Not really clear what a POO box is? Neither were the 200 or so people across the State I e-mailed today, for work. Since I was discussing addresses, they may have gleaned that I meant P.O. Box. But that’s not what I wrote.

...can go together.

Some days, I just don't have the energy to spend money. No desire for a mall trip, a makeover, a new appliance, anything. Don't want to take the time to online shop.

And I can't be bothered to get take out or go out, so I'm eating what's in my freezer. But I know I get lazy, so when I make stew or lentils or whatnot, a bunch of tubs go in the freezer-laziness preparation.

Somedays my frugality is more active, but lazy days don't dent me. I may be lying on the couch reading, doing nothing, but that nothing includes no spending.

Dollars out today: zero.

Yesterday I posted the details of how my challenge is going, and then I realized some folks may not know why I’m doing the challenge. I decided to do the (modified) minimum wage challenge 02/25/06, after reading the “Challenge::Live on $5.15 an hour::“ thread under General Discussion; mine is modified because I am using the California minimum wage of $6.75. My original reasons are far outnumbered by the rewards I’m seeing. I decided to do this for a couple reasons, but I find am getting more than I expected.

I am getting:

a clear sense of the value of a dollar.

a sense of freedom in not spending everything I make.

additions to my frugal toolkit.

more creative, to cook better meals and put together better gifts.

excellent clarification on where I am getting good value in my spending.

an ability to savor my treats instead of taking them for granted.

the satisfying feeling one gets from taking on a challenge.

the security of knowing that I am prepared if I hit a financial rough spot.

more money to use for long term plans; retirement, house down payment.

a clear idea that healthcare is broken; I am exceeding lucky to have an insurance plan that costs me $44 in premiums; I’d like to see all people have the “luxury” of affordable healthcare.

more exercise, in trying to decrease gas use, hanging clothes, etc.

a better diet, in going out less and eating beans, grains, and vegetables.

an enjoyable, if slightly odd, hobby.

a sense of gratitude.

The idea that a good life could be lived on a low income if needs were taken care of before wants is an idea has been percolating for me since I was in my early twenties. It took me a while to act on that idea.

When I grew up, my parents spent what they made. Payday was treat day, the day before payday the fridge was bare. I think that with the double income of white collar professionals, we could have been in a lot better shape than we were, but we had a paycheck to paycheck instability. I didn’t learn to save. I got my first real job at 15-1/2 to the day, and I spent a lot of that money on frivolous items-an obscene amount on meals out.

In my late teens and early twenties I made poor money decisions, but I did subscribe to Amy Dacyczyn’s “Tightwad Gazette” newsletter for a bit, so that planted a seed. I don’t believe that being exposed to information is ever a waste; when I needed to change financially I had a direction to turn to.

It was in my late twenties that I starting cleaning up my life, including my finances. At this time I had been pretty low income. I had been $6.75 and hour part time (30 hours a week or less), and then became lucky enough to go to $7 an hour full-time, 37.5 hours a week with benefits. During that time, I was able to pay off old debt. I had also always managed to find money for alcohol and cigarettes-it was a priority to me at the time. I had somewhere between $3000 and $6000 in debts, medical bills, and fines, and though that might seem low, it felt crushingly large.

Living within and below my means became a tool for me to not feel afraid financially. I didn’t mind eating oatmeal if it meant not owing any more money. I was much more scared of debt than I was any deprivation I might have felt. We never went hungry, we always paid rent, but things were tight. I balanced my checkbook daily because sometimes I had as little as $5 in my account.

I got a job as a civil servant, eligibility worker in welfare, interviewing clients who needed Medi-Cal or food stamp benefits. My starting wage in 2000 was $8.43 an hour. I later moved to cash aid, where my clients received cash aid welfare. A lot of these people seemed to not have the frugality skills to live within a small income. I have a lot of compassion for people on aid, regardless of whether life choices or unforeseen circumstances placed them there. I don’t want to get in the welfare debate. I also do not want to get into the Minimum wage debate; I am not arguing that minimum wage is a fair wage. (I will say I think that affordable health care for all would go a long way to helping families make it on lower incomes.)

