Month: May 2007

Funky Frugalities

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These are some frugal things I do that others think are weird. They don’t really save much money but I like to do them anyway. If you are a frugal person though they probably seem pretty normal.

Reusing paper towels-If I use a paper towel to cover something in the microwave or as a plate for a sandwich I use it again if it didn’t get dirty. I know I shouldn’t be using them at all and I could save even more money. I read somewhere about using newspaper for covering your dishes. I might try that.

Unplugging the microwave-I keep the microwave unplugged when I’m not using it. It doesn’t save much money but it is easy to do so why not.

Using grocery bags for trash bags-I don’t see any reason to buy trash bags when plastic grocery bags work just fine. Of course I should be using a reusable bag at the grocery store. I’m trying to do that now but I still seem to be accumulating plastic bags.

Cut my own hair-Since I keep my hair buzzed it doesn’t really take any skill. Why should I pay to get it done?

Walk places-If I need to go somewhere close by I’ll walk. This seems logical but lots of people drive everywhere even if it is close. A few years ago I was with my sister and we were going to eat at a restaurant that was at the other end of a parking lot from the store where we were at. She wanted to drive there. Granted it was a big parking lot but I thought she was crazy for wanting to drive there. Of course she thought I was crazy for wanting to walk there.

The next one I don’t do but I just want to show there are limits to my frugality.

Reusing Kleenex-I read somewhere online about a frugal tip of saving your used Kleenex to use as TP later. That tip is a little too disgusting for me and it seems unhygienic as well.

Study Spanish Abroad

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Learning Spanish abroad is a quick way to learn the language and can also be a frugal vacation. The immersion technique allows you to learn the language much faster than conventional classes. Plus you get to experience the culture on a deeper level than most tourists.

There are many good Spanish schools out there but my recommendation is Madre Tierra Spanish School in Quetzeltenango, Guatemala. At the school you receive five hours a day of Spanish instruction from trained and experienced instructors. You also receive a homestay with a local family which includes a private room,hot water, and three meals a day. The cost is only $135 a week. That would only add up to $540 if you wanted to go for an entire month. You could quite possibly go on vacation for less than staying at home. My time spent in Guatemala was one of the best times of my life and I highly recommend it.

This is not a paid post. I just think this is a great deal and want to help out my friend at the school.

What I’m Doing with My Money

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A couple weeks ago I asked what I should do with my money. I received several suggestions and took them into consideration when making my decision. This is what I’ve decided to do for now. I’m getting health insurance first. I’m also going to open a Roth IRA and contribute $50 a month. With my surplus money, which should be a few hundred dollars, I’m going to put half towards my emergency fund and half towards debt repayment. When the emergency fund is fully funded I’ll divide the surplus between debt and fully funding the IRA.  I may temporarily put more towards debt repayment to make sure my credit card is paid off before the 0% balance transfer offer ends.

Grocery Challenge-Update 2

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A slight setback on the grocery challenge this week but successful completion is still possible. I slipped up and bought some McDonald’s costing me $3.52 of my $5 budget for the month. I can still make it though. I have another mystery shop next week. I’m going to buy some nongrocery items and use them to offset the cost of milk I’ll have to buy later in the month. I also have a coupon and a gift card that will allow me to get a couple more free meals. I haven’t eaten much the last couple days due to my oral surgery. I’m getting bored with the soft food but my mouth is still too tender for regular food and I don’t want to take a chance of messing up one of my stitches or releasing a blood clot.

Had Oral Surgery Yesterday

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I had all four of my wisdom teeth plus three other teeth extracted yesterday. I meant to schedule some posts on Wednesday to cover my time away but my hosting company’s server was down. I’ll try to get some new posts up over the next few days. I have to go to the library for internet access though and right now I don’t feel like spending too much time away from the couch.

If you might need wisdom teeth surgery you should get it done while you’re young. The older you get the more impacted the teeth get. This advice was too late for me but maybe it will help someone out there. They gave me Vicodin for the pain but it made me sick so I’m going without for now. One thing I do feel good about is that I was able to pay cash for the surgery. I’m not going in debt for anything from now on except my last year of law school and maybe a house someday.

Sorry if this is rambling, I’m not completely clear-headed right now.