Category Archive

So yeah, I could get a case. I could, you know, be CAREFUL with them. I’d rather just buy cheap ones. I don’t wear them as a fashion statement (well, not really, though I may purchase trendy ones), I don’t wear them as a status symbol, and I mostly wear them at the beach or in the car. Designer sunglasses? They just aren’t my thing. There is so much more I’d rather spend my money on. Sunglasses for $25 to $50, I might consider, but that is probably the limit.

I do (sort of) get why a person wants designer sunglasses. You can wear them a lot, you can love them a lot. Just like I do (sort of) get why a person might carry designer handbags. It just isn’t something I do. There is no way that is in my budget, and it isn’t something I place a high value on. So I’ll stick to my cheap-o sunglasses, and have only momentary pain when I find them squashed at the bottom of my beach bag.

PS - I know the shape/style of my sunglasses is sort of “out”. They were purchased for sailing, so functional. I’m kind of glad I have a good excuse to get cuter ones.

I’ve been trying to like chickpeas. I’ve been trying, but I just can’t. There is something about their texture and scent that I just can’t get behind. I tolerate them, but I don’t enjoy them. I want to like them, because not only are they cheap, but they have protein, fiber and are fairly nutritious. The biggest flaw I found is they are a little high in sodium. I wonder if this would be true if I were to purchase dried chickpeas and make them myself? That sounds like a heck of a lot of work.

Anyway, I wouldn’t say that I dislike the chickpea recipes I’ve tried, but I didn’t feel compelled to make them a second time. Too much chickpea flavor, too little other stuff (not a problem if you think chickpeas are tasty).

The other night, chickpeas in hand, I searched Allrecipes.com for chickpea recipes and found this Chickpea Salad that used ingredients I happened to have on hand. I halved it and used dried parsley (I can’t keep fresh herbs on hand) and pressed the garlic rather than mincing. (There also was a plethora of more fancy chickpea recipes, including chickpea curries and roasted chickpeas and several other salads that could suite anyone’s fancy.)

Yesterday, while collecting my lunch, I saw a container of beautiful berries in the communal fridge. I suffered from momentary lunch envy, but once I tasted my lunch, it evaporated. I really liked it! It wasn’t just okay, it was good. I finally found a chickpea recipe that I can get excited about. The key may be everything but the chickpeas–I love garlic, red onion and tomato, and there was enough flavor to make up for the slightly lackluster chickpeas. I found a new frugal lunch!

Half can of chickpeas: $0.35 I was surprised to find these were much cheaper at Whole Foods ($.79) than at Ralph’s ($1.50, $1.19 on sale). Cheapest yet at Trader Joe’s for .69
1 roma tomato: roughly $1
one quarter red onion: $.15
2 cloves of garlic: Not sure, let’s say $.10
Olive Oil: Negligable, $.20
Lemon Juice: Negligible, $.20
Parsley Flakes: Negligible.
Shredded Parm (optional, but tasty): The bag was $2.50 but I used just a sprinkling. Let’s say $.25.
Total: $2.25

I chose to supplement this lunch with some tomato avocado soup I made several days ago, but I found it quite filling and you might be able to get by just on this if you don’t eat big lunches. Or add some fruit or whatever else you like to eat for lunch. I suppose I don’t need to tell you that. You know how to pack a lunch, right?

As far as groceries go, I’m done for the month. I am $1 over my $145 budget (which isn’t a very small budget in the first place). T suggested cooking some shrimp pineapple curry this weekend, and also some hot spinach artichoke dip. We split the grocery bill for those items, but it really wasn’t in my “meal plan” and shrimp is hardly frugal. It was good and we like cooking together, so I don’t regret it. I certainly can last until next Sunday without spending a dime on food, though I might buy some bread.

I’m need to get in my kitchen and whip up another batch of my chickpea salad for today!

I did it! I colored my hair!

For the past year and a half I had been going to a great salon in my previous town and getting fabulous cuts and highlights about every four months. It usually ran about $120, a little more if I got the eyebrows done too. Highlights look great the first time you do them. But they are so much upkeep, and after doing them for a long time, they look less and less great.

After moving to L.A., I hadn’t done anything with my hair.   I was in dire need of a trim, so I found a legit salon that offered $20 first time hair cuts. It isn’t that I won’t pay a little more for a great cut, but I was frightened of paying a lot for a mediocre cut. If the stylist impressed me enough, I probably would have went back for full price. But she didn’t. She was ok, but nothing great. Still, I paid $30 (I’m not going to tip off the discount price!) and was on my merry way with healthier hair and new side swept bangs.

