This was one of the first things Larry said to me, coffee-stained teeth showing, eyes a little wide. Larry had disheveled white hair, white beard, and work clothes that were worn and faded from the Costa-Rican sun – but well-cared for. I thought he was a bit crazy, at the time. Of course you need to live next to food – my twenty-something mind thought – why would you live where there was no food?

“When the economy goes bad, they will no longer ship food to many places… you need to live where you can grow your own food!”

This was a decade ago. I spent three months in Costa Rica surfing – a little bit of adventure before starting a graduate program.

Larry lived with his Tica wife, Lupe. Lupe and Marisol (sisters), ran a little posada in the village of Domincal on the Pacific coast. Larry looked like he could be in his early sixties – he was literally getting long in the tooth – but he was fit and wiry. I occasionally spoke with Larry, he seemed to spend his time gardening, repairing the posada, and working on various projects. I thought he had that slightly-crazed ex-pat vibe, but he didn’t share the beer-gut and perma-sunburn that most older gringo-men seemed to carry around.

Domincal – and this posada – became my Pacific-coast home-base for a good chunk of that summer. The surf was, at times, heaving beachbreak barrels. Domincal is known as the Puerto Escondido of Costa Rica. A restaurant/bar there has scores of broken boards on the ceiling. If a wave snaps your board in half, you can trade it to the restaurant for a free dinner – and add to their decor.

Consistent surf, a friendly place to stay (Marisol spent quite a bit of time teaching me Spanish, and seemed to look after me – I felt welcome like family), and good food kept me coming back that summer.

There were quite a few expats living there – many there to surf, some because they could grow thier own food, and others seemed like they had nothing better to do except drink cheap beer and smoke dope in the jungle. In other words – paradise. There was even an authentic Italian restaurant run by two young Italian couples. Eating real pizza in the tropical jungle after surfing is something I will never forget.

A decade later, I find myself thinking Larry’s catchphrase quite often – “You need to live where they grow the food!”

They do grow food here locally (and dope – dope is the largest contributor to the economy in far-northern coastal California). I’ve thought quite a bit about settling here and buying land (land that I could grow food on).

Now that the credit-card debt has been paid off, my life has been downsized, I have a new job and started saving money like a madman – I think about my options. I’m ready to hit the road and see the world – but shouldn’t I buy a piece of land that I can grow food on? The economy looks a bit bleak – and the fact that I have a good job seems more valuable than it did a year ago.

My original timeline was one year from Feb 1, 2008 before leaving on my trip. I calculated the cost of the trip, and realized that I wouldn’t be ready until working and saving until the summer of 2010. My new job is better (how could it get worse than this?) – but it is still a burnout job. I’m in a good position to save – so how long should I do this?

I originally posted a flowchart of my employment options. After surviving the second half of 2008 (I wasn’t writing on this blog because life got a little strange) – I’m more determined than ever to get out. After thinking about it for a year – my escape fantasies look like this:

1. Sell the truck, leave the dog with family and travel around latin america and/or world for 1-2 years. Estimated departure: Jan 2010 (nine months from now).
2. Drive with dog in latin america for a year. Estimated departure: July 2010 (one year and three months).
3. Stay at the job long enough to get vested in the pension program – two years and three months. Use the accumulated savings to buy property either here or somewhere cheap and surfy with good soil. Estimated departure: July 2011.

Now, I know I’m ripping you off a bit, because this project was not named “The 2+ Years of Living Frugally”. For that, I’ll refund your cost of admission to this page.

Somewhere, in the back recesses of the human-brain, is that grandmother-given idea – the Protestant work-ethic). Although I’m not Protestant (and I’ve been accused of not having a work ethic by some…), my grandmother used to tell me stories about living through the Great Depression. She taught me how to surf-fish, and how to can food, and garden – how to rely on myself. I can hear her stories – and how they survived – by taking care of themselves and living simply. She essentially gave me instructions on how to survive an economic depression – and for now I’m trying to follow those rules.

I’m not ready to leave today – I do need to save more money – so we get to see how this economic crisis will play out.

In the meantime, I get the feeling that today’s dollars are more valuable than yesterday’s (bubble economy) and tomorrow’s (likely high inflation). Maybe buying a piece of land would be the best thing to ensure the type of life I want to live. (”You need to live where they grow the food!“)

I haven’t forgotten this project. I’ll post a year-end wrap-up of how I have done soon. I’m still breaking off the writing-rust.

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An entire year has gone by?

I haven’t written here for seven months?!?

The big news: I paid off the last of my credit card debt on October 1. Even though I became distracted – and pulled in several directions – I managed to keep somewhat of a budget.

I’m not quite ready to drive to South America yet (well, I am – but my finances still need more work…) – so the frugal living continues.

I suppose it’s time for a budget update? A plan for dealing with the new economy we find ourselves in the last few months? Maybe a surf trip or three?

Soon enough… just need to stop my messing around…

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These unhappy [outer space] agents found what had already been found in abundance on Earth – a nightmare of meaninglessness without end. The bounties of space, of infinite outwardness, were three: empty heroics, low comedy and pointless death.

Kurt Vonnegut Jr. – The Sirens of Titan

In honor of empty heroics, low comedy and pointless death – it’s time to revisit the employment situation.

I last presented my employment plan while at a conference in Monterey.

Toward the end of that conference – my supervisor found me before we were each going to different workshops.

