Frugality

This weeks edition of the Festival of Frugality is hosted at On Financial Success. It includes my post “Do Reward Cards Actually Reward You.” Some of my favorites from the rest include:

“Inconspicuous Consumption” from Money Changes Things.  Not buying stuff in the first place is even better than recycling.

“10 Frugal and Eco-Friendly Ideas” from Monroe on a Budget. This post shows the overlap between frugal and green.

“5 Things You Shouldn’t Go Cheap On” from Know the Ledge.  I mostly agree with these but there are always exceptions.

I also got tagged for a meme by Cricket at Being Booga.  I’m a little late in replying but here are 3 random things about me.

1. I’ve run 4 marathons despite being overweight and out-of-shape.
2. I’ve hiked over 1000 miles on the Appalachian Trail and I still have a goal of hiking the whole thing one day.
3. I was an extra in the movies “The Alamo” and “The Ringer.”

I’m not going to tag anyone else but if you feel like sharing go ahead.

In honor of Earth Day I decided to post on a topic that can save money and help the environment. Choosing to not have children can do both of those things.

According to a report from the USDA it costs almost $200,000 to raise a child to age 17 in the United States. Many consider this figure to be misleadingly high. I certainly don’t know where the $200,000 I’ve saved from not having children is. Even if that figure is high there is a considerable financial cost to having children. The decision to have children isn’t primarily a financial decision but the financial consequences should be considered when deciding to have children.

The concept of not having children to help the environment seems outrageous to many but it is a logical idea. No matter how green you are you’re unlikely to be able to offset the environmental cost of adding another child to the world population. This is especially true here in the United States where individuals do much more damage to the environment than in developing countries.

This would be a voluntary decision not like the mandatory population control they have in China. Nevertheless, in the articles I read while researching this topic many people seem to think that people voluntarily deciding to not have children will lead to government mandated programs. People seem to think this idea is an attack on humanity. I don’t see it that way and think this is a reasonable idea. Most people will probably disagree so there is still going to be plenty of people.

Sometimes my frugal nature costs me. I’ve been needing to get a lock for my bike for a couple of months. Whenever I was in a store that sold bike locks I’d check the prices but I always thought I could get a better price. I figured my bike was safe enough where it was and I’d get a lock when I started riding my bike more often in the spring. That proved to be false because yesterday my bike was stolen. I was keeping it by my back door which is a storage area for the apartments in my building. This area is locked and can only be accessed by residents of my apartment building so I didn’t think I had to worry about my bike being stolen from there. I suspect it was probably my neighbor or one of their visitors that took my bike but I have no way of knowing. Sometimes people leave the outside door unlocked so it could have been anybody. The bike was free and not worth much. It was an old, junky, 10 speed and I didn’t think anybody would want to steal it which was another reason I delayed getting a lock. Although the bike was free it will cost me money to replace it if I decide to do so. Trying to save a couple bucks on a bike lock cost me a bike.

What you do with your spare time has a big impact on where your discretionary income goes. That is why it is good to have inexpensive hobbies. If you are a spender though even inexpensive hobbies might be expensive. It is wise to look at how much you spend on your hobbies and determine if you can do them cheaper without significantly impacting your enjoyment of them.

For example three of my favorite hobbies are running,long-distance backpacking,and blogging. These hobbies can be done on the cheap but many people spend a lot of money on them. My only running expenses are around $30 for a good pair of running shoes and perhaps one or two race entries a year. This makes it an inexpensive hobby for me. If you buy $100 running shoes,all kinds of special running clothing, and enter a 5k every weekend then it is going to be an expensive hobby. I don’t think the extra money spent results in much,if any, extra enjoyment though.

Long-distance backpacking takes more money but I don’t do it as often so it is still possible to do it inexpensively. I acquired most of my equipment little-by-little as I found good deals. When I went on my first long-distance backpacking trip(270 miles) I had about $300 worth of backpacking gear and supplies which is what some people spend on just one piece of gear. Most of my gear worked fine and I was appropriately equipped for the hike. There are lots of sources of information on the internet detailing how to get equipped cheaply. I especially like ” Cheap Gear – How to Dirt Bag and Deal Shop Like a Professional”.

Blogging is even better than an inexpensive hobby-it actually makes me money. My costs for this blog are roughly $21 a year for the hosting and domain name. By shopping around and getting a great deal on hosting I don’t have to make much money to be profitable. When I started this blog I wanted to keep the advertising to a minimum and I’ve been able to do that since my operating costs are so low. I do occasionally wonder how much money I could make if I fully monetized this blog but for now I’m keeping it as is.

These are just a few examples. There are plenty of other hobbies out there that can be done inexpensively or can actually make you money. You just need to plan your spending and do it wisely.