Frugal Moms

If the idea of being hot in a bathing suit isn’t enough to get you on a diet, then may be this weeks topic will.  Everyone knows I have a little scooter with a strict weight limit.  I carry all sorts of books, produce, and gym clothes on the thing.  However it can be rather sluggish when I have a full stomach and am fully loaded down with items.  I did a little bit of research and determined if I lost just 4 pounds, my little scooter would go a little faster, I would get to class on time, and I would use a tiny amount less gas.

I have since lost those 4 pounds and indeed my little scooter does go faster, can carry more before being sluggish, and I am spending a tiny bit less in gas.  We’re talking about pennies because a fill up costs me about 2 dollars at 4 dollars a gallon.  I do maintenance on  my scooter once a week.  I try to take the bare necessities.  I check the air once a month.

Well, I know most of the world doesn’t have a sweet little scooter that does so much on so little gas.  However the same principals apply.  No matter if you have a 2 ton truck or a tiny little Toyota Corolla, the less weight it carries the less gas you will use.  I have heard for ever hundred pounds a car carries, it loses 1 mile to the gallon in fuel efficiency.  Imagine a 300 pound man losing 100 pounds to save money on gas!  Not only would he feel lighter, but his wallet heavier.  Add to that always keeping the tires aired, the air filters cleaned, and the oil changed, just imagine the savings!

I hope to lose another 4 to 6 pounds in the next month, because it just makes good economic sense.  Perhaps you will join me and aim to lose 4 to 6 pounds a month too.  I’ll give you plenty of reasons why in the next week.

I have already mentioned the internet bill. I do have some room to lower my phone bill. I can lower the speed and pay 10 dollars less per month. I can get a special discount and pay 12 dollars for my land line. I could only get internet at 30 dollars a month and use my Skype for everything, but my business would suffer. All in all, these measures would save about 216 dollars a year.

The other major factor that eats money is fresh food. We have plenty to eat, don’t worry, but I like to have fresh veggies and fruit on a regular basis. Who am I kidding I need fresh fruits and veggies. I have already done what I can as far as gardening and planting trees. I will probably winter garden some greens, but what about bananas? Or apples? This will take a little longer to figure out.

My second biggest financial threat to school is electricity.  It usually costs about 90 dollars to 150 dollars a month every winter.  We already use fluorescents. We use the computer heavily for school and work. We also use it for cooking. However, in the winter I can use the wood stove to cook because it has a range top. Also if we stay only in the great room, we won’t have half the house lit every night.

I already unplug the microwave when it’s not in use because of it’s clock. I clean the back of my fridge so it won’t work too hard. When I can, I keep my freezer stocked so it stay colder easier. As far as usage goes, I have cut a lot out. The thing is I have an automatic 16 dollar fee on my bill for being a “member” of my cooperative. I also now have an automatic 8 dollar fee to have the street light just outside my house on. It is a safety issue or I would have done away with it years ago. Then there are taxes, and more.

However, on the upside, my cooperative drops the rates to 6 cents a kilowatt hour in the winter after 500 kilowatt hours have been used. Most months I don’t use 500 kilowatt hours in the winter. Other than using my hurricane lamp to study by at night and turning off the computer (and my business) I don’t know what else I can do.

As I have mentioned, my original estimates were off for my monthly cash by a little over 200 a month. I have certain things I must have, but these are currently at too high an amount for me to make it. Let’s look at some of the highest expenses I currently have and how I might cut back on them. Currently the Pink Elephant in the room that I don’t really want to touch is heat. I know it’s only August, but this will be a major issue in a couple months.

I have 2 sources of heat, wood and kerosene. Kerosene in recent years has gotten so out of control, only a rich man could heat his whole house with it. That leaves me heating with wood. Wood is great in many ways, easily available, very warm, can cook with it, inexpensive, etc.. It is also not great in many others, not reliable, smoke emits from out of wood stove, heats only the great room, fire hazard, etc… In order to keep my family toasty warm, we will all have to sleep, eat, and live in the great room. The great room for those that don’t know isn’t so great, it’s the living/kitchen/bathroom. It takes up about half of the house, but is small.

If I were to have everyone pile into the great room and cook on the wood stove, we will get by nice and warm cheaply. Wood where I live in 160 a cord. We would need at least 2 cords to get by. Other things I might do is install a new front door. We have one ready to go, my husband need only install it. I might also get my windows fixed, but I don’t know how much that will cost. I could put plastic over the windows. I could put draft doggies in front of the doors. I could even put heavy drapes on all the windows. All of these measures might get us through

I lowered my internet bill just by calling up and complaining.  Actually I was intent on getting a lower speed.  I need the internet for my business, but I can’t hack 50 dollars a month after the financial counseling I received at school. I am still considering a free option. Don’t know what I am talking about?

You can get internet for free in select areas of the United States. I know it sounds crazy, even I thought it was crazy. However, it is true. Unfortunately 90% are not in my area. The only one in my area charges 6.5 cents minute. I’m certain I would go over my alloted 30 bucks a month at that rate.

