I've never been what most people typically label poor. My family always had plenty to eat, a roof over our heads, and transportation. I never lacked for what I needed. We never used food stamps. We did get government commodities from time to time when my Grandmother had more than she could use. I only vaguely remember one time when I felt anything near money worries. My dad had been laid off from his job and my Mom was supporting the five of us on her factory worker salary. My mom had taken me to Walmart to shop for some new church clothes and she splurged on a seriously marked down dress and and a pair of flats. My dad was angry about it. My dad never cared about what my Mom bought because she was always more frugal than him. But, I remember that one time he was angry about her shopping because he was very worried about money. I really loved that dress but every time I wore it I felt guilty about the money my mom had spent on it. My dad returned to work soon after that and things went back to normal.
There were times when I wished my family had more money. I wanted to go away to summer camp with my friend but it cost hundreds of dollars. I got the $12 week long church camp instead (where I had a ton of fun anyway). I wanted money for new clothes like Benetton or OP and I knew my Mom would never pay that much for my clothes. And I didn't realize that there was anything small or poor about my family's house until a friend's Mom dropped me off one time and gently told me, "You know, I used to live in a small house like this when I was young. There's nothing wrong with it."
We did shop at garage sales, Aldis, and the clearance rack. I did clip coupons for my Mom and once or twice we even dumpster dived at the recycling center. But, I don't consider those signs of being poor. In fact, I'm glad I grew up doing those things because those are skills I use and value to this day.
So, I really don't have any idea of what it's like to be really poor. That's why I've really enjoyed reading this old post by John Scalzi about what it's really like to be poor.
Showing posts with label Financial Crisis Planning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Financial Crisis Planning. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Revisiting and updating an Old Post: Finding More Ways to Save and Scrimp
This was originally posted October 6th, 2008.
We don't have a lot of extras that we can cut loose but we can:
Cancel our subscription to the local paper and try to find a cheap or free resource for my coupons saving us about $9 a month.
I canceled our subscription in July. I haven't missed it one bit.
Take our aluminum cans to the recycling center instead of throwing them in the recycling bin.
We'd make about $3-$5 a month. Is it even worth the gas money?
Still haven't decided if it's worth it or not. We're still putting them out with the normal recycling.
Taking shorter showers. I've started getting wet and turning the water off to soap up.
I still do this some of the time but need to start doing it all the time again.
Hang dry our clothes. I'm hesitant to do this because it is extra work, it's against our home owner's association rules (grr) and I don't like how line dried clothes feel. But, we could do this and save a few dollars a month.
Totally fell off the horse with this one. Our outside line is pretty crumby and dirty. Aldi has drying racks on sale this week so I'm thinking about buying a few.
Put Little Guy back in cloth diapers. This will happen sooner than later as we're running out of disposables and I'm not buying anymore. Great for potty training anyway.
We're down to one nighttime disposable diaper a night. Our cloth diapers are in the garage waiting for our next garage sale.
Keep the a/c off and postpone turning on the heat. I've been opening the windows for a cool breeze. And I put flannel sheets and thicker blankets on our beds for those chilly nights.
Oh my goodness, It's been in the upper 90s so much lately turning off the idea is a crazy thought.
Refuse to buy things that I don't really need. I really like the More Time Moms Family Organizer calendar. I buy one every year. This year I'm going to fix a pocket onto a free calendar and use that. I won't like it as much but it will be free.
I did not like using a jimmy rigged calendar at all. Some things are definitely worth the money.
Returning my Library materials on time. I haven't incurred any overdue fees this month. For me that's a big thing. And every bit counts.
I'm doing much better at this. I try to get to the library once a week and always do a sweep for any returns and have them ready to go.
Shopping the sales at the grocery store. I normally just go to Save-A-Lot or Aldi without looking through the fliers for other grocery stores. If I cherry pick and use coupons I can save us a lot more and pick up some extras for the food pantry donation.
I'm too busy right now to deal with coupons or sale shopping. I've been grocery shopping about once a week and don't even want to go more than that.
Finding a better way to organize my coupons. After my little cardboard accordion coupon wallet from the dollar store fell from my cart and spilled onto the store floor I knew it was time to find another method. The challenge will be to not spend any money on it.
I still don't have a perfect way to organize coupons. It is better now that I have two files: one for food and one for everything else.
