Yankee 2.0

After lots of hemming and hawing, thinking and weighing, I decided to buy pet insurance for my new cat Jerome. He's young and healthy now, and he's an indoor cat, but most of my pets have had pricey health problems at some point in their lives, so I thought it was probably best for me to get it.

I wrote a post here a few months ago wondering if I should get it or not. I talked to my vet. I talked to other people. I read lots of opinions on the Internet. The case against getting the insurance that made the most sense to me was that if one just put the same amount of money in the bank each month, one would have an emergency fund for the pet, and if the pet never got sick, one could just use that money for other things. But the argument that refutes that is two-fold -- (1) what if the pet gets sick right away, and (2) $200 a year won't cover much.

So I got the insurance and now little Jerome The Cat is covered against accident and illness. The night after I signed up for it, I was awakened by a strange squeaking sound -- it was Jerome boxing with a bat that had flown into the house and he had someone caught out of mid-air. Bat and cat were un-injured and the bat eventually left the house, but I felt that really vindicated my decision to get the insurance. I do feel much more peace of mind. 

For several months now, I've been using as many home-made cleaning products (for my person and my house) as I could. I've been making my own bath soap, shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, face soap, laundry soap, and house cleaning stuff. Just as I'm about to finish a container of some existing product, I research how I can make a frugal and eco-friendly replacement.

I'm thrilled with almost everything I've made, and have shared my recipes here and with friends in the physical world. But on one front, I've had to concede to manufactured products. It's dishwashing in the machine.

I have about a three year's supply of hand dishwashing liquid (because I water it down in one of those foaming pumps, so it lasts for ever!). But a while ago, I finished off my powdered dish detergent and chemically store bought rinse/drying agent. I switched over to a recipe of borax + washing soda for the powder and straight white vinegar for the rinse/drying agent. Dishes weren't getting very clean and the glasses were covered in spots. I tried tweaking the recipe; I thought my machine was on the fritz; I thought it was the summer humidity -- nope, nope, and nope. 

As an amateur scientist, I tried several experiments -- home-made powder plus store-bought Jet Dry stuff. Better, but not great. Store-bought powder with vinegar. Ditto. Finally, I had to admit that the combination of the store-bought powder (about $3.00 for nearly 6 months supply of Target brand eco-friendly stuff) plus the Jet Dry stuff (about $6.00 for about a three month supply of what I suspect is not very eco friendly at all) was what worked to get the dishes clean and spot-free.

I'm happily (and cleanly) staying with everything else, but this is one area where commercial science has prevailed over the domestic version. 

I came across an advertisement recently from Bank of America: open a checking account with them with a minimum depoist of $500, make at least one debit transaction within 30 days of opening the account, and they'll deposit $75.00 into the account, or mail you a check if the account is closed.  This is a much better interest rate than I'm getting in my passbook savings or online savings accounts, so I'm going to sign up for it.

I'm so pleased to be in a position to be able to do this -- to have $500 that I can actually live without for a month, and to be able to compare savings rates from separate savings accounts. This is not a position in which I have found myself for quite some time. I lived hand to mouth, paycheck to paycheck (with credit card support between paychecks) for years and years. But in the past 18 months or so, I've really turned my financial life around (with help from tips on Dollar Stretcher and the Dave Ramsey method). But my budgeting and persistance have paid off. Sticking with a weekly spending budget and putting whatever was left over (be it $1.00 or $20.00) into savings has made me feel so much more secure. Gary is doing a poll on what financial independence means, and while I'm nowhere near financially independent (for me, it means paying off my mortgage and student loans and having $20,000 in the bank -- something that is in the future, but not the near future), I am starting to taste it, and I know how much more peace I will fell when it eventually happens.

And that $75 will go straight back into savings to help me reach my own goals of financial independence.

I just read an AP article in my local newspaper about "Transumers" -- people who are transient consumers. They don't purchase and consume things, they rent or lease consumer items that are then passed on to the next transumer. Sounds sort of green and sustainable, right? It was billed as a new econonmy type thing. Well, the person featured in the photo and the lead off to the article is budgeting $800 per month to rent designer pocketbooks. 

Here's the article: http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2009/06/29/ap6598975.html 

Yep, that's right, $800 per month, every month, for pocketbooks, presumably so she isn't seen with the same pocketbook. What???? I admit, I love pocketbooks, but I doubt that in my forty years of loving pocketbooks I've spent a total of $800.00 Another example given is "Wear Today, Gone Tomorrow" where you can rent a designer dress for $49.00 for a week (plus a $10.00 cleaning fee). So that's $60.00 for a dress that you can only wear once, plus someone else has already worn it!

