This No Shopping adventure has me thinking about money all the time. It's sort of like starting a diet and suddenly thinking about eating ice cream and chocolate, which you haven't thought about eating for a long time. Suddenly it becomes an obsession. For the last couple of days I've been noodling around how to cut expenses in my monthly budget. I've been doing pretty well with not buying unnecessary things but how much more can I cut? Cable? Internet? Home phone?
Tonight was budget night; I wrote out my expenses and my income to see exactly where I stand. Thankfully my income column is little bit more than my expenses but not by much. Not enough to put money into savings, which is distressing. Also, not enough to cover any major emergency expenses. Deep down this is probably why my spending freak-flag started to fly on December 24th. I'm 50-years-old -- too old to be eating hand-to-mouth.
Is my economic situation similar to other people's my age? I suppose, but there are lots of people better off than me, and in this economy there are so many more people who are worse off than I am. I feel so bad for all the people who are unemployed and trying to making ends meet so they can feed their children, pay their mortgage and survive. Someone told me that I was not helping the economy by trimming down my spending and that got me thinking. Does one person's frugality affect the economy as much as the economy affects one person's economic status? I don't have an answer to that question, but I do know the sucky economy has definitely affected my ability to make a living.
I've been working two jobs for 11 years. I've had a full-time job as a school librarian and a part-time job in a public library. My two jobs compliment one another, and both bring me great professional satisfaction. There have been times when I've wondered why I work two jobs and it always comes down to this: survival instincts. I've been working since I was 12-years-old when I got my first paper route. Remember when kids used to deliver the paper? I woke up at 5:00 a.m. every morning, folded 100 Chicago Tribune and Sun-Times, plopped them into a baby buggy and walked the neighborhood throwing papers onto subscribers' porches. I liked having money when I was kid, and working was the only way to get it. I have not always been responsible with money; I used to spend it as quickly as I earned it.
I worked throughout high school, typing my way through jobs and taking on more and more responsibility until finally in college I was hired -- at 19-years-old -- to be the resident manager of a 150-unit HUD apartment complex in DeKalb, Illinois. This is how I put myself through college. I got a free apartment and a salary, but most importantly I got job experience that carried me to many other jobs.
My work ethic is very strong, and so are my survival instincts.
How does one cut budget expenses? I'm going to have to consult Suze Orman -- my financial advice goddess. What does she say about those expenses that you can't do anything about, i.e., electricity, heat, water, garbage removal. Today I called AT&T U-verse and I cut my cable bill by unsubscribing to Showtime. That saves me $13.00 a month. Doesn't seem significant enough, does it? That would be $156.00 a year. And now I'm starting to think that I don't really need a land line anymore -- duh. Thinking about it, most people call me on my cell phone anyway, and it seems the only people who call me on my 'home phone' are annoying salespeople who are ignoring the "no call list" when they call me to sell me new windows, people wanting me to contribute to some shady-at-best fund or a politician wanting my vote. Hardly calls worth the expense. If I cut my land line that's $35.00 a month I'd save. Between the two AT&T expenses, that would $48.00/month or $576.00 year. That is significant and something to think about. That means, though, no land line. Despite my lack of using it, there are advantages to having one. I can protect my cellphone number and not give it out willy nilly, thus avoiding those annoying sales calls. If there was an emergency of any kind, land lines are tied into the police and fire department computers to show location, and this is a life-saving benefit. Oh, and I can send a fax from my land line. I do this about three times a year. The question is: keep or give up the land line?
In the meantime, I'm applying for a part-time job that will give me 14 hours per week. The pay is good, and I'll have some wiggle room if I get it. I am grateful to have this option, grateful to have any job in this economy. I guess all I can do is my best to hunker down, be wise with spending and work hard. This has been a great learning experience so far.
The good news is that I didn't spend any money today!
A little richer,
Karrie
No comments:
Post a Comment