reduce, reuse, repurpose

It has just been too long. I haven't forgotten about this little blog, nor my budget, but I've been so busy... wait, never mind. There are no excuses! I have just been lazy.

Today's tip(s) is to reduce, reuse, & repurpose. It's pretty fun to think of crafty ways to use stuff, and it saves money, too! We are far, FAR too wasteful, and stuff costs money to make, use, and get rid of.

1. Reduce. Seriously. Just stop. buying. so. much. stuff. One of the things I learned when I moved to a city where I didn't have a car was to buy less stuff. In the olden days of multiple Targets and a large car trunk, if a store didn't have something I wanted, I'd just go to another store. If I'm bussing or hoofing it, that process seems far more labor-intensive, and since I can only carry home what I can well, carry home, more likely than not I just go without. And it's amazing how much you don't need when you don't have it. Just pick something non-completely necessary (I'm totally not advocating giving up toilet paper or anything) and see how you do without it. This step gives you the added bonus of your home being less cluttered. Which means less dusting. Which means a happier Jamie. Since the advent of everything is streaming on some platform or another, I stopped buying so many DVDs. For books you can also do bookswap, or use the library! Remember the library?

The second arm of reducing is using things up. I can get at least a week's worth of toothpaste of a tube that most people would throw away. I have been using a hair product I hate for almost 3 months now because I spent good money on it and I'm not throwing it out. Add a little water to your shampoo bottle and shake it around. Use the last dregs of dijon to make homemade salad dressing. In fact, I could do a whole post on not wasting food!


2. Reuse. I reuse everything. The plastic produce bags from the store (if I use them at all. if it's apples or onions, they just go right in my reusable cloth grocery bag) double as trash bags. I keep yogurt and take-out containers to send leftovers home with friends, thus alleviating the need to chase after my tupperware (or ahem, just buy more tupperware). I've even been known to rip cotton balls in half so they last longer. I just started carrying my headphones around in an old Rosebud Salve tin-- and I now spend far less time untangling my headphones!


3. Repurpose. There are thousand of ideas on the internet how to repurpose things. Use large vegetable cans to plant herbs in. You could make a lampshade out of old photograph slides. Make flower vases out of wire and old lightbulbs. Keep bobby pins in a sardine can. Use old spice tins as magnets. I made the top of a vintage-looking anchovy can into a jewelry tray!

Really, the world is your oyster and the possibilities are endless. I'm not a super creative type, so I just use other people's ideas. It's OK. They wouldn't put them on the internet if they didn't want people to use them.

There ya go: Stop buying so much stuff. When you do, make it last. And then use it for something else.

tip #11: go vegan

Hello, all, it's been a while since I've updated. I spent a lot of money yesterday and feel a little guilty (even though it was all money well-spent) so I figured I'd better 'fess up. All last weekend I was very frugal: with my groupon I think I spent $10 on Friday night, Saturday I spent $0, and Sunday I spent $0. Monday I only spent $12 on brunch-- due to an 9am appt and an 11am appt I didn't have a chance to eat at home-- Tuesday was $0, and Wednesday, my usual night out with my friends, was $32 for dinner and drinks. Thursday, however, OUCH. I spent $38 on a nice winter coat which I have been BADLY needing for several months, $60 on lightweight black sneakers with black laces for all my catering/serving gigs-- another thing I needed, and $85 at Costco on stuff like toilet paper, kleenex, gum, etc. All things that will be used and I won't need for a long time. So money well spent, but oof, it hurts. In positive news, I picked up 2 hosting shifts this weekend so I should make all that money back in the next couple of days. (So you San Francisco b*tches, come have brunch at Harvey's this weekend and I'll get you a good table.)

