(no subject)

[lumy12]

Sorry about the previous post. If you missed it, it was just me whining, and I really need to learn not to post when I'm so upset. I'm calm now. It's all good.

Taking a pro-active approach to my money problem - I'm listing ways I can save money. I won't do ALL of these, but I'll come back and reread these and decide on them when I have a better idea of what I need to do.

- Let magazine subscriptions expire instead of renewing them. I don’t HAVE to read stuff in print. I could just read more on the internet like the rest of the world does. But… this makes me sad. I like my magazines.

- Cancel newspaper subscription. I really don’t know if I can do this one. I enjoy reading the paper too much, and it works out to only like $.40/day. Hmmm.

- Find out if I'm able to drop my mortgage insurance yet and what I have to do to get that taken care of.

- Drop home warranty...? I might be begging my air conditioner to fail if I do that, and those things are darn expensive. I mainly keep this coverage to cover me when the time comes, because it’s a really old unit and summers out here are brutal.

- Get rid of cell phone. I really only like it for free long distance, I don’t use it much other than that… but it does come in handy for car emergencies. *sigh* This is hard.

- Eat more ramen.

- Eat less fast food.

- Take (more) advantage of free food – like, someone brought in doughnuts today. Yum. I had one when I came in and then instead of having the lunch I brought, I had 2 more doughnuts for lunch. Now I can save lunch for Monday. Actually… hmmm. That leads me to:
- Learn to skip lunch again. I used to have my body trained to not even get hungry until late in the afternoon. I wonder if I can do that again. I already skip breakfast most days. I don’t want to make myself pig out at night as that would defeat the purpose, obviously.

- Don’t go out. Anywhere. Not to dinner, not to baseball games (except for the tickets I already have, of course). Hell, I’m a homebody anyway. It shouldn’t be that painful. If the other person INSISTS on paying then maybe, but I don’t like taking advantage of people like that. Aaron and his friends that stay at my house are fair game, because they stay with me for free - but then just one dinner per stay should suffice, really.

- Drink less beer. *snicker* Okay, that one might be impossible. I like my beer. And don’t I need a coping mechanism to deal with losing other stuff? Yeah.

- Quit buying dvds. Just rewatch the ones I have and watch my movie channels. Ohhhh wait, that’s another point:
- Drop down to basic cable. Now that I’m not addicted to anything on HBO, why keep it? Yes I like having LMN and a bunch of movie channels but I can live without them.

- Retrieve info off old computer so I can finally sell the dang thing. Except... no one will want it. I should do this anyway, and just give it to S as he did express interest in it, and I wouldn’t charge him for that old hunk of junk. Gotta love computer nerds.

- Quit going to the doc. Maybe I don’t really need those pills, I just think I do >.>

- It’s starting to warm up again – I should set my thermostat a few degrees higher and just spend the summer with fans on, in my underwear. It’s uncomfortable but do-able. And the cats like it warm. If I can do it, they can do it.

- Every time overtime is offered, take full advantage. Come in earlier and stay later than everyone else!

- Sell more stuff, buy less stuff. Hey, that one’s easy.

- Change tax withholding to have less taxes come out. This one pains me as I do so enjoy getting a large refund, but I should be more practical and have more money coming to me throughout the year instead.

- Don’t buy new clothes. Some of my stuff is getting pretty worn, but you know what? If I eat less, I’ll lose weight, and suddenly I’ll fit into more of my wardrobe. Yeah, I don’t think I’ll donate my skinny jeans to charity just yet.

- Try to get the kitties to eat cheaper cat food Actually, no, I’m not going to risk sacrificing their well-being for this. And at least one of the four would stop eating if I tried to change her diet.

Anyone have any other suggestions? Humorous ones would be welcome too. Very welcome.

Comments

[sanestlunatic.livejournal.com]

Keep your pills, Wendy. :P

Also, my suggestion was already on there (drink less beer). I meant it in a humorous sort of way, though.

And there are more nutritious ways of eating cheaper than eating more ramen. Rice, for example. I love my rice steamer (and you can get them for ten bucks at Walgreens - soooooo worth it). Actually, rice and beans are what's generally recommended instead of ramen. That way you have protein and not a bunch of empty calories and sodium. Potatoes are cheap, too, I think (and one potato can be a meal if you really want it to be). A lot of complex carbohydrates are inexpensive. (Noodles FTW.)

Damnit, now I'm making myself hungry.

Also, I don't know whether you get your internet access through your phone company or your cable company, but if it's your cable company, you might compare your cell phone costs to your phone costs and see if it would just be cheaper to have a cell phone instead? I don't know.

