of what all I will tell the reporter, but to be honest I'm afraid I'll clam up and forget how to speak. I've only been on camera once before in life, and I really don't recall that time much...I was so tired I couldn't have cared less about the camera. When I was a freshman in college, I did 24 hour theatre, a crazy, crazy experience which I both appreciate and regret at the same time. Anyway, back to what to tell the reporter. I'm thinking of showing her the thrift store where I go to get books. I'll probably also talk about how I make my own freezer dinners. Some other possibilities are: shopping in bulk but only when you take a calculator; not buying something when you don't actually need it; for anything more expensive than $7, wait 7 days before buying it unless it is something you use all the time; not buying things even if they're really cheap if you don't actually need them (I'm still using up the huge pack of papertowels I bought last year...I just don't use that many living alone). I'll probably talk about how I carry cash and don't use my credit card and about keeping all my receipts just in case I later decide I don't really, really need something. What do you think? What else should I talk about? I'm nervous, so I'm open to any suggestions.

Day 32 - Superbowl Sunday

2009-02-01T11:51:00.000-08:00

The day when advertising history is made. In theory, we're watching the culmination of a year's strife on the football field, but in actuality, we are watching a record $206 million dollars being spent on advertising. And that's just the ads airing during the Superbowl. What about the cost of the ads leading up to this day? Almost every major company puts out special packaging for this day, that can't come cheap. Just think of how many Wal-Mart ads we have seen in the last few days with people singing "We will rock you." Granted, Wal-Mart probably managed to get Pepsi, General Mills and others featured in those ads to pay for the majority of the cost, but still, that money is going to be passed down to us. I've always found advertising a bit interesting, because as far as brand name usage goes, there doesn't seem to be any correlation between advertising and the brand people buy. Perhaps this is because once we get hooked on a product, we tend to stick with that product. How many people out there only drink Diet Coke? Did you start drinking it because you saw a commerical? Or did you start drinking it because you tried Diet Pepsi and didn't like the taste? Do you stick with it because you think it has "cool" advertising? Of because you like the way it tastes, or the price, or something else? I think companies would be far better off not advertising and passing on the savings to the consumer. I would still buy Diet Pepsi if it weren't on television, and might even buy more of it if it were a bit cheaper. Can you tell that I've been reading books about the effects of advertising on our shopping patterns lately?
I've been de-cluttering my house and doing some pre-spring cleaning in the last couple days. I still have a lot to do, but the house is starting to look better. I even took down the curtains and washed them. I'm not looking forward to ironing them all, I have to admit. I have a 9 foot tall picture window...that's a lot of fabric to get wrinkle free. I'm glad I bought some spray starch recently, hopefully that will help.

Day 30 - Cold

2009-01-30T20:39:00.001-08:00

I'm still sick. I called the doctor earlier today and got some antibiotics. Twenty-four dollars for a bottle of pills and a thing of nose spray...ouch. I guess if that's what it takes to start feeling better, though... Tomorrow I'm de-cluttering my house. I've hired two students to help out. I'm paying them $10 and a spaghetti lunch to help me sort through things and price them for a yard sale. I'm going to pack all the stuff away in my storage shed until it gets nice enough to have a sale. As I've said before, I've been inspired by the de-cluttering books I've been reading, but I think I need someone here asking me "will you really ever use that?" Plus, they can help me out by carrying things out to the shed and providing me with someone to talk to and helping me keep the TV turned off. I spent $4.50 getting bread and hamburger for the meal, and already have spaghetti sauce and noodles here at home, so that's not too bad. I didn't buy anything that wasn't on my list at Hy-Vee, so I'm quite happy with myself. On another positive note, I found my lost checkbook today so that I can pay my rent. I'm sure the landlord will like that. It has been missing since last month's rent was paid, as I generally only write the one check per month. Anyway, I know this is a short post for me, but I'm not really sure what to say. I'm sick, today was too long and I'm ready to just do nothing this weekend. Maybe tomorrow I'll share a poem I wrote for my creative writing class with you all to get some feedback. I like doing assignments along with my students, it keeps me thinking creatively and also keeps me from making them too difficult to do.

Day 29 - Random Stuff

2009-01-29T18:36:00.000-08:00

Today was a much better day than yesterday. I got super-hyped up on coffee early this morning (thanks to whichever teacher gets there early and makes the first pot) and managed to keep the good feeling going all day. I didn't drink coffee until last year, when I realized how much money I spent on soda each day (I was spending about $1.50 per day on soda...ouch), so I started drinking coffee. I started by making in really, really weak and putting it in my hot chocolate (super high calorie, I know) and have eventually gotten so that I can drink coffee with only cream and Sweet and Low. It's still about 40 calories per cup, but that's not too bad compared to 150 for the hot chocolate, plus it's way cheaper. I still like chocolate in my coffee, yes, I'm weird, I know. I buy the huge things of Coffeemate (about half the price of the smaller cans) and a big bag of hot cocoa mix (the kind they put in machines from a local Amish store) and mix them together in a big ziplock bag. It makes the coffee taste like chocolate and reduces the calorie count that straight hot chocolate mix in coffee would be.
Speaking of ziplock...I'm nearly out of the big gallon bags...that's really going to be painful when I run out, I use them for everything. I'm thinking that I was able to survive without them before they were invented, so Tupperware should still work for whatever I need today too. I can't say that I'm looking forward to doing all those dishes, though. I may decide to sell some of my Tupperware this spring at a yard sale so that I can buy some more Ziplock bags, but I certainly don't need to have both on hand. And honestly, do we ever really need as much Tupperware/assorted plastic ware as we have in our kitchens? I don't think some of it has been used since I moved here...and that was two years ago.
Today, I only spent 70 cents, and that was for delivery confirmation on an Amazon order. I'm getting $35 for a book I sold, so the 70 cents doesn't really mean much in the long run. I used up some assorted stamps I had on hand to make up the rest of the cost of postage, but didn't want to put a $1 stamp on something that I only needed to pay 70 cents for. I'll spend more than that tomorrow on postage, but will be getting 11 PBS credits for what I'm sending out, so it will all even out. I got two more books today and am really excited to sit down and read them this weekend. One is all about conquering clutter and the other is a romance novel. Since I have me mother reimburse me $2.50 for each book she has me order, I normally get my postage back plus some, so I'm pretty much getting my books for free. Have I mentioned yet how much I love Paperback Swap?
I'm supposedly cleaning house tonight, but not much has gotten accomplished. I've got to get this place clutter-free...seeing all the things I've bought and don't actually need in the past is really starting to irritate me and I need to get them put away and out of sight.
I got an e-mail yesterday from a reporter from Fox 4 out of Kansas City. She wants to interview me about my blog. Wish me luck, and hope that the phone tag which has ensued will end soon.

