Archives for February 2015

Stay True To Your Budget And Self

Last month I wrote about my “low-income lifestyle” that’s a consequence of my tight graduate student income. I only make about $14-15k per year after taxes and education expenses. Then, I have to account for rent, food, entertainment, and transportation costs.

There’s not a lot of wiggle room. As a student, employee, and writer, I can’t commit any more time to work endeavors. At the end of nearly every week I’m beat up from an 80-hour workweek. I know and admire those who can work this many hours, and still do more. But I never saw that life for myself.

Staying true to a budget and future goals can be challenging. Here are 5 methods I use to stick to my budget.

1. Tell friends and family

“Power allows us a superficial sense of control, whereas true, vulnerable being allows us a sense of authenticity.” —TinyBuddha.com

It can be embarrassing and challenging to let people in on your financial distress, concerns, and budgetary constraints. That embarrassment personally led me to avoid saying “no” or high-spend scenarios (i.e., going to ball games, bars, and expensive restaurants). Rather than admit to myself and others that I had a budgetary problem, I hid behind debt.

One of the most powerful changes you can make today is to tell anyone in your life about debt and/or financial goals. Some friends will be able to provide support, choose more affordable activities, and check-in with you. That connection is fundamentally important, because bucking societal trends to spend more and more can be challenging. Having people on your side is essential.

2. Find accountability buddies

“Men [and women] exist for the sake of one another.” —Marcus Aurelius

While friends can be emotionally supportive to financial goals and concerns, they might not be equipped to be an accountability “buddy.” These partners do more than checking in — they push you to save more.

Find a person, network, or community — online or in person — that can help you stick to your budget. Choose someone you trust, as financial distress is often personally intertwined with psychological wellness.

Spending a lot of money? Likely, there are some external stressors in your life. An accountability buddy needs to be a supportive/challenging listener.

3. Regularly check your budget

”The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.” —Henry David Thoreau

Seeing massive bills and debt is frightening. It’s difficult to see a way out of these holes.

One maladaptive pattern I engaged in was avoidance. If I didn’t look at my budget, recent transactions, or credit bill, I wasn’t as stressed out (short term). But then again, I wasn’t trying to reduce the spending, either.

Denial can be the answer, but it’s dangerous; often, delaying budgetary fixes. The nervousness and anxiety must be faced.

I’d recommend making a habit of checking your transactions and bills once per day. There are various methods, but I’d recommend an online option. For instance, with Personal Capital, you can sync nearly every type of bank account, investment account, credit card, and loan. This helps you get a broad-based perspective of your net worth and budget efforts. And it’s all free!

4. Write and/or start a diary

“A lack of transparency results in distrust and a deep sense of insecurity.” —Dalai Lama

Words are powerful — forget people who say “words can never hurt me.” Words make people feel deeply — cry, laugh, and everything in between. Words can help you catalogue, share, and reflect on your budget efforts.

I started Frugaling to do just that: reflect on my efforts, write about personal finance issues, and help others along the way. Others have seen my triumphs and failures — ups and downs. Along the way, I’ve been able to look back through my archives to see how my thinking changed.

Private diaries are another great option! As long as you’re brutally honest with yourself, you’ll be helping to save and stick to whatever budget you set for yourself.

5. Remain present focused, mindful

“Eternal life belongs to those who live in the present.” —Wittgenstein

This step can be the most challenging of all. Most people want to drift into past or future-oriented thinking.

We tend to perseverate on past failures, mistakes, and embarrassments. Alternatively, we tend to think about future potential, hopes, and dreams of a better life than we have right now. Both forms of thinking suck us away from the present moment.

We cannot change the past, and what we do in the present determines much of the future. It’s in the present moment where we can enact change, stick to our budget, and prevent another purchase.

Sticking to a budget takes patience and perseverance: one day at a time. We can beat ourselves up for our mistakes, which make us tragically want to consume more. Or, we can take hold of the moments we have left to live a different life. There’s so much potential in the latter option.

Frugal Articles of the Week

By Frugaling 5 Comments

Every week I like to feature a few frugal articles that caught my eyes. Curl up in your favorite reading nook and enjoy. Hopefully these encourage you to live frugal lives!

The Stuff Paradox: Dealing with the clutter in the US by Jane O’Brien
Amidst massive income and wealth inequality, a growing movement of minimalists is rising. Their work bridges and breaks the traditional bounds of income levels. Now, anyone who’s willing to declutter and rid themselves of the unnecessary can join! This article catalogs a couple Americans who are working to do just that.

