How low can you go? It is truly amazing how little we can get by on if need be. There are times all through our lives that we have had to tighten the purse strings and just get by on little.
I learned how to stretch a buck from my parents. I then went through a 'wild child' period of time with over spending with my ex. Not good. Big debt - learned important lesson! Mom and Dad had it all figured out. Yep.
Then I had super lean years of living alone - super lean. Then when G and I got together we set goals and worked hard to make them happen. No we did not live beyond our means at all. We could have bought a bigger house in a different neighborhood, we could have spent on a lot of things that we really didn't need - but we didn't. Our vacations were camping and wondering the roads of Indiana. We had a ball doing that. It cost so little, but gave us days of joy.
We tried to live life on the wages of one of us - even though we both worked.
Today I live on a fixed income. That sounds so much worse than it is. I actually only spend LESS than half of my income on expenses. I do not have to touch the savings.
I live a simple life - not because I have to - but because that is what I choose.
I don't need for anything. Sure, I have a few wants, and I will get them when I find exactly what I want.
Planning earlier in life, has helped retirement life.
I live a simple life, I eat simple food, I have simple wants. That is me. It may not work for everyone. That is fine - you need to do you.
I have been a planner for years. Planning a pantry, planning for retirement, planning for helping others. I feel comfortable that if it all hits the fan tomorrow - I will be OK.
I read so many stories about people getting all in a panic and bulk buying and storing things they never have before. How many of us need to purchase 50 lbs. of flour and sugar and grains at a time? Most don't. Did they do this before? I know that some people may need this - they have big families.
I cook from scratch and I like to bake now and then - but goodness, it would take me forever to go through 50 lbs. of flour and sugar (even if hubs was here). I purchase regular bags when I get a sale and store them properly - I am good. I am sure I have over 50 lbs. of each - but it was purchased over time and will last a looooong time.
Don't feel you have to follow the crowd. Purchase what you use and what your family likes. Don't buy and store things that you have never purchased before.
I, for instance know I never have to buy body soap again!!!!! Seriously. I get gifts always, and I have enough bar soap to last the rest of my life. WHY? I got for free or almost free and I can also help others who might be in need.
I never made a mad dash to stores when there was the big TP debacle!!!! I had plenty and I know other means of staying clean.
I can wash clothes and clean things in my home for ages. Just got deals that I couldn't resist, so therefore I am good. No I didn't go out and intentionally over stock.
Food - yep, good there as well. I have more than enough. I will grow what I can each summer and try to preserve that as well. I have the ability and knowledge to grow a few things in the house and on window sills during the winter.
I watch sales and clearance and get the most I can for my money. I can help others if I need to, it isn't just for me. I know I can have alternatives (if necessary) for my kitties. You betcha I will share my chicken and fish with them. I keep well stocked on those things. I know some people think that is crazy - so be it. These are my babies and they WILL be fed.
(I know many understand💓💓)
So do what you can with what you have. If you get the chance to pay off things early - do it!!!!!
Save what you can.
Buy and stock what you USE.
Go to food pantries if need be and don't EVER feel bad about it. They are there to help.
Learn to glean what nature has to offer.
Barter with others.
Grow what you can. Preserve what you can for the future.
You can do this!
Don't be influenced to do things that is not in the best interest of your family and home.
Don't live beyond your means. There are many ways to get by and many people who can help and guide you.
Just be aware (not panicked) and get busy.
Blessings upon you and yours.
When Hubby was disabled our income went to half and we only spend about 2/3 of that and save or give away the rest and we have plenty. We do buy the huge bags of flour at Sam's Club and put it in buckets because we bake all our bread and I am glad we stocked up because bread flour is now $8 for 5 pounds here. That is what we paid for 25 pounds.
ReplyDeleteI understand the disability thing. WOW $8 for 5 lbs.??? That is nuts! No where near that here. Thank goodness.
DeleteIf you use a lot, then it makes total since to have a lot stored. Baking bread does use a lot and good for you on baking your own bread!
As a former accountant (I gave up my designation so can't call myself one now), the lessons you learned are ones that so many people did not.
