Back for the Summer / Budgeting

The blog unfortunately fell apart as I concentrated on schoolwork. But now I am off for the summer, and thought I'd pick up this thing again.

What has changed? Well, I'm now at 188 lbs. I'm happy with the grades I got. I'm not couponing much because it's too far to drive to the local recycling center (I would still strongly recommend it, it's very satisfying). And I'm planning to go to Japan in late July, and will post about my trip on here.

Right now I'm focusing on controlling my budget. Not an easy task.

I grew up in what I must admit was a wealthy family. The concepts of budget and frugality were never introduced to me, and I was accustomed to a rather pricey lifestyle. Even in adulthood, the only major job I really held was working for my father's business. I have always been supported by them financially. They still pay off my credit card now, since I'm in college rather than working. So don't hold me up as a guru in any sense. I have severe flaws.

Despite this comfy environment, from early youth I had a love affair with the idea of wilderness survival and running away from home. This desire to be independant and self sufficient has never left me. It has merely mutated into a love of the concept of homesteading and frugality.

Loving something doesn't mean you're any good at it, though, as I found out the hard way during a short time when I was homeless. And even now at age 26 I have terrible spending habits, and couldn't even tell you how much I spend a month. Probably a lot. So since I have the summer off, I've decided to fix that. I'm doing it in my own way, not one I'd recommend as a healthy lifestyle or anything. Just what works for me.

The first step was to set up a budget. I decided on $10 per day, for a total of $300-310 per month. That to everything except gasoline and parent-approved big purchases, such as the patio furniture we'll be getting soon. Yeah, you read that right. I'm eating frugally but buying a bunch new furniture. Icon of sensible spending, I am not. But the purpose of this, for me, is to get myself under control, not to actually live cheaply.

The second step was one that most people won't make, because they will be juggling the choice of healthy food vs. cheap food. I just wanted cheap. And it turns out, junk food is very cheap! So I took a calculator to the grocer, calculated up the calories in each container, and divided it by the price to find out how many calories I was getting per dollar. As in, 800 calories / $1.50 = 533 cals per $1. This tells me how much "fuel" I'm getting for my money's worth.

I made the decision to keep my purchases confined to foods that give me 500 or more calories per dollar. On my restricted diet, that means I'm eating for less than $3 a day.

The other $7, left over at the end of the day, gets put into a "budget bank", which I then use to purchase household supplies. Mostly I have to keep buying catfood, litter, and toilet paper, so I decided to downgrade and get the cheaper versions. The big bags of the chalky litter vs. the round pellets, etc.

Any money left over, I decided, goes towards buying whatever I want. But I'm only allowed to spend money from the bank, so I can't "borrow" from future days and then run out of money through poor planning. I also decided that useful, money saving items should take priority. So far I have purchased a stand mixer, which I can use to make dough for cheaper homemade pizza. Next I plan to get a bike so I can ride to the grocer rather than driving, thus saving on gas.

My results so far? Surprisingly easy to accrue my savings, assuming I don't buy ANYTHING and never leave the house. God I'm bored. Whenever I see something I want, it goes on the budget list, so the list is now very long (and includes frivolous things like a $500 doll or a chainmail shirt). But I can't buy them until I have the money, and until after I buy the useful stuff. So I'm chomping at the bit quite a lot. But I've been very good. No crazy spending binges.

Things I've bought for 500+ calories per dollar :
- Flour, grits, rice, grains, and other cooking supplies (ie butter) are always extremely cheap
- Tortillas, box mixes for things like brownies or cornbread
- Cheap hot dogs, chicken if it's on sale
- Cheap peanut butter crackers... you know, the bright orange ones
- Totinos pizzas
- Storebrand breads
- Garlic bread, oddly enough
- The ingredients for rice krispie treats
- Ramen, the king of cheap food!
- Doritos and most chips
- Full fat milk

Things that, to my surprise, didn't make the cut :
- Canned soups. Man I miss tomato soup.
- Spaggheti O's
- Banquet $1 frozen dinners

I think it helps that I'm a selective eater... I can happily eat cheap quality foods so long as they're in the meat, dairy or grain families. I don't like toppings, I don't like spices, and I don't miss fruits because I never eat them anyway. I think I sense my health declining a bit (since for the moment I've given up my very costly nutritional shakes), so I may have to set aside a little money for health, much as I'm loathe to.

I'll let you know how using the bike to get around works out... I really, really want to cut down my gas needs. Ye gods, it's about $60 for a tank nowadays.