However if your interested, I’ll pass along the free internet to you.

In NYC

In West Washington State

In MA, NH, NY, NJ, and RI

in Denver Colorado

All Major Cities

Basic Dial Up for 7 dollars

The key is to make sure they have local numbers.  I am still looking for a good local free provider.  Have a great day.

I am embarrassed.  I have been frugally lazy.  This first week of school I bought lunch at school instead of bringing it.  I even bought a soda, *duck*.  This week I vow to do better.  Why am I having this change of heart?  Well besides being called the frugal mom and all that implies, I had a long heart to heart with my schools financial aid officer.  Apparently, I am eligible for plenty of student loans, but if I take them this semester, I won’t have any for next semester.  ~Sigh~  So college isn’t going to be as easy this time around.

I had to pair down exactly what I would need to survive on the next four months, how much I make, and subtract college costs.  It ain’t pretty.  I NEED 800 dollars a month to survive, NOT including food.  This includes medicine, doctors bills that have been more frequent, gas, electricity, water, internet for my internet class and my business, a phone, payment on school loans, and household supplies.  I will be lucky to manage with this low an amount since I anticipated at least 1000 dollars a month in my annual budget.  (Things have been deteriorating here financially)

I will have to cut out all of the most basic things I generally take for granted. Things like Friday movie nights. I guess youtube will be making an appearance in the coming Fridays. Things like a new outfit for school. I have only one outfit and one gym outfit. I guess I will have to whip something up or wash it everyday. Other things we will have to wait on, fixing the Chevy, getting a laptop for classes (they help tons), New (not handmade) Yule (Christmas) gifts for the children, and more. I may have to find a way to lower the amount we currently pay for services. So if you have already tightened your belt and find it isn’t tight enough, join the club.

I haven’t been on this week because I just started LPN school.  So while I have been working hard to get out of debt, I just put myself in debt a couple thousand.  However, unlike many of my peers, I don’t have to pay hundreds of dollars in gas a month just to get to school.  I have found the golden compass for driving.  I am not kidding.

I bought a 50cc scooter off the internet from www.evosales.com for about $899 including shipping.  I didn’t know how well it would work for me, but I was desperate.  At that point I had no vehical and no way to get to town for medicine, groceries, food, etc…  I am sure your saying, you could have rode a bike.  Let me tell you a secret, my husband is athletic and I am pathetic in that department.  So no, I couldn’t have rode a bike with out heart failure along the way.

However, this little bike is a dream!  I love it.  It is difficult to manuever on dirt rodes in the rain, but that’s only because the ruts get to be a foot high, which is much taller than the little tires.   In this way, it’s a lot like riding a bike.  However, here’s the beauty.  Guess how much it costs to fill my tank?  Guess, I’ll wait.  Just $3.  Guess how many times a week I fill it?  Remember I go out 5 days and sometimes 6 days a week.  Well, the most I have ever EVER filled it in one week is twice.  TWICE!

Can you imagine paying 6 dollars a week in gas.  That’s 6 dollars a WEEK!  Oh, I am loving it.   Suddenly I have disposable income!  Okay, I really don’t, but I am paying off a lot more.  I can pay for my medicine.  I am not worried about paying the bills.  The other thing is I buy 93 octane at 6 dollars a week.  I only have to buy 89 octane, but I figure the higher the better.  If you factor in the high grade synthetic oil it needs about once a month, I spend about 36 dollars amonth to go.

Oh, I have heard some giggles.  Some peple laugh when I put by.  I tickled the heck out of a big rig driver.  He was laughing so hard his head hit the wheel.  I guess I look silly, me on my little scooter putting about town.  I have heard the name “scooter girl” before.  But I am the one that’s really laughing.

I don’t have to have a liscense for this scooter.  I don’t have to pay for insurance.  And I pay maybe 36 dollars a month for my comings and goings.  You see, I’m the one who gets to laugh last.

suppose you know I am going to address a serious issue with our culture. Not necessarily our culture, but the corporate culture which has a strangle hold on the consumer through planned obsolescence. If you buy something at Walmart, say a rocking horse for Susie, how long do you expect it to last? Do you expect Susie to pass it on to as many as 5 siblings? Or even her own children and grandchildren? Surely not! The thing is, originally this is how things were meant to last.

Think back to the Chevy Nova of the 70’s or the Ford Mustang of the 60’s. How many of those cars died with in 6 years with regular maintenance. How hard was it to work on them? I have a Chevy Nova, and I can work on it some what. I can change the oil with out removing the engine, I can change an air filter with out a special wrench. Heck, my husband almost had the transmission changed out while working full time until his two serious health issues. Could you do that with a Mazda? No.

