budget

How to avoid overdrafting.

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It can be surprisingly simple to bounce a check – and overdrafting can put a serious hurt on your finances, especially if you’re living on a tight budget. That’s because banks and credit unions can legally charge non-sufficient funds and/or overdraft fees multiple times per day. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently reported that bank … Read more

Need something? Buy Nothing.

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(Happy Throwback Thursday! Now that the no- or low-spend February is underway, I thought this post could help some of you avoid spending and/or declutter. It was originally published on Aug. 5, 2018. Ever since then I have been using the heck out of Buy Nothing, both to give and to receive. With luck, your local group will be a great year-round resource to you as well.)

I got a free mini-fridge yesterday. Not for me, for a friend. (Seriously!)

While clearly secondhand, with a couple of scratches and dings, it smells freshly washed on the inside and will help someone out.

Helping people out is the stated purpose of the fridge’s source: a Buy Nothing Facebook group.

Sort of an intensely local Freecycle, this page is a great way not just to keep things out of the landfill, but also to connect with your community.

I’ve gotten so much good stuff from this site, including but not limited to:

  • A waffle iron that had been used just once (and it has a beeping timer – no more scorched waffles!)
  • A never-before-played “Game of Thrones” board game, which became a Christmas gift
  • A pair of slippers for DF’s grandchild to wear when she visits (this is Alaska, and shoes go off at the door)
  • A wraparound-style fleece poncho (very soft and cozy)
  • A bright-red colander (which I use to drain my homemade yogurt)
  • Plastic storage totes
  • Lots of food: apples, powdered milk, flour, dried beans, yeast, lentils, baking powder, pasta, split peas, and canned vegetables, fruits, fish and Spam (some of which we donated to a food bank)
  • Dig-your-own horseradish roots (always looking for new garden challenges)
  • A huge roll of parchment paper (a crucial ingredient in making that ridiculously simple, ridiculously delicious rustic bread)

It also helped me find an elementary school teacher who was delighted to take some empty Altoid tins off my hands. She’s also stoked about receiving fidget spinners, slap bracelets and any other fun items I bring back from . (Teachers are always looking for things for their classrooms.) DF and I have given away a bunch of other things, too, such as books, clothing and fresh rhubarb.

My niece has been able to find new homes for some decorative items (she’s changing décor), some outgrown toys and kids’ clothing, and a big bag of shredded bedding for pet cages (her snake died). Recently she picked up a big bag of clothing for her younger son, and also a major holiday gift (again, can’t say exactly what in case the kiddo is reading). She and I both check the page regularly, to see if anyone’s giving away something useful.

Or looking for something useful – the Buy Nothing group runs both ways. If you don’t see what you need, you can ask.

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Low/no-spend February: Week 1.

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It’s been a quiet week in Lake DebtBeGone* – which also happened to be the first week of the no- or low-spend February challenge. It was fairly easy to manage because I barely went anywhere. Since I don’t shop much online, it was pretty easy to avoid spending.

Not that I avoided it entirely. Tuesday, Feb. 1 was “Senior Tuesday” at Fred Meyer, a hot date for DF and me. That’s where the “low-spend” part comes in: Pretty much everything we bought either had an extra 10 percent off because it was a store brand, or because we had a coupon, or both. We found some screamin’ deals on meat, paying $2.49 a pound for 91 percent lean ground sirloin, $2.87 for a pound of breakfast sausage (DF eats meat and eggs before heading off to ski) and $1.92 for a pound of organic ground beef (manager’s special/store coupon/Senior Day trifecta).

Those prices may not sound rock-bottom to you, but we live in the home of the Alaska Gouge and we were just delighted.

On the way to the checkout line, we saw frozen turkey breast for 99 cents a pound. Grabbed one of those, too, and today it made the most marvelous midday meal – and it was frugal to boot:

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Low- or no-spend February starts tomorrow.

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Just a heads-up: Beginning tomorrow, we start the no- or low-spend February challenge. Given the comments I received on the original post, some of you are as intrigued as I am by this chance to look closer at your spending and, if need be, to get control of it.

This time around we’re doing “low-spend” as an option. I want to encourage people to do their best not to spend – but I also want them to let it go if they do have to spend.

Your teenager has no control over whether they grow out of their shoes next month, and your car isn’t going to wait until March 1 to break down. As thoughtful as those things would be, life isn’t perfect. It doesn’t conform to our expectations. (I expect most of you know that already.)

As I noted in the original piece, it’s more of a “spend-super-intentionally” month. The object isn’t privation. It’s innovation, and it’s discovery. How can we come up with clever workarounds vs. spending on autopilot? And just how much do we spend while we think we’re being frugal?

Also as noted: We’re going for mindfulness, like masochism. You can still buy stuff. Heck, you can even buy stuff you don’t technically “need,” as long as you keep the low- or no-spend February club rules in mind: 

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Found money and hunger.

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As regular readers know, I pick up coins (and sometimes bills) all year long. The found money goes into a vase my daughter got from the free box at a yard sale when she was little. At the end of the year, I round up the amount and donate it.

Last year my found money take was pretty paltry: just $5.88, probably due to the pandemic*. For example:

Work slowdowns/job loss might have made some folks more apt to pick up those quarters they dropped. When times were better, they just let ’em roll.

People weren’t shopping in-person as much, for fear of contagion. Fewer shoppers means fewer chances for dropped coins.

And since I spent a whole lot of 2020 hiding away from the invisible** threat, I wasn’t in the stores much myself.

