Walked to the grocery store this morning, arriving just before opening. The lot was nearly full and the street outside lined with parked pickup trucks and SUVs. Unheard of on a Sunday morning. Clerk opened the doors — and out of those vehicles poured guys. I’m guessing there were six men for every one woman.
It’s SuperBowl Sunday in the NorthWest and the local team is playing for the second year in a row.
I navigated my cart around shoppers loading up on frozen pizzas, beer, chips, pretzels, and the occasional giant veggie tray. Everybody was decked out in SeaHawks tee-shirts and hats — even Dee, the clerk in the checkout line. Not a football fan, she says, but even she’s excited. Me, too, gotta admit, even though I think it’s silly. After the NFC championship game — in which the ‘Hawks scared their fans to death for 57 minutes and 51 seconds, then spent the next few minutes delivering a delirious, impossible victory — it should be fun to see what they do this afternoon.
The store is staffed today only by those who volunteered. The owners gave all the football fans (and themselves) the day off.
I walked home past banners of navy blue, green, and white. Cars are flying sky blue and white “12” flags from their antennas, and on front-yard flagpoles (of which we seem to have a lot), SeaHawks logo flags flutter in the mist.
Go ‘Hawks. And — as all the “clever” local signs say — deflate the Patriots.
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So anyhow, this morning I broke my month-long spending fast. In January I focused on avoiding all but essential purchases. Or at least I did in theory. Reality wasn’t quite that neat and tidy, but I did learn what I set out to learn: how little I could live on and still have a relatively normal month. If you’re interested, read on. If not, see ya later and enjoy SuperBowl Sunday.
Verdict: $588.19.
That was the total of this month’s basic spending. Which breaks down as follows:
Groceries: $135.81
Vehicle: $189.35 (fuel and insurance)
Utilities: $204.65 (water, electric, Internet, Netflix, and a TracFone card)
Pets: $58.34
I had also budgeted $45 for small luxuries (mochas, lunches, and thrift-store stops) so I wouldn’t feel deprived. Of that budget I spent just $22.94 and still managed to feel as if I was wildly indulging.
In reality, the yard guy blew my good intentions by showing up unexpectedly. And even before that I cheated a little. I took some friends out to lunch (owed them a meal and they were about to leave on a two-month trip) and I found several really good pairs of cargo pants on post-Christmas clearance at the local hardware store and couldn’t didn’t resist.
Bottom line: Any monthly figure is mutable. January didn’t include quite a few normal expenses (like property taxes, vehicle maintenance, and bi-monthly trips to Costco for groceries and dog food).
And with this old house still needing major updating, there is no “standard” month, these days.
On the other hand, I realized that in a serious pinch — really hard times, an emergency — it would be easy to live on far less than that $588.19. Kill off Comcast and Netflix. Tap into food storage. Park the Xterra and walk most places I need to go. I could probably get by on as little as $400. Wouldn’t be fun. Wouldn’t want to do it any longer than I had to. But wouldn’t starve, freeze, or lose the house, either.
So even with the cheating, it was a worthwhile experiment. Not just regarding spending but regarding money mindset. Regarding where I could cut if I need (or want) to in the near future. Got the year off to a conscious start.
I know Commentariat member Pat mentioned she was doing something similar and I expect that even this resolution-averse bunch might have a few members trying other new year experiments. Anybody care to share how things went for you?
I did well on particular goals, not so well in general.
Brought in my grocery bill some $50 below budget (even with increase in prices), AND got a free meal with an Applebee’s gift card I received over the holidays. Took a friend to lunch and had a delightful time — plus a delicious meal (a two-inch-thick, perfectly-cooked salmon steak with artichoke sauce). They’ve improved their menu and their service lately.
No goodies — books, movies, or music — in January, but will be buying “The Testament of James” this month. And that’s all, because February’s budget will be concentrating on seeds, compost for my raised bed, and some new pots for herbs. (March will see a computer fix, April will bring new clothes I’ve been needing.)