He told me, “You need to carry my things back with you.” – motioning to all of the free corporate-giveaway schwag and work-materials. He was renting a car, and leaving the conference early, to take a few personal days to drive and visit someone.

I was so surprised, all I could do was laugh.

As we were walking, I looked for clarification, “Let me get this straight, you want me to carry your things in my backpack – for the last morning of seminars – AND my half day of walking around town waiting for my flight?”

“It’ll build character”, he said as we split to our individual areas.

I did not reply to the voicemail to the room after I got back from dinner (it was a dinner invitation – from my supervisor – and an explanation of why he thought it was a better idea for me to carry his things, and his frustration with the front desk for refusing to give him my room number).

What an asshole.

Since then, our relationship has soured.

With that last act – my nearly six months of attempting to train him had finished.

He had neither taken any notes, learned any of the California regulations, nor bothered to learn our hardware and software solutions. He expected a dozen people to learn and integrate his outdated “preferred” software, mistakenly referred to regulation from the Small South-Eastern Company as if it applied to us, but interfaced with the senior administrators well.

He was your typical “well-qualified” middle-management ass-kissing sycophant – he would micromanage with an iron fist, and not know a single thing about the processes he was trying to micromanage – quite a few people felt he was perfect for the job.

So now, after butting heads for the last couple weeks – my supervisor is trying to get me fired. He is trying to build a case to show my incompetence, and how the institution would not miss me.

I drink coffee. I belong to a coffee club in a department 70 feet down the hall. My supervisor’s office has windows that look into the hall – so he sees when I leave my department to get coffee.

Lately, when I go to get a coffee, he follows me to try to catch me talking with other rank-and-file workers. Recently, I had taken the last cup of coffee, and was making a fresh pot. My supervisor walked into the room, looked at me, looked Mr. Coffee (the machine, not me), and turned around and left without saying anything.

Is this the pinnacle of evolution of our species? All that struggle to build civilizations for this?

In an effort to bring levity into the workplace, I am devising games to play. One of my favorite is “Supervisor Snipe-Hunt”.

In Supervisor Snipe-Hunt, I walk through the usual doors to get my coffee – so my supervisor can see me leave. Once I get my coffee, I leave the “coffee-office” through an exit door to the outside – walk around the back of the building and use my key to get in through the back door to the IT area. My supervisor – whose office window faces out into the public hallway (and not into the IT area) – has no idea I’m back in my office. After getting impatient, he walks into the coffee-office – and usually looks around without acknowledging the presence of anyone else. The rank-and-file workers in the coffee area are in on the game (and despise my supervisor also). When they see him looking for me, they ask “Can I help you?”

He usually will begin to explain – “I’m Mr. Supervisor, Director of This and That…”

At which point the rank-and-file interrupts, “Yeah, I know who you are – can I help you?”

At this point he usually leaves without saying anything. Sometimes he says “Just taking a walk.”

The emails I receive from the rank-and-file – documenting this behavior – all go into my formal evaluation of my supervisor.

This week, I will go to a committee meeting – while my supervisor is on vacation, just so we can talk about him. I will either get the ball rolling for “fixing” my supervisor problem, or I’ve just been given enough rope to hang myself with. It’s exciting – kind of like bungee jumping – although I think the probability of survival seems to be the same for both cases.

Obviously, my supervisor suffers from “old man disease” – specifically, the inflexible mind. Unfortunately for him, in this business to stand still is to regress and go backwards.

Sometimes, when he is not annoying me, I feel sorry for him. And I tell myself (as a prayer? an affirmation? a reminder?), that it will never happen to me.

In the meantime, I will do what I can to improve this institution. I have selfish reasons for doing this – it will make my job easier.

My supervisor has been running this office into the ground and pissing people off while doing it. He has taken my workplace satisfaction away from me, and contributed to my decision to begin this Year of Living Frugally. I do not worry about losing my job in it’s present form.

In the words of Lester Burman – I’m just an ordinary guy, with nothing to lose.

(continue on to Week Fifty-Two)

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First full month of living in the new location…

Not bad – good company, getting my space figured out and not missing television at all anymore. The no-heat, drafty-house took a little getting used to – but it’s a chance to use my outdoor gear (and keep the down parka out of storage).

The biggest challenge of the last month was work-related. As in the overtime necessity and stress-level demands have been off the charts. I backslid a bit on making lunches for work – sometimes the greasy cafeteria food can be comforting.

If you recall from the “Baseline Budget“, which was taken from the average monthly expenses for 2007 – my expenses looked like this:

Total Housing & Utilities $1043
Transportation Total $337
Health Total $44
Total Debt Maintenance $636
Food total $390
Total Dog $200
Vacation $300
Misc Total $225

Expense Total $3270
Salary Total $2719
Overtime Total $600

The “normal” expenses for the month of March went as follows:

Total Housing & Utilities $493
Transportation Total $264
Health Total $61
Total Debt Maintenance $730
Food Total $327
Total Dog $141
Vacation Total $168
Misc Total $145

Expense Total $2330
Income Total $2772

Savings $442/month

For a more detailed look, I am test-driving Google-documents to post my budget. I have changed the major categories a bit – such as rolling the emergency fund expenses into the “Debt Maintenance” category.

My housing expense was the biggest savings. Next month I should realize greater savings, since I was paying for the more expensive utilities.