Day 28 - Shopping while hungry

2009-01-28T16:12:00.000-08:00

Okay, we all know we shouldn't do it, but honestly who hasn't gone shopping while they're hungry. Everything looks good...it's so hard to resist temptation in this state of weary weakness. Tonight I had to go to the grocery store/pharmacy to get a prescription filled. I've been stressed out lately and when I get stressed an old injury flares up and I have to take some painkillers. As a teacher, I get used to eating at odd hours. Lunch is at 10:40, so I'm always hungry when I get off work. Today was no different, and I was stuck in the grocery store for 20 minutes while hungry. I'm fairly proud, I made it out of the store with only two bags of groceries, and for less than $20. So much for my not spending any more this week. Oh well, I'm not going to go out and go crazy, I'm just going to stay home and eat my goodies. They had Wheat Thins on sale for 1/2 price, so I bought a box or original and a box of Parmesan, I'll let you know how they taste. I am probably going to rent a movie later on in the week, I'm really ready to see something new, but I'm going to use a "super-saver" card that I bought last year (I know, cheating, right). I got 7 movie rentals and 10 late fee waivers for $20. I also get free Kid's movie rentals, but as I don't have kids, this isn't really helpful. Cards like this are great, though, it basically gives you $35 worth of merchandise for your $20. I wouldn't recommend it for someone who doesn't like movies, or who actually remembers when those darn things are due, but for average movie lovers like myself, they're great. Well, I have to clean house, and do some laundry tonight. I'm using up all my various laundry detergents, hopefully I can go another month before I have to buy any more. By the way...don't buy the huge things of ALL...they leak horribly (or maybe I just did something wrong), plus they don't save that much money. When you buy in bulk, always check the ounces...I've been amazed how often the smaller package is actually cheaper ounce per ounce or pound for pound.

Day 26 - Dreary Monday

2009-01-26T20:08:00.000-08:00

Today was a really long day. I'm not sure what was wrong with the world, but things just did not line up today. My students were crazy (I gave 7 detentions and most weeks I don't give any). I had my night class tonight. Things went pretty well, though I admit we didn't stay for the entire 3 hours. That's just to long for me to lecture at a time. I thought I had things timed out, but then it took less time than I thought it would to get stuff done. I went to Wal-Mart to pick up a couple of things I needed and forgot to bring cash, so I had to put $40 on my credit card. I'm not happy with myslef, but it is the first I've put on there since January 1, so that's not too bad, I guess. As I look through the bad, I cannot see anything that I would deem "unnecessary," so I'm not altogether unhappy. I will try to do better the rest of this week. Let's see if I can get by without spending another penny all week. How does that sound for a challenge?

Friday off Work

2009-01-26T20:06:00.000-08:00

January 23, 2003
Friday off Work
Today I took a day off work. I went to a conference last night near my parents’ house and decided to just go ahead and spend some time with Mom and Dad as I havn’t seen them in quite awhile and miss them. I took a “sick day” and as it turns out I actually went to see the doctor. I have had headaches for several days in a row (4 of 5 days have been headache days), so I decided that I need to get my muscle relaxer renewed. I’ve also had a rather nasty sore throat, so the day was a two for one. I got my prescriptions renewed and was told that I have a head cold, a virus, which they really can’t do anything for. I was told to go on Mucinex and a decongestant, no big deal. I’m really wondering how much this visit will cost me because I turned it in to the insurance. I know I’ll have to pay it since my deductable is far from met, but they wouldn’t take my Flex Card and I didn’t have a check on me today, so I billed to Insurance for convenience sake. After that, I went over to see my Grandmother for a bit. I had to go to my college to get a copy of my transcripts (I need them for job interviews), so we drove to Kirksville. I’ll admit, I did shop a bit today. I bought three new shirts and a gift set of a perfume that I really like (White Diamonds). It cost me $40 total for these things (The shirts were all 80% off their original price, I got one for 2.59 and one for $3.48 and the third was more expensive, but is also much more versatile – and still well under $15.00). Normally, a single bottle of the perfume is $64 (I had them get out the bottle so I could compare sizes and looked at the tag). I got a large bottle and a small one for $24, about what I paid for a small bottle three months ago. I now have a bottle for my purse, one for home, and one for my travel makeup bag, so that I won’t keep forgetting perfume at home (if it’s not packed, I’m prone to forget it, that’s why I’m wearing a t-shirt I’ve had at my mom’s place for years…I somehow managed to get here without a sleep shirt). I also spent $2.00 at a thrift shop, I got a really nice Lane Bryant shirt (which looks amazing on me and looks like new), two nightgowns, one book and two of my vacuum sweeper bags (which are normally $1.00 each at Sears). It was amazing, we went to Kirksville and didn’t even bother going into Wal-Mart. I went into Goody’s and didn’t buy a thing, even though they were having a “going out of business sale.” You really have to watch this sort of sale, they have a tendency to mark things up before they start marking them down. I found a pair of jeans identical to the ones I bought right after Christmas for $10 more than I paid for them…it didn’t seem like anything was priced reasonably. I like stores which compound the discounts rather than exclude some things. If your signs read “40% off lowest marked price” then that seems to me that it should include clearnance items, but for some reason some stores don’t honor this (perhaps stores should learn a bit more about semantics and stop this faulty advertising..it is the stores that do this which are in such economic crisis…the honest ones seem to be doing a pretty decent business). What happened to “the customer is always right”? I asked if the 40% discount applied to already reduced earring prices, and the sales lady snapped at me “NO! Those have already been marked down” in a very rude tone of voice. It is no wonder that some places cannot keep their business. Oh well, that’s enough of a rant for now about my feelings on going out of business sales. Have a great week everyone.

Day 20 - Change

2009-01-20T17:45:00.000-08:00

No, I'm not talking about the kind of change you find in a drawer (though I did find about $2.00 worth of change in a drawer today). I'm talking about the change in our country, the change in our Presidency. My students were pretty wild today, all they wanted to talk about was the inauguration, so I just left it on the television all day. That seemed to work, so the day went fairly smoothly. I didn't spend any money today, I actually got another $6 back for a flash drive that one of my students bought from me. I paid my credit card bill from December (yikes!) and got a thing from Wal-Mart telling me that I have officially paid off my laptop. I'm proud...I managed to pay it off completely way before the deadline (I had a zero interest for 12 months deal, the only reason I bought a laptop from Wal-Mart in the first place). I'm actually quite happy with the laptop, it is a Toshiba and has served me very well. I don't know what I do to computers, but I tend to kill them quickly. This is better now that I'm the only one using my computer (I have a feeling my ex was downloading stuff onto my computer), but they still don't like me. So far, this laptop hasn't given me any troubles and for that I am very, very grateful. It is very nice to be able to sit on the couch or in my big, comfy chair and type rather than sitting at the computer. I can also watch TV this way, since the office, where my desktop computer is located, is the only room in my house without a television (okay, the only room other than the bathroom). I don't watch TV all the time, but I live alone and I've gotten used to having it on for noise. I even sleep with the TV on, but that is another phobia.

I ordered a DVD collection today. As I was paying my credit card bill, it reminded me that I had unused reward points. I have a Sony Card, so I can get free electronic stuff (I get a penny for every dollar I put on my card). I had quite a few points (because up until January 1, I put EVERYTHING on my card), and some of them were due to expire before too long, so I ordered a Monty Python collection. I love Monty Python and think that I will watch these more than once. I didn't have to spend any money to ship them or anything. I'm debating spending the rest of my points on a gift card for K-Mart. Would it be cheating if I got one of these to spend on my trips to Kansas City? I would be shopping, but I technically wouldn't be spending any money since I cannot get this money back in cash, but rather must choose something from their website. Let me know what you think.

