Times of Extreme Frugality: Poor v. Poverty

I restarted blogging this summer after The Incident. 

Our only vehicle was totaled and replacing it, even with a low- priced, used vehicle, seriously ate into our savings. We instituted extreme frugality in an effort to replace those savings as soon as possible.

And I began posting about how poor we are, sometimes in laughter, sometimes seriously.

But are we really poor? Not by any reasonable standards.

We are on a fixed income and with careful budgeting, our income covers our expenses and usually can be stretched to build up some savings.

We own our own property, free and clear. We have a reliable car (again). We have no debts. We eat well, have health insurance, internet service, and a cat.

And even the federal government says for a family of two, we do not meet the poverty criteria.

Yes, our income is well below what most would consider is enough to get by in the United States today. But we have resources those in true poverty do not have. 

We both come from middle class families, we are college educated, we grew up with all of the advantages of being white, heterosexuals in safe neighborhoods in the boomer years when optimism for the future was not a pipe dream. 

In short, we were never marginalized or looked down on, we have had the opportunities denied many others. 

We have had many chances over the years to change our career paths and keep up with the Joneses.

But we have also had the luxury to develop our own lifestyle and our finances have mostly been by choice. 

We may well be considered poor compared to others, but we have never lived in poverty. 

I hope I can remember that and be grateful always.

Times of Extreme Frugality: Give When You Can

I am worldwide financier, a partner in four international and one domestic agricultural enterprises. 

I am also a certified tightwad and even in my giving, I look for the best way to stretch my money.

Two years ago, I discovered KIVA. I originally donated $50 and took advantage of a partial matching fund someone offered (I can't remember the details), so had $75 to lend. And that money is still being loaned over and over.

Jane is a grandmother and farmer in Kenya. She needed $300 to purchase new farming tools and equipment. Working through Kiva, 8 different folks loaned her the needed money. She repaid the loan within 18 months. I could now loan that same money, a whopping $25 from me,  to Mercy.

Mercy, also from Kenya, needed $200 to buy seeds and fertilizers. She runs her own farm business and has managed to send all of her children to school. She repaid the entire loan in 14 months. 

So now that $25 could go to Attractive from Zimbabwe.

Attractive is a teenage entrepeneur who runs her own chicken broiler business. A loan of $300 helped her buy feed and chicks. She contributed "social interest" by volunteering with a local group supporting women and, after just 14 months, repaid the loan today.

With that money, we were able to loan to Paddy from Uganda.

Paddy only needed another $25 to get his loan of $550 for fertilizer for his banana farm, the exact amount we just got repaid by Attractive. Kismet!

Kiva operates globally, including the United States. Our only domestic loan so far went to George.

George is a retired New York City firefighter who became ill due to exposure to the 9/11 site. He decided to change lifestyle to cope with his medical problems and requested a loan to upgrade his poultry houses. He is still repaying the loan. And I'd love to hug that duck.

A small amount donated when we had a bit of extra cash continues to help people two years later and reminds us that you don't have to be wealthy to make a difference.

Times of Extreme Frugality: A Bird in the Hand...

...is not nearly as much fun as birds at the birdfeeder.

We've been here just over a year. In that time we have seen almost 40 different species of birds at our feeder.

And not gotten a good photo of any of them.

I am in awe of anyone who can can catch an image of a bird without sophisticated equipment, or even with. The birds that visit our feeder and stay calm even when the cat is sitting right underneath, fly away if we even point the phone in their direction.

But just watching them is a delight. Bird TV rivals any cable show and is a bargain.

We have four birdfeeders. One is a squirrel-proof job bought at least 8 years ago. A squirrel did manage to knock it off the hanger and the plastic shell broke. The company sent me a new one at no cost!

The second feeder I cobbled together this spring. I have way too many canning jars and am always looking for ways to use them (yes, I can food but still have left over jars). An internet search yielded a feeder made from a jar and a chick feeder. We don't currently have chickens so the chick feeder wasn't in use. I put a dollar store pie tin over it as a cover, it doesn't look fancy but, so far, it works.

The third feeder I quickly put together when our little backyard bird oasis was visited by Baltimore orioles. The males' bright colors were so enticing that I knew I wanted them to be regular visitors. I had a hanging plant holder that was in a box of junk from an auction. I took it apart and made a low holder for orange halves and a small tin for jelly. It's fun to watch male and females eating the jelly, then wiping the stickiness from their beaks on a twig.

Bonus thriftiness: last year I made corn cob jelly--couldn't resist making jelly from something I would normally toss on the compost pile. It's not anything we're crazy about and orioles like jelly, so they are welcome to it.

The fourth feeder is the wire suet feeder. When I ran out of bought suet blocks late this winter, I made some using saved hamburger fat imbedded with seeds. This is for winter only, as I learned when the fat melted and dribbled to the ground in June.

Speaking of which, I have found that the best and cheapest thing to use in the seed feeders is black oil sunflower seeds. Everything that visits our feeder, from goldfinches to grosbeaks, cowbirds to wrens likes these. I buy it on sale in bags too heavy to lift (40 pounds?). An added feature is the dropped seeds that escape being eaten by cardinals and mourning doves and skunks, sometimes germinate for a nice ground cover under the feeders.

Oops, we have 5 feeders. I forgot the hummingbird feeder attached to our kitchen window. I make the food (one part sugar to 3 parts boiling water). Hummingbirds are fierce little things and their territorial and mating displays are a riot to watch.

Don't let finances deprive you of the greatest show outside your window--hang a feeder and enjoy the jewels of nature, our feathered friends.

Times of Extreme Frugality: We Go Grocery Shopping

Extreme frugality can be succinctly expressed as:

       Don't buy stuff mindlessly.

Now, before you cry "DUH", bear with me for a bit.

We Americans are conditioned from an early age to buy, buy, buy. Buy our way out of depression, buy our way to a higher standard of living, buy because it's Christmas or Halloween or Martin Luther King Day. It becomes automatic and mindless.

Being frugal demands that you think before you plunk down that cash. Do I really need this? Can it wait? Will my world collapse if I don't purchase this or that?

The grocery store is as good a place as any to practice the zen of thriftiness. Follow me as I do my weekly shopping.

Caveat: Planning ahead means that my freezer and pantry are stocked. We probably could go without groceries for a month or two--meals would be interesting but we wouldn't starve. I hope you can say the same 'cause when the Zombie Apocolypse comes, I ain't sharing.

Anyway, on to the store!


On a typical trip, we ignore:

The Deli

The Bakery

and prepackaged cold cuts

Then we move on to not even bothering going down these aisles:

Sometimes, we do shop dairy (butter, cheese, but not milk), meat, produce, some canned and some paper goods. Coffee for Tom, and Diet Coke for us both (hey, we're human and we ALWAYS buy it on sale). 

Our ragtag little garden is starting to give us a bit of lettuce and tons of peas, so we skipped the produce section (except for some blueberries, on sale of course!). But at least 80% of the store is filled with items that we don't want or need. Lots of money saved right there!

Of course, even us misers are tempted:

But I am proud to say, I resisted these. If the desire is too strong, I can make my own.

Milk is one item we splurge on; NY dairy farmers need our support. 

When we can't make it out to Comley's Country Creamery we stop at Byrne Dairy--New York milk in glass bottles.

On today's trip, we also hit Aldis for cereal, orange juice, and sugar. Except for probably needing more milk later in the week, this should carry us through. Now, how many ways can I prepare peas?

How do you save on groceries? Any hints, tricks, or miracles you perform to keep the family fed?