Absolute Essentials in my Pantry

Some items I simply cannot live without in my pantry. Many are canned or dried and therefore keep long, some are fresh and must be used accodingly. Always having these things on hand allows me those lazy times when I simply neglect to plan, or get off my organized trolley. No matter how busy things get, we can still have a delicious frugal meal because my pantry allows me to skip grocery shopping for a week.

Soon I plan to start a weekly series of recipes that are straight from my pantry. You'd be surprised the myriad ways to recombine these pantry staples into absolutely fabulous meals on the fly and without planning. I keep a  list of quick easy meals taped to the insde of my pantry door in case I'm also short on creativity and ideas.

• Dried beans (various kinds)
• Dried lentils (a bean I suppose)
• Canned beans
• Marinated artichokes
• Crushed tomato canned
• Anchovies packed in oil
• Italian tuna packed in olive oil
• Canned wild salmon
• Whole wheat capellini
• Sobe noodles
• Olives
• Pickled onions
• Dried musrooms
• Flaked coconut
• Coconut milk
• Olive oil
• Vinegar
• Sea salt
• Spices
• Garlic
• Onions
• Soy sauce

Freezer

• Shrimp
• Spinach
• Peas
• Limes
• Whole wheat nan
• Ginger root
• Canned Italian tuna packed in olive oil
• chopped cilantro
• chopped parsley

Stay tuned for my pantry recipes series.

Frugal, Healthy & Handy Snacks

Frugality means avoiding convenience store snacks. With the busy lives we seem to lead these days, planning for satisfaction on the run is important because stopping by the corner store regularly to grab a snack can be both a money drain, as well as a bad health habit.

 I am more concerned in this instance with the health implications, thought the few bucks here and there most certainly threaten to add up.

Nightly I add a handfull of almonds, a handfull of pecans (or any other nut,)  and a handfull of plump raisins or 60% cacao chips into a baggie. This healthy snack goes to work with me as my GoTo snack for the day. Satisfies every time.

In our home there are no sodas, with the exception of gingerale which is sometimes used for a tummy ache. We drink filtered tap water into which we sometimes squeeze lemon/ lime ro berry juice. With week end dinners, we serve typically seve wine.

Tap water flavored with a squeeze of citrus is so refreshing. According to my cousin the R.D. it also detoxifies. I just love the taste.

De-cluttering - my pantry

Frugality means being able to cook from my pantry should I need or want to. My pantry is to me one of the keys to frugality when it comes to feeding my family delicously and nutritiously.

My path to frugality starts with my food budget,  I  am so lucky to have a lovely walk-in pantry. This being the case, I do wonder how I let it get out of hand, but out of hand it got.
Here's the shameful state:

 Well today I gave it a quick once over. This is not my final pantry cleaning, but it definitely has it back to usable, and useful. I can now find what I need when I need it. Finding what I need when I need it in my pantry is a sure money saver, and therefore very frugal. Plus, this pantry now makes me happy, I like to just open the door and stand there gazing into it's shelves.
Here is my pantry now - - ahhhh...

Faces & Costs of Clutter

Up until I undertook this blogging eneavour, my goal had always been to keep my home tidy and clean with less regard for the clutter that hid behind closed doors. Oh once in a while I'd de-clutter the pantry and drawers, but this was generally confined to the kitchen and an occasional closet upstairs.

I have a master bedroom with a walk-in closet, and always kept that walkable. Everything looked excellent to visitors.

This is no longer acceptable, looking good to visitors. Originally my decluttering plan under this simplification mode was to declutter my "secret clutter places," garage and attic.

This priority has little by little shifted. Before I tackle the epicenters of my clutter, I need to take care of every closet, cupboard and drawer inside my home. Surface neatness is no longer sufficient.

Frugality means having access to all our things when we need them.
Money is lost when I have to buy a new measuring tape because I cannot find one of the 3 I already own. Until I have every nook in my home organized and de-clutterd, I will simply borrow from my sister what I need. No worries, she will force me to return it straight away.

Behind closed doors, all of my things have strayed from their homes and are hard to find. A good de-cluttering of closets, drawers, and cupboards during these cold months will serve me much more than attacking the garage and attic just yet.

There is plenty to thin out and organize right here inside my cozy warm home.  I plan a space a day. Pantry done!

Wish me luck.

