Counting Pennies

One of the few areas I don’t pay much attention to in my budget is food. Because I live alone and I don’t eat meat, I always figured I don’t spend much. Since I’m now counting every single penny I’m spending, it makes sense to look into this as well. I think my major flaw is that I buy a lot of snacks. They’re usually healthy things (trail mix, dry fruit, yogurt) but I normally buy them in individual servings, which ends up costing more. For example, I just read that if you buy a bag of chips a day for $1.98, you end up spending almost $100 by the end of the year. Definitively gives you something to think about.

I don’t cook much (another money drainer, I know), but for those who do, there’s a great free e-book online on how to “Feed Your Family For Less Than $200 A Month.” Lots of great ideas there, even if you live alone and even if your budget is larger than that.

Since I’m moving into a new apartment next week, I’ve been thinking about decoration and furniture a lot. I actually don’t need a lot of stuff, just a few things that I don’t actually own (because the apartment I’m renting now is already furnished, so I skipped on buying lots of little things).

Kathy Peterson, a celebrity design expert, best selling author, and TV co-host on Lifetime TV’s The Balancing Act, shared these tips for budget-friendly home furnishings.

• Before buying new consider going on a treasure hunt in your own home.  Swap out furniture from room to room for a new look or refurbish/remake/paint furniture you already have for a fresh look
• Thrift stores are a gold mine for used furnishing—and usually very budget friendly
• Garage sales or consignment shops are a great way to get rid of home furnishing and make money too!
• Remix new sheets into table covers, window covers, etc— vs purchasing pricey ready made or custom made items.

I’m broke. That’s the short version.

The long version includes details about trips, changing apartments, avoiding obligations and being sick. I’ll spare you.

In an effort to get back on my feet, I’m working out a plan that includes both earning more money and paying off my debt. While you probably don’t want to hear the details, here’s a general breakdown of how it’s going to work:

-         I’m setting daily and weekly goals, rather than a general one. That gives me a greater chance of actually meeting them and controls the stress and anxiety level.

-         I’m focusing on one debt at a time. I know lots of people believe in snowballing debt (paying a little bit here and a little bit there), but two of my three debts have no interest attached to them, so I’m paying off the most important one first.

-         I’m tracking down my expenses to the penny. I need to know where my money is going if I expect to change anything.

-         I’m setting a savings goal as well, which will only start running next week, after I pay for my move. Even with the large debts, I still need to make sure I save enough to be able to cover a large personal expense that is coming up in February.

So that’s it. Seems rather general here, but I have the steps worked out on my mind (and on paper!). I’ll update everybody on how I’m doing and let you know if I come with any important revelations along the way.

There are a few household products that I never buy because the natural alternative is not only cheaper but also more effective than the chemical option. A clear example is a cleaner for the kitchen disposal. I would never waste $10 on a special cleaner that promises to clean disposal blades. Instead, I squeeze a lemon, keep the remaining lemon shell and put it down the drain, letting it grind. The acidity works wonders naturally cleaning the blades and emitting a fresh wholesome natural lemon smell that spruces up the house! It is simple, cheap and effective. 

Another product that I don’t buy is glass cleaner. Alcohol works much better. I know some people use vinegar as a cleaning product, but I hate the smell. If you can live with it, then it can work as a great substitute for floor cleaner, surface de-greaser and even impromptu softener.

I’ve been keeping track of every single penny I’m spending for the past three days. I haven’t had any big revelations yet, but that’s probably because I tend to be more conscious of my spending when I keep track of it. Maybe that’s the secret to spending less? In any case, I was reading some suggestions on how to spend less and I ran into a tip by Marcia Brixey, the author of The Money Therapist: A Woman’s Guide to Creating a Healthy Financial Life (Seal Press). Among other things, she suggests asking yourself “How many hours will I have to work to pay for this?” before you actually buy anything. Of all the suggestions I’ve seen out there, this is probably the one that hit home the most. May not be important if I’m buying something I must buy (like food or new shoes), but paying $50 for something I don’t really need or want or love, knowing it takes me up to three hours to actually earn that much, seems like a big big mistake.

Talk about putting things on perspective.  

