This weekend I had a chance to read The Cul-de-Sac Syndrome – Turning Around the Unsustainable American Dream by John F. Wasik.

It was a timely read as it has much to so with the current economic situation and what got us here but it is short on political blame and deals more with the attitudes and ideals that have permeated within the American mindset and how that has caused a lot of trouble for us.

It talks quite a bit in the early chapters about the housing bubble and it was incredibly interesting. Especially since I was living in Arizona during the boom and I saw first hand how completely outrageous it was. We wanted to buy a new tract home in Phoenix during the boom but thank goodness we had enough common sense to recognize how unsustainable the market was.  To get a house at the time you had to put your name in a lottery drawing. Every week the builders would draw 5- 10 names and those people would get houses. Our names were not getting picked right away and every week that your name was not picked the price went up about $10,000-$20,000 dollars. In the end this meant that many people were paying $50-$100,000 or more than some of their neighbors for the exact same home model. My husband and I refused to play that game.

The people who got the houses for the initial price were elated because now they were told their homes had went up in value by $100 grand in the first year alone but that did not make sense to me. Instead of thinking their homes were going up they should have just realized that their neighbors paid way to much. Some of them sold right away and did manage to make a good amount of money but we all know how the story ended for most of the country… the bubble burst big time.

In Phoenix people started losing their homes left and right because they couldn’t refinance the bad interest rates they got in their hurry to buy a house. They found that they owed more on their house then it was worth.

Another issue that is highlighted in the book is that few people could even afford to buy these upgraded homes. Instead of being content to see a marble floor at a bank or a museum the average Joe decided he need marble in his bathroom. What changed the American mindset that hard work and time was no longer needed to secure what you wanted? When and why did we decide that we all deserved luxury home regardless of income or circumstances? Remember the story of the immigrant crop picker with an annual income of 15K who managed to get a home for $720K?? The American Dream has morphed into something reckless and dangerous and something VERY unsustainable.

It seems we have gotten too big for our britches and classify what used to be “wants” as “needs”. We somehow “need” a big house, a nice car or two, big screen TVs, our kids attending private schools or the ones in the best areas (which require high property taxes to sustain them), and all the luxuries life has to offer. We don’t save and we don’t delay gratification anymore. We want it all now. This coupled with the fixed costs we obligate ourselves too as outlined in The Two Income Trap: Why Middle-Class Mothers and Fathers Are Going Broke is why we are in the situation we are today.

Of course is not to say that greedy corporations and banks as well as lax government oversight are not equally responsible for this mess… it is just that greedy corporations and banks only capitalized on a trend they saw. They couldn’t make people behave recklessly if they didn’t want to ya know? ;)

So, what is the solution? Well, this book outlines a need for a move to New Urbanism to prevent suburban sprawl. You cannot change people but we can change the way cities are designed and the way homes and cities are built. We can make cities more walkable and less drivable instead of the reverse. There are also numerous other ideas that I felt were awesome.

One of the ideas in the book is to un-link property taxes and local development to school funding. By making schools rely on local, state, and federal funding that would effectively keep people from moving further away from central cities to suburban areas where housing costs give schools mammoth budgets. If everyone is on an even playing field the schools would then be forced to be responsible with the money they get AND it would keep people in cities. Cities are greener and cheaper.

Other ideas include spending more money on transportation and infrastutcture instead of sprawl. Creating communities that seek to be self sufficient and even generate their own energy. Funding a smart grid, trim real estate tax breaks, create private incentives for affordable housing, and heck yes… give the citizens of this country universal healthcare. I am a BIG supporter of that. I want to stop seeing hard working families go bankrupt because of health issues and greedy insurance companies. And for the economic conservatives it has ideas for what we can cut to defray costs for what we need to spend. Although I would not classify this book as liberal or conservative… I just know some people’s hair stands on end when they hear talk about government spending.

It is a good book with lots of good ideas. If you like books on economics and new urbanism then check this one out. Also if it interests you, make sure to stop by the blog of my friend Sharon at New Urban Mom who has been involved with promoting new urbanism for years.

Yesterday I was driving to pick my son up from school and I was sitting at a light behind an aging, maroon colored car. I could see from their temporary plates and dealer plate holder that they had just bought the car and at that moment I realized that I have changed so much on this green journey of mine. I have always been something of a car snob I guess. I liked new cars with that new car smell and every car I have had was fresh from the factory with that stylish car payment that says “I am so successful that I can afford to waste money on something that will depreciate significantly just by driving it off the lot.”

