I spent a little under thirty dollars this week on non-debt related purchases. I've taken my lunch to work everyday, popped into one of my piggy banks to pay for my gas for the week, and stayed in. I'm pleased with the results and if I can do this once or twice a month, I think my spending habits that I haven't been able to purge, will be curbed more frequently than not.
How to take your food to work:
Step one: Go to your local dollar store. Pick up the best quality tupperware they have. Buy one of each size (sandwhich, rectangle and bowl). Dollar Tree has the containers with the snappy sides to ensure a secure seal. Its better to spend money once for an equivalently priced item as saran wrap or tinfoil than to continue replenishing after its been used.
Total for step one: $3.00 (+ tax)
Step two: Create a menu. Nobody wants to eat Cup A Noodles everyday of the week (or any day of the week). So sit down and think about what you're currently eating at the office ( Bean burritoes, veggie burgers, salads, soups, pasta, etc.) and mimic your fastfood/takeout tastes. Unsure how to make a pesto? Research, get your recipe, create your shopping list and proceed.
Total for step two: free
Step three: Shop for your lunch. If you're priority is to save money and get everything in one stop, well WalMart is the logical choice. If you're priority is to "stick it to the man" or "support local markets" well you already know where to go and what to expect. For savings purposes, I'll stick to what I know... WalMart. Not only does WalMart accept nearly every coupon known to man, they also to price challenging if you bring in a competitors add. Your research from step two should have provided you a list with everything you'll need to buy today. Before you step into the store, google your items on the internet ("bocca patties" AND "coupon") and see if you can't pull up any internet deals. Open up the paper and see if you find any specials or coupons for your item on sale at a different store in town. Armed to the teeth to spend as little as money as possible you're ready to shop. Use your good judgement when knowing how much to spend. A veggie burger costs $2.59 at Burger King. A pack of four veggie patties costs $2.98 at WalMart. We have a loaf of bread and condiments at the office, so in terms of fastfood standards, thats a buy one get three free deal.
Total for step three: The amount your used to spend on fast food a week each day times five divided by two... spend less than that. (I spent sixteen dollars last week on fast food at the office, my goal would be to spend less than eight dollars at the store.)
Step four: Prepare your lunch before you go to bed, or grab it in the morning and microwave it at lunch if its a simple meal.
5.5.09
Justifiably Finals...
Its that time again folks! The entire semester is culminating into one week and after that week SWEET MERCIFUL FREEDOM! Well until Summer semester starts up again. But don't head off to the bars just yet to celebrate your inevitable success on this hellish week.
We make informed purchases, budgeted purchases under normal circumstances, but through in a handful of stress and those well-mannered shopping skills get thrown away. They are inevitably replaced with "justified" purchases.
A "justified" purchase is when you compromise your budget or your plan to allow certain outside factors to infect your spending trends. I stayed in all week and ate only ramen... I'm going out this weekend and having fun because I saved so much money! While I'm the number one supporter of having fun, spending money to reward yourself for saving is a recipe for disaster. You save money during the week, you spend most of what you saved over the weekend, you wake up monday and feel like a failure.
And when you feel like a failure, you --unfortunately-- begin to act like a failure. I spent all the money I saved, gosh I feel bad... Starbucks! That'll cheer me up. And quickly your "justified" spending over the weekend leads way to more "justified" spending. I've already failed at saving, won't matter if I buy this grande cinnamon dulce latte with extra whip... I've already failed. And pretty soon you've compromised your budget completely nearly undoing everything you've saved for.
Mind you, this is an extreme example, but to tell you the truth, this is how I was just last year. I didn't have a handle on my finances. I was more comfortable with feeling horrible about my three or four overdraft charges eating up my paycheck and wasting the rest away on spending that didn't help me at all, than sitting down and getting my act together.
Money is a scary thing. When you have it, you want things. When you don't have it, you want more things. When you've never had it, you want very little.
The very little being the bare necessities: food, shelter, utilities, etc.
So if you were able to relate to past me, in my above upper monologue, than you need to make an executive decision: continue justifying your failures and pay the bank or start making a plan to pay yourself.
My failproof plan for paying yourself:
1.) People with less, want less, or at least want on a smaller scale. Take care of your basic living essentials (basic does not involve catalogs, websites, or the mall) first. Perfect your budget so you are only buying what you need instead of what you want.
2.) Sit down with your credit card bills and your debt and make a plan. The snowball effect works wonders, Powerpay.org sets your balances up to be paid highest interest first. Read my first posts.
