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We’ve Outsourced Our Lives

By Frugaling 9 Comments

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Outsourced food preparation meals

Michael Pollan likes to talk about food. In fact, he’s written six books on the subject. Some of his highly reviewed books include Omnivore’s Dilemma, In Defense of Food, and Food Rules. Amazingly, Netflix caught on to Pollan’s popularity and turned his latest book — Cooked — into a series.

Cooked is about the transformation from raw to cooked foods. This simple difference is what Pollan thinks distinguishes man from the rest of the animal kingdom. He’s got a point: we love our cooked food. The flavors ignite. Further, when we cook food we chew less and do more than eat all day.

In the first episode of the Netflix series, Pollan explains how hunting, farming, and scavenging have all been outsourced. We’ve simplified the process of eating on every level. Corporate giants have vertically integrated food prep and delivery with surprising efficiency. From frozen meals to prepackaged sandwiches, everything has been prepared for us. For example, the turkey has been raised, fed, slaughtered, plucked, deboned, frozen, thawed, sliced, seasoned, and placed. We don’t see the life and death — we’ve outsourced everything.

The reasons for the decline in food production and cooking are multifaceted. It seems work and productivity have motivated us to pursue this path. Imagine the busy lawyer or medical doctor having a catered lunch because they are “too busy” to prepare and eat. We accept this in society — hell, we encourage it. We accept there’s a certain class of people who cannot “afford” to spend the time making food. And we accept that people should specialize until they merely focus on their vocational tasks.

As the episode unfolded, my appreciation of food outsourcing shifted more globally. I thought about what else gets outsourced. Our society has taken almost everything off of our plates so that we can focus more time on other activities. We continue to specialize well beyond food.

The decline of manufacturing in America can largely be seen as an effort to reduce costs, time, and environmental burden on the countries that now produce. We’ve outsourced the “negatives” and taken the cost savings. Comically, we criticize China for using so many coal-fired power plants and then click buy on our new computer, coffee maker, smartphone, etc. — all made in China.

We’ve outsourced reading longer books and research to journalists and even computer algorithms. Now, people read books for us and distill what we need to know — what’s most important. Consequently, this means we get a synthesized perspective of a book. It’s like playing the telephone game through articles, but most of the time we read that review to understand the book.

Even budgeting and financial management are thrown to others. We use Mint.com or other financial software to manage and update us about spending. There’s no need to balance a checkbook anymore — I’m not sure if I’d even know how. We trust financial advisers and/or digital facsimiles to manage everything for us. We’ve got better, more important things to focus on!

More and more, we watch sports and reality TV shows instead of playing outside and engaging in our own relationships. The drama of a royal, elite families and others’ lives encapsulates our attention, as those nearest us seem to wane. Many watch the throw, shot, or pass, but I’m not sure how many are making that throw, shot, or pass themselves anymore.

Even in academic circles, professors and graduate students are using other people to do their statistical analysis. Academics can even outsource their statistical analysis to India for further review and completion. Afterwards, with a nice, clean result in hand, researchers can write up the interpretations — or pay another person to do that part.

And as I type these words, they’re being stored in a cloud server for safekeeping, backup, and preparation for publication on my website. Both the cloud and website servers are miles and miles away from me. I’ll never see the computers, nor would I need to. I’ve outsourced these storage needs — someone else is handling them for me.

Again, I settle on this simple conclusion: we’ve embraced the streamlining of our lives for the purpose of efficiency. But what is this efficiency for? Is it so that we can focus on work more? Is it so that we can make more money? Is it so we can relax more?

Absent of answers, I wonder where we’ll be in a few decades. When asked questions about our personality and identities and hobbies, will we reply that we enjoy watching and reading others’ accounts of life? Will we effectively outsource our identities to the TV shows, movies, and reviews of reviews?

Filed Under: Social Justice Tagged With: Books, China, Cloud, Food, iCloud, Life, Meals, Michael Pollan, Netflix, outsource, outsourced, preparation, Reading, storage, Work

Frugal Articles of the Week

By Frugaling 5 Comments

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Reading Nook Photo

I’m back with another terrific group of articles! Hope you enjoy and share widely.