Snow Removal & Frugality

As I write this, I am sitting pretty on my bed actually with a steaming cafe late that I just brewed.   I hear the plow guys outside clearing my driveway. This little luxury will cost me $35. Now this is not a huge amount of money, but when there is 10" of snow, well then it costs me $75. Plus there can be many snowfalls in NE that require removal.


Last year I spent at least $750 on snow removal. I am considering buying a good snowblower which costs about that same amount. I confess I am scared on many levels. Since my beloved travels a lot, I'd often be stuck handling the machine all by myself, they look so big and I am smallish; maintaining the machine looks daunting; storing the machine, my garage is already the epicenter and as yet untouched capital of my clutter issue. 


Surprisingly all the neighbors, even those who would never cut their own grass, have a blower, they are all men though. One of the men is flimsy, he's had a heart attack. I should be at least as capable as he is. No? oh, I don't know, it's not the expense of the blower, I am just scared to own such a big machine. What if it breaks? How will  I even get it home? I'm sure Home Depot delivers. Actually one of my neighbors is a single woman and she handles her own blower nicely, she is 3X my size. I am 5'6" weighing 119 lbs, she is 5"5" weighing maybe 225lbs. She packs a good bit more power than I.


I admit to having difficulties handling any domestic things going wrong. I keep my home in tip top shape because I am literally frightened of more than one thing being broken at once.  Disrepair and dilapidation gives me panic. A "fixer-upper" would never be in my cards. I would make an excellent "Hotel Resident" don't you think?


Meanwhile I sit here deliberating, my hard earned money flows, or is literally plowed from my door. I think I need to buy this monster of a machine. Stop making girly-girl excuses, be a woman, invest in the machine, and happily snow blow my driveway.

Frugality means sometimes spending to save. Over the years, how much have I already spent on snow plowing? I could have already bought a truck with a plow.

To be sure, all my emotional barriers aside, the purchase of a snow blower makes excellent fiscal sense. But I am in the process of simplifying, not adding big mean machines to my cluttered garage. Well, better a few useful machines than the useless clutter that now resides there. Poor garage.


Hopefully I can allow my intellect and good sense to override my emotional barriers. As I write this, my barriers seem sillier and sillier. We shall see.


Do you have panic over owning too many big machines, things that are not liftable? Is it just me with these issues? Is it just me that feels safer with junk than machines?

Living Well on Unemployment

An idea -
Recently I blogged about a brainstorming session where I strategized a plan for my finances and life in the event of a job loss. Out of this exercise came the feeling that I deeply want to start living as though I were already unemployed, execute my strategy, now, while still employed.

I am one of the fortunate ones that for the time being is still employed. There is no such thing as job security. In preparation for a possible job loss, I've decided to start now "living as if" - as if I were already unemployed.

Here it is:
If unemployed, I would be eligible to collect 674$ per week for 100 weeks. I realize that for many, this is a lot of money. We live in a very high cost of living east coast city, where this amount does not go far at all.

Figuring it all out -
I have calculated, backwards & forward, and designed a plan to scale back my life to be able to easily live on the $654 per week - my unemployment benefits.  This is $2,834 per month, I personally know many people who pay this for their mortgage or rent here is our beloved city. Many.

I was able to easily outline a scale-back plan for my life because I have no debt other than my home mortgage. I have lived debt free all of my adult life. I learned this value from my parents who never used the word debt free, they simply lived the example.

 Since most of my expenses are discretionary, for the next 100 weeks (which is the amount of time one can presently be on unemployment,) I will voluntarily live my life as though I were already unemployed. The difference in my pay will automatically be transferred out of my checking account into an "unemployment preparedness account" I have set up at ING direct.

A sobering reality -

I am under no delusions, these funds could very well be a saving grace should unemployment come calling at my door, and it very well could. Presently it looks like I have a job until the end of 2010, barring a would be war III or calamity of that magnitude, let me rephrase that, I will be paid my current salary until the end of 2010. After that, it is not at all clear. This experiment, challenge, could end up being a saving grace. In the upcoming 100 weeks of saving I will accumulate enough to pay off my mortgage. Imagine that.

            Here's a very high level look at my plan

Things I am cutting out completely: In recent few years, because I have no debt, I've little by little added tiny luxuries. They are nice, I appreciate them, but they are by no means needed. I will eliminate them all. Go back to living how I used to when I was saving to build my home.

