Skinnyflints

Why cooking at home is the best way to get & stay healthy

Tue, 21 May 2013 15:02:04 -0400

I am a HUGE fan of home cooking, not just because it is far cheaper than going out for every meal.

This NYT blog post explains the health benefits of cooking at home.

What to do when you're out of vegan ice cream (and too lazy to walk to the store)

Fri, 17 May 2013 10:48:33 -0400

I was really craving ice cream and was feeling too lazy & cheap to walk 6 blocks to Fairway, so I made a shake instead. D got me an ice cream attachment for my vintage kitchen aid mixer, but I haven’t frozen it yet :(. I guarantee I will be ice creamifying this mixture next time!

We always have frozen banana chunks because I always buy more bananas than we can eat before they get too mushy. Instead of throwing them out when they are about to go bad, I peel them, break them into chunks and throw them into a (multiply rewashed and reused) Ziplock freezer bag to use in my morning green shakes.

Killer banana-chocolate-almond shake
Ingredients:
frozen banana chunks (about 1 whole banana)
3 tbsps cocoa powder (I’m partial to Ah!laska free trade cocoa powder)
2 tbsps chocolate syrup (also Ah!laska)
1 large handful raw almonds (if you have a Vitamix or other freakishly powerful blender), or 2 tbsps smooth almond butter
Water (enough to liquefy)

Put all the ingredients in your blender and blend it up!
Serve in a big glass with a stainless steel bar spoon/straw for maximum deliciousness.

Posted by K

5 ways frugality helps the environment

Thu, 16 May 2013 11:14:31 -0400

Frugality is a great way to save money, but it’s also a good way to save the earth!

1. Cooking at home, and bringing leftovers for lunch in reusable containers, instead of getting takeout at home or at work, means less trash generated. Many restaurants are still using styrofoam, which is horrendous for the earth, and even the restaurants that don’t use styrofoam pack in way too many napkins and utensils-sometimes even when you click the ‘no napkins & utensils’ button on seamless web! Bringing a reusable water bottle or a travel coffee mug with you when you leave the house helps to reduce waste as well.

2. When you’re frugal, you ask yourself more questions than people who shop mindlessly. I’ve found myself admiring something in a store, and coveting it, but then realizing I won’t wear it or use it enough to justify the cost. The less we consume, the better for the planet, because it means we are using fewer non-renewable resources. When I do need to buy something, like clothes, I try to buy used first by visiting thrift stores and consignment stores. This keeps usable items out of landfills, and more money in my pocket than if I were to purchase new.

3. In an attempt to keep utilities costs down, frugal people tend to keep their thermostats lower in winter and higher in the summer. They waste less water, turn off lights that aren’t being used, and air dry their clothes when they can. They print on both sides of a sheet of paper, group their errands into trips so they drive less, and ride bikes and take public transit when they don’t need to drive. These efforts help keep expenses low, and also reduce waste of natural resources.

4. Eating lower on the food chain (since legumes are a cheap source of protein, compared to meat!) is much better for our environment. Factory farm operations contribute to global warming and water pollution because of the methane produced by farm animals, and the runoff contaminating watersheds. By reducing meat and dairy consumption, we help clean up our air and water.

5. Frugal folks reuse what they can instead of throwing everything away after one use. For example, I wash Ziplock bags out and hang them up to dry. We have ziplock bags that are over a year old and still going strong, despite multiple washings. We re-wear clothes that aren’t smelly, and therefore have to do laundry/dry cleaning less frequently. Instead of buying bags to pick up our dogs’ poop, we cut old plastic bags and dry cleaner plastic into small pieces. We use all plastic bags that come into our house in this way (for example: the plastic bags that rice and pasta come in, the bags frozen and fresh spinach come in, etc). When we don’t have enough plastic bags (like over the summer, when 100% of our produce comes from our CSA), I use newspapers to pick up after the dogs.

Posted by K

Nope, no kids. No plans for any either.

Tue, 14 May 2013 10:01:22 -0400

I’m not married yet-we are still figuring out when to head to city hall to tie the knot, but I know that as soon as I am a married lady, strangers and acquaintances will feel my reproductive organs are their business.
I’ve seen it happen to other friends, and my sister, and I’m preparing myself for the onslaught.

Let me put this out there: I love babies. I like holding them, singing to them, and trying to make them smile. I started babysitting when I was 12, spent a summer as a nanny when I was 17, and was a counselor at a day camp for several years.

Liking kids, however, is not enough to make me want to have one of my own. I worry too much about the environment and what the world will be like for future generations. I value quiet and solitude and order. My dogs satisfy my desire to nurture, without taking my last breath.

I don’t know why people think others’ reproductive choices are their business, but I know they do. So I have an answer ready for when I get the question, ‘So, when are you having kids?’
‘No plans to have any, thankyouverymuch.’
‘Oh? Why not?’
To make them shut up, and satisfy their need to feel superior, I’ll reply : ‘I’m just not up for the challenge.’
And when they say, ‘Oh, you’ll change your mind, better get started, tick tock tick tock!’
I’ll smile, tell them politely to fuck off, and go home to my quiet apartment that has all the love I need.

