Spend Nothing Month Concludes, March Net Worth

Today is the last day of our first official Spend Nothing Month. How did we do?

This February, despite Darling's unemployment and thanks to over $500 in returned deposits and tax refunds, we had an income of $2,357.

We spent $941 on rent, bus tickets, bills, a doctor's appointment, and film to be developed. We spent a total of $4 due to a misunderstanding about coffee, and $11 on groceries - not because we went over budget, but we forgot our gift card. That's about it.

$228 will be going to charity.

$143 has gone to my student loan company, and $115 will be going towards our family loan.

We have a total of $821 to put into savings.

$40 of that has been declared "fun money," a reward for our perseverance this month. $200 will go to next month's grocery bill, because I don't know how we would have survived the first two weeks of February if we hadn't had money put aside for food. The remainder will go into our school fund.

Now, to look at Net Worth:

Total Assets (money in savings and checking accounts): is a whopping $1,113.29. That's up $847.85 from last month

Our Liabilities (School Debt and Family Debt) comes up to $16,951.47. For the past couple of months I have been including my dental needs with this list, but have discovered that predicting medical costs is a tricky game. My dentist did more work than expected in December, and as a result gave me a discount. Which is great, but now my numbers don't add up. How much more "Dental Debt" does my mouth carry? I'm not sure, and insurance further discombobulates the issue even more. So I hope if you'll excuse me if I go back to recording liabilities in the normal fashion. This way, our debt is $14,709.47, about $258 less than last month.

Which brings our Net Worth to $-13,586.18!!! The highest its been since I started this blog (and don't think the dental issue was just my way of playing silly buggers, I'm determining my Net Worth the same way I did 11 months ago). Over $500 of that is slotted for school, but it's nice to finally have a savings again!

Why I Love Not Owning A Car

An anonymous friend suggested Darling and I "bite the bullet" and invest in a vehicle for the sake of Darling's job hunt. Trust me, it has been considered, but at this point I don't think we could afford a car if it were given to us! Not while maintaining our current lifestyle.

Because many of my car-free living posts are about missing buses, getting horribly lost, or difficulty on the job front, I've decided to post on some of the best characteristics of the car-free life.

* Freedom: Freedom from monthly payments, yearly inspections, traffic, insurance, and the ever-rising price of gas. Unlike many of my co-workers, I never have to worry about not making enough money to get to or from work or the grocery store, or about sudden emergencies involving transmissions turning my life upside down. My household transportation cost is never above $20/month, and this month only $10.

* Time Management and Organization: Darling and I are both rather slob-like in nature. Reading our favorite authors' latest books, comic books, and blogs often comes before finishing the dishes. However, our life is perfectly scheduled to fit our priorities when involving transport. We shop the same time every week, once a week. Although I occasionally run out to seek an obscure spice at the Phoenicia Deli down the road or splurge on organic fruit in the middle of the week, I really can't imagine how other families shop every couple of days! Because we travel by bus, and can't turn around and head home if something is forgotten, we rarely leave without a list, wallet, cloth grocery bags, and bulk containers. We also visit friends on a regular, scheduled basis, and have people over twice a week.

* Health: In high school, I weighed close to 190 pounds. Yesterday I weighed in at 140 at my doctor's visit. Obesity and Diabetes have been serious problems for Darling's family, but he is lean and muscular. Neither of us has attended a gym in three years or (unfortunately) a yoga session in months. We do, however, walk. The bus stop is 15 minutes away, so a half hour's mild exercise is promised on a regular basis. Sometimes we wander aimlessly for hours a day, out of the sheer joy of fresh air and exploration.
I suspect that we also experience less stress than many drivers, because we rarely feel rushed or pressured to get from one place to another. We also have an obscene amount of leisure time (even when Darling was employed). I am dumbfounded when coworkers tell me they eat fast food because they don't have time to eat breakfast or make lunch before work. Like me, they don't have children, side-jobs, or other major responsibilities. How do people with cars seem to have less time than me?

Community Awareness: I don't know quite how to explain this, but I know this neighborhood better than anyone who only ever views it from her car or jogs through it wearing an ipod. I know the shortcuts to Barton creek, where the winos hang out, which kids are left unattended at what houses too often, and what churches offer free breakfast. Not bad for someone who has no idea whatsoever who the heck Heath Ledger is, the point of the Oscars, or what "Idol" is.