Harvesting the last little garden goody before it frosts. We have a ton of tiny green tomatoes on our vines. If I forget them then we waste money. What a relief it was to walk by the starchy tasteless grocery store tomatoes and know that we had some at home.
Critters have been at my tomatoes and my zucchini and I rarely get a vegetable to harvest for my family. But, I do plan on picking every last tomato before the last frost.
Using less of what we already have in the pantry and cupboards- less dishwashing liquid, less shampoo, less ketchup, less body wash, less sugar etc.
I'd forgotten about doing this. We have so much extra to use up I haven't considered it much lately. I'm working now on getting rid of bottles by using them up. No more personal care clutter.
Buying less or just not buying what we don't absolutely have to have. Are paper towels really necessary when you can use cloth napkins?
We're still using paper towels but with much less frequency. I have a clean stack of cloth napkins always ready to use.
Does anyone else have any ideas? What are you doing to economize? What have I overlooked?
We don't have a lot of extras that we can cut loose but we can:
Cancel our subscription to the local paper and try to find a cheap or free resource for my coupons saving us about $9 a month.
I canceled our subscription in July. I haven't missed it one bit.
Take our aluminum cans to the recycling center instead of throwing them in the recycling bin.
We'd make about $3-$5 a month. Is it even worth the gas money?
Still haven't decided if it's worth it or not. We're still putting them out with the normal recycling.
Taking shorter showers. I've started getting wet and turning the water off to soap up.
I still do this some of the time but need to start doing it all the time again.
Hang dry our clothes. I'm hesitant to do this because it is extra work, it's against our home owner's association rules (grr) and I don't like how line dried clothes feel. But, we could do this and save a few dollars a month.
Totally fell off the horse with this one. Our outside line is pretty crumby and dirty. Aldi has drying racks on sale this week so I'm thinking about buying a few.
Put Little Guy back in cloth diapers. This will happen sooner than later as we're running out of disposables and I'm not buying anymore. Great for potty training anyway.
We're down to one nighttime disposable diaper a night. Our cloth diapers are in the garage waiting for our next garage sale.
Keep the a/c off and postpone turning on the heat. I've been opening the windows for a cool breeze. And I put flannel sheets and thicker blankets on our beds for those chilly nights.
Oh my goodness, It's been in the upper 90s so much lately turning off the idea is a crazy thought.
Refuse to buy things that I don't really need. I really like the More Time Moms Family Organizer calendar. I buy one every year. This year I'm going to fix a pocket onto a free calendar and use that. I won't like it as much but it will be free.
I did not like using a jimmy rigged calendar at all. Some things are definitely worth the money.
Returning my Library materials on time. I haven't incurred any overdue fees this month. For me that's a big thing. And every bit counts.
I'm doing much better at this. I try to get to the library once a week and always do a sweep for any returns and have them ready to go.
Shopping the sales at the grocery store. I normally just go to Save-A-Lot or Aldi without looking through the fliers for other grocery stores. If I cherry pick and use coupons I can save us a lot more and pick up some extras for the food pantry donation.
I'm too busy right now to deal with coupons or sale shopping. I've been grocery shopping about once a week and don't even want to go more than that.
Finding a better way to organize my coupons. After my little cardboard accordion coupon wallet from the dollar store fell from my cart and spilled onto the store floor I knew it was time to find another method. The challenge will be to not spend any money on it.
I still don't have a perfect way to organize coupons. It is better now that I have two files: one for food and one for everything else.
Harvesting the last little garden goody before it frosts. We have a ton of tiny green tomatoes on our vines. If I forget them then we waste money. What a relief it was to walk by the starchy tasteless grocery store tomatoes and know that we had some at home.
Critters have been at my tomatoes and my zucchini and I rarely get a vegetable to harvest for my family. But, I do plan on picking every last tomato before the last frost.
Using less of what we already have in the pantry and cupboards- less dishwashing liquid, less shampoo, less ketchup, less body wash, less sugar etc.
I'd forgotten about doing this. We have so much extra to use up I haven't considered it much lately. I'm working now on getting rid of bottles by using them up. No more personal care clutter.
Buying less or just not buying what we don't absolutely have to have. Are paper towels really necessary when you can use cloth napkins?
We're still using paper towels but with much less frequency. I have a clean stack of cloth napkins always ready to use.