I noticed that of the two comments posted yesterday, one person believes the things I posted were not too extreme, while the other believes they definitively are. That goes to show that just because I run into something online that I think I would never do in order to save money, it doesn’t mean that it’s not perfectly normal for other people. The idea of feeding cat food to people didn’t seem as gross to me as it seemed dangerous. Can people actually eat that stuff without the risk of salmonella or other type of contamination? Isn’t pet food a lot less regulated than human food? Since I’m a vegetarian, I won’t be trying that suggestion any time soon, but I would be curious to hear what a doctor has to say about it.

Speaking of doctors, I’m sick and had to go see a doctor today. He ended up prescribing antibiotics, which cost me a grand total of 40 cents for a ten day supply. I guess living in Russia does have SOME benefits. Just to give you an idea of how cheap medicine is here, I stopped by the pet store on my way home and spent USD10 on cat and dog food (and that’s for a couple of small bags that will last less than a week). Other than that, I haven’t been spending much money at all. I need to get back into the swing of things and save as much money as I can as quickly as I can.

My resolution for this week? To not buy anything that I don’t absolutely need for food or hygiene or basic survival. No fun expenses this week. Let’s see how much money that saves me.

If you think being thrifty is difficult, let me introduce you to some REALLY extreme ideas others are using. It will help you redefine your idea of thrifty.

• Using newspaper or cloth rags as toilet paper
• Garbage hunting for food (taking furniture or books located near the trash doesn’t sound that extreme to me)
• Limiting toilet flushing
• Saving cooking oil in the fridge and reusing it
• Eating dog and cat food (I read a story of a woman who fed cat food to her kids for days at a time when she had nothing else)
• Taking condiment packs from the local fast food restaurant
• Using pine needles as deodorant (I don’t really want to explore how this would work)
• Taking things from the Lost and Found bin at libraries or other public spaces (I’m not sure this is even legal)
• Using newspaper between blankets so you can lower the thermostat a couple more degrees at night. Apparently, newspaper is a much better insulator than clothing material.

While I certainly admire thriftiness, there has got to be a line somewhere. I’m willing to sacrifice in order to save some money, but at this extreme? What about you? What things you would NOT do in order to save a few extra pennies?

The high cost of things in Denmark got me thinking. I know the Nordic countries have a high standard of living, so I started wondering how much people actually earn there to be able to live comfortably even though the prices are so ridiculously high. Well, turns out that in Denmark, and “according to the statistics, a person with a five-year educational background can expect a monthly salary of approximately 3800 euros (28.500 DKK) as the minimum monthly wage.” In the US, the minimum monthly wage is around $2000. Quite a difference, especially since the dollar has been doing so poorly lately. I guess one of the things that impacted me the most is the fact that people in Denmark kept saying they have a good life. I never heard anybody (and I talked to a lot of people about it) complain about the cost of living, the economy, the lack of work or benefits. In fact, I had a couple of people tell me that “we have a good life here.” Now THAT’S something to be jealous of.

I’m back from my trip. I expected it to be expensive so I probably shouldn’t be surprised at the amount of money I spent, but still… OUCH. Two weeks in Denmark completely drained my bank account. I didn’t really have a choice about this trip and it was part business as well, so I can’t be too upset about the expenses… Besides, some really, really great things came out of it and my life will never be the same after it. I’m not exaggerating either. But when it comes to the financial side of it, well… seems like I was a little unprepared for how expensive Copenhagen is. The cheapest places to eat (think fast-food, pizza, small delis or cafés) still ended up costing more than $5 per meal. A small, basic, simple meal. Forget extras such as desserts or drinks. And don’t get me started on hotels. $180 for a Comfort Inn room? I’m just amazed.

So what now? Well, now it’s time to tally up the damage and get down to business to pay for it all.

Oh, yeah, turns out I also need to find a new apartment before the end of the month.

Happy times, right?

NOT.

Christmas is just around the corner! If the idea of shopping is already stressing you out, here are some tips (and more to come several times a week from now until December) to help you save money and make the most of your budget.

TIP 1
Plan ahead. If you are two days away from a holiday with nothing planned, human nature says that you will be more likely to load up on somewhat random gifts for your list. By not planning in advance, you also make it more likely you will spend too much.

TIP 2
Get creative with at-home coupons. Get into the at-home “gift card” tradition with homemade coupons. Kids can give parents coupons for prized commodities like “No whining” or “No begging.” Parents can offer up unexpected treats kids love, like “Make cookies together,” “Get out of one punishment free” or “Choose candy for movie night.”