Frugality

Save Money by Not Shopping on Black Friday

by

There may be some good deals to be had today but you don’t actually save money by buying stuff you don’t need.  I’m guessing that approximately 100% of the stuff being bought as part of the Black Friday deals can be classified as wants rather than needs. I’m lucky that there is very little I want or need.

I only have one more Christmas purchase to make and I’m not going to be doing it today.  The GF and me might go by CVS later and take advantage of some of the “free deals.”  Technically we will be shopping on Black Friday but we will not be spending any money.

The Dollar Double Cheeseburger is Ending

by

This is the last week that the double cheeseburger will be on McDonald’s menu.  The price will be going up to $1.19.  They will be coming out with a new $1 sandwich called the McDouble.  It is basically a double cheeseburger but with only one slice of cheese.

The double cheeseburger was a favorite of mine and  it probably contributed to much of my weight gain.  I think I’ll be passing it up now for the McDouble though when I’m buying food at McDonalds.  And that probably won’t be very often.  Since I get a free McDonald’s meal every week I do not plan on going there other than for my free meal.

A dollar double cheeseburger was a frugal choice for eating out.  When you consider that you could eat cheaper and healthier at home though it probably wasn’t a very good choice.

Surviving Christmas

by

Christmas is not my favorite time of the year.  Last year I wrote about how I had managed to mostly  opt out of Christmas.  I am not going to be so lucky this year.  With the addition of a GF this year I’ve also picked up several more Christmas obligations.  We will be attending four different family Christmas gatherings.  My GF will be doing all the additional Christmas buying (except for my gift for her of course) so I don’t have much more obligation in that sense.  I’d still rather receive no gifts and give no gifts but in order to stay sociable with family and friends I have to participate in Christmas at least on a minimal level.

Finding Affordable Health Insurance

by

One of the challenges of retiring early or being self-employed is finding affordable health insurance.  I’m very frugal and don’t spend a lot of money but I wouldn’t go without health insurance to save money.  The risk is too great.

I currently have private health insurance and pay a little less than $70 a month.  This is a good deal for someone who is 41 years old and overweight.  It is quite a bit cheaper than my student health plan and it provides more coverage.  The deductible is $5000 but I’m not too concerned about that since I rarely visit a doctor.  If I do need to visit a doctor I can visit the student health clinic for free.  The purpose of  health insurance for me is to keep me from being wiped out financially if I suffer a serious injury or illness.

My insurance is cheap but as I grow older I’ll need to find more ways to keep the cost down.  One option is to raise my deductible to $10,000 but I’m not going to do that until I have more savings.  I could also open a Health Savings Account or possibly deduct some of the health insurance cost as business expense.  I need to do more research on these.  Right now I probably won’t owe taxes anyway so a Health Savings Account is of no benefit to me.

I found my health insurance online through eHealthinsurance. eHealthInsurance offers the largest selection of health plans. Compare & Apply Online, Free instant quotes, Best prices, and Live help!

___
Get $100 Cash Back Bonus with the Discover® Business Card!

A $500 a Month Retirement Budget

by

Jacob at Early Retirement Extreme recently posted an example $500 a month retirement budget.  It is displayed below.

  • Rent $200-250
  • Health insurance $75 (get the cheapest possible and stay healthy!)
  • Food $50-75
  • Transport $0-$75
  • Utilities $25-100

I found this very interesting because I’ve been making over $500 a month in alternative income lately.  If I could get my budget down to $500 a month I could “retire” and live off my alternative income.   Here is one possible budget.

  • Rent $250
  • Health Insurance $70
  • Food $75
  • Transportation $25
  • Utilities $80

It is possible to rent an apartment for $250 in some areas.  I think there are even some place in KC that rent that cheap but I wouldn’t want to live there.  A better alternative is to move to a small town or live with a roommate. The health insurance is what I actually pay now.  The food budget would require a little more self-discipline on my part.  I used to spend about $100 a month on food and if I were to cut out fast food I could get that down to $75 or lower.  The transportation cost is for an occassional bus or giving a friend gas money for a ride.  Ideally I would live somewhere I could walk to most places I needed to go.  The utilities expense of $80 would include a phone.  This amount would vary somewhat but an average of $80 seems easily achievable.

An alternative would be to live in Guatemala (or any low-cost country) for part of the year.  Or to spend several months hiking.  Both would allow me to live on about $300 a month.  A possible budget would be.

  • Rent $100 (if hiking would be for hostels, hotels, showers, etc.)
  • Food $75 (would probably be more while hiking)
  • Health Insurance $70 (this would be the same although I could consider going without in Guatemala since health care is so cheap there.  I wouldn’t want to take the chance of being uninsurable upon a return to the U.S. though.)
  • Miscellaneous $55 (entertainment, postage, gear replacement, transportation, etc.)

The $300 budget would allow me to spend a little extra when visiting the U.S. or not hiking.  Some of the difference would have to go airfare to get to Guatemala or transportation to and from the trailheads but the savings would more than make up for this amount. These budgets might seem a little extreme but based on my experiences living in Guatemala and hiking long distances I’m confident that they are feasible.  I’m planning on doing a $200 a month hike for several months next year.

For now though these budgets are just musings but after I get out of law school they could very well become reality.