What I am saying is that our overall culture does not teach frugality. Some of my clients had a series of brutal knocks in life, and being frugal would not have prevented domestic violence, abusive parents, job loss, drug or alcohol abuse, low education, injury and illness. However, during those times of stress, I was seeing that if money was spent differently, at least some of the stress could be lessened. When I started as a worker the food stamp level was $130-something maximum for one person, and people were telling me that they could not eat on that. I was spending much less than that. These folks did not want to buy foie gras, steak, or caviar; but they were buying a lot of name brand items, a lot of convenience foods, a lot of snack foods. One client told me, when granted food stamp benefits, that she was glad that she didn’t have to get the 4 loaves for $5 deal anymore. This was at the time that I was buying 50 cent loaves at the bread thrift store, at the same time that I could have spent $2.50 a loaf if I wanted too. I realized that I had a different head space than other people.

Now 6 years later, I’ve been promoted a couple times and make what I consider pretty decent money, especially for my area. I still buy bread at the thrift store. I had been spending more as my income went up, but I had still spent below my means. As I’ve spelled out in prior posts, my per month average spent last year was $1592, and that included a week long trip to Oaxaca and a weeklong trip to Belgium and Poland, and many meals out.

What some people still fail to see is why I would line dry and wash Ziplocs and buy bulk bulghur. Co-workers and friends see frugality as something to be used when broke, but something that a better income can free you from. I don’t have full cable (I have the $9.95 twelve channel deal), and folks wonder why I don’t have full cable since I can "afford” it. A friend gave me a bunch of paper grocery sacks, and I found a receipt in one. This person spends regularly, but I was shocked at what a “normal” household buys on a grocery trip.

I’ve been through three phases: low income with debt, low income without debt, and higher income living below means.

For the people in debt:
Getting out of debt was one of the most satisfying moments ever. It was definitely incentive to not ever go into debt again. I bought a used car and paid cash, because I couldn’t deal with the idea of car payments. Living low, regardless of one’s income, is a great way to free up money to pay off debt more quickly and avoid new debt.

For the people on a low income:
I want to show that living on a low income does not have to mean hunger and deprivation and boredom and insecurity. Other people on this site, in the forums and blogs, speak eloquently about making do with little. I’m giving the detailed numbers based on my real life to show that under certain circumstances it can be done. Admittedly, the minimum wage in California is higher than most of the country, but the cost of living is higher too. I’ve already acknowledged that if I were actually minimum wage I’d cancel my cable, my Netflix, drive less and walk more, spend less on dining out and clothing, have a cheaper apartment, etc. The money I saved on those would be going to an emergency fund. I admit I am childless, am not disabled, and no longer have any debt. I am living pretty high on my $1073, though-with bulk foods and thrift stores and ingenuity, a person could do a little with a lot. If I had started this challenge with nothing-no home, no furniture, and the clothes on my back-I could use Freecycle and thrift stores to get the minimum basics while I put all my money into an apartment.

For those of us who are making decent money:
Doing this exercise has been invaluable for me to see where I get good value from my spending. I have overspent on clothes, because I don’t like clothes shopping, so I go twice a year and get what I need at one or two stores. If I shopped smarter, by checking thrift stores occasionally, I could get better clothes for less. I splurge on silver and semi-precious stone jewelry, $10 to $50 per item, and I don’t regret a single purchase. Jewelry is my favorite souvenir from traveling, and I wear my pieces all the time. So I know that I’ve been getting not-so-good value from clothing purchases, but great value from jewelry purchases. A lot of spending on items where I get low value comes from having more money. It is rare that if people get a raise, they still spend exactly what they used to make. I used my extra money to pay for the convenience of one-stop clothes shopping, not for higher quality or more flattering clothes. I’m trying to see if I can choose not to spend money on convenience. I can put a lot of my money into retirement, or investing, if I don’t pay for unnecessary convenience.

Now, I don’t say that any particular purchase is bad. Take the oft-quoted latté factor. I myself don’t appreciate lattés and I brew coffee at home and bring it to work in a travel mug. However, I know people for whom the latté is a truly enjoyed daily treat. They get good value out of the purchase. Where we get value is an individual decision; for some spending less in some areas lets them have a stay at home parent, for others (me!) spending less in other areas lets me travel a couple of times a year.