Creamy collards with coconut and lemon (vegan & gluten free)

Fri, 10 May 2013 19:27:00 -0400

I love greens! Especially creamed greens!

Ingredients:
6 cups washed & chopped collard greens
1/2 onion, finely chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 can coconut cream
Salt & pepper, to taste

Directions:
1. Skim some of the fat off the top of the coconut cream (about 1 tablespoon) and put it in a large saucepan, turn heat to medium and add the onion, stir to coat and continue to stir as the onion cooks.
2. When onion has turned translucent, add in the collards a few cups at a time (they will reduce a lot as they cook) and turn heat to high. Stir fry until greens are wilted, then add the rest of the coconut milk and stir to coat the greens. Add salt to taste.
3. Remove from heat source, stir in lemon juice and serve!

Posted by K

I am a housewife. A highly educated, urban, feminist, frugal housewife. It has been a struggle for me to accept that this is what makes me happy.

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 12:01:18 -0400

I’ve spent the past few months freaking out about money and constantly on craigslist looking at job openings…. Part of my freak out is probably related to my upcoming 10 year college reunion, where I’m sure everyone will be talking about their career successes, and I was afraid of feeling like a loser because I no longer have my high-powered finance job…or even any job. But every job posting that I read causes a visceral reaction in my body, and that reaction is… “NO!” I don’t want to do someone else’s taxes or serve drinks or deal with other people’s kids. I don’t want to spend all day nerding out in Excel, writing advertisements, or teaching SAT prep. I’m done with waking up to be somewhere doing something that doesn’t make me happy and being nice to douchebags just because they are my boss.

I spent the first nine years out of college working my ass off on Wall Street. Nearly 6 of those years were spent working the night shift, trading Asian stocks from 6pm until 4am Sunday through Thurday nights. I sacrificed a lot for my career, and I don’t think I was every truly happy, but my plan from before I even started on Wall Street was to earn enough money so I could retire early and pursue my passion. When I was younger, my passion was sewing and clothing design, but as I have matured, my passions have changed. Since I was laid off in January of last year, I have been trying to figure out what I really want to be doing. I took six months to chill out and recover from burnout, while I was receiving severance pay, and decided to buy rental properties in Michigan. I closed on my first house in July of 2012, my second in October, and my third in December. I am in contract on a condo in Detroit and in negotiations on another multifamily house, and hope to have everything wrapped up and rented out by July 1 of 2013.

I just started reading a great book by Stephen Cope called The Great Work of Your Life. It’s an exploration and explanation of the Bhagavad Gita, and a handbook for finding one’s true calling, or dharma. I happened upon it on the New Nonfiction shelf at my public library, and while I’m only 46 pages in, it’s a doozy. In reading this book, I have realized I don’t need more than what I have already. I don’t have to work in exchange for money in order to feel fulfilled. Instead, I can do what makes me feel fulfilled, even if it doesn’t earn any money. Because I worked my ass off for nine years, saved as much as possible, paid off my mortgage, and learned to enjoy a simple and frugal life, I no longer need to work if I don’t want to. I’m financially free!

My rental property will generate enough income to cover our basic expenses, allowing my fiance’s salary to be applied to paying his debt off early, and to savings for our future. Knowing I am contributing to our household income already (and since I did already pay the mortgage off, and we live frugally and in a very small apartment, our household expenses are really low for New York standards) will allow me to focus on what really makes me happy. I am in the zone when I am sewing and cooking and gardening and landscaping and blogging and volunteering and dancing and taking care of my dogs and my fiance and myself. I sacrificed a lot of personal happiness and time and relationships for my career when I was in my twenties. Because of that sacrifice, I can spend my thirties doing what makes me happy. And for now, that means being a housewife. A highly educated, urban, feminist, frugal housewife.

Posted by K

An inspiring, sweet, and incredibly well-written article on frugality in the NYT's Education Life section

Sat, 13 Apr 2013 12:21:13 -0400

An inspiring, sweet, and incredibly well-written article on frugality in the NYT's Education Life section

The easiest and best split pea soup recipe (vegan and gluten free)

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 09:52:11 -0400

I made this soup last night to serve with a big ass salad. D looooved it and I did too. It honestly doesn’t get any simpler than this! The dill somehow makes it very spring-like.

Ingredients:
2 cups dried split peas (I used Palouse brand which I bought from amazon.com. They have QR codes on their bean sacks that show you which field your food was grown on!)
1/2 c fresh dill, washed and chopped
Salt, to taste
Water

Directions:
1) place the peas in a soup pot and cover with water, you want about 3 inches of water over the peas. Turn heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until the peas are mushy. Skim off the foam every so often (that foam is what makes you gassy, so get rid of it!). You may want to add more water as it cooks if you like your soup more soupy and less stewy.
2) once the peas are mushy, turn off the heat and stir in the dill. Add salt to taste.
3) eat!