I am tracking a new category, for health-related expenses. Luckily, I have a good employer-based health plan that does not cost me anything. I finally had to spend some money for a checkup. I am also including the gym membership here. If you remember my “After One Week” post, I was going to track my gym usage to see if it was a worthy expense. During the month of March, I was averaging 2-3 visits a week to the pool, and one yoga class – so I can justify keeping this expense.

My food, transportation, and miscellaneous costs were increased for the month. The extra food expenses were entirely from buying food at work. The transportation increase was registration for the motorcycle and some maintenance on the truck. The miscellaneous contained about $70 of expenses that were paid in cash that I could not account for.

My vacation expenses for March were from my Monterey business trip. I have a travelogue post for the aquarium which I hope to someday finish…

As the end of the month approached, I made an additional $500 credit card payment.

Overall, not bad – considering how chaotic the month was. I can see an easy $200 of fat-trimming that can be made (food, miscellaneous, and driving the motorcycle more) from my current expenses. The once-a-year expenses – these do not bother me as much (I do not plan ahead for them, but my budget can absorb these as they happen). I also have a security deposit coming back to me for the old rental, a tax refund, and an “economic stimulus bribe” in May. All of these will go towards credit card repayment.

Using the amount of money I was able to save this month, and extrapolating that over the rest of the year – I can predict where I will be at the end of this project. Based on my current frugality, at the end of this project (end of January 2009) I will have zero credit card debt and $7100 in savings. This is quite a ways away from the initial estimate of $31,700 to cover all expenses for a year of driving around Latin America. At my current rate of savings it would take me until June 2010 to afford such a trip.

Not all is as bleak as it seems…

I’m pretty sure I can squeeze more savings per month out of my current budget. I will inquire about more overtime, and look into supplemental income sources. I will redo the projections on the first of May to reflect my April belt-tightening…

Paz

(continue on to Week Ten)

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Employment Planning

The caffeine, carbs and sugars have finally begun to kick in. Arriving at the airport at 5am (Sunday), I am almost tempted to stay asleep. Do I need to be fully present for this portion of the work-day? My supervisor doesn’t look all that aware anyways.

The destination: Monterey Bay. Four days and three nights of a dual-geek-type conference (IT geeks and Research geeks). As usual for geek conferences – especially geek conferences where cross-species communication is necessary – all meals and social activities are pre-arranged. We will be locked into the conference area starting with the 8am breakfasts until the last call at 10pm for the late-night hospitalities.

No sight-seeing on this trip. At least none that is officially sanctioned by our corporate multi-billion dollar hardware and software sponsors.

Monday is St. Patrick’s Day – and alternative plans for the evening quite possibly need to be created.

“…the threat level is orange, please be aware of your surroundings and report any suspicious activity immediately…”

Fascists.

The threat level has been orange every day for nearly seven years at this rural backwater airport – but hey, maybe today is the day I can run into the woods and fight insurgency-style against the invading al Qaeda.

(Anybody else ever read “The Boy Who Cried Wolf”?)

Remember all the portrayals of Nazi Germany and their brownshirts, or the USSR and their KGB – wasn’t a big chunk of their power due to the fear they instilled by brainwashing their citizens to report each other’s “unpatriotic” behavior?

I look around. No al Qaeda. Just my supervisor and two dozen other sleepy people. My supervisor does look suspicious – he is making strange motions with his face, and sounds are coming out of his head.

He goes through another round of bizarre mouth movements and escaping sounds…

I slowly realize he is talking to me “… and during the layover in San Francisco I’ll need to use the laptop to check my email…”.

“Maybe you should carry it around during this trip – so you can stay connected.”

He replied: “No, I don’t need it all the time…” – and he continued to leak sounds out of his head.

(a note from my future self, my semi-cranky response did result in no more requests for the laptop after the layover)

The caffeine and sugar have a soothing effect on me – I engage my supervisor in conversation. It’s not that I dislike the personal version of him – it’s the professional version I despise. He insists on only supporting projects that were his idea. All of his ideas involve technology and solutions that are more than ten years old (a bad idea when dealing with technology and business intelligence).

For the next four days, I get to spend 12 hours+ per day with him.

My supervisor just asked me for advice and information to write a bad report about a human resources manager (who has been compiling bad reports from others about him).

What a tool.

If they made a sitcom about my office, it would be called “Tool Time”.

This is, of course, the perfect time to re-think my employment plan.

My Employment Plan

I have an analyst/programmer type job. These skills are my bread and butter. I imagine that this type of work is always available – as long as I keep current with technology. This work is as exciting as painting all the lane-divider lines on the highway – by hand. I did not major in analyst in grad school, but it has provided me with extra money while I was still a student. When I was pulling ‘spro in Minnesota, unable to get a job in my field – I was able to finally find full-time work as an analyst. When I needed a job in California to escape Minnesota – more analyst work.

Somewhere in here there should be a cautionary tale: when mentors and family warn you to take more math and less arts so you can get a job after college – be aware of the type of job you are training yourself to take.

Like the ingrate that I am, I’m ready to leave the analyst world for something more interesting.

As you can see from my flow chart, the analyst-type skills are the backbone of my current marketable skills. I have other marketable skills and interests – but the more time I spend working as an analyst, the deeper the job rut I create.

The other jobs on the flow chart fall into two functional types – static and dynamic.

The static jobs are traditional full-time-type jobs. With a static job, I work for another entity. My analyst job is static – but I will leave this job after a year if nothing else is found. If my supervisor is run out on a rail – I will take his job (and run the office like a champ to make the most of the opportunity before leaving for a dynamic job). A teaching job is probably the only static job I can see myself thriving in long-term (because the work itself is very dynamic due to human nature).