And with that lengthy post, I’m hoping my reasons for this challenge are clearer. Whew.

I got back from Sacramento fine on Wednesday night. I was more thrilled with a thrift store run than being able to eat out-a surprise to me, but no unpleasant. Perhaps part of my mind is really seeing that longer term purchases such as clothes are better than short term ones such as eating out. I had a huge spree for $13.75 – three shirts, a couple a little nicer than usual because I’d like to bump up my work appearance without being uncomfortable. A pair of flannel jammie bottoms, a muffin tin, bread loaf tin, and a pastry brush. The Deseret Industries thrift store is just beautiful-so organized and huge selection. Items are organized by type-short sleeve blouses, long sleeve blouses, then by size, then by color. With such a huge selection of quality clothes, I don’t mind the prices being a little higher- $4 is not super cheap, but for a very nice work blouse it’s not extravagant.

Migraine today, but still won’t be a no spend today-my medical line in the budget is gonna take another big prescription hit. I’m not thrilled about it, but it’s not an extravagant expense.

I'm into the groove of not spending much, and staying within my minimum wage budget without strain. I'm able to save over half my income this way, and I suppose that's exciting, but I can't tell a fascinating "I didn't go to the mall" story. However, my increased frugality has become a habit.

We've done 2 birthdays with low expenditure and high return, by being extra thoughful and taking time. We've starting cooking more, both grains and beans and other simple stuff at home, and nicer stuff to take to friends' houses. We cut out electric bill over 50%. When we go out to eat we savor the experience. We line dry regardless of the weather, after doing a second spin. We come up with non-spend solutions before solutions thet require an expenditure.

I had always felt in control overall of my spending and knew I lived below my means, but I have felt very good about living so far below my means. It's like I'm adding all sorts of tools to my toolkit, so that if anything bad should happen as far as income, I have a security blanket of knowing I can make do and be satisfied.

I knew my challenge was to live on minimum wage; I didn't realize an extra bonus would be to have an increased sense of gratitude for all that I have.

Okay, that was a little hokey, but, today it's true.

Today is a wonderful, stay at home rainy day. I’ve got the water on to boil, I’ll make homemade cocoa, or maybe some fancy mocha mix my friends got as a gift, didn’t like, and passed on. (I accept re-gifts very happily.) I made some muffins; apple vanilla oatmeal, made low fat and low sugar, but the taste rocks. Breakfast was potato, zucchini, egg pie-an easy version of a frittata. The house is tidy; some clothing is hanging in the house to dry. I have a bunch of TV recorded form the week, and I’m gonna curl up and watch some mindless entertainment and not feel guilty. (I have only 10 channels, so through the week I tape even “okay” stuff knowing that come the weekend, TV seems to be all sport on the channels I get- golf, NASCAR, ice skating.)

My Guy is making another birthday present. We bought a used book last month (my share $7.10), we got a couple of fancy beers (I had a gift certificate for a liquor store-don’t ask. Or, you can ask, but it’s boring.) Our friend’s favorite band is Steely Dan, so we are doing the same thing we did for his wife last month; melding two pictures together: we have Our Friend in the middle of a lineup looking like a band member.

For anyone with a printer, I recommend this idea for gifts: making magnets. I had a ton of flat square and rectangle magnets; given out or mailed as promotional items. For example Synovate the survey folks, Pizza joints, things like that. Print something you like. Even if you don’t have color printer or don’t have photographic paper, you can write and print your favorite saying or poem. Or take a regular photograph and put it on the magnet. Cut to size, glue, and you’re done.

I’ve got a little clip of A World War II poster-“Food is a Weapon-Don’t Waste It! Buy wisely, cook carefully, eat it all.” I am going to make a little magnet for myself. Why pay for one, or advertise Papa Murphy’s on my fridge, when I can float my own boat for the cost of a glue stick and paper?

I bought bulk popcorn and popped it in a paper bag in the microwave. It worked perfectly. I watched it close the entire time. No burning, and if for some reason it had burst into flames I would have caught it. Now I can have healthy, butter-free popcorn for pennies at anytime. For 1.22 in bulk I would guess I have 20 to 40 bags worth.