Is it just me, or does this seem like the ultimate antithesis of thrift?  How is it that this is a positive reaction to the "economic downturn" (great depression two)? "Less treasure, more pleasure" was the subtitle to this article. Sheesh!

 I get almost all of my clothes second-hand (just like those designer handbags and dresses are, if someone else has worn them). I wonder what someone paying $800 per month for handbags thinks about second-hand clothes? Does she really she's using used goods? 

The article also talks about renting tools and bicycles and using Netflix for movies -- but these sensible programs were overshadowed for me by the profligate rentals.

I realize the irony of writing a blog post about using less technology. But with that acknowledgement out of the way.... I think I've reached a tipping point with electronics. Everywhere I turn, people of all sorts are in physical contact with some sort of electronic gadget. Senior citizens in the grocery store chatting a cellphone, young kids texting as they walk down the street or ride a bike, commuters checking in with their GPS, parents watching their children's graduation through the lens of a video camera.... heck, the other day I saw a homeless guy talking on a cellphone while he was wheeling a shopping cart down the street!

 So.... with a bit of a contrarian spirit mixed in with a dash of frugality and a philosophical yearning for "authenticity" (whatever that may be), I'm partially de-teching. For almost a year, I've had a blackberry-esque device: cellphone, camera, email, web surfer, texter, GPS tool. I'm getting rid of it. I told myself I had it for my business (which I'm "right-sizing" out of an office and into my basement), but I really got it because I thought it was cool. I'm going to replace it with a pay-as-you go cellphone to have on hand for emergencies in the car (not the "wow, I really want a pizza, let me order it on the way home" kind of emergency, but the "I have a flat tire" kind of emergency). Since I can, I'm going to port my business telephone number to the cellphone, so I'll have continuity of contact number.

I thought a lot about replacing the GPS function with a device. Although I lived 39.8 years without a GPS and got along just fine, it was kind of fun and it made getting places easier -- no thinking involved. But then I remembered that I like to discover new places. I like to get lost! I've found some neat places by losing my way in the car. So icksnay on the GPS. I am quite an accomplished map reader, anyway.  One less screen in my life.

I noticed that with that handheld electronic thing, I would find myself surfing the web, checking my email, reading the news -- anxiously, hurridly, rushingly -- whenever I had a free moment. I thought I was going to miss something: an important email, a news update, a text from a friend....and on Friday, I reached a tipping point. It was -- it is -- too much. So I turned it off this past weekend. When I had a free moment, I played with my cat and dog. I sat outside and looked at the world around me. I cleaned my house. I did laundry. I read a magazine. I wrote (longhand) in my journal. And I feel great this morning. 

So, I'm going to be keeping the computer and the Internet. I need it for work, and to keep in touch with some friends (although I do have one friend with whom I correspond by written letters, which is great). But everytime that I have a free minute and I think "oh, I'll just check my email" or "oh, I'll kill a few minutes reading Consumerist.com or the Dollar Stretcher or the New York Times" -- which turns into half an hour or more, I'm going to try to check in and see if that's what I really want to do, or if I can do something less virtual with my time. Although every now and then a little web surfing is a good fun escape like watching television. But having it in my pocket made it more of a compulsion.

This de-teching over the weekend gave me a bit of peace and serenity, and I haven't (yet) had any tech withdrawl (although here I am writing something on my computer to post on this blog, so maybe I'm in denial). But each time I saw someone attached to an electronic device over the past few days, I thought how glad I was not to be touching something plastic and electronic and ignoring the world around me. I'm going to try to spend more of my time touching people, pets, paper, and nature, rather than beeping, whirring, energy depleting devices.

And with that.... I'm signing off for now.

Indian food is my very favorite cuisine. I have been visiting the Indian restaurants in my city since I was about 14 years old. I've been a vegetarian for quite a while, so Indian food is also a great protein source for me, as so much of it is vegetarian. This winter, after being on a waiting wist for a year, I took an Indian cooking workshop. It was GREAT! I learned how to make many of my favorite dishes as well as some new ones. I left with a cute round box of Indian spices as well as a big recipe pamphlet. I've been cooking up a storm since then.

I recently decided to have a big Indian dinner party for some friends and needed to stock up on supplies, so I searched online for "indian grocery store" and found one about 30 minutes away. My eyes were opened! The prices were so low -- bulk rice, lentils, dried beans, nuts (pistachios, cashews, almonds) -- all much less than at grocery stores. And then there were the frozen naans (Indian bread) for $3.00 for four (these cost $3.99 for one at the restaurants), and frozen paneer (Indian cottage cheese at $4.99 for a pound; I know how to make it myself, but it doesn't come out as well).

