Ang is rescuing money.

I, like most people, spend way more money than I should. More than I’d like to. I enjoy things that money can by, such as food, fun, and things. However, when I spend money on things, I don’t have money for other things, things that I may find that I would rather have than the things I already spent my money on. Predicament?

“Saving money” sounds like such a drag. I like to think of it more as rescuing money. I would like to rescue my money from perishing from my life, like when it goes to things I don’t find I actually need or want more than other things that I’d rather have the money for. I get a kick out of reading how other people rescue their money. So I thought I’d list out what I’ve been doing to rescue money in recent months. Maybe someone else will find it informative.

1. I stopped buying “stuff”.
   I would often joke that I couldn’t enter a store like Best Buy without spending at least $100. DVDs were my weakness. I love movies, and I love having movies. However, I would buy movies I would watch only once, maybe twice. Sometimes I would see a movie in the theater, enjoy it, later see it on DVD, buy it because I liked it well enough, and then never watch the DVD I had paid for. It just sat on my shelf. I think having so many movies became something of a status thing for me (much like collections in general can be). I could say “I own every Kevin Smith movie”, but never watch Mallrats more than once.

   Now when I’m considering buying something, I try to think about how often I’m really going to use it. If there is any doubt in my mind, I put it back. If I want something just to “have” it, then surely there are other things I would want more, and I would actually find useful.

2. I got rid of “stuff”.
   When you buy and own lots of stuff, you have to have a place to put all that stuff. So not only are you spending money on the stuff, you have to buy shelves to put the stuff on, or containers to put the stuff in. As you keep acquiring more, you have to get a larger living space to hold you and all your stuff. I’ll bet most people with a lot of stuff rarely if ever use most of their stuff. Now, I didn’t have a ton of stuff, but I could look around and notice several things that I could do without. So I did just that.

   I went through everything in my house, thought “have I used this in the last 6 months (some people say you should think about the last year, I found it better to cut that down)?” or “will I use this in the next 6 months?” for every item. And I gave myself 2 seconds to think about it. If there was any hesitation (not even a no, just a hesitation), I set it aside to very likely be sold/donated/thrown away. I gave everything I set aside another once-over, but since it was set aside, I already had a seed in my mind that I could do without it. I didn’t just stop at the 6 months gauge of time. I’d ponder, even if I did use it in the last 6 months, could I still do without it? Hesitate, set aside.

   Anything that was worth enough money (mostly DVDs, also some books and CDs) I sold on half.com. Anything that was pretty much garbage went into the garbage. Anything that would be worth a little money I priced and had a yard sale.

   I pared down my DVD collection from upwards of 200, to under 30. I kept my favorite movies and TV shows on DVD that I have watched over and over, and would still be watching over and over. Basically, the ones that were worth (to me) the money I spent on them, the things I would still get enjoyment out of.

   A phrase I really like and identify with is “messy bed, messy head”. Which basically means if your environment is messy and chaotic, you’ll feel messy and chaotic. The more junk I have, the more cluttered I feel mentally. It was extremely cleansing to get rid of stuff. After I got rid of stuff, I found I could eliminate some furniture too. More space in my house in which to live, and think.

3. I canceled cable TV.
   Giving up cable TV was tough. I love watching shows. I would spend hours and hours, especially on the weekends, watching shows I enjoy as well as shows that just happened to be on when I didn’t feel like doing anything else. I thought I might be “saving money” by watching TV at home instead of going out to the movies or doing other things that cost additional money.

   But I really really thought about it, and I realized I could manage without paying for cable TV. With the glorious internet, finding shows online is a breeze. An idea that I have not implemented, but maybe someone else will, would be if you have a friend who LOVES a show about as much as you do, and has cable, you could have weekly gatherings at his/her place to watch your favorite show together.

   Most surprisingly to me, I found that since I had my cable TV disconnected, I haven’t missed it at all. This coming from a television addict. I’ve had cable TV all my life. I could list all the shows I watch every hour in the evening for every day of the week. When I would meet people and find out they didn’t have cable, I would jokingly remark that they must live like animals! Now here I am, no more cable, and not missing it a bit. I watch the shows I feel I really can’t miss online or on DVD borrowed from friends. For the most part, I try not to bother with shows unless their premise really intrigues me. No more watching “whatever is on” even when I don’t like it.

   Besides the money savings (uh, rescuings?), I’ve also rescued time by getting rid of cable. I’ve found other interests to pass the time. Instead of laying on my couch all evening/weekends, I find other things to do. My extracurriculars aren’t terribly exciting, but they feel more productive and interesting than my days of watching TV.