The Girl Who Saw Through the Illusions by Leo Babauta
Leo is one of the most popular bloggers on minimalism and simple living. His focus spans from meditation to family life. In this new style, Leo writes from a seemingly fictional stance to talk about how illusions influence how we see the world.

What Motivates You To Save? by Kate Dore
Frugality is usually something that just happens. People tend to choose a more frugal lifestyle because of small incomes, to cut down on carbon emissions, and/or to have a less cluttered home. But to start saving, people need to ask an important motivational, intention question. Kate perfectly conveys it!

In Pursuit of More Lasting Success by Joshua Becker
This article hit me. Joshua points out two extremes in today’s economy: 1) the focus on financial success, 2) the importance of working less. Both extremes can be detrimental. Joshua proposes an alternative, where working to help others becomes a major focus. Brilliant idea!

Why We Don’t Meal Plan by Mrs. Frugalwoods
Over the last couple weeks, I published how I’m reducing expenses and trying to get my food budget down to $200 per month. I’m having a bear of a time! Mrs. Frugalwoods makes it look easy, and they don’t even meal plan to save. What could be easier?! Her biggest recommendation seems to center on the role of buying bulk and unpackaged foods for a frugal budget.

“We Are Rich Because They Are Poor.”

By Frugaling 13 Comments

Norway could be heaven on Earth

Norwegians have an average life expectancy of 81 years, income of $58,810, and one of the best education systems in the world. With a highly social tax system, Norwegians benefit from incredible health care, free college opportunities, and more paid time off when compared to most of the world.

Other than brutal winters, Norway is a near-utopian country with a smaller divide between wealthy and impoverished. There’s incredible privilege in this economy.

A Norwegian newspaper, Aftenposten, decided to select three prominent fashion bloggers — Frida, Ludvig, and Anniken — to journey to Cambodia. These bloggers obsess and pour over the latest fashion trends. They write and photograph their latest finds for the world to see. Additionally, they make money from their features through advertisements and endorsement deals.

Welcome to Cambodia!

Aftenposten wanted to expose these bloggers to the garment workers on the other end of the manufacturing industry for their favorite clothes. As many of the worst worker conditions and best trade relations are in South Asian countries, they selected Cambodia.

With personal cameras, beaming smiles, and naive curiosity, these three traveled to Cambodia to “discover” what garment workers’ jobs are like — for a month. Almost instantly after they landed in the foreign land, they remarked about how they expected more “shops,” cleaner markets, and cheaper food prices.

They immediately experienced culture shock — from privilege to poverty in one flight.

Wages that keep people in poverty

Over the course of the next five episodes, the three explore their neighborhood and interview garment workers. The first, Sokty, tells about making around $3-4 per day. She usually works 7 days a week, and often works from 7 AM to 8 PM.

Sokty sleeps on her floor, covered in some blankets. Her shower is a bucket, where she pours water over herself. She has a clothes line that is about 5 feet long and has a few shirts. She can’t afford to buy the clothes she sews.

There’s a TV, and some photos are pasted to her walls. To many Americans, this austerity and poverty is likely uncomfortable. Societally, we tend to rationalize away these discomforts, rather than face them.

Empathy through exposure

Anniken initially appears uncomfortable, but explains away this feeling by saying they don’t know any better/different. Further, she points out that these Cambodian garment workers are probably used to it, and that’s why they’re okay with this disparity.

Without even a sliver of remorse, sadness, or regret, her explanation weighs heavy for the remaining episodes. They’re a harbinger for a painful self-discovery of ignorance.

See, as the month-long journey flies by, the group becomes increasingly aware of their false assumptions and prejudices about garment workers in far away places. They realize that these people deserve better. And that they — as fashion bloggers — have a role in changing it.

Sometimes it’s as simple as exposure. By accepting the request to appear in a reality series, these three Norwegians grew immensely. One aspect that seemed to change their understanding was trying to buy a dinner on three garment paychecks for the day ($9 total). They cooked the most basic food, which was heavily watered down to feel like more.

“We are rich because they are poor.”

By the conclusion, their voices were unified in disgust and shame for their buying habits. They suddenly realized the consequences of their shopping habits. The Norwegians wrapped up filming with a new resolution: go back home and share their story with others. Ultimately, they wanted to pressure major clothing retailers to choose more worker-friendly locations, paychecks, and rights.