I bought some really cheap conditioner, 1.99 for a huge bottle, enough for months. Sadly, the conditioner is thin, and I needed a lot of it to condition my hair. I solved my problem. I am using it as a leave in conditioner. I tested it and it works great. Instead of double the normal amount, I use ½ the normal amount. Instead of lasting months it will last over a year.

I love minor victories like this.

My budget has taken a blow, from medical expenses. I almost got angry, and then realized that I better be d___ed grateful I have insurance. What if I didn’t? I wouldn’t be getting treated, or I may be choosing not to take my medicine. That would be worse. A lot of people have no insurance, and people are suffering right this minute. Has anyone mentioned lately that the healthcare system is broken? Oh, it’s on the news every five minutes? But not fixed yet, huh?

I had $62 budgeted per month, the average last year of my co-pays, prescriptions, etc. Last month I was over by $3-I thought OK, fluke, it will even out. No this month I am at $107.32. Just relatively minor issues (later I’ll read that “minor” and grimace) but it added up. I think next month will be better: hoping no doctor’s visit co-pays, and small medicine co-pays.

The Challenge remains intact; I’ll try to cut other areas. I have $39 in “savings” plus $72.38 held over from March, to pay larger later bills, such as insurance in July. I will aim to not dip into either of these, but at least they are there.

So, little things perk me up in the face of the above adversity. I am tickled by drain strainers.

We had no drain strainer in the bathtub for years, and a funky, non-fitting, just yucky one in the kitchen. I don’t usually go to hardware stores, and what I saw idly in Grocery or Home stores seemed overpriced and like it wouldn’t fit. (Old, old house.) When I visited my folks in January, they had an unused pack of 2 strainers, wire mesh. The large one works perfect in the kitchen sink, and the small one fits perfectly in the bathtub. No more worries about clogs. I am still enjoying that “gift”!

In other blogs I see people writing down very specific goals. I’ve always heard that writing down goals makes it more likely to achieve them, and I love how concrete they can be, i.e. instead of Save Money or Lose Weight, it’s "walk to work 5 times," or "Pay off $300 this month in debt." So I’m going to have some belated April Goals, and see if that acts to help me. I’ll have some “one time” goals, but I want to use this idea to help me develop new habits, as per 4/7 post.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m still doing the Credible Threat, punitive and unrewarding as some perceive it. I am using the ideal of modest achievable goals to motivate me and help me avoid the Credible Threat Punishment.

I have been sick a LOT lately; either stomach crud or migraines or whatever. I always get sick easily, for no good reason: I used to think it was being a smoker and drinker, but I haven’t done either in many years, so there’s really no excuse. So my two main set of goals will be money and health related.

*April Health*
Walk to work once a week. (I have drive the nights with water aerobics, and we still have some rain-will ramp this up.)

Eat breakfast daily (6 days a week will count to goal).

In bed every night at 10 with no TV after 10. (Friday and Sturday bed at 11.)

This is a small list, but I want these to become habits. I have a bunch I can stockpile for later. I don’t want to be too ambitious.

*April Money*
Make appointment to get pre-qualified on a home loan

Make the Challenge.

*Future Goals:*
Reduce amount of bread/white rice/potatoes eaten: not sure how to quantify this one yet.
Reduce amount of cheese and peanut butter eaten. (Good protein but I eat way too much.)
Reduce bad TV watching. (Possibly make a limit of hours per week, or add no “new” shows unless I give up an “old” show?)
Take vitamins and meds daily.
Figure out what investment steps I should take with my money: increase deferred comp, increase my IRA, or what? Not sure how to make these one a discrete concrete goal yet.
Find a place in house to hang a laundry line.

Some of the thriftiest and healthiest things I do, I do out of habit. Some of my unhealthy and costly activities are also out of habit. I become more and more aware that habits can make or break me.