Okay, back to change. I think I am making real progress towards changing my life for the better. I'm working on job applications, I'm saving money and I'm getting rid of stuff. I am really looking forward to the weather getting warm enough for me to have a yard sale, as I seem to be finding a lot of things I really just don't need any more (or didn't actually ever need at all). I'm going to sell all my VHS tapes, since I don't watch them anymore. I can't imagine living without cable now that I've had it for nearly two years and doubt I'll go back, so there is really no reason to keep all my old VHS tapes. I'm hoping to get $1 each for them, though I'll probably get 50 cents. I have about 200 of them, so that will still add up. I may offer them in a deal, the more you buy the more you save, or something like that. I am also going to get rid of a lot of my books. I know, that's blasphemy to some, but I just have too many books. I'm drowning in them. I doubt if I'll get more than 25 cents each, but that's all I paid for most of them so I'll come out even. I am also going to get rid of a lot of my office supplies. Let's face it, I'm never going to use 100 sheets of flowery paper all alike. It's cute, but when do you honestly have use for that much cute paper? I'm going to keep a few sheets so that I can make posters and stuff, but I certainly don't need to keep 100 sheets of the same kind of paper. I'm going to advertise my sale at the school so that some other teachers can come over and get some good deals, I think.

I finally told my boss today that I'm in the process of job hunting. It went much smoother than I anticipated it going. I don't like confrontation and tend to stay out of the way as much as possible. He even offered to write me a letter of recommendation, so I think it went well. I love my job, don't get me wrong, but I find myself loving my Dual Credit classes more than the others, and think this means that I belong at the Community College or University level. As I do not have my PhD, I cannot get a job at the University level, so I think I'll see how I like working at a Community College. I think I will like it and will probably end up staying there, though I do want to go back and get my PhD someday. I guess I need to put first things first, though and get this thesis done first.

I'm told that I need to have more focus as I write. Does anyone have any suggestions on what aspect of this project I should focus in on? I'm thinking about writing out clearer rules on what I'm doing and writing about my struggle to follow my own rules.

Day 19 - Pricy Paper

2009-01-20T16:49:00.000-08:00

Today I spent $40 on paper. It really, really hurt to buy it. I am job hunting, and I think that nice paper is a must in my field. I have enough to last this search and the next couple, I think. However, I have to print out so much information to send that I probably will go through it faster than I think. I do know that I have to get some bigger envelopes because everything will not fit into the standard ones (I need 9x12 envelopes). I did not put it on my credit card, though, I paid with cash for everything. Next month I will be able to pay off my credit cards completely. Yea!!! I feel quite proud of myself. Though I am still spending a bit of money, I have saved quite a lot. I'm really, really hoping that this not shopping will become a life-long habit. I find it is already getting easier to stay out of the stores. I really wanted to go to Jamesport and just go grocery shopping today, but I resisted and probably saved $20. I'm still a shopaholic, but it is getting easier to avoid the temptations.

Day 18 - Lazy Day

2009-01-19T12:15:00.001-08:00

Today, I did nothing. It was wonderful. I just sat around the house and did a bit of laundry and played computer games all day. I really needed a day to just relax and do nothing. Sundays have traditionally been difficult for me, I tend to go to a neighboring town and go shopping. It is a stress reliever. I was plesantly suprised to find that doing absolutely nothing could be just as much relief. I surfed the web a bit and did some more job hunting. All in all, it was a nice, incredibly inexpensive day.

I've been working on eating the things from my pantry. I wonder why I hadn't made lemonade very often. I have quite a bit of lemonade mix, but I never seem to keep it made (I tend to just go out and buy pre-packaged drinks). I've had Crystal Lite for the last few days and I have to say it is pretty tasty, especially when you add a bit more lemon juice to the mix.

Day 17 - Thrift Shop

2009-01-18T09:03:00.000-08:00

Today I finally got around to taking my donations to the thrift store. I admit, I went in and looked around a bit. I couldn't resist. They had a sale on books...they were all half price. And half price of 10 or 25 cents is pretty irresistable. I bought 10 book for 75 cents. Some are for me, some for my mother. They're all in like new condition, so I think I got a really good deal and it helped absolve me of my desire to go shopping. Not bad for under $1.00. Unfortunately, I do need to buy something pretty expensive in the near future. I am job hunting, I want to move up and teach at the Community College level, so that requires submitting applications. I feel that I will get a better response if I submit my applications on a bit nicer paper, so I'm hunting a deal on resume paper. I think I'm going to compromise and buy some "fine business" paper which I found on E-bay. It is still pretty darn pricy, but I can get 500 sheets of paper and 250 envelopes for about $40.00, which is probably cheaper than I can find it at Wal-Mart. That much paper should last me for quite a few years. I don't know, though...I'm going to check out Wal-Mart's prices too and if they're not that much more expensive, I will probably just pick some up there so I can have it on hand. For now, I'm putting everying on plain, old recycled printer paper, though thankfully I had some nice envelopes to send my information out in. I found out how to print envelopes through my printer, so they look very professional and prove that I know how to use technology (I hope). I'm really not sure what the protocol is for applying at colleges, if they want things to look nice or if they focus on making sure that all of your "i"s are dotted and your "t"s crossed. I guess we shall see. If I start getting rejection letters before long, I will know that I'm doing something wrong, I guess.

Day 16 - Payday

2009-01-16T17:46:00.000-08:00

Today was payday. My poor checking account feels much happier, for a few days at least. I will have to pay my credit card bill in a few days, so then it will once again feel drained. Just think...only this month and next and my bill will be managable again. I have not put anything on my card this entire month, though I do admit that I went over max in December, so I it will take me this month and next to pay it off. It is the first time I've ever done this...I'm not sure why I let it happen, I guess I just went crazy before this not shopping thing...or maybe I didn't keep track as well as I normally do. Oh well, I've done quite well this month. I've spent less than $100 on groceries, gas, and other sundry items. Rent is, of course, a necessity, but thankfully my utilities are included in my rent. I'm really thinking that by the end of March or April I will have saved quite a bit of money. Once I get my cards paid off, I'll let you know how fast the savings add up (I'm a bit embarassed to admit how much I owe). I hope everyone has a safe, warm weekend and that they can stay out of the stores. Good luck.

Day 15 - Grocery Shopping

2009-01-15T19:18:00.000-08:00

Today, I went to the store to buy some white rice. I was completely out of white rice, and therefore felt justified in purchasing more. While I was there, I saw that they had whole boneless pork loins for $1.69 a pound, a pretty amazing price, so I bought one. I havn't had time to cut it up yet, but I will cut part of it into pork chops and will make pulled BBQ pork with the rest. All in all, I spent less than $20 at Hy-Vee and have a lot of pork to show for it.

Day 14 - Baby it is cold outside.

2009-01-15T19:09:00.000-08:00

Tonight is supposed to be the coldest night of the year. I like the cold, but not the bitter cold. Right around freezing is perfect. This close to zero is anything but perfect. I am ready for spring, I guess. I think if Mother Nature would just make up her mind, I would be okay, but this constant changing between hot and cold is making my sinuses go haywire. I managed to go all of today without even thinking about shopping, or at least without going into a store. I can't guarantee that the thought of going out and spending money didn't cross my mind, especially since I get paid on Friday, but I didn't think about it too much. I am really, really getting tired of commercials, though. They seem to bring out the best in me. When I went shopping all the time, I didn't pay any attention to them, and now they are like torture, each one begging me to purchase their specific product (even though I'm pretty sure I don't need any of that stuff). It is truly amazing how many advertisements there are during a standard television show. Disgusting is what I would call it. From food to cell phones, to a myriad of other unnecessary items, is it any wonder that so many people have so much stuff that they don't really need. I've really, really been thinking about just getting rid of most of my stuff. I'm tired of moving it around, because when you have as much stuff as I have, there isn't really a "put away" state of housekeeping, but rather you are just shuffling things around so that they are less hazardous when walking late at night in the dark. I think I'm going to make a rule should I move. I can only take those things which fit into a small U-Haul and my car, oh and my parents' van...and...oh...maybe I'll just get rid of as many things as I can stand to get rid of.