I would never suggest that car-free living is for everyone, or anyone, else. Our lifestyle is certainly one of privelege. I definitely recommend it to anyone seeking simplification. We may take on the trials and tribulations (and conveniences) of car ownerships in a couple of years, but certainly not before saving up the big pile of money required to return to school and fix our teeth. We're actually more likely to move to North Austin, where the jobs appear to be, than buy a car for a daily commute. I hate traffic far more than I hate moving!

Job Dilemna

Yesterday Darling was offered another call center job in north Austin. It is basically the same sort of job he hated and quite two months ago, but pays about $3 more per hour. I don't see much point in him getting another job he won't enjoy, but he wants to be earning again. I'm not sure what we'll be doing. We've done well this month, but didn't have to worry about groceries and received $359 from our federal and state tax refunds. Nest month (actually, any day now...) we're expecting our deposit from the last apartment back as well as a refund from an over-paid utility charge, which should come up to the same amount. So we should be able to get through March well enough...but we still need to put aside about $700 tuition money between now and April...

I think Darling should hold out for the best-case scenario: a part-time administrative position with an acceptable company with a reasonable car-free commute. We may hurt for disposable income for another month, and scrape for doctor bills and tuition, but I don't doubt we can survive on my tips until September. If we're still living on a single income then, when school starts and my workplace starts impersonating a ghost town, desperate measures may be taken.

HR Debacle

I was extremely disappointed in this year's tax return. This is only my third year filing, and my two previous refunds were both about $700. I was expecting a little more, and was a little confused by this year's $319. Our combined gross income was less than $27,000 - not much more than last year - and we deducted over $700 in student loan interest!

Yesterday I finally learned that our HR department screwed up some paperwork and some employees ended up not having the necessary amount deducted from their paycheck's each month. Some of us were under-taxed at least $30 every bi-weekly paycheck this year, and owed the IRS an unexpected $700! I am fortunate that Darling's return covered my deficit; one of my coworkers will be working double shifts for weeks to cover this sudden debt. And the worse part is that HR made no announcement, no apology, no mention of this incident whatsoever. Had I not been in the room when coworkers brought it up, I would have continued this year cashing and spending every inflated paycheck without thought! If Darling spends much more of this year unemployed, or underemployed, we would have gotten a nasty surprise the next time we filed taxes!

As a server, my paychecks should only ever cover my taxes (I now know). Therefore, rather than trust HR to fix their mistake, I intend to invest every future paycheck into a high yield savings account. Rather than make a massive loan to the government and look forward to that lump sum next January, I will put that money aside to earn a small amount of interest until the IRS asks for it.

School Excitement

After doing some research and discovering what everyone else in the world already has (that ITT Tech is extremely expensive and considered sub par as far as technical schools go), I have decided to just call and cancel the appointment and be excited about ACC again. So excited, in fact, that I spent all last night making up my future schedule.

This Summer I will be taking the Intro to Drafting and Autocad courses every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 12:40 pm. I will complete two courses (one after the other) by August, and this will cost me $432. Do you know what cost me $432 the last time I tried going to college? Books! I'll probably also take a maths course, but I won't know until I take the placement exam next month.

ITT Tech Visit

I missed my ITT Tech tour last Tuesday because I got on the wrong bus. Too embarrassed to call (three hours late), I decided to pretend I'd never made the appointment or even heard of the school.

When ITT tech showed on the caller I.D. this morning, I let it ring. Sorry, tech, I'm sticking with community college.

Ten minutes later I called back.

Now I have an appointment on Tuesday with career counselor type person. This time Darling will be there with me for moral support and bus system navigational purposes.

I know this is the right thing to do, mostly because I really don't want to even a little. Does that seem twisted? Worse case scenario: I end up having to explain to a recruiter that no, even for the price of my future, I won't go deeper into debt. Worse case scenario, I just don't go. I'll invest in yoga teacher certification or something equally ridiculous (it occurred to me that nothing would be more amazing than teaching yoga on a cruise ship for a six month period. Aren't long term goals so much easier to think about than short term?).

*EDIT* Wow, ITT has a really bad reputation. Maybe I'll go to that first meeting to talk to a career adviser, then let them know I'm not interested...