Does anyone else have any ideas? What are you doing to economize? What have I overlooked?
Sunday, October 25, 2009
What I would do right now if I had no money
While putting dirty dishes in the washer I was contemplating making a trip to Aldi for baking mix and eggs since we're out of both. Then I started thinking about how if I really wanted to save money I should act like we don't have any and make do with our pantry items. I have made my own Bisquick mix before and I'm no stranger to using soy flour with water for an egg substitute.
Almost a year ago I posted this blog giving my ideas for helping those in financial straits. I started thinking about what I would do right this minute to keep a warm roof over our heads and food in our bellies. The goal should be food, shelter and warmth.
Making Money:
Find anything of non-sentimental value that we didn't need and sell it. Hold a garage sale for the little stuff like books, clothes, toys, and furniture that doesn't have a great resale value. Sell anything special on Craigslist or ebay. Even our scraped together yard sale stuff made us almost $100.
If you are physically capable of temporarily hiring yourself out to do yard work, babysitting, personal shopping or housecleaning do it. Someone somewhere needs those services and is willing to pay you for it. Swallow your pride and roll up your sleeves.
After you've combed the couch cushions, your coat pockets, and the top of the dryer for spare change you might consider taking long walks to collect cans or any other saleable scrap metals.
No you won't get rich but you will get exercise, a few dollars, and a chance to brain storm about your situation.
Saving Money:
Turn your thermostat down. Pull out extra blankets and wear a jacket if you get cold. A hot cup of tea costs pennies and will keep you nice and toasty. Consider insulating your pipes and water heater. Did you turn your hot water heater down to 120 F?
Call the credit card company if you need to and get them to work with you on your payment schedule.
Unplug all unused appliances and turn off lights when you leave a room for long periods of time.
Do all your baking on one day so you only heat the oven once.
My favorite tip from my previous article:
"Cancel everything that you can't eat, doesn't keep a roof over your head, or keep you warm at night. That's right- get rid of DTV, cable, Netflix, Blockbuster, and any other expensive money sucker that drains your wallet monthly. Do you have a library card?"
Saving and Getting Food:
Don't throw anything out unless it's rotten. And I mean completely rotten. A bit of mold can be cut off of cheese and you can cut the mooshy part out of the apple.
Don't throw out leftovers- that's not trash. That's tomorrow's lunch. Just have a tablespoon of veggies- that's soup fixins that you can freeze.
Clean out your pantry, freezer and fridge before you buy anymore food. When you do buy food buy ingredients like flour, proteins, and whole fruits and veggies. You'll save money and eat better.
This suggestion is a little subversive but I'm sharing nonetheless. Don't be afraid to dumpster dive. I've never dumpster dove for food but I still have jewelry and other things that I gleaned from a dumpster. My kids still play with toys that were found in a trash pile. If my family was hungry I wouldn't have a second thought about looking in a dumpster for a few cans of food or a head of lettuce. If you think about it only minutes ago it was perfectly good food on a grocery shelf. If it's not rotten, poison covered or dirty what's the harm in taking free food? Is it better to go in a landfill?
My last suggestion is to ask for help from friends or go to a food pantry. And that is what I suggest you do last. I think asking for help is great but I also believe you need to help yourself first.
Entertainment and Holidays:
Library cards are wonderful things. A whole world of dvds, books, music and books on tape available for your own free entertainment provided you don't rack up a lot of late fees.
Board games and card games with the kids instead of a night at the movies. They'll have wonderful memories of special family time spent together too. You don't even need packs of microwave popcorn for snacks. You can whip up your own with much cheaper popcorn kernels.
Potluck dinners for holidays can be wonderful! Everyone gets to show off their best dish and you don't get stuck fitting the bill for the whole meal. Get inspiration from Meredith about how to make a humble pitcher of water seem decadent and lovely.
A smaller, second hand Christmas or Hanukkah is nothing to be ashamed of either. You can find nice toys, books, and puzzles at garage sales for next to nothing. A little bit more expensive but still a good alternative is the thrift store. A few candies or chocolates bought on clearance or from the dollar store and you're done. I can attest personally that nice second hand items are still as exciting at their store bought counterparts. Nice sweaters, jewelry, purses, electronics, or cds can be found used for teenagers.