Repeatedly, Ludvig noted how their lives were great in Norway, because theirs (Cambodian garment workers’) “suck.” His words spoke to the fundamental horror of capitalism: where one succeeds, another falls.

We’ve set up a system of trading and exchange, where some people’s money goes further than others. There’s a reason most of our clothing is manufactured elsewhere, and it’s not because they have vastly more productive workers — they just have fewer restrictions and depressed incomes.

That’s not a solution for a fair, just society.

Here are three ways we can correct these inequalities:

1. Support retailers that pay laborers living wages

2. Petition/write companies and Congress to support living wages

3. Prefer local clothing companies, where possible

$200 Food Budget Failure?

By Frugaling 64 Comments

You spend how much on food every month?!

Last month I ventured into the unknown and created a food and drink budget. Yes, this frugal guy had created a budget in prior months, but time after time, I was over $400 per month. It was ridiculous and hurting my chances to stay out of debt.

Working 60 to 80-hour weeks made me tired, cranky, hungry, and constantly on-the-go. I was stressed, and had all the symptoms of having four positions: counselor, student, instructor, and writer.

I’d frequently feel hungry and be without food, which was a recipe for disaster. Preparing lunches was a mental hurdle, as I would constantly procrastinate to avoid it. I spent way too much money on fast food (i.e., salad bars, Subway, etc.).

Even when I packed snacks and lunches, I blew through it and bought more. I was hungry and I let that natural desire overpower my frugal side.

Individual and social pressure to make a change

Frankly, in the frugal community, $400 per month for a single guy’s food and drink budget is embarrassing. Cue the chortles and disdain. But perhaps I can circumvent and prevent a potential audience-led diatribe by saying, I want to own it.

I was failing to properly save in this domain. Something had to be done.

Then, I saw an article by a fellow personal finance blogger, Laurie, of The Frugal Farmer. She explained how her family of four spent about $215 on food for one month. My cheeks reddened. Here was an entire family doing a better job than this one guy.

After that article, and in the face of a new year, I decided to set my own goal for January: $200 for all food and drinks. If they could do it, why couldn’t I?

This isn’t going to be easy, is it?

So, in January, the month of resolutions, I decided to embark on this new budgetary goal. Like a Messiah warrior preparing to do battle, I wanted to defeat this budget buster.

Pulverize! Demolish! Obliterate!

I thought, “This should be easy enough. I’m a single guy, and don’t have fancy meals. Yes, I have some allergies, but that shouldn’t affect my shopping much.”

Four days passed before I went to the grocery store. The trip came in just over $74. I remember my buddy asking me whether I could make it the rest of the month.

“You only have $125 left, then,” he said.

My reply was cool and nonchalant, “Well, I actually spent a bit of money on food while traveling back to Iowa from Colorado, and went on a date the other day. In total, I’ve spent $125.”

He smiled and shook his head. And I stubbornly stayed optimistic. Little did I understand, it wouldn’t take me long to cross that $200 line.

Timeline of my busted food budget

For the purposes of this month experiment, I took day-by-day notes of what I had purchased and why. The following is a timeline of purchases and inside look at how I totally failed.

Day 1: $8.05 (McDonald’s breakfast, drink later in day)
Day 2: $12.19 (Dinner while traveling)
Day 3: $0
Day 4: $103.35 (Breakfast date and groceries)
Day 5: $0
Day 6: $2.28 (Coffee)
Day 7: $5.04 (Coffee date)
Day 8: $0
Day 9: $0
Day 10: $0
Day 11: $52.53 (Bar date and groceries)
Day 12: $0
Day 13: $6.34 (Groceries)
Day 14: $4.92 (Snacks)
Day 15: $0
Day 16: $10.40 (Groceries)
Day 17: $54.38 (Groceries)
Day 18: $0
Day 19: $28.42 (Groceries)
Day 20: $0
Day 21: $0
Day 22: $0
Day 23: $0
Day 24: $45.82 (Groceries)
Day 25: $0
Day 26: $28.97 (Groceries)
Day 27: $0
Day 28: $0
Day 29: $0
Day 30: $0
Day 31: $0

Total: $362.69

What the heck did I buy?

Generally, I have a simple diet. The one caveat is that I’m on a modified gluten-free diet (low FODMAP) for IBS. Let me tell you that if I break away from these dietary restrictions, my intestines quickly fall apart and I’m lethargic, gassy, dyspeptic, and cranky. When I can follow the highly restrictive, plain diet I feel better. The consequence is that I have to buy some more expensive gluten-free items to feel healthy.

