52 Weeks, 52 Letters, Weeks 8/9

by Katy on March 1, 2011 · 12 comments

 

Photo courtesy of The Frugal Girl

This year is zooming along, somehow already March, but more importantly, it’s now the 9th week of the 52 Weeks, 52 Letters Project. Which means that I have now written and mailed nine actual letters to friends and loved ones far and wide.

Last week I mailed a letter to Joanna, my favorite reference librarian at the Belmont Branch Library. Not only do she and I share a love of books and movies, but we’re also both Jewish daughters of Professors. So really, how could we not have bonded? (She’s actually the originator of the letter writing project, which she called “Going Postal.”) I actually mailed the letter while walking to the library, realizing that I could have saved myself 44¢ by handing it directly over. But really,  half the fun of this project is knowing that it is so much more exciting it is to receive an actual letter from the actual mail carrier. I no longer have any memory of what I wrote about, but that’s okay.

Letters don’t have to be earth shatteringly profound to be worth the effort.

This week’s letter went to my aunt Anne who lives in Florida. She’s the youngest sister from my mother’s family of seven kids, and is one of a kind. Anne lived in Portland for most of her adult life, so we know each other well, and I miss having her around. She’s a thrift store queen, smart as a whip and funnier than Russell Brand on a bender.

I know she’ll appreciate being on the receiving end of this project, and is likely to actually write back.

It’s interesting how the ripple effects of my letters are starting to come back to me. My friend Jennifer called me up this weekend and we had a wonderfully lengthy chat about everything under the sun, and my cousin Lynn wrote on my Facebook wall. Neither of which would have happened if I had not mailed them a letter. I am not a tit-for-tat kind of person, and do not expect to receive many return letters. Which bothers me not one whit.

Have you been sending or receiving letters as part of the 52 Weeks 52 Letters Project? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without”

 

{ 12 comments }

Goodwill, You Never Let Me Down

by Katy on February 28, 2011 · 22 comments

My "new" syrup/honey pitcher looks just like this one.

I am constantly amazed by how I’m able to easily locate exactly what I want from local thrift stores, specifically Goodwill. My husband likes honey in his coffee, and being the bargain hunters that we are, we buy the big jug from Costco. But a huge plastic jug of honey is not so attractive on the counter, so I decided to start keeping an eye out for a vintage syrup dispenser as an attractive solution. (You know, the type with the Bakelite handle?) And guess what, I found pretty much exactly what I had envisioned on my first expedition. Sure, the handle was green instead of red, but it’s still cute as can bee, dispenses honey with minimal drippage and only set me back a buck ninety-nine.

I harbor no fantasies that this pitcher was meant to be, I simply believe that there is just too much Stuff on this planet! Walk into any thrift store in the world, and it’s no stretch to realize that we could put a moratorium on any new manufacturing for a year and still have more than we need.

And the best part of buying this item at a thrift store? If I ever tire of it I can resell it at a profit, as there’s one listed here for $57.

And yeah, we also bought new looking boys’ Vans for $6.99, and enough sheer fabric to re-do my dining room curtains for $4.99.

Thank you, Goodwill. You’re my ace in the hole!

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without”

 

{ 22 comments }

How Much Do You Spend on Food?

by Katy on February 26, 2011 · 68 comments

This may take you for surprise, but I’m not a tracker of my expenses. I know this flies against the advice of everyone from Dave Ramsey to J.D. Roth, but I’ve just never been able to make myself perform this monotonous task. However, since I use my debit card for almost everything, I’m not completely oblivious to where my money is going. And when I participated in the Non-Consumer Advocate June Food Stamp Challenge last summer, I was easily able to figure out that my family of four normally spends $450 per month on food, which included coffees and eating out. We were easily able to cut our food expenditures down to $350 for the month, which allowed for a $100 donation to The Oregon Food Bank.

I feel that we neither scrimp and save, nor do we splash out on groceries. It feels right and balanced to me. (And keep in mind that my kids eat as much as normal adults.)

Imagine my surprise when my close friend Rachel recently confessed that her family of four was spending $1000 per month on food. This shocked me because Rachel bakes her own bread, cooks exclusively from scratch and sees herself as a bargain hunter. This actually shocked Rachel as well, as she and her husband just started tracking their expenses as part of an online personal finance class. Then, a coworker of mine, who is a recent convert to the cult of Extreme Couponing, (although always a proud tightwad)  shared that her family of four normally spends $650 a month on groceries. Not so bad by comparison.

