“G” IS FOR…GARAGE SALES…GARDENING…GOING LOCAL…GENERIC…and NOT “GET RICH QUICK”.

I actually have to start this blog entry with “G” is for “getting out wisdom teeth”.  On Friday, my oldest daughter had all four of her wisdom teeth extracted.   

I’m not sure what’s more painful, the surgery (which is plenty painful!) or the cost.  Medical costs, even with insurance, are insanely expensive.    

I’m not sure how 20 minutes of anesthesia can cost over $500, or how the physical, x-rays, anesthesia and extraction of four wisdom teeth can carry a cost of approximately $2500.   

I’m happy to have some insurance coverage, but as a part-time employee, I must cover more of the out-of-pocket expenses on my own.   

Yes…yes…so grateful to have any medical insurance, but very frustrated to have to pay so much money for medical coverage.  Ah…perhaps a topic for another blog entry.

 

Garage Sales

I love garage sales.  I happen to live in an area where garage sale-ing is almost a religious practice.  From late spring time through the end of October, every Friday, Saturday and some Sundays, one can find a plethora of garage sales. 

There are many people who go to garage sales as, or for their livelihood.  They are freelance buyers of “collectables” and are in the search mode for that "je ne sais quoi" thing they can put on EBay for $400 million. We’ve happened on a couple of things that we’ve been able to make a little money from, but it isn’t as though we were really looking for something to buy and resell.   

Maybe we’re all a bit nosy – there is something kind of fun about going through somebody else’s junk…even if it’s just to say “Oh I have (or had) that exact such-and-such…!” 

Aside from that garage sales are a great way to both get rid of things you no longer want and need and to find bargain treasures.  We’ve had numerous garage sales and have used them as a means of fund raising.  I think having a collective garage sale, where friends and/or neighbors come together in one location with their “stuff” is a great way to celebrate community, a great way to put everyone’s treasures in one spot and enjoy the outcome (both in a monetary and community spirit sense).

 

From Garage Sales to Gardening

Yet another way to nurture community and self.  There is nothing more rewarding than planting a garden and both figuratively and literally reaping the benefits.  Not to mention all the money you can save from growing your own food! 

When we think of gardening, we might conjure up different images and words, such as: vegetable gardening, space, soil, seeds/bulbs, effort, tools, etc.   

Gardens can be about veggies, or herbs, or flowers, or hops; while you need space, you don’t need much; soil is an important factor, as are seeds, starts or bulbs; yes there’s effort and there’s tremendous rewards; yes – some tools are necessary, but mostly it’s about the human effort.

 

Recent studies have shown both the emotional and physical benefits of gardening: 

 

http://www.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/07/08/why.gardening.good/index.html

Not to mention all the wonderful health and environmental benefits!!

My favorite story about gardening is the story of Ron Finley and his tactics at “guerilla gardening” in South Central Los Angeles:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzZzZ_qpZ4w

And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the unique and beautiful Woodbury, New Jersey Community Garden, conceived and founded by my sister in 2005. 

http://www.woodbury.nj.us/recreation/community-garden/

 

 

Going Local
Going local may not, on the surface, seem related to living within one’s means.  But it can, and furthermore allows for community involvement and interface.  Going local can mean trading, bartering, supporting one another and feeling part of community.  The Center for New American Dream has put out a great Guide to Going Local: 

http://www.newdream.org/programs/collaborative-communities/community-action-kit/local

All things Generic
When I think of “generic” I think of something either not protected by trademark (such as “cola” versus “Coke”) or a product packaged without a brand.  Buying generic is a great way to save money, especially when it comes to medicines.   

We’re huge Trader Joe fans and just about all the non-perishable food items we buy there are the generic “TJ” brand.  To learn more about which items you might wish to consider buying generic:

 

http://money.howstuffworks.com/personal-finance/budgeting/10-items-you-should-always-buy-generic.htm#page=0

 

And the final “G”…is “NOT GET RICH QUICK”. 
As I began to write this blog “Living on Golden Shoestring” about doing a lot with a little (money) a reader had mentioned ideas about earning more money.  Granted, earning more money is always an option and since beginning this blog, our income has increased -- not substantially, but it has increased.  However, at the same time, we have more expenses forth coming and that seems to be the way it is.  Earn more…spend more. 