Darling and I have been discussing how we'll manage to move to England in two years without compromising our educations or debt repayment. We know lots of people in London, of course, who may let us sleep on their couches and help us job hunt, but the trip itself is going to be brutal.

The other day I joked, "we could just get a job on a cruise ship and have someone pay our way over there."

Darling took me seriously, and a few minutes later we were researching how one would go about doing this. It looks like cruise workers are employed for six months at a time and paid an average of $1,000/month for unskilled labor.

A few days later I picked up the UT informal course schedule and discovered a class called "Cruise For Free." Serendipitous, no? For $65 in April I can learn how to utilize my hobbies and experiences to get hired on as speaker for a major cruise line.

I'm still not sure how serious to take this idea, but what better scenario could we hope for? We could spent the next two years saving every penny, studying, gardening, and working part-time. Then spend six months on a cruise ship (sure, we'll be working, but not 24 hours/day), and arrive in Europe with some money in our pocket, debt free, and with small savings intact.

But first, to get enrolled in school!

Kitchen Thrift

Meredith at Like Merchant Ships has been living a time warp by sticking to a 1950's budget menu all week. Desserts at every meal? Sounds like my house. Especially since we cut corner store goodies out of our No Spend budget and I've returned to my favorite hobby: baking.

I was impressed with Meredith's observations on how little variety the 1950's budget boasted. Roast beef three days in a row, and taters for the entire week. This was before tomatoes and squash were available and affordable year-round thanks to creative (and questionable) agricultural techniques and shipping.

Darling impressed me with his kitchen thrift during Tuesday's community meal. The majority of our $2 head of organic spinach went into his Indian curry, the smaller leaves were chopped with the salad along with a couple of cauliflower leaves, kale, and broccoli from the garden.

The roots and stems of the spinach were then washed and put aside along with celery tops, peeled cauliflower stem, cabbage, potatoes, lentils, and black eyed peas for a delicious and hearty soup which fed us and two friends last night.

Now if only our garden produced all our vegetables, at least for the Summer, we'd really be getting thrifty.

Spending

As per Lizzie's advice, we did break the rules and splurge a little. Darling did an Indian community meal last night, and I went out at the last minute and spent $6 on sultanas and spices. The delicious dinner was worth it.

Darling also bought two bus passes yesterday ($10), I helped mom with her phone bill, and we sent our first debt payment so far this month ($143 to the loan company). So hopefully our net worth will increase a few dollars this month, for all our not spending...

Bad Day

I pulled myself out of bed the moment my alarm sounded, showered and dressed in record time, and biked up to the bus stop to catch a ride to my scheduled tour of the ITT Austin campus.

An hour later, I realized the campus was south, not north. And I was on the wrong bus, quite late.

I came home to find a notice from our old landlord regarding our deposit refund (remember how we moved over a month ago?). Apparently they paid a couple of hundred dollars to have the carpet cleaned. So we're only receiving $260 of our $500 deposit back. Except they didn't mail the check yet, for some reason.

If there were money anywhere near me, I would sneak to the gas station and purchase a Big Red, a Hershey bar with almonds, and the biggest bag of fritos they have. Then I would go to Thundercloud subs and buy a Nada Chicken sandwich, sunchips, and a peach smoothie. And on the way home I would go to the oh-so-overpriced Salvation Army and buy a new pair of pants. Then I would go to Half-Priced Books and come home with something about knitting or gardening.

Clever Darling took all the money to the bank today, however, clearly becoming aware that my resolve is cracking. Not so much that I can't pretend the debit card is right in front of me at this very moment, but enough that an undocumented dollar or two (or thirty) wouldn't be difficult to spend.

Instead I will clean the kitchen, scrub the bathroom, and vacuum the floors. Because, although my ex-landlord hasn't seemed to notice, vacuuming is free.

Tour of Spending

Tomorrow I tour a technical school campus in North Austin. I'm not especially interested in this particular school, but they may offer piles of financial aid or other incentives worth exploring. Can you explore an incentive? Probably not. Moving swiftly forward...

