Frugaling

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$200 Food Budget Challenge: March Edition

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Dunkin Donuts - Flickr photo by m01229

You donut-eating budget-buster!

It was Friday, March 27, and I was riding home from an interview. I felt bummed and left the offices feeling oh-so-average. I didn’t do as well as I’d hoped. Traveling by bike, it was hard to miss the “DD” sign ahead; our earthly savior and lord of sugar, Dunkin Donuts. I pulled over, and ran in to buy a donut. I couldn’t resist, and bought two.

The cash register read, “$2.10.” My head rang with confusion and disagreement. My body craved a treat for a tough month and day. Despite the qualms and questions, I stood at the counter, handed over my card, and promptly smashed those two donuts down my gullet. Gosh they were good!

As I pedaled away, I knew what those donuts would mean. They would be an exclamation point on another month above $200. They would be a sugary-sweet failure and reminder that I’m not quite there yet. They would be the stench of another month over budget.

The food budget challenge rules

Over the last couple months, I’ve been working to reduce my food and drink expenditures. Friends and readers have asked tons of great questions about the rules to this challenge. They regularly ask, “What do you count, Sam?”

The answer is simple: everything. Anything with a nutritional value is thrown into the bucket. That’s meant that birthday parties, get-togethers, and random snacks count, too. Nothing gets removed from this budget – for any reason.

The $200 food budget challenge was meant to be fun, but also restrictive. I didn’t want to create other budgets for “entertainment” or “eating out.” That seemed to defeat the purpose for me; especially, because much entertainment includes eating and drinking.

Reviewing my efforts thus far

I would love to be writing today with beaming pride. I would love to say, “I did it!” I would love to say I’m the perfect food budgeter and frugal guy. Sadly, I have a lot of work to do.

I started the food budget challenge at the turn of the year. Being frugal led me to sell my car, buy a bike, and save money, but there was still this ridiculous part: food. I was shocked at my inability to save in this category. 

When I lumped in food and drink, my monthly budgets were around $400-600. That level of spending was preventing me from being able to save anything. It was an embarrassing realization. I was eating out too much, buying too many prepackaged foods, and opting for organic – when natural would do. I needed to revamp everything.

In the first month, January, I spent $362.69. While down heavily from earlier months, I realized quickly that I had to find other ways to reduce my spending. Then, much to the dismay of my friends, I decided to start up the budget challenge for February. It would mean another month of restrictive splurging and lots of meals at home. I tried to opt for other items that were gluten free, but not at a premium, which helped in February. It was a relative success, and I only spent $211.94. But I still hadn’t reached $200.

$200 food budget challenge: March Madness edition

Here’s a breakdown of my spending from March:

Day 1: $106.03 (Groceries)
Day 2: $0
Day 3: $2.77 (Groceries)
Day 4: $0
Day 5: $0
Day 6: $13.75 (Groceries)
Day 7: $0
Day 8: $6 (Brewery)
Day 9: $0
Day 10: $9.27 (Groceries)
Day 11: $0
Day 12: $4.87 (Sandwich); $5.56 (Birthday party candies); $30.29 (Birthday dinner)
Day 13: $0
Day 14: $10.38 (Groceries)
Day 15: $11.01 (Mexican food)
Day 16: $0
Day 17: $1.25 (Redvines – must have sugar!!!)
Day 18: $7.47 (Groceries)
Day 19: $17.59 (Groceries)
Day 20: $0
Day 21: $0
Day 22: $9.66 (Groceries)
Day 23: $1.52 (Groceries)
Day 24: $0
Day 25: $0
Day 26: $0
Day 27: $2.10 (D’oh! Donuts!)
Day 28: $20.75 (Groceries)
Day 29: $0
Day 30: $0
Day 31: $0

Even from day 1, you can see I was doomed to fail. I spent over $100 in a single day, as my foodstuffs had grown dangerously low in February. I needed to stock up – big time. Unfortunately, that meant spending half the budget.

After the 31 days of March, I spent $260.27.

When I first started the $200 food budget challenge, I expected a linear decline in spending. Wrongly, I assumed that I would be able to gradually drop the costs month-over-month – that it would always drop. While $260 is less than January and well below previous spending, it spiked up from February. And needless to say, moved me further away from the goal.