Posted by K

10 more things I don't do

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 10:09:26 -0400

1) I don’t send my laundry out. We have a laundry room in our apartment building’s basement, and it’s $2/load ($1.25 washer and $0.75 for dryer time). When I was working and time crunched, I’d often send my laundry for wash & fold service, which could be $10/bag! We do at least 2 loads per week so by washing and folding ourselves, we save $16/week, which is $832/year!

2) I don’t buy bread. My favorite whole grain bread from Whole Foods is $5/loaf, and each loaf is about 2 lbs. I make sourdough with organic whole wheat flour that I buy from amazon at $1/pound. I made my sourdough starter with a tiny bit of yeast, and feed my starter every week when I’m making bread. I allow my first rise to go for 24 hrs, and the only ingredients in my bread are flour, water, starter, and salt. Since I allow my first rise to last for so long, I don’t need to add additional yeast to get my dough to rise. I use my vintage kitchenaid stand mixer to mix the dough up, and to briefly knead between the 1st and 2nd rises. I find baking bread to be relaxing, creative, and satisfying.

3) I don’t pay someone to clean my apartment. I did, for a really long time, and I really miss her because she is a wonderful person. Iris used to come in once a month and she made our apartment amazing in under 4 hours. Sadly, we can’t afford to pay her anymore, so we now do the cleaning ourselves. Our apartment is not as clean as when Iris used to come, but we try our best, and it’s deal-with-able.

4) I don’t get my nails done every week. I do them myself & actually find it to be more relaxing than when I used to get them done occasionally!! Click here for P’s nail care tips. I do treat myself to a manicure once or twice a year.

5) I don’t drink soda. We have a Soda Stream that D bought be a few years ago for X-mas because I loooove seltzer. We used it a ton when we first got it but then the carbonation cartridge got empty and I am too lazy to take it to Bed Bath & Beyond for a new one-I’ll get around to it eventually, but in the meantime, plain water suits me just fine. Sugar sodas and diet sodas make my tummy hurt so I avoid them most of the time. Occasionally, I will have to order a soda while on a dining mystery shop, and I don’t really enjoy them, so I almost never drink the whole thing.

6) I don’t pay someone else to do my taxes. My taxes were a real bitch this year because I started a new business. I didn’t know if I’d be able to handle doing them without professional, but decided to try with Turbotax. I had to use the business edition, which was $130, but that’s still a lot cheaper than if I had a CPA deal with my hundreds of receipts!

7) I don’t buy books, unless they are gifts. I use my library & the lending library in my apartment building’s laundry room. However, as bed bugs can hide in books & have been found in the NYPL, every book that comes into our house spends a night in the freezer before wevstart reading it.

8) I don’t drive a fancy car. My 2001 Corolla runs great, gets close to 40mpg’s on the highway, feels safe, and, since it’s a stick shift, is really fun to drive.

9) I don’t go out for drinks or dinner with friends on a regular basis. My friends in NYC are mostly people I have met through aerial dance. We take classes together, meet up for picnics in the park when it’s nice outside, and go see our friends & teachers perform together, but most of us would rather spend our disposable income on more aerial classes & training, not overpriced drinks & food.

10) I don’t throw away receipts. I save and file receipts for everything I pay for for my business because all of those expenses can be deducted from my income on my taxes. In 2012, I spent over $1,000 on food during all my trips to Michigan. Food during business travel can be deducted at 50% of the cost-so I was able to deduct over $500 from my income. Tiny things add up-most of those receipts were under $10/each. And if I ever get audited, I have every single receipt in my files.

Posted by K

A wedding? Or a house?

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 13:25:54 -0400

P & I are lucky to be members of USAA bank & insurance company because our dad was in the Navy in the 70’s. They send a monthly magazine with financial advice, and I read in this month’s issue that the average wedding in the US is a whopping $27,000!
I totally support the idea of celebrating a special day, and if you have the money and it’s really important to you to have a wedding, I say go for it!
My fiance and I, however, are both pretty shy people. We don’t like being the center of attention, and neither of us has wanted a big wedding. In fact, we prefer the idea of a private ceremony at City Hall for just the two of us. So, we have decided to elope & put the money we would have spent on a wedding into buying another house.
I own three rental houses in the Detroit metro area, and purchase prices for two of them were less than the average cost of a wedding! My duplex in Hazel Park was $22.5k (plus an estimated $10k in repairs/reno’s gets me to $32.5k net price) and my tiny cottage in Ferndale was $25k (plus a new roof, water heater, and flooring for $6k gets me to $31k). Prices have risen since I bought last year, and the Detroit metro housing market is crazy cheap relative to most of the country, but even if you live in a much more expensive area, $27k would be enough for a 20% down payment on a $135k house or apartment, or a 10% down payment on a $270k place. Or, if you have any debt, it could be applied to your debt (credit card, student loans, mortgage) in a lump sum, and you could become debt-free much faster. Or it’s more than enough for a kitchen makeover if you already own your place outright.
If you really want a wedding, and you can afford it, do it! But if, like me, the thought of planning a wedding makes your tummy hurt, ditch the wedding and use that cash for something else.
Feeling pressure from your family to have a wedding? Just remember that it’s YOUR day, and you shouldn’t have to spend all your hard-earned cash on a party to make someone else happy. If they want to pay for it & you don’t mind, go for it. But if it’s not going to make you happy, don’t do it!

