Frugal Friday

Well those of you who read my blog know we are financially strapped. We are working hard to meet our monthly obligations and decrease our debt. I am happy to say we've cut this month's discretionary spending in half (i.e. food, merchandise, etc). So far this month we've only spent $13.95 at restaurants. Hip, hip hooray! We've two more days in the credit card cycle and I'm trying to avoid spending additional money so I can pay the balance in full. This means getting creative with food.

I scoured the cupboards and found half an onion, fresh garlic, black beans, azuki beans, tomato paste, beer, soy sauce and spices. Put it all together and you have...bum ba da da dum! Vegetarian chili! Tonight will be our third night with this lovely concoction.

I also found yeast, flour, butter, baking soda, oil, an egg and salt. What does that spell? Homemade Pretzels! You can find the pretzel recipe here. They were a huge hit and didn't last long. I may just make another batch today.

Last week I also baked a loaf of wheat bread, two loaves of zucchini bread and a batch of homemade pitas. I've had the weekdays off work (thus time to bake). I must admit I'm loving it. I sincerely wish I could retire but don't see that in my near future.

And since I want to retire sooner than later (if you count 15 to 20 years as sooner) I'm looking for other creative ways to save money. I briefly toyed with the idea of not shaving but the hub quickly put the kabosh on that. Apparently he has no interest in being married to Sasquatch. So to appease my husband I searched the web for ways to save money on razors and found this site. According to the Chicago Tribune razors wear out from micro rust buildup and not from cutting hair. This rust can be massively decreased by keeping the razor dry. As such I started blow drying my razor after each use. I'll let you know how long the razor lasts. And on a side note I also blow dried my hair. Shockingly hair looks better when styled. Go figure.

Next I found the Diva Cup - a reusable replacement for tampons and maxi pads. Essentially it is a collection cup that you place up your hoo. This cup has gotten great reviews on the net (and this hilarious one over at Motherhood Uncensored). I am going to give it a go. Hopefully it will arrive before my next cycle. I must admit I'm a bit nervous about the whole thing but as the reviewers state - if a baby can fit through there then Diva Cup will fit just fine. Let's hope so.

I'm also trying to get an early start on Christmas and have been knitting up a storm. I bought all the necessary supplies with Ebay proceeds. My PayPal account is diminishing, however, so I put a few more things up for sale - some ties and Timbuk2 bags. If you are in the market for stylish ties and/or hip urban bags check out my auction here.

And finally we've been using the library. I've been diligent about due dates and returning things in a timely manner. I checked out an entire Spanish course and am going to load it onto my ipod. Learning a foreign language is one of those things on my life list and free lessons from the library sure beats $550.00 for Rosetta Stone.

The thing about frugality is ... more care goes into the things I do. My family gets fresh homemade food. Christmas gifts will not be purchased - my love will be knit into the yarn. My kids and I spend quality-time together walking to the library. Voluntary simplicity really is “Living in a way that is outwardly simple and inwardly rich.” *

*Quote from Duane Elgin

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Tee hee hee! I put a google ad up on my blog just to see what happened. Well this thing is pretty smart and it pulls key words from the blog to target an appropriate audience. Now it's running toilet ads. Anyone want to buy a toilet? Tee hee. :o)

Turning Over a New Leaf

Our summer road trips are over. Swimming lessons are over. My triathlon is over. But school doesn't start until after Labor Day. We have three weeks remaining to fill and believe you me fill them we will. These remaining weeks are entitled: No, really, you were not born in a barn. You were born in a clean and sanitary hospital. Therefore I do not understand why you choose to live in such filth muck!

My husband and I had an epiphany on our last road trip. We need to clean up our lives. Way back in March I wrote about voluntary simplicity. Everything in that post still holds true; we can do better than we are doing. And what brought this on? This reiteration of ideals that we hold true but do not practice? Vacation. That's right. Rest, relaxation and realization.

We took the family to the San Juan Islands. We went by car (gas is still cheaper than flying). We rented a small house for our family of five. We had a tiny kitchen and cooked some but mostly ate out. And let me tell you: food on the islands is great - organic, local and expensive. Couple that with a twelve-year-old who shuns the children's menu. Let's just say we quickly and literally ate through our budget.

So step number one is to start eating in. My kitchen is gigantic compared to the tiny kitchen in the Gnome House (our island base). Sometimes it takes getting away to realize how good things are at home. We've been back nearly a week and haven't eaten out. Outside of the grocery store we've spent $11.00 on food (one latte, two kids milks and one sushi tray from the market).

And if we are going to be spending so much time at home then we've also decided our house should be clean: dishes and laundry done, floors swept or vacuumed, surfaces dusted, things picked up. My husband and I are in total agreement and ready full steam ahead for step two. The kids? Not so much. With all the time and energy expended on arguing they could have cleaned their rooms ten-fold. I talk and talk and talk until I'm blue in the face "...It's my responsibility to raise you as good citizens ... what kind of mother would I be if you were never taught to clean ... don't you like living in an organized space? Doesn't your mind feel clearer? Don't you feel the Zen?" Kidspeak translation, "Wah, wah wah wah, waaaah, wah" in Charlie Brown monotone. Clearly step two is going to take some work.

And step three? We are addressing our financial future by eliminating unnecessary purchases. We will acquire essentials and only essentials. Period.

And finally step four - we will eliminate all the non-essential crap we've allowed to accumulate in our lives. Thus far we've taken eight garbage bags full kid stuff to the Goodwill and there's more to follow. There are Christmas presents from two years ago still in their original packaging! That is just not cool.

Our hope, by turning over a new leaf, is to secure not only our and our children's futures but also to do our little part in securing the future of our planet. Wish us luck!

Voluntary Simplicity

I spent the morning tallying up debt and paid the first of what is likely to be a long stream of medical bills. Taking time off work, a slower winter work season and doctor bills have put a serious crunch on our budget. Couple that with travel fantasies (how much would it cost for five people to go to New Zealand?) and it is not a good thing. So, I spent some time perusing frugal living blogs.

We are doing some things right. We pay ourselves first with automatic withdrawals to our retirement account. We’ve already gone down to a single pre-paid cell phone for emergency use. We have basic cable (but will have to upgrade to digital by 2009 if we elect to keep it). I’m drinking my coffee at home which is not helping my declining Starbuck’s stock (it should be decaf but after a failed attempt to quit I’m back to one cup a day). I sell things on Ebay for “mad” money but these funds may temporarily be needed to pay bills.

But, there are also areas for improvement. We need to eat out less and use coupons more. As the weather warms I am very seriously considering riding my bike to work. Gas prices are simply outrageous and I am amazed how much gas we use even living in a small town with minimal commutes. We could even consider selling one of our cars.

I want to travel, to fix up our house, to reduce our debt, increase our savings and retire early. Obviously this is easier said than done. At the same time I’d like to figure out how to be frugal and financially fit without being miserly and wretched. As such I’m very attracted to the idea of voluntary simplicity. Voluntary simplicity is defined by Duane Elgin as “Living in a way that is outwardly simple and inwardly rich.” Now that sounds nice, doesn't it?

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Yesterday I found a zip lock baggy full of sea glass from our last trip to the coast. These little treasures, discarded by the sea, cost absolutely nothing and I am reminded that some of the greatest pleasures in life are free.