Next step, color. I asked the salon price of an all over color: $85. No thanks! We picked out some store dye for about $8 and matched my natural color quite well, thanks to T‘s meticulous color selection.  Unfortunately we accidentally got the 28 wash box, so I’ll revisit in a month and get the permanent color.

This hair should be much easier to maintain, and eventually much healthier. Also, much cheaper, allowing me to stick to my “Personal” budget much more easily.  Now I just have to find a stylist that I actually like, but I can wait a few months for that.

Will I go back to coloring my hair? Maybe. I think before I get married I’d want to have highlights and a really great color/cut. Other than that, I’m content with my natural color. And since I’m not even engaged, that really isn’t a big consideration.  Now is a great time to go back to my natural light brown color.

I need a new haircut really badly. I’m considering going to a “hair academy” and getting it cut by students. I used to go to one back home when I was in college. While it took an excruciatingly long time, I was always satisfied with the end result, and even more satisfied with the price.

But do you get what you pay for? It isn’t that I’m completely unwilling to shell out for an amazing haircut, but I’m afraid I’ll go to a real salon, shell out the big bucks, and not even be impressed. Then again, I don’t exactly want to spend 3 hours getting my hair cut. I have been checking yelp.com for reviews and I could just take a leap of faith. But what the heck does “$$” mean as opposed to “$”? Seriously, can’t they just say how much a basic cut will cost me?

Have you ever gone to a hair school? Are you willing to pay more for a (theoretically) better cut?

I don’t typically visit starbucks, but perhaps a nice cup of premium coffee will get me through my busy Saturday!

Tomorrow, 10-12 local time, free coffee at a starbucks near you! I love free!

EDIT:  I was tricked!  That was for 07, taken from dealnews.com, who has since removed the alert.

Money can buy me a lot of thing that I really like, but there are also a lot of free things that I enjoy in my life. Here is a few that I enjoy on a regular basis

National Public Radio: I’ve been a huge fan for years–I originally discovered it when I started making long road trips during a long distance relationship. You really can only listen to music for so long, especially if you aren’t that into music. These days I listen to NPR in the car on the way to/from work to stay on top of the news. love the non-news programming as well: This American Life, Science Lab, Marketplace (especially Marketplace Money, which inspired my initial pf love), and a ton of other great shows (available as podcasts too!). Technically, this isn’t free–they rely on contributions from listeners like me, as they like to remind me during pledge drives!

Public Library: We all know about borrowing books, but don’t forget that most libraries also will loan DVDs and music. You can catch up on your magazine reading there rather than subscribing, or surf the net if you don’t have your own connection. Many cities also let you download audiobooks (though good luck getting them onto an iPod legally/free) for your enjoyment. Again, paid for by your taxes, but essentially free.

The Ocean: Coming from the landlocked Midwest, the ocean still inspires awe in me each time I visit it. I’ve already gone several times, though it hasn’t been warm enough to go in.

Reading: I quit pleasure reading in college (too much school work) but now that I have free time again, this is a great way to stay entertained and to keep your mind sharp. This ties in with the public library, but I also read a lot of blogs which is also free. I do pay for internet, but in theory you could use publicly available wi-fi (see library).

Running: You do have to buy the shoes, but other than that, there is no cost. This is a love/hate relationship. In theory, I hate it, but when I do it, I love it. Similarly, there is also the option of swimming, rollerblading (so 1990s) , hiking, oga and long walks on the beach.

Other: I also love walking around the city, good conversations, writing, and I just adore sitting on my balcony (though if you add a cup of coffee, there is a small cost).

What free/frugal things do you love?

Problem: I’ve been a wreck lately, off and on. In less then 3 weeks on the job, I have twice called T at lunch in tears over nothing! Of course, I know that it is over nothing, even when I call. Of course, I’m professional enough to keep my tears out of sight of anyone. Still, it is frustrating. To me, and maybe to him, though he’s been super kind about it.

With the relocation and all the changes all at once, I’ve really been under a ton of stress lately.  Most of it is exciting and good, but it is still stressful.