Our third Monday of Spend Nothing Month went smoothly enough. We were actually under budget by $6 this shopping trip. I am beginning to pine for our weekly lunch at Veggie Heaven, however. I was attacked by such a case of the munchies at a friend's house I actually asked Darling if for some reason he had the debit card on him. I wanted to cheat so bad! Of course he didn't. I ended up cutting up an apple from our groceries and sharing it with a side of peanut butter.

As much as I'm missing chips and faux shrimp, I have already suggested to Darling that our Spend Nothing celebrations extend into March...Because we're having so much fun. And, um, our current income sort of precludes actual spending anyway. But we'll deal with that when the time comes.

No Promo In The Rain

It rained yesterday for the first time in weeks, and is still raining. I ventured downtown to attend another organic gardening workshop, then hurried to work in the wet and cold. I purchased yet another bus ticket in this endeavor, but it was definitely worth it.

Work evals came out this week and although my stats were mostly above average, they fell just short of what was necessary for promotion. Maybe I should take that as my cue to bow out of customer service, but I don't know anywhere else I could make $10-$15+/hour and get away with giving myself a three-day weekend every single week. I've been spoiled by the amount of time I've had to spend with friends and family and play in the dirt. I'll need that flexible schedule when my classes start in May, and I can't forget how easy it was to make money last Summer. So I'll probably sit tight until September, at which point I might abandon ship rather than weather out another slow season.

More Garden Stuff

Before work I mulched our future 3 Sisters' Garden (corn, beans, and squash), planted potatoes in a very large raised bed, transplanted some herbs the community seems to have forgotten about (rosemary and garlic chives - yum) and did some general yard clear up.

Went to work and made rent, which is exciting. Now we just have to worry about one bill and our official obligations are met :)

Good Morning Chainsaw

Darling and a friend attacked a tree in our back yard with a chainsaw first thing this morning. Branches had broken and damaged the tool shed - years ago!

I staked out a part in the back for a potential corn garden, but I think I'm going to spend more time in the back area determining where we get the most sun and whether I have the nerve to declare 18 sq. feet of the backyard a single vegetable's property. I am the official community garden coordinator, because I find the most joy in getting out there and playing in the dirt, but this doesn't mean I want or have the right or knowledge to throw my weight around.

I picked up a shift this morning and finally made some money. We are less than a hundred dollars away from rent :)

MY BABIES ARE HERE!

Today our little seedlings living in flats popped up to say hello to the world. I am so excited. We think the carrot seedlings in the garden have come up as well, but it's difficult to tell whether or not they are actually weeds.

Monday Darling bought corn, and now I have to consider just how much room corn demands. I don't think more than four stalks could fit in our current dug out garden, but I know we should be growing far more compost crops to keep our soil healthy. So I am thinking of double-digging a small area outside of the current gardening parameters...Also intend to sew some potatoes tomorrow...

I also took a couple of bags of clothes I found by the side of the road to Goodwill. The guy at the donations desk asked if I wanted a receipt for tax purposes, and I asked how one determines the worth of the donation. He shrugged and said that it was pretty much up to me. I found these bags on the side of the road...but took the time and energy to actually take them somewhere to be recycled rather than trashed...but I couldn't name a price, so I shrugged and declined his offer. Not that we itemize our deductions anyway.

I also took photos of the furniture we need to get out of our house and mailed them to a consignment store and posted on craigslist. Because we don't have a digital camera, I used a disposable. This has cost us $14 so far on no spend month, but I'm really hoping for a return on our investment.

Thinking Outside The Wallet

"Now, Money is a very peculiar substance. It doesn't behave according to the laws of physics. Any amount you don't have - whether it's $5,000 or $500,000 - will appear to be a mountain. Almost any amount you do have will not appear to be enough to pay next month's bills! Money often seems to be an emotional substance - the very incarnation of 'I can't.'"

Barbara Sher, Wishcraft

This month seems focused on two themes: surviving on a third of our previous income/not spending and setting goals (college, spring vacation, and The Big Move). Until reading that passage in Whishcraft, these themes seemed to contradict each other. How can we go to college, make our way to Virginia, or even save up the funds to cross the Atlantic when we can barely fund our day-to-day living? And how can I break free of my poverty mindset in the meantime?