Posted by K

My free dog

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 11:44:29 -0400

One of the dangers of volunteering at an animal shelter is that you fall in love a lot. I met our chihuahua mix when I was volunteering at the ASPCA and fell head over heels for his spunky, sweet, determined nature. He was brought to the city kill shelter in July of last year with severe pneumonia and a broken hind leg. Animal Care & Control transferred him to the ASPCA because they have an on-site hospital and could treat him right away. It took a couple of months of intensive care until his pneumonia was cured and it was safe to work on his broken leg, and by that point, it had healed incorrectly and had to be amputated. He spent a couple of months in recovery and was then put up for adoption. Sadly, several people wouldn’t consider him just because of his missing leg-even though he can run and play like any other dog.
I found myself drawn to him every time I went to the shelter to volunteer, and finally convinced my sweetheart that we needed to introduce Nina to him to see if we could add him to our family.
We set up an appointment with the ASPCA’s behaviorist on a Sunday morning, and the meeting did not go well. Nina is slow to warm to other dogs, and she growled at Tito a few times during the meeting. The behaviorist said they would probably coexist but would not be friends if we brought Tito into the family. We decided to think it over for a week and adopt him if no one else had taken him home by the next weekend. The next day was the day Hurricane Sandy hit New York. D’s work had been cancelled because public transit had shut down. I could not stop thinking about Tito & worrying about him with the impending storm. On impulse, I emailed the ASPCA behaviorist and told her we were ready to bring him home. She responded almost immediately that he would be ready as soon as I got there. I left Nina home with D and ran to get the car, then headed over to the Upper East Side to bring our new baby home. They had him ready for me, and waived the $250 adoption fee since I had braved a hurricane to go get him. I drove home and rushed him inside to introduce him to his new forever home. Tito settled in with us quickly. He and Nina now play together in our hallway, and snuggle on the bed. Tito has learned to play fetch, and is catching on to potty training. He has added so much joy to our already happy life.

Here is a link to the ASPCA’s press release about our adoption of Tito:
http://blog.aspca.org/content/two-lucky-pets-find-homes-during-hurricane-sandy

While Tito was technically free as his adoption fee was waived, no dog is really free. A few weeks after the adoption, I took Tito in to my vet for a checkup. They said he needed a dental cleaning and possibly some extractions. That cost $750. I had to buy an exercise pen because he was not fully potty trained, and when we go away, our pet sitter cost is $100/night for two dogs. We spend about $50/month on food and treats for both dogs. Since I work for myself, we don’t need to have a dog walker, but when I had a day job, the cost for Nina’s walks were $100/week. Walkers often give discounts for a second dog, but it can get very expensive very fast.

If you adopt a pet, you must be prepared to support them financially. They will need food, clothes if they get cold in winter, regular veterinary appointments, vaccinations, and pet sitters or walkers if you go out of town or are away from home for 6 hours or more at a stretch. Any dog, no matter how tiny, is a big financial and time commitment. But they are worth it!!!!!!

Posted by K

Vegan pantry pasta primavera

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 10:18:00 -0400

I’m trying to cook from our pantry (aka food we have on hand) this week because we splurged this past weekend on a nice dinner with out of town friends, and I want to make sure we come in under budget this month in the food category, since we will be traveling to see my fiance’s mom, and the travel costs will put us over budget in other categories. I have 2 grocery shopping mystery shops scheduled next week, where I will be reimbursed close to $30 for each, so I can re-stock my pantry next week on someone else’s dime.
I was craving a creamy pasta dish, and needed to use up some Brussels sprouts that I bought last week, so here is what I came up with:

Preheat oven to 375.
Ingredients:
1 lb Brussels sprouts, washed, trimmed, and halved if they are big
3 carrots, scrubbed and cut into pieces the same size as your Brussels sprout pieces
1 tbsp cooking oil or cooking oil spray

1 lb whole wheat penne (I used Trader Joe’s organic pasta)

For the sauce:
3 tbsp canola oil
1/3 c whole wheat flour
1 cup unsweetened soy/almond/rice/cashew milk
1/3 c nutritional yeast
2 garlic cloves
1/2 onion, chopped
1 tbsp dried dill
Salt, to taste
Water

1) place the veggies in a roasting pan and toss with the oil (or spray lightly with cooking spray). Pop them in the oven and be sure to check on them every 15 minutes to stir & test for done-ness (mine took 45 mins to cook through).

2) bring a large pot of water to boil for the pasta.

3) make the sauce: heat the cooking oil over low heat and gradually whisk in a few tbsps of flour. Whisk in the soy milk, and then slowly whisk in the rest of the flour and the nutritional yeast, until you have a smooth sauce. Add water to thin it it feels too thick. Increase the heat to med-high, and drop in the onions/garlic and stir continuously until the onions become translucent. Transfer the sauce to your blender or use an immersion blender and blend until smooth. Transfer back into saucepan, put heat on low, and add in the dill and salt to taste.