Solution: Start running again. I quit when I lived in Iowa and it got really cold

Now really, I want to try out rock climbing or yoga. But I don’t trust myself with that yet. Spending money on something I may or may not follow through with. Running is free–I have shoes, I have a road… and a workout room at my apartment. The other things, not so free. If running balances me the way it usually does, then perhaps I’ll branch out, but I have to focus on one thing at a time.

When in doubt, choose the free option.

The best advice I received about whether to pursue grad school immediately after graduation was essentially that. My dad suggested, that if I was not sure, I should think about it while I was making money rather than think about it while I was borrowing money. Such wisdom from someone so bad with their own money! There is some value in “just getting it done”, but I think more students err on the side of grad school when it isn’t their best choice than err on the side of employment when graduate work is their calling. It’s easy to do though–if you are good at school and have been going to school since you were 5, more school easily seems like the best choice.

Going to grad school part time while working full time can be a HUGE pain in the butt, but financially, you just can’t beat it (if employer covers tuition). It’ll be two more years of hard hard work, but to have an M.S. degree when I finish? It’ll be fantastic. I mean, kids (and even pets) probably will have to wait, but I’ll be (gasp) 27 or 28, which isn’t all that old. I have a good friend who is due to have a beautiful little girl any second now, but that really was never the image I had of my life. I won’t be the youngest coolest mom, but I’m cool with that (and really, I still get carded for R rated movies sometimes so at least I’ll look young).

Anyway, I find out about my acceptance to the new graduate program applied for “within 2 to 4 weeks” of either today or the day that I submitted the application (the email wasn’t clear). Cross your fingers!

My weekly grocery budget goal is $30, I spent $35 at Trader Joe’s, then $10 at Ralph’s to bet ground sausage meat for the big batch of breakfast burritos I spent today making (then freezing). Which quite obviously is more than the budget, but the burritos are meant to be split with boyfriend T. He is going to put $15 of gas in my car for splitting the ingredients + labor. If i can get by all week without running to the store for milk/juice or something else random, this week will be in budget.

However, in a quintessential SJean Food Failure, I screwed up the breakfast burritos. Breakfast burritos are an old recipe passed down to me from my mom…. No, I’m joking. My mom did make them and throw them in the freezer for us. In college, she’d sometimes send a batch off to the dorms with me. But it’s just sausage, eggs, cheese and chopped onion rolled into a tortilla. Top with sour cream and salsa. They aren’t the healthiest little things, though you could pony up for the lowest fat sausage ($4.60 instead of $2.50 for 3 less ounces), which I didn’t this time. I did attempt to drain as much grease as I could, probably fruitlessly. Anyway, I made 20 some of these things, running out of sausage halfway through and getting more. Which was odd, since I usually estimate quite well how much I need.

After stacking them up in the freezer and forgetting about them, I was walking along the beach (yes seriously) and it dawned on me. I had completely forgotten to put the scrambled eggs in!! When I was writing the list and I asked “T, what else goes in these? Sausage, cheese, onion… tomatoes?” He said he thought that was it too. I spent an hour and a half making the dang things, and it still didn’t cross my mind! Really, how does this happen?? I’m sure they are still completely edible, just not as intended. So they were less than $1 a piece and would have been even more frugal had I used more egg and less sausage. Eat with cation if you don’t buy the lowfat stuff, but my diet is generally pretty good so one of these when I’m feeling lazy should be just fine.

I’m excited to try out some of the new things I bought. I found the couscous just fine, and even located some ziti in the larger Ralph’s that I went to, though I was totally prepared to substitute penne or similar. I was slightly overwhelmed in the yogurt section, but after a few minutes of searching, I located the Greek style yogurt successfully. We’ll see how my lunches pan out this week, though I still have some sandwich ingredients on hand in case of emergency.

I’ve been eating sandwiches (packed from home) for lunch at work, which is already getting boring. I can eat the same thing day after day for a period of time, but after a few weeks, my taste buds go on strike and demand something new.

I don’t spend a lot on groceries because I buy what I know how to make. Which is, sadly, not much. I don’t necessarily eat sandwiches because they are cheap. That is one factor. However the primary reason is that I know how to make them, and they are quick and simple. Bread, meat, cheese, DONE!

I have this bag of baby spinach from Trader Joes which was an amazing deal, but I got it on Saturday and still haven’t opened it. It only lasts about a week, which means… I really need to eat salads the next few days. I have no idea why I’m not throwing a few leaves into my sandwiches. That is one problem I have–I buy things with good intentions and they go bad when I choose the easier/tastier foods first. Which is why I don’t buy a lot of produce, at least not finicky produce that spoils quickly.