House cleaner - this will cost me much time and effort. I like my home to be impeccable, and this is a good bit of work. I have researched this topic in detail, and I've settled on a system that I think will work nicely for me. There will be posts on this to come.

Landscaper - I will clip my own hedges & cut my own grass. In addition, I will also be growing all my flowers from seed at home. I will also be increasing my kitchen garden. I am sure I am underestimating the amount of labor, we shall see, I will of course post many updates.

Cafeteria meals at work (though this is no great sacrifice) - this is such an interesting topic that I have a post dedicated to it. Essentially, in summary, eating in the café at work is the single biggest rip-off there is.

Spa treatments (facials, manicures, pedis etc) - for me self care and health is a top priority. I will be learning to give myself facials, I also plan to experiment with herbals instead of always buying creams & products. Should be an interesting journey. Stay tuned.

Hair dresser - not ready to have grays - so I will experiment with color & technique - I am even considering signing up for an esthetician's course.

Clothes & shoes shopping - well - this is a gift because I definitely do not need any new clothes. There will be many posts on this topic. I have so much that can be retouched and made gorgeous. I will be creating a lot of what I need instead of buying.

House things shopping - I will make use of various Good Will stores. I did this before, but have not stepped in a Good Will for some years. This alone should be interesting. I've been inspired to do this by some of my favorite bloggers.

Vacations - these will be taken garden side - yup - toiling in the earth - I have 5 weeks available to me for vacation as well as an extra week I can spend dedicated to charity. I am lucky to presently be employed by a very generous corporation.

Restaurant meals - these will be very limited to special occasions & I will eat dishes I'm not likely to make at home.

Season Tickets to Symphony - I will go only a couple of times per season -these will be carefully selected

Other things I will be focusing on/ cultivating/ doing:

•  Focusing on health & wellbeing & learning
• Going more & more green
• Simplify
• Focusing on personal growth
• Experiencing deeper gratitude
• Connecting better and deeper with people
• Becoming more sensuous
• De-cluttering - yes this is a huge money saver
• Reigning in my scattered creativity
• Becoming much more creative
• Exploring new frugal hobbies
• Shopping only thrift stores (as little as possible)
• Eliminating fluff
• Streamlining & organizing my house
• Streamlining my kitchen
• Streamlining & optimizing my pantry & freezer
• Eliminating food waste
• Reducing my trash & recyclables
• Cooking - lots & lots of it
• Reducing my energy consumption
• Reducing my food budget drastically
• Reworking my land line & cell phone
• Eliminating cable
• Limiting gasoline budget
• Implementing modified envelope spending system
• Taking care of & pampering myself more than ever
• Using the library - lots and lots
• Riding my bike in 3 seasons
• Entertaining creatively on a shoe string
• Learning new languages
• Giving more of my time
• Exercising strict discipline by choice
• ...and much much more….

 Things I will NOT be doing:

• Giving up my yoga studio membership ($1,000/yr.)
• Giving up my late model BMW- paid for - has 40K miles - insurance expense - only drawback
• Changing oil/ repairing my car
•  Washing used baggies (I will try to eliminate them)
•  Dumpster diving (expt. interesting pieces - furniture to make over)
•  Getting things for free on freecycle to sell on ebay
•  Any illegal or questionable practices

 I am excited because I feel this is a much needed shift in my life.  I plan to learn a lot, and become more and more resourceful as I refocus my attention onto the details and blessings of consciously running our life.

 I look forward to the extreme simplification that this will introduce back into my life. Already the planning has been transformational. Despite doing this by choice, I am fully committed.

The byproduct of this endeavour is that if I do become unemployed, I am that much more ahead of the game, both in savings as well as in resourcefulness and abilities. Just imagine, by implementing and following this plan, I will save enough in the 100 weeks to pay off my mortgage, should I choose to do it. This is no small consequence.

My Strategies for Maintaining a Debt Free Life

A debt free life is a relaxed and truly pleasurable life.

I've never been a big spender. Got my first job at 13, saved regularly. Essentially I have a history of being financially grounded. As a single mom raising a child by myself, I became uber-responsible in terms of fiscal matters.