From now on, I will look at money as the least desirable resource to call upon. In our entrepreneurial society, there is a service for everything. It has become easy to not even think about how to solve an issue or overcome an obstacle, because someone else is there to solve it for you. I have some furniture my stepmother no longer wants in her house: should I pay someone to pack it up and drive it to a storage unit? Or should I mail digital photos of the pieces to consignment stores and pay a few coworkers a little money to ship it in the hopes of making a profit? The latter idea did not occur to me until I decided to think outside the wallet. Now I am thinking "outside the wallet" to see how else Darling and I can save and even make money on our more expensive goals.

When we visited Texas from Virginia the first time, I borrowed a friend's car for two weeks. I couldn't believe our luck or her kindness, but her small sedan was a lifesaver. We borrowed a tent and camper stove from another friends, which was far cheaper than spending the night at a motel. Once in Texas, we crashed on couches at friends and family houses. The trip cost us about $700, including gas. On a previous road trip, myself and two other girls did our best to make our way from state to state without spending what little money we had on food: we borrowed a big bag of bagels and fruit from our college cafeteria, convinced fast food places to give us free bags of fries, and slipped into hotels advertising continental breakfasts. The three of us didn't even know each other before the trip - we just all happened to be going in the same direction and one us had a car!

Wishcraft Review

A few weeks ago Heather recommended I read Barbara Sher's Wishcraft - How To Get What You Really Want. I don't read much of the "self-help" genre outside of the financial section, but this one is pretty interesting if you can get past the cloud-and-rainbow 70's style cover. Although it was written for my parents' generation, the advice is still sound. Many of Sher's opening tips on determining goals is already second nature to me: I've been practicing visualization techniques for as long as I can remember, and have been documenting them since I was fifteen (which was right when I decided to leave my Dad's house, convince a friend's mother to take me in, and enroll in the Austin school system semi-illegally...which I did). Before deciding with Darling to move to England in two years, I fantasized about and recorded "my perfect days" in Hawaii, New Mexico, and India. Barbara tells us to believe that any goal can be reached, and that the hard part is scraping through all the layers of self-denial and finding out what we truly desire.

Sher's advice on what to do once a goal is decided on is surprisingly sensible and useful. I'll be using Sher's advice in creating a plan in the near future. The key to overcoming great obstacles is to break them up into smaller, manageable tasks - but Wishcraft shows us how to do this in a way that will ensure we will complete those tiny tasks in a timely matter. She goes on to describe the biggest obstacle most of us will ever face, Money, and how to get past it.

Anyway, if you have any impossible dreams that need tackling, (and who doesn't?) check this book out. Thanks for the heads up, Heather :)

Money Mindset

All month I have been vaguely frustrated about finances. Even though we pledged not to spend excess funds, and stuck to our pledge (except for that $5 over our grocery budget), money has been leeching out of our bank account at a rapid speed. Even though we haven't purchased a single bag of chips, soda, secret restaurant meal, or cheated in any way, we've spent nearly half of what we've earned.

Oh, Duh (it finally hit me), just because we've declared this a month of no spending doesn't mean the expenses will go away.

$50 to COBRA, another $300+ required to cover our last dentist visit, $10 to file our VA taxes online, a $28 overdraft fee because NABCEP cashed Darling's certification check 2 months after he received his certification, two month's worth of bills we're still waiting for the landlord to present us with, and an annual lady's appointment that needs to be scheduled within 30 days...Thank goodness this month's groceries are paid for! It looks like I'll be picking up extra shifts this week.

It occurs to me that although there have had times of more or less abundance, I am almost always concerned about whether or not ends will meet. Whether I was trying to cover rent and survive on $600/month two years ago or working marathon shifts to cover Darling's tuition as well as our European vacation last year, I felt overwhelmed. Yet we have never actually depleted our resources or found ourselves hungry or homeless. And then I take great pride in how we scraped by yet again, as my parents always have.

I think I will work at changing my mindset, because otherwise this style of living may never change. In the past, it was my opinion that "thinking poor" was the secret to living below one's means and escaping poverty. But I'm tired of barely getting by, or convincing myself I am. This coming year I will find a way to change my attitude about money and differentiate between success and struggle.

Insurance And Health

I'd heard of COBRA, and knew it had to do with health insurance, but was never sure about how one would acquire it. Well, today Darling elected to extend our dental and insurance via COBRA, so we don't have to worry that something will go wrong with my own job's plan (which still isn't available to me). He did cancel his vision and medical coverage, however, because $140/month is just not affordable to us right now. We'd probably would have hesitated sending the $45 dental premium today if it weren't for the fact that we know this insurance has saved us $1000 so far this year, and will save us another grand in April.