The dynamic jobs are all centered on going into business for myself. These include consulting by programming and/or analyst work of some sort, teaching or tutoring, or writing. Of these, I currently find writing the most intriguing. After spending 50+ hours a week only using my left brain, the right brain likes to put words together for this webpage. However, dynamic jobs, while satisfying, are the riskiest financially.

The year of travel can actually have a positive affect on my employability for dynamic jobs – if pursued properly. Fluency in Spanish opens many doors in the western hemisphere (and other Spanish-speaking countries). Travel can foster an understanding of other cultures and business practices – in addition to providing opportunities for meeting those who may need your services. My year of travel will be more than catching waves, catching a buzz and lying in hammocks.

The flow chart is currently incomplete. At the moment, I am more concerned with my escape than what to do after I escape.

How many prisoners plan on where they are going to go before breaking out of prison? (I suppose the successful ones do…) The first task is figuring out how to escape – how to break the chains – then the possibilities will become more apparent.

(continue on to Week Seven)

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Savings Goal for the Year

This morning when I woke up – I was out of beans (of the coffee variety). For those of us addicted to this country’s version of corporate-endorsed legal speed – that presents a problem. Before I had a chance to really wake up, I put on my house-slippers, threw my backpack over my shoulder and started walking to the local grocery store.

As I was walking, I momentarily had the feeling as if I were in Mexico heading to the mercado. The sun was shining, there was a light offshore breeze that smelled of dry inland air (versus the usual damp briny-smelling air), and I felt particularly buoyant.

Why the change? Was it a lack of stuff surrounding me in my new home? The absence of a television (no longer hypnotized by the great unblinking eye…)? Maybe it was the presence of a long-term plan in my life now?

The closest I could figure was that since I had made changes – and created a plan, I was much more aware of the present – and had been spending much more time there.

This is a feeling I usually do not experience when walking to the grocery store (at least not in the last few years) – unless I’m on vacation. Vacations are all about practicing “presentness”.

This may seem counter-intuitive – the long-term plan leading to more awareness of the present.

On the surface, not having a plan seems to be the best answer for experiencing more “presentness”. Go with the flow, ride the waves that life sends your way, and remain aware of your surroundings.

This makes sense only when one has no responsibilities.

While the last two years of my life have been productive, they weren’t necessarily directed towards any long-term goals.

Moving back to California from Minnesota, attempting to pay off the debt, reconnecting with surfing and deciding if far-northern coastal California is the place I want to put down roots – these all led to a state of surviving. These were all worthy endeavors, but I was approaching them like a pinball – reacting to whatever obstacle was the largest at the time. I was just trying to survive.

Surviving can be a trap. It made me complacent, in some ways. Does “just surviving” lead to low expectations? Reacting instead of acting? I survived the work day – what is on TV tonight?

What does it take to thrive?

Part of thriving (for me) has been having a plan.

Freed from my television, freed from so much of my stuff – my distractions – my focus began shifting towards the overall plan. One of the end-goal possibilities of The Year of Living Frugally is the Year of Living Hispanically – the extended travel/surf-trip/resume builder.

I hear people make plans like these quite often. Most people end up not going, or turning back sooner than expected – because they did not realize how much money it takes (while some people do have the innate ability to just go – and let the chips fall as they may).

Is it financially feasible for someone in my situation?

Back home, fresh coffee brewing, it’s time for…

Estimating the Cost of One Year of Latin-American Travel

Continuing on from the original concept of this idea, leaving a year from now and driving from California through Mexico, Central America, the length of South America and back – I would spend the trip becoming fluent in Spanish, learning about other cultures, maybe catch the odd wave or two – and generally see what the western hemisphere has to offer.

It would probably be a good idea to figure out how much money is necessary before arriving in Tierra del Fuego.

First, there are monthly expenses for maintaining the status quo in the states. I would like to have the option to return – for now. So I would need to set up an automated pay system to cover student loans, storage fees, etc.

Maintaining Status Quo in States

Student Loans: $231/month for 18 months (1 year of travel and a 6-month payment cushion) $4158
Storage Unit: $34/month for 18 months: $612
Billpay Service: 18 months for $125.10
Surfline : 12 months for $59.95
Skype: 12 months for $60
Web-Hosting: 12 months for $83.40

Maintain Status Quo in States Subtotal: $4770

The 18-month payment period is to give myself a 6-month cushion in case of emergency or … any sort of emergency (financial, medical, surf…). Besides, I want to make sure my debt is well-taken care of in case of a problem. I wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to my debt…

Medical

Immunizations ($300)
Typhoid (need booster?)
Hepatitis A (got it)
Hepatitis B (got it)
Diphtheria (got it)
Tuberculosis (is there one?)
Rabies (maybe)
Yellow Fever (definitely, maybe necessary for border crossing)
Meningococcal meningitis (optional)
Japanese B encephalitis (optional)
Anti-malarials (necessary in some areas of Central and South America)

Dog Preventive Medical ($200) – just a guess for now.