It only took about a year before I was upside down on car worth versus loan amount still due but hey it was a NEW car. When the car started to look not so new it was time to trade in and when I got married of course both hubby and I both had to have our own cars. Then we started trying to live with a lighter eco footprint and we bought a used vehicle. About two years after that we decided we needed something with better gas mileage even if meant downgrading to a car once again… like we had pre-kids.

Since hubby’s vehicle was a company owned 18 wheeler I got to choose my new-to-me car and I chose the one above. It was an 8 year old car in great condition with only 40,000 miles. It had a sun roof, a remote starter, lots of trunk space, and it cost half of what I would usually spend on a new car. I did initially get a loan on it but I paid it off after only a couple months. I love this car and I plan to keep it until it tanks out on me. Just this week I had to put out $500 for a new tie rod, internal maintenance, and four new tires but considering I have no car payment and good gas mileage I am happy as a clam…I just passed 100,000 miles.

When I saw that rather ugly maroon car in front of me yesterday my first thought was COOL. I wondered if it ran well and how many miles it had. I realized that I now have a used car mentality. Gone are the days when I see a new car and get a twinge of jealousy. Now I just smile to myself and remember that I have a car that meets my needs and no car payment. I also have a more affordable car insurance premium from buying used, though I know this can vary by car model. I am not throwing away my money on bank interest or higher insurance rates, and by buying used I am recycling. That feeling is so liberating I can’t even describe it.

Another good feeling comes from deciding to only have one vehicle. When my hubby quit his trucking job we had a little problem…two people, one car. But we really didn’t want to buy another car so we found some work arounds. Hubby got a night job so we both had the car when we needed it. I found that at first I was irritated about not having a car from 4:30 PM to 8:00 the next morning but quickly I realized that it was saving me money. I stopped making quick shopping trips to pick up “one” item that quickly turned into a shopping cart full of crap I didn’t need. I also couldn’t get lazy and decide to take the kids out to eat if I didn’t feel like making food. It turned out to be a blessing.

But then the economy tanked and my hubby was switched to day shifts. This was very bad for us since we now had two children in two different schools that did not have bus service. It wasn’t feasible to drive my husband to work since I would have to get the kids up at 4:30 in the morning so they could ride along. We were going to be forced to buy a new car and I was really bummed. But we got creative and borrowed a car for 3-4 days a week until he got switched back to the night shift (this week). I did end up buying a used motorcyle as a backup for good weather days too. The gas mileage on it will be a big money saver for us in the summer months.

At some point we may decide to become a two car household again but I am confident that we will do it only if it becomes necessary and not because it is merely convenient. I am also confident that we will not get sucked back into the new car consumer trap until the time comes when green car technology really does make a new car the more eco friendly option. As it is now, it is just more eco friendly to buy used.

But it is very nice to catch yourself mid thought and realize…I am not the same person anymore… in a good way. ;)

This week I have been consumed with frugality and saving money. Why? Well, I have never been what I would consider money-wise. But green living and my move toward simple living has really helped reform me. Now I am enjoying cutting expenses and getting great pleasure out of knowing we are not “wasting” money.

A couple months ago my husband and I joined a rewards program through our bank. It cost $25 to join and I had my doubts but I wanted to give it a try. It required us to use the “credit” feature on our bank card as much as possible because debits using our pin number would not qualify. Well, I am about to cash in on my second $25 Amazon.com gift certificate through this program so it is a HUGE success in my book. I have doubled my money after only three months. I think the fact that we pay almost all our bills online with a debit card helps.

Which reminds me… I am REALLY impressed with the new ATM machines that Chase is using. They are very green! You no longer need envelopes or deposit slips to make a deposit at the ATM. It scans the cash or the check(s) and then if you deposited a check a little image of it prints out on the receipt. I usually decline the receipts but this I had to see. It is so COOL! Way to go banks for cutting needless costs and paper!

This week I decided I wanted to whittle my cable bill. I cancelled three premium channels saving about $35.00 a month. I did decide to keep HBO though. I can’t be without Big Love and True Blood. ;) I also dropped one of the features of my high speed Internet that I was not using for more monthly savings. I would have cancelled my land line phone entirely since we don’t use it and only got it because the Internet required it. But alas they won’t let me cancel the phone without entering a new contract for Internet service. Since we are moving that could be a bad idea. They also increase the price of the Internet to defray the costs of losing a phone customer so it wasn’t that big of a savings after all was said and done.