Tonight's dinner salad included broccoli and kale from the communal garden. Darling whipped up a pasta with garlic sauce and tvp and made coleslaw. Afterward, I read How to Grow More Vegetables (Than You Ever Thought Possible On Less Land Than You Can Imagine) by John Jeavons, which was great. I've also read his and Carol Cox's The Sustainable Vegetable Garden. The seed flats are spending the night at our house tonight (we leave them in the warm sunshine during the day) and I can't wait to see their little green faces in a few days. Soon we will be planting flowers, and it will be spring!

A Sweet Dilemna

We have about two tablespoons of (organic) white sugar left.

Don't blame my baking, I've been experimenting with honey, syrups, and fruits to placate my sweet tooth. It just didn't make our last grocery run, for which we forgot our lists.

Darling and I consume at least 2 cups of hot sweet tea a day, so this would normally be a perfectly good reason to break our budget and pick up a pound of Domino on the way home from work today. Instead, Darling will have to make due with brown sugar until Monday.

Gardening, Baking, and Budgeting

Today reminds me of why I love Austin, maybe even Texas as a whole. It's a sunny, cool day, and we woke up at the crack of noon to do yard work with a neighbor. About a fourth of our garden is not utilized at this point, so we added a couple of inches compost in preparation for seedlings, which we planted directly into flats. Basil, tomatoes, beets, lavender and spinach are hopefully germinating as we speak. It feels so good to be productive and know that we'll be lightening our grocery load soon. And today was another spend-free day.

So last night it occurred to me that I can probably only expect to make $1200/month until Summer, excluding windfalls like returned deposits and tax refunds. I did a bare-bones budget this morning to see how this would affect us, and was a little startled by the results. Even spending only $10 on transportation and our minimum debt payments, we can't afford to eat out, save, or invest!

Keep in mind that my income fluctuates, sometimes wildly. I've made $30 one day, $200 the next. And I've been working only four-day weeks since the beginning of this year. I think we'll get through February just fine, what with the fact that we don't even have to buy groceries. But we'll be tightening our belts all the same, here at the 20 year challenge - which, ironically - always has me baking yummy cakes and cookies. Tonight we had lovely rice syrup-sweetened banana muffins :)

Yummy Tuesday

The garden is boasting some beautiful broccoli, which ought to be harvested any day now. Darling suggested buying seeds on yesterday's shopping trip, so we came home with a small bag of future Dragon Carrots. I was overwhelmed by today's beautiful Texas weather, so I spent some time weeding, spreading compost, and planting. I also picked up, mopped, and vacuumed the apartment. Dinner was a yummy community meal and meeting, and now we await our Tuesday evening guests and card game.

This is exactly what I wanted from community living, and I am feeling very content.

Also, today is the first this month we haven't spent a single cent. :)

First No Spend Shop

Darling and I spent $5 on shopping today, which is sad and a little frustrating. I mean, $5 after our $40 gift certificate. Maybe I shouldn't have pocketed the cash before leaving the house, but I think maybe someone else (someone darling) shouldn't have decided to go over his alloted budget...

I also bought a dollar bus ticket, bringing this month's spending to $14. However, we had a big lunch before leaving the house to prevent us from eating out (thanks to my lovely cooking husband) and I baked a chocolate cake to share with friends rather than buy chips and soda as we normally do on Mondays. The cake was sweetened with honey, rice syrup, and chocolate chips as we are low on sugar, and half oatmeal since we were low on regular flour. Which practically makes it healthy. So we spent about $30 less than normal, not including groceries.

I Think, Therefore I blog

Hey, I won an award!

Many thanks to Meg, at Vintage Flapper To The Rescue, for passing the Thinking Blogger Award on to me. Frankly, I'd like to pass this right back to everyone who comments on The 20 Year Challenge, because even my blog-less friends offer me food for thought on a daily basis. However, the rules state that I should name only 5 bloggers who make me think.

Fit Cat impresses me on a regular basis, particularly with her monthly budget. Charity tops her list or priorities, as well as travel and sensible investments. When she sets a goal, she walks her readers through every step, struggle, and success.