Lessons learned this month

1. Psychological needs will creep into budgetary needs

A danger zone this month was sugary food. Because I biked to work, school, and the grocery stores, I was constantly burning calories. Despite my experience preparing for odd hunger times, the rush for sugar still hit me. I attribute this problem to a couple unmet psychological needs this month. I wasn’t sleeping enough, which led to tired days, where I was more susceptible to crappy food.

One of the best fixes to this problem is making sure you’re balancing out some of life’s demands. The best solution would be sleep. As a graduate student that can be hard to come by, but in April I want to work on this aspect.

2. Challenges become fun, but also competitive

I call this a “challenge” intentionally. Budgets can be boring and monotonous, and the reward isn’t short-term. Budgets help people accomplish long-term goals. Challenges, on the other hand, encourage people to work towards something in the shorter-term. For me, I needed this push to reduce my food budget.

Now, three months down, I’ve realized that the competition isn’t just internal. When I bring up the idea with others, I constantly hear comparisons. Some people assume it’ll be easy to accomplish, while others doubt themselves. Let me assure you, if you aren’t regularly around $200, it’s difficult.

Then there are the negative comments from others, unfortunately. Challenges sometimes bring out the one-uppers. These are the people that aren’t providing constructive criticism and suggestions, they’re just making it clear that they can do better than you. Generally, I find this feedback to be debasing and detract from the main goal: a fun challenge that we can strive for, together.

3. Food budgets should be averaged month-over-month

When I present my results, you only see one month of activity. In reality, food budgets are averaged over your lifetime. As such, people can buy huge foodstuffs from Costco and other warehouse-style retailers for deep discounts. This bulk buying can save money over the long-term, while ostensibly increasing a single month’s budget.

Because of the power of bulk buying and saving, next month I intend to account for my food budget in servings, when possible. For example, I purchased a 10-pound bag of rice, and I’ll account by 1-cup scoops next month. Although, with more perishable foods, I’ll account for those by receipts, as I’ve done.

As I enter my fourth month of the frugal food budget challenge, I’d love it if you’d join me! Even if you fail, as I have, it’s a great test to see how much you’re spending. To those who are struggling to wean down their budgets, try it out! To those who’ve succeeded, what have you done? Cheers to April and good luck!

The Hilarity Of Rarity

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Diamonds. Photo by Kim Alaniz/Flickr

“Insanity in individuals is something rare – but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule.”
–Friedrich Nietzsche

Expensive things are expensive, not rare

Blast your headphones. Blare the bass. Feel the vibrations reverberate through your skull. There’s no limit with Beats by Dre. You’ll pull them off before you reach their volume limit. Plus, they come with a classy little “b” on the side. You can walk, sit, run, fly, drive, and stand while advertising your brand awareness. Flaunt your auditory know-how right on your head. Just don’t look at the price tag for these headphones. They’ll cost you about $200-300 for a pair, but only cost $14 to manufacture.

Feel that torque pulverizing your spinal cord like a belly flop gone amuck? Yeah, that’s the benefit of an expensive car. See the smoking tires as you peel away from that red light? Yeah, you’re burning precious fossil fuels and aiding the world on its campaign to melt the poles. How fast is your 0-60? Yeah, you’ll be the fastest around in the Ferrari LaFerrari. You get all this for the low price of $1.3 million. Get yours today — they’re rare!

Diamonds are a girl’s best friend; at least, that’s what the movies/commercials say! Save room on that ring finger for the biggest rock affordable. Whether questionably procured or straight-up from conflict zones, diamonds can be yours. Despite being hugely manipulated and controlled by oligopolies, you can find these at your local stone store. Supply is limited (by design)!

What makes something rare?

The definition of “rare” includes words like uncommon, unusual, and unusually great. Unfortunately, the word has been perverted into a capitalistic, pro-consumer line. The word’s true value has been emptied, cashed in, and abused by corporate giants. They’ve stolen the word – appropriating it for their own profits.

From art that puts a clever 1 of 100 (1/100) number on the bottom to limited-edition, gold-plated Apple Watches to limited-production Ferraris, we live in a world that finds rarity in everything. What an oxymoron – rarity in everything!

Perceptions are essential. Items of greater perceived rarity are lusted after and purchased for tremendous margins. We crave that which another cannot have.

The diamond industry artificially manipulates supply to affect perceived rarity. They buy up everything can they find, squash competition, and throttle a market. It’s entirely artificial.

We must re-evaluate rarity

We are struggling under a curling wave. The light is blotted out. Oxygen is low. And when we look up, we can’t tell if it’s the seabed or sky. Our senses have been manipulated for too long.