If your children are used to a big swanky unwrapping party on Christmas I suggest you discuss with them that things will be different this year. You might want to explain your financial situation to them. I truly believe that above all children truly just want your love and attention. And you can't put a price on that.
A few years ago my single mother (a real estate agent) friend was down to her last $1000 in the bank with Christmas coming, a mortgage payment, a car payment and no more income in site. This was just after the real estate market started to tank. She turned her heater down to 50 degrees, and put her little space heater in whatever room she walked into. Every conceivable cold air leakage problem was addressed with carpet remnants or rolled up towels. She and her little boy took hot baths at night (while the mini heater was heating up her bedroom) before they got into bed so they'd be warm for sleeping. While she was looking for a steady job she also enrolled in WIC to help with food supplies. Her close friends gifted her with store gift cards or their own pantry supplies because she let them know of her situation. She got a job a month later but I learned a lot from her about ingenuity from her brief period of poverty.
My friend is very proud but she swallowed her pride and did what she had to do. I'm proud of her for that.
Almost a year ago I posted this blog giving my ideas for helping those in financial straits. I started thinking about what I would do right this minute to keep a warm roof over our heads and food in our bellies. The goal should be food, shelter and warmth.
Making Money:
Find anything of non-sentimental value that we didn't need and sell it. Hold a garage sale for the little stuff like books, clothes, toys, and furniture that doesn't have a great resale value. Sell anything special on Craigslist or ebay. Even our scraped together yard sale stuff made us almost $100.
If you are physically capable of temporarily hiring yourself out to do yard work, babysitting, personal shopping or housecleaning do it. Someone somewhere needs those services and is willing to pay you for it. Swallow your pride and roll up your sleeves.
After you've combed the couch cushions, your coat pockets, and the top of the dryer for spare change you might consider taking long walks to collect cans or any other saleable scrap metals.
No you won't get rich but you will get exercise, a few dollars, and a chance to brain storm about your situation.
Saving Money:
Turn your thermostat down. Pull out extra blankets and wear a jacket if you get cold. A hot cup of tea costs pennies and will keep you nice and toasty. Consider insulating your pipes and water heater. Did you turn your hot water heater down to 120 F?
Call the credit card company if you need to and get them to work with you on your payment schedule.
Unplug all unused appliances and turn off lights when you leave a room for long periods of time.
Do all your baking on one day so you only heat the oven once.
My favorite tip from my previous article:
"Cancel everything that you can't eat, doesn't keep a roof over your head, or keep you warm at night. That's right- get rid of DTV, cable, Netflix, Blockbuster, and any other expensive money sucker that drains your wallet monthly. Do you have a library card?"
Saving and Getting Food:
Don't throw anything out unless it's rotten. And I mean completely rotten. A bit of mold can be cut off of cheese and you can cut the mooshy part out of the apple.
Don't throw out leftovers- that's not trash. That's tomorrow's lunch. Just have a tablespoon of veggies- that's soup fixins that you can freeze.
Clean out your pantry, freezer and fridge before you buy anymore food. When you do buy food buy ingredients like flour, proteins, and whole fruits and veggies. You'll save money and eat better.
This suggestion is a little subversive but I'm sharing nonetheless. Don't be afraid to dumpster dive. I've never dumpster dove for food but I still have jewelry and other things that I gleaned from a dumpster. My kids still play with toys that were found in a trash pile. If my family was hungry I wouldn't have a second thought about looking in a dumpster for a few cans of food or a head of lettuce. If you think about it only minutes ago it was perfectly good food on a grocery shelf. If it's not rotten, poison covered or dirty what's the harm in taking free food? Is it better to go in a landfill?
My last suggestion is to ask for help from friends or go to a food pantry. And that is what I suggest you do last. I think asking for help is great but I also believe you need to help yourself first.
Entertainment and Holidays:
Library cards are wonderful things. A whole world of dvds, books, music and books on tape available for your own free entertainment provided you don't rack up a lot of late fees.
Board games and card games with the kids instead of a night at the movies. They'll have wonderful memories of special family time spent together too. You don't even need packs of microwave popcorn for snacks. You can whip up your own with much cheaper popcorn kernels.
Potluck dinners for holidays can be wonderful! Everyone gets to show off their best dish and you don't get stuck fitting the bill for the whole meal. Get inspiration from Meredith about how to make a humble pitcher of water seem decadent and lovely.