Breakfast foods

Cereal (rice or corn-based)
Oatmeal
Eggs
Turkey bacon

Lunch foods

Gluten-free bread
Turkey meat
Sliced cheese
Mustard
Lettuce
Peanut butter
Jelly
Spinach
Carrots
Cherry tomatoes
Bell peppers
Balsamic vinegar

Dinner foods

Frozen salmon
Rice
Frozen vegetables
Gluten-free pasta
Tomato sauce

Snacks

Potato chips
Gluten-free pretzels
Bananas
Grapes

What went wrong with the budget and plan?

After I read Laurie’s article, I was amazed by their depression-inspired goals and budgetary constraints. Even though they weren’t able to keep it under $200, either, they were remarkably close (~$215).

I wasn’t anywhere close to my goal. There were various potholes and hiccups that I never expected when I first started this experiment. Here’s where I got tripped up:

Single, but dating

While I’m a single guy, on occasion I’ve been known to go out with women. I know, mind-boggling! Despite major movements and momentum in the dating world, men are still expected to treat for first dates oftentimes.

I went on a few dates this month, and that cost me $48.81. Ouch! That’s nearly a quarter of the total budget I started with.

There are various solutions to this problem: choose more affordable locations (i.e., coffee shops), stop dating, and/or pay for my own meals/drinks.

Fresh vegetables

After completing this experiment, I looked back at Laurie’s article to see how much vegetables cost her family. All I found was pasta sauce and potatoes. Clearly this had benefited her family’s budget, and reduced their total spending.

Despite vegetables accounting for much of the spend this past month, I refuse to budge on this aspect. Vegetables are low in sugar, high in vitamins, and incredibly fibrous. They’re too healthy to cut down or out.

One solution I could begin to adopt is buying more loose-leaf lettuces to make my own salad mixes. Also, I could likely buy more canned vegetables.

Gluten-free/low-FODMAP

The last problem I noticed was that my special diet restrictions caused my budget to balloon. Whereas a frugal-friendly loaf of bread (w/ gluten) sells for about $1, the gluten-free/FODMAP-friendly Udi’s white bread costs about $5. Additionally, the loaves are about half the size. In total, Udi’s gluten-free bread costs about 750-1000% more.

Similarly, pretzels can be purchased for about $1-2 a bag. But the gluten-free versions cost about $3.50. Over and over again, the dietary restrictions affected my ability to stay under that coveted $200 mark.

The solutions are more difficult to find on this front, too. Ideally, my body wouldn’t react like gluten-laden products were an intruder. Ideally, I could eat tons of legumes (beans) and bread products. I would have far more flexibility in saving and scrounging. The best I can come up with is to plan for meals and try to use rice more often than gluten-free pastas or breads. Rice is always cheap, and just so happens to be the most common food worldwide.

Reframing failure as lessons learned

Have friends and family behind you

When I first told my friends, they all expressed curiosity about how I’d do it. The budget was large in its smallness — it spoke louder than any sentence I could write. Pricelessly, my budget announcement and sharing brought people in and many wondered how they, too, could participate.

Self-compassion for “failures”

During this month, I overspent my budget by $162.69. That’s shocking, embarrassing, and a bit disheartening. I’m disappointed in my own perseverance, resolve, and planning.

Fortunately, I use “failure” casually. Research suggests that when people respond to these “failures” with self-compassion they can better correct future actions. I don’t actually see this month as a failure; rather, inspiration to keep working at my food budget and continue to find ways to reduce the spending.

I want to get to $200.

Sometimes frugality — to the extreme — isn’t healthy

Frugality in food tends to overemphasize the reduction of fresh vegetables and fruits and supplementation of carbs like bread and pasta. While these food choices feel filling, keep budgets happy short-term, and provide the base of many frugal meals, they can have negative health effects. Starches and carbs tend to lead to excess weight, as they are processed comparably to sugar in the digestion process.

Instead of sacrificing my long-term health for short-term financial gains, I look forward to making a truly healthy budget. Don’t get rid of the vegetables!

Food budget challenge — take 2!

January just ended, but I’m already signing up for another month of this experiment. This time I want you to join me!

If you’re already at $200, I’d love to hear how you do it. If you can’t imagine reducing your food and drink budget to $200, let’s try together. If you’re not sure you want to reduce your food budget, why not?

Who’s with me?