Now, onto the tip. At the grocery store, be a vegan. Or a mostly vegan. Or a sometimes vegan. I know, I know, the thought of a life sans animal products is horrifying to some of you. But in addition to being good for your body and the planet, it's incredibly good for your pocketbook. Have you noticed how much cheese costs? OY VEY! I bought a lb each of chickpeas and cannallini beans last week at Whole Foods for $1.49 a bag. That is crazy cheap. That's like, cents per serving cheap. Depending on where you live, your local farmers' market is more than likely WAY cheaper that your local supermarket (not to mention healthier and more economically sensible, as it keeps your money in your local community). Soy milk is cheaper and lasts longer than milk. There's dozens of ways to cut expensive animal products out of your daily diet. One of my favourite (and most-filling) lunches is brown rice, black beans, tomatoes, green onions, avocado, and hot sauce. Seriously delicious and depending on the avocado, around $1 a meal!

So try it out. Make one meal a day without meat or cheese. Or commit to a day a week. Give it a shot and see what you can do. There are a million websites with recipes and ideas. Your pocketbook and your waistline will thank you.

tip #10: the theory of fives

So, if you live in a big city, you might be unaccustomed to having modern appliances such as a dishwasher, washer/dryer, and garbage disposal in your home. I know I am. A long time ago, I taught myself to put all the quarters I get as change into a separate pocket than the dimes/nickels/pennies, because I always need them to do laundry. And laundry is a pain in the ass enough to lug down the hill and sit around watching it to think about also going to the bank for quarters. So now, automatically, every time I get change back, change goes in the wallet, quarters go into the side pocket. I clean out the side pocket every night and put them in a jar in my bedroom.

A while back, a girl friend and I were talking about budgeting and she told me about something called The Theory of Five. Full disclosure requires me to tell you that I remember absolutely nothing about The Theory of Five, so I just made up my own, and it's my very favourite of my money tips.

well hello, Mr. Lincoln!

Each night when I pull the quarters out of my bag, I also flip through my wallet. If there are any five-dollar bills in there, I put them in a jar in the pantry. Sometimes there is, sometimes there isn't. But I don't miss $5 really, and now at any given time I have between $20-$35 in the jar in the kitchen. I used to use it solely as my emergency take-out fund when I was working, because let's be honest, sometimes you work all day and just can't be bothered to cook. But now that I'm unemployed I use it for all kinds of things: a night out at the movies, to buy a bottle of wine to take to someone who's invited me over for dinner, last week I even used it for Christmas postage.

I don't do well with complete deprivation so it's nice for me to have a little fun cushion nearby.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. I was "good" over the weekend: Friday night, $20, Saturday AM, $26 for brunch and $5 on my BART card to get to San Leandro, and spent NOTHING on Sunday or Monday. But today I'm going to the movies.

Start saving your fives so you can buy me a drink next time I see you. :)

She's BAA-AAACK!

WOW, back from vacation. It was marvelous:

We got a resort package from Living Social and I got our (first-class) tickets with my American miles-- which reinforces my tips to be a member and use collective buying vouchers. Those two things saved us about $2K. I had budgeted myself $300 in cash and I ended up spending about $400 (I really don't believe vacation is the time to be frugal!!) so now I'm back to reality and SUPER-BUDGET.

We got home early early Thursday morning and I didn't spend a dime all day, except a little of my food stamp money on groceries. Yesterday I rented a Zipcar, $14.94 for an hour and a half, and spent $43.31 on wine, and more of my food stamp allowance to stock up at Trader Joes. That wine money, by the way, was for 8 bottles, 3 of which will be taken to various homes for holiday get-togethers. I went to dinner with a collective buying voucher (Boyfriend picked up the balance) and spent $20 having some drinks with friends.

I have a catering gig tonight so it will be another zero dollar day, and tomorrow should be as well since I'm stocked on groceries and all I'm planning is some gym time, a home-cooked meal, and some Netflix.

More tips coming soon!

an expensive week

OY VEY, did I have an expensive week! Too many social events in December, both planned and impromptu. I had a marvelous time and wouldn't take it back! But when I get back from vacation I have got to take it down a notch. Or maybe a lot of notches.

I haven't been accountable all week either, and I don't even know if I can remember: Wednesday I had to run errands for my trip, but that included returning some things that I had already paid for-- so that's kinda like putting something back in the black column right? (Wait for it-- it will be, come Saturday.) In addition to spending about $100 on THINGS, and getting about $100 "back" on things returned-- spent $10 on dinner and $13 on drinks. Thursday I went to a friend's office Christmas party thinking "hey, free booze" but it turned out to be lame so we went out instead. Whoops. I think I spent $26. Friday I catered so I got a free meal, but got a couple of drinks after with a friend-- $16. And yesterday I went to the movies AND out to dinner with friends, and spent $56. OH, and took a cab home-- there's another $8. OUCH!

