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Choosing what matters: My smaller (but still green) budget for 2012
Radically revising the way I lived forced me to figure out what to keep and what to give up.
Thu, Dec 29 2011 at 9:30 AM
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Photo: Great Beyond/Flickr.
As for many people, 2011 was a year of financial reckoning for me. Not only was I underemployed, earning about one-third of what I had before, but my student loans from graduate school began to come due, and for the first time in my life, I had to look hard at every dollar I spent — which also might explain why I am in a significant amount of credit card debt.
Before this year, I had this idea that I could spend whatever I wanted, since I was making such great money at my last job, and I expected that amount would keep going up every year, which it did — until it didn't. More interesting than my financial particulars is how I budgeted; not only what I got rid of, but what I kept (while still maintaining my dark green lifestyle). I offer this as information; I am just learning the real financial ropes, and certainly don't think anyone should follow what I do. But I always find it helpful to hear about what other people do — specifically — to stay within budget.
What I cut out:
1. My home phone was $22 a month ... for what exactly? I don't know who needs a home phone anymore, but I don't.
2. More than one cocktail out, unless it's a serious, special occasion. If I know I'm going to meet people for drinks, I usually have one at home before I leave, and always choose a delicious, high-end, bartender-spent-six-minutes-concocting-it beverage to sip on. If I'm going to pay for alcohol, I want it to be fabulous and not something I could make myself.
[Related: 20 unique ways to save money]
3. Health insurance: I could have cut my phone and eaten cheap food to afford health insurance, but since I usually see alternative health practitioners, and have basically disavowed Western medicine at this point (it's been a decade since I've taken an antibiotic or any kind of pill beyond aspirin) this works for me as I was paying out of pocket for my occasional alternative doctor's visits anyway. I realize that this is not an option for many people, but it is for me, for now. I'm going to be thankful for my good health every day and keep up the healthy foods and exercise.
4. Personal trainer: I asked a lot of questions and learned so much from my trainer, and made real gains in strength and stamina over the last few years, even as I've gotten older. But it's just too costly to keep going. My gym now offers "small group" personal training, where two or three people can pool together for training, and I might try that a couple times a month. In the meantime, I'm trying to vary my workout up as much as possible, and to channel my trainer's reminders about form when I'm lifting weights and using the various balls and balancers at the gym.
5. Yoga classes and Spin classes at spin-only gyms (I adore FlyWheel and I've heard SoulCycle is great, too). At $28 a class, even with the packages, it's just too expensive. I've been taking a spin class at my gym instead, which is less hardcore and less fun, but also free. I signed up for yogaglo for yoga classes, and at $18 a month, it pays for itself if I just use it once a month — and there hasn't been a week yet where I haven't done 3-4 classes in my living room.
6. New shoes: I have always invested in good boots and shoes, so this year I'm just wearing my existing pairs. I have resoled a couple of my favorites, and so far, I don't feel like I'm missing much. My boots especially just keep on keeping on.
7. New bed linens: I really kind of need new sheets and towels, but you know who sees these things? My roommates, me, and my boyfriend, and I'm sure none of them care as much as I do. So I'm waiting on these items, and sheets especially DO get softer and prettier over time, after all.
8. Music: I have been enjoying Pandora and putting up with the annoying ads. And this is only a half-truth; I did buy about 15 albums last year, but that's one-third or less of what I bought the year before. Whenever I have a bit extra, I tend to spend it on new music, and I believe in supporting musicians when I can — they bring a solitary writer such daily enjoyment and inspiration.
What was worth keeping:
1. Netflix: With free streaming movies and TV shows, and discs for the things not online (I have the 1 DVD at a time plan), it costs just as much to drive to the theater and watch one movie as keeping my Netflix for a month. There's so much on offer that even when I was sick for a couple of days, I still found plenty to watch. Who needs cable?
2. My iPhone mobile phone plan: I travel and spend half my time at my boyfriend's place in the city, and my family mostly lives abroad. I also run two websites and contribute to three others, so I need to be able to access them — and my email — at all times from my phone. I also have a terrible sense of direction and the iPhone is the only service that provides a free GPS (you have to pay for the feature on a Blackberry, bringing costs up, even though overall plans are cheaper). I just can't do without my iPhone.
3. Organic fruits and veggies: I still shop at farmer's markets and Whole Foods for produce — my health affects how I feel every day, and determines how well I will be into my old age. Healthy food is the VERY last thing that will go, no matter how small my budget gets. I refuse to compromise my health — and I think my healthy eating habits are the foundation for my general wellness. I grew up on local meats and eggs, honey from my backyard, and veggies from a giant organic garden my grandma tended. I can't tolerate cheap, processed food and this is one place I haven't cut back at all.