Day 13 - Headaches

2009-01-13T18:43:00.000-08:00

I had planned a trip to see my doctor in Kansas City today. I took the day off work, set my alarm clock, woke up at 6 a.m. and promptly went back to bed. I woke up with a really nasty headache for the third day in a row. I decided that I needed a day to rest and go to the chiropractor so I called and canceled my appointment. I stayed home almost all day and just lounged around, cleaned house a bit and slept a lot. I didn't buy anything, though I did pay the chiropractor $35 from my Flex spending account. I feel quite a bit better this evening, though the painkillers I took earlier might account for that. I did get really, really tempted to call for delivery Chinese food, it just sounded so good. I didn't cook anything this weekend like I normally do, so I didn't have anything to heat up in the fridge. I didn't call, but rather made some rice (the last of my white rice) and chicken teryiaki to go with it. I used some frozen grilled chicken strips and some glaze that I bought for BBQ at some point but never got around to using. I fried the chicken in the glaze and added soy sauce to make the glaze a bit thinner and to give it more flavor (I'm a salt-aholic and I know it). I was sort of doubtful because I'm pretty picky about my Chinese food, but it was actually really, really good. Better than some that I've had in restaurants and certainly quite a bit cheaper. The chicken cost $5.00 for the bag and I only used 1/5 or so of it, so about $1.00. The bottle of glaze was purchased for 75 cents at a discount Amish grocery store near my house, and the rice probably cost less than 15 cents since I only make one cup of it (Here's a hint for making really tasty rice: add some salt and a dash of olive oil to the water, it makes it so that it doesn't stick together quite so badly if you over cook it as I unusually do). That makes what I cooked tonight equal $1.90 and I have enough for two more servings. I'm quite proud, rather than spending $10 for take away food, I spent $1.90 for about the same amount of food. I also learned that I like homemade chicken teryiaki, something which I will most assuredly make in the future. Now if I can just find a recipe for those fried potatoes and honey chicken they make I won't have to step foot in a Chinese restaurant again.

Days 10 and 11 - Cheating a bit

2009-01-12T10:01:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I went to see a friend out of town this weekend and I will admit I cheated a bit. I stopped at the dollar store on my way down, since I had some extra time to spare. I only spent $8, six of which are on more gloves (did I mention that I seem to lose these like there's no tomorrow?). They are really nice gloves, nearly as nice as the ones I paid $24 for, I really wonder how they manage to get such nice stuff at our dollar store. I also bought some really, really pretty paper, which I fully acknowledge is not necessary. I don't need it, I was nervous and just wanted it. I feel sort of bad now, but $2 spent unnecessarily isn't too bad, right? I went to Wal-Mart and had my eyes checked. The good news is that I don't have to get new glasses. I thought I was going to get new glasses and contacts, but I'm pretty sure that if I wear contacts more days than not, I can manage to get another year out of these glasses. The doctor said that my eyesight hadn't changed that much, so these would be fine. I did spend some money on stuff for my contacts at Wal-Mart, and even though this is a "necessity" I spent part of the gift card that my parents gave me for Christmas. I really wanted to keep enough cash on hand and I didn't want to spend more money than I had budgeted for the trip.

I thought I would be going out to dinner and a movie on Saturday night, but the lack of decent movies at the theater prevented that, so I saved about $20 by staying in with my friend and just renting a movie. Naturally, on my way home I felt the need to spend this savings...I only spent $12, though...I bought some scrapbooking supplies which were completely unnecessary and I fully admit it. In my defense, I stopped thinking I would be safe in that shop and I really had to stop and walk around a bit. I walked I won't do it again, I hope. Overall, I had a very nice weekend for under $40, including gas money, and got to see a friend. Though it wasn't the best for my frugality, the weekend was very good for my spirits, and I feel much happier and lighter (metaphorically speaking) than I did at the end of last week. I didn't spend nearly as much as I normally would have (usually my pick-me-up shopping trips cost at least $100), so I feel that though I did buy things, I am doing much, much better.

Day 9 - Stress

2009-01-09T15:10:00.001-08:00

Today was just all around an awful day. I woke up with an extremely sore throat and had a headache all day. To make matters worse, the computers in my room were down yet again. I had my students re-arrange my room so that we could get a better wireless signal, and had the computers all working at one point. When I came back from lunch, they were down again. It was quite frustrating. My students were great today. Somehow they can sense when I'm in a bad mood and do things to please me those days (I think I've assigned lots of extra work when I'm in a bad mood in the past or something). Today is the kind of day that I normally would have gone shopping to relieve my stress. I don't know why, but getting something new just always makes a bad day a bit brighter (usually the brightness is directly proportional to how much time I spend shopping and how much I spend). Instead, I came home and am converting some LPs to Mp3 so that I can listen to them again. I'm also going to clean house, but am putting that off for just a bit longer, as I really hate cleaning. I've been eating chocolate like crazy, but I guess it makes me feel better, so that's okay. Tomorrow I will be headed to a slightly larger, neighboring town to get my eyes checked and see about getting new glasses and some contacts. I've had these glasses for over two years, so it's probably time for new ones. The contacts aren't a necessity, but I really want to try wearing them again. I haven't worn them since early in my college career, and I really liked them then, so I want to try them again. I'm using my flex-spending plan. I put $600 into it, but I can already see that I will wish I had put in more and probably will for next year. I won't be writing over the weekend, as I will be in Kansas City and without my computer, so I will update this blog on Sunday about the weekend.

Day 8 - China Buffet

2009-01-08T15:25:00.000-08:00

Today was a really long day at work. I'm not sure what made it so long, it simply was. I got back $12 that I had spent in December today. I bought flash drives online for my students and got the first of the money for them today. I found some 2 GB flashdrives online for $6 with free shipping, so I'm charging my students exactly that (I live in a small town with no Wal-Mart, let alone computer or office supply store). They're not getting the flash drive until they give me the money. Even though I've paid for the flash drives, this feels like I'm earning money...it is weird how things feel. I had leftover taco meat, chips and cheese today for lunch. I didn't eat much, so I will have the leftovers from what I took to work again tomorrow for lunch (that's one good thing about weight loss surgery, low food costs). Here in a little bit I'm going out to supper with a colleage. I know it is sort of cheating, but I do need a social life and I never really get to go out. I'm allowing myself once a week to go out and eat, so long as I still have the cash for it. I'm not allowed to go out by myself, or to instigate the eating out, but rather must be asked. That way, I may eat out or I may not. The money I had budgeted origionally to pay for groceries this week is still in my wallet, so I have plenty of cash for this week and for the weekend.

I spent $7.00 at the restaurant, not too bad for the insane amount of honey chicken I got. I think they must have battered and fried an entire chicken just for me. Rather than eating off the buffet, which is $6.99, I ordered off the menu (which you have to ask for) and my meal cost $6.25 plus tax. Plus, I got to take home the leftovers, something that I think they would frown on if I had the buffet. All in all, I had an enjoyable evening for under $10.