This is the hilarity of rarity: we experience vertigo to this perversion of rarity. Capitalism teaches a fundamental lesson: more expensive goods are “rare.” But we need to stop letting companies set the bar, agenda, and price of rarity. We need to empower ourselves, and destroy these twisted messages.

1. Rarity won’t be found in a material good

Take the aforementioned examples. Companies know how to frame a photo, pose a model, and sell you whatever they want. Material goods are not rare; in fact, they’re everywhere. The “rare” Ferraris are only a carefully constructed marketing ploy to make us buy more.

Let’s get fed up with this trickery. These companies are manipulating us. How long will we let them purposely confuse our natural understanding of rarity for their own gains? I say we end today.

2. Rarity won’t cost you a thing

It’s rare to see someone pull over in their car and stop for a lost dog. It’s rare to see someone sit next to a homeless person and hear his or her story. It’s rare for people to reflect on their privilege and be humbled. It’s rare to feel truly content with a career.

Unlike something with a price tag, these rarities are worth your time. By choosing to pursue life’s rarities rather than Apple Inc’s, you’ll suddenly realize what you were missing. It’s time we say goodbye to petty price tags and open our hearts to the people around us. Let’s make some rare moments, together.

3. Rarity won’t be advertised

Walk out your door, and you’re sure to encounter the walls and screens painted with advertisements. It’s sanitized and approved. It’s primped and primed. It’s made to make us buy.

Nothing advertised is needed. Think about it briefly, and you’ll realize you never see marketing campaigns for air and tap water (aside from clean air and water). Companies know that there aren’t profits in these basic resources – true needs. They’ve moved on to the unnecessary.

In the movement to re-evaluate rarity, we must carry this message with us every day: rarity won’t be advertised. Rarity is out in the world, away from this screen. Go make it happen.

Frugal Articles of the Week

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Reading Nook Photo

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!

What you don’t know about Internet algorithms is hurting you. (And you probably don’t know very much!) by Caitlin Dewey
The Internet tracks your every move. We know this already. What we didn’t know was just how powerful these tracking algorithms can be. When you visit one website and then go to another, numerous companies track and predict what you’ll ultimately like to buy, view, and share. Sometimes those algorithms go wild!

Why Judging People for Buying Unhealthy Food Is Classist by Wiley Reading
I have done this before, and it’s a big wake up call to anyone who criticizes other people’s dietary choices. When you judge someone for “choosing” less healthy food options, this might be a classist statement. Unfortunately, with global income and wealth inequality, people aren’t taught and don’t necessarily have the resources to “choose” better options.

“How in GOD’s NAME do you spend so little on food??” by J. Money
Over the last few months, I’ve been on an epic challenge to reduce my food and drink budget down to $200 per month. It used to be hundreds of dollars more than that every month. In this article, a family man asks how so many people have reduced their budgets, and what’s a reasonable amount to expect. Great article!

Broke with Privilege by Stefanie O’Connell
Stefanie’s one of my favorite personal finance writers. In this recent article, she talks about income disparity, poverty, and even privilege. I don’t want to ruin the article by explaining it here. Go read it NOW! 🙂

Drained: A Fictional Tale of Reality

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Homelessness Cart Outside
Photo: Roberto Lajolo/Flickr

Personal finance vs. social justice

The personal finance world is inundated by articles and advice that focus on individual empowerment and responsibility for wealth generation. Essentially, the messages emphasize an individual’s ability to overcome debt through some tried and tested methods: hard work, side hustles, penny pinching, and highly restrictive lifestyles.

At times, I feel frustrated because it doesn’t properly account for countless variables that affect another’s ability to overcome financial hardship. Simply put, this advice places the burden and responsibility for financial success on the individual — and solely that person.

The reality is murkier, with various responsible parties and reasons for financial insolvency. Sudden job loss can leave families homeless. Medical bankruptcies can lead to awful credit scores and drained savings. Corruption in the banking system might prevent home owners from reducing their mortgage rates (despite receiving government funding to do just that). When persons blame or support the idea that personal finance solely rests on the individual, an injustice is committed.

Encouraging support, dialogue

Today, I wanted to write in a different voice. I guess you could say I’m feeling… creative.

Whether you call it a piece of “fiction” or “creative writing,” my hope is that you can better empathize with those from diverse backgrounds. More importantly, my dream is to respectfully tell a fictional tale that’s all too close to reality.