Here are a number of methods of how I keep my family’s grocery expenses low:

  • I try and keep my cupboards stocked with general ingredients that can easily be transformed into simple, yet healthy meals. This includes canned tomatoes, canned beans, (although I cook dried beans when I have the time and foresight) and whole wheat pasta.
  • I stock up on sales, especially when they’re loss leaders that I use frequently.
  • I buy fruit and vegetables that are in season, which also means on sale. I don’t buy asparagus on November or blueberries in January. Organic oranges are on sale for 69¢ per pound? Then that’s what we’ll be eating.
  • I do buy organic produce, although it’s almost always the sale items. 79¢ apples or huge bunches of spinach for $1.50 come to mind.
  • I buy specialty ingredients directly from restaurants. This may sound like a pain in the tuchus, but these businesses are within walking distance and the savings are tremendous. I buy a sizable amount of pickled ginger and wasabi from the nearby Japanese restaurant for $3 and enough pepperoni for two pizzas for $1.50 from the Papa Murphy’s down the street. I bring my own Pyrex containers, which makes it all the more brag worthy worth the effort.
  • I do keep a few instant dinners in the freezer such as Trader Joe’s Orange Chicken, (to which I add a couple extra chicken breasts  to stretch the meal) and Potstickers. This keeps us from eating out too often.
  • I buy in bulk. This includes everything from individually frozen chicken breasts from Costco to rice, beans, cat food, spices, baking powder and soy sauce.
  • I take advantage of coupons. No, I’ll never be featured on TV for my couponing prowess, but I do use the once a month $10 off $50 Safeway coupons, as well as deal-of-the-day Groupon-style coupons for local coffee shops, Dave’s Killer Bread and nearby restaurants. I know I’ll be going out for coffee with a friend at some point, so I might as well plan ahead.
  • I pack school lunches for the kids and my husband and I always bring our own work lunches. My work identification can be registered to work in the cafeterias as a debit card from my paychecks, but I have consciously never set this up. Even though doing so would save me 15% off my purchases. Too slippery a slope for little ol’ me.
  • I taught myself how to make certain meals by hand that my family enjoys. I make both sushi and pizza from scratch, which saves a ton.
  • I am willing to prepare and serve simple meals. I don’t need prosciutto and belgian endive to make a meal special.
  • I store leftovers is clear glass Pyrex containers, which ensures that we don’t forget about what yummy tidbits are in the fridge.
  • When we do eat out, we drink water, skip dessert and try to locate an online coupon. I bring my own leftovers container so that the uneaten food can become tomorrow’s lunch.
  • I hardly garden for food at all. I do plant tomatoes and lettuce in the summer using container gardening, but this is pretty limited. My yard is shady beyond belief, so I mostly mooch home grown veggies from my friends.

I try not to stress too much about how much we’re spending on food. (Hence the non-tracking.)We’re not exactly living in poverty and need not hold back from feeding ourselves well. I want to provide healthy, delicious meals for my family. I know we could be spending less, but my husband likes deli meat for his lunches from a particular butcher, and is a fan of Cliff bars. He’s an adult who can make these choices for himself. We buy treats such a mochi ice cream, ($3.50 from Trader Joe’s, which is $1.5 less than the Asian grocery store) and varied snack foods.

I am not interested in depriving my family in the name of proving how I’m the queen of frugality. Nope, I’ll let someone else wear that crown.

How much is your family spending on food? Do you have frugal food practices to share? Please share your ideas in the comments section below.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without”


{ 68 comments }

The Frugalista’s No Buy Month is Almost Over

by Katy on February 25, 2011 · 5 comments

Umm . . . this post accidentally got parked in draft form, even though I wrote it in time for the February 1st start time. All I can say is, Natalie. . . so sorry. Whoops.

For the past four years, The Frugalista’s Natalie McNeal has set aside the month of February as a No Buy Month. (Although last year was dedicated to all things culinary as a “dine-in month.”) This break from her normally fabulous Miami life means no restaurant meals, no manicures, no beauty parlor and completely absolutely no recreational shopping. You may scoff at Natalie’s version of deprivation, but Natalie is young and single and her social life centers on all that Miami has to offer.