Day 7 - Worn Out

2009-01-08T15:18:00.000-08:00

Last night when I got home I was completely worn out. I fell asleep pretty soon after I got home, and didn't even take the time to post something. I managed to make tacos before I fell asleep, they weren't as good as I thought they would be, but not too bad. I did spend money yesterday, money I really, really didn't want to spend. That's right...I got my car fixed. $193 for new spark plugs, wires, the diagnostic test and the man hours. I suppose it could have been worse, but the month after Christmas that much money really puts a damper on my bank account. I did not put it on my credit card, which is already maxed out, but rather paid cash. I've been paying cash for everything. The only thing that this is really a hassle for is for getting gas. I actually have to go into the store twice, once to pre-pay and a second time to get my reciept. That's twice the temptation which paying with my card did, but I'm planning on putting my card into the freezer as soon as I get it all paid off and have some "emergency" money in my bank account that I will be able to access should I have a car wreck or be stuck away from home for some reason. For lunch today I had an individual serving of Hamburger Helper. They're pretty good, and at 75 cents are a lot cheaper than buying lunch at work. When I'm out of them, however, I think I can eat for even less than this, since meals made at home don't usually cost that much for me. Well, that's all about yesterday...I'll try to keep on task and not fall asleep forgetting to publish my post.

Day 6 - Back at Work

2009-01-06T18:22:00.000-08:00

Today was my first day back at work after a rather long, extended vacation. I'm glad to be back, but it was hard to go back to work again. I am quite proud that I was fully prepared for all of my classes today, had photocopies made and everything. I even managed to get all of my grades done today, even though they're not due until tomorrow at the end of the day. I have not sent them to the main office yet, but will do that tomorrow morning. After school I was a bit tired and went home as soon as I could. I needed to go and get a check cashed at the bank and it was such a pretty day I decided to walk. Normally I don't like exercise, which is the fate of many women my size, but the walk in the cool air was very pleasant. I got my money (I'm paying the mechanic in cash tomorrow, so that I don't put something else on my credit card) and headed home.

After seeing someone's lunch today, I have really, really been craving taco salad, so I decided that I needed a treat. After all, not only did I get my grading all done, but I went for a walk as well. So I stopped at the grocery store and looked at the prices of the necessary components. I promised myself before entering the store that I wouldn't get the ingredients if they were not on sale. I guess I got lucky, lettuce was on sale for 99 cents a head and tomatoes were $1.29 a pound. I also needed taco chips, which were $1.50 a bag. I already have the hamburger, spices and cheese, so I did not get these things. The only other thing I bought was some ham which I will have for lunch. Nine slices of ham will last nine days, as I can only eat one slice per meal and won't eat it for every meal. That means that the meal will cost me approximately 60 cents. Thirty-three cents for the ham and about 30 cents for the mozarella cheese. I'm not counting the four Ritz crackers, since I always have these on hand. All told, I spent $7.37 today, which is not bad since it will feed me for about a week and a half. It is cheating a bit, but I don't have time this week to really cook something, so this is a fairly inexpensive way to get by. I'm going to go ahead and make enough taco meat so that I can freeze some so that the next time I get an urge for this meal I don't have to cook, just re-heat. I'm pretty proud of myself for bypassing all of the things which were on sale at the grocery store and happy that by going in today I got a free movie rental coupon from Redbox. I'll probably redeem that next week when I need something to get my mind off the fact that I havn't actually gone shopping for the sake of shopping alone for two weeks.

Day 5 - Eating Out

2009-01-05T18:10:00.000-08:00

Today was a teacher in service day. We went in at 8:00 and stayed until 3:00. The only good thing about in service days is that you get a long lunch. Generally, several teachers go out to the local Mexican restaurant for lunch. Today was no different. I really needed the time out, I don't have the chance to go out and be social too terribly often (one of the plenitude of joys of living in a rural area), so I take every chance I can get. Since I am planning on going to Kansas City this weekend, I decided that I could not go out and spend my own money. Thankfully, I have two gift certificates to this restaurant from Christmas, so I simply used one of those. It was a $20 gift certificate, so I got the change back as cash rather than another gift certificate. My lunch was $12, which is pretty pricey, but I got $8 in change, so that bought my groceries for the week. What is ironic is that our superintendent was talking this morning about the subject of this blog, about how we need to determine what is truly needed for instruction vs. what we desire to have. In a time of economic uncertainty, it seems that everyone is feeling the shadow of the depression which now seems so unavoidable.

I had to spend money today that I didn't want to spend again. I'm not the least bit happy about it. My car has been acting up for quite a bit of time. When I am driving it likes to sputter when I'm between 30 and 40 MPH. This isn't a huge deal, but I'm afraid that it will die sometime when I'm driving down through Kansas City, as this is my average speed in some parts of town. I'm been trying to get it in to get looked at for quite awhile, but just haven't had the time. Today, I took it in, prepared to pay the $70 diagnostics charge, and anxiously awaited the verdict. I went back this afternoon and was told that I need new spark plugs and wires. I'm not 100% sure what this means, but I am told that $191 will make my baby run like new again. It is a lot of money, but a least they waive the diagnostics fee if I get my car repaired at their shop, so $191 pays for everything.

I went to the movie rental and grocery stores on my way home. I returned the movies I rented last week, and did not get any new ones. I was quite proud of myself as I tend to rent at least four movies every Monday. On Mondays all rentals are only $1 so it's not as bad as it sounds. Still, $5 a week means $20 a month, or $240 a year. That's a lot of money to spend on something which will be available on television in a year or so. I bought milk at the grocery store, it was the only thing on my list. I actually strayed just a bit and purchased some orange juice as well. It was on sale for $1.59, and I really do love orange juice. I'm not sure if it's a want or a need, but I am quite proud of myself for keeping my entire grocery store purchase for the week under $4. We'll see how well I can stay out of the stores for the remainder of the week.

Day 4 - Cleaning House

2009-01-04T16:27:00.000-08:00

Today, rather than going in to work like I probably should have, I decided to clean house a bit. I've been reading books about organization and how to de-clutter you life, and decided to try some of the tips. One was to have four distinct places to put things each labeled. The categories are 1) Trash 2) Donate 3) Sell 4) Keep. I took it one step further and split my keep pile into two , one to keep in the house and one to store in the shed. I put some things that I'm not quite ready to throw out yet (such as papers from old classes), and things that I might try to sell into this category. I threw away three bags of stuff and filled my car's trunk with things to donate (mostly books and a few clothes that are too big). I feel like I really accomplished something, though my house is still a mess. Why is it that when you deep clean something you make a bigger mess than you had to start out with. I plan on spending any free time I have this week cleaning every room this way, and hopefully my house will be farily neat and clutter-free in by then. I focused on my bathroom and office today, I'm not really sure why, perhaps because they are the smallest and largest rooms in my house and the things in them are relatively easy to organize.

As far as buying things, I didn't even leave the house today, so I spent nothing. I sold a book on Half.com, so will be getting about $7 from that. I have $9 still in my Half account because I have to call the bank to get my old checking account number in order to get the money (I don't know what my old number was and have not used it for well over a year). It's one of those things I've been putting off, but really need to get done.