BUT. Here's the (sort of) pro: last night's dinner/wine was $45 and I used my credit card for the first time since I got laid off. It hurt. But since I had returned something on Wednesday that cost $56, and I had paid my Amex bill before I returned it-- it was paid for! Or at least, I don't have to pay for it later. WHEW. In the immortal words of Maebe Fünke, "well that was a freebie."

So today and tomorrow I'm nesting and packing. I leave Tuesday morning for 9 days in Costa Rica. I bought the flights on my miles and my boyfriend is paying for the rest of the main expenses. I am taking $300 for fun money-- $200 of mine that I budgeted in, and $100 from my parents for Christmas. I think most of my days will be spent lying by the pool with a book, so I'll mainly use that for food and maybe some Christmas gifts.

I'm not taking my laptop -- the HORROR!-- so you guys won't be hearing from me again until after the 14th. So everyone be sweet while I'm gone and I promise to be frugal while I'm there. :)

tip #9: get a subscription

This goes hand-in-hand with becoming a member. There's more bang for your buck when you subscribe! I love to read, and I love magazines. I read Entertainment Weekly, all manner of food magazines, and most recently, Self. A magazine off the shelf is like $4.99!!! but you can get a whole year for usually $10-$12.

Also keep your eyes open for gift subscriptions. Usually about once a year they'll send you a card to give a friend a free year if you renew. I got Bon Apétit from Alecia, and Martha Stewart Living from Krysten. I gave the Food Network Magazine back to K-- all those were free. And I recently got Candice a Self subscription for $5. Totally worth it!! And if it's a magazine you know you are going to read for years, buy in bulk. I buy my EW subscription 3 years at a time for a huge savings.

So, I ended up spending $22 on Sunday night, and yesterday I spent a ton. Sigh. I mean, all of it was within my "allowance" so I'm not using a card, but still. I spent $15 on a Christmas present for my mom, $5 on a cocktail, then made $3.50 at Crossroads by selling a sweater that I never wear, then $7 on a sandwich, $26 at the movies, and $15 on wine after. Brutal. BUT it was an impromptu triple date with my man and 4 of our very favorite people-- an occurrence that doesn't happen with any sort of frequency, and I had a marvelous time. For me personally, I would much rather spend money DOING things than BUYING things. That time with my friends is priceless. Those people are my family. Worth it.

And tomorrow I have to run errands and buy things for my trip-- it's not going to be free-- so today is a zero dollar day. I'm off to the gym and then home to decorate the tree, then making dinner at home!

back in black!

So my 5 days in Phoenix were lovely, restful, and uber-budget conscious. (WELL, not for my hosts, God bless them!) I spent ZERO DOLLARS on Thursday AND Friday, yesterday I spent $10 on something totally frivolous and totally awesome, and today I spent $8.04 on a bagel with hummus and veggies (that I realized much later was red pepper hummus, ack!-- budget/breakfast fail combo!) and I put $10 on my Muni card to get home from the airport. It's $8.10 but I get a free transfer from the BART to the bus to my apartment. Not a bad deal. I also came home to my first unemployment payment (just in time to pay rent!), a catering check from last weekend, and for some reason, a small dividend check from an old 401(k). Also to my new swimsuit and my fancy sunscreen!!! So all in all the last 5 days have been pretty good for the pocketbook.

As we enter the time of the year where America's rampant consumerism is dialed up to 11, here is an interesting article on spenders vs. savers. We live in the twitter era of instant gratification, but I think it's good to note (if you're not too ADD to finish the article) he says you CAN rewire your brain. I have found this to be true. Two marshmallows later really is better than one marshmallow now. You just have to get used to it!

Now off to the gym, the bank, and the market, and back to make split pea soup and put up the Christmas tree! Costa Rica in 8 days!!!