4. I canceled subscriptions.
   This was one of the first things I did. Subscription services in general are a good thing to reassess. Ceasing to pay for any more years with magazine subscriptions was a breeze (granted, I only had one). Magazines can be read at the library or bookstore, generally without any hassle. The bonus, I find, of reading them in a bookstore is I can also peruse several other magazines that I wouldn’t subscribe to, but have something interesting in them.

   I also canceled my monthly subscription for movie rentals by mail. I LOVE movies, so this I found to be harder than giving up cable. I justified it that since I was not going out to the movies, and I also was no longer paying for/watching cable TV, my movie rental subscription was now a great deal because it was replacing my other entertainment expenses.

   When I really thought about it, I found I was often replacing several of those formerly “TV hours” doing basically the same thing but now it was “movie hours”. When I thought even more about it, I realized I have several friends who already own a lot of DVDs (as I once did), who I could borrow a lot of movies from for free. The library also has DVDs available to borrow for free. If I really tried, I could still feed my love of movies without spending any money.

   Another “subscription” I canceled was my gym membership. My gym was rather expensive and located far out of my way from home and work. So not only was I paying quite a bit to attend kickboxing classes, I was paying for the gas to drive a good distance just to get there. I figured I could find other ways to exercise, for free. A one-time investment in a medicine ball or a bicycle is a better deal than a monthly membership to a gym.

5. I borrow things.
   There was a time when if there was a book I found interesting, I’d just buy it. And, often, only read it once before it sat on a shelf never to be touched again. Now if I want to read a book, I’ll borrow it from the library. I borrow DVDs from friends or the library. I borrow tools from my parents or friends. People often have miscellaneous odds and ends that they’ll borrow to you or even give to you. If you know someone who has a tool bench, you probably never need to buy nails or screws again. Tons of people have that stuff in abundance and them giving you a bunch probably wouldn’t make a dent in their supply.

   Of course, if you’re the type of person who tends to lose or ruin things that are borrowed to you, borrowing may not be a great option. You also don’t want to do it too much and develop a reputation as a mooch (especially if you borrow money). But if you’re like me and take good care of things, most people are trusting and willing to let you use their things.

   I’ll also borrow people’s services whenever possible. I’m lucky that my father is quite handy and doesn’t live too far away. If I need someone to look at my car, water heater, toilet, or bicycle, I can usually call on my dad. If it’s beyond his capabilities, then it’s time to call a professional. But he is often able to help me with minor things. Most everyone knows someone who works in a field they need some sort of service in. Again, this is something you don’t want to abuse or you will get a reputation. Swap services if possible. I help my parents move heavy things without complaint in exchange for their help in other areas.

6. I’m trying to drive less.
   I think most people are keen to the driving-less idea. I live a little distance from “town”. It is 10 miles between my house and work. It is probably 3-4 miles to the nearest grocery or department store from my house. Before, I wouldn’t really think twice about driving into town for an errand, going home, then driving back into town for another errand or other engagement. Now, I am trying to consider all of my errands and engagements that I need to tend to in town, and take care of them all in one trip per day. If there is anything I need to take care of that can wait another day or two, when I can accumulate more reasons to drive into town, I will try to wait.

   I am also attempting to ride my bicycle the 10 miles to work, if I have no other errands to really take care of that day that I would need my car for. I made a first trial run of my route, and found I’d need a new more comfortable bicycle seat. The ride otherwise was quite enjoyable. Plus, there’s a good, free workout! If my bottom can take the bumps, I think it will become my preferred mode of transportation to work.

I try not to think of my rescuing money efforts as “giving things up”, as that just feels like a downer. Of course no one wants to give things up, especially things they generally enjoy. I try to think of my efforts as exchanging the things I currently (or now, formerly) paid for, for other things that I find I want more. So I’m not so much giving things up, as I am getting more of the things I truly want the most.

My efforts are still a work in progress. The next thing I will work on to save money: eating fewer meals from restaurants. I know this is a big area now that my money is unnecessarily getting lost in. I like to take an hour off for lunch at work, get out of the office during that time. Going and sitting in a restaurant for that time is really nice. I will have to think of other alternatives, like packing a picnic lunch to have in the park near my office. I didn’t really add this to my list of ways I’m rescuing money yet, as I don’t feel I am being strict enough about it yet for my efforts to be considered successful. But that is the next big thing I am working on!

Saturday, July 12th, 2008 | Money | Permalink | No Comments

Bicycling around the neighborhood.

Wow, make one post about bicycling, and my visitors double. (Although double 10 a day is like…) Apparently bicycling is a popular topic. Which is exciting for me, in a way, being a new interest and all.