ReplyDeleteUnless one is trying to support a family on minimum wage, there ought to be some small savings. But I see young people wanting the perfect home, the perfect car, the perfect furniture, etc. While it is virtually impossible to live without debt, there is good and bad debt. (I know I've mentioned this before).
If this pandemic has taught me anything, it is that I can live with less or purchase used items, or when I have to buy new I can be choosy.
I'm grateful that while I was working I put aside a pool of money meant specifically for travel post-retirement. I haven't been able to use any of it for that last couple of years but that is changing. In the meantime it's been growing. Hooray!
Yes, yes, yes. I was an accounting specialist for over 30 years and learned a lot as well. Work for what you have, pay for it and don't over spend.
DeleteToday it seems debt is like marriage to many - if it doesn't work - be done with it. I see so many bankruptcies.
Never spend more than you make - it seems simple to me and you!!!!
Smart lady!
I could go much lower on groceries but I don't have to. I prefer to buy organic when the garden isn't producing (heavy winter here). And when I plant my garden I prefer organic and heirloom seed as well as organic soils.
ReplyDeleteLike you, we had our "stupid period of spending" but bailed ourselves out without bankruptcy, taking 5y of do nothing and eating blue box M/C, bologna sands and tuna. Thank you God we achieved that!
I worked hard, saved hard, retired and am enjoying my simple minimalist non-consumerism life :-)
Years ago a friend said "Now that I can afford to buy broccoli, I would rather grow it". So true!
I guess that is the whole point - we could go much lower - but don't have to!!! Planning and being smart!
DeleteThose crazy years sure were good teachers, so maybe there was a reason for going through them.
I remember those M/C and bologna days! It sure makes you feel good to say you did it and moved forward.
I love that quote!!!!!!
We also live on less than our income. This is so we can save enough for me to live on after Husband passes away. He gets a federal civil service retirement pension but no social security. I will not get any of his pension, nor will I have insurance then. I will have my social security, a very small pension (less than $175/mo), very small IRA (less than 1 yr expenses), and what we have managed to save. I could live another 30 years. If either of us have a catastrophic, non-fatal event, our money could be wiped out in a very short period of time. I don't want to be still working when I'm 80.
ReplyDeleteWe have experimented to see how little we can live on reasonably. The experiment in lowering the thermostat failed, and we raised it back to 72F when it became apparent that Husband couldn't acclimate his body to the lower temp.
As for the Tuesday food boxes, this is not from an income-based food pantry. It is food that would otherwise be thrown away by grocery stores: goods that are past the use-by date, bruised or old produce, store bakery bread that is too brown, dented cans, etc. Food pantries won't take these items. When I first learned of the program, I asked the local coordinator if there were income limitations. She said there were not, that the food was provided for the anyone in the neighborhood who could use it. Should it ever get to the point where there are more recipients than provided food, we would, of course, withdraw from the program.
You are very wise my dear. When hubs became disabled he did get disability from SS -BUT he wasn't old enough to really retire from job. Years of service and age.
DeleteSo he had to go through disability process first and then his job let him get retirement early. That process took a long while - so I was the only one working and that was just part time then. We knew we could do it.
He worked hard to have it arranged, so that I would be FINE she he go first.
Those different measures you take to save - should never make your hubby uncomfortable. So glad the thermostat went back up! SMILES
It is amazing how little we really need though.
There are so many places to gain help with food and no one should be ashamed for using them. I am glad you are getting those goods and they aren't being wasted.
Thanks for sharing
Those I feel for--and pray for--are the "working poor", although I hate that term. But there are plenty of folks who've been wiped out over the past two years, out of jobs, grateful to be once again employed, and now hit with inflation that makes just getting to work a chore. Not all live in areas with public transportation. I recently spoke to a woman, happy her place of employment had reopened and she could work again, who had to put some of her jewelry in pawn to buy gasoline to get to work. Astonishingly, she wasn't complaining at all. Just saw it as a "needs must" sort of thing.
ReplyDeleteI guess my point is that those of us able to live on less than our actual income can forget that there are people out there who don't really have that luxury. People who dream of being able to live off the grid in an RV to escape rising (outrageous) costs of basics, like utilities. Not all who struggle financially are irresponsible. We mustn't forget that in some cases, especially over the past few years, businesses have had to close, savings has been wiped out, and living on/with less is a daily challenge. --Elise
This is all very true. Not everyone has a choice.