Health Insurance: $388 for $1000 deductible, $340 for $2500 deductible – $100,000 maximum, includes emergency airlift (and surfing is not one of the restricted sports)

Medical subtotal: $840 – $888

The range is due to the difference in Health Insurance costs based on the size of the deductible. Instantly, one may think: “It only costs $44 dollars to save $1500 in case of an accident – must be a great deal”. This rate was only good for covering accidents outside of the United States – because everywhere else in the world does not charge so much money. I have the feeling that $1000 will buy a lot of medical procedure where I’m going. And if I went over that first $1000 it would probably be trip-ending anyways (and I would be heading back to work after healing), so that extra unlikely $1500 doesn’t make a difference at all – at least not $44 worth of difference.

Border Crossing Fees and Visas

Mexico – $20 visa – border to Guatemala $20
Guatemala – El Salvador – free as part of the CA-4
El Salvador – Nicaragua
Nicaragua – $5 visa – border to Costa Rica $3
Costa Rica – border to Panama $5
Panama – $5 visa- Columbia
Columbia – Ecuador
Ecuador – Peru
Peru – Chile
and back…

Border Crossing Fees and Visas Subtotal: $300 (estimated)

Just a rough estimate. The numbers that are up are from a year ago. Still more research needed for the remaining countries. A bigger expense will be the Panama to Columbia ferry.

Daily Expense

Mexico – $40
Guatemala – $15 – $30
El Salvador – $25 – $30
Nicaragua – $15 – $25
Costa Rica – $35
Panama – $20 – $30
Columbia
Ecuador
Peru
Chile

Daily Expense Subtotal
Cheap – $20 per day: $7300
Moderate – $30 per day: $10950

I think that by making extended stays in areas – and paying by the week – that this number could reasonably be on the cheaper side. (Especially with camping and sleeping in the truck or tent when possible)

Transportation

Truck Insurance : $500 ($235 for a 1-year Mexico Policy, $414 for premium policy)
Registration: $70
Gas – 20000 miles total – 1000 gallons gas at $4/gallon = $4000
Maintenance: $430

Transportation Subtotal: $5000

Once again, only a really rough estimate. Total mileage is difficult to estimate at this time. Same with gas prices (but they tend not to differ from USA prices by too much.

It’s a rough estimate, but I think most of the major expenses are covered.

Maintain Status Quo in States Subtotal: $4770
Medical subtotal: $840 – $888
Border Crossing Fees and Visas Subtotal: $300 (estimated)
Daily Expense Subtotal $7300-10950
Transportation Subtotal: $5000

Initial Total: 18210-21904

For planning purposes, I have to assume that the cost will be the more expensive of the range, and add 10%.

Trip Total: $24,094.40

Before I could take such a trip, I would have to finish paying off the credit card debt, which currently sits at about $7600.

Savings Needed: $31,700

Okay, now this is getting a little depressing.

Spread this out over the remaining 11 months and the per-month savings needed is only:

Savings per Month Needed: $2882

Since my take-home pay is currently sitting at $2675/month, there may be a problem.

I may need to work more overtime.

My March savings should give me a good idea of how close I can get. Just off the top of my head, if I take the February savings ($277/month), plus the credit card payments ($400/month), and the rent savings ($575/month). That already puts me at saving $1050/month, which is respectable (?), but a bit off from $2882/month.

The difference, ~$1800/month, is no laughing matter. I will not even think about what that is per day until I see if I can bring that number down through cutting expenses in March.

The frugal march goes on…

(continue on to Week Six)

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One Month Budget Checkup

Two years ago, I was living in a 4-bedroom 3-bath 2600 square-foot home in the midwest. The last year and a half, my home was down-sized to a 850 square-foot cottage in far northern coastal California (strangely enough, the rent on the cottage was the same as the mortgage on the Minnesota house). Now, I’ve downsized again – into a 8′x9′ bedroom with a 8′x5′ storage unit (~150 square feet).

I hate moving.

Not all aspects of moving… moving can represent fresh starts, new places, new living situations.

I hate the fact that moving the first 90% of your stuff takes 10% of the total time needed – while that last 10% (and cleaning) seems to take forever.

The pre-check-out cleaning seemed like it would never end… (because I’m not going to pay someone 25$ an hour to clean for me). The bleach, the soaps, the simple green (which is neither simple nor green), the windex. My skin has been completely stripped of all of its protective covering – but the work is finally done.

Just in time, too – it’s time to see how much I spent this month (now that I’ve had a couple days to recover and get my computer set up).

If you recall from the “Baseline Budget“, which was taken from the average monthly expenses for 2007 – my budget looked like this:

Monthly Expense, 2007

Total Housing & Utilities $1036
Total Debt Maintenance $636
Transportation Total $337
Total Dog $200
Subscriptions Total $33
Food total $390
Webpage Total $22
Emergency Fund $100
Vacation $300
Misc Total $170

Expense Total $3224
Income Total $2675

Hemorrhaging $549/month

The “normal” expenses for the month of February went as follows:

February 2008 Expense, Simple

Total Housing & Utilities $1119
Total Debt Maintenance $636
Transportation Total $107
Total Dog $141
Subscriptions Total $15
Food total $227
Webpage Total $17
Emergency Fund $100
Vacation $0
Misc Total $54

Expense Total $2398
Income Total $2675

Savings $277/month

My housing expense actually went up last month. This is due to having all of my initial monthly expenses, and adding a storage unit ($34/month plus deposit), and a Skype account ($60 – paid for one year). Next month my housing costs should show a huge reduction – primarily because my rent went from $850/month to $275/month.

My debt maintenance remained the same. Actually, I sold over $700 worth of items on craigslist, and I made a $700 extra payment on credit card #1.