I want to emphasize the point that as alluring as it sounds to make “X” amount of money doing something that seem effortless, I advise walking away from it.  I’ve tried a couple of times to get involved with business opportunities that seemed very real.  Except that not only did it NOT work for me, it also never felt right for me.   

Granted, I’m not a sales type of person.  I loathe giving a sales pitch on some particular product or service, just for the sake of selling (earning a commission). I absolutely hate it when someone tries to hard sell me on anything.  I like to take my time…do my research…mull it over…read reviews…compare prices.  So naturally I want to afford that same process to others.   

That’s not to say that I wouldn’t mind earning more money…but it has to be something that feels right to me.  For me, there are a lot of ethical considerations.  If I am earning a salary, or involved in a business prospect, it has to meet the criteria of sustainability.  What this means for me is that it has to be good for the Planet, it has to be good for the well-being of People, and Profits derived have to benefit the majority. 

----------------------------

Next week we have company, so I’ll be taking the week off from writing a blog entry.  The following week I’ll tackle “H” for handmade, homemade, hand me downs, helping hands...

 

It's time for a disclaimer:

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.

THE LETTER “F” IS FOR “FRUGAL LIVING”

What in the heck does “frugal living” mean?  Does it mean shopping at thrift stores?  Cutting or scanning coupons?  Eating leftovers?  Never going out to eat?  Never buying anything new? Saving everything for reuse?  Living like our parents or grandparents? Answers: maybe, maybe, maybe, no, no, not exactly and no. First, let’s look at the definition of frugal:

fru·gal

adjective

1.  economical in use or expenditure; prudently saving or sparing; not wasteful: Synonyms: thrifty, chary, provident, careful, prudent, penny-wise, scrimping; miserly, Scotch, penny-pinching. Antonyms: wasteful, extravagant, spendthrift, prodigal, profligate.

2.  entailing little expense; requiring few resources; meager; scanty: a frugal meal. Synonyms: scant, slim, sparing, skimpy. Antonyms: luxurious, lavish, profuse.

---

Origin: 1590–1600; < Latin frūgālis economical, equivalent to frūg- (stem of frūx produce, fruit) + -ālis -al¹

synonym Study
Economical, thrifty, frugal imply careful and saving use of resources. Economical implies prudent planning in the disposition of resources so as to avoid unnecessary waste or expense: economical in budgeting household expenditures. Thrifty is a stronger word than economical, and adds to it the idea of industry and successful management: a thrifty shopper looking for bargains. Frugal emphasizes being saving, sometimes excessively saving, especially in such matters as food or dress: frugal almost to the point of being stingy.

----------------------------------

 

For me, when I think of frugal or frugal living, I think primarily of the first definition:

1.  economical in use or expenditure; prudently saving or sparing; not wasteful.

 

Now, when I think of this definition: “economical” or “prudently saving” or “not wasteful”, the typical American lifestyle doesn’t exactly spring to mind.  Nor does this seem like something we truly value.  Rarely do we see marketing emphasize these virtues.

 

Yes, I am here to tell you in today’s blog that being economical in use or expenditure; prudently saving or sparing; not wasteful are virtuous qualities and therefore, by default, being frugal – or frugal living – is a virtuous way of being.

 

Let’s go back to this question of what in the heck does it mean to live frugally?  (I’ll bet you’re asking “What exactly do I have to give up?”  To which I say: absolutely nothing…it’s what you gain.)

 

Let’s break this down:

·         Economical in use and expenditure:

 

This comes down to wise choices about purchasing.  Think before you buy.  Do I need to buy this?  (yes, yes, yes – I may want to buy this, but the question really should be Do I Need This??).  If you really need that item, the next thing to do is to look at the cost – but don’t compromise the quality.  In fact I would argue that you are better off buying the best quality and paying more up front, first buying a piece of garbage that breaks down the moment you get it home.  If you can borrow, purchase second hand or buy collectively, consider that option as well. 