General budget threw me a curve: January’s electricity in this old [windy, poorly-insulated] farmhouse was 2 1/2 times what it usually is, and I needed an ankle splint and medicine for joint pain. Have been exercising indoors with the Step and stretch bands, and overdid it.
“Got the year off to a conscious start.”
And that’s what I will continue — to keep up the budgeting through conscious effort and put a stopper on impulse buying. Am also adding to the food arsenal with dehydrating and freezing.
Meanwhile, the east coast free state contingent will do our best to forgive this blasphemy! 😉
Dana — I expect you’ll find the blasphemy easier to forgive if they SeaHawks lose than if they give your guys a righteous stomping. Am I right? 🙂
Pat — OUCH on the electric bills, but good on your for making the plan and keeping on it. (Gadzooks, I can hardly believe it’s time to start gardening already.)
Applebees. Love that place. It’s always my first choice for lunch when I go into civilization.
Oooooh, I HATE suspenseful football games!!!! The SeaHawks would have had that one if not for that insane attempt to throw a touchdown when they had less than a yard to go and Marshawn Lynch on the field to do it. Totally nuts.
But oh man, what a game!
And the blasphemy turned out not even to have any good, sinful reward, either. Darn. Good game, good game. But I think I’m sticking with Sudoku and Spider solitaire from here on out. Boring is good.
I’m no TV sports fan, but watched, and enjoyed, that game. Difficult to say the the Seahawks really should’ve won, because that insane catch that put them at 1st and goal was a fluke. You can even think of how they called a pass play because of course Lynch is the go-to guy in that scenario, so it’d be unexpected. But still, as a percentage decision, it was a bad call.
And I have no sympathy for them.
As far as living small goes, I’m just not up for it. But I applaud those who do. Since mid-2001, times have been much more on the lean side, and I’m enjoying having a bit more discretionary income these days. Of course, “small” is relative, and I’m nowhere near where I was in the late 90s. I do need to cut back on indulgences, and [GASP!] actually maybe do some sort of investing, tiny though it will be.
Yes, good game. I actually watched the whole thing, and I can’t remember the last time I watched an entire football game — I typically share the Oatmeal’s attitude: Piggers are number one and Piggers are gonna go all the way this year.
Claire: But you’re still right about the blasphemy bit 😉
This is an interesting experiment. I’m also going back and re-reading your roof adventures with great interest. Next week I finally move out of Illinois and into a house that needs a roof. The first quote took the wind right out of my lungs, $29,000. The commercial style rubber roof is a different breed! Two soggy old layers have to come off, corroded and leaking skylights need replacement, the whole list of expensive add-ons.
But the house looks to be very much worth the investment. It’s going to be extremely rewarding to bring it back from its back log of maintenance, home inspections show nothing (roof aside) but minor cosmetic type problems and the property is simply beautiful. Its pretty much a dream vacation home, and I get to live there full time within a short drive to the new job.
Well, Claire, my New Years experiment was more of a legalistic one, and thankfully, it was successful. It was about what the government considers to be “unclaimed property,” and much to my surprise, it turned out that I was owed money. I received $265 from the Virginia Treasury, and the photo evidence for this is located @ https://tinyurl.com/reclaimingunclaimedproperty
Unfortunately, this method will not work for everyone, because the government must first consider the unclaimed property in question to yours as the rightful owner in the first place, but at least I proved reclaiming unclaimed property works, unlike what the oxymoronic “sovereign citizens” propagate with all of their nonsense about “Accepted for Value.” So, there you go.
I passed on the football game, didn’t even know who was playing until the day (and I still don’t know or care who beat the Seahawks). Since Lombardi died, football holds no interest for me.
Did you catch Gary North’s latest? One of his better articles…
http://www.garynorth.com/public/13392.cfm
Homemade mocha:
Make hot chocolate using whole milk (not skim!), add strong coffee or espresso.
Iced mocha:
Make chocolate milk using whole milk. Add strong coffee (or espresso) and ice. Optional: add a tiny splash of heavy whipping cream to boost the flavor.
I got addicted to hazelnut mochas many years ago when I worked in a coffee bar. Since there was no way I was going to pay what they charged for one, I started making my own. Whole milk is the key.