be more frugal

Yesterday I walked my utility payment to a city drop box rather than wasting a stamp on it. Also it was nice to have a destination for a lunch-time walk. This was only possible because I happen to be working in the downtown area, which is causing me to be very un-frugal and try out all the restaurants in walking distance to my new office. Sadly, our downtown is not exactly bustling, so I think I’ve been to most of the lunchy spots in this week and a half.

My minimum bills each month average to about 900 bucks. That’s not including this mysterious credit card debt (amazing what 2 weekends can do to you!). ;)
I’m going to try the “snowball” system (isn’t that what it is called?). I am determined to save 20% for savings each paycheck, but I’m also determined to get this credit card debt of 500 bucks paid off before November 15.
Aside from the big bills, I need to keep better mindfulness of what I’m spending each day. No more lunch with my co-workers, which is, unfortunately, one of the only ways to mingle there.
I’m thinking positively though. This will work out.

i wish i could go back to using just cash. not only would i save money i’m sure, i think they don’t sit well with me philosophically. i think credit cards are the worst thing to hit our society. Just 40 or so years ago, in my grandparents day, credit was a dirty word – now it is beyond reason. It really is like loan sharking, blood sucking – it destroys families, feeds greed, etc. anyway i wish i could just carry cash but my rotten teenagers would be robbing me blind. Pretty sad when you have to hide your purse in your own home.

So… I bought a laptop today.

Not exactly frugal. And I justified it by putting it on a credit card so that I can just pay minimums for now and pay it off when I get a job. (Really, I will, right away, I promise.)

Yeah, not my greatest moment, but when I can be job hunting from somewhere other than my dreary computer room I’ll thank myself, I’m sure.

I just met with a financial advisor. Things are looking more dire than I’d thought.
I just dropped out of the class I’d been planning to take at the community college for fun… Boo.
And no computer until I have a job.
And do a much better job at stopping eating out. That one will be easier in 2 weeks when I’m out of the office and don’t have people asking me out for one last lunch or one more happy hour every damn day!

I’m doing really well on day-to-day stuff and on eating out.

I did spend $85 yesterday on interviewing/office clothes. My current office is beyond casual, we wear tee-shirts and jeans and sandals and shorts or whatever we feel like. I tried on some of my old business casual clothes and the suit I bought for interviews in college…. Ummm. So lets just say they’re not quite as flattering as they were 5 years ago. So I went down to TJ Maxx and bought myself a suit jacket with matching skirt (they didn’t have the matching pants in my size), and another skirt and a pair of nice pants. I tried to be good and didn’t buy any tops because I do have enough of those to get me through interviews. I’m worried the suit is going to look too formal, but all the books suggest going very conservative for interviews, even at casual places. And really, where the hell am I going to wear a suit ever again? Thank goodness it was only $50. Once I find a job, then I’ll start shopping for clothes to wear to work.

Now my big question is the computer… I get a pretty good employee discount on my company’s products. I’ve been wanting a laptop for some time (I don’t need one, my 6 year old desktop is still trucking) and I’ve found one that has everything I want and is not too low-end that I could buy for $650. That’s about $300 to $500 less than I’ve been able to find elsewhere. So do I buy it now and spend nearly half a mortgage payment on a luxury while putting on airs about being frugal and worrying about being homeless in February? Or do I be frugal now and spend the extra money later? I’m supremely torn.

I am making a REAL conscious effort to not purchase ‘stuff’ and to encourage my mum to think twice about it too.

It’s so easy to get sucked in to buying stuff on sale or with coupons because it’s being ‘frugal’ ... but it’s not really frugal if I didn’t need it in the first place.

Tonight we had green and wax beans, fresh from the garden patch behind our apt building. One of the neighbours had harvested and was going door to door sharing them. What a great frugal dinner, fresh picked beans and fish with yogurt and fruit for dessert.

A group of friends in the office is planning a going away lunch for some of us who are leaving. I politely asked the organizer to plan somewhere less pricey than the fancy restaurant I know she usually chooses.

Sometimes I just don’t have leftovers to bring in. And a girl can only eat PB&J so many times in a week before craving something more nutritious. But I just don’t know what to eat. Oragnic lunch meats are horrendously expensive.

I turned down two offers to go out to see local music this weekend. I hate to be anti social, but I know that if I go I’ll spend $5-15 on covers and probably another $20 on drinks. I just can’t afford that right now.