I am lucky, very lucky to be in a high paying profession, but at the start of my career, I earned very little.  Despite low earnings I was able to save a 20% down payment to build a nice home in an expensive city. After that purchase I still had a  very comfortable financial cushion. This cushion included a comfortable savings account, a fully funded emergency fund, and fully funded "spending" accounts for car repairs, vacation, etc. How was I able to accomplish this on one income while simultaneously raising a child?

None of my measures were novel ideas, just uber-practical and executed with unbending mindset. In my mind those are key component, steps - plan - practicality - execution - mindset.

Focused and unbending mindset:
Not caring much at all what other people thought, and when I fell into caring, quickly bringing  myself back to my goals. Believe me there were times that I looked at how my colleagues lived, and I questioned my own sanity. They drove BMWs, while I drove old Dodge Colts. It helped that my parents had, through example, demonstrated clearly that living below one's means is the very best way to go. It also helped that my sister was always a buddy in practical living.

Found a buddy - In my case it was my sister. We need at  least one good friend/ relative who thinks we're brilliant for living how we are.

Patience - Rome was not built in a day, and quick schemes are - just that.

NEVER EVER bought  -anything I was not prepared to pay in full at the end of the month. This included cars, vacations, furniture, outings, everything.

Lived in a tiny, old, cheap & unluxurious apartment - it had no heat, I used space heaters, 4th floor walkup, fairly ugly entryway, fairly ugly yard with a dumpster in the back, nice light because it was on 4th floor, a bit embarassing to entertain in, a nice old crab-apple tree, I made preserves. It cost $350/ month - unheard of cheap in our city.

Made my cheap apartment more enjoyable - good sound system, sanded the floors, painted top to bottom, kept it super tidy, pretended the old claw foot tub was in a spa. It worked, sometimes while soaking in bubbles, it felt like I was at a spa.

Drove cars worth less than $1,000 - usually $750 - Dodge Colt anyone. I swear by these ugly things as a tool to financial freedom.

Taught my son to appreciate life and not "stuff" - we went to museums, symphonies, traveled the world, explored nature almost daily, swam, bike rode, camped, made crafts, cooked. He did not have an abundance of toys or a perfectly decorated bedroom.

Kept mindfulness - each day that children need love and attention, not "stuff".

Kept my son's toys to a minimum - Leggos, wood blocks, logs, wooden train set, board games (lots), tent & camping stuff, garden tools, sand toys, bike, kites, books-books- books- books...
generally santa brought 1 - 2 toys - also socks, unddies, winter coat etc... we made the holidays pleasurable by making cookies and delivering them, hosting family etc.

Didn't allow guilts to take root - all around me parents were innundating their kids with "stuff", living elaborate life styles. I had to be unwilling to let the Jones' shift me. Hard at times.

Prioritized with percision - to enjoy some luxuries - a little travel - symphony - sushi - yearly beach vacation in a tiny cottage.

Cooked at home from scratch 98% of the time - we did a lot of it togehter, and he loves my cooking. I never got takeout, ever. As a treat we did picnics - lots of picnics...

Kept on track by tracking - monthly reviews and fine tuning of my progress toward saving for my house - fine tuning budget/ spending as needed.

Aligned my hobbies with my goals -  most of my hobbies were in preparation for getting my home. I learned to garden, refinish furniture, reupholster, thrift shop, make preserves

Made health a top priority - daily exercise - mostly walking - eating well - getting plenty of sleep - taking care of my self.

Automatically deposited savings to brokerage from payroll -this was probably the simplest and most key tool for staying on track with my savings goals. Out of sight out of mind.

Contributed max to 401K - keeping the long term in shape was important too. And if something happened to me, it would serve as a nice nest egg for my son.

Raises & Bonuses - automatically to savings - I simply did not increase my cost of living when I got these

Conscious daily spending - at each expenditure point - I asked - do I want this more or my planned vacation to Peru?

Lunches from home - for a good bit our cafateria at work was subsidized, once it became full cost, I took my  lunches daily

My little carefully crafted life certainly did not impress anyone, well, at least not positively. But during the 5 years we lived this way, I actually on more than one occasion lent money to some who had more impressive lifestyles, one who'd previously at times somewhat questioned my lifestyle, or at least my unfortunate choice of cars. At the end of the day it allowed us to have a lovely home without going into "house poor" mode.

I would not change a thing were I to have to live this phase over again. Well, maybe I'd be even more focused in my single mindedness, and even more sure of myself and my choice of cars...hee..ha...