Another problem I have is I flat out buy the wrong things sometimes. I wanted to make mini-pizza’s on english muffins. I bought tomato sauce, which apparently is not quite the same as pizza sauce, though I tried to make it work. Then I ate the english muffins on their own for breakfasts, and now I have pepperoni and mozzarella hanging around waiting to be put to good use.

Or I put “ziti” on my list, the store doesn’t have it, and I realize that not only do I not know what shape pasta it is so I can substitute, but I’m not even 100% sure it is pasta after all. (Well, I know now, but that did me no good then!)

I absolutely love the frugal food posts over at English Majors Money. I perused her archives and came up with several recipes I would like to try. It can be challenging, for me though. I had really never had couscous and am not convinced I’ll be able to find it… And when I do find it, will I be able to cook it? But if I succeed, I won’t have to eat sandwhiches anymore!

I’m going to force myself to wait though, as I have food in my apartment that I won’t eat if I go out and buy more delicious things.

In hopes to add something of value in this post, other than complaining at my failure in the kitchen, I will suggest a “recipe” that I like and actually can make (in less than 5 minutes.)

Ingredients:
Spinach (baby or other size)
Chopped walnuts
Dried cranberries
Feta Cheese
Honey Mustard Dressing

Instructions:
Toss together. Enjoy!

Is it frugal? I’m not sure. Nuts, cranberries and feta aren’t exactly cheap, but the bulk of the meal is the spinach, which sometimes is cheap. Is it good? I love it! And it is easy, which is the clincher for me.

In a side note, Trader Joe’s had decent prices, but the selection was not very good. Did I just go to a small one, or is that normal?

I went on my first full shopping trip since relocating and moving into my apartment. I looked at the current balance of my grocery bill in horror. How on earth was it at $79 already? And they still were ringing up my order!! The grand total was $95, then they swiped my Ralph’s card and it dropped to $70. It is ridiculous that they do that. It is just forcing you to use a grocery card if you want any discounts at all.

Anyway, $70 is still much more than I spend on weekly groceries. About double! Although part of it was because I’m restocking almost everything, it still was a bit excessive. I think my solution will be to make this last two weeks…. so no new groceries until Februrary 12th! I am pretty sure I can do it. When I complain there is no food to eat, I usually mean, there is nothing I feel like cooking and eating.

What on earth did I buy? Well, I won’t copy my whole long receipt, but here are some of the more expensive items on the list.
Chicken breast fillets $8.90. I don’t usually buy meat, actually. I’m not vegetarian, but I’m not a big fan of meat and I don’t really know how to prepare it well.
Frozen Strawberries, huge bag, $8.50 (should last a very long time. For smoothies)
Lunch meat, 2 packages, $5 (much cheaper than buying a sandwhich!)
Peperoni to make English muffin pizza’s: $3.50
Lunch cheese: $4.19, I forgot to price shop this I think
I also bought butter, milk, bananas, coffee creamer, 2 boxes of cereal, frozen broccoli and lots of other miscellaneous items.

There were some things on the list I didn’t get. I had a frugal recipe that called for ziti, so I set out to the pasta isle. When I didn’t find it, I realized I wasn’t entirely sure if ziti was pasta at all. Maybe it was a cheese? So I’m back at home, ziti-less and just looked it up. It was pasta after all. I also could not find any muffin mix to make bran muffins. Maybe no one else likes them?

I liked to have a grocery budget of about $120/month, but I may have to up it. We’ll see.

I must have lost a little weight over the course of the last year, as most of my jeans have been getting a little baggy. It wasn’t a significant ammount, but I’m small already, so five pounds in either direction can make my clothes fit differently. Then seven to ten pounds means a whole new pants size. Seems like Mapgirl is having the opposite problem which is admittedly more common. Anyway, to remedy this, I ordered some jeans from Banana Republic on sale for $31.99. I couldn’t try them on, so I crossed my fingers on the size, 2L. I only need “Long” sometimes, but that was all that was left. This was before I picked up two new pairs on sale at Jcrew for about $35 each. I really didn’t need 3 new pairs, just two! The jeans arrived yesterday, and are too long, as I suspected they might be. It is a bit of a releif, now I don’t have to decide weather or not to return them. Obviously, they must go back. They were cute jeans too, so I would have been tempted to keep them. I have to eat $6.00 in shipping (couldn’t find a free shipping code), but I will still get $32 back on my card. That’ll teach me to buy jeans without trying them on. (They were only available online anyway. The ones in the store didn’t work out either.

