Tag Archives: frugal

Enjoying Tough Times: Home, Meals and Simple Pleasures

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One Sunday harvest from one tomato vine.

One Sunday harvest from one tomato vine.

The economy sucks. It’s horrible out there. People are losing jobs in record numbers. The “basics” cost more now — a LOT more — than they did just a couple years ago. It’s harder to make ends meet than it has been in recent memory. And, according to the “experts” (and my own gut), it’s not going to get better anytime soon.

So why am I enjoying this mess?

It’s put me back in touch with some of the things that it’s easy to forget… like how to enjoy the simple pleasures. It makes me remember that it’s much easier to save money than to make it. It becomes glaringly obvious how much better life is when people pull together to make things easier instead of wandering apart.

Case in point — I’m cooking again. Dating someone with kids and having my own grown children nearby has expanded my “standard” meal from a quick two-person deal (for my daughter and me this time last year) to a five or six-person meal… often expanded by one or two more than that!

I’m keeping a tight rein on the health aspects of the cooking for varied (and necessary) reasons. I enjoy seeing the differences in the way the people around the table are trimming down, pumping up with energy, and feeling as good as they look. I’m cooking from scratch most of the time. Almost nothing goes to waste.

Despite the tough economic times, I’m not pushing as hard as I once did. My client load has lightened and I’m taking it in stride. I enjoy expanding my “daily” work to things outside the office. I don’t spend 16-18 hours in front of the computer these days. Honestly, it’s nice.

I have a tiny garden to tend. Mostly it’s just herbs, tomatoes and chard (oh, and weeds) … but it’s amazing how much has come out of that little patch of earth. My Roma tomatoes have escaped the blight that many gardeners in the area have endured with their own tomatoes. That one vine has produced enough for us to have fresh tomatoes at one or two meals a day, and I’ve had extras that I’ve used in cooking. The other vines haven’t done much — other than provide some HUGE green tomatoes for deep-south lovin’ green fried tomatoes (only once this year, so far.)

I’ve probably spent less money on fluff in the past four months than I have in years and I don’t miss shopping… at ALL. I like finding ways to make our food budget shrink while our food quality soars. I enjoy scouring Craigslist and the local Goodwill for the things we need or want around the house.

Yeah, I’m nesting. I know this. I have an appreciative audience, which helps enormously. And the best thing about all of this? We all sit down three times a day together and “break bread.” We have family time without a television or even a radio. We sit and eat and talk. Yeah, TALK. We do this several times a day… EVERY day. We are getting closer all the time. It’s nice and I notice the effects on interpersonal relationships around the house.

I think the speed with which we are accustomed to living life has not been a benefit to family life. I think grabbing something at a drive through, munching whatever can be found in the fridge while watching TV and sink-hovering to devour “fuel” for our bodies has starved our souls.

I like working together, pulling together to make life better with less. Yeah, I’m a simplicity girl… but it’s nice to have a whole group of people working together to make the most of everything. It’s truly joyful.

So if you wonder why I’m smiling so broadly while everyone else is cursing the “hard times” — now you know. ;)

Playing with Hulu Labs

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I love Hulu. Yeah, I know, I’ve said it alot. I don’t bother with cable, I get all my content online. It’s a good place to be (and is cheaper than paying cable and Internet bills, IMHO).

Google Labs is always coming out with something cool and new (if ONLY they had the same stuff for my google apps paid account!) and now my favorite video site has a “labs” offering too.

So if you want to go check it out, you can play around in Hulu’s Lab too!

Desktop, Laptop or Netbook?

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Being a remote professional often involves travel and work in… ahem… unusual locations. You may find yourself working on the road, in your car, at a library or coffee shop, onsite with a client, or anywhere in between. Desktops are great,  but they will tie you to a single work spot. They are usually stable and cheaper than the portable alternatives. That is, until recently.

If you are a power-user and you need to multi-task, keep a slew of windows open, and often push the limits of both your CPU and your RAM, your mobile options won’t be low cost.

If, however, you have started using some or many of the online options for thinks like book keeping, email, calendar, etc., a netbook may bridge the gap between portability and pocket-sensitivity.