DeleteIn US there was rent moratorium, there was extra added to unemployment for a long time, there was utility help, there was non-payment of student loans, there were stimulus checks - some of which SHOULD have helped many people.
I totally understand that there is a faction of people who already live without. Like you, my heart goes out to them.
I also know many who were out of work some over the past 2 years and continue many of the same habits as before. (I personally know them). They were not willing to change their lifestyles. That angers me - as everyone needed to change for the good of all.
Yes, many live way below poverty everyday and I hate that. I feel for them. No, not all who struggle are irresponsible.
I do have compassion. I guess I see a bit of both sides.
I can see both sides, too, Cheryl, and am aware some took terrible advantage of government programs. In fact, some of those programs were utilized for crime! In CA, a few billion in C-relief was fraudulently dispersed. It's just that in the north eastern part of AZ, many, many businesses closed for good during the pandemic. Tribal Nations there had more strict lock downs and restrictions than anywhere else and most of those folks didn't have huge savings to live off of. Even in the surrounding communities, folks were hit very, very hard. Some lost homes they owned or had to sell them quickly, unable to make the mortgage payments... that weren't part of the C-relief, government loan pause.
DeleteA devotional book I'm reading had Luke 18:11-13 as the verse yesterday. It was a reminder [to me] not to be so quick to judge others, building on what I've seen over the past few trips there before our move. If you're earning $15-16 an hour and it costs $51 to fill your car with gas each week, plus more than $100 each in water and electric monthly, more for gas heating in a place that gets snow regularly? Where housing costs have been climbing like everywhere else? It can be hard to manage to live below your means and too easy to wipe out any saving you manage to squirrel away.
That's also why I make it a point to never go one day without being grateful for even things we all consider basic necessities. "There but by the grace of God..." --Elise
Thank you. SO many took such advantage and it is a pitiful shame.
DeleteYou are right - many just couldn't make it. I guess I think back on our ancestors during the great depression who lost everything, some how and some way they made it back. It was not the least bit easy - but they did.
It is easy to fall back and judge and we shouldn't. Things are tough all over. Inner cities, rural, every where.
I am always thankful for what I have. I have been blessed beyond measure.
I think many of us have been there - and pray that 'by the grace of God' we don't return.
Thank you so much for your loving insight.
I don't believe it is time to panic, but I do think one should take stock and have extra during these times. To go crazy or in debt for extra is not the answer.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely! We should always be prepared for what life throws at us and we should continue to stock. Just NO panic!
DeleteAgree 100%
I remember TTG having a chapter like this. It was about how low you can go. And when you hit the point of being uncomfortable, go up just a little. Andninstead of buying groceries by a preplanned menu, see what you have or need to use up. And instead, buy at the lowest price to keep your pantry and freezer stocked. That was a revelation to this newlywed!! And after I read it, it made such better sense. And buy in season, of course.
ReplyDeleteI read somewhere.... Grandma Donna's blog?....that soap was often bartered with during WW2! You might have a rich stash there! I seem to recall that it was because fat/oil was needed by the government. I have always welcomed all that stuff. Though body wash can aggravate me, I'll use it in a foamy hand soap dispenser.
I'm ever grateful that the ladies in my life were creators. They taught me handiwork and I will always have something to do. And it can always be done inexpensively. Look at all the beautiful quilts made during the depression.
One of my friends raised her 3 kids and a relative on her husband's very low salary. She glean ed, she bartered, etc. She obviously knew money was tight but never had a poor mentality. I still remember the day she called me to express total surprise about something. Her local welfare office was looking to put a book of recipes out using WIC items. She looked up WIC items and saw that she had a couple that fit the bill. She stopped to drop them off and saw the giant bulletin board of who qualified for assistance. That's why she called. "We're officially poor! We would qualify for virtually EVERYTHING!!!" and she was completely amused. They survived, have fluorished, put 4 kids through college, and never took a dime from anyone. And yes, they're still frugal, even though it's no longer necessary.