You may be fearful of where to start, don't worry, being overwhelmed is a sign that you're on the right track. I was fortunate enough to be in a position where I could pay a little to each debt monthly until my little bites turned into complete gobbles. Going from eight debts down to two has been a great achievement of mine, so I know that eliminating debt will make you feel wonderful about yourself. ITS TRUE! YOU'RE NOT A FAILURE!
3.) Eliminate justified thinking. I think that the savings gurus have been too far gone from the days of wallowing helplessly in a debt cycle to truly understand how people will react when they say "treat yourself... you've done a good job!". While I'm all for positive reinforcement, I think that "treat" should be defined and should be an informed decision. Treating to the gurus includes: going to the movies, buying a new shirt, going to the coffeehouse, buying ice cream, etc... But honestly, those are all things that could be detrimental to a budget or plan when taken from a justified purchase state of mind. Going to the movies does not mean go to the movies with three of your friends and buy a combo a piece. Buying a new shirt does not mean designer label. Coffeehouse does not mean the largest size most expensive drink with a pastry on the side. Ice cream... well that one might be safe. The point is you've been going at your saving from an informed state-of-mind, make sure that any "treats" you feel you've earned are still within that state of mind. No sense in setting yourself backward so you can have that new Coach bag.
4.) Whatever is left over after paying for your bills and contributing to your debt, should be cut in half. Use one half to pay yourself by depositing into your savings account, the rest to spend on your basic essentials (food, clothing, school etc.) If its not enough money than you have two options available: Make more money or Spend less money.
It may not be failproof and it may not work for you, but its my plan and I'm done settling and I'm happy paying myself.
We make informed purchases, budgeted purchases under normal circumstances, but through in a handful of stress and those well-mannered shopping skills get thrown away. They are inevitably replaced with "justified" purchases.
A "justified" purchase is when you compromise your budget or your plan to allow certain outside factors to infect your spending trends. I stayed in all week and ate only ramen... I'm going out this weekend and having fun because I saved so much money! While I'm the number one supporter of having fun, spending money to reward yourself for saving is a recipe for disaster. You save money during the week, you spend most of what you saved over the weekend, you wake up monday and feel like a failure.
And when you feel like a failure, you --unfortunately-- begin to act like a failure. I spent all the money I saved, gosh I feel bad... Starbucks! That'll cheer me up. And quickly your "justified" spending over the weekend leads way to more "justified" spending. I've already failed at saving, won't matter if I buy this grande cinnamon dulce latte with extra whip... I've already failed. And pretty soon you've compromised your budget completely nearly undoing everything you've saved for.
Mind you, this is an extreme example, but to tell you the truth, this is how I was just last year. I didn't have a handle on my finances. I was more comfortable with feeling horrible about my three or four overdraft charges eating up my paycheck and wasting the rest away on spending that didn't help me at all, than sitting down and getting my act together.
Money is a scary thing. When you have it, you want things. When you don't have it, you want more things. When you've never had it, you want very little.
The very little being the bare necessities: food, shelter, utilities, etc.
So if you were able to relate to past me, in my above upper monologue, than you need to make an executive decision: continue justifying your failures and pay the bank or start making a plan to pay yourself.
My failproof plan for paying yourself:
1.) People with less, want less, or at least want on a smaller scale. Take care of your basic living essentials (basic does not involve catalogs, websites, or the mall) first. Perfect your budget so you are only buying what you need instead of what you want.
2.) Sit down with your credit card bills and your debt and make a plan. The snowball effect works wonders, Powerpay.org sets your balances up to be paid highest interest first. Read my first posts.
You may be fearful of where to start, don't worry, being overwhelmed is a sign that you're on the right track. I was fortunate enough to be in a position where I could pay a little to each debt monthly until my little bites turned into complete gobbles. Going from eight debts down to two has been a great achievement of mine, so I know that eliminating debt will make you feel wonderful about yourself. ITS TRUE! YOU'RE NOT A FAILURE!
3.) Eliminate justified thinking. I think that the savings gurus have been too far gone from the days of wallowing helplessly in a debt cycle to truly understand how people will react when they say "treat yourself... you've done a good job!". While I'm all for positive reinforcement, I think that "treat" should be defined and should be an informed decision. Treating to the gurus includes: going to the movies, buying a new shirt, going to the coffeehouse, buying ice cream, etc... But honestly, those are all things that could be detrimental to a budget or plan when taken from a justified purchase state of mind. Going to the movies does not mean go to the movies with three of your friends and buy a combo a piece. Buying a new shirt does not mean designer label. Coffeehouse does not mean the largest size most expensive drink with a pastry on the side. Ice cream... well that one might be safe. The point is you've been going at your saving from an informed state-of-mind, make sure that any "treats" you feel you've earned are still within that state of mind. No sense in setting yourself backward so you can have that new Coach bag.