I realized with my low, low grocery bill that it was the accumulation of many, many habits. I had spent $100 a month last year (not including toiletries and cleaning products) but I went out to eat a lot, so on my (Modified) Minimum Wage Challenge I had budgeted $145 to compensate for fewer meals out, but only spent $85.27, $16 of that on Club Soda. That included two “Big” grocery runs. None of the things I do happened overnight. I did not start buying oatmeal at the same time that I stopped buying pre-made cartons of juice. Powdered milk came into my life at a different time than the concept of having a max price I’d pay for an item. (For me that’s an In My Head Price Book.) I didn’t start putting leftovers in salsa tub Tupperware at the same time I decided to buy generic or store brand for everything. TVP and bulghur and beans entered my life at different times. But all of these thrifty skills and habits accumulated, over the years, to become a low grocery bill. I incorporate a new habit every now and then, and add it to the routine.

When I get up and go about my day, a lot of it will be a habit. It’s not that I’m unconscious, or unaware, but patterns make up the fabric of life. I do a “pre-make” of the coffee at night, and switch it to brew in the morning. I watch the same morning news, dress in the same place, and eat the same limited variety of breakfasts. I drive the same way to work and I park about the same place. I eat the same types of lunch out of my cottage cheese Tupperware. I come home around the same time. I usually bathe in the evening, in a hot bath. These small habits are comforting.

Some patterns will only last a while; for a while I was getting dressed in the living room every morning. Now it’s in the bedroom. It may change again.

My task is to remember that new things can become habits. If I started a routine physical activity, and just kept at it, it would become a habit. Not going out to eat has actually started to be a habit on this challenge: the next time I do go out it will be a treat, to savor. If I always have a glass of water when I think I’m hungry, it will become a habit. Hanging laundry on the line was very awkward and time consuming and frankly mind consuming at first, now it’s old hat. The first time I made muffins I was actually very anxious, and now I can whip out a batch. A batch a week is a habit now. I recycle a zillion things, but if I started that way it would have blown my fuses-I got in the habit of recycling some items, then added more and more over time. It’s no work now to recycle a battery or bottle cap: there are specific jars on my fridge for these two items-plop!

The first few days or weeks it can be tough. But I have to remember, have to, that once it’s a HABIT, it just happens without extraordinary effort. I’ve gotten there with some frugality and house cleaning habits. I need to get there with some health habits. I have some bad TV habits. I need patience and persistence. I might look back someday and laugh at what seemed a looming task now. I mean, scared of muffins?

Spending: $20 co-pay for a doctor visits, and $17.32 for 3 months worth of two medications: $37.32 already for the month. Plus, another $20 co-pay will come in a week, for a follow up visit. I don’t think getting rid of a “bad” mole is a luxury, but for many people, medical care is a luxury. I’m hoping no visits in May, but I do have another prescription that will need to be filled then. On the plus side, the $80 “missed appointment” bill I thought I might get doesn’t seem to be coming. Knock on wood.

Other spending: a big grocery stock up, my share a whopping $27.37. Good grocery news: My Guy was very pleasantly surprised by how low our grocery bill is, and has taken pride and ownership in it. He made a cheapskate’s Comfort Food Delight last night: can of condensed soup, and a lot of rice. Mix and eat. Not the healthiest, but filling, and not too unhealthy. If we went brown rice we’d be better off.

I’ll count my health insurance as paid and due; I haven’t had paychecks yet, but I know the deduction will be the same; I get warnings of increases ahead of time, in writing. So, $43.70 there.

Rent paid on the 1st, $400. $508.39 spent for the month.

Now, our DVD player broke. Old me? Let’s buy one. But I’m on my challenge, and My Guy is trying to make his unpaid time off last as long as possible, so he doesn’t want to dip in reserves. He’s very computer inclined, so, our plan of action: move his computer DVD player into the living room, even though it’s a computer one in a tower, for now. Price the parts to build a new one. The bonus will be: if he “builds” the DVD player, it will act like a TiVO, with record capabilities. If that doesn’t work, just keep using his in the living room. He’d have to use the network to my computer to access things on DVD. But it will be cheaper. Meanwhile, I will keep on the look out for crazy cheap DVD players.

I’ve been hanging laundry on our wooden rack. Not the best-takes a long time to dry. The weather is getting better; hanging on the line will be an option soon.

People I know question how long I will continue on the challenge. It’s sad to me that they thought one month would be “enough.” Even though I had been pretty frugal, it’s been great to see the areas I had gotten too loose in. I’m at least 40 pounds overweight-why did I go out to eat so much? It’s not as if I was ordering steamed vegetables and broiled fish. I shrugged at certain expenses, such as my crazy electric bill, because I had enough money coming in to pay the bills, but I never worked at really lowering these bills. I’m learning from this challenge, and I am not feeling deprived.