Blunt Money was the first financial blogger I really liked. Her well-balanced posts offer advice, tips, and explanations for financial novice and adept alike.

Millionaire Mommy is often a bit too advanced for me, but her message is clear. Her blog is about finding your true wants (with the help of her Baby Steps To Financial Freedom) and learning how to achieve them through smart investing and happy living.

Homemaking Homesteader is the first blog I ever read. Thank you for teaching me to bake bread, Crystal!

Gluten Free Frugal isn't just about flour. Tenille works to support her husband and two amazingly cute kids while paying off debt with a vengeance, experimenting in the kitchen, eating local (once for a full month!), and spreading the word about living with food allergies.

Day 4 - A Foot Saga

In Virginia I worked for a caterer, which required black shoes. At the time, my only shoes were a pair of white Keds and my heavy work boots, so I borrowed some black, ill-fitting flats from a friend.

After a long, hard night of setting up, serving, and cleaning up after a 200-person banquet, my feet hurt horribly. The next day there was a huge, hard bump on the outer-side of my left foot. It was so sensitive and swollen that Darling was convinced I'd let someone drop a table on it.

Soon after, we moved to Austin. I have no idea why those were the only shoes that came with us. We walked up and down the city streets searching for jobs, and by the end of the week I could barely walk. We bought a pair of black tennis shoes from the Salvation Army with Darling's first pay check, and my feet were soon back to normal.

Sadly, those shoes lasted fewer than eight months. Car-free living is hard on soles, I guess. I purchased a new pair in a hurry just before we left for England, not realizing until it was too late they are at least a size too large. Six months after the death of my black shoes, I am finding that hard lump redeveloping on my left foot.

Long story short, the first thing I thought about buying today was a new pair - yes, an actual NEW pair of shoes - before this foot pain gets much worse. The last time I allowed myself such a luxury was almost four years ago, at Wal-Mart. I'd hate to buy new, affordable shoes because they are pretty much guaranteed to be a combination of plastics and animal products made in slave-labor conditions. New shoes pretty much embody everything I don't want to finance. Of course there are some awesome companies that make vegan shoes out of recycled materials, but these are expensive. I'm pretty torn on the subject, but something will need to be done soon.

Hopefully my feet will at least hold out until March...and if they can last that long, I can probably wait until April, and justify getting myself some nice new shoes for my birthday...

Day Three Of Spend Nothing Month

Darling and I were a little late in agreeing on "our next step," because we wanted to spend the day brainstorming and then I didn't get home from work until past midnight, several hours after our self-imposed deadline. I'm sure we'll forgive us.

We sat at the table and agreed to write down our own hoped-for destinations and tentative timetable. I wanted them to be recorded separately to prevent a "whatever you want, I want," situation.

Fortunately, we both revealed the same choice, and the decision was made without debate. As much as we love the United States, we think it would be best for us to begin our career and family across the ocean, where the pound is strong and the health care is affordable. We have agreed to stay in Austin until June of 2010. In the meantime, we intend to complete our degrees: his in renewable energy, my own in drafting.

So. That decision is made, and I feel a little relieved to have something specific to work towards.

In other news, I spent $1 on a bus ticket to attend a free composting workshop, which was fun and informative. Can't wait to put our garden in.

Day One Of Not Spending

Woke up early to ride my bike to our landlord's bank to deposit our rent check. One of my first morning thoughts was, "oh, we're low on tea, better pick some up when we're out."

Silly Tread, it's not Monday.

Climbing onto my bike, it occurred to me that I'll be passing some stores I enjoy but never visit. Perhaps I should grab the card? Wait, no.

Huffing and puffing my way up the giant hill, I realized that my strength and stamina is not what it used to be and somehow blamed the bike. I longed for the $300+ brand new machines in front of our local bike store, and resented the fact that I'll never get one - I never get anything new. Just then I was passing Goodwill, and thought I should go in and get myself a "never getting anything nice" treat. Right.

Managed to get to the bank and back home, then rushed out to get our laundry, which accidentally spent the night at the laundromat. Which is next to a corner store, where I did not buy a soda, but thought about it.

It's 10:56 a.m., and I have had to tell myself "no" four times since leaving the house less than two hours ago.