Journal SlashChick's Journal: The $26 challenge 36
So, on a more personal note, I'm broke. Well, not completely. I have a lot of assets in my company, in various stocks, and in my car. (Yes, that's me hugging my car! My car is LILZOOM!)
Anyway. (Heh. I bet a lot of you are going through my personal directory now, aren't you? Oh well... if I didn't want it to be public, I would have turned directory indexing off.
How did this happen? Well, everything Simpli, Inc. makes (which is fairly substantial) gets invested back into Simpli, Inc. in the form of equipment, hosting, etc. (For those of you rifling through my personal directory, there are lots of pictures of our servers in there.) Everything I make is going to pay off credit card bills. So... no cash.
So, out of necessity, I've embarked on what I like to call the $26 challenge. That is, I have $26, I won't get paid until Friday, and my car is out of gas. The challenge is figuring out how to make this work.
I suppose this is the point where I should explain some background. I was never poor. My parents were poor at various points in their lives, but after they had me, my father started his own business and became fairly wealthy. (Wealthy by Indiana standards, which is where they live, but not particularly wealthy by California standards, which is where I live.) I've always had enough money to buy the things I need. I'm not used to having to budget for things or to make the choice between food and bills. I've just never had to do it.
The $26 challenge I've sent myself on is a way of proving to myself that I can actually realize what's important in my life. Keep in mind that $26 may sound like a lot, but it's for one week (Friday-Friday; I spent nothing this weekend) and my car is out of gas, so that's $20 of it. Over the weekend, I gradually ate most of the food in my house, so this week is where it becomes interesting. Part of the challenge to me is to focus on work so I can get some billable hours out the door, and part of the challenge is to learn what I spend the most on vs. what I need to be spending the most on. To be honest, I have just about everything I need in terms of creature comforts at this point: TV; DVD player; TiVo; DirecTV; nice computer; nice flat-panel monitor; etc. What else do I need? In reality, there isn't much else. Yet more money continues to flow out of my bank account than in. I have to figure out how to reverse that situation. Thus, the $26 challenge was born.
How did you figure out what your monetary limits were? Are you still having problems figuring them out? Let me know. I may incorporate some of your ideas into the $26 challenge!
Some Tips (Score:2, Insightful)
0) Ramen, or Instant Lunch if you prefer ~ $.15/each. Surprisingly quite satisfying most of the time!
1) Instead of filling up, get $5-$10 of gas at a time (at Costco so it is cheap).
1a) Make a shopping list and organize the most efficient route. Saves gas and time.
2) Ebay unused things, even though it will likely not help within 5 days.
3) Odd jobs from craigslist or similar. Immediate payoff.
Later!
-IAmTheSuit
Re:Some Tips (Score:2)
Ignore that high-priced Maruchan stuff, though. Nissin Top Ramen is a dime a packet in my neighborhood. You can eat for a week on a dollar if you don't mind boring cuisine and possibly dying from an overdose of salt.
1) Instead of filling up, get $5-$10 of gas at a time (at Costco so it is cheap).
Back in college I actually rationalized this. If I put a dollar of gas in my car every day, I can increase my mileage by reducing the amount of gas my car has to carry around. Didn't really work, but it made me feel better. Plus, finding a dollar in spare change in the furniture in the dorm lounge meant I could drive for another day, which was always a big thrill.
Re:Some Tips (Score:1)
Of course, it all depends on where SlashChick lives in California. There are parts of CA that have feet-accessible spaces. Mostly the city parts.
Re:Some Tips (Score:2)
Let me just put it this way. Back when I was in college-- you know, the Dawn of Man-- a dollar's worth of gas could get you around town all day.
I'm not sure what kind of car Slashchick drives
She has a teeny-tiny sports car. Probably gets 32 miles to the gallon on the freeway, but closer to 28 driving in traffic.
in my car, that'd get me about 17 miles
"Sounds like you're livin' for your car. Simplify, man!"
Re:Some Tips (Score:1)
Sigh. I remember a couple years ago when I lived in SC that gas was 79 cents a gallon for a while. Then I moved to California.
Re:Some Tips (Score:2)
Boring cuisine? You have..
ramen with hot dog chunks,
ramen with boiled potato,
ramen with sauteed onions (mushrooms are still outside the scope of this budget),
ramen with fresh parsley,
ramen with government cheese,
ramen casserole - baked with above ingredients,
ramen vodka - convert starches into sugar, ferment, and distill.
I'm so glad those days are over...
Re:Some Tips (Score:2)
You can afford hot dogs? Lucky...
Re:Some Tips (Score:2)
That's disgusting.