Oh, but a Mazda gets better gas mileage I can already hear. Really? My Mazda MPV had 14 mpg where as my old, Chevy Nova got 16 mpg in the city. Don’t just follow the book, actually run the thing dry, reset the mileage, fill up and keep a note of how many gallons, then run it dry again, capture the total mileage driven since last fill up, and divide miles by gallons. I did this with both cars and found myself shocked. I had assumed wrongly, that a Mazda, because it was Japanese, would be fuel efficient. Boy was I wrong.

But let me get back on topic. The difference between a Mazda and an old Chevy Nova goes beyond gas mileage. A Mazda is designed to need a professional to keep it running. You heard me right. Every thing in the car is difficult to work on. Changing the oil pan cost me about 400 dollars. Where as a Chevy Nova, or any other older American car, was built with the consumer as the primary maintenance person in mind. Basically, Mazda, by making it TONS more difficult, through needing special equipment, made the consumer car expert obsolete. How does it feel to be made obsolete America?

This goes into other things too. Back to the rocking horse analogy. You buy this rocking horse in Walmart for 80 bucks. (Probably more now days) Let’s say Susie breaks it in one year. There’s 80 bucks for the year gone, so you buy another the next year. Now it’s 160 dollars for the same rocking horse. Let’s say you do this 3 times total, for a total of 240 dollars for the same breakable rocking horse. Now lets say you get a handcrafted rocking toy . It will cost about 250.00 for a nice new rocker at (http://turnertoys.com/C1/rocking-toys/wooden_rocking_toys.htm) with shipping. If you plan on having just ONE more child, or having your little Susie pass her favorite rocker to her children, it is an investment worth taking. Like I said, pay 240 for 3 broken rockers or pay 250 for one that will last generations.

But you can’t afford such an expensive toy right? Don’t you see your already paying for it! Your just on a payment or subscription plan. What happens it if breaks just 30 days after you get it? Little Susie has to wait until next Christmas to get a new one, even though your paying the same price for it. You pay 240 dollars and she gets to play with it for 25 months instead of the aforementioned 36 months. What a rip off!

This is where the repairing part comes in. If you have mostly planned to be obsolete items in your home, which 90% of Americans do, make a promise to yourself to repair the thing until you can buy one of quality. I don’t care if it is a rocking horse, vacuum cleaner, or a car. Insist on getting the best, repairing the crap you currently have to make it “work” or doing with out, until you can get the best.   As grandma always said, you get what you paid for.

Good shears need to be cared for in a way that will make them last. What do I mean by good shears. I have an Italian crafted pair of Clauss shears for dress making. These are meant to last a lifetime. They are solid stainless steel with an ultra tight fitting edge. I bought them for about $32 after tax. I know it is expensive, compared to the 1 dollar jobs found in Wal Mart, but I firmly believe with tools especially, you get what you pay for. The scissors had a Lifetime Guarantee, stating they were crafted to last generations. They are indeed that kind of quality.

The first thing to keep good shears in high quality is to keep them dry. No matter how wonderful or stainless steel a pair is, wet scissors eventually rust. Keep scissors nice and dry at all times. Mine have a little cloth velvet pouch they are kept in. Since they have been used to make 12 dresses already this year, I am certain I will make many more dresses in the years to come. This is why I want to take good care of my high quality scissors.

Next make sure they are well oiled. This might sound odd, but high quality scissors have a joint where the scissor legs meet. This joint is a haven to trap moisture, which causes the joint to stick after several years. Take a drop of mineral oil after every use to this joint, in order to keep it moisture free and moving smoothly. There’s nothing worse than jerky scissors in the middle of cutting four dresses at once.

Next is to make sure they are sharp with the legs fitting tightly together. While you can get scissor sharpeners at any craft store, it is best to have professionally sharpened at least once a year. My husband is a sharpener by trade, before he got into computers, so I don’t have to do that. If you have difficulty finding a sharpener look at sewing machine repair centers, lawnmower repair centers, etc…

If you buy butter in a tub, a little plastic container, than don’t throw that container away!  My granny uses those containers for all manner of left overs, so that when a hungry weary traveler stumbles through the door she can microwave something up real quick.

However, you can use it for even more!  Butter tubs have long been a staple for American trash cans since their inception, but some ingenious housewives found more creative uses.  My grandma used a 2lb butter tub, a (then) 57 cent barbie and some left over yarn to make a sweet Easter basket for me as a little girl.  She crochet a LONG wide hooped dress for my 57 cent barbie and dressed it.  Then she cut an X on the top of the tub and slipped the Barbie up the waist in, letting the dress cover the entire butter tub.  Inside she placed all manner of candies.

For a basket she cut two small slits on the side of another butter tub and made a contruction paper handle with staples.  She stapled the handle to the tub.  She spray painted, or sometimes glued paper onto the tub to make it pretty.  (Sometimes cotton balls too)  I would use this to collect plastic and hard boiled eggs.  This also works as a Halloween basket if you paint it orange and use a black handle.

In the garden they are useful as planters. At Christmas or Yule you can place presents in the tub and then wrap instead of buying boxes.  The possibilities are limitless.