Frugality slipping with the cold
It’s cold, it’s Sunday, and I’ve got a hankering for pot roast tonight. I’m still doing really well eating food in the fridge/freezer/cupboards, but there definitely needs to be some surplus to make everything stretch ’til Nov. 6. I think I’ll go splurge for today and then make do on the rest of the week until Friday, when Thursday’s paycheck clears. I have had such a craving for 4-hour, slow-cooked pot roast, in the last several weeks and I haven’t yet managed to indulge. So I’m off to go buy the roast, some veggies, an inexpensive bottle of red, and then dinner and 2 days of leftovers will follow!
Oh, and I finally went out and bought new shoes, and all the warm clothes I need to make it through the winter. The thrift stores haven’t been providing, and I rarely find good quality, wearable clothes I can wear to work. So I overindulged and overspent on my budget, but limited myself to 2 pair of cheap, sale pants (about $28 and $34), two second layers (one $35 after mailer discount, and $22). I now have enough clothes to not wear the same things in the same week!
Plus, I also bought dansko shoes, $130. Those are never on sale. But then I get my money’s worth. My current pair has the sole completely cracked through (you can look inside and see how it’s built!), and there’s a big fat hole where my big toe is on the other one (it’s sad, but I made do with it all last winter, but I’m now ready to upgrade). If the new pair lasts anything like the others, they’ll last me 3 years of wearing them every day in the winter (once sandal season is over). I usually wear my clothes into the ground, so as long as they are comfortable, relatively flattering (ie, they don’t look bad), then it’s a good investment. I just read on another blog that a trick to buying clothes is to try them on without looking. If they *feel* good, then go ahead and open your eyes and see if you like the way they look. I tried it and it worked pretty well! There was none of that temptation to get something even if it is ill-fitting (though cute).
I also couldn’t stand the thought of going into the thriftstore yesterday when it was Halloween. I think it is their busiest shopping day! I couldn’t handle the crush.
So my efforts to not spend ANY money were a bit unrealistic. I have stuck to things I needed to and was going to get anyway, so I don’t feel that bad. I was hoping to push the spending to next month’s budget, but most of it is on a my Macy’s credit card (which I always always pay in full), so it won’t hit until the November budget. I am going to be careful to not spend much at the store on food. Here’s what I’m planning on getting. Let’s see what I end up buying when I get back:
3 lb chuck roast
4 red potatoes
2 onions
1 bottle red wine ($5-7 range)
baguette
lime juice
I do have to say that it’s not that hard being frugal if you have a semi-well stocked pantry. I made chocolate chip cookies last night (my alternte was apricot thumprint cookies, but i’ll probably make that this week with our canned apricot jam from this summer) with split pea soup (the only thing we had to buy was carrots which I’ll also use for the roast tonight). Breakfast this morning was cardamon french toast (we’re now out of eggs and running low on sandwich bread), and scrambled eggs with goat cheese and scallions. Doesn’t sound that frugal, does it?! I just have to say, if you’re gonna be cutting back, there’s nothing like splurging on a dessert when you normally don’t to make you feel like something special!
Update: I did good! I bought almost everything on my list and nothing else! Total bill: $27. Mmm, only 2 hours to go ’til dinner is ready. I’ll toast (with the red wine I just got) to that!
Should I get a 2nd Job?
Part of the reactionary planning I’ve done since finding out about my pending SBA loan maturing is considering whether or not to get a second job. I realized I had been slipping on my debt repayment plan. I had to bring it up a notch to stay on track and handle paying off as much as I could before the deadline comes. My options are to either reduce expenses and/or increase income. That’s really the bottom line.
I don’t have all the fat trimmed from my budget. I could get rid of my personal cellphone (I also have one for work that I can use personally). I could cut netflix. I could cut the gym membership which to be honest, I don’t use all that often right now. I could eat more ramen. But I’m not quite ready to cut any of those, at least right now. So that leaves increasing my income. I can’t really increase my hours or pick up shifts (it’s an office job). If I’m not willing to cut expenses and I can’t increase my current salary, that leaves other work.
I’ve had a second job before. About 3 years ago I decided to get a weekend waitress job working brunch. I pulled in almost nothing for salary but averaged about $100/day in tips. That’s about $900/month. This was right after I landed my current job, so I was working 7 days a week. I was really money hungry at the time, after being unemployed for a few months. See, I’m not afraid of hard work!
What I remember most about that time is trying to deal with the complete lack of free time. I also was dealing with a very sick, old, blind dog (hey, he was 17). I was also single at the time. I also had a full-time 40+ hr a week job. I remember never getting enough sleep, not having a social life to speak of, and after several months, going crazy from not being able to get away from it all!