And 2011 is no exception.

This year, not only is Natalie spreading the news of non-shopping, but is also publicizing her book, The Frugalista Files: How One Woman Got Out of Debt Without Giving Up The Fabulous Life. Which means that that the No Buy Month is all over the interweb, radio , print media and television. Because even though media is enjoying the story of how frugality is yesterday’s news, there’s not one among us who couldn’t benefit from a bit of purse tightening.

I followed McNeal’s No Buy Month last year, although I remember that I did end up taking the kids to a second run movie about three weeks in. (Fear not, I had a BOGO coupon.) I am not doing a no buy month this year, although I have greatly ratcheted down the recreational shopping over the past year, which has coincided with getting my house decluttered. Yes, even thrift store shopping. It seems pointless for me to work hard to rid my home of unnecessary items only to fill it back up again.

Today was an official snow day here in Portland, Oregon, which means that I had the kids home from school. The 15 year old took it as an opportunity to sleep until afternoon, but the 12 year old was up bright and early. I had some errands to do, so he and I trudged out into the used to be snow, (seriously, there was only a light dusting of snow) and deposited checks into the credit union and then stopped into Saint Cupcake to buy him a teeny tiny dot cupcake for the not so frugal price of $1.50. (That’s 50¢ per bite.) Luckily, this was our only expense, as I happened to possess an Avalon Arcade free admission coupon in my purse, which is an awesome deal, as it also includes a fat bag of nickels to play the games. The two of us played Skee-Ball, arcade games and pinball, and of course Coin Girl scoured the floor and machines for lost coins. (I found at least a dollar in nickels!) We ran out of oomph before we ran out of nickels, and stopped in to Fred Meyer on our way home, where my son was treated to a free cookie from the bakery department. A $1 lemonade was paid for with nickels.

So, I may not officially be doing an official Frugalista No Buy Month, but that is just a technicality. Because every month is No Buy Month here at casa Wolk-Stanley.

For those of you who have not read McNeal’s The Frugalista Files: How One Woman Got Out of Debt Without Giving Up The Fabulous Life, you’re in for a treat. This diary format book is a fun and inspiring read, which I think I breezed through in less than 24 hours.

She’s frugal, she’s fabulous, she’s THE Frugalista, and I bet each No Buy Month gets a little bit easier.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without”

 

{ 5 comments }

Every Day is a Fresh Start

by Katy on February 24, 2011 · 11 comments

One of my favorite aphorisms is that every day is a fresh start. No, not in a Groundhog Day manner where we’re all doomed to repeat the same hideous day over and over again, but each day as a brand new opportunity. I suppose this is similar to Alcoholics Anonymous’ “One day at a time,” but I prefer my own wording. I say it to my kids when they’re having a rough day, and I say it to myself when everything seems to be stacking up against me.

Yes, yesterday was difficult from start to finish, but today is a brand new day. (This is just an example, as yesterday was actually lovely 😉 )

For me, this is the key to living an upbeat life. Making sure I have things to look forward to, (a walk with a friend, or some form of social get together) and continually recharging my opportunities for happiness.

So if today is rotten to the core, remember that tomorrow is always a fresh start.

For those of you who have not read Gretchen Rubin’s The Happiness Project, please note that is now available in paperback. I highly recommend this engaging, life changing book!

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without”

 

{ 11 comments }

A Before and After Post, Now Completely Photo Free!

by Katy on February 22, 2011 · 14 comments

As much as I enjoy the voyeuristic aspects of the reading other people’s blogs, there’s nothing more of a turn off than people who write about their perfect homes, perfect children and perfect lives. Gag, barf and double-gag. I think you know the types. This is why I celebrate the most recent blog post from Kristen over at The Frugal Girl, which includes a number of photos of her messy, crusty, just back from vacation house.

And so I wanted pay homage, and I even took a bunch of photos of my currently slime covered home, but ever since my husband downloaded the newest downgrade upgrade for  iPhoto, I haven’t been able to drag photos onto the desktop, which is how I’ve always done the whole photos for my blog thing!