My new rule on clothes is nothig that isn’t directly appropriate for work for the next six months. Does that really mean no fun clothes until June 29th? Yes! It is not as ambitious as other young bloggers no clothing resoluitions (Meg and Wanda are two examples), but it is a step in the right direction. Also, I just donated a huge pile of clothes I never wore to Goodwill, so another rule is, for every item that comes into the closet, something has to go in a donation pile. That is super logical, will help with clutter, and will inspire extra cautioun in purchasing! An exception may be made for shoes, but with caution.

Also, I have a couple pairs of pants I had made for me when I was in Hong Kong that are now a little too big as well. Some don’t have belt loops, so they are nearly unwearable. In fact, I wore one pair with a safety pin in an emergency situation. Classy! I think it is time to find a tailor and get those pants wearable again. Much more frugal than buying more dress pants! Do any of you have experience with using a tailor? And if I get them taken in, can they later be taken out if necessary?

Either that or I can fatten up a little bit… but that is also expensive because my metabolism would require a big calorie surplus to accomplish that!

My internet and cable aren’t being installed until Saturday. Yet here I am, on the internet from the comfort of my own apartment. That’s right, I’m mooching off someone else’s unsecured connection.

How unethical do you consider this? I know some people who do it regularly as their primary source of internet. I usually do it in situations like this–I don’t have legitimate access to the internet, but I have a legitimate desire to be on it!

To be honest, I’m not certain of the security concerns of this. If I’m connected to their network, could they potentially access my computer? I don’t think so.

I spent the day settling in to my new apartment. While I filled up my new Ikea dresser, it tipped over and nearly killed me. No worries, the only casualty was a barely noticeable cosmetic piece we are going to try to repair later this week. I listened to NPR all day, and I am pretty sure that once my six month deal runs out for cable, I will be able to do without it. I’m not going to lie, I’ll miss some of the absolute crap TV shows that I watch but my life is probably better off without them (example: Real Housewives of Orange County). The shows that I really love (when there isn’t a writers strike) are all available online (Office and Grey’s).

Internet I couldn’t live without…. but could I just mooch off a neighbors connection? I probably wouldn’t. Not only because of the moral concerns, but because it may not be reliable and completely secure. What do you think?

I’m not big into beauty, hair, and make-up. That isn’t to say I’m not into looking nice, I just don’t get into it the way some girls do. I wear minimal make up and can’t do much with my hair beyond straightening it or pulling it back.

However, after graduating college, I started highlighting my hair again. I quit during college because it was too expensive, my mom wouldn’t fund it like in high school, and really, no one cared what my hair looked like. These days, my routine is to go in for a nice cut and highlight touch up about once every three months. My hair dresser was always encouraging me to come in more often, but I stretched it out as long as I could. If I got my eyebrows waxed, it would run me about $150, which averages out to $50/month on hair care.

The hair cuts I still like. She was really good, and I’ll pay for a good hair cut. But I’m considering quitting the highlights and sticking with my natural hair color for awhile. It’s easier to deal with and healthier for my hair. Highlights look really nice, but I’ve looked through some pictures of me with my natural color, and I think I can deal with that. It just doesn’t seem worth it to spend that much money on my hair right now.

What do you spend on hair care?

It seems I can go months on a fairly tight budget, not desiring to spend a lot of money on anything really. I won’t go shopping, I won’t go out to eat, and I will build wealth fairly effectively.

January has not been one of those months. Part of it is because I’m moving out of my apartment (and city, state, and region!). I’ve bought several cleaning supplies that I probably could have got by without (or substituted with things I already own). I also bought a new large suitcase and an inexpensive exercise ball. Then I needed a new coffee mug, because mine ceased to be watertight and was spilling. Then a dinner with my friend, because I’m leaving. And some wine for him because he fixed my car speakers for free. And wine for myself, just because. And a magazine too, while I’m there. Oh, and I needed an oil change. And it’s been like that, one thing after another, the money just has felt like it is flowing out. And out, and out and out.