I love my down time. I love my privacy. I like to sit and read a book for an entire day on occasion, and I just couldn’t do that. Fast forward to now. I’ve been thinking quite hard about the trade-offs. Making a few hundred extra a month vs. the loss in quality of life. I think I’ve decided for the moment that a second job is not maintainable, or valuable enough to have. So I’ve become used to the idea of my journey being more maintainable, but longer than it could otherwise be.
I’m not completely closed to the idea, of course, but for now, it is the right decision for me.
What % are you paying towards debt?
I recently created a 10-month average of my budget and expenses and have been having fun playing with the numbers. Including my paychecks, rent reimbursements from my bf (he only pays 1/3 rent) and that yearly IRS refund, my income averages to $3,400 monthly.
Here’s how it works out.
Food = 15%
Bills (rent, utilities, insurance) = 36%
Savings = 2% (my EF had a big chunk in it prior to 2009)
And finally…
Debt = 26% (both minimum payments and extra towards principal)
Kinda fun to see it all laid out on paper.
So what percentage of your monthly budget is for debt payments? To calculate it, add up all your minimum required payments plus any extra you might make. Divide that number by your total monthly income. Move the decimal point two places to the right (ie, multiply by 100) to get the percentage you pay towards debt.
If you are one of the smart, hardworking types that are on the other side of the coin, meaning you have no debt and are saving or investing money, what percentage are you saving/investing?
$18 for the next week
I have $18 in my checking account to last me until Nov. 5. Even with a pretty solid budget, here’s how it came to pass: Flu season has already started where I work. I maxed it out and rather than eat into my vacation, I elected to have unpaid days off in my timecard, resulting in a smaller paycheck than usual (by about $200). I’ve been aggressive with my debt and bill paying this month, probably more than I should have been, but I was making up for the last 2 months of no extra debt payments. I think I was also behind on my car insurance and ended up overpaying a month (rather than deduct what I had sent in after their bill made it into the mail).
So last night, I looked at my checking account balance to find only $18! Ugh! And I don’t get paid until next Thursday, 11/5. I did transfer some cash over from my savings account, which I fully plan on replacing when I get paid, in full. However, I also plan on NOT SPENDING MONEY as much as physically possible between now and then.
I’m out of gas, I have some food in the fridge, but no big protein sources (ie, chicken, pork, beef or tofu). I ran out of frozen food entrees in the freezer at work. What’s a gal to do? Well, enter the week of living frugally (much more than I have ever done in the past). It will be even more challenging with my bf being in the same boat (his financial reasons for being broke involve bad spending, no planning, and not debt repayment like me, but the results are the same).
Today I had leftovers. I ate oatmeal that I had kicking around in my desk drawer for breakfast. I plan on bringing more in through the duration. For lunch I had leftover chicken pho soup (Vietnamese chicken soup) and rice and fried tofu from Uwajimaya that I bought yesterday (enough for 3 meals). I have apple, bread and peanut butter. That will last me through the afternoon munchies.
I will be creative and more vegetarian at home for meals. There are a bunch of eggs, I can scramble, make a quiche (we have leeks in the garden p-patch that we haven’t used yet and there’s a rasher of bacon in the fridge that is probably still good inside its paper wrapping). I have a can of chickpeas that I can turn into a pasta dish with cream, onions, and bacon. I will probably have to go buy some carrots to make some split pea soup, and I’ll buy a tub of lettuce from Costco (all should be less than $10). I can make cookies for snacks, got the butter, flour, chocolate chip or preserves (for choc chip or thumbprints). I have lots of bulk grains and legumes. I don’t have a ton of fresh veggies though. I think I can scramble a can of tuna for lunch tomorrow, or maybe I’ll do baked potatoes, which are always filling and warming on these cold days. I think I still have ramen left over from a case bought at Costco.
I put $15 of gas in my truck and will not allow myself to buy a coffee, go out to lunch or dinner, drive anywhere unnecessary that might use my precious ½ tank of gas, or use my credit card at all. I may have to dip into my partial savings, but as I mentioned above, my next month’s bills will be lower by about $90 due to my overpayment.
ARGH, bad timing, but the lessons are good ones to take to heart.
1 Year Anniversary!
HEY!?! How did this happen, I didn’t even notice! My blog is officially 1 year old!
I’ve paid off $6,877 since I started. I’ve built up a $1056 emergency fund (and growing). I have $700 in extra saved money for larger budgetted expenses (xmas gifts, vet bills and some car expenses). I’m living within my means and paying close to 30% of my income towards debt.
Happy birthday to me. I think I’m going to make a cake tonight!
Budget check-in
I’ve caught up on my budget for the last few months, after ignoring it recently (you’ll notice my recent hiatus). I did a significant check-up this weekend seeing where I was at, and realized I’ve been budgeting for about a year now! I have been tracking my expenses for longer, but November 2008 is when I started my first full month of budgeting.