But the best find were the boxes of "masala" (which, as I learned at the cooking class, just means "sauce"); there are specific masala mixes for specific dishes. These cost $1.49 each, and each box makes about five large batches (each batch has four - six servings). So to make paneer masala, for example (my favorite dish), I would need a fifth of a $1.49 box of masala, a half of a .29 cent can of tomato sauce, an onion (50 cents?) and about half a pound of paneer ($2.50). For a total of $3.50 (plus rice, let's say 50 cents worth -- and call it a grand total of $4.00), I can make around four servings of one of my favorite foods on earth, rather than paying $9.99 (plus tip) at the restaurant for one serving. 

The store also had lots of specialty pickles, and chutneys, and mango syrup (for mango lassis -- yummm), not to mention spices used in other cuisines -- cumin, cinnamon, cloves (just to mention the "C" family). And it was so inexpensive!

So frugal friends, I bet the same holds true for other ethnic cuisines. If you're a fan of Mexican, Afghani, Chinese or Vietnamese food, check and see if you can find a grocer that specializes in that food in your area. The savings can be dramatic, and you'll get to meet some people from the country whose food you love!

Three years ago, I started my own business. I decided to be a corporate language and speech trainer; I got certification in my area, did some market research, rented an office and hung out my shingle. I knew that I wouldn't be able to earn an entire living from this work immediately, so I hung on to my other work, teaching language as an adjunct at my local community college.

I love both jobs, and I love the lifestyle that being my own boss affords me. The idea of sitting at a desk 40 hours a week kills me. I knew that opening my own business was risky, and that even pre-great depression 2.0 only about half of all small businesses last even two years. So I've already beaten the odds, but things are sort of dire, and I am forced to consider working for someone else. One of my major corporate clients decided to do all training in-house (thus getting rid of consultants, like me, upon whom they had relied for much training), and others are cutting back dramatically, due to the recession. I currently only have one client, and my contract with them ends on July 1st.

I just finished reading an article in the NYTimes magazine section about people like me --  self-employed and flailing in the recession/depression/downturn. It made me feel less alone, but it also convinced me to look more earnestly for a "real job" working for someone else. I've been toying with the idea all spring, and have submitted a few applications. I even had an interview for one position this week. I consider myself a really good, hard worker, and my self-concept includes the idea that I can "always just find a job" if self-employment doesn't work out. Well, I think that time has come. I'm hoping to be offered the job I interviewed for, and hoping I can finagle a flexible schedule that allows me to still teach at the community college. Whatever happens, I plan to re-locate my business to a spare room in my house ("right-sizing it"), and laying low for a few years. The economy has to turn around at some point, right? Maybe after a few years of putting in my time working for the man (and earning enough money to live, having health insurance, and making some much-needed home repairs), I'll be able to go back into business for myself.

My cat animal companion, Jerome, loves to play with things on sticks or string. But not anything on a stick or a string. I've tried making tin foil balls and wrapping a piece of string around it -- no dice. His ferocious hunter instinct is only roused by toys with feathery bits or little strips of fabric on a stick.Ugh.

I'm somewhat ashamed to admit this on the Dollar Stretcher blog, but I have given in and paid $3.49 (plus tax) for a stick with feathers on it at the pet store. Jerome loved it -- he demonstrated his love by tearing it to shreds in a week. Double ugh. Not wanting to have to buy him one of these every week, I've been scouring dollar stores for toys (with success, but sometimes he just turns up his nose as if to say, "why on earth would I play with that?"). But yesterday I picked up a feathery artificial stem (fake flower) at a craft store for a flower arrangement for my home. It was on clearance for 30 cents. 

Jerome spotted it immediately; his razor sharp predator instincts protecting the household from this feathered menace. Ah ha! For 10 -- 30 cents, I can get prey that will stimulate his little pea brain and won't make me feel like a chump for forking over almost four bucks for the same thing. Priceless.

 There have been so many stories in the news, on blogs -- everyhwere -- about what people are doing differently in the midst of this "economic downturn," and lots of speculation about what habits will last and what will disappear once the economy recovers.

I started living within my means over a year ago, and made many of the changes talked about in the news. I cancelled my cable, got rid of the Internet at home, went to cheap-o telephone service, cancelled my beloved artisan bottled water delivery, put all my electronics on power strips, and eventually paid off my credit cards (such a good feeling with all the news about increased fees for good customers). These are (I hope, I hope, I hope) life habits that I will always maintain.