It has been, too. I have spent at least $300 in the last couple weeks on non-bill related items. Perhaps more. I’m a little afraid to tally it, though I have a handy pearbudget spreadsheet all set up… The thing is, I knew that I’d be spending more than I make this month due to paying double rent because I’m moving. And due to getting 1 weeks less pay, due to switching jobs. So since I knew that, it seemed like I might as well just buy every cleaning supply I thought I’d need… At least it should help me get my $100 deposit back!

Well, anyway, it’s time to tighten up ship again! I pledge to conciously think about each purchase I make for the rest of the month, and only buy things I really need!

My boyfriend compliments me sometimes, saying that I’m good with money. He says that, but once or twice, he has added “but I’m better with it!”

I respectfully disagree with that sentiment. I’m better with money, he’s just more stingy. Also, his stingyness comes primarily from the fact that he is a grad student and has a very limited disposable income. In general, he is selectively stingy. Back when he was making a reasonable income, he spent in the range of $3000 for private pilot flying lessons. So he spends less by buying cheap lunch meat and kraft singles, and I buy better stuff. I don’t consider that being better with money, I consider that having more money and making choices, not being “worse” with money.

I think when we are married, we’ll be able to manage our finances without too much conflict. We are both generally savers, but we are both (generally) willing to spend on certian things we value: for example, travel, occasional good meals, and wine. We should make decent money, and things should be smooth. And if they are not, we both are capable of cheap living.

I hope I get to be in charge of the budgeting and bill paying. I am a control freak and like that sort of thing, but he is a control freak as well. Of course, decision making will be together (which will be an adjustment after years of independence), but there has to be one executer.

I would like us both to be involved in our investment decisions. Since I already have a full time job and he is still in school, I’m a few years ahead of him in investment knowledge. Not that I’m an expert, but I’m at relatively comfortable with the basics. He does have a Roth IRA, but he opened it with a broker. Edward Jones, maybe? I’d need to let him know the virtues of target date funds, indexing, and low fees. Right now, he only has about 2-4k in there (I don’t know the details), and I don’t know the fees, so it isn’t an issue. (Besides the fact we aren’t even engaged!)

I think, over the next couple years (or until whenever it is we get married and what is “mine” officially becomes “ours”) money might be a slight issue for us due to vast income disparity. If I want us to go out for dinner, I’m going to have to pay for it more often than not. He isn’t gonig to demand to be taken out, but he doesn’t have the funds to treat me too often. It is sort of something that I have accepted already over the last year and a half of me working and him being a student. It can be frusterating, especially when my my two closest friends from high school (who were students at the time) received coach purses for christmas last year from their signifcant others. I got a nice necklace, which is great, but it would be nice to be spoiled every now and then. Maybe he can spoil me in ways that don’t involve spending money.

I spent the week surrounding New Years Eve with a friend I rarely see (we met on a study abroad semester), our boyfriends, and another friend of hers. With the exception of my boyfriend (still a grad student), everyone had just recently entered the working world.

One night, they wanted to go to a “fancy” restaurant for dinner one night, and my boyfriend and I politely declined but offered them the use of the car to go. They graciously offered to treat us, so we agreed to come along. The bf and I politely ordered relatively lower priced items (still probably $40 each), and the others ordered appetizers and dessert (though they were kind enough to share). Dinner for the five of us was about $350, maybe more. The food was decent, but didn’t knock my socks off. The service was good, but not worth that kind of money to me at this point in my life.

Then there was the shopping. My jaw just about fell off when one girl stated that a $1000 handbag was “within the price range” she was looking for. I have no idea her salary (though I do think she lives with her parents, meaning, no rent, which helps), but it just seemed utterly unreasonable to pay that much for a handbag. Still, people do it. All the time. Just not many people that I know.

Sometimes it strikes me unfair when I see people my age spending on expensive items. In many cases, it is flat out unfair–their parents helped them through school and maybe even still subsidize their lifestyles, while mine didn’t. Very few people are wealthy by their own doing at age 24. Many people are comfortable (myself included), but having enough wealth to live the high life? Not me.

Really, it doesn’t matter if it is fair or not. Not one bit. All that matters is they are good people who don’t make me feel bad about being more careful with my money. I do my best not to make them feel bad that they do spend more money.