I averaged out everything that I spend and came to a few realizations:
My budget is pretty accurate
My budgeted amounts for each category are pretty spot on. They may be a little high or low, but I’m able to, after a full year, see what needs to be raised or lowered a smidge. For example, I had $40/month budgeted for home expenses. I scrounge a lot of materials from work and from other places (I live in an industrial area) and I don’t need to buy a lot of kitchen things. I have always invested in that, since I cook so much, and I’m not young, so I have pretty much what I need. I’ve been spending more like $20, so I’m going to cut it to $25 for next year. It’s nice to have a year’s spending to use as a benchmark.
Not much to cut
There are 2 catagories that I can potentially reduce in order to spend more on debt-reduction – food and photography. I spend waaay too much on food and restaurants. A lot of that comes from being the primary shopper – I get food for me and often my boyfriend, but he rarely contributes to the small scale food shopping (that $15-$30 spending that happens 1-2 times per week). It’s been difficult to get reimbursed for this, and I’ve decided to just let it slide. It’s not worth the tension, since I don’t think the resolution is changeable. So I’m just going to let it be as it is. However, I have been making positive strides in using what I have in the fridge, even if I’m bored with it, and want something else. I’ve definitely been cutting back the restaurant spending a bit, but there’s always room for improvement. It helps that my bf is under a money crunch right now, so he’s also much less willing to eat out. Yeah all around.
Photo expenses are also much higher than I’ve estimated them to be. I came to realize in the last 2-3 months that I need to scale back or fully commit to doing photography. I’m right in the middle right now. I think I am going to pull back and focus on debt and my health in this coming year, so I plan on spending much less on photo projects. I’m not going to push to have shows as much. I’m not going to take classes. I’m not going to get things framed. I’m going to rest on my laurels a bit, simply my life, lower my expenses, and reduce my stress and project load. That’s the plan.
Missing a category
I realized that I don’t have a category for health, medical, or grooming, so I’m going to make one. I get haircuts every 2-3 months. That’s $50, at least 4x per year, so $200. I have some procedures I’ll need done this coming year, so I need to plan on having larger out of pocket expenses. Dental work. And my IUD needs to be removed ($500, not sure if insurance covers), and then new birth control. I should probably build up about $900-$1000/year for this category I’m thinking. It may be enough some years, but not enough in others. So I will need to put in $100/month and save it for the inevitable expense.
I’ll be updating my mini-funds soon to take out the photo category and add a health fund.
All in all, here’s a real quick overview:
Monthly income average: $3300
Monthly budget average: $2800
Monthly debt payment average: $400 on fixed minimum payments, $500 on extra payments, $900/month extra.
Have fun
I last thing I realized. It’s unrealistic (for me personally) to expect myself to stick to the budget and not spend extra on occasion. I might buy a piece of art, or go on a trip, or throw a party (I know, I know, not necessary expenses, but a small splurge here and there on occasion is not always a bad thing). I need to have some extra spending money set aside. I’m not the most frugal of people, and I don’t think I can maintain that type of attitude for more than 2-3 months at a time. So I’ve decided I need to have about $100 or so every month to spend for fun. Going out with a girlfriend for happy hour, going to a spa, driving to Portland for the weekend, something like that.
Update on last 3 months
I have gotten off-track the last 2 months, not having paid anything extra towards debt in August or September. But I’m making up this month with a relative vengeance. Oh, and my current debt totals are up to date on the side-bar.
August I bought a semi-expensive digital camera for $600 and went on a mini-vacation/photo trip to Montana. Spent about $1200 total including film (much of it left over), food, motels, and of course, gas! I used part of my (previously paid-off) Personal Line of Credit to pay for this, partially to keep the account active so they wouldn’t cancel it or reduce the limit.
September saw me buying some clothes. I *finally* found a winter coat I liked; I’ve been looking for 3 years. Grand total, $311. I didn’t quite have that money in my mini-funds, so most of it is being paid off by me not paying towards my debt.
October didn’t start so well. My boyfriend had a big birthday. A friend made plans to go to a nearby city and have a big weekend (plans made and agreed upon between them, before I even got involved). I couldn’t not go, and truth be told I wanted to, but staying in an expensive hotel, going out to eat/drink all throughout the weekend, and the gas, completely didn’t help. Since it was the beginning of October, it falls into my September budget (which goes through Oct. 5, the day I get my first Oct. paycheck). So the crashing and burning only went for 2 months, and didn’t get extended into October! Small mercies, right?