4.) Whatever is left over after paying for your bills and contributing to your debt, should be cut in half. Use one half to pay yourself by depositing into your savings account, the rest to spend on your basic essentials (food, clothing, school etc.) If its not enough money than you have two options available: Make more money or Spend less money.
It may not be failproof and it may not work for you, but its my plan and I'm done settling and I'm happy paying myself.
1.5.09
May!
What a great month April was! How does the saying go, "in like a ferocious maneating alien as tall as mt. everest from planet WeUseHumansAsToothpicks... out like a lamb?" I'm sure it was something like that. Or maybe I'm thinking of march.. anyhow!
I have some exciting news! I... have... a....SCHOLARSHIP!!! :)
I was awarded a scholarship by my local chapter of NAWIC (National Association of Women in Construction) and let me tell you I could not be more pleased, nor more happier and thankful to those wonderful women.
I would like to take this time to revisit the process of getting scholarships.
My previous post I told you how to find scholarships on the internet. While this can only produce positive results (even if you don't get receive any scholarships, you've undoubtedly perfected your essay writing skills) you should not overlook your local options.
Most scholarship funds are set up with a certain candidate in mind. Whether that be a single mother entering the nursing field or a first generation ESL college student, the chances of being able to qualify for a specific scholarship is pretty good. The options available to you locally possess greater odds than obtaining a scholarship outside your community.
Contact your local chamber of commerce and see if they are currently sponsoring or donating to any scholarship funds. Also mention your degree plan and career intentions and ask to be put in contact with any local businesses that potentially would be interested in speaking with you to help further your education. If you are a minority, most major cities have chambers for specific minorities. Here in el paso we have the El Paso Hispanic Chamber of Commerce as well as a fund for Women: El Paso Commision for Women. Major cities also have more than one chamber, do your research--cough cough google--and make sure to leave no avenue unchecked!
Also if you know what you want to major in, see if there are some local associations or organizations that specialize in professionals of the same career field. For example, The Structural Engineers Association of Texas has an El Paso chapter worth looking into for scholarship opportunities, if you are majoring in structural engineering or a similar field it's definitely worth looking into.
Don't forget to speak with your financial aid advisor at your high school (if you're still enrolled), at your college administration building, or at your local VA for those with military experience. Speak with those individuals in your life you consider mentors, see if they have heard or read of any opportunities. Your church may have a fund for active members to help with the costs of classes or books or they may donate to a specific fund.
IT NEVER HURTS TO ASK! Only hurts you if you don't...
I have some exciting news! I... have... a....SCHOLARSHIP!!! :)
I was awarded a scholarship by my local chapter of NAWIC (National Association of Women in Construction) and let me tell you I could not be more pleased, nor more happier and thankful to those wonderful women.
I would like to take this time to revisit the process of getting scholarships.
My previous post I told you how to find scholarships on the internet. While this can only produce positive results (even if you don't get receive any scholarships, you've undoubtedly perfected your essay writing skills) you should not overlook your local options.
Most scholarship funds are set up with a certain candidate in mind. Whether that be a single mother entering the nursing field or a first generation ESL college student, the chances of being able to qualify for a specific scholarship is pretty good. The options available to you locally possess greater odds than obtaining a scholarship outside your community.
Contact your local chamber of commerce and see if they are currently sponsoring or donating to any scholarship funds. Also mention your degree plan and career intentions and ask to be put in contact with any local businesses that potentially would be interested in speaking with you to help further your education. If you are a minority, most major cities have chambers for specific minorities. Here in el paso we have the El Paso Hispanic Chamber of Commerce as well as a fund for Women: El Paso Commision for Women. Major cities also have more than one chamber, do your research--cough cough google--and make sure to leave no avenue unchecked!
Also if you know what you want to major in, see if there are some local associations or organizations that specialize in professionals of the same career field. For example, The Structural Engineers Association of Texas has an El Paso chapter worth looking into for scholarship opportunities, if you are majoring in structural engineering or a similar field it's definitely worth looking into.
Don't forget to speak with your financial aid advisor at your high school (if you're still enrolled), at your college administration building, or at your local VA for those with military experience. Speak with those individuals in your life you consider mentors, see if they have heard or read of any opportunities. Your church may have a fund for active members to help with the costs of classes or books or they may donate to a specific fund.
IT NEVER HURTS TO ASK! Only hurts you if you don't...