4) cook the pasta according to directions on the package, then drain. Thoroughly mix veggies, sauce, and pasta, and serve!

Posted by K

How I got into mystery shopping

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 02:21:00 -0400

#Eternallywondering asked how I got into mystery shopping on my last post & I can’t figure out how to reply so I figured I’d write a quick post about it.
I used to mystery shop a brewpub when I was in college-my friend’s cousin worked for the mystery shopping company (MSC) and would rotate all of us through. It was a fun and easy way to get a free dinner & drinks for 2. A few months ago, I read something about mystery shopping and decided to try it out again, as a way to increase my income/pocket money until my houses get rented out.

There are a TON of mystery shopping scams out there, so it’s really important to do a ton of research! I found a lot of information on www.volition.com

I also found a lot of valuable information from other mystery shoppers & their experiences with different MSC’s at http://www.mysteryshopforum.com

Another source for information is the Mystery Shopping Providers Association at www.mysteryshop.org

Mystery shopping can be fun and rewarding, but it’s a LOT of work for not a lot of pay. I probably make about minimum wage on an average shop, given the time I spend prepping, shopping, and writing my reports. As an independent contractor for the MSC’s I work for, I am responsible for all tax reporting, etc. Don’t fall for scams that seem to good to be true-check scams are common, so do your research! I love that I can fit in mystery shopping around my schedule, and we have been reimbursed for dinner at some pretty fun restaurants that we wouldn’t normally go to if we had to pay for it ourselves. The grocery store ones are my favorite because I get free groceries in exchange for filling out a questionnaire about my experience at the store.

If anyone wants more info, leave comments below and I will answer questions in another post :)!

Posted by K

10 things I don't do

Tue, 12 Mar 2013 10:01:00 -0400

Here are 10 things I don’t do & how they save me money

1) I don’t get my hair cut by a professional. People are flabbergasted when I tell them I cut it myself. I have long, straight brown hair and it is really easy for me to go to town with my scissors and a comb in the bathroom mirror every 6 months to lob off the split ends. I work for myself doing home renovations, so my hair is in a ponytail 99% of the time. When I was little, my nanny cut my hair at home, and I still have the haircutting scissors that she used to use. They are bubblegum pink and a tad rusty, but they do the job! New haircutting scissors can be bought on amazon for $7. In NYC, the cheapest haircut I have found is the $20 cut at the Aveda Institute. When I first got my hedge fund job, I treated myself to a decidedly un-Skinnyflintlike $200 haircut at a posh salon. I can happily report that my hair looks just as good when I cut it myself, vs those high-end and low-end options.

2) I don’t use shampoo. There was an article in the NY Times several years ago about the ‘no-poo’ movement. I was working in an office and had to look professional, so I filed it away in my brain for the future. Flash forward to 2 months ago, when I realized I was going 5 days without washing my hair when I was in my house in Michigan (no hair dryer and no insulation = wet hair SUCKS in winter). I did some research on the interwebs and decided to give the no-poo deal a try. I found my hair looks best when I ‘wash’ it with baking soda and water 2X per week. It’s soft and manageable and smells great!

3) I don’t belong to a gym. I used to belong to the YMCA, because I love to swim and their ballet classes were really fun. Then I realized I can’t get into a cold pool in the winter (even if it’s indoor!) and all the plies were hurting my hip. So I gave up my $100/month membership, and just use the tiny gym in my apartment building’s basement, which is $150 per year for the two of us. If I feel like swimming this summer, I will sign up for the Y’s summer membership which is around $200 for three months.

4) I don’t eat meat, or dairy, or eggs. Plant based foods are much cheaper than animal product foods-both in the short term at the grocery store, and in the long term due to health.

5) I don’t wear uncomfortable shoes. I used to wear high heels out, and often my feet would hurt so much by the end of the night, that I’d be in too much pain to walk to the subway and end up taking a cab home. I stopped wearing heels (and when I have to, like for a wedding, I wear flats getting to & from the event & bring the heels in my purse), and my feet have stopped hurting. I’ve only taken one cab ride in the past month, and that was because I was running really late, not because my footies hurt!

6) I don’t live in a big apartment. My sweetheart and I share a 500 square foot studio apartment with our 2 mini dogs. We’ve been living together in this apartment since July 2011 and have no plans to move in the next five years. We like our cozy place, and the money we save by living small is icing on the cake!

7) I don’t have a TV, or cable, or a home phone. I get internet for $35/month, which is paid for by my business out of pretax income, because I use it mostly to do real estate research. We each have unlimited cell phone plans at $100/month and data plans for our iPads at $20/month. So, our monthly media/communications budget is $275/month. If we had premium cable & a home phone, it could easily be over $400/month. Once I’m done traveling so much for the business (hopefully, my houses will be rental ready by mid-April & I can take a little break from all the driving), I may switch cell providers & cut my bill to $50/month.

8) I don’t dye my hair. I have dark brown hair with a bit of grey in it. I figure I earned those greys, so why cover them up?! I had several coworkers at the hedge fund who must have spent $200+ at a salon every six weeks to keep their hair blonde. I never really understood it….I like natural brown hair & definitely prefer it to the fake blonde look.

