I'm so stressed about money! This has been such a difficult year for us, and I think we're both going to need to pick up extra hours at odd jobs to make ends meet for the rest of the year.
Any suggestions? Should I sell my eggs? Sell pies? C'mon, creative readers - any ideas for me?
Showing posts with label money. Show all posts
Showing posts with label money. Show all posts
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
Wardrobe crisis averted!
Anyone who has seen me recently knows that I'm wasting away to nothing. I realize that most American women would be *thrilled!* to be losing weight in this manner, but I assume that those women have a clothing budget and actually enjoy shopping. Not me. The first part goes without saying in our current situation, and the second part...well...sometimes I love shopping: a fun day out with a sister, mom or girlfriend with good taste and the ability to be brutally honest, no time restrictions, and plenty of lattes and cookies. But most of the time shopping is a nuisance: I'm spending money I don't have on clothes that won't last in stores with no customer service, and I'll probably have to shorten or lenghthen the pants due to my long legs...that's assuming I've found pants that happen to fit my hips, thighs waist and inseam. I really need to take a sewing class and just start making my own clothes.
Don't get me wrong - I don't mean to sound whiny, and if I do, you've probably already stopped reading...
It boils down to the fact that my two pairs of work slacks are baggy and dumpy, so I had nothing to wear in client-facing situations. What to do? I reached out to a friend and humbly asked if she currently had a Goodwill pile through which I could scavenge. This was all okay in the email I sent, and her reply was favorable, but when I arrived at her house to try on h er clothing, I almost started crying I was so embarassed. She was exceptionally graceful and I left with a pair of pants, two skirts, a blouse and two pairs of shoes. I am so glad I asked! She actually suggested that we gather a group of girls together for a clothing-swap party. That's today's money-saving recession-surviving tip: Repurposing items through exchanges with friends and family!
THEN, we were being treated to taco night at another friend's house, and I mentioned my "shopping" experience. This friend is an itsy-bitsy petite person...as she says, I have two feet on her. It wouldn't have crossed my mind that she and I would be the same size in any article of clothing...to illustrate: a few weeks ago she and I went to a yoga class together after a slumber party. I hadn't packed yoga clothes, so I borrowed her maternity clothes! That's the difference in our sizes. At the end of the evening, she produced two professional-looking, high-quality sweaters from her "repurposing" pile. They fit beautifully!
As humbling as it was to ask for such a favor, I feel so happy and proud and grateful that I have these girlfriends.
They are SO invited to come to the gender-segragated commune with goats.
But that's another story altogether...
Don't get me wrong - I don't mean to sound whiny, and if I do, you've probably already stopped reading...
It boils down to the fact that my two pairs of work slacks are baggy and dumpy, so I had nothing to wear in client-facing situations. What to do? I reached out to a friend and humbly asked if she currently had a Goodwill pile through which I could scavenge. This was all okay in the email I sent, and her reply was favorable, but when I arrived at her house to try on h er clothing, I almost started crying I was so embarassed. She was exceptionally graceful and I left with a pair of pants, two skirts, a blouse and two pairs of shoes. I am so glad I asked! She actually suggested that we gather a group of girls together for a clothing-swap party. That's today's money-saving recession-surviving tip: Repurposing items through exchanges with friends and family!
THEN, we were being treated to taco night at another friend's house, and I mentioned my "shopping" experience. This friend is an itsy-bitsy petite person...as she says, I have two feet on her. It wouldn't have crossed my mind that she and I would be the same size in any article of clothing...to illustrate: a few weeks ago she and I went to a yoga class together after a slumber party. I hadn't packed yoga clothes, so I borrowed her maternity clothes! That's the difference in our sizes. At the end of the evening, she produced two professional-looking, high-quality sweaters from her "repurposing" pile. They fit beautifully!
As humbling as it was to ask for such a favor, I feel so happy and proud and grateful that I have these girlfriends.
They are SO invited to come to the gender-segragated commune with goats.
But that's another story altogether...
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Money-saving tips...re-discovered
Dan and I are quickly finding that we get as much - if not more - joy from being resourceful as we did from being, well, spoiled.
Fact is, we were living outside our means for a while. Between my so-called non-traditional undergraduate degree, having a nice wedding, buying a house, my career path, and Dan's taste for toys, we racked up some debt. We have spent this past year changing a lot of our priorities - having a baby will do that to you - and have cut back on our spending quite a bit. One of our vows for 2008 was not to buy any more gifts. There were three or four occasions on which we splurged - my mother's birthday/retirement party, my bonus sister's wedding, Christmas - but overall, we were able to re-gift or make gifts. I didn't realize that most people are totally happy with a batch of brownies or a used book.
If you look back at my posts, you'll see that Dan sold his boat - one of the aforementioned toys - to pay for the installation of our wood-burning stove and three cords of wood. We were able to pay for the chimney, wood at the highest price of the season, and materials for the hearth. Our neighbor built the hearth in exchange for us snow-blowing his driveway for the winter. Dan's dad bought us a tank of oil for Christmas, so we have NO heating costs remaining this winter. That is truly something for which we are thankful.
This week's plan included taking inventory of our pantry, making a menu based on what we already have, and creating a grocery list from that menu for ingredients we were lacking. As I write this, I'm saying "DUH" to myself. This is basic, basic, basic. Duh. The point isn't that I shoulda thunka that before, but that we only spent $44 at the grocery store this week! We'll have to go back for milk in a few days, but $44 is a far cry from what we used to spend.
I must mention that I was rather pleased at some of the items currently in our inventory, including pricey items we won't see again for a while (Seeds of Change Greek Feta dressing) and items we accidently bought in multiples (Peanut Butter, rice, tuna, dried beans).
I know we're not alone in our current situation. What are you and your family doing to cut costs during The Recession?
Fact is, we were living outside our means for a while. Between my so-called non-traditional undergraduate degree, having a nice wedding, buying a house, my career path, and Dan's taste for toys, we racked up some debt. We have spent this past year changing a lot of our priorities - having a baby will do that to you - and have cut back on our spending quite a bit. One of our vows for 2008 was not to buy any more gifts. There were three or four occasions on which we splurged - my mother's birthday/retirement party, my bonus sister's wedding, Christmas - but overall, we were able to re-gift or make gifts. I didn't realize that most people are totally happy with a batch of brownies or a used book.
If you look back at my posts, you'll see that Dan sold his boat - one of the aforementioned toys - to pay for the installation of our wood-burning stove and three cords of wood. We were able to pay for the chimney, wood at the highest price of the season, and materials for the hearth. Our neighbor built the hearth in exchange for us snow-blowing his driveway for the winter. Dan's dad bought us a tank of oil for Christmas, so we have NO heating costs remaining this winter. That is truly something for which we are thankful.
This week's plan included taking inventory of our pantry, making a menu based on what we already have, and creating a grocery list from that menu for ingredients we were lacking. As I write this, I'm saying "DUH" to myself. This is basic, basic, basic. Duh. The point isn't that I shoulda thunka that before, but that we only spent $44 at the grocery store this week! We'll have to go back for milk in a few days, but $44 is a far cry from what we used to spend.
I must mention that I was rather pleased at some of the items currently in our inventory, including pricey items we won't see again for a while (Seeds of Change Greek Feta dressing) and items we accidently bought in multiples (Peanut Butter, rice, tuna, dried beans).
I know we're not alone in our current situation. What are you and your family doing to cut costs during The Recession?
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