spending

Using up the stockpile.

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After a particularly aggravating shopping trip back in late March, I suggested that we buy as little as possible for the month of April. We’d live off what was stored in the cupboards, freezer and basement, filling in with vegetables, fruit and dairy as needed.

At the time I meant to report the findings here. That didn’t happen. In fact, I can’t find the envelope with our April receipts. However, I do remember that DF added them up and they came to about $91 – which shows that vegetables, fruit and dairy for two people can be pretty darned expensive up here. (Hint: We’re not buying organic or out-of-season stuff and we use milk for cooking, not for drinking.)

How’s our stockpile looking? Surprisingly unaffected, dammit. 

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Sweating the cost of summer fun.

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thLate last week I suggested we drive to the Turnagain Arm Pit BBQ for supper. It wasn’t that there wasn’t anything to eat at home. It’s that the weather was too nice to stay inside.

Sure, we could have had leftovers at a table in the back yard. In fact, DF suggested we do that rather than spending $30 or more on ribs. But I wanted to take advantage of the splendid drive along Turnagain Arm, and then sit on the patio eating fried pickles and basking in the nonstop Alaska sun.

Summer can do a number on a frugalist’s finances – especially if your friends don’t play fair. Whether it’s beer and chicken wings after a pickup softball game or al fresco lunches with pals on a sunny Saturday, the next few months could lead to all sorts of uncomfortable money situations.

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A satisfied life.

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On Sunday we went to lunch with DF’s mother and her longtime companion. The most exciting part of the meal was the very large black bear that ran around in a field behind the restaurant until employees chased it away. The most interesting part was what his mother said about flowers.

She’d gone to a local nursery and was so taken by the blooms that she bought more than she needed. In fact, it’s been a long time since she bought anything she didn’t specifically need.

“It was nice to want something,” she said. “I haven’t wanted anything in a long time.”

That’s not because she’s clinically depressed or too impoverished to dream. It’s because she’s satisfied.

 

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Fix your finances with this LearnVest offer.

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th-1Note: This post was originally published on May 24, then removed due to a coding error. The offer is now good through June 3.

Having trouble managing your money, paying off debt or planning for the future?

Having trouble with all three of those things? LearnVest can help.

Normally there’s a one-time setup fee of $299. But for the next seven days LearnVest will waive that fee, which includes your first month’s membership.

Face it: Money choices can be bewildering, especially if you feel that you don’t earn enough of it. But you don’t have to go without in the short term to succeed in the long term — a certified financial planner will help you personalize a spending plan.

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Is it ever too late to start saving?

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thLast week I participated in a Tweetchat with Liz Weston, J.D. Roth, MP Dunleavey and other personal finance geeks. One of the questions was, “I’m in my 40s and just started saving. What advice would you give beginners to make the most and try to catch up?”

A flood of 140-character advice poured in, but J.D. Roth summed it up best of all: “The best thing when starting to save late in life is to just DO it. Don’t worry about lost time. Just save.”

Easier said than done, to be sure. But necessary nonetheless.

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Giveaway: “Deal With Your Debt.”

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thOn Tuesday I participated in a Tweetchat sponsored by FT Press, an imprint of Pearson and publisher of books by my MSN Money colleague Liz Weston. If you missed the event, at least some of the Tweets can be found in the publisher’s Tweetchat room. A spokeswoman for the company says a .pdf summary of the questions and discussion is in the works.

To promote the chat, FT Press gave out a few copies of “Deal With Your Debt” to random questioners. (Did any of you win? Tell us!) Now it’s my turn to hand out the revised and updated version of this book, which I can happily say is written for people in the real world.

Just check the description: “Award-winning personal finance expert Liz Weston reveals why it’s simply impractical to ‘just pay off every dime’ and ‘live forever debt free’ — and why trying to do so can actually make you poorer. It’s smarter to control and manage your debt, and Weston shows you how.”

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Giveaway: A book all young people should read.

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th-1Know someone who’s graduating from high school or college in the next few months? Have I got a grad gift for you.

Zac Bissonnette’s “How to Be Richer, Smarter and Better-Looking Than Your Parents” would actually be good for any young person who’s flailing around right now. Say, someone who finished a degree in December but hasn’t been able to find himself, a passion or even 40 hours of work per week.

The author was 23 when the book was published — and it wasn’t his first book. Slacker.

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I hate shopping.

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th-1I’m beginning to understand why people have things delivered. Today I drove DF to work so that I could use the vehicle for the day. I figured I’d do a couple of errands and maybe meet a friend for lunch.

Somehow the errands took over, shaving off slabs of time like a knife on a shawarma spit. It felt as though I spent two hours just getting out of the car and into the stores.

I’d forgotten how much I hate shopping. Real shopping, that is, not the kind I did in Seattle.

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Giveaway: “Fix It Make It Grow It Bake It.”

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FC9781573443654The subtitle of Billee Sharp’s book is “The D.I.Y. Guide to the Good Life.” If that sounds like you, then enter to win this book.

It’s designed to help you consume less and create more. Sharp’s philosophy is “applying effort, common sense and imagination to daily living,” which she says can ultimately free us from unnecessary expenses.

Or you could view it a how-to for spending more on the things that matter to you (organic food, non-exploitative manufacturing) by reducing costs elsewhere.

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Wedding bill blues.

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thQuick question: Would you spend almost three-fourths of your annual income on one party?

Yeah, me neither. But some people will spend that much – or more – on their nuptials.While researching a wedding article for MSN Money Frugal Nation, I learned that:

  • The average wedding cost $28,427.
  • The average income for a U.S. resident is $39,959.

Do the math.

Incidentally, that average wedding price does not include the cost of a honeymoon.

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