Day 3 - Traveling

2009-01-03T22:25:00.000-08:00

Today I put a lot of miles on my car. I went to my final family Christmas, which was held near Topeka, KS. I still wasn't feeling the best, so I didn't get up too terribly early this morning. I finally took off at 9:00 or so. The drive wasn't bad, only about three hours long, but normally I would stop at least once to get something to snack on on the trip. I refrained from this, I filled up a thermos with coffee already doctored up like I like it (lots of cream, some zero calorie sweetener, and a package of hot cocoa mix), I took some candy and the Chex mix I made yesterday to snack on, and a re-fillable bottle of water. I did have to stop once to get gas, but only put in $10 and didn't buy anything at the convenience store. Rather than putting the gas on my credit card, as I would have normally done, I walked into the store and pre-paid, that way I would only put in $10 and nothing more (please note that even when gas prices were their highest I could entirely fill my car for under $30, so I knew I wouldn't have to spend more than $15 to fill it).

For this particular Christmas we do a grab bag. Each person brings something for a member of the same sex valued at $15. I don't know if you've ever done grab bags, but it is incredibly difficult to find something that women of all ages might like. I was going to put in a blender purchased at the end of the summer on clearance in, but at the last moment decided that everyone probably already has a blender and put in the following: four Christmas potholders, a 10 pack of Apple Pie scented candles, a gold necklace, and sampler box of Whitman's candy. I thought that most of these are consumable items, and as such should be welcomed by anyone. I think this must have been the year of cleaning out things we've never opened, since I noticed that I was not the only person who had items valued at more than $15 (The candles alone cost $10 when I bought them). I received a William Sonoma cookie press from my sister-in-law, something which I am sure was purchased for more than $15. I already have cookie press, but it is not as nice as this one, and I will put the old one (ironically received a few years ago during this same celebration) out at my yard sale. I'm not sure if I will ever use a cookie press, but I suppose during this year of not buying things, perhaps I will get a craving for some butter cookies and be able to make my own. I think I am going to institute the "If you don't use it at least twice in a year, you don't need it" rule when it comes to the majority of my things (holiday items will, of course be exempted, as well as the pasta press which I dream of learning how to cook with). I will probably be moving this coming summer, so that will be an excellent time to decide what I truly need to be happy (and what stuff I really, really don't want to move). I'm not 100% sure, but I think I may still have a box or two left unpacked from my last move, which was nearly two years ago. That just screams to me that I have way too much unnecessary stuff.

Overall, I'm pretty proud of myself today. I drove by two Wal-Marts and did not stop at either one. I went into a convenience store and did not purchase anything but gasoline. Tomorrow I will make my first trip to the grocery store, and I plan on buying only milk, nothing else. Maybe I'll just take $5, so that I cannot afford anything else to help curb the temptation to stock up on some item or other which happens to be on sale this week.

Day 2 - Nothing Bought, Nothing Gained

2009-01-02T15:34:00.000-08:00

Today, I didn't buy a thing.

I slept in, as I was getting over-tired from the last several days of being out and about. For lunch, I had a frozen dinner (pasta with alfredo sauce), only had half of it, and will have the other half for supper. I decided that I really need to eat out of my freezer, since I'm not really sure how long some of the things have been frozen in there. In an effort to save even more money, I am not going to buy any groceries but milk, eggs, butter, cheese, lunchmeat, fruits and vegetables, until after I have used up EVERYTHING which is currently in my kitchen. My goal is to empty my cabinets and my freezer (including the deep freeze). I'm sure that I'll eat a few odd things, but I have a feeling that I will eat much better in general than I do now (I have a tendency to eat a lot of unhealthy things). I'm forseeing a lot of pasta, rice, and green beans in my future. Thankfully, I canned pureed tomatoes this summer, so I have plenty of spaghetti sauce base as well. I will allow myself condiments, but only when I actually run out of something as I live close enough to walk to the grocery store if necessary (I really can't imagine eating rice without soy sauce).

I'm going to see if I can get by on less than $20 a month for groceries until I get my credit card 100% paid off, I'll let you know how I do. As of right now, the only grocery item I will probably buy this next week is milk, since I am nearly out of it and will probably finish off the last of it tonight.

I bagged up two decent sized bags of books to take to the thrift shop. I'm going to leave them outside the door on my way out of town in the morning so I'm not tempted to go into the shop...oh the lure of ten cent books... I think that books are probably my biggest downfall...I own about 1,500 books, some of them for work, and others for fun. I can resist most things, but a cheap book is really, really difficult for me to pass up.

Day 1 - New Year's Day

2009-01-01T20:14:00.000-08:00

Today was the first day of the rest of my life.

Today is New Year's Day. The first day of my year of not spending money on anything which is "unnecessary." I have a feeling it will be quite difficult, and I will probably get pretty cranky a few times, and perhaps even substitute another addiction for this one.

I have a confession to make. I've already "cheated." I had planned to buy makeup yesterday, since I have deemed this borderline unnecessary, but couldn't find the deal I wanted (Wal-Mart had the mineral makeup I wear available in a 3-pack - the foundation, blush and finishing powder - for the price of 2, so I got the blush for free), so I bought it early this morning. It was on the list of borderline items which I compiled before I went to Kansas City on Tuesday. Other than that purchase, however, today has been purchase-free (though wow, is makeup expensive). I do admit that I looked at the Christmas clearance aisle at Wal-Mart, since my friend was with me and was hunting some bubble bath. I did not purchase anything from there, even though I saw something that my grandmother would have loved to have for Christmas next year. I decided that I have one of these at home (a small makeup bag) which I am not currently using, so I will simply give it to her the next time I see her.

I had free hot chocolate this morning, it was part of the price I paid for a hotel room last night. I did not stop on my way home, as I usually do to get lunch, but rather waited and ate at home. Tonight I made Chex Mix and some candy to take to my aunt's house tomorrow for my final family Christmas of the year. It's really yummy, especially since I started using real butter and double the seasoning.

These past few days were a lot of fun. I went to St. Joe for a friend's birthday then to Kansas City for New Year's. I do admit that I went shopping and probably spent around $100 on some new clothes so that I can have something nice to wear in the next few months, but I bought that all before today, and before my year began. As far as eating out goes, since I don't eat that much when I do eat out thanks to the surgery I had this summer, my friend and I split a plate every place we went. She would order the drinks and dessert and I ordered the entree. It really worked out well, didn't cost that much, and was a nice vacation from my life here in the middle of nowhere.

Last night for New Year's Eve we went out to the Ameristar casino in Kansas City. They had a free band playing and we thought we would have a good time playing the penny slots. What they fail to tell you is that you have to play more than one credit at a time, so you're actually playing $.05 at a time. They should really call them the nickel slots, but oh well, neither of us played with much money. I think I lost $5.00 and she lost $4.00. Not too bad for the free band, I suppose. We did both realize something. We're not gamblers. It was incredibly boring, smoky and did I fail to mention boring in there. I don't think I ever want to step foot in a casino again. People sitting there smoking, putting their life savings into a slot, hoping that they might win something back. You couldn't tell from the crowds last night that we are in a recession, we only found empty machines next to each other once the entire night. The place was packed, there were probably more people in that casino than there are in the entire town I live in. We talked to a couple of people who asked us how we were doing, we said "we're losing" and they promptly told us that they'd lost $400 on the slot machines. When asked how much we lost, we said "Less than $5.00" and they couldn't believe it.

All in all, our evening cost less than $100 for the pair of us, not too bad considering we rode in cab, had dinner out, and stayed in a hotel. Even though we couldn't find dates, and didn't like gambling - at least we had a fairly memorable New Year's Eve.

My New Year's Resolutions: 1) To successfully complete this project and write my thesis and 2) To be more daring. We'll see how well I do...I only accomplished one of my resolutions last year, I always make two to give myself a 50/50 shot.