In April I want to try and get pre-qualified for a home loan. I have been idly thinking of it. My income is pretty good for my area, but, and it’s a big but, I live in California. House prices are just craziness. So I will find out if I can do the house thing or not. I don’t mind finding out I can’t. (I already know it would only be a smaller house if I could: a one or one and a half bedroom, no garage, etc.) At that point, I will need to make some investment decisions. I have a lot more than 6 months expenses in savings: not the best place at 1.25 percent. I have 457 Deferred Comp that I could increase contributions to-I hadn’t yet because I couldn’t borrow against it for a down payment. I have an IRA I haven’t paid attention to. And I know nothing about investing. So once I find out about the house, the next challenge is to take the money frugality gains me and make it more active.

I love surveys, for no real good reason. I do Greenfield, and GoZing, and NFO, and some others. I used to do okay with the money, too: it seemed as if I'd get $2 or $5 pretty frequently, and $10 or $15 every few months. Once I got $75 for chatting about Feta cheese for an hour (online). But the money has dried up. I just checked, in 2004 I got $112 for various surveys, and in 2005 I got $22. So now, really, I do them for fun and to put my two cents in.

Well, I just completed one where the reward is a $1, that will be deposited into my PayPal account in May. And it made me think, $1 is real money. $1 gets me a half pound of cheese, or 3 months worth of bran, or a few crockpots of beans, or even a month of postage for me. Who am I to scoff at the dollar? I bought a fabulous pair of thick dark blue flannel jammie bottoms with a $1.25 last week. I bought 3 items at a thrift store for 84 cents.

I'm getting to know the value of a dollar more intimately.

In March, I spent $1007.45. $1073 was my base budget (CA minimum wage $6.75 x 40 x 4.33 less SDI/FICA) plus the $6.73 recycling, for a total of $1079.73 available. I needed to underspend; it does NOT mean I’m ahead the $72.78. This is “banked” for non-monthly expenses, such as my car insurance in July. I did put $39.00 in savings, but I would like to not have to touch that at all.

I’ve managed to figure out how to include the amounts in a readable format, by making a spreadsheet excerpt a picture.



It's ironic that I started this in a month with an extra biweekly paycheck and my two tax returns. A lot more money came in than usual, and a lot less went out.

I did play poker last night. We have a group that attempts to play every other Friday, but we’ve been a little inconsistent. I’d say I play maybe once a month. I had saved my previous winnings, and had already decided to only play with “won” money. I hadn’t really kept track last year, but this year had decided 1) to see how much I improved (or not) and 2) to ensure I kept better track. It had been hard because I rarely use cash. I’d take out money, win, break even, sometimes lose, then I’d spend the cash, and lose track. So I decided this year to keep it separate. Last time I won $42. I put that in a jar and kept it separate. That’s what I have to play with, and it’s outside the challenge and regular budget too. This time I lost $16. So if I play poker again, I have a maximum of $26 to play with. If I lose that, I will have to seriously evaluate whether this hobby is worthwhile.

The gifts were perfect. Kim loved the book and magnets. She teared up at the Bono/Kim photoshopped picture; I don't think because she's weird about Bono, but because she was touched at the effort that went into the gift. A resounding success! It'll be a tough trend to continue, the low amount of spending and high return, but the process rocked.

We were in a fast food mood. How did we handle it? First we decided that grilled cheese sandwiches provide that greasy love. Then, I decided not to have my usual two, but to have one, with a big bowl of vegetables. A healthier, cheaper, meal, with little effort. I want to succeed with my Credible Threat challenge and Minimum Wage challenge, but most of all I want to not feel stressed or deprived about it. Today was a good day.

Well, I am pleasantly astonished at how being frugal made me prepare a very nice gift for a friend, that is very thoughtful and tailored to her likes and lifestyle.

She loves traveling (Lithuania next week, Croatia with me in September), adores cats, loves magnets, reads a lot, loves U2, is a Shari Lewis/Lamb Chop fan, and her fridge is covered with everything and more.