You’re just going to have to take my word for the nasty state of my home. Tomorrow, my friend Sara from Go Gingham is coming over to help me transform my house into a stylistically sophisticated salón of all things grown up. (She worked for years at Ralph Lauren, so my hopes are unrealistically high.) Until then, I’ve got a to-do list longer than a porn star at a Silly Putty convention. (I’ll let you ponder that one for awhile. 😉 ) So, buy-bye!

I promise I’ll take before and after pictures, I’ll just have to badger my poor husband into figuring out what the heck happened to iPhoto.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without”

{ 14 comments }

52 Weeks, 52 Letters Project Week 6/7

by Katy on February 21, 2011 · 8 comments

Photo courtesy of The Frugal Girl

I am playing catch up here for both weeks six and seven of the 52 Weeks, 52 Letters Project. I haven’t been any busier than usual, but somehow the act of sitting down and writing a letter escaped me.  Luckily, falling off the efficiency wagon didn’t mean that I should give up altogether. Inspiration came in the form of a some pretty vintage botanic print cards that I spied on the floor at my mother’s house. I horked a couple, and thus found my muse. (“Hork“ = Borrowing something with zero intention of ever returning it. It’s an awesome word and needs to enter everyone’s vocabulary!)

Like most projects, the hardest part was getting started. Luckily, getting started only involved addressing and stamping the envelopes, which is usually enough time for inspiration to hit. Unfortunately I was in a pretty crappy mood last night. Nothing earth shatteringly terrible, but dark nonetheless. Feeling lonely, kind of overwhelmed by life and bored. You know, life.

So instead of choosing a new person to write to, I chose my friend Jennifer, who was actually the first person to receive mail in my letter writing project. Jennifer and I go waaay back to when the two of us spent 3-1/2 months traveling through Mexico and Guatemala in 1987. Although we hardly knew each other at the start, our lifelong friendship was cemented by day two of the trip. We were that compatible. Not only are our eyes the exact same shade of blue, (which got pointed out by countless Mexican men) we turned out to be perfect traveling companions. If we ever had any friction, I have zero memory of it.

The theme of our trip became “Wherever you go, there you are.” This was helpful when it turned out there were two towns with the same name, and our bus deposited us in the middle of nowhere. However this nowhere was on the most beautiful beach known to man and did possess a single restaurant, where we ate plate after plate of prawns while sunning ourselves and waiting for the next bus.

The letter is honest and will hopefully not be too much of a downer for Jennifer to receive. I love this woman like a sister, and am saddened that her home in New Hampshire is too far away from Oregon for any casual travel. The three years she lived in Wyoming were fantastic for me, as it was only a two day drive between our homes. Our husbands like each other, and our kids are about the same age, with the older sons exactly two months apart in age. (This is huge, as pretty much all of my cohorts waited until their mid-thirties to have children, which means that none of my other friends have kids remotely the same age as mine.)

The second letter is to my half-sister Sara, who actually just lives across town. Although Sara is almost 16 years younger than I am, she and I have always had a special relationship. (Of course, having strangers always assume that I was a teen mom will kind of make a girl feel protective.) I’ve always taken my job as big sister very seriously, and made sure to be as much of a constant presence in her life as possible. From being patient when she would put her cat on the phone, to bringing her over to our house for entire weekends when my kids were babies. (She was so spacey at age 12 that I wouldn’t let her push my son in the stroller, as she had a tendency to push it into telephone poles.)

Sara and I have now entered a new phase in our relationship, as we are now both adults. Sure, I am firmly into my forties, while she races toward thirty, but it’s becoming a very satisfying sisterhood. She normally lives too far away for casual visits, but is currently spending time in Portland for unspecified period. I’m trying to not take this for granted.

So Sara, you mentioned the other day about how you never get letters. Well, you can start watching the mailbox now, because this is about the change.

Sorry if the letter is a bit of a downer.