Gloves and More

2008-12-29T15:48:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I looked up the price of the gloves I bought on E-bay. All I can say is WOW. It's amazing that some people will pay $100 for a pair of gloves. That's right, the pair of gloves I bought for $24 was selling for $100 on E-bay. I feel better about my purchase and will make sure that they never get lost like my other gloves are so prone to do.

I didn't go shopping at all today, I stayed home and put away all the things from Christmas. I planned on going in and working some, but a since I've got a mild case of the flu, I was a homebody. I got quite a bit done around the house, though I could have done more. Tomorrow I'm headed to a friend's house for his birthday, we're going to take him out to supper, I think. From there, I'm headed to Kansas City for New Year's Eve. I've never really had a memorable New Year's, so my best friend and I are going to the casino. We're going there for two reasons, first, because we've never gambled before and think it might be fun and second, because the entertainment is relatively free. We'll have to buy our drinks, but we don't have to pay a cover charge to get in and see some pretty decent bands play. Though I'm not sure, I think our entire evening will cost less than $20 a person, which considering the other party I looked at attending had a $100 per person cover charge, isn't that bad. I'll let you know how much we actually spend.

Only two more days until I stop shopping. I'll probably shop a bit more tomorrow, since I would like to get a new outfit to wear for New Year's Eve. I plan on doing a lot of looking and a lot of trying on, but will only buy one outfit...which I will probably spend less than $25 on. The other thing I plan to buy tomorrow is some new makeup. I'm going to check out the prices at Wal-Greens, since they are advertising a buy one, get one free sale on their Revlon cosmetics. I may get them at Wal-Mart, though...since they're usually cheaper and I can use the gift card from my parents. I'll post again after New Years and let you know how much I spent and how the evening was.

After Christms Shopping

2008-12-28T09:34:00.000-08:00

December 26, 2008 – The Day after Christmas Shopping

‘Twas the day after Christmas and all through the store every creature was shopping, searching for more.

Today was my last big day of shopping before my year of frugality begins…I felt the pressure to buy, buy, buy today more than other days. The shops called and I willingly answered this siren song. It was the day after Christmas, the second largest shopping day of the year (or so it seemed). It looks like stores are pretty desperate for sales this year; they offered “doorbuster” deals much like those traditionally offered only on Black Friday. Shopping is all about enticement…if they can convince you to step foot in the door, they’ve suckered you in. I didn’t really need anything today…but I still spent well over $250. Granted, nearly $100 of that was for something that I actually really, really, well want for school and work…to work on this project, in fact. You might have guessed it, I bought computer software. I’ve been dreading the upgrade to Word 2007, but it seems that it is inevitable, as I too often forget to save things as “97-2003” on the drop down menu of my work computer. This is a real pain when I get home only to discover that I cannot work on the project which I started at school. I managed to find it at Staples today for $69 (after I send in a lovely $20 mail in rebate). The actual cost today was $98, which is fairly reasonable, but still a large amount of money to spend on a single compact disc worth of information.

Other things purchased include some very unnecessary items such as twelve goodie bags, eleven ornaments of tinsel, ten boxes of Christmas cards, nine spools of ribbon, five golden candles….well you get the idea.

No, I didn’t actually buy those amounts of things…I actually bought about 120 goodies bags (you know the little cellophane ones you put candy in). I bought them since I will be making gifts next year, and what better homemade gift than CANDY…that’s right, you are all getting candy for Christmas next year. I’m already planning; maybe I’m a bit obsessed with the day. I wonder if they have Christmasaholics Anonymous? I’m certainly not the only person who might need to go, based on the people who were carting out loads of things today….I can’t really be more specific than that…people were just buying things, nothing in particular (though I did see several surround sound systems…I wonder if they were on sale and if so why didn’t I see them?).

Today I actually did buy some wrapping paper for next year, a bunch of Christmas cards (I could probably send one to every person I know and still have some left over), several spools of ribbon, a few new Christmas ornaments, a tree skirt, and some gifts for friends with whom I have started celebrating Christmas closer to New Year’s (we started this while we were in college and VERY poor). We discovered that if we waited until after Christmas to have our gift exchange we could actually afford to give decent gifts (after a few years you get tired of shopping at the dollar store for your best friend’s Christmas present).

My big purchases for the day were a Homemedics massager with heat which will be going back to K-mart shortly (it just doesn’t work like I thought it might). I also got a makeup/personal care bag that is big enough to hold my hair straightened and blow dryer. I’m tired of packing a bag every time I go somewhere, so this will just stay packed. I have been wanting one of these for a long time, but haven’t been able to find one I like. The purchase of this one was directly prompted by my old bag spilling my full size bottle of hair straightening stuff, which is nearly $5.00 to replace. Tomorrow, I am going to get some empty, travel-size spray bottles and fill them with all my concoctions. These can stay in my new, bigger than my purse, makeup bag. I also have to buy a new bottle of straightening spray, which I’m really not looking forward to. I may like spending money, but I don’t like spending money when I shouldn’t have to.

The last big item I bought was a pair of beautiful cashmere gloves. I’ve never owned nice gloves before, my idea of “nice gloves” are a pair of “magic gloves” which don’t have any holes in them. I have very large hands for a woman, and normally have to resort to purchasing men’s gloves (which I can tell you are not flattering to a large hand). I was in TJ Max today, and saw a display of women’s gloves. On a lark, I decided to see if any of them fit, if by any chance, my gigantic hands had somehow shrunk so that I could wear the pretty women’s gloves rather than the bulky men’s. I attempted to put on leather gloves, and gloves with faux fur trim to no avail. I saw some pretty white gloves, and tried them on…only $8.00, not bad…but very, very scratchy. Next to them I saw a pair of long, black gloves. I didn’t even look at the price tag, but rather just tried them on. They fit beautifully…my hands look elegant for the first time in their life. I could just see my hands in these gloves, perhaps with a pretty silver bracelet to accompany them. It was then that I noticed that pesky price tag, which was keeping me from being able to wear both gloves at the same time. I looked down and was shocked. Twenty-four dollars for a pair of gloves! I’ve paid less than that for a coat before (For the coat I wore today, actually). I almost put them back down, but then a little voice in the back of my head reminded me about my brother’s Christmas gift to me. As usual, he gave me cold, hard cash for Christmas. I could buy these warm, soft, cashmere gloves with part of his money and have something nice to show for his money (rather than frittering it away on sundry clearance Christmas items). That decided it for me, I put the gloves in my cart and didn’t let them out of my sight. To rationalize the purchase, I keep telling myself that I’m going to get online and see if I can find a pair of cashmere gloves on E-bay for less money, and then take these back, but a huge part of me has already realized that if I go look, I’ll just end up with another pair of gloves and will be unwilling to part with either of them. Perhaps every time I wear the gloves I will be reminded that I don’t need what I want…or maybe these soft gloves will keep me from being able to grip the things that I so desperately want to buy leaving them to fall harmlessly behind me in the aisle.

Christmas Gifts and a Question about Gift Cards

2008-12-28T09:30:00.000-08:00

December 24, 2008

‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, every child was whining, being a real louse.

My ability to rhyme is terrible, but I hope you get the idea. This morning I woke up quite early and drove to St. Louis to spend Christmas with my brother and his family. I drove to my parents’ house last night in an ice storm (okay a very little ice storm, but it WAS raining). I am not a morning person, so the early start may have contributed to my gloomy mood. Another contribution would be rather greedy children. What do you get a child who has everything? If you can answer that question, please let me know.