9) I don’t pay to eat out during the week. I cook at home, unless we are doing a mystery shop, in which case, our food charges are reimbursed & I get paid for the report too! We used to eat dinner out 3x/week and breakfast at least 1x/weekend when I was working, and now will only pay for ourselves to dine out around 1 or 2 times per week (including brunches & breakfasts). This week, I have 2 dinner mystery shops and 1 bar mystery shop, so this week’s dining out budget will be pretty small once reimbursement is taken into account!

10) I don’t care if people judge my clothes, or my handbag, or my car. I drive an old car, wear mostly thrift store clothing, and have a ratty old handbag that I have had for years. I could pay cash for a brand new car, only shop in department stores, and buy a “statement” handbag, but what would be the point? None of those things would add to my happiness level. I love driving my little stick shift, and I REALLY love that I get 40+ mpg’s on the highway. I am comfortable in my thrift store finds & enjoy not looking like everybody else. I am squicked out by leather, so fancy handbags don’t appeal to me. I do own one expensive Stella McCartney vegan handbag, which I bought on eBay several years ago when I was working on Wall Street, but it’s too big to carry every day and not as comfortable or useful as the non-leather shoulder bag that I carry every day. In our society, there is a lot of pressure to keep up with the Joneses. I don’t have any desire to be like the Joneses-they are most likely living paycheck to paycheck and in debt up to their ears! I’ll take my lifestyle choices and money in the bank over fancy cars, designer clothes, ornate handbags and credit card balances any day.

Posted by K

Top 5 Ways That People Waste Money

Sat, 02 Mar 2013 10:20:00 -0500

1. Buying stuff they don’t need. Ask yourself these 5 questions before making any purchase.

2. Paying full price. There are so many ways to score discounts on things that you actually need. You can clip coupons, join rewards programs, take advantage of discounts offered to Triple A members, and shop at sample sales, thrift stores, garage sales and discount stores like Ross or Marshall’s. There’s really no need to pay full price for anything anymore.

3. Trying to impress other people. Large homes, luxury cars, designer clothing, country club memberships, fancy vacations—do we really need all of this stuff or are we simply showing off?

4. Paying someone to do something that they can do themselves. Labor is expensive in the U.S. Can you mow your own lawn, scrub your own toilet, handle your own home repairs? Paint your own nails, wax your own legs, tweeze your own eyebrows? Do your own decorating and landscape design? Sometimes simple laziness and lack of time keeps us from doing these things for ourselves—but sometimes it’s a lack of confidence, and the only way to get over that is to teach yourself how to do it! For years I paid the nice Indian ladies at the threading shop $10 a pop to shape my eyebrows. I was traumatized by an overplucking incident in law school and doubted my own ability to get the right look. Six months ago I woke up to how crazy that was. I spent a half hour in front of the mirror, experimenting with my tweezers, and I think I’ve got it down now!

5. Not keeping track. Controlling your spending isn’t just a moment-to-moment thing—it’s the culmination of days, weeks, months and years of making good financial decisions. If you keep close tabs on your spending, you can decide not to buy that shiny new thing—not just because you don’t need it—but because you’ve already hit your spending limit in that category for this month. Many finance experts recommend tracking every single penny you spend—and I’d second that advice. You can keep handwritten records, as I did for many years—or sign up for Mint.com, which allows you to keep electronic records of every expense.

Want to find other ways to plug the leaks in your pocket? Check out this list from Kiplinger’s.

-posted by P

Beyond the latte factor

Sun, 24 Feb 2013 22:19:13 -0500

One of the first nuggets of advice that budgeting gurus dispense is to ditch the daily latte habit. And yes, in terms of pure numbers, that advice is spot-on: two drinks from Starbucks can cost you more than $8 a day; add a food item to that and you’re well over $10. But what if your colleagues make regular trips to Starbucks during work hours and you don’t want to miss out on the conversations that happen during those coffee runs?

You can keep your Starbucks costs in check, but it takes discipline. Here’s how:

1. Get a registered Starbucks card. After 30 drinks, you’ll be upgraded to Gold status, which will entitle you to earn a free drink or food item with every 12 purchases made (regardless of price). Starbucks will also email you other special offers throughout the year. Also, by bringing a reusable cup, you can save 10 cents per drink.

2. Go cheap: tea ($1.99), drip coffee ($1.50) or an espresso shot ($1). Add free milk or cream from the condiment bar. (I ask the baristas to add a little cold soy milk to my drinks, since they don’t serve soy milk at the condiment bar.) Any drinks with steamed milk (lattes, cappuccinos, mochas) are quite a bit more expensive.

3. Go off-menu. Although it’s not on the menu, Starbucks still serves short drinks, which for steamed milk drinks cost at least 50 cents less than the same tall drink.

4. Don’t buy food at Starbucks. Starbucks’ baked goods are expensive and unhealthy. I make my own muffins at home (using frozen bananas I’ve saved and a great recipe from Martha Stewart…just use whole wheat flour, applesauce and molasses to make it healthier) and bring them to the office with me, so I can enjoy them at my desk with my coffee.