Which brings us to this month. I lost a full paycheck day to being sick (my sick leave is now kaput) with a nasty 5-day flu. There are some short 10-day paycheck periods coming up, and I am trying to hoard my vacation time (it’s now about 36 hours). I have been trying to keep from going food-shopping all the time. That has been a downfall in the past. You know, the quick trip to pick up one item that turns into like 5-10, and that $5 purchase balloons into $30. A few extra of these every week and Whoa! Nelly! What a huge ding on your food budget. Well, at least that’s how it works at my house.
So I’ve been sticking with the food I have purchased. I tend to get bored with the same food over and over, but it’s a habit I’m trying to deal with. I ran out of goat cheese. Rather than go to Costco to buy more (it goes great on salads), I’ve been doing without. I’ve been making a little bag of baby cukes go into 4 side dishes rather than go buy something new. I’ve been foraging out of our p-patch garden for things. If I’m out of fresh bread, I use crackers as a snack instead. So far this month it’s been working really well. It’s something I definitely need to keep on top of regularly however.
I’ve also been curtailing the restaurant spending at night and cooking at home. I haven’t gone out for lunch in quite some time. I did buy a bunch of cheap frozen meals < $3.50, which I supplement with a piece of fruit, oatmeal as a mid-morning breakfast, nuts, that kind of thing. I still get a hot chocolate or other coffee beverage, but that’s really gotten cut down. I do this maybe 2-3 times max per week. I wish I could cut this more, but I’m at least going out less to coffee shops on the weekend. Coffee at home has definitely been the savior.
So I’m getting back on track. I avoided tracking money since I was doing so badly at saving the last 2 months, but I’ve at least gotten everything put into my excel spreadsheet. I’m doing really good this month! I’m proud of myself. Now, if I can only keep on track. Where are my blinders?
Gotta get serious again
I think I’m getting lazy and resting on my laurels a little too much lately. I’ve recently posted about a bunch of big purchases ($200-$600) that I’ve needed; those I don’t regret purchasing. But I’ve noticed that I’ve been easing off the debt/budget bandwagon and spending more than I ought to. I haven’t been getting serious about prepping food in advance for when I need meals outside of home. I’ve been splurging too much at restaurants. I’m buying more stuff than I need when I go to the grocery store.
My budget for the past 2 months definitely reflect that. I’m over, not a ton, but enough where it impacts how much extra I put towards debt, probably about $100 or so. A comment on a recent post about being ok taking 5 years to pay off my debt chided me for not needing quite that long, and ya know, they’re right!
If I think about every day, no, I didn’t have to buy that $4.75 (tip included) mocha when I got up late and didn’t have time to make coffee at home – I could have sucked up the semi-bad (but free) drip coffee at work and dealt with it. No, I didn’t have to go pick up a fast food burger and fry. I could have had something small, carried it with me, gone to my photo lab assistance gig and come home at 9:30 and had a late dinner.
I’ve got to tighten up my minor spending habits – I’m doing ok on the bigger stuff, but the small stuff, yes, I need to sweat it more than I do! I think this is going to be my biggest hurdle in following a budget – I don’t really. I use it as a rule of thumb and then oh well, I’m over this month. That has to change. It will be hard, and I guarantee you’ll be reading more about this in the future.
Am I on track?
How much do I need to pay towards my debt each month to reach my payoff goal of May 2014? I tallied up the number of months. If I started making payments in December 2008, that will be 66 months of payments. My total starting debt was $45,117. So I will need to pay $684 per month to stay on track.
My monthly budget is:
$150 for SBA (all interest, plus a ‘lil extra for an annual fee)
$200 for Personal Line (interest currently $70/month)
$100 for Discover (0% interest)
—————————–
$450 total paid – $170 in interest payments = 280 paid towards principal in my budget.
I would need to pay $684 – $280 already paid = $404 monthly extra to stay on track.
I am currently paying about $400 a month. I have been wondering and thinking of increasing my payments, since I think I can, to $500 monthly extra.
As I continue to pay down my loans, my interest rates will continue to diminish and more of my budgeted debt payments will go towards the principal and thus help pay it down faster.
Let’s see how I’ve been doing so far… I’ve been paying down my debt since December. That’s 5 months including April. I should have paid $3,420 to be on track. I have currently paid off $3,357 – that’s $63 short! Not bad! I can still contribute additional money this month, too, as the month is not yet over.
I feel pretty good about this. I have saved my emergency fund, I continue to save up for larger yearly expenses every month, and I have bought some dearly needed larger ticket items in the last few months that I couldn’t put off any longer. Even with my restaurant overspending, I’m still doing quite well. I know that if I tighten the belt I can pay it down ever faster! My budget is pretty accurate and my spending is within my means. My debt payoff plan is on track, established, and maintainable. Things are looking good! It could be the spring weather, but it’s always good to check in and see how plans are progressing.
Have a great weekend all!
