Before
I head off on the “B” in the “A to Z” dialogue, I want to share our Airbnb
business card. While we have our profile
listed on the Airbnb website, there are many people we know who don’t (yet)
know about this very interesting way of travel; nor do they know that we are
(now) hosts. Our business cards should
arrive in the mail in about a week and then we’ll be able to connect with
people face-to-face and share what we’re doing.
Someone
posted a comment on an earlier blog entry:
“Great idea to only spend what you
earn. You could also earn more, no? Why only half an income when there are two
of you plus an older teen?”
Thank
you for your comment. I so appreciate
people reading my blog and making commentary. Yes, absolutely – earning more is
always an option. For those of you who
live in Central Oregon, you know about the challenges of finding professional
wage jobs. You know that this area is
known as: “poverty with a view”. People
relocate here to enjoy the spectacular natural beauty and for the lifestyle it
affords, at the potential sacrifice of earning a decent income.
Recent
news article “Jobs in Deschutes County Pay Below US Average”… put in blog after
“poverty with a view” (widely anecdotal expression is backed up by recent data)
No
matter how much or how little one earns, the golden rule must be “Don’t Spend
More Than You Earn”…which translates to living within your means. This becomes increasingly more difficult with
less spending power (i.e., less income).
As for us, it looks like our earnings may be changing for the
better….I’ll be sure to keep you posted.
So
– “B” is for: bargains, budgeting, buying in bulk, bicycling and overall
brainstorming…
I’m
certain we can add much more to the letter “B”, but this is plenty to write
about. Let’s get started!
Bargains
I
suppose this has a lot to do with the way I was raised. Both of my parents grew up during the
depression where everything was scarce and rationed. My mother grew up in extreme poverty; her
parents waited in the food line and had to survive with whatever they
could.
This way of living as a child
impacted her greatly and so she became an amazing bargain hunter. No matter the commodity; food, clothing,
furniture, house supplies she was always bargain hunting. One wonders whether growing up with
second-hand clothing, furniture and basement bargain food costs causes one to
embrace this way of life or to run away from it. For me and my brother and sister, we’ve more
or less followed in the footsteps of how we were raised.
Bargain
hunting for me means purchasing (or trading) goods often found at second-hand
or thrift stores. These could be items
that folks have discarded that still have plenty of life and need to be given a
second, or third chance rather than ending up in the solid waste stream (i.e.
the landfill). It also means thinking
carefully about what I’m buying, bearing in the mind the price point, and
asking myself that age old question:
“DO I REALLY NEED THIS…?”
Budgeting
I
talked about budgeting in my first and second blog entries. You call our first rule: “We Don’t Spend More
Than We Earn”. You may recall that fun
little experiment where we gave up our credit card for a week and looked at our
expenditures. I uploaded a video on a
budget spreadsheet and suggested that folks take some time to look at their
Income versus Expenditures.
Buying
in Bulk
This
can be a good thing, depending on what your needs are. While I don’t always love shopping at COSTCO,
I love the products. Sometimes I really appreciate
that I can buy 400 rolls of toilet paper at a bargain price; other times I’m
not so sure what I’ll do with 32 cans of lentil soup. Buying in bulk doesn’t necessarily mean just
buying at your local COSTCO or BJs or other wholesaler. It can also mean purchasing loose; such as in
the bulk aisle section of your local grocery store, or at a local farmer’s
market.
Many,
many years ago, I worked for a franchised bulk store called “Barrel
Grocer”. It was at a time when the idea
of buying in bulk (or loose) was just coming into mainstream marketing. I remember having to memorize the four-digit
codes for all the bulk items that we sold.
A lot of people were wary about buying in bulk. They were very concerned about hygienic and
sanitary conditions; in particular, people were worried that customers would
use their fingers, take samples, drool, spit or somehow contaminate the
products.
I
suppose that’s always a possibility; there is a certain amount of trust
associated with this kind of purchasing.
But the open air/self-service concept has been around since the dawn of
the market place. Buying in bulk,
whether it’s prepackaged lots at COSTCO or sans containers makes economic and
environmental sense.
Bicycling
I
already talked about my passion for bicycling.
I really can’t stress this enough.
Riding a bicycle as a means of transportation is one of the best things
you can do. I know…I know…it isn’t often
very practical to do this. In general,
the United States lacks the infrastructure and the incentives to get people out
of their automobiles and onto their bicycles.
Last
summer we were in Europe. While we
traveled around in a rental car, we saw so many people on bicycles – bicycles
as their means of transportation. No
place was this more apparent than in Amsterdam.
While
Amsterdam may be best known for its (nudge,
nudge, wink, wink) cafes and the Red Light District – it’s also known for
all the bicycles. Everyone…and I mean everyone is one a bicycle. If you don’t believe me, take a look at this
short promotional video.
To
me, this is the epitome of alternative transportation. I love it…I wish that the United States would
look to other countries that have an excellent infrastructure established for
human powered transportation and follow suit.
Brainstorming
This
might be my favorite “B”, after bicycling.
Brainstorming, or “thinking outside the proverbial box”…whatever you
want to call it. We tend to get
ourselves trapped in thinking about a problem, a solution, or the apparent lack
of a solution, in rigid terms.
Brainstorming
allows you to get unfiltered input from others; perhaps a spouse, partner, parent,
family member, friend or pet.
Brainstorming is a great mechanism for problem solving and for allowing
creative ideas to flow into your sphere of being. We are creatures of habit and like our established
patterns of behavior. Let ideas in! Don’t think any idea is “stupid” or
“impossible” or “irrelevant”. The older
I get, the more I realize that there are marvelous ideas and solutions out
there in the ether; we just have to let them in…
Comments? Keep them coming!
I
guess I’ll keep on going with the alphabet.
After “B” comes “C”… “C” is for: Coupons, Carpooling/Commute options,
CouchSurfing, Creativity and whatever else comes to mind between now and then.
I’m not a financial
planner, nor am I a business guru. What I am is a very practical person with
(as my mother always said) “a good head on her shoulders”. I have good common
sense and am old enough to trust my inner core and follow my instincts.
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