To some extent, those things were still true in the past year. In addition, the country has been plagued by a coin shortage in stores and banks so folks were using less cash. Maybe that’s why I kept thinking that 2021 was going to be another low year for found money. Imagine my surprise when I counted up: The vase held $10.11 – almost 72 percent more than in 2020.

Generally I donate the rounded-up amount either to Feeding America or the Food Bank of Alaska. This year, however, I’m going to focus on hunger in the rural town where I grew up. 

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Join us for a no- or low-spend February.

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The first time I suggested this, back in 2019, it was simply a no-spend February. Given the current economy, I propose to make things more inclusive with a “no- or low-spend February.” This welcomes everyone, including those who might have reasons why they can’t just quit  buying.

Besides, this exercise doesn’t mean “stop buying anything at all for 28 days.” Of course you can still put gas in the car or fresh produce in the fridge.

As I said back in 2019, a no-spend month is really more of a “spend-super-intentionally month” – and I’m confident that readers of this site are up to that challenge.

Some of you already have to spend super-intentionally, all year round, due to issues like underemployment, health conditions, family financial crises or, lately, inflation. Other readers spend carefully in order to meet specific goals: minimalism, sustainable living, giving to causes they believe in, early retirement and the like.

Whatever your reasons for being careful with your dough: Who’s in for a no- or low-spend February?

It’s pretty simple. Instead of spending the way you normally do, you interrogate your purchases: 

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Monday miscellany: Get a second opinion!

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My daughter almost spent way more than necessary for some work on her home. Way more. But the lights were flickering pretty seriously and the electrician – who was recommended by a handyman company she’d used – said some pretty scary things. Scariest of all was the price: $8,300 for three different issues.

Years ago, Abby’s Seattle home caught on fire due to a panel that short-circuited. So you can see why she’d want to get any electrical issues fixed, pronto.

Usually a cautious woman with regard to researching costs and always looking for the best deals, this time she panicked and put down a deposit.

Thank heavens for friends in smart places: Her pal Andre, who’s an engineer, said that cost sounded high to him. A consultation with his friend the electrical engineer proved him right. Abby got another electrician in, and what do you know? During the troubleshooting call ($186), he got everything squared away. And as is her wont, she wrote about the situation: “Why you should always always always ALWAYS get a second opinion.”

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Monday miscellany: Social media shopping edition.

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Last week I did something unprecedented: social media shopping. Specifically, I succumbed to a Facebook ad. While I can’t say too much about this, on the off-chance one of the two recipients is reading, I can say I think the gifts I purchased will be a hit this Christmas.

This was new to me, but definitely not to everyone. According to a CreditCards.com survey, nearly three-fourths (72 percent) of millennials say social media affects their buying decisions. By contrast, only 45 percent of my own age group copped to this kind of impact.

Ana Staples, an analyst with Bankrate.com, says it’s pretty easy to be influenced. In fact, she recently had to put herself on a “book-buying ban” after watching too many TikTok videos about reading. Staples realized she had months’ worth of reading material already stashed.

“Not my proudest moment,” she says.

To help the rest of us avoid impulse buying – and, maybe, Internet scams – Staples offers the following tips. 

 

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Why you need an “abundance tracker.”

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Recent talk of inflation (and the possibility of hyperinflation) has left me very jumpy. That’s why a squib in Melanie Lockert’s newsletter really resonated with me. 

“Do you ever feel like you’ll never have enough? This is a common issue when it comes to money mindset, and can impact our financial and mental health,” Lockert wrote.

“So one thing I’ve been doing lately is something I call ‘abundance tracker.’ I track all moments of abundance.”

A few recent examples:

Lockert’s health insurance premium decreased.

She received a gift card for food from someone who couldn’t use it.

She cashed in Starbucks rewards points for a free coffee.

According to Lockert, tracking “moments of abundance” can help reset your mindset: “From the discounts you get, to the gifts, time and support. It all counts.”

Turns out I’ve been doing that for the past week or so. I just didn’t know what to call it.

 

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Frugal hack: Homemade yogurt.

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I’m having a bone graft today, to prepare for a dental implant some months down the road. Generally I look at dental work as God’s way of saying, “Oh, go ahead – have a milkshake for lunch.” But since this isn’t just a filling or a root canal, I have no idea how long it will be before I feel like chewing. One milkshake is fine; several days’ worth sounds cloying. That’s why I made a fresh batch of yogurt over the weekend.

Greek yogurt with some of the rhubarb compote I put up last fall is a fairly satisfying meal substitute. Protein, with no need to chew! Turning some of the yogurt into a healthy smoothie is another option that I think will help get me through the owie-mouth days to come. (Seriously: No idea whether it will be one or two days, or lots longer. This is my first bone graft and, I hope, my last.)

As I put the new batch into the fridge, I was reminded once again how simple it is to make the stuff. Draining it adds an extra layer of complexity, but it’s not that complex.

And the cost can’t be beat. I can get about two quarts of Greek yogurt, plus almost two quarts of whey (more on that later), for $2.61 to $3.14, depending on whether the milk is on sale. When the milk is so close to its sell-by date that it’s 50 percent off, then I pay as little as $1.57.

By contrast: A quick search of supermarkets shows one quart of Greek yogurt going for anywhere from $4.29 to $5.99.

If I hadn’t drained it I’d have gotten almost a gallon* of regular yogurt. But I prefer the thicker texture and milder flavor of the Greek-style product.

Ready to learn how to do this? Keep reading. I’ll also provide a life hack for making Greek yogurt the easy way. 

 

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