A smaller, second hand Christmas or Hanukkah is nothing to be ashamed of either. You can find nice toys, books, and puzzles at garage sales for next to nothing. A little bit more expensive but still a good alternative is the thrift store. A few candies or chocolates bought on clearance or from the dollar store and you're done. I can attest personally that nice second hand items are still as exciting at their store bought counterparts. Nice sweaters, jewelry, purses, electronics, or cds can be found used for teenagers.
If your children are used to a big swanky unwrapping party on Christmas I suggest you discuss with them that things will be different this year. You might want to explain your financial situation to them. I truly believe that above all children truly just want your love and attention. And you can't put a price on that.
A few years ago my single mother (a real estate agent) friend was down to her last $1000 in the bank with Christmas coming, a mortgage payment, a car payment and no more income in site. This was just after the real estate market started to tank. She turned her heater down to 50 degrees, and put her little space heater in whatever room she walked into. Every conceivable cold air leakage problem was addressed with carpet remnants or rolled up towels. She and her little boy took hot baths at night (while the mini heater was heating up her bedroom) before they got into bed so they'd be warm for sleeping. While she was looking for a steady job she also enrolled in WIC to help with food supplies. Her close friends gifted her with store gift cards or their own pantry supplies because she let them know of her situation. She got a job a month later but I learned a lot from her about ingenuity from her brief period of poverty.
My friend is very proud but she swallowed her pride and did what she had to do. I'm proud of her for that.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
My Budget and a few tips on what to do right now if you're hurting financially.
"Anonymous said...
would you mind disclosing what you spend each month on food and toiletries?"
To be honest- I am pretty disorganized when it comes to typing in my receipts to Quicken. Hubby gets everything done about once a month but I never know how I'm doing budget wise at any given time. I also don't have a strict budget for food or anything else. We probably need to work on this but I'm pretty particular about what I buy so we don't worry about it too much. I'll have to do my homework but I'm sure that there are other people out there who are doing much better at saving money than I am. We eat out too much and I buy too much convenience food. (Yes, I succumbed to the dreaded frozen pbj sandwiches- at least I had a coupon). I'll have to type in my receipts and tell you the sad truth.
If you are in dire straits though I do have some advice-
1. Stop buying anything that isn't absolutely necessary.
2. Survey your freezer, pantry and fridge and make a list of all food you have in the house. You probably have enough for at least a weeks worth of meals- maybe more. There are websites like
RecipeLand where you can type in ingredients to get recipes.
3. This goes with #1. Eat at home and brown bag your lunch.
4. Buy ingredients rather than ready made food. You can even make your own bread fairly easily.
5. Shop discount- Aldis, Trader Joe's, Dented Can groceries. All these are great places to find cheaper food if you know your prices. But, still- buy ingredients.
6. Don't be afraid to let people know why you aren't spending. Maybe they'll want to help you out with coupons or a dinner at their house. Maybe they have some hand me downs for your kids. There's no shame in being poor and trying to make do.
7. Cancel everything that you can't eat, doesn't keep a roof over your head, or keep you warm at night. That's right- get rid of DTV, cable, Netflix, Blockbuster, and any other expensive money sucker that drains your wallet monthly. Do you have a library card?
8. Don't throw anything out. A tablespoon of vegetables makes a great start to a freezer soup container. I started my second batch of freezer soup yesterday and today it has last night's leftover frozen veggies and the water swirled leavings from a spaghetti sauce can. When the container gets full just add some water and bouillon or stock and whatever else you have laying around to make soup. Yesterday I made cranberry walnut bread with our leftovers from Thanksgiving. It was wonderful. And old pair of jeans can be cut up to use for jean patches or to make cheap bean bags for Christmas gifts. I have done both of these things with great success. I recently cut up an old pair of pajama pants to make draft blockers. Stale bread makes great croutons, bread pudding and bread crumbs.
9. Recycle. While you're dropping off your old magazines (did you check them for coupons?) look and see if there are any good coupon inserts. I have found many clean, unused coupon inserts in our local paper recycling bin. Did you know you can even swap or ebay your extra coupons?
10. Sell your stuff. Go through your house and collect your old stuff. Ebay it or Craiglist it and get a few dollars.
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