A Frugal Life

As the economy takes center stage in the national election, I have my personal indicator of how bad the economy is: my retirement account. This is the first year, I have had one and therefore, I check it periodically to see how much is in there. But every time I check, there is less in it than there was before. Every time the Dow takes a nose-dive, so does the account. But the good thing about this bleak scenario is that checking it makes me frugal. It is a constant reminder about the nature of this economy and the necessity for frugality.

However, frugality has to be relative. It depends on who you are, what you like and your life-style. I have been trying not to let my life hijack my frugality. It is so much more difficult to be frugal this year – the first year of a tenure-track is really difficult. The temptation to eat out, especially, instead of cooking at home has been high. But I have stayed remarkably within budget.

So, here are a few things I have been doing that have worked for me. I have tried this year to take Gregg and my nature into account when budgeting as well as our life-styles. This is why these pointers are all relative – people are different and have different needs and life-styles.

1) A Realistic Budget: I had a very unrealistic budget last year but this year I have made one which I can actually stick to. This means taking into account the fallibilities of your entire family. If there is something you cannot do without, do not think you are going to cut down on it for the entire year. This could be anything – cable, an expensive dinner every week, a shopping trip every 10 days, whatever.

2) Have a weekly spending budget: I have a maximum amount which we can spend in any given week. If we go over the amount, Gregg and I sit down and talk about what we did that sent us over the top.

3) Coupon cutting and buying in bulk: Jill turned me on to coupons but I have been terrible about it recently. However, they did save money when I was doing it, so I would recommend it. As for buying in bulk, it depends on what you are getting. For two people, it is silly to buy a ton of bulk foods but I do buy things like paper towels, mac and cheese etc. in bulk. I never buy spices in bulk, however, because they would lose their freshness about halfway through.

4) Cook a large (maybe expensive) dinner once a week: On Sundays, I have been making a large meal which then yields leftovers for the beginning of the week. Yesterday, I made a roasted turkey, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce. This means I do not have to cook for the next couple of days – a casserole or turkey soup is very good this time of year. Next Sunday: lasagna.

5) Cook a very inexpensive easy dinner during the middle-end of the week: Last week, we had soup and grilled cheese sandwiches on Thursday. Cheap and quick!!!

6) Prioritize: In our household, the priority is Giggs. So, we buy what we have to for him and then restrict ourselves.

7) Reward: Have an idea of what you can do if you save. It is easier to be frugal when there is a reward attached. If you save a certain amount, maybe you can get that ______ that you wanted. If there is a whole list of things you want, prioritize them as well.

8) Shop every couple of weeks: Since I hate shopping, I thought this was silly but it means that you can buy things only when they are on sale. This is how I plan to do Christmas shopping this year. The outlet malls around here will help with that plan - they usually have HUGE discounts.

9) Loyalty: My favorite grocery store is giving a free turkey to everyone who spends a certain amount there by Nov. 15th. I am certainly saving up for mine. However, buy store brands instead of name brands whenever possible.

10) Pick your poison: I have realized that though I save more money shopping for food at Wal-Mart, I really cannot make myself do that. To make matters worse, Wal-Mart is much further than Stauffers where I prefer to shop. To make up for this, I buy meats and fish at Stauffers but sometimes go to Giant for the canned stuff. Anyway, I figure I am saving on gas.

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In Other News:

Work: Has been crazy. Advising and committees take up a lot of time and that and 3 preps has made this very hectic. Plus, I have to write another diss chapter for a conference coming up in 3 weeks. Have not started that yet.

Fall Colors: Fall is finally here and so is cooler weather. We woke up today to a solid frost all over the grass and temperature in the 30s. The leaves are changing which is beautiful but Giggs is loathe to go out in this weather.

Driving: This will be my first time driving in snow. I am not looking forward to it. However, it will also be my first northeast winter – which will be cold but fun.