We opened our Christmas gifts tonight. I think everyone was pleased with what I got them, but there were so many gifts there, it was difficult to tell. Sometimes I feel like we’re just exchanging money rather than thoughtful gifts. I wonder how well it would go over to have each family buy a board game or puzzle and spend the night playing games as a family rather than opening and playing with our gifts individually?

My entire family knows about my proposed frugality of next year, and they seem fairly supportive, though doubtful of my ability to follow through. I’m not sure why this is, perhaps they realize how much I love shopping. It’s my second favorite pastime, right after curling up with a good book (and there’s only so much reading my eyes can take). I shop when I’m bored, shop when I’m depressed, and shop when I’m happy. The reason I feel they doubt me is because they came right out and told me that they didn’t think I’d be able to make it a year without shopping. My parents actually gave me a $100 gift card to Wal-Mart, “just in case” I feel that I am about to have a nervous break down and NEED to go shopping for my mental health. I’m not sure what that is saying about me and how I am perceived by my family, but it tells me that I need to change my image, I have to make them believe in me and see me as something other than the “bargain hunter.” At the end of the day, however, I have to admit, that I rather agree with them…I doubt my ability to stay away from shopping when I’m bored. It is due to this self-doubt that I know I will succeed. I know that sounds crazy, but I’ve made a bet with myself, and I’m going to prove to myself that I can do it. Okay, I sound like one of those posters from WWII now, but you’ve got the point. Who would know but me if I were to cheat, to go out and shop. It’s not like I’m going to be putting my bank statements in here (I’d be too embarrassed, everyone would know how little money I make in a year then). I could cheat if I wanted, but then I’d be disappointed in myself. This is a personal challenge, and challenge it shall be. I will be determining what is necessity and what is not. I’m not guaranteeing that what I consider necessity will be deemed so by others, but it will most certainly be necessity to me (like sugar and creamer for my coffee, or coffee itself for that matter).

So here’s the question for the day, is using the gift card my parents gave me to buy something that is not a necessity cheating? Or is it allowed since I will not actually be purchasing the item? I haven’t answered this question yet, and don’t know how I’m going to answer it. What do you think about it? I’ll let you know as soon as I do.

Black Friday

2008-12-28T09:11:00.000-08:00

Though I didn't have my blog active until yesterday, I have been trying to write a bit whenever I get the chance. I am including in this post my reflections from Black Friday and the day after. I know that I over shopped, and didn't need all the things I bought (I've had them for a month now and still havn't used some of the things I bought).

November 28, 2008
“Black Friday”

I woke up this morning at 3:30. I woke my 14 year old niece up at 3:35, after I had brushed my teeth and gotten dressed. I told her that we were leaving in 10 minutes and that she needed to get up and get dressed. She replied “I’m already dressed.” Apparently, she learned her lesson last year when I nearly left her. I went upstairs and made coffee, a cup for me and a cup for her. I sent her out to start the car so that it would be warm when we got outside. As I turned on the light for her to go outside, we startled a skunk eating out of the dog’s food bowl. Thankfully, the skunk ran off before we went outside and nobody got sprayed. Though in hindsight, that might have been an effective way to get what we wanted at the stores. We were out the door by 3:45, ready to drive to Kirksville, the nearest relatively large town to face the crowds. We arrived at Wal-Mart at 4:40, and the parking lot was already nearly full. I have never had to park that far away before. As we calmly walked into the store, we saw people running, trying to beat others inside, so that they could be ahead of them in line. Thankfully, our Wal-Mart is a 24 hour one, so we did not have to wait outside in the cold. I have never seen the store that packed. In the three years I have gone to this particular Wal-Mart for Black Friday, I have never seen so many people crammed into the store, clustered around the wrapped pallets of goods; ready to grab what they sought.

November 29, 2008

Yesterday was the biggest shopping day of the year. People woke up at two or three in the morning so that they could be the first in line for the “hot item” for this year’s Christmas. They arrived at the store only to discover that someone else was first in line, someone who had woken up at midnight or one a.m. It is a wonder that people can afford to spend money on something which, even on sale, costs $250 or more dollars. That is an entire month’s worth of groceries, or at least it is for me. Wait a minute…I spent more than that yesterday, but I don’t feel that bad about it. I guess that’s because I feel that my purchases were necessary. I NEED the things I bought to make my life better, or so my brain continues to tell me. The GPS system I bought will ensure I never have to get lost again. The Mp3 player will allow me to listen to more books without having to go and add more from the computer at a time. It also includes a car charger, so make my life easier and allow me to the freedom to travel without my laptop to charge my Mp3 player.
Don’t think that I am as materialistic as I sound, I did buy some gifts for others, such as the Isotoner slippers for my mother and some DVDs for a friend, but the vast majority of things I purchased yesterday are for me and nobody else. True, someone else will benefit from the new phone I purchased, since I will be giving my old one to a colleague who cannot afford the start up costs (my old TracPhone has double minutes for life too).

Looking back on my purchases...

I have worn the sweater I bought, and have gotten a great deal of good out of the GPS system and TracPhone. The Mp3 player I bought, however, is a pain...since it won't let me play audiobooks in order, for some reason it like to shuffle the chapters. I havn't used the flash drive I bought, but rather bought a bigger, 8 GB one the last time I was in Kansas City. I also didn't wind up giving any of the DVDs away, but rather kept them for myself, though I have yet to watch them yet. I did give my mother the slippers for Christmas, something which she wanted, but did not truly need.

My First Post

2008-12-27T21:41:00.000-08:00

I've never blogged before. Honestly, I'm not sure what I should write here... I guess I should tell a bit about the purpose of this blog. In a few days, four days to be more precise, I am going to begin my year of not shopping. Okay, that sounds a bit extreme, I'm not going to give up all the creature comforts which make life bearable, but I'm going to only buy those things which I deem "necessary" for life and for work. This is going to be very difficult for me, as I have a tendency to over-shop and while I have managed to stay out of debt thus far (with the notable exception of a $10,000 debt to my parents for a recent surgery), I fear that with the downturn in the economy this will not remain the case. As the cost of living rises, and my paycheck does not, I feel that I need to do something to cut back on my spending.
This is not a purely economic decision. My house is filled with clutter. As I said earlier, I love to shop, and all of the things I buy have to go somewhere. My house is filled with "bargains" that I have found through the years. I have so many things that it is getting very difficult to clean house, and I feel that this will only get worse if I don't stop buying now. Every month, I worry about money when the credit card statement comes, dreading how much money I have managed to spend over the course of a month. I have had a steady income for the past couple of years, and still have not managed to any money.
Over the course of the next year, in addition to buying nothing that is unnecessary, I will also be attempting to reduce the number of my posessions. I will be sorting through things, donating some to those who are in need (though who actually needs things like picture frames and used books, I do not know). I will be selling some of my items at a yard sale this coming spring and will probably be throwing out quite a bit of stuff too.
Throughout the year I will be attempting to determine what the true difference between the words "need" and "want" is in this day and age. In the past, if I wanted something, I automatically needed it. Hopefully this next year, I will learn that I can live without a lot of things and still be happy.
I will be chronicling my experiences both on here and in the form of a Master's thesis. I plan on including tips of things I have discovered which will help me be frugal as well as a list of helpful books and websites. If you are interested in my project, or going through similar things, feel free to send me an e-mail, share your story, or just read along.