I think when I move to Los Angeles, I’m going to run into this feeling a lot more than I do here in the Midwest. I’m extremely down to earth, and the L.A. stereotype isn’t. I’m sure some won’t fit the stereotype, but I’ll surely meet a lot more people with piles of money than I know now. I’ll also working at a big name company where many people went to top schools. I went to state school. You’ve never heard of my school. I was smart enough for a better school, but the finances just wouldn’t have worked out. In some ways, it makes me proud of myself. I got to the same place as them, on my own, without a fancy school or lots of money. Even so, I wouldn’t have minded if my parents paid for a top notch education. It wouldn’t make me any less of a person.

Anyway,the girl who bought a Burberry towel (a towel? Why?) and a $250 watch (spur of the moment, out of spite!) suggests getting one coke at a pizza place and sharing the free refils. Too funny.

This is the first year I’ve ever made “big” New Years Eve plans. I’m going to my future home of LA and a friend from my semester abroad is coming with two other of her friends. I opted out of the original plan, Las Vegas, because I didn’t want to spend that much money. In LA, we can stay with my boyfriend (crowded, but free!) and save a ton of money on lodging.

I knew when I signed up for this that this particular friends isn’t afraid to spend money. Still, it wasn’t a big issue, and we spent a lot of time together on study abroad. She usually just would spend in line with whatever I was, and one night drunkenly confessed “It is good when I hang out with you and E, because I spend less money. You two are my non-baller friend!” I didn’t take it as an insult, though some might! Anyway, sometimes it stinks being the frugal one, but at the same time, I won’t change my values based on peer pressure. And frankly, when we were still in college, I simply couldn’t afford to.

Anyway, I recently got a message that we were considering going to a fancy club on new years at $150 + fees to buy tickets to get in. It does include all drinks and honestly is probably what a lot of “trendy” clubs are going to run in LA. But there is no way that I’m spending $200 for one night! I wouldn’t be sad if we went somewhere less trendy for New Years (some are free cover, or $50), because I think the most fun part is just going to be hanging out together. If they want to celebrity sight, we can do that on less expensive nights!

She also has been requesting my presence at a fancy steakhouse for dinner. I do love food and don’t mind spending a little on deliciousness. However, I don’t even really care for steak, and it just doesn’t make sense to me. I won’t hesitate going out for delicious sushi now and then, but to spend so much on something I don’t even love just is silly.

At the same time, there is a small part of me that wishes I could live a life of excess and spend the money. Really, I *could* afford it. It wouldn’t put me into debt or wreck my savings. But I just don’t value a trendy club enough to spend that kind of money for it. I’m not opposed to spending money (though $150 would be painful for anything) but it has to be something that is a little more in line with what I think is important. A night of fun is important, but we could have almost as much fun somewhere else.

Perhaps, being someone interested in personal finance, you heard of the group of San Fransisco professionals who committed not to buy anything new in the year 2006. Or maybe you’ve heard a recent segment on NPR’s Marketplace Money about another family, essentially doing that same thing for 2007.

It sounds very noble and anti-consumerism. It is admirable. I couldn’t make that commitment, and I’m impressed that they can. But what I found most intriguing about the story was the following comment on the Marketplace Confessional, a section of the website where listener’s can anonymously state their opinions about the show:

There was a segment about not buying anything new for a year. What is the big deal? I have not purchased anything new for almost 10 years. I am low income and have shopped at the second hand stores for years. My toaster, pots, pans, clothes have all come from these type of stores. Where I live we have a senior center that has a thrift store. If you take the time look you can find almost anything. Clothing is 25 cents per item or $1.00 per bag. There are many bargains to be had at thrift stores.

It made me remember how lucky many of us are. I can challenge myself to spend less and less, but I do it out of choice, not of necessity. Sure, I do it to fund retirement and to prepare for an emergency, or to pay off my student loan a little early. But if I’m feeling extravagant, I can buy a latte from Starbucks and it doesn’t mean that I won’t be eating dinner. I save money and buy things on the cheap because I want to, not because I have to. It is a blessing to have the choice.

I need to go through my apartment before I move and be sure to donate any unneeded quality used items to the second hand store so someone else can use them. Because they choose to or because the have to.

My freshman year of college, I believe I spent about $500 on college text books. Looking back, it was a foolish mistake, but I didn’t know better at the time.

My first mistake was that I assumed that when a class said a text was required, they meant it. This turned out to be not true. Sometimes it was, sometimes it wasn’t. Second, I bought books too late and there were no used ones left. Third, I didn’t check the internet to compare prices.