After a dedicated effort, my food costs were much lower. I made my lunch more. I tried to use up the food in my pantry (so I wouldn’t have to move it). The only eating out in February was associated with the “dog-dinners” and not counted there.

Other costs showed some slight decreases. The dog costs were slightly lower – due to the fact that I took my friend to dinner only 3 times during the month. The subscriptions only reflect a payment to Netflix (which should be my last payment at that plan level), and I let the Surfer magazine expire without paying for another year.

Finally, I did receive my final overtime paycheck – which I promptly spent on a plane ticket to Central America. I need to go on vacation, otherwise I start losing vacation time in the summer (I am nearing my accumulation cap). Perhaps the plane ticket is not frugal – but the vacation destination can be frugal (as you will see in upcoming installments).

Above, I presented February in the context of a “normal” month. Adding in the additional income and expenses it looks like:

February 2008 Expense, Total

Total Housing & Utilities $1119
Total Debt Maintenance $636 + $700
Transportation Total $107
Total Dog $141
Subscriptions Total $15
Food total $227
Webpage Total $17
Emergency Fund $100
Vacation $521
Misc Total $54

Expense Total $3619

Normal Income $2675
Overtime Income $749
“Sell my Stuff” Income $700

Income Total $4124

Savings $505/month

I am stoked that I came out over $500 ahead for February. I’m thinking of making an additional credit card payment, but I need to do my taxes first and see if there is a surprise waiting for me.

It is also important to note that I had very little in the way of “yearly payments” to make in February. The yearly budget was easier to make because all expenses could be averaged over the 12-month period. It is much more difficult to account for those expenses one month at a time. There could be some surprises in the future if two big payments fall on the same month. I imagine that those more organized than I save money each month to cover those payments…

I’m glad that moving is out of the way – one month down, eleven to go. My living space may be much smaller now, but moving forced me to examine what I held as important in my life. I’m glad I took the time to re-prioritize my hobbies, possessions and lifestyle – it is too easy to become comfortable in our ruts. The biggest shock is not having central heating… but I’m already starting to acclimate (and in a month it won’t matter when the weather warms).

As my dog would ’say’ with head cocked to one side looking expectantly – “What next?”

(continue on to Week Five)

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Simplify. Downsize. Get Rid of Stuff.

This weekend I had to prepare to move from an expensive house to a much cheaper room. I needed to downsize and sell off some of my stuff. Over the last couple weeks, I had made progress and sold off much of my furniture. However, with the end of the month occurring this Friday, I need to be nearly finished this weekend! I emptied almost all the remaining contents of the house into my living room to take inventory.

It was a practical idea. Two years ago when I drove here from Minnesota – I was able to downsize enough to fit all my possessions into a 6′x12′ covered U-Haul trailer (which almost killed me several times on downhill sections – but that is a different story). I eventually rented a 2-bedroom house here in California – and at the same time, my supervisor at work moved away and they sold me lots of stuff to fill up the house (because they didn’t want to have to drive a moving van across the country a second time within a year).

Anyways, I no longer have the V6 SUV to tow the 6′x12′ – I downsized to the 4-cylinder pickup – so I need to be able to fit my life into a 5′x8′ trailer. I have had people comment on my soon-to-be monk-like existence – but do monks have 5′x8′ storage units?

Placing all of your possessions into a single pile can be a humbling experience. Only then will you comprehend the obscene amount of stuff that you really own. I remember an article in National Geographic, where they would photograph families from different cultures – next to a pile of all of their possessions. As you can imagine, the more “western” and “first-world” the culture, the larger the pile of stuff.

I was very busy posting ads on craigslist. The good stuff sells relatively fast, and the okay stuff can be sold with selective price lowering – but I ended up with a pile of random things that weren’t worth posting their own ads for. The types of things that would sell for $0.25 to $2 at a garage sale.

Problem was, I didn’t want people in and out all day browsing for things to buy for only a quarter (and taking up all my time). Quite a bit of it was nice stuff – but some of it was just junk. I took a picture of the nicest glassware and posted an ad to take it all for $10.

I had a set of candle holders, about 8″ tall, that were shaped like 1950’s era competitive swimmers. A woman and a man – prepared to dive, in the starting position – arms swept up behind them – hands holding the plates that the candles sit on. The woman figurine – in her modest one-piece 1950’s era red swimsuit and matching bathing cap – had a very distinguishing feature. If she happened to be a full-sized woman, she would have the equivalent of protruding thumbs for nipples.

A few years ago, I had a Christmas party at my house. There was a white elephant gift exchange (you know the type – where if you don’t like you present you unwrap, you can trade for someone else’s). I didn’t end up with the candle holders – someone else did at the party. She hid the candle holders in it’s gift bag and set it next to a pile of empty gift bags. They were just so unique I didn’t know how to get rid of them. After I downsized and moved to California (and just exactly how did these treasures make the cut to get on that trailer??), they ended up holding candles in my bathroom – poised and frozen, waiting forever to start the race and dive into the toilet bowl.

So every one who comes to visit – when they use the bathroom – gets to view these lovely pieces of art. Most women would look at these things and complain about the protruding nipple shapes (because, once you see 8-inch figurines poised to dive into a toilet – you have to get closer look to see if it’s not a hallucination. Then WHAM! You almost poke your eye out on them). Most men just noticed the protruding nipples and would comment that they noticed.