How do you save money at Starbucks?

-posted by P

My bargain basement legal education, Part II

Sun, 24 Feb 2013 21:33:00 -0500

Here’s how I graduated from law school with a relatively sane amount of debt:

1. Luck. Full disclosure: I didn’t do it all on my own. Although my parents did not support me during law school, their generosity helped me get through school with minimal debt in the following ways: (1) they paid for my undergraduate education in full, which meant that I entered law school with no educational debt; (2) they allowed me to use one of their cars for a year and a half; and (3) they also let me live at home for one summer while I was interning at a law firm. Not every law student will have these advantages. Thank you, Mom and Dad. I am very grateful for your help.

And now for the actual money-saving advice:

2. Choose your school based (in part) on its tuition. Despite its lower ranking, I chose a state school over a highly-ranked private law school. (Granted, it would’ve been a much more difficult decision if I’d been accepted at Harvard, Yale or Stanford. Luckily, I was rejected by all three schools) Sadly, the my state school system jacked up its professional school fees during my third year of law school, and now they’re not much lower than what private law schools charge. That’s a shame. But there are still bargains to be had. Every year, U.S. News publishes a survey of the 10 law schools that lead to the least debt. Check it out.

3. Look for ways to further reduce your tuition. During my 2L year, I worked as a teaching assistant for undergraduate Political Science classes, which earned me a “tuition rebate” as well as a (paltry) hourly wage. My tuition was reduced by 50%, meaning that I could take out fewer loans that year. Score! During my 3L year, I applied for and won a full-tuition Foreign Language and Area Studies scholarship for graduate students. (The requirement? That I take 2 semesters of intermediate Hindi language classes.) Both my tuition and living expenses were fully covered by the scholarship, so I didn’t have to take out any loans that year.

4. Work. Law school isn’t (and shouldn’t be) a vacation from the real world. As noted previously, I worked as a teaching assistant during my second year of law school, which reduced my tuition and enabled me to earn a small hourly wage. I also worked at law firms during both summers and was able to save my earnings from those jobs (and even use part of my earnings to pay down part of my debt). Work experience during school can help you make ends meet, sure, but it also looks good to employers, allows you to gain valuable legal experience, and teaches you time-management skills. However, unless it’s absolutely necessary, you should try not to work during your 1L year. High grades during 1L year will open up many doors for you during interview season (at the beginning of your 2L year), so you should try to devote all of your time and resources during that year towards achieving high grades. On that note, if you want to be an A student, I highly recommend the Legal Essay Exam Writing System (LEEWS). The $135 tuition is some of the best money that I ever spent.

5. Keep your living expenses low. Many law students pay for living expenses using only borrowed money. Do you really want to be paying off a latte that you drank as a 2L five years later? Here are some specific money-saving tips:

A. Housing. I was dumb and lived by myself in a studio apartment, which cost me $900 a month. The upside: it was close to campus and as a result, I didn’t need a car. I had one friend who lived at home with her parents for free (not an option for me, since my parents lived in a different city.) Another friend rented a room in a private home, which cost him only $300 a month. I knew others who lived in cheap student co-ops, rented large houses with lots of other grad students, or who served as Resident Advisers in student dormitories (free housing). If I had to do it all over again, I would find cheaper housing, since that was always my biggest monthly expense.

B. Transportation: do you really need a car, or can you rely on your bike or public transportation? In a pinch, you can always rent a car, but for day-to-day living, working, and studying, maybe you can rely on your own two feet. This is more difficult in cities like Los Angeles, where public transportation options are few and far between.

C. Food: eat at home. I made coffee in my French press every morning and rode my bike home between classes to make lunch at home. If I happened to be stuck on campus at lunchtime, I’d find a lunchtime lecture put on by one of the many student journals and groups at which food would be served (I came to love soggy pizza and lukewarm Chinese food during those years). I kept my grocery bills low by raiding the reduced-price shelves at the Berkeley Bowl (overripe pineapple, anyone?) I did go out to dinner with my friends sometimes, but it was an occasional treat, not a daily occurrence.

D. Books: I was dumb and bought my books new. More enterprising classmates bought their books used (from Amazon or Craigslist). Some other helpful tips can be found here: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=162127

E. Entertainment: I was so busy studying and working that I didn’t go out that much in law school. However, I did take advantage of $5 rush tickets to live performances at my university (the discounted tickets were available only to students) and saw The Nutcracker, The Alvin Ailey Dance Theater and other world-class entertainment for an embarrassingly low price. Many universities offer discounted pricing to their students for live performances. As a summer associate during my 2L summer, I was wined and dined by my firm and attended many concerts and other events on the firm’s dime. The rest of the time, I rented videos from my local video store for $2.50 a pop. Entertainment would probably be even cheaper today, thanks to Netflix and Redbox.

F. Clothing: Discover used clothing! There are many lovely resale shops out there, like Buffalo Exchange and Crossroads Trading Company, as well as regular old thrift stores like Goodwill. There’s no reason to buy new clothes when you’re a student.