4. Espresso drinks and good chocolate: Fair-trade, high- quality coffee and cacao shouldn't be cheap — I've seen both plants growing in their native habitats and they are labor-intensive and take space and care to grow without destroying the environment. Cheap chocolate and coffee pollutes land and water, and takes advantage of already poor people, and I refuse to take part in such a system. A well-made cappuccino or cortado takes skill and finesse that's worth paying for. And I always tip the barista — my budget woes are no excuse to be a cheap tipper.
5. Travel. I've never traveled extravagantly — I find many high-end resorts to be so sterile and boring anyway. But all my extra money this year (precious little) is going towards continuing my adventures abroad. New places and faces are the things that make me the happiest in the world, and so I'm scrimping for my next trip (and using up all those air miles I've carefully put aside for times like now).
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http://www.imdb.com/nm1140761 a reduce reuse and recycle approach is what Grace Baine recomends to keep from overconsumtion and creating debt. is she having trouble wth ther curve with Clint Eastwood. Hollywood on a budget too google Grace Baine see imdb
Home cooking matters, too and it helps a great deal in budgeting. Eat out a lot less - it can save you a lot of money. www.inspiredhomecooking.com
Cutting out health insurance because you intend to do healthy things? PURE FOOLISHNESS. How do you know when you'll get a serious illness, fall and break a bone, wake up with your arm numb and pinched nerve in your neck that you can't explain but happens anyway, etc. Or do you assume you can plead poverty and let those of us with health insurance to continue to pay $934/year extra per person to compensate health providers for those who can't pay?
Poor you. How will you ever get along? There are so many families that are having trouble putting any food on their table and you have the audacity to wine about how you have to cut back on your travel and cappuccinos? Get your head out of your A## and go see how poor people in this country get by day to day and consider yourself well-off and lucky, which you obviously are.
World traveling is the most expensive thing personally and to the world. Someone so righteous about being "green" should know that flying once unnecessarily is worse than most everything else you could do to the environment, put together.
Virgin mobile has free GPS and text messaging for $25 per month, I only get 300 minutes but I never use them anyway. This saves me at least $35 per month alone.
Vigin's plan is actually $35 for 300 mins + unlimited text and data. It 'used' to be $25... but they raised it.
Still, 5 hours of talk + Unl txt & Net is alright by me!
Android phones even!
Health costs are the #1 reason people go into poverty. You may not like it and may never use it but you must have it. I cant believe this article has anything to do with personal finance. Best of luck to you and your herbs though.
Thanks for sharing, and best wishes for the future. Without being too judgemental, I would urge you to rethink your decision regarding health insurance. You are really rolling the dice on that one, and one serious issue could wipe you out. Don't let your ego make this decision, just to the right thing. Regards.
Health insurance feeds the corporate pig, is a sham and is as corrupt as an African nation!
Health insurance feeds the corporate pig, is a sham and is as corrupt as an African nation!
To add to the health insurance list - even seemingly non-catastrophic issues can be hugely expensive. As a young, healthy woman, I had to have my gallbladder removed last year (no risk factors) - which was 6k without insurace. It may be expensive, but it's definitely worth looking into other insurance options in case anything unplanned happens.
wow, cutting health insurance but keeping netflix? that seems like an interesting priority.... i'm not even going to go into the comment about disavowing Western Medicine...it blows my mind when people actually think they can do better than years of scientific research. herbal teas do not cure cancer, no matter how much you wish they did.
This is a good article at the right time of year. It is time for me to start prioritizing and making some smart decisions.
It is time to rebudget, and it is good to see where other people cut to help look at your own spending and say 'hey what do I really need to keep and what can I live without"
I've also switched to borrowing instead of buying books and am at the library a lot more these days!
Doesn't your library have DVDs to check out? And can't they get you the DVDs they don't own? Mine can. And it costs me nothing. Same for CDs
I get lots of dvds at the library. The ones that they don't have at my library, I interlibrary loan. Just a suggestion.
I had to quit my yoga studio because of how expensive it was. Really missed it. I found a great site. Myyogaonline.com that has classes online for $9.95. It's a fraction of the price of the studio and I can do yoga anytime, anywhere. I love that they add new classes everyday so I really feel like I am getting my money's worth.
Since radiation from Japan's nuclear crisis is in the U.S., how healthy can we now be? www dot enenews dot com (not spam, just an excellent site to learn more)
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