So a young woman stopped by to pick up the nice glassware, and I had added all the “extras” to the pile. She had left me an email stating that she was moving into her own apartment and didn’t have anything (Perfect! She has plenty of space for my leftover stuff!). I found other useful items to add to the pile to sweeten the pot (besides the swimmers). There was a really nice casserole dish (I had three), a 3-gallon pot for boiling crab, uhhh… a decorative icing bag, a dumpling press, an 18-inch cooking fork…

When she looked at the pile, I explained to her that I had found some additional things for her. She instantly looked at and picked up the female-swimmer candle holder. I picked up the ceramic oval casserole dish and explained how it was oven, microwave and dishwasher safe. She looked at the nipples, raised her eyebrows and crinkled her forehead, and looked at me. I explained how she could boil the wort for brewing beer in the large pot – not just cook crabs. She suggested that she really didn’t like the candle holders. I started joking about how it was a package deal and she had to take all of it if she wanted to buy the glassware.

The Jedi mind trick worked. I helped her pack it into her trunk before she could change her mind…

So far, I’ve kept my tools, any sporting good item that would allow me to get food (SCUBA and fishing), anything that allows for the creation of art, surfing gear and other exercise equipment, and irreplaceable things like photos and art from my travels.

I have a unique piece of Mexican folk art that I am torn about keeping. It is a wood carving, from Oaxaca, of a mermaid – la sirena. The old man who owned the store where it was purchased explained it’s story to me (in Spanish – which I speak like a 6-year-old – but I got most of the translation). La Sirena is rather severe looking – and the point of this is to serve as a cautionary tale. “Don’t chase the mermaid – because if you catch her you’ll find out she wasn’t quite what you thought you were getting.”

My ex-wife did not like it (we were married at the time). She didn’t say much about it at the store, other than she thought it was ugly. She also thought “Los Barrachos” and the “Perros Bailando de Colima” were ugly – so I did not worry too much at the time. I liked the story because I appreciated the human lesson that went with it. It was a morality tale for the Oaxacan fisherman not to chase women other than their wives – because even if they caught that mermaid – they would find that the mermaid was imperfect (like their wives – like themselves – like all people have flaws, and the grass isn’t always greener…).

After the divorce I understood. When her and I were in Mexico and I had bought the mermaid – she was already planning the separation. My ex-wife thought that I bought the ugly mermaid because it represented her – and the arguements pushed the end into motion. I think it’s a great piece of folk art. I have no bad feelings attached to it – yet I am cognizant of the fact that I was married and then got divorced shortly after buying it. In some ways it does represent positive things – but the negative part of the story is always there. There is a great variety of reactions to this piece (although the most common is about hideousness, and that it is rather imposing with it’s 30-inch tailspan).

This is the hardest part of getting rid of stuff. Everything I own seems to tell me a story. From the nippled candle-holders to the two-tailed mermaid, the “older dude” poncho, the plates, the old clothes, every piece of electronic equipment, every tool, every lamp, book and kitchen appliance. All of my stuff is a reminder of where I came from and who I am. Having all of those reminders constantly talking to me – does that make it more difficult for me to imagine who I could be in the future?

It is only stuff.

(continue on to Week Four)

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The Year of Living Frugally – Week 2

I have no doubt the average citizen of this country is traveling through a jungle of debt. During the last decade, the average saving rate has turned negative. Credit became easier to obtain, and we were all encouraged to spend and buy and consume. Not because it would make us a healthier country – but because we needed to keep the Gross Domestic Product growing, and we no longer produce any real goods to sell on the global market. Our major export from this country is our debt. Our largest product is our debt-spending and consumption.

Even though we are traveling through a jungle of debt, there is a well-worn path for us to follow. The companies and politicians who need us to spend ourselves deeper into debt (keep the GDP growing!), continue to clear their preferred path through the jungle for us.

When one tries to get off of this path and escape the jungle, is when one really finds out how difficult and dense this jungle really is.

My first month of The Year of Living Frugally is full of ideas on how to balance my budget and live without debt. Due to the sheer number of places I can adjust my lifestyle, I have become very busy this month trying to start multiple projects. Some areas have achieved more progress than others.

For this week’s check-up, I will list progress and resistance encountered to various areas.

Housing

This one is huge. I am reducing my rent from $850/month to $275/month starting in March. My utilities should see a huge drop also – since the new house does not have heat. I will be splitting the cost of the DSL connection – so more savings there.

My cell-phone 2-year-contract is finished on March 10. I will not be extending my plan beyond that. I’m going to do some internet research to see if I can unlock this phone and buy pay-as-you-go minutes (anyone out there know a good service?).

I purchased a Skype account. Skype is a VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol), that allows users to call other Skype users for free (with voice and video chat). I chose the upgraded account, Skype Pro, which allows me to call all traditional land-lines and cell-phones for free for $3 a month (which includes a voicemail account plus other options). I also purchased the SkypeIn, in which I’m renting a “traditional” phone number so all the “old-timers” can still call me. With the Skype Pro account, the cost of having my own non-changing number is $2/month. So for $5 per month, I now have a phone account – that is somewhat mobile – as long as I can find a computer terminal or a WiFi hotspot.