[lumy12.livejournal.com]

But you luuuuuurve your ramen! Noodles in any form = yum.

I like having both phones. Grrr. If I only had a cell phone, I think I'd feel more obligated to keep it turned on all the time.

I forgot to put "go back to dial-up" on the list. HA! That's SO not an option.

Yay for having poor starving college students on my f-list ;)

[sanestlunatic.livejournal.com]

Yeah, but it gets old after awhile. Wal-Mart's macaroni and cheese is pretty cheap, too - I think it's about 38 cents/box. For that matter, the cheap soup is fifty cents a can. Isn't ground beef pretty cheap, too? I've never actually looked at the prices of meat. :/ Chicken is, I know (less than $10 for a ten-pound bag of breasts at Wal-Mart, I believe), and eggs are pretty inexpensive and yummy.

Also, if you're shopping at an actual grocery store, it's generally just cheaper to go to a Wal-Mart with a grocery section. I know, it's supporting Wal-Mart, but it's so much cheaper.

I wouldn't go back to dial-up, either. :P I'm pretty sure that internet will be an essential part of my budget when I'm on my own.

[lumy12.livejournal.com]

But see, you forget that my cooking skills are worse than D!'s non-existant. I also just tend to not want to spend much time cooking... but maybe I could change my attitude about that. I eat mostly crap out of cans, frozen crap, or fast food. I COULD eat more eggs, though. Those are easy.

[sanestlunatic.livejournal.com]

Chicken breasts and ground beef are easy to cook, though. I mean, I can make those. :P Chicken goes well with rice (I have ground beef with rice sometimes, too, but I'm weird), and with the beef, you could make hamburgers. (And, if you're feeling really ambitious, slice up some potatoes and make french fries.) Rice and noodles are super-easy, too. With rice, you just put it in the rice steamer with water, turn it on, and wait.

[lumy12.livejournal.com]

I make those noodle side dishes sometimes... and instant mashed potatoes, those are yummy and cheap. Dang, now I'm hungry for something that's NOT a doughnut. Heh.

But with chicken you have to coat it in stuff or it's all blah. And french fries? OMG too hard.

Ramen, mac'n'cheese, noodles, rice, beans, cheap soup instead of my $2.50 Chunkys that I love so much... ah, variety.

Also, look how bad I am. Still on LJ. My boss is off though and I just really don't feel like working very hard.

[sanestlunatic.livejournal.com]

You don't eat it by itself, though. Cut it up and mix it in with rice. My sister marinates hers in Caesar dressing sometimes. If you want, cut up some vegetables and stir-fry them (is that the right word? just throw them in a skillet for a bit), or steam some broccoli (ew).

And, yeah, french fries are hard. You could try to bake them, though. That sounds a little easier.

You fail! :P

[lumy12.livejournal.com]

Too much work for someone who doesn't like to cook :)

I thought of another one: quit shaving my legs. That would save me $ on razors and shaving cream. Ha! I could SO never do it, though. When they get stubbly I become obsessed with feeling them and staring at them and wanting to go shave them RIGHT NOW.

[azurien.livejournal.com]

ok hahaha that made me LOL. maybe u are a lil crazy after all. yeah what a waste of money. i never shave my legs. try that peach smelling wax they have at walmart!

[lumy12.livejournal.com]

I just shaved my legs compulsively a half hour ago. Ha ha!

[elledwen.livejournal.com]

I'm a little tipsy so ignore this maybe but a lot of these seem to be ways of punishing yourself for doing something that you think was stupid, not actual practical ways of saving money like shopping at a cheaper place, or clipping coupons or getting bogof (buy one get one free) things. Just an observation.

[lumy12.livejournal.com]

I do clip coupons already. But... you're right, I think part of the motivation may be to punish myself >.>

Yay, G brought me popcorn! (she's the one whose office I was crying in for ages) People can be so cool. It's just those few fucktards that give the human race a bad name.

[elledwen.livejournal.com]

Like for example, you'd be better TEACHING yourself to cook and making stuff like lasagne and things that you could eat the left overs rather than doing ramen. And skipping lunch, that's just punishment to yourself and not really something that should be done. And not going to the doctors. To save money, just spend less. Work out a budget for "important stuff" like..food and gas and cat food. Stuff you HAVE to have and buy off brand and stuff so you can stay in the budget then work out a budget for "extra stuff" and never go over that. That way, if you do want the extra LongJohns Silver you can have it once in a while but only if you've not spent your "extra money". That way, you're being thrifty, but not punishing yourself.