For under $400 (and even below $300, as of today) you can now get an amazingly lightweight, highly portable, low-power computer with longer battery life than was possible just a year ago.

The first netbooks were rather light on HD size, but there are better options today and 120-250 gig drives aren’t uncommon. Promises of upcoming (June 2009) Ion-based CPUs will make these lightweights heavy-hitters in the remote professional market. Dual-core netbook options are rumored to be in the works and should be available by year end.

Some options have optical drives, others require a USB drive to load software. Alternatively, you can drop the CD or DVD into a network drive and load software via Ethernet or wireless connection.

If you can’t wait that long, look at the sale on the ASUS Eee PC 1002HA 10-Inch Netbook at Amazon (with a $50 rebate) — which has recieved excellent reviews from customers and techies alike. Today, Dell has released their own low-priced netbook called the Mini 1011 Bear with a base price of $299 and several upgrade options, according to a review article on Engadget.

So, if you plan to buy a portable machine in the near future, your options may be more diverse than they were the last time you looked. Weigh all your options and come up with the best option for your needs. If you buy a netbook,  be sure to get a 6-cell battery and max out the RAM options (2 gig minimum), for the best performance in these machines.

Have fun!

Anything you Really REALLY Want… You can find at Goodwill

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Ok, anyone who knows me knows that I love a bargain. I love treasure shopping. I love the “hunt” for cool stuff. I also adore Goodwill and other thrift shops. (I would have been a pirate a few hundred years ago. Not for the stealing part, but for the finding of the loot.)

For years, I’ve said that you can find ANYTHING you want at Goodwill if you look hard enough and are patient enough.

Now I knew there were some exceptions to that rule, but only the obvious ones. I’ve wanted a platinum or 18K diamond ring for awhile now (I love ebay for trying to find those types of items) and I know that Goodwill isn’t hte place to find that… or at least I thought I did.

Last week, while looking for a few final “necessities” for my new apartment with my son… he found some jewelry that appeared to be sterling in the mass tangle of the jewelry basket. I checked it and it was, indeed, sterling.  So we start digging.

What we found, essentially, was an estate collection of sterling jewelry along with a couple pieces of gold. The most impressive piece was found by my son… it’s an 18K white gold band with a beautiful (and perfect) diamond in a tension setting. Simply lovely. He had it checked out at a jewelers and has since “loaned” it to me to wear.

The cost for this treasure? $1.00

So, I have to amend my earlier statement to include everything — not just nearly everything — is available at Goodwill if you look hard enough and are patient enough. I’ve picked up leather coats, gold and silver jewelry, crystal, sterling flatware, designer purses, down comforters and an assortment of other delightful items at Goodwill in my travels. During this economy, it’s nice to know there’s a place you can score a $2,000 ring for $1 — isn’t it?

Have a great day and happy hunting!

Home Office Entrepreneurs: Economy of Scale

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With the economy being what it is, we are all budgeting a bit more carefully. Saving money and eliminating waste have become matters of fiscal need for many small business owners.

Making more money isn’t necessarily as important as making the right amount of money and saving whenever possible. Buying in bulk may no longer be the best way to save. Eliminating the need may pay bigger dividends. Elimination of debt in your business is as important as eliminating it in your personal life during “lean” economic times.

Scale back if you must, but don’t go into debt for your business. Pay as you go and weigh all the options carefully before any major (or minor) purchase. Barter and trade for services with your peers. Consider buying reconditioned and pre-owned items when that’s feasible. Check eBay, Craigslist and your local classifieds before buying new.

Sell the things you don’t need and eliminate the time, money and hassle of storage, give away items using FreeCycle, or offer them to your peers and/or startup folks who may need or want them.

During difficult times, the help you give others and the pulling together as a local or online community can make all the difference. And, as a client told me not too long ago…

We are the entrepreneurs. We are the survivors. We are able to recreate ourselves as the market changes to come out on top.

So while other people may have to worry about if they will have a job… we need only consider how we will maintain our edge and better serve the market as it grows, shrinks, evolves and changes. After all, it’s what we do, it’s what we have always done.