While reading this piece, I encourage you to think about how you can best provide support and advice to a family suffering in similar circumstances.

Let the story begin…

We’re broke.

I know we’re broke, but the kids can’t know. They’re too young to understand, and I’m ashamed. I’m not supposed to be here financially or geographically. We live out of suitcases with broken zippers. We duct tape the lid whenever we move again. I wish we had closets and dressers.

There are five us. My eldest is 12 and the youngest is 2, with two others aged 4 and 6. Together we make a handful.

They call me “Mah.” I call them my “Brats,” but I love them dearly. They’re the reason I’m still alive and kicking — fighting to get out of here and better my life. But every time I try, I’m sucked back down. Perhaps this is what the dinosaurs felt, as they got trapped in the La Brea Tar Pits.

My eldest is smart. I know she is. I can see it when she blasts through math assignments from school. I hear it when teachers remark about her rapid and accurate in-class participation. She could go to Harvard, if we had the money.

She whispers into my ear at night, when the lights are out and the other kids are fast asleep. She asks me if a woman will ever be president. She asks me why the stars seem so much brighter here, as opposed to the inner city.

My youngest is curious about the walls around him. He runs all around the shelter and tugs on the coattails of other residents. He draws pictures of a man, brings it to my face. I can’t avoid it. He calls the unknowable figure, “Daddy.”

His hair matches his father’s — unruly and brilliantly soft. Two-years-old and I can already see his father’s face on him. That button nose makes me grimace, because that man was horrible. I hide it from my youngest; at least, I try to.

He never met that man. No, he never met that asshole. He beat me to a near-coma, and then left me and my kids to fend for ourselves. Sometimes I have flashbacks of him coming for me. I fear that he’ll find me — even here in another state.

Could he find me, us?

As soon as I get a place of our own, I’m buying a gun. I’m sick of this shit. Sick of feeling defensive — like he could get us at any time, anywhere. Trust me, I’ve known quite a few assholes over the years.

I had my first child at 16. That was my first boyfriend. He was 22 and worked at the liquor store. Hell, he held a job and paid for our daughter’s clothing. My mother liked him. I liked him. But he couldn’t help making a few bucks here and there; you know, “on the streets.”

Eventually, he left us. Suddenly, I couldn’t afford not to work, nor could I afford our current place. I was alone and lonely. The kids were devastated.

In a rush, I buried the thoughts of that man and found work at a donut shop. If you knew what goes into those disgusting circles… Well, let’s just say you wouldn’t be chowing down on that next dozen. It paid the bills — sort of. It’s not like we didn’t get extra help. We were on food stamps and Medicaid. It never seemed like enough, though.

I was able to hold down that job for a while, but I struggled to sleep at night. The background hum was the din of people yelling, and the occasional crack of a pistol’s chamber. The streets were alive, while I “slept.” Every night was the same.

Men have been in and out of my life — out my kids’ lives. I must’ve been ignorant — stupid — because each time I thought this was the one. The one who would give me and my family the security we need. That never came.

Soon, work fired me. I was late to too many shifts — tired from taking care of my kids and sleepless nights.

I had a hundred dollars, bills to pay, and rent that was overdue. I used my credit card and filled up my tank all the way. Then, I drove as far as I could to safety — from my past, haunts, creditors, and landlord.

I hit the reset button.

But, I never expected to be here. I never expected to be away from home. I never wanted to put my kids through this mess. But now I’m here, without any money, over-drafted and maxed out.

I don’t know what to do.


Putting the person in personal finance

Sometimes, people that need the most financial help are coming from poverty, discrimination, and poor socio-economic backgrounds. Their way out is obscure and unclear. Providing a blanket list of “5 tips to reduce debt” can help, but too frequently, it downplays the history and subtly provides judgment for those who cannot meet the prescribed solutions.

Problems come from somewhere — they don’t magically appear. By acknowledging an individual’s entire story, we can begin to provide help and systemic support. Advice and feedback must be provided through a lens that helps to incorporate how an individual got there in the first place.

Personal finance requires social justice. It takes a village. It takes understanding. It takes resources, because everyone starts with a different amount. Debasing and downgrading a struggling family for being “financially irresponsible” is intended to shame — plain and simple. Psychologically, this method is flawed and does not tend to lead to positive outcomes. Instead, we must come to the aid — without judgment.

When we realize these values, people can better accomplish personal finance dreams and follow goals.

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