Really, I think the college textbook industry is a huge rip off. If you’ve ever taken a class that recently switched from, say, edition 5 to edition 6, you may have noticed that the differences in the editions was primarily in the problem sets. Some texts may have major updates, but for the most part, the facts stay the same. Often times, the problems aren’t even completely different, just altered in a minor way. How frustrating.

Not all professors played the game. One professor said that a text was required, but we could get any standard text relating to Control Systems we wanted. He pointed us to Amazon. He taught primarily from his lecture notes (and a text wasn’t truly necessary), saving me about $100 that semester.

Also, why are we only given the option of hardcover texts? My boyfriend insists he loves hardcovers because they last longer (whatever). Shouldn’t I have the option to easily purchase softcover to save some money? I did a semester in Hong Kong, and their book store didn’t contain a single hardcover text for class. Not only that, but many of the students didn’t buy the text anyway, as the professor often scanned the necessary material for the students. While that may violate some sort of copyright laws, not offering the softcover versions to US students seems unfair. In fact, I brought the two texts I bought (for a reasonable price!) in Hong Kong and sold them on Amazon in the US. I probably made a small profit, even though I priced them lower than the similar hardcover versions. Abebooks.com often offers softcover “international” versions of college texts. I used one from there for one of my graduate classes last semester.

At the end of the semester, the college bookstore offers to buy back your textbooks from you. This is another rip off. They try to tell you that buying and selling your books through the book store is “good for the college” because they donate money to various student groups. I’d much rather that they offer me a fair price for my books! If I can sell it for $70 on Amazon, and the bookstore will sell it for $90 in the store next fall, why on earth would I give it to them for $45?

I would speculate that this scam of the textbook industry trickles down to high school and elementary school, but since the books are provided for “free” (with tax money), people aren’t as aware of it. I went to a private school and we had to buy our own textbooks. Rather than the bookstore running a scam to make profits off of used books, each family would put an envelop with a price inside the book they were offering to sell. The students formed a big line (I think you got a place according to a raffle number) and you would pick the books you wanted to buy. You’d pay the amount listed on the envelope, which was later given to the parent. Unless a class was switching editions, you could come out about even every year.

In later years of college, you could sometimes do a similar thing with classmates a semester ahead of you. These days, with facebook and other social networking sites hooking up buyers and sellers more easily, I wonder if anyone still shops at the bookstore.

I bought some great black work shoes last week. Somehow, I fell in love with these Oxford Booties (left) by Marc Jacobs (that’ll teach me to read fashion magazines). And no, I don’t buy Marc Jacobs. Nor do I know what exactly I’d wear those with! I settled for a much cheaper pair of more workable (though less lovely) black booties (right). I still feel slightly like a supermodel in them, since they have 3 inch heels (and I’m already on the tall side).

What is my point? The black work shoes that I was replacing were purchased three years ago, and I wore them very regularly. In fact, they were falling apart, and should have been replaced a year ago. Can you see the missing piece on the bottom of the heel? How about the way that the toe is peeling off? They are SO trashed and unclassy! Why didn’t I replace them sooner? In part, it was because I never saw any boots that struck my fancy and seemed worth paying the price for. Mostly, it was because I kept putting off buying them, thinking I’d feel like shopping for them in the following month. And my work isn’t the type of place where anyone would care.

I also was intending on purchasing a beautiful white peacoat from Amazon.com. I probably looked at it at least 10 times over the last few months. But I never made the purchase. Tonight, I fully intended on sealing the deal and the coat has vanished from the internet. It looks like I’ll just do without a white peacoat, unless I see something I love elsewhere.

These are a few cases where procrastinating has saved me money. Some other examples?

• I hate doing laundry, so I make my clothes work for as long as possible. Do you really NEED to wash sweaters each time you wear them? I don’t think so. Is this gross?
• If I need to go grocery shopping and don’t feel like it, I’ll scrounge my fridge and eat whatever I have. I’ve been known to survive on cereal for several days
• In order to save on toothpaste, I don’t always brush. Just kidding, that definitely is gross!

Of course, this only works for some examples. If I’m too lazy to grocery shop and there seriously is nothing in the apartment, I just might grab some take out to please my stomach. Procrastination definitely is NOT a virtue…. but every now and then, it isn’t as evil as people make it out to be.