I biked around my neighborhood a little today, for about 45 minutes. The new bike seat I ordered hasn’t arrived yet, so I didn’t want to push my luck. But I did want to get back out there. Get a little exercise, enjoy the weather, explore my neighborhood. I’ve lived here a year now and I haven’t really wandered around. So that was enjoyable to check it out. Lots of meandering roads and huge trees everywhere.

My neighborhood is somewhat interesting. It is almost its own little village. There are only 2 entry roads to get into this area. It was constructed about 100 years ago, a planned community for a steel company’s employees and their families. A couple gas stations, a small commercial building for different offices, a school, a community center. Most of the homes are townhouses made out of steel and cement blocks. There are a few different styles. I got a kick out of pedaling my bike around and seeing more of them. I saw where the nicer steel/cement single-family homes were, which housed management, I am guessing. I found a nice playground just a few blocks from my house, I’ll have to keep that in mind if I ever have my niece over.

Lots and lots of trees. Sometimes I forget that I basically live in the forest. Most of my time is spent downtown in the office, or here at home, in my house. I see rabbits and deer almost daily, and think nothing of it. The two skunks I encountered on my previous bicycle excursion were frightening but not really surprising. And of course there was the time I hit a bear with my car in town, a few years ago…

Yeah, I guess I really do live in the forest.

Update on my bottom: no bruising this time! Hope that new bike seat arrives soon so that I may trek the 20 miles in a day to and from work again.

Tuesday, July 8th, 2008 | Health and Fitness, Observations | Permalink | No Comments

I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride my bike…

At the start of summer, I had intended to try riding my bicycle from where I live to where I work. Which, according to Google Maps, is about 10 miles. Mind you, I haven’t even ridden my bicycle in about three years, and I haven’t really worked out in a couple months. By, by golly, I was going to ride my bike 10 miles one way in a single morning!

Of course, part of me didn’t want to and was finding excuses not to do it. I needed a rack of some sort on my bike so that I could carry a change of clothes and other stuff with me, without having a heavy bag on my back, making me sweatier than I already undoubtedly would be. And I needed a new holder for a water bottle, as the one that came standard on my bike didn’t really hold a bottle well, and it would just fall out at the first bump.

So, after weeks of not riding my bike because I needed a rack and water bottle holder, I finally broke down and got them. My first attempt at a rack was disastrous as it didn’t fit and both my father and I tried to make it work. Wasn’t having’ it. But the water bottle holder was a snap. Safe, secure water was within my grasp (while riding!). For the rack, I had to go to a bicycle shop and buy a rack at their recommendation and pay some guy to put it on my bike for me.

NO MORE EXCUSES NOT TO RIDE NOW, ANG!

So the day after my rack was installed, I woke up an hour early, packed up a bag, tethered it to my new rack, and away I went.

A couple blocks away, I had a few thoughts like “maybe this wasn’t such a good idea…” and “perhaps I should have started with shorter, more leisurely rides to build up to this…” But no. I am Ang, and when I want to do something, I go balls-to-the-wall and facking DO IT.

It didn’t take long for my rear end to start to not feel right. At every mild incline (and thankfully, there are not many hills on my route) I hopped off my bike and walked it. Somewhere around the halfway point to work, my rear was really killing me, so I walked my bike for several blocks until I felt the crunch of time before I was suppose to be at my desk at work. So I toughed out riding some more. And then…

I made it to work! Hooray for me! Excitement, the feeling of victory. I had biked 10 miles (most likely for the first time in my entire life), survived, and made it to work on time. Besides jelly legs, I wasn’t really feeling much worse for the wear.

Then after sitting on my bottom for 9 hours at work, my bottom REALLY started to hurt. And I still had to bike home.

What was funny was how often this conversation happened with people all day:
Me: “Yeah I rode my bike to work today! 10 miles!”
Them: “You’re crazy! I can drive you home if you want.”

No, I do NOT want, thank you! I rode my bike because I wanted to ride my bike, not because I was destitute and had no other option. I appreciate your generosity, but I want to ride my bike.

Cut to going-home time. A part of me realized my rear end was not handling all this very well, and maybe being driven home would be a smart idea, this being my first day riding my bike so far and all… But then I thought, I will feel SO proud of myself if I can not only ride the 10 miles to work, but also the 10 miles back home that day. I knew it would be a long and painful journey, but I was determined to finish what I started.

First time I sat on my bike that evening, it was clear to me this was a bad idea. My bottom hurt the second it touched my seat. But I was going to do this! So I pedaled away. My morning ride had taken an hour. My evening ride took an hour and a half, as I needed to hop off and walk my bike quite a bit more often. I realized quickly that there’s no way to really change your position to get more comfortable on a bicycle seat (like you can with a chair). There are only 2 ways to sit on a bike: sitting up as straight as you can while still reaching the handlebars, and leaning as far forward as possible. And the part of my rear that was hurting so badly was still feeling all the pressure in either position.