She is getting: homemade magnets. (A set of five different cat designs, a black and white Photoshopped picture of her and Bono drinking and toasting the photgrapher, a very nice shot of her and her husband, a little cutout of her husband looking goofy, and Lamb Chop.) A card that has four cat magnets on it(store bought-local art place, made by a local). A piece of chocolate shaped like a cat. And, a book of essays by women travelers, using trade in I had from earlier this month at a used book store.

Cash expenditure for this totally amazing gift pack: $6.16. My Guy and I stretched our craft skills, and came up with what I think is a top notch gift set. I could of spent $30 on a less satisfying gift. (I could have foregone the card with magnets and chocolate, but I didn't and don't regret it. As I've said before, I love gift giving.)

And, since the book "cost" almost seven bucks, my partner chips in half the cost (the books traded in were mine), and I have spent zero. This is a win, win, win. Reports on her response tomorrow will be reported later.

Today I went on a spending spree, and spent $22.94. Last night I was reminded that two big birthdays are coming up. I decided when I’m out and about I should be scoping for birthday and holiday presents for everyone I know, all the time, to be alert and ready for a great deal on the perfect present, even if it is a couple months early. This time I’m cut a little short on time.

I did order a book online for one of them. My friends are going to London in a week, and made reservations at St. John’s, and Matt wants the book by the chef, Fergus Henderson: The Whole Beast: Nose to tail Eating. I called the bookstore I have some credit at, and another local used place, and no go, so we ordered from Half.com. That’s $7.10 for my share.

I had an idea for Kim’s present: she has magnets, photos, and postcards all over her fridge. We have some of those larger thin magnets, like the promotional calendars, that I’ve been saving for a while. I was just going to glue regular photos (I’ve been traveling with Kim and Matt and have some pictures) to the magnets, but My Guy had a better idea: he’s doing some Photoshop work on some pictures, so we will also have Kim inserted into a picture of her favorite band U2.

I had wanted to go to garage sales this morning. Due to rain I went to more thrift stores than garages sales. At one thrift store, I got 10 nice plastic hangers, a pair of kitchen tongs, and a nice basket for 84 cents. I felt good about that purchase. At a garage sale, as a fluke I found what my guy has been coveting: a stove top waffle maker. I had priced them and they are at least $38 new plus shipping, or a lot more at local stores. The garage sale was crazy overpriced, but I offered $10 instead of $15. Too much for an idle purchase, but not bad for something he’s been really wanting. Then I picked up a $5 prescription.

So that was my wild spree. Nothing came up for future presents, unfortunately. But it was a good reminder, to always be on the lookout. For example, my friend Linda loves lighthouses; I can look all Yard Sale season long.

A great thing about thrift store shopping, even if I don’t buy, is to be reminded of how cheap items can be. When I shop our locally owned neighborhood stores at Christmas, I always stop at St. Vincent de Paul’s first, to get grounded.

We’ll be taking Kim out to dinner, but we have already purchased gift certificates. (One of those deals where I paid $15 for $30 worth of certificates; it’s a great local restaurant.)

Friday night, I did spend more on groceries and toiletries, so that’s another $29.53.

I’ve spent $1000.98. I will make the Challenge for this month; however I did overspend in some categories, leaving me less to carry over for bigger, later expenditures, such as Insurance in July.

I am working on modifying my budget, so I will post new numbers for April at the end of March. I am working towards no more spending for this month, except perhaps for Matt and Kim.

Only a bit more spending to report. Since I’ve gotten both of my paychecks with health insurance deductions, I can count $43.70. And, I spent a lot on entertainment on Sunday: $12.50. We went to a friend’s house, and they made corned beef from scratch: I mean, they corned the beef. So they put in the labor, and it was frugal for them, but our role was to bring Guinness and bread. I also bought a small block of Irish cheese, and a little tart as a dessert. I don’t necessarily regret it, but I think next time we’ll plan more in advance-I can’t make Guinness from scratch, but maybe I could have found it cheaper, and I could have made a dessert from scratch.