My personal low (Score:2)
Then I ran out of toilet paper. Yup... That is when I really hit bottom. I stole a roll of toilet paper from a gas station. Felt pretty bad about it, but it was something I couldn't live without. I am ashamed of it to this day. So now I usually keep plently of TP on hand!
thoughts.... (Score:1)
as the other poster suggested - live on ramen noodles and other cheap food.
silly question - credit card? you sound like the type who would have one. this might be a good situation to put around $50 of food on it.
Easy (Score:2)
Cars are also damned expensive, especially if you have any collectors cars or cars with high maintenance like my 55 speedster. Parking in big cities is expensive, gas is getting more expensive, insurance as well. And some cars are better investments than others. For instance, one of the guys down the hall from me purchased a Range Rover a couple of years ago for something like $60k. He traded it in on another car a couple of days ago, but only got $20k for it. $40k gone. What a waste.
The other issue is realizing that if you start now, you can begin putting money aside and have quite a sum by retirement. I assume that you are relatively young (30's or below), so you have plenty of time. However, I am occasionally surprised to find out that folks you thought would be more prepared ended up spending everything they received and when hard times happen, they are screwed and left with very few options.
I guess the real trick is simply to spend a little time documenting the in's and out's of your cash flow and learning to save/invest some of your money and rarely spend money on something that is not going to end up making you more money. Take computers for instance. I tend to purchase Macs, because they are productive much longer than Wintel stuff and certainly hold their re-sale value much better allowing you to retain more total value in the system during the time you need it for tasks. Those SGI's I bought were a mistake even though there were some things they did very well.
If you purchase art to beautify your abode. Don't buy prints. Rather, purchase original art that will appreciate in value. Same can be said for furniture. Purchase fewer things, but buy quality stuff that retains it's value, helps support craftsmen/craftswomen, is easier on the environment. This way it tends to be more expensive, but you purchase it hopefully once rather than replacing that lousy couch four or five times in your life.
Take public transit or walk or bike. You get to know your city better, save money and the environment, and stay in shape.
Don't purchase *anything* on credit if you can't pay it off immediately. It's obvious but carrying a balance is giving money away. Ideally, a mortgage is the only thing you should be purchasing with a loan as that interest it is one of the few things the average citizen can deduct from their taxes.
Purchase a home rather than rent for the abovementioned reasons.
etc...etc...etc... Most things like this are common sense, but you do need to be aware of what you spend versus what you make. Spend a month, document every penny you spend and then take an hour or two and analyze the results. That will go a long way towards helping you budget.
Did you check under the cushions? (Score:2)
Car: How long's the commute? You're lucky you drive a Miata. You might be able to pull off a week on $10 of gas. Oh, wait. California. Um, don't drive one foot farther then you have to.
Food: Fall back on your college instincts. Ramen, cheap pizza thats tolerable when cold, Arby's when they have that 5 for $5 deal going.
Credit cards: Resist the easy urge to put a few more bucks on the plastic. I'm climbing out of the Christmas Credit Hole right now.
This is what I do (Score:2)
Pics in your dir. (Score:2)
$26 for 1wk isnt too bad, Try leeching a few meals off friends (I know, you'll feel guilty, but they're your friends, they dont want you to go hungry). And I fully agree with what everyone else is saying about ramen, For a while you could get it at $.07/ea , definitly worth it.
Re:Pics in your dir. (Score:2)
Re:Pics in your dir. (Score:1)
dunos' top tips. (Score:1)
If petrol is expensive (you americans have it about 4 times cheeper than us brits btw) then decide if you really need to drive. If it is less than two miles then walk or cycle. If it is for work then try to work from home as much as possible. The aim here is not to leave your house unless you have to as it is usually when you leave your house that you spend the most without realising it.
Create a spreadsheet that shows your gross income, net income, and expenditure. Group items by how regular they are. Try to setup regular bills so that they need to be paid when you get money. Cut back on anything that is costing you alot of money. For example this month I have decided I can no longer afford one of my hosting accounts so when that comes up for renewal it will be cancelled.
Food shopping gets intresting. Try to do a big shop once a month, after you get paid. Decide what you need to fill your freezer with and fill it to the brim. Plan meals for the next month - you don't have to stick to the plan but it helps you to budget. When shopping try to get two for one deals, multi buy, and stuff like that. Then use weekly shops for bread, milk, butter, and anything that is likely to go off. Look over previous shopping receipts and see what you buy - cut down on the luxury items first.
Credit cards. Start by cutting them up or sending them back to your card company. These items are the spawn of satan. If you can't pay them off in full each month then think long and hard about what you are buying. Consider a consolidatory loan from your bank if you have alot on credit card - the intrest rate should be less. Alternatively look at credit cards which offer 0% intrest for a number of months on balance transfers and transfer everying on to it - this will give you some space while you get back on your feet. HOWEVER do not forget to pay it off and make paying off your loans your top priority.
Look at your bank statements and credit card statements and hilight the luxury items. Decide if you needed what you bought and what you can cut back on.
Beens on toast is very cheep and gives you wind - but filling.
Frozen pizza is cheeper than dominos. Water is cheeper than coke, pepsi, and coffee. Tap water is cheeper than bottled water. If you smoke, stop.
Making a packed lunch is cheeper than buying lunch from a shop. I was spending over £60 per month on lunch - now i spend about £20 per month on lunch by making my own.
Make use of online banking by checking your account once a day. This helps you to become aware of your expenditure.
The car you drive looks big and expensive. Consider smaller for:
-Cheeper insurance
-Better mpg
Few cars are investments, they tend to loose most of their value the day you drive them away from the dealer. Those cars that are investments are old classics that cost you lots to maintain anyway.
Electricity is expensive. Turn off your computers (*twitch*) if you are not using them. Turn off lights, tv, etc. Everything uses power now so the more you minimise it the less your electricity bill is going to be.
Most of the above I have done or currently do, I know it isn't easy living on a budget. On that note I am going to go and make my packed lunch for today.
Regards,
Dan.
Heh, same boat here... (Score:2)
Wasn't too tough. Budget. Every Sunday, balance all accounts to the budget. Adjust Budget monthly.
The little things? Never go out to eat. Pack a lunch (PB&J everytime if you can stand it). Buy generic brands as much as possible in the grocery store. Frozen pizza (Jack's is -great- and cheap) is tons better, cheaper, and faster than delivery. Learn to cook some stuff from scratch (go buy Alton Brown [altonbrown.com]'s new book, or watch foodtv for the 'easy' cooking shows like "Good Eats").
Basically, most of my money was spent on going out for lunch and dinner meals, and my computers. Seeing that my son steals most of my time, so the computer isn't very important in my life anymore, that just left food. If you are a movie junkie, rent movies over the weekend, instead of going out to the theatre (just return the videos on time!).
If I think of anything else, I'll share.
Re:Heh, same boat here... (Score:2)
Re:Heh, same boat here... (Score:2)
You just need to find recipes you can setup the day before and are quick to cook when you get home.
Re:Heh, same boat here... (Score:2)
The main problem is thawing out stuff. We always forget to put the meat out before hand. I saw this thing on an infomercial called the "Flavor Wave" and it looks really cool.. supposedly you can cook a ribeye steak from frozen to medium in about 20 minutes. It uses infra-red and convection heat.
Re:Heh, same boat here... (Score:2)
My latest cut-out was book purchases. Man, if you got prizes for O'Reilly collections, I'd be up there. I would buy an ORA book at least once a month, if not every three weeks. Well, I happen to work less than a block away from the library (duh). Their selection is not 100% up to date, but they have most of the staples. The cool thing is that one can renew on line, so there's no truding stacks of books back to the library every two weeks.
I agree with everyone else that budgeting is the way to go. We are currently reviewing monthly, but I think I'm going to suggest bi weekly. :)
Definitely buy groceries and don't go out. Freeze everything. Plan meals in advance (by week). When you cook one meal, pull out the frozen stuff for the next (you are putting it in the fridge, right?) night's meal. Cook big meals, portion out into tupperware, and freeze. The next day, take your 'wared meals to work for breakfase, lunch, etc.
$26 (Score:1)
Re:$26 (Score:1)
Re:$26 (Score:1)
I always cringe when I hear this.
Never buy things with a check card. If that number gets acquired and used fradulently, you're cleaned out. Same thing could happen with a credit card? Nah. When you push back the credit charge, that's Visa eating the damage. You push back a check card charge, that's you eating the damage until you're comped. One friend of mine was out $12,000 for 6 months. She eventually got it all back, but compare convenience levels to "Visa was out $12,000 for 6 months."
Use credit cards responsibly. It's better for you, and it's like weight-training for self-discipline. =)
Re:$26 (Score:2)
I'm curious. Do you have any references to back this up? The bank should reverse charges just as quickly as a normal Visa (typically within a month after you request it).
Re:$26 (Score:2)
Call your bank, find out for sure. But even if you think it will be a month, that's a month you're cleaned out, a month without savings. Isn't that long enough to never use a check card? How long would it have to be?