And to add to that, even if you've done something stupid, it's not like you ...I dunno...kicked a kitten or dumped a kid in the gutters somewhere or did ethnic cleansing or anything. Remember to keep things in perspective, learn from the mistakes, and try not to let it bog you down. *huuuugs*

*is totally drunk, btw*

[lumy12.livejournal.com]

I think I have issues with cooking because it's one of those things I've tried and failed at kind of like sex. And unlike a normal person who just laughs it off and keeps trying, I get all... weird about it. But I shouldn't, if I'm only doing it for me. I dunno.

*hugs and pets cute drunk!Amber*

[sweet-panda.livejournal.com]

Yeah! Good college student fix... make large cassaroles that keep well, then you have... like a weeks worth of dinners. My chicken and rice dinner is good and filling and lasts me four days at least. And just gets better the longer it's in the fridge. And the whole process is A) Mix stuff together, B) stick in chicken and butter the top of it so it doesn't dry out and C) cook for an hour. And the ingredients cost... like... no more than seven bucks usually. And you can use your icky not-butter on it too. :P

[lumy12.livejournal.com]

Oh good, that's the most important part - being able to use my not-butter :P

Are you cold yet? It's hot down here. Bleh.

[karinablack.livejournal.com]

Damiiiiit
I missed it! :D

I did a spreadsheet with a pie chart showing where and how i was spending my money.

but i'm a nerd so...

[lumy12.livejournal.com]

I've tried budgeting in the past but I can't come up with a way that actually works. Then if I mess up I go way overboard and spend lots of credit card money. Heh. I'm such a child about some things.

I just got your postcard! Thank you! It made me smile :) Funny, it mentions donuts too. *snicker*

[karinablack.livejournal.com]

Donut LOVE!

[azurien.livejournal.com]

i say, dont take off your warranty or mortgage insurance *cringe*
canceling the cable is a good idea. if you call your cell phone company and tell them that you never use the phone (i did and they gave me 300 mins for really cheap a month) or just want it for emergencies they might offer you a lower plan. they dont advertise it you just have to ask.

i think that you should stop taking those pills. i tell that to almost everyone, not as a tom cruise but as someone who took them for many years, i got into so much debt paying for them, and i dont think anyone should take them just for being a lil depressey, i dont and u know i have teh serious crazy. they're so expensive, they dont really do anything, and they are bad for your brain. i positively have brain damage from them and i will do things like sit up all night watching the same episode of Inuyasha over and over now, whereas i used to be a genius. i got $11,000 in debt while i was on them but i paid it back in a couple years just by not using my credit cards and not going to the movies or anything. teh secret FEMA gov't just wants everyone to sit quietly in their house watchin tv and not make trouble!

definetly dont eat fast food. hide your credit cards. sell more avons!! i dont like the idea of you eating less and sitting around with no ac on the face of the sun. i think you should start eating more healthy, it's way cheaper to eat lots of salads and fruits and stuff then all the name brand type junky food you eat.

meet more guys to take you out to dinner! hahah!

[lumy12.livejournal.com]

The mortgage insurance I'm definitely doing - it's not for MY benefit, it's basically money I'm throwing down the drain - it's to protect the bank in case I default on the loan. But after a few years you can usually get it dropped. I think maybe the fact that my house went way up in value due to the housing boom right after I bought it might help with that too. I at least need to find out.

The food that you like is so expensive though!!!

The pills aren't so expensive I'd go into debt, as the insurance covers most of it. My brain's already damaged! Don't worry, I won't ever stay up all night like you do. I'm just not wired to :)

[azurien.livejournal.com]

lol tonight i stay up till 11 am isnt that awful!! but what could i do there was hawtguysexin fanfic to read!!
well veggies and stuff arent that expenisive <---hahahahah do u see that freudian spelling mistake i just made ahahaha! anyway eat some healthy foods, dont end up like me!

[azurien.livejournal.com]

correction, 1pm, that's awful i am going to sleep now!

[laariii.livejournal.com]

Tapioca is cheep you can buy a whole packet for like a buck & it makes a huge potful when you boil it up. Put milk or lemon juice in it to give it flavour.
My aunt once dropped her dog off over at our house to mind. she said it was very fussy about what it ate. Dad didn't feed it for two days. it wasn't fussy after that.

[lumy12.livejournal.com]

Okay so maybe I spoil my kitties a bit :)

[sweet-panda.livejournal.com]

*snickers* That's AWESOME. I kinda feel wrong saying it, but it's still awesome. Go your dad.