But I'm still looking for ways to stretch my dollars. I'm going to greatly expand my vegetable garden this summer (we had frost last night, so I won't be planting until after Memorial Day, just like all the old Yankees advise) and do itas much by swapping as possible. I have set myself a $20 limit for plants this season. I'm sewing more to mend things that I might have turned into rags before (mostly pillowcases and socks).The home-made cleaning and health and beauty products are a huge savings, and I continue to research recipes for things I can make myself. I always look for free first, second hand next, and buying new as a last resort.

And I'm using coupons more. There aren't usually that many coupons I can use, but there are usually a few (some weeks go by with nothing in the Sunday paper for me), and when there's a coupon for batteries or toilet paper or some other common staple, I make sure to cut it out and file it in my little coupon file. The grocery stores around here have started putting triple coupon or $1.00 double coupon promotions on, so I make use of those and am building up a stock of those products. Plus, eggs and frozen pizzas sometimes appear in coupons. And I'm looking on manufacturers web sites for coupons for items I use. And I NEVER use a coupon for something I wouldn't have bought anyway unless it is free.

Lastly, I've started entering sweepstakes. I'm sure more and more people are joining me, so the odds are poor, but somebody's got to win, right? I always check my receipts for sweepstakes opportunities (CVS, Home Depot), and enter online. Parade magazine and Cooking Pleasures magazine also have ongoing sweepstakes, where you can log in every day and enter. It takes less than five minutes a day, and I could really put either a paring knife or $50,000 to good use.

I wonder what other frugalistas are doing differently in the "downturn"?

 Spring has sprung here in New England and the farmer's markets, farm stands, and greenhouses are displaying their wares. A friend just spent $200 in one day on plants -- all annuals! Yikes! Here are some tips to keep your garden costs low.

Plant swaps -- look in the newspaper or at the library or call your local gardener's association. This is a way to thin out unwanted or multiplied plants from your own garden and bring in some new ones. I have some lovely dead nettle that spreads like wildfire (or like dead nettle), ivy, hostas that multiply like crazy, and beautiful blue colombine. I thin out my patches of this and trade for veggie plants or whatever catches my fancy!

 Charity plant sales -- if you can't get a plant for free, you can still get it for less than commercial nurseries want to charge.Look in the papers for fundraising plant sales -- especially from local gardening or botanical societies. You can usually buy the plant right from the grower and ask questions about care, etc. These plants always cost much less, are very healthy, and you're supporting a good cause.

All-perennials, all the time -- I used to find it so hard to remember that "annual" meant a plant only lived for one year. Maybe it's a slick marketing trick. :) Just get perennials for your garden. They are usually a one-time investment (although I do sometimes have perennials that fail to return over the winter), and they usually multiply, allowing you to cull your crop and bring the excess to plant swaps (see above). Non-food annuals seem like such a waste of time and effort to me. I guess i'm a lazy gardener, but I like to see my plants coming up each year without doing a whole lot of work, and without spending anything.

Go native -- Plants that are native to your location will do better than exotic non-native plants. You are less likely to have to replace native perennials than ones that have come from elsewhere. You can also likely find these on the side of the road, or in the woods (ferns, lilly of the valley, violets, etc.), where you can pick them if you know it won't harm the eco-system.

Plant food -- the only annuals I get are  food-bearing plants: tomatoes, lettuce, squash, herbs, etc. Get these at swaps if you can (they're probably heirlooms, organic, etc.). If you're really frugal, or have a greenhouse (I live downtown and do all my gardening in containers), you can keep the seeds and grow your own heirlooms, too. The cost of one tomato plant at a charity sale is usually one or two dollars. So for an investment of less than $20.00, a person in New England can have a bountiful crop of veggies. 

Craigslist -- Check the "Free" section on CL for plants. People often re-landscape and will give away plants to anyone who will come and dig them up. I've gotten (and swapped) great stuff here.

Free dirt -- If you need dirt (like I do in my container world), ask around of your friends with in-ground gardens. They will often share.

Containers -- I'm transitioning away from inexpensive and eco-friendly terra cotta pots, because they freeze, crack, and break over the winter. Even though I'm anti-plastic as a rule, I'm switching over to those lightweight styrene or plastic pots, because they last a long time. I have several that are ten+ years old. Also, be creative -- use old 5-gallon paint buckets (great for tomatoes), tin cans, or other non-breakable containers. Look for these at tag sales, too.

Compost -- our town gives away free compost, and one can certainly make one's own.

Happy gardening!