Hrrm... (Score:1)
First things first, ditch the car and pick up a used Civic or something. Yeah, okay, seriously, I have no idea. If you've read my journals, you know I'm broke as hell. If you are getting money back on your taxes routinely, finagle them so that each check is a little bigger. Don't use debit cards and the like, use cash. When the 20, 5, and 1 dollar bills are staring at you from the wallet, you'll be less likely to use them.
I prefer store brand mac and cheese to ramen. Yes, it's more expensive, but you've got a bit of calcium and fat in there.
Re:Hrrm... (Score:1)
It would be like that guy in the ape suit driving the spider in the Pink Panther movie.
Re:Hrrm... (Score:1)
Wife and I drove to Cleveland with the dog one time. That was a cozy trip. Then drove to Buffalo. Then made a mad dash from Buffalo back to Maryland. It really wasn't a tough drive.
It's funny, I'm a big guy, but I really prefer small cars. Well, except for Cadillacs, but they haven't made a real one in years. Here's looking forward to the new Eldorado's.
wow (Score:1)
Talk to Karyn :) (Score:1)
yeah she apparently managed to suck $20,000
from the internet going public but she does
have a section on saving money day to day.
Other than that.. like everyone else says..
budget budget budget. $26/week is going
to be tight, especially if you're out of
food (I don't know about you, but I can only
eat those Ramen noodles - as good as they are -
about half a dozen times before I want a
change)
For now and the future (Score:2)
Live off of ramen noodles and other super cheap basics. Speghatti, rice & beans, and PB&J sandwiches are also cheap eats. With these basics you could probably live for the whole week on $6 worth of food. Avoid things that are prepackaged individual servings (minus the ramen noodles of course) or precooked. Avoid meat if you normally eat it. If your vegetarian, don't bother with expensive meat replacements. Grains and legumes will provide you with all the protein you need.
Minimize your driving. Maximize your trips (and time) by planning on where your going and hit them all up in order of location.
Things to do for the future....
Come up with a budget plan. I found a decent budget template under StarOffice that I've been using for a while, and it also works great under OpenOffice (even for the Mac, woohoo). Start off by using actual cash flow, and then tweak different categories where you think you could save money. That way, you know exactly how much you can spend on frivolous things if you want them. Don't forget to include putting money into savings. Even if its only $5 a month while you pay off yoru credit cards, it puts you in the habit of doing it. Especially good if you have Direct Deposit where you can put that amount in savings without thinking.
Buy items you use regularly in bulk, especially when they are on sale. If it spoils easily, don't bother with it though. Your not saving any money if you have to throw out a 10lb block of cheese that went moldy. Plan meals around cheap staple items, and always have them stocked up when they go on sale. Shop the store brands for most items. They are usually just as good as the name brands, and I've even had a few items that were "better".
I've had a motto when it comes to shopping for a while. "Buy the second cheapest". i.e., buy frugal without being cheap. You can get good deals on many things, but it isn't a good deal in the long run if you need twice as much of it or it breaks. In things like furniture this makes a lot of sense. A cheap "put it together yourself" item will likely have to be replaced over and over, but a solid wood desk that costs more should last you the rest of your lifetime, and likely into your childrens. To that end, quality used furniture or antiques can somtimes save you a lot of money without sacrificing quality.
When buying computer and other electronic equipment, never buy THE top item to just be released if you can help it. Usually the product generation just before that will be priced to make room for the incoming item, so you can get an even better deal. remember too that sometimes replacing a whole system could possibly be cheaper in the long run.
Use CFL bulbs instead of incadescent. Check prices on CFL bulbs too.. even though they will always pay for themselves in savings over their lifespan, I've seen some stores like Target selling quality bulbs for much cheaper than some of big home discount stores. Turn your computer(s) off when not using them. Remember that LCD monitors use less electricity. Turn lights off when not needed. Assuming you live alone, turn the heat/AC if you going to be gone for a long trip. Don't mess with the controls on a regular basis though.
Recycle. Cut scrap paper into squares for taking notes on the phone. Grocery bags become trash bags. you get the idea.
Do a search for "frugal living". there are a bunch of great websites and mailing lists that give great advise.
grocery stores (Score:1)
Canned food is cheap. Like, beans, or tuna. Several cans of tuna and a loaf of bread can last you for several days and doesn't taste that bad. At least where I live, tuna is cheap enough that I often feed it to my cats.
Re:grocery stores (Score:2)
Interestingly enough, my sister-in-law says she and friends at work occasionally have "$10 a week" competitions. That is, on a given week participants attempt to spend no more than $10 all week. If you want to ask her for tips, here's her blog [blogspot.com].