How We Pay Ourselves First by Our Next Life
I’m a big fan of budgets, but if you struggle to make or stick with them, there’s another way to stay frugal. The authors at Our Next Life propose “paying yourself” first. That means taking the money out of the bank account, and out of your hands before you have a chance to spend it. It’s a great psychological trick and well worth a read.

5 Awesome Dates That Won’t Break the Bank by Elliott Bailey
Frugal dating has sometimes been a struggle. I’m always open to new ways to save. Elliott Bailey may have come up with five of the most unique date ideas I’ve seen. And the best part? They’re all frugal friendly!

How Much Is Your Time Worth? by Stefanie O’Connell
Time equals money; at least, that’s the old adage. I’ve frequently thought about that and realized that my “worth” varies according to my work demands. If I have more free time, I’m less valuable. If you’re a freelancer, this is a great question to keep in mind.

Emotions and Food: How to Deal by Laurie
Vulnerability surrounding food decisions is exceptionally admirable. Laurie acknowledges a past of eating mistakes. Now, she’s turned a new leaf: eating well and staying frugal. Props to her and her family!

Filed Under: Save Money Tagged With: articles, Budget, Budgets, dates, dating, Food, Frugal, time, week

Why I Kept A Frugal Food Budget

By Frugaling 16 Comments

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Frugal Food Budget at Le Pain Quotidien Photo
My grandfather and I sharing a not-so-frugal, but delicious, meal after 6 months of meticulous calculating.

In January, I decided to engage in the most cliche thing ever: I created a New Year’s resolution. December had been jam-packed with semester finals, travel, and holidays. Throughout that busy time, I wanted to track my food expenditures. It was an expensive month, as food expenses climbed well over $400.

Admittedly, it wasn’t the first $400-$500 month for food. I was a notorious spender in this category. It was a weak point. With the rationale that “everyone needs to eat and spend money to do so,” I let myself off the hook. I wondered, “If I spend $7+ on a Subway sandwich, how much could I really save by making my own lunch?” I didn’t think I could save that much.

Something clicked over the new year: I suddenly knew I could do better. Moreover, that savings could be redirected towards investments and savings. With December’s balance calculated, I set an extreme goal for January: $200. That number would include food and drinks — anywhere, everywhere, and for any reason (e.g., even birthday parties and celebrations).

I reported my results and efforts for six months. Each month was less than December, and I got exceptionally close to $200 in February. I cut back on meats, dairy products, and consumed more rice than ever. After that restrictive month, I realized that $200 might be more ambitious than I originally thought. It was challenging to publicly share that “failure” to reach a stated goal. I’m not one to leave a goal unaccomplished. But in trying so hard to reach this number, I briefly lost the original purpose.

A more frugal food budget was never supposed to be painful. I never intended to eat only basic staples mixed with a few veggies for multiple meals a day. Regrettably, that’s what happened. While I was getting closer to the $200 number, I was definitely feeling the hurt of this lifestyle change.

Cutting back on my food spending was to live simpler, save more, and reflect on the change. Both at the start and now, as I write today, I can realize these goals. But I needed to get some perspective before I could actually analyze what I learned.

Before I committed to reducing my budget, I had little appreciation for how much each swipe cost my budget. A $7 sandwich, $8 burrito, and $15 dinner with tip all seemed strangely equal. It was sustenance. Why care about one purchase?

Meticulously tracking my spending and putting the receipts into spreadsheets changed this thinking. I could (with terror) see the cost. While individual purchases had been necessary, the total spent was alarming. Creating a formal food budget and tracking balances allowed me to feel, see, and read that disconnect. It was a game changer.

See, when I started this journey, I had no appreciation for the “feel” of a food budget. How many sandwiches can I get and still maintain my budget? How much fruit can I buy? Can I afford the sparkling juice? After I had calculated these totals, I realized what, for instance, a $250 food budget actually looked like.

Today, I can self-monitor and reasonably predict my monthly total. I know what I can and can’t buy — what will regularly put me over the edge. It took three stages to get here:

1. Track a balance for a month
2. Create and live with a new budget for 6 months
3. Pause and reflect on the new balance

Those three stages can be applied to any budget desired, but were 100% necessary for food. It took time to actually get the feel. I thought it would be easier, but old habits die hard. I’d recommend that if you want to revolutionize a budget that you carefully track yours for about 6 months, as well.

For your entertainment, I’ve conducted an interview with myself to reflect on the process:

Interviewer: Hi Sam, thanks for joining me today to talk about your frugal food budget!

Sam: Happy to be here.

Interviewer: So, did you ever reach $200?

Sam: Sadly, no. I got really close in February. Otherwise, I was able to keep it under $300 quite regularly.

Interviewer: What was the hardest thing about cutting back?

Sam: Eating out feels convenient. Heck, oftentimes it is convenient. And I love trying new restaurants! There is a powerful trade off though, and that comes in sacrificed dollars, and ultimately, more time spent working to afford a larger food budget. That’s the vicious cycle I want to avoid. I’d rather not have the convenience of eating out with additional work. It’s important to build relaxation into my schedule, and if I eat out too much I actually hamper that effort.

Interviewer: Interesting!

Sam: Very.

Interviewer: Could you do better next month?

Sam: You know, that’s a good question. Just because I’ve decided to end the regular reporting of my food budget doesn’t mean I’ve ended my own efforts to save. Frankly, I’m interested in living well, under $300 per month, and being able to have the freedom to go on the occasional date and get a drink with friends, while still saving about $200 more per month than I used to.

Interviewer: Yeah, but if you’re spending nearly $300 on food some months, are you really frugal?

Sam: Ugh, I hate that question. I’m a work-in-progress. I’m hardly perfect. Frugality is a philosophical journey, and in my mind, has no destination. There is no final frugal line or defining organization that sets standards. You are your own standard. I believe I’m far more frugal now, but could always do more to save. Frugality comes in the lack of contentedness. I don’t want to accept that I’m financially set; rather, I’m eternally under construction.

Interviewer: Phew! Thanks for spending the time today, Sam.

Sam: My pleasure.

Filed Under: Save Money Tagged With: Budget, Food, food budget, Frugal, frugality, Meals, spending

Frugal Articles of the Week

By Frugaling 5 Comments

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Reading Nook Photo

Last week I took a little break from the frugal round-up. Sorry Frugaling fans, but I’m back and have a terrific list of favorite reads over the last couple weeks. Hope you enjoy and share widely!

Slow Cooker Chicken Ropa Vieja by Budget Bytes
This week I’m hoping to cook this special recipe up! Budget Bytes is one of my favorite frugal blogs because the author breaks down total and serving cost for all the meals. This chicken dish costs about $1.32 per serving. Heck yes, I’ll try it!

Living In An Expensive City Can Make You Richer, Happier, And More Diplomatic by Financial Samurai
Here’s a unique twist on the choice between big-city and small-town living. Sam reviews some compelling reasons for considering more expensive cities. One of the most interesting centers on the push and need for frugality in a bigger city with less space. Cities seem to be bastions for minimalism and simple living, and when done right, can still be affordable places to live.

Why Do We Like Brands As Much As We Like People? by Eric Jaffe
Do we love Apple, Coca-Cola, Microsoft, Pepsi, Google, etc? Can we love brands? If so, what does that mean for our spending habits? This article analyzes the very real effect that your love/like of brands has.

Millionaires Who Are Frugal When They Don’t Have to Be by Paul Sullivan
Frugality crosses income and wealth classes. It doesn’t mean that wealthy people can’t be frugal. This is a philosophy and way of life. Paul Sullivan from The New York Times perfectly highlights the trend of millionaires living well within their means.

Escape to Bro-topia by Steven Kurutz
Despite an abysmal, corny title, this New York Times article features one man’s simple life… in the trees. He built an incredible house in the forests of Oregon. Take a look at these pictures, too!

Filed Under: Save Money Tagged With: articles, brands, Food, Frugal, millionaires, Minimalism, Recipe, rich, Simple Living, Wealth, week

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