Are you participating in the 52 Weeks, 52 Letters Project? It’s not too late to join! And if you’re a blogger, just add your blog name to widget to be counted and maybe even garner a few extra hits.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up. wear it out, make it do or do without”

{ 8 comments }

“Portlandia,” A.K.A. After Portland was all Aging Hippies and Murderous Lumberjacks

by Katy on February 19, 2011 · 12 comments

I am one of those rare Portlanders that actually grew up in Portland. (Sure, from 1985 – 1995 I lived in Israel, Ohio, Chicago, Idaho, London, New York and New Mexico, but I did move back.) So I remember when Portland was just another mid-size West coast city, before it transformed into the eco-groovy Mecca seen today. I know I’m late to the party here, but I can no longer not write about Portlandia, the IFC comedy that’s helping to cement Portland’s reputation as a town full of anti-establishment hemp-hugging hipsters.

For those not in the know, Portlandia is the brainchild of SNL’s Fred Armisen and Sleater-Kinney’s Carrie Brownstein, and is comprised of individual skits mocking Portland’s tendency to be the place where “young people come to retire.” Being a cable-free gal, I’ve only been able to watch short clips on HULU, but they’ve made me laugh harder than a hyena at a Three Stooges festival. The show recently received the go ahead for a second season, which tells me that poking fun at Portlanders must have legs even outside our eco-certified city limits. Then again, this show kind of writes itself. Where else can green living/backyard chicken/frugality bloggers also get arrested for a string of bank robberies?

You can’t make that stuff up.

Click HERE to read my friend Shannon Wheeler’s take on Portlandia that he wrote for The New Yorker blog.

Click HERE to watch a clip of the hilarious Matt Braunger, (for whom I used to babysit) joke about growing up in Portland when everyone was an “aging hippie or a murderous lumberjack.”

And here’s a must watch clip for all the rest of you too cheap to get cable TV:

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without”

{ 12 comments }

The 90% Rule

by Katy on February 18, 2011 · 25 comments

My mother has a friend who shared with her a 90% rule that really resonated with me. I’m probably going to get it wrong, but it goes a little something like this:

The first 90% of a job is easy, it’s the last 10% that’s a real bugger.

Sure you made dinner, served dinner and cleaned up from dinner; but there’s still bits of dinner all over the floor that need to see the business side of the broom.

Yes you spent an entire month sanding, masking off and then painting your house; but the swatches of oversprayed paint will mock you for years to come. (This, sadly is a personal example.)

The post I wrote about last week on Completing The Cycle dovetails nicely with this aphorism. When starting a task, it’s important to follow it through to the very end. I highly doubt I’m the only person who runs out of steam before a project is completed, although I’m always amazed by people who exist in a 100% capacity. (My next door neighbor Beau is a 100% guy, and I’m in constant astonished at his ability to follow through on his projects.) Frankly, I operate at 80% more often than not.

Does that last 10% (or 20%) of a project dog you? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without”

{ 25 comments }

What Modern Convenience Would You Miss The Most?

by Katy on February 15, 2011 · 51 comments

I had the pleasure of hosting a dinner for my Nebraskan aunt and uncle last night, as they’re in town to help out my mother who’s recuperating from surgery. We were all sitting around the dinner table, when the conversation turned to my Great-Aunt Marie, who’s ninety years old and has lived her entire life in Nebraska. (If you ever bought cosmetics from Miller and Paine, you probably met her!) This woman is a marvel of energy, has always kept an immaculate house, and is, well, let’s just say “a pistol.”

Do you want to know the one modern convenience she apparently most appreciates? Her washing machine and laundry detergent. (Something about having the grate the lye.) And this is from a woman who had to wait awhile for indoor plumbing.

This got me thinking about how much I truly appreciate the modern conveniences that fill my life. Washer, dryer, dishwasher, microwave, automobile, toilet, hot water heater, vacuum cleaner, telephone, television, computer. The list goes on and on. I romanticize the good ol’ days, watching programs like Frontier House and rereading the Little House books every few years. But let me tell ya’, there’s a special feeling when my dishwasher, washing machine and dryer are all going at once. And I get to lie down and maybe watch an episode or two of Buffy the Vampire Slayer on my instant Netflix. Could I live without all my modernities? Sure I could, but my life would be a whole lot more drudge-y. There’s a reason why those young mothers in old photos look so aged, life for women, (and men I suppose) was never endingly difficult.

I could easily live without the microwave, dryer, vacuum cleaner, television and computer. But nobody, and I mean nobody better take away my hot water heater. After all, it’s my hydro-powered think tank.

What modern conveniences would you miss the most? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without”

{ 51 comments }

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →