Hike Recap

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Appalachian Trail in Northern VirginiaThis post isn’t too timely since it has been almost a month since I returned from my hike.  But I need to write something since I’ve been neglecting the blog and this is what I have been wanting to write about so here it is.

My hike lasted two weeks and I ended up hiking about 130 miles.  The trip was quite a bit more expensive than I planned on it being and although I enjoyed the trip I now wish I would have just hiked on local trails to keep costs down rather than traveling to the Appalachian Trail.

My main mode of transportation to and from the trail was Amtrak.  Last year was the first time I ever rode a train and now that I have tried it I am a fan of train travel.  One of the main advantages of taking the train for this trip was that the train stopped in the town I was starting my hike at.  If I had flown I would have had to taken a bus or taxi from the airport to the train station and then taken the train to my final destination.  Logistics were much easier just taking the train.  The other advantage was that the train was cheaper.  The main drawback to the train is that it takes a lot longer but that wasn’t a problem for me.

On the way back there was a large gap between when the train arrived in Chicago and when the next train left for St.  Louis.  Rather than wait around in the train station all day I decided to try the Megabus.  It was only $14 for the Chicago to St. Louis trip.  That was about half the price of the train and much cheaper than flying or driving.  The bus was full and the seats are much smaller than on the train.  Combine that with the fact that they had the heat cranked up way too hot and I was quite uncomfortable for the beginning of the trip.  Once the bus was on the highway they finally turned the heat down a little and I got used to the close quarters the trip was reasonably comfortable.   The bus only had one scheduled stop plus a rest stop for the trip which was enough stops for me.  The trip took about six hours and that is about as long a trip I’m willing to take on the bus.  I’d take the bus again if the time and money savings were enough but I think it is definitely worth paying some extra money for the train.

The biggest cost of my trip was staying in hotels.  I didn’t plan on staying in hotels so much when I was planning the trip but I ended up staying in a hotel several nights.  I’m not as good at roughing it as I used to be.  I suppose that is a combination of being out of shape and getting older.  I’m hoping it is mostly due to being out of shape because I can get back in shape but I can’t get any younger.  On my previous hiking trips I didn’t stay in hotels nearly as much.  In addition to being younger and in better shape I couldn’t afford to stay in hotels then.  That is probably the other reason I’m not as good at roughing it as I used to be.

I’ve always enjoyed the hiking part more than the camping part but I do enjoy the camping for a few days.  On this trip I tried my new Eureka! Solitaire Tent and was quite pleased with it.  I camped all night in the rain and it managed to keep the moisture out which is better than any of my previous tents have done.  This gives me more confidence in passing up the shelters and just stopping wherever I want for the day.  My next gear purchase needs to be an air sleeping pad since my thin camping pad is no longer comfortable.  With that combination it should be easier to pass up the hotels.

I hiked from Harpers Ferry to the southern end of Shenandoah National Park.  There was beautiful scenery and the hiking was mostly nice.  There were a couple of days that it was uncomfortably hot but otherwise it was pretty good hiking weather.  I thought by hiking in March I could avoid the bugs but they were already out.  On the uncomfortably warm days they were swarming me.  They were still around but not bothersome on the other days.  I did get a couple of tick bites even though I took precautions against them.  I have felt more fatigued than usual since returning from my hike and will be seeing a doctor to make sure I don’t have Lyme disease.

One benefit of the hike was that I was able to get my weight under 220 pounds for the first time in a year or so.  Walking ten miles a day with thirty pounds on your back and only eating the food you carry does help with weight loss. I have been staying at about the same weight since I’ve been back from the hike but that won’t last since I’m no longer exercising and have returned to my normal eating habits.  I have to start exercising again and eating better so I can get back to losing weight.

Hiking is a cheap recreational activity if you do it right. On the days I didn’t stay in a hotel or go to town my only cost was the about $2 a day of food I ate.  On a longer trip I’d probably be eating more food but in the short term hiking kills my appetite.  If one can manage to keep the hotel and restaurant visits to a minimum it would be possible to hike for less than $5 a day.  That is easier said than but I do dream of trying it some day.

For now I plan on doing more local hikes and getting my hiking fix that way.

Online Income Report – March 2012

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Here is a breakdown of my online income for March 2012.  This is going to be the last report breaking down my online income for a while.

Google Adsense – $295.91

Affiliate Income – $367.75

Brokered Ads – $62.63

Direct Ads-$2670.81

Total – $3397.10

My online income for March was actually quite good.  Unfortunately since Google has greatly reduced the amount of traffic they are sending me and hit me with Page Rank reductions I won’t likely be back to this level for a long time.  I’ll be lucky if I can keep my income to the thousand dollars a month level. I’m going to be looking at ways to increase my passive income and alternative income which won’t necessarily be online.  Since Google doesn’t like the advertisements I was placing on this site I will no longer be taking those kinds of advertisements and looking for other ways to make money.  Once I have the site revamped I’ll ask Google to reconsider their penalty but it will be some time before I can do that since I can’t remove  advertisements until my contracts run out.   I won’t be doing online income report posts because there won’t be much to report.  You will still be able to see the amount of my online income by looking at my monthly income posts.

 

Frugal Fast Food

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It’s been a long day. You’re headed home, and you’re exhausted. A lighted sign casts a warm glow across the highway — the Golden Arches or Subway’s green/yellow sign. Yum – but you’re on a budget. Should you stop?

The happy truth is that healthy, affordable fast food can indeed be an enjoyable part of your life. Given, that is, you’re willing to keep it within limits.

 

How often can you afford to go? Figure it out. Set aside a specific amount that you know you can afford to use — it can be slotted as ‘entertainment’ or ‘food.’ Keep that amount in cash — or put it on a gift card for your favorite spot. When the money’s gone, it’s gone, until the next paycheck. Go home and have a peanut-butter sandwich.

Stretch your ‘go-to’ money. Coupons, especially BOGOs, will let you go twice as often. Choose the sale items: Subway’s monthly specials often let you choose a foot-long sub for $5 — or less! Many restaurants, including McDonalds, Wendy’s, Burger King, Taco Bell and even Kentucky Fried Chicken, offer a ‘dollar menu.’ Most of those items are now more than a buck — but not much more.

Investopedia’s collected the five best value meal deals;  Money Talks News has their take on the same subject. (Interestingly, most of the restaurants mentioned are the same.)

Choose carefully — and share.  Order large fries for the family, instead of a small packet per person. Or set half your meal aside for tomorrow’s lunch. (Put it in a box, out of sight.) Two kids’ meals can feed 3 or 4 children. A large sandwich can feed two adults. Drink water — and you save not only on calories, but price. (You’ll find eight fast food meals under 500 calories here.)

Healthy fast food is out there! Do what Helpguide.org calls “undressing” your food: skip the mayo or sour cream (substitute mustard, salsa or ketchup), or eat your sandwich open-face. Taco Bell offers a ‘fresco’ menu that automatically gives you healthier choices, as part of their “drive-thru diet.”

Choose whole-grain bread, lower-calorie cheeses like Swiss or mozzarella, and load your pizza or sub with veggies, to ramp up the food value even more. Look for the words “grilled” instead of “fried;” skip “breaded” and “super–.” And don’t assume a salad means low-calorie, unless you’re willing to minimize ingredients like bacon or fatty salad dressing. Kids’ meals have gotten healthier, too. Burger King now offers apple juice, fat-free milk and apple slices on its children’s menu…and other chains have followed suit.

Go less, dine more elegantly. Prices for fast food restaurants have gone up — meal deals at many places, including drink, fries and sandwich, cost from $5.95 – 7.95. That’s close to a budget entree at a sit-down restaurant! Would you rather wait, and make it more of an occasion next time?

Don’t waste a thing. Extra napkins come in handy tucked in the glove compartment, along with that ‘spork’ you didn’t use. Add some zip to chicken noodle soup with a couple of salsa packets, or use your dipping sauce as a marinade for chicken or pork. (They’re great in stir-fries, too.) In their book The Phony Gourmet, Pam Young and Peggy Jones wrap leftover burgers in pastry, and serve these ‘pot pies,’ crunchy and bubbling, with special sauce!

Add to your profits by checking your receipt on the way out — many restaurants have a short survey. A few minutes of your time earns free food for the next visit, or a chance to win prizes or cash.

We all have our favorites. Our oldest daughter loves Subway’s chicken and bacon ranch melt; her sister would rather have KFC’s bowls any day. (KFC’s Aussie-style chicken potpie is only $3, at the time of this writing.) Husband is partial to Little Caesar’s pizza or a hot stick of Crazy bread, and I could go for Wendy’s chili or a Chargrilled Chicken Club from Chick-Fil-A. Maybe we’ll just wait for Colorado’s Rockies or Nuggets sports teams to win — then Taco Bell offers 4 tacos for a buck, as long as we get a drink, too. Make your choices wisely, and fast food can be a guilt-free item on your menu, too.

This post is by staff writer Cindy Brick.  You can visit her blog at CindyBrick.com or visit her personal blog.

March Income – $3152.88

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Here is a breakdown of my income for March.

Online Income

 $3014.60

Interest

$2.01

Stock Dividends

$67.65

Cash Back

$30.42

Sell Stuff

$16.70

Mystery Shopping

$21.50

Total

$3152.88

My income from March was actually quite good despite the Google penalties that happened in March.  That is because the effects of those won’t be reflected in my earnings until this month.  It will probably be a long time before I see a $3000 online income in a month again.  I probably won’t even make $1000 online this month.

I’ve discussed ramping up other areas of income if my online income went down and now we’ll see if I’m actually able to do it. I need to increase income from my alternative income and passive income sources.  It shouldn’t be too difficult to increase my income from selling stuff and mystery shopping.  I’m also looking at a few different independent contractor positions.  If I land one of them it will be a big step towards keeping my income at its current level.

March Expenses – $3582.70

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Here is a breakdown of our expenses for March.

Household

$664
Entertainment

$174

Transportation

 $539.42

Food

$577.86
Hotel

$440.32
Travel

$259.65
Charity

$128

Clothing

$358.86
Cable/Internet

$65.38
Phone

$100
Electric

$93.47
Health

$181.74

Total

 $3582.70

Our expenses were way too high in March.  This was mainly due to my hiking trip.  Hiking is actually an inexpensive hobby but I managed to turn it into an expensive one by staying in hotels way too often.  This makes two months in a row that our expenses have been higher than our income.  Combine that with the fact that my online income is going to be way down and it is easy to see why our savings are rapidly dwindling.  I’m not too worried since my wife and I are taking steps to get our finances back in order.  We are both going to do better at watching our spending this month.  I’m looking for new sources of income which might even include a job.  My wife’s business has some big deals which should be closing soon which will result in a nice increase in income.  The combination of reducing expenses and increasing income should get our savings back up to a comfortable level.

Since our expenses were so much higher last month I broke down them down into more categories.  We usually don’t even have a hotel or travel or charity or even clothing expenses so getting rid of those categories this month will bring our expenses way down.