 

·         Prudent saving or sparing:

 

In general, Americans are quite poor at prudent saving.  Don’t take it from me…take it from…

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/24/americans-savings_n_3478932.html

 

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/2013/06/24/americans-emergency-savings/2445965/

 

http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2013/06/26/payc-j26.html

 

http://money.cnn.com/2012/06/25/pf/emergency-savings/index.htm

 

http://money.cnn.com/2012/06/25/pf/emergency-savings/index.htm

 

…my two minute Google search.  This is really, really problematic.  But more problematic is that people are not being taught how to save; it’s not considered to be honorable or virtuous or “American”

 

 

 

·         Not wasteful:

 

We talk a lot about not being wasteful…but the fact of the matter is that Americans are considered (by many) to be perhaps the most wasteful people on the planet.  Being wasteful…that is wasting things…throwing things away with perfectly good value…by making things with inherently little to no value (get a cheap plastic bag for one item at the store and…most people just throw it away) we are inadvertently (or perhaps overtly) disrespecting our planet. 

 

I want to come back to the purpose of my blog “Living on a Golden Shoestring”.  People who know me, who know us, know that we manage to do a lot with a little.  The other thing people would say about us is that we live frugally.  We buy what we need, we generally buy sparingly.  We buy used, we repair things, and we often donate usable items that we don’t need any longer to others who may find them useful.

 

Is our life of any lesser quality than the “average American”?  Not in the least.  In fact, I would argue that our lives are of greater quality than the “average American”.  How so? 

 

·         We live within our means (believe it or not, this is incredibly freeing)

·         We have no consumer debt  (and this…this is exceptionally freeing)

·         Material things don’t control us; we control them (think about this one…)

·         We are innovative and creative; we find solutions to potential financial problems.

·         We plan and think and budget and are patient.

 

Lest you think we are an anomaly, well – yes we are different, but there are multitudes of people who aspire to do more with less.  There is an interesting read; I have not read this book, just the freebie peek on Amazon, but I wanted to provide the link to demonstrate the desire of many people to live frugally.  For them, as for us, it is liberating.  I encourage you to try living frugally; you just might like it and never want to go back…

 

Radical Frugality: Living in America on $8,000 a Year

 

http://www.amazon.com/kindle-store/dp/B006GG0U0C#

 

---------------------

 Next week, is “G”.  G is for garage sales, gardening, generic…and NOT “get rich quick”.

 

It's time for a disclaimer:

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.

“E” IS FOR EDUCATION, SOMETHING POTENTIALLY INCREDIBLY EXCITING AND ELIMINATING DEBT

I was fully prepared to spend this entire blog entry on the topic of eliminating debt.  But a few days ago a friend sent me a Facebook link to a fascinating proposal and so…it got me thinking (again) about education.  This proposal is potentially incredibly exciting. 

So, once again, I hope you’ll indulge me as I start with the topic of Education and …something potentially incredibly Exciting. 

Education and something potentially incredibly Exciting

 

It all starts with the following headline “Plan would make tuition free at Ore. Colleges”.  That headline in and of itself is both intriguing and sounds a little like one of those “click here, hit the monkey and win a million dollars” kind of annoying pop-ups.  That’s pretty much what I thought when I saw the headline. 

But – being the curious person I am – I decided to actually read the article and several others, in an attempt to figure out if this was a bunch of B.S. hype or what. 

There may be a bit of hype in the news coverage, but as far as I can tell, it’s much more “or what” than any kind of B.S.  The following article has appeared in numerous online news links throughout the country.  I believe this topic is so important that I am providing both the website link and the complete article.

 

http://www.statesmanjournal.com/viewart/20130705/NEWS/307050030/Plan-would-make-tuition-free-Oregon-colleges

 

---------------------------------

 

“On college campuses across the United States, the eternal optimism of youth has been throttled out by a fear of crushing student debt. That’s certainly the case in Oregon, where the cost of tuition has soared as public funding for higher education has declined. 