I am the same way with body washes - allergic to perfumes. I make foaming hand soap out of them. It takes so little, so I will not run out of that either!
DeleteWhat a great story!!!! Shows it can be done.
Yep, I didn't know how poor we were when I was a kid - it was all normal to me. Now I look back and wonder how they did it. But we never went hungry and we were clean.
Excellent post, excellent comments! Some folks take care of their own, some folks expect the government and charity organizations to take care of them. When I was a secretary at an elementary school, there were families who traveled to Texas, to Florida and back to Indiana. The kids would always come to my desk and say their mom told them to ask for the "free stuff". I probably have related this store before, how frustrating it was to hear children in the lunchroom brag about "daddy getting drunk", about the boat and other toys, and what they watched on cable TV. These were the kids whose mom wanted the "free stuff". Take care of your own corner of the world.
ReplyDeleteErin said thanks for the birthday wishes.
Isn't that sad. Heck, as I stated above, I personally know many (some family), that sure expected all the help the past 2 years, but changed none of their habits. It was frustrating. I will more than gladly help those who are trying to help themselves. If you expect it - well, I am a no.
DeleteWhat a wonderful post. So full of good, sound advice. I am so happy that you have chosen the life you have and that it has worked so well for you. Enjoy every moment! xo Diana
ReplyDeleteThank you mam. I am happy with this life. We just knew what we wanted to accomplish and then worked hard make it happen.
DeleteYesterday at Sam's we saw a 50lb bag of flour...great price but I would never get through it. Maybe if families went together to buy it and they would come out great.
ReplyDeleteYour life has been full and you are happy. I think that is more important than anything. You are never happy for long spending money when you worried about the bill coming in.
Vickie, finding some Costco buddies is such a great thing, I wanted to mention it again. When we lived in Cali, money was very tight. My friend was a pastor's wife and they were more stretched than we were. She and I would split things that we knew one family wouldn't finish. That was a great deal!
DeleteVickie - I see those huge bags too - but they sure aren't for me. Never have used that much in a reasonable time. I guess big families would benefit. That is a good idea - to split purchases.
DeleteI know people who dread the mail and don't answer the phone - debt has just consumed them.
Debby that was very smart indeed. I think we should all be aware when we are out and about of deals that maybe we can share with others.
DeleteSomeone recently scoffed at me for refusing to pay the $35/mo laundry fee at the lodge where my mom lives. Yes, I'm frugal. I refuse to pay $35 for what would amount to less than a full load of laundry per month. $35 may not seem like a lot but in a year, that amounts to half her medication costs. That's how I live and when the utility costs increase through no fault of my own, I can afford to pay them without significant impact on how I live. I will stand by my frugality.
ReplyDeleteI don't blame you a bit. That is quite a bit for laundry.
DeleteNever apologize for your choices. I live way below where I need to - but that is me. I don't do without! I choose this way!
So thankful for these posts you do Cheryl, they help me glean what I should focus on and also to remind to only do what my family will eat and use as well as what works for us.
ReplyDeleteGlad they help you. That is how it should be. Buy what you eat and use what you buy.
DeleteNo reason to store things that your family does not like - why?
As long as you make good choices for your family, you got this!
Anyone who buys a home or new car with these inflated prices must be crazy. Buyer beware or you will end up "under water" - never able to sell for the price you paid once prices go down. Too many people are short-sighted and crave instant gratification.
ReplyDeleteINSTANT gratification is the way of the world any more! I have always found the journey was far more fun the outcome.
DeleteRealization has to hit some smack dab in the face before they get it - and then some still won't!
You have so many wise words here, Cheryl 😊 I loved reading your common sense approach. I agree that so many of us have gotten caught up in "stock-piling" and perhaps even buying these our family wouldn't use or need. We have a small cupboard for extra supplies and I keep that stocked with things we use on a regular basis. And as for sharing our meat with the cat, we also share our veggies with the chooks (when their grain is lean) and lots of spinach and herbs with the bunnies (when their hay is low). This has happened a few times and I wonder if it was because people were stock-piling the animal feed. Anyway, we make do where we can and give thanks that we have so much to go around!
ReplyDeleteHave a lovely day,
Kirsty