And it’s not like a general rear end pain. Not much of your butt is on a bicycle seat, and the part that is, is very concentrated and centrally located. I like to call this “verybadplaces”.

By the time I made it home (an hour and a half, and 2 close calls with skunks later) I was experiencing monumental pain in “verybadplaces”.

But you know what? I MADE IT HOME. Twenty miles in a single day. And that feeling of victory outshone the pain radiating from verybadplaces.

Epilogue: I just ordered a new squishy bicycle seat with rave reviews on amazon.com. I will ride again, and soon! When the new seat arrives, and when my seat no longer screams every time I sit down or walk (there was even visible bruising!), I will be riding my bike 10 miles to work and 10 miles home!*

*Perhaps not every day…

Saturday, July 5th, 2008 | Health and Fitness | Permalink | No Comments

An open letter, maybe you can help.

My house is all hardwood floors, except the kitchen and bathroom (linoleum) and the 2nd bedroom, which is my office. My office has carpet. Now, when I moved in, there was carpet in the living room and going up the stairs, which I ripped out immediately after painting (leaving it down for the painting, effectively making the nasty-ass carpet a drop cloth). But the office carpet may be a problem.

The office carpet is a very short type, and I don’t think there is even a pad under it. There’s no real cushion at all to it. And it appears that every inch of it is glued down. Like, I can’t even pull up a corner of it. It is a hideous green (as all the carpet was, but the stuff I did pull up had a pad and was stapled down).

My cats have a tendency to go to the first soft surface they can find when it’s time to charf up some hairballs or cat food. Which means I have given up on having an area rug in the living room, and now I desperately want this office carpet GONE. Cleaning up cat vomit on a carpet is a royal bitch, especially when you’re doing it multiple times a week. And let’s not forget how gross all carpet smells in the hot and humid summer time. No matter how often you clean it. And especially if it’s really old.

My open letter is this: If you have ever in your life had to remove carpeting that was glued down hardcore, how best did you go about removing it? What worked wonders, what didn’t work at all? What didn’t work that “everyone” claimed would? What did work that “everyone” said would not at all? I need ideas, people. If my best option is ripping it up bit by bit with needle-nose pliers and a chisel, so be it, but if there is a more effective way, I want to know about it.

What kind of sick bastard puts carpet on nice hardwood floors anyway?!

Sunday, June 29th, 2008 | Home | Permalink | No Comments

I hate having yard sales.

But I do like making money off my junk that I don’t want anymore. Trade-offs. I did manage to make a little money. Sold most everything but 2 boxes of stuff, and some books and VHS tapes that will be donated to the library. So I made out pretty well.

It’s amusing the people who frequent yard sales. Older ladies who you know have some money, but would much rather bargain you down to next to nothing for everything. Moms (who had nothing to buy from me since I don’t have kids). Trashy people who wander around mid-day in pajama pants, stained over-sized t-shirts and Crocs, looking (and smelling) like they haven’t showered in weeks. I met a lot of my neighbors, but of course they say things like “I live over there”, and point off in some direction. So I have no idea where they live. Some had stories to tell of the man who lived in my house before me. The elderly lady next door (who I had never seen in the YEAR I’ve lived here) was quite sweet.

The bargain ladies were at my sale Saturday morning BEFORE my advertised hours, as I was setting up. And they were already trying to get lower prices. If you’re going to do that, wait until I’m about to pack up for the day and I’m looking to get rid of things for cheap. Not when I just set up am STILL setting up, and have hope that I might get my asking prices.

I am SO happy I got rid of the piles of stuff I had in my living room, waiting to go out in the yard sale. I still have my desk that I was trying to sell, but my mum is planning to take that next week. I found a new glass and metal desk (no more particle board in my life!) that I want from Best Buy, but they don’t have it in stock. And, ridiculously, you cannot order it online and have it shipped to the store and go pick it up (to avoid shipping costs). They only let you do that if the store you want to pick it up from already has it in stock… so why would you even order it online? Ridiculous. I will be checking their availability this week. They had better assist me in some way to order the item I want. That is piss-poor customer service if I have to call them every day to try to get a fucking desk. I tried finding a similar desk from another store, but what they had cost more than the one I really want from Best Buy. So here’s hoping. Right now my desktop computer is sitting on a card table. But I had it on the floor for like a week now, so I guess the card table is a step up. I want a new desk!

Sunday, June 22nd, 2008 | General | Permalink | No Comments