Times R Tuff!!!
With all this excitement about the economy collapsing, I figured I'd offer my opinion on the matter: don't trust the U.S. government to bail out private enterprise. Instead, look forward to this film:
Trey and I are jumping on the money saving bandwagon -- not that we haven't always been right behind it; here's the new things I'm doing to save money:
1. Print grocery coupons and sale items online: I just started this week, and so far I've found some pretty good deals. Safeway.com has a great system for it. Check it out if you shop there; otherwise I'm pretty sure Homeland, Target and Wal-Mart do something similar by now. I'm going to try to always check online for coupons next time I need new tires, bed sheets, etc.
2. Carpool to work: Okay, I haven't started yet. I hate the idea because I consider that my time to be alone and sing along to my music. But it really does make sense, because Colleen lives about 6 blocks away from me at the moment and she's offered to do carpooling already. Maybe I'll start at just 2 days a week and see how I handle it.
3. Eating less meat: This one was easy, and we really do save tons of money. We've been averaging 3 meals a week with meat and and typically using it more as a garnish for flavor. Don't worry, we're replacing a lot of that protein with tofu, beans, eggs, and nuts.
This leads into the things we've done for a while to save money:
1. Eat leftovers for lunch: I've been a bring-my-own-lunch kind of gal since college, but I didn't take to leftovers for lunch until I moved to Washington, the reason being because I've never been a great cook, but Trey is so leftovers RULE.Trey isn't a big fan of leftovers, but he eats peanut butter and jelly sandwiches EVERY DAY for lunch at work, along with a salad and an apple/banana. I don't know how he does it everday, but he really does.
2. Walk!: You have to be in a good location, but we both walk most places we need to go; grocery store, bank, liquor store :). Trey walks to work everyday and I did when I was working in Seattle (but 4 miles a day with all my crap was KILLING me).
3. Don't complicate life with credit: I've had an emergency credit card for years and haven't used it yet. I've built good credit with my student loans and I'm not tempted to fuck that up. But if you want to use one to build credit, pay off the balance BEFORE the bill comes; you aren't charged for interest until the billing date, so you can use it just like debit card.
3. Be an energy Nazi: I'm not the best at this, but Trey is the Fuhrer of Energy. Turning off lights, unplugging appliances not in use, keeping the thermostat low, weather stripping, etc, lol.
4. Don't buy shit: This one is usually pretty easy; don't buy anything until something breaks. But it sucks when you try to justify a want as something useful. I considered getting a iPhone while I was working in Seattle, because commuting on the ferry and getting around the city, you NEED access to a computer. But now that I'm working in Poulsbo, it would be such an expensive waste. Avoid trends and gimmicky stuff, or things that'll just clutter up the house.
and finally...
5. Get a roommate: Yeah, living together early in a relationship can be stressful if things aren't a good fit, but everything is so much cheaper. Living alone in Norman was way too expensive and I can't believe I did it as long as I could (mostly thanks to help from Mom).
Click to viewTrey and I are jumping on the money saving bandwagon -- not that we haven't always been right behind it; here's the new things I'm doing to save money:
1. Print grocery coupons and sale items online: I just started this week, and so far I've found some pretty good deals. Safeway.com has a great system for it. Check it out if you shop there; otherwise I'm pretty sure Homeland, Target and Wal-Mart do something similar by now. I'm going to try to always check online for coupons next time I need new tires, bed sheets, etc.
2. Carpool to work: Okay, I haven't started yet. I hate the idea because I consider that my time to be alone and sing along to my music. But it really does make sense, because Colleen lives about 6 blocks away from me at the moment and she's offered to do carpooling already. Maybe I'll start at just 2 days a week and see how I handle it.
3. Eating less meat: This one was easy, and we really do save tons of money. We've been averaging 3 meals a week with meat and and typically using it more as a garnish for flavor. Don't worry, we're replacing a lot of that protein with tofu, beans, eggs, and nuts.
This leads into the things we've done for a while to save money:
1. Eat leftovers for lunch: I've been a bring-my-own-lunch kind of gal since college, but I didn't take to leftovers for lunch until I moved to Washington, the reason being because I've never been a great cook, but Trey is so leftovers RULE.Trey isn't a big fan of leftovers, but he eats peanut butter and jelly sandwiches EVERY DAY for lunch at work, along with a salad and an apple/banana. I don't know how he does it everday, but he really does.
2. Walk!: You have to be in a good location, but we both walk most places we need to go; grocery store, bank, liquor store :). Trey walks to work everyday and I did when I was working in Seattle (but 4 miles a day with all my crap was KILLING me).
3. Don't complicate life with credit: I've had an emergency credit card for years and haven't used it yet. I've built good credit with my student loans and I'm not tempted to fuck that up. But if you want to use one to build credit, pay off the balance BEFORE the bill comes; you aren't charged for interest until the billing date, so you can use it just like debit card.
3. Be an energy Nazi: I'm not the best at this, but Trey is the Fuhrer of Energy. Turning off lights, unplugging appliances not in use, keeping the thermostat low, weather stripping, etc, lol.
4. Don't buy shit: This one is usually pretty easy; don't buy anything until something breaks. But it sucks when you try to justify a want as something useful. I considered getting a iPhone while I was working in Seattle, because commuting on the ferry and getting around the city, you NEED access to a computer. But now that I'm working in Poulsbo, it would be such an expensive waste. Avoid trends and gimmicky stuff, or things that'll just clutter up the house.
and finally...
5. Get a roommate: Yeah, living together early in a relationship can be stressful if things aren't a good fit, but everything is so much cheaper. Living alone in Norman was way too expensive and I can't believe I did it as long as I could (mostly thanks to help from Mom).