Overall, I've been liking thinking in a Frugal Mode. This month is a 3-paycheck month for me. Others are catching up with bills, or blowing it. I'm doing my Minimum Wage Challenge, and sweating $12.50 in the entertainment category. Which I LIKE. It doesn't make me feel like I'm missing out, or cheap-it makes me think about getting value from what I spend.

I am torn on whether bringing food to a friend's house is in the grocery category or the entertainment category. I started thinking entertainment, then realized it was food items. I am going with entertainment, because it was "party" food. It may be that I reduce my grocery budget and increase my entertainment budget.

Stared the day earlier, it’s been a while on a weekend. Up and moving by 9. We did three loads of laundry; I put some clothes in the dryer, like work clothes and woven shirts, and everything else hung outside. It’s been a while, the weather has been forbidding. Even when the weather was okay, we were hanging doing mostly jeans and towels, the big dryer hogs, to be lazy but still get some savings. It was also mild exercise, not an inconsiderable aspect.

I did the recycling, tons and tons of it. I only got $6.73, but that’s fine, I knew most was not money recycling. I recycle almost everything. Plastic, tin cans, yogurt tubs, paper, cardboard, glass. I exchanged an item at Walgreen’s that I got in January for a new item, which I’m keeping outside the challenge. I sat in front of the jumbo pack of earplugs forever considering whether I should commit to the $9.99 for the year’s worth of them. I decided I was over thinking and I should just be able to exchange as no money in and no money out.

I spent .86 cents at the Postal Service, and will get half back from my boyfriend. I got 4 2 cent stamps to add to my old first class, and then two new ones. We rarely send regular mail; almost all bills are paid online.

I cleaned out the bread thrift store for $9.55, split between us. Around 8 loaves of regular bread plus 2 packs of bagels plus 2 packs of 3-in-a-pack brown and serve roll loaves, and donuts for my guy. The bread used to be 2 for a dollar for the old stuff, now the cheapest is 79 cents, which bummed me out, but, at least a $3.59 loaf costs 79 cents and not $3.59. I was glad I made room in the freezer. The brown and serve loaves was a fun deal; each loaf has 8 attached rolls, and there are three loaves, for 79 cents. So for 3.3 cents each I have these amazing, hot, tasty, French bread-like rolls. Yum. It has been a fine lunch with some cheese.

I then deposited some checks at an ATM (including $15 from Nielsen for reporting on my TV habits, but I earned and received it pre-challenge), and browsed the Co-op where the ATM is at. I almost got a treat, but I kept looking at items, and thinking, that plum nectar is nice, but, not 15 times nicer than orange juice, so why pay fifteen times more?

Today, I spent $4 on entertainment for going out after work with colleagues. We do this rarely; I didn't want to miss it. I got one soda for $2 plus tax, which I would never do normally. But this Mexican restaurant had no Limonada or Jamaica, so I got a bottled Jarrito. And I left a large tip, almost 90%, because our waitress hustled to do separate checks for a table of 20 people, and I ate plenty of the complimentary chips and salsa, and there is no way I'd leave a 15% forty cent tip in that situation.

And, $10 to report in the charity category, local public radio station needs an emergency backup generator (and with the storms lately, they really do).

A good week, many tempations avoided without any sense of deprivation.

My boyfriend went on a grocery run. We had a long list of staples to refill, so I though it might be high, but it was $64 total. $32 each. We have always done a lot of bulk and staple, but it was just a nice surprise that a "big" grocery run could be that small. Flour, sunflower seeds, dry powdered milk, bulghur, eggs, potatoes, things like this. Our grocery bill has always been pretty decent; it's the dining out that can get us. I even got some club soda.

I made jam today, two batches, with some plum puree I've had in the freezer. (The low sugar Sure Jel takes 6-1/2 cups cooked plums, and our peanut butter tubs actually are exactly 6-1/2 cups. It's kinda neat.) Even before the challenge, I was working on emptying the freeezer and cupboards. The goal was threefold: use up stuff that has been sitting a while (asian sauces gotten as gifts, etc.), be more creative with homecooking, and create space for "convenience" meals-casseroles, etc. put in tubs for later.

The jam took me about an hour-I remember when I first started it was an all day project. I need to remember that certain things I'm intimidated by will be the same way, such as baking bread, or painting rooms, or refnishing furniture.