But the state Legislature this week approved an idea that might ease the economic dread for future philosophy and art history majors. The concept — called Pay It Forward — calls for students to attend public universities tuition free and loan free. In exchange, students would have 3 percent deducted from their post-graduation paychecks for about a quarter-century. The money would go into a fund to pay for future students. 

The bill, which passed unanimously and is expected to be signed this month by Gov. John Kitzhaber, directs the state’s Higher Education Coordination Commission to develop a Pay It Forward pilot project for consideration by the 2015 Legislature. One question that must be resolved is how to fund the program’s start-up costs, estimated at $9 billion, since the initial students who attend tuition-free would be years away from entering the labor force. 

Though the timing was coincidental, the bill won final approval on Monday, the same day that federal student loan interest rates doubled from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent.

“I feel as if the problem of student debt has reached a tipping point. It’s on legislators’ minds,” said state Rep. Michael Dembrow, D-Portland. “And I think it’s on legislators’ minds because it’s on their constituents’ minds. This is something we’re hearing a lot about — at the doorstep, through our polling, through our e-mail.” 

The Pay It Forward concept was originated by the Economic Opportunity Institute, a nonprofit policy group in Seattle, and is based in part on a model used in Australia. 

A classroom of students from Portland State University, along with the Oregon Working Families Party, successfully lobbied legislators. Supporters say the challenge is just beginning. They must ensure the commission comes up with a pilot program that helps students and clears the 2015 Legislature. 

“This is going to happen because students demand change; I believe that firmly,” said Steve Hughes, state director of the Oregon Working Families Party. “The conditions are just absolutely ripe for this. We’ve heard so many stories of student debt that are just beyond belief.”

If the plan does take effect, it would provide some relief to students who are unable to translate their degree into a decent-paying job. For example, a student whose adjusted gross income is $600,000 over a 24-year span would pay $18,000 for his or her four-year degree. A student who makes $2.5 million over that same timeframe would end up paying $75,000. Someone who makes nothing at all would contribute nothing to the fund. Someone who makes a billion would contribute an astronomical amount. 

“This is not a loan,” said John Burbank, executive director of the Economic Opportunity Institute. “You’re paying forward, essentially, so your contributions would enable the next generation of students the same free access.” 

Students who graduate from a two-year college would have 1.5 percent, instead of 3 percent, taken from their paychecks, according to the plan. Those who attend some college but fail to graduate would pay a pro-rated portion of their incomes. 

Oregon is the first state to take a step toward the Pay-It-Forward model. Burbank said other states, including Washington, Vermont, New York, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, have expressed interest.”

 ----------------------

 

Wow…Wow and Wow!!! While this is very preliminary and nobody knows what the actual outcome will be, I am so excited that the topic of student loan and debt is being taken as seriously as it should be and…at least the Oregon legislature is entertaining a very innovative approach to higher education.   

To that I say “Kudos”.  I will be watching the progress of this very closely.  For more information, here is the website to the Oregon Working Families Party.

 

http://oregonwfp.org/issues/debt-free-higher-education/

Eliminating Debt

 

The Pay It Forward model would certainly provide a solution to eliminating student debt.  I’d like to concentrate on consumer debt (which can also be tied to student debt).  By consumer debt, what I mean is….credit card debt.  Swipe and forget about it debt, until the monthly statement comes in and you have to pay the minimum on your balance of upteen thousand dollars.

 

I’ve already discussed how we have eliminated (most of) our debt.  We pay off our credit card each and every month.  We’ve been doing that since the day we received our credit cards, many, many years ago.  So for us, it’s a habit and therefore it’s relatively easy for us.  AND – because we live this way, we DON’T have ANY consumer (credit card) debt.

It would be easy for me to say “Just do what we do.  Just pay off your balance each month.”  One, if you’ve never done this before, it maybe be very difficult to all of a sudden develop this new way of paying your bills.  But – aside from that, if you’ve always just paid off the minimum and if you use your credit card on a regular basis, like most Americans do, then most likely your credit card balance is quite high.

 

Current as of June 2013

U.S. household consumer debt profile:

• Average credit card debt: $15,216
• Average mortgage debt: $148,443
• Average student loan debt: $32,054

http://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/credit-card-data/average-credit-card-debt-household/

 

I’ve already talked quite a lot about student loan debt, and I’m not going to get into mortgage debt right now.  Perhaps your credit card debt is lower, or perhaps it’s higher than the US household average.  Nonetheless, it’s probably high; much higher than it should be.

 

I know that this doesn’t sound like much fun at all (but I do guarantee that it is much more fun than living with so much debt and in the end…it WILL be much more fun), but I do want to stress what you can and what you SHOULD do to reduce your credit card debt  -- and eventually get to minimal debt.  You can do an internet search and get oodles of suggestions on what to do.  I’m guessing you already know what to do…and it’s just a matter of doing it.

 

Reducing or eliminating debt is a bit like exercising or starting a healthy diet plan.  We know it’s good for us, but starting it up and sticking with it (at first) is really challenging.  So, just like having an exercise goal or a weight-loss goal, you need to have a goal for your debt reduction/elimination plan.  You need to write it down in a conspicuous place and look at it each day:

 

“By such-and-such date, I will have “X” amount of my credit card debt paid off.”  Whatever kind of statement works for you.  It should be ambitious…but do-able.  Stop reading…and start writing.

Now that you have your goal, you have to figure out the steps to get there.  Let’s say you’ve given yourself six months to half your credit card debt (may that’s too ambitious, or maybe that’s do-able).  Now you back forecast so at the ½ point, or at 3-months you’re half way to your goal.

 

That part is easy…that part is just math.  The difficult part is the behavioral changes you need to make, in order for it to happen.  What kinds of behavioral changes?

 

1)      Stop using your credit card until you’ve reached your goal.  Yep, put it away in your underwear drawer.  You can still use your debit card – just not the credit card.  Say good-bye, have a going away party – whatever you need to do to separate yourself from your card.

 

2)      Next, you need to figure out how much extra (above your minimum balance) you will need to pay each month, to get to your goal.  In order to be able to free up the extra money to pay down your credit card balance, you may need to make adjustments to other areas of your spending. 

 

3)      You may recall that funny exercise I asked you to do where you collected receipts and took a close look at your weekly spending.  If you haven’t already done so – please go back and read that blog entry and do that exercise.  If you want to change your spending habits in order to free up funds to pay down your credit card.  If you don’t do this, you’re going to say “But I don’t have any extra money to pay down my credit card!”  To which I say, your job is to find ways to find the extra money….spend less or generate more…to pay down your debt.

 

4)      Don’t give up!  It will be difficult to change your spending habits and to pay down your debt.  Once you see your debt level start to drop, you will begin to feel really empowered.  Again, it’s a lot like starting a new exercise program or healthy diet plan.  It can be a real chore and a real bore sometimes…especially at the beginning when you don’t see instant results.

 

It isn’t easy to be discipline.  It isn’t easy to give up something  you are used to having…at least not at first.  But, it is worth it and at the end, when you’ve reduced your debt, it is an incredibly liberating feeling.  It is so worth it. 

---------------------

 

Next week, is “F”.  Frugal living.  This ties in nicely with eliminating debt.  What else is on your mind?  Any comments?

 

It's time for a disclaimer:

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.

D IS FOR DIY, DISCOUNTS, DEPENDENTS and DREAMING…

Last week I concentrated on that nasty four-letter word, debt.  I do plan to come back to it at a future date, as I know that so many of us carry a high consumer debt burden and it’s important to address how to undue that mess.

 

But in this blog, I want to discuss some other items of interest that allow us to live on our golden shoestring, such as “DIY”, discounts, dependents, etc.

 

DIY – DO IT YOURSELF

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Do_it_yourself:  “Do it yourself (DIY) is the method of building, modifying, or repairing something without the aid of experts or professionals. DIY behavior can be triggered by various motivations previously categorized as marketplace motivations (economic benefits, lack of product availability, lack of product quality, need for customization), and identity enhancement (craftsmanship, empowerment, community seeking, uniqueness)^[2”

 

DIY clearly has economic benefits…usually.  If one has a skill set in whatever is being built, modified, repaired or created, it’s a major WIN-WIN… Economic benefits as well as personal benefits; satisfaction gained from doing something.  In the big picture of things and stuff, we clearly gotten away from using our brain and our community to do for ourselves.

 

Yes, yes, yes – there are times when it’s best to ‘leave it to the experts’.  But it’s my opinion that we’ve given up everything to the experts.  Tinkering has gone by the wayside and is done by funny old men who talk to themselves. 

 

DISCOUNTS

This is a no-brainer.  Discounts are to be taken advantage of.  Discounts are similar to coupons, but without having to cut or scan the coupon.  There are so many ways to look for discounts and it is worthwhile to take some time to look for them before making your purchase. 

 

There are discounts for airfares, for hotels and cruises and other vacation packages.  There are discounts for electronics, for clothing and just about anything else you desire.  For this topic, I would LOVE to get feedback on your favorite places to find discounts on whatever.

 

Here are a couple of mine:

 

For airfares:  I generally start with CheapTickets.  I also look at Expedia, Orbitz and Mobissimo.  What are your favorites?

 

For hotels:  Well..I love to use CouchSurfing and Airbnb and will usually start there, but if I need a hotel, I might try Hotwire, or CheapHotels.  What do you use?

 

Cruises/Vacation Packages:  Well, I generally don’t go, but if I did – I’ll give a plug to my good friend, Liz Clark who has a new travel business called “Odyssey Tours by Liz”  

 

http://odysseytoursbyliz.com/

 

DEPENDENTS

I know this seems like an odd thing to put in.  But here’s the thing.  When you have dependents, it shapes how you live and how you earn and how and what you spend and every other decision you make in life.

 

When you create your financial budget, you not only consider your earnings and expenditures, but you must consider all the people in your household, or in your “circle of life” for whom you are financially tied to, as you make your decisions.  Again, this seems to be a no-brainer, but I don’t think it is something we are conscience about.  You may need to project out some years, in order to get to where you need or want to be. 

 

One prime example is that of college funding.  Right now, this is the bane of my existence.  It’s not that we didn’t plan for college (well…we’ve probably not planned as we should have, but we couldn’t), it’s that the college funding and planning mechanism is an absolute failure.  Individual families are left with sorting it out for themselves, hoping they’ve set aside adequate funding, hoping a grandparent has set up a college fund, hoping the son or daughter makes the grade and does everything right to get the scholarship…and then whatever is left the poor (literally) college student has the burden of college loans.   

 

DREAMING

Never forget about dreaming.  It’s good for the soul.  I’m an incessant dreamer.  Sometimes it takes me to far away places and then I try to figure how to actually get there.  Dreaming helps us not only escape from reality, but provides the impetus for change. 

 

So, in the spirit of dreaming, I want to share a website that I stumbled across a few months back.  I admit that I haven’t spent much time looking at A Center for a New American Dream, but I love what I read and so I want to share it with you. 

 

http://www.newdream.org/

 

Here is their mission:  “The Center for a New American Dream helps Americans to reduce and shift their consumption to improve quality of life, protect the environment, and promote social justice.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This speaks to my heart and soul and if I could find a way to work in such a capacity, this is EXACTLY what I would be doing with the rest of my life.  I’m on a mission to figure out how and where to begin.  I’m hoping that this blog is one small piece of it.

That’s enough for the letter “D”…unless you want to know that as I’ve got my first routine colonoscopy coming up tomorrow morning and there’s a “D” I’d rather not talk about…

 

What about the letter “E”.  The one thing I’ve thought about is “ELIMINATE DEBT”.   What else comes to mind? 

 -----------------------

 

It's time for a disclaimer:

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.