G. Exercise: I joined the student gym for $25 a semester and tried to exercise as much as possible outside.

There are hundreds of other ways to save money as a law student, and I won’t bore you any longer than necessary with the details. But if you decide to go to law school, your guiding principles should be to do as well as you can in school while taking out as few loans as possible. That way, you’ll have the freedom to choose the career path that’s right for you, without being shackled to a job that you hate.

-posted by P

My bargain basement legal education, Part I

Sun, 24 Feb 2013 21:15:00 -0500

My parents cut me off financially after I graduated from college, leaving me to pay for law school on my own. By forcing me to rely on my own resourcefulness, my parents gave me a gift that was far more precious than any tuition money that they could have given me. Unlike many of my law school classmates and college friends, I paid for law school myself (both my tuition and living expenses)—by using my savings, taking out student loans, and working during school and over the summers. Because I was forced to live on a strict budget, my years in law school were when I truly became a Skinnyflint.

According to the latest numbers, the average debt load for a newly minted J.D. in 2010 was $98,500 (at 29 schools, it was even higher, topping $120,000). That doesn’t include educational debt that students may have incurred to finance their undergraduate educations. And a debate is currently raging: is law school tuition worth the money, considering how few new attorneys will actually secure high-paying legal jobs?

Sure, I made mistakes along the way. Looking back, there were many choices I could have made that would have enabled me to save even more money. But as it is, I was astonishingly lucky. I graduated with my JD with around $30,000 in educational debt. The figure could have easily been triple that.

In my next post, I’ll explain how I did it. But for the moment, I want to emphasize how much of an impact my relatively low debt load has had on my life:

1. Because I am not paying huge loan bills every month, I have extra money to put into personal savings.

2. I didn’t feel chained to my big firm job. I was able to take a job in the nonprofit sector (which entailed a large pay cut) since I wasn’t dogged by huge monthly loan payments.

3. I carried the frugal lessons that I learned in law school into my post-law-school life. Because my Skinnyflint habits were so deeply ingrained at that point, it was easy for me to continue to live modestly, even on a six-figure income. This enabled me to save even more.

-posted by P

Favorite Frugal Blogs

Sun, 24 Feb 2013 19:46:50 -0500

In no particular order, here are some of my favorite blogs promoting thrift, frugality, sustainability, and financial sanity:

The Non-Consumer Advocate - I look forward to Katy Wolk-Stanley’s daily updates on her Goodwill thrifting adventures, restoring her 100-year-old Craftsman style home, and simple living in general.

Frugal Mama - Amy Suardi (a fellow Brown grad!) writes movingly of her efforts to create a rich but frugal family life for her husband and four children on one income.

The Minimalist Mom - No, I’m not a mom (yet)! But I’ve found that women (and especially mothers) tend to think deeply about how to best allocate their families’ financial resources. Maybe it’s because women still make a fraction of what our male counterparts do, and so we’re forced to think creatively about money as a result. One of Rachel’s best posts addresses what you actually need (and what you don’t need) when you have a new baby.

Thomas J. Stanley’s Official Blog (author of The Millionaire Next Door) - The Millionaire Next Door first brought to light the surprising frugal habits of secret millionaires. Thomas’ ongoing observations about millionaires’ recipes for financial success are always enlightening.

Jean Chatzky’s Blog - Jean is one of the best financial planning gurus out there. And I hope I look that hot in 15 years!

What frugal blogs do you like?

-posted by P

Why do moguls lose their money?

Sun, 24 Feb 2013 19:28:14 -0500

By some strange coincidence, I recently learned about three well-known billionaires who lost their shirts. On the surface, these men don’t appear to have much in common: Merv Adelson was a hotshot Hollywood producer, Peter Eichler Jr. ran a large money management firm in Southern California, and David Siegel, subject of the controversial documentary film “Queen of Versailles”, owns a time-share company.

But when you dig deeper, you’ll see that they actually a lot alike. All three men were shrewd enough to amass large fortunes through their business dealings, but then pathetically squandered them away through foolish lifestyle choices. Multiple homes. Multiple wives (Adelson’s second wife was Barbara Walters; he dropped her after a few years for someone else 33 years his junior). Multiple children. Private planes. Lavish lifestyles. And now: Adelson, at 83, has less than $1 million and lives in a one-bedroom apartment, alone. Eichler, at 55, is being sued by the SEC for defrauding investors; his net worth has plummeted from $230 million to around $2 million. And Siegel was forced to put his half-finished dream home (Versailles) on the market.

I’d like to think that if I had as much money as those three men managed to accumulate (or even a fraction of it), I’d be smarter about things. I’d put it all in safe investments and live (frugally) on the interest. I’d resist the urge to show off my wealth and would maintain the same relatively modest lifestyle I’m currently living. I’d keep my family small and my financial obligations few. Maybe I’d cut back on my working hours and use the free time to pursue my interests and travel a bit. Living large, as these men did—only to lose it all—seems like an easily avoidable fate.

-posted by P