Unfortunately, my home computer was created with a defective soundcard that was never addressed by Dell (look up microphone problems for the Dimension 9100). I suppose that very few Americans actually use their microphones, so only a small percentage are calling to complain. So, now I need to find a sound card. I may be able to get a free, older one from a friend in IT. If I do need to buy one, I’m sure something suitable can be bought for $30 or so. The other option I’m working on is to reconfigure my 9-year-old laptop to a Linux operating system and use that for a “phone”. Maybe a blog-post is in order on how to switch an older computer over? It appears that it would run quite efficiently off of the free open-source software available…

Down-Sizing

Craigslist is my friend. There has been a constant stream of “for sale” ads created (don’t forget the pictures!), and people visiting to buy the things I no longer use. I will also need to get a storage unit to hold things I will not have room for (tools, kitchen small appliances, etc) – and do not wish to sell.

So far, I have had to spend additional money (storage, Skype and microphone headset), without any real savings on housing yet. Next month this should pay huge dividends. Hopefully, my savings in other areas will get me to the black for the month of February. At the very least, the money from selling off my junk well cover the difference!

Resistance from Family and Friends

When you tell people you are moving out of the nice house you live in by yourself – and are moving into a room-mate situation and down-sizing – they wonder if you are a little crazy. I can explain the debt and the money savings, but the most popular response is a glazed look and a mumbled, “So what? Everyone has debt.” Perhaps I will become a social pariah because of this year long project?

Not All Debt is Bad

Also, just so we are clear – I do not think that all debt is bad! Debt can be a valuable tool, especially for purchasing a house and paying for education. The money I spent on student loans is the best debt I ever created! It also appears that if you have zero debt, it is actually harder to get a loan! Zero debt means that you are not a good customer. The ideal customer is one who takes as long as possible to pay off the debt – thus paying the most in interest.

Anyways, I am not going to take myself completely out of debt. I have no intentions of paying down any extra money on my student loans at this time. These loans are locked in at 2.25% interest. Yearly inflation is significantly higher than my interest rate – even if I was paying zero payments to them, the value of the loan is actually decreasing over time. Even if I was gifted the money to pay off the loan, I would put that money in an ING account earning ~3.4% (and still get the tax deduction on the interest paid on the loan payments).

I have a feeling the dreaded food bills will make or break me this month, the dirty deeds…

(continue on to Week Three)

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I’m actually surprised at the amount of work it took to get a budget together and figure out monthly costs over 2007. I also appreciate all of the suggestions, the critical eyes and the encouragement at the Frugal Village and the About: Frugal Living forums. There were some definite common themes running through your feedback – some of it was expected, others were a poke in the brain about something I haven’t thought of. Since it is always easiest to start with the low-hanging fruit (to work towards the frugal goals), I’ll start with:

Food

By and far my biggest expense beyond what a “normal” budget should be. California does have expensive groceries, but some of you we’re truly shocked (I think the word obscene came up a few). The next few months I’ll keep very tight control over my food expense (there’s no good reason why I should spend over $400 a month for food). I’m not sure what a reasonable level is, but I’m not sure if I can budget this with the most frugal ($100 per month).

The largest problem with food is the fact that healthy food costs more. Organic produce costs more than conventional. Non-hormone-injected dairy costs more than the milk from cows with Schwarzeneggar-sized udders (and I can’t budge on that one – I’d really like to avoid the extra growth of breast-tissue). I do spend too much money on convenience foods – so more cooking is forthcoming.

Gym Membership

I was using the membership… I had a slump the last couple months… (Here’s where the voice in my head is saying, “but I don’t want to give that up!”). I like the gym because of the swimming pool, sauna/steam room, and the high-quality yoga classes (otherwise, I could exercise on my own without a membership). If, by the end of March, I’m not using the gym four times a week I’ll drop the membership.

Hobbies and Entertainment

Lots of expenses causing money-leaks. The Netflix has been downgraded to the cheapest plan. My Surfer magazine subscription ends next month and I won’t renew. This is difficult to budget since many items were yearly expenses or one-time purchases. I’ll see if I can keep this below $50 a month to start.

To Motorcycle or Not To Motorcycle

Is this costing me? It’s time to start riding as much as possible to see if the gas savings make ownership cheaper than just owning a truck. A cost-benefit analysis coming soon.

Pet Expenses

These expenses really polarized people’s opinions. The food and vet expenses are cheap (Costco and yearly wellness exam (for a healthy 3-year-old dog)). Quite a few people seemed a bit horrified about the pet-sitting expense. Others felt that it wasn’t a big deal.

The pet-sitting is a justifiable expense as far as I’m concerned. My friend watches my dog during the week (for free). I take my friend out to dinner once a week (so I also gain entertainment and two meals (leftovers) from this expense). My dog is very happy and well-adjusted. I believe that a big part of this is her constant “belonging to the pack”. Dogs that spend 9 hours alone each day can get a little neurotic (not all dogs, but I’m sure that any dog – if given a choice – would rather have company during the day than be alone). I’ll cut budget in other areas first…

Vacation

My vacation expense was a monthly average of what I spent in 2007. I am not budgeting any money this year so far. I have some frequent-flyer miles, and plenty of banked vacation time – so a two-week surf trip is in the works. I will attempt to only use my tax-rebate check and any money from selling unnecessary stuff to cover expenses.

I know I sound resistant… maybe even a little defensive…

I think it may be harder to visualize all of these changes for an entire year, than it is to just stop paying for these things on a day-by-day basis.

I will be moving into a cheaper place the first of March, and the cell phone is going away, and I’m eating through quite a bit of food that’s been forgotten in my pantry. It looks like the first few cuts will be easiest; but I imagine that the long-term habits will be the hardest to maintain.

(continue on to Week Two)

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