I joined a local co-op this week that will enable me to buy bulk food at lower prices than what I could buy in stores. We will be getting bulk nuts and seeds, dried fruit, cocoa butter, agave nectar, and sea veggies at really good prices. They have lots of other stuff too but those are the main things I am interested in. We will be ordering almost a 100 pounds of raw nuts and seeds for our first go round and in the long run we will be saving big time.

I have my calendar marked with upcoming auction dates and garage sales so that I can start looking for some furniture we need… dressers, King size headboard, etc. This will keep me from making a trip to Ikea in Cincinnati. It just might take me longer to find what I need.

I cancelled my husband’s Sirius Satellite radio since we have a few hundred songs on our iTunes account and a hefty gift certificate balance. There is no reason why we need to waste money on satellite radio….especially since his commute will be cut to 10-15 minutes a day after we move.

I am also designing a spreadsheet so we can track every penny we spend. We need that monthly slap in the face I think. But overall I am happy that we are managing to save money already and it goes immediately to our emergency fund so we are not tempted to find something else silly to spend it on. This is actually kind of fun… a challenge. ;)

In keeping with the theme of this post I wanted to keep the link love relevant to saving money and being thrifty.

Lots of places let you clip digital coupons. The concept is really awesome. Instead of clipping paper coupons you select digital coupons and transfer them to your grocery store rewards card. Then when you go to the store and buy that product the coupon is used automatically and the number amount deducted from your total bill. There are also numerous places online to print coupons for all your favorite products.

Right now the service only works with the Kroger/Frys family of stores but they will be adding more. I rarely use coupons because they are almost always for processed foods we don’t eat but I am hopeful. It is another cool paperless feature at any rate. Also, you can use digital coupons with Upromise. It is a college savings program where your purchases earn cash back that goes into an account for your kids. I have been a member for years and thought this was a nifty way to save for college if you don’t need the money back.

And while I am on the subject of coupons I saw this nifty coupon organizer the other day called the Couponizer. It is REALLY cool. Basically it is a binder with pockets for each category of purchases… toiletries, canned foods, frozen foods, etc. It has a CoupStacker – presorting mat  that allows you to quickly figure out where the coupons go, a CoupTracker for recording monthly savings and even a carrying bag and scissors. It is also small enough to fit under a car seat, in the door of car, or in the glove box. My mom used to carry around a shoe box with index cards…she would have been in heaven had this been around! I guess it sold out on QVC in 7 minutes when it was debuted there.

Have a great weekend all!!

“We are lovers of beauty without extravagance” – Thucydides

I read this amazingly simple and heartwarming quote from a book this weekend. The book is Frugal Luxuries – Simple Pleasures to Enhance Your Life and Comfort Your Soul by Tracey McBride and I really, really, really, can’t say enough good things about it. The idea behind the book is to show us how being frugal and simple in our taste is really an art form. It has nothing to do with being miserly or being a cheapskate and everything to do with living well, even luxuriously, on less. It is about making do with what we have and finding joy in all the simple pleasures of life, being a lover of beauty without the extravagance.

A mental image from one of the chapters has always stuck with since I first read this book over a year ago. It talked about a family living in an abandoned wood shack. A group of charity workers heard someone was living in it and decided to stop by and leave food for the family. When they went inside they were stunned by what they saw. The wood floor was scrubbed until it gleamed and was covered with wood wax. A fire was burning in an old river rock fireplace and on the hearth sat a pot of simmering apples and cinnamon that made the place smell divine. A spool discarded by the cable company served as their table and it was adorned with floor length green and white checked gingham cloth. Simple curtains made from the same fabric covered their windows and hung from willow branches. A garland of evergreen and pine cones hung from the ceiling like a wallpaper border. They sat on fruit crates topped with red cushions and their guests were treated like royalty when they stopped by.

This always struck me as a perfect example of what being frugal/simple is all about…. living well, and being happy with less. Not feeling as though luxury has to equal expensive. Luxury could be that latte you treat yourself to once a week. It could be fresh strawberries, still warm from the sun. It could be reading a book next to an open window as rain falls.

We live in a society that almost always seem to emphasize that a good life full of luxuries requires lots of money. This book shows how this just isn’t so. It also shows how being frugal is an art we can cultivate to improve our lives and simplify them or perhaps even realize that we already have all the luxuries we need and value.

In chapter two, McBride compares the the money attitudes of America versus Europe. She claims that Americans are concerned about cost..the actual dollar amount of a service or product. Europeans are concerned with “time” it took to earn the required amount of dollars. Instead of wondering if they can afford something or generalizing that such and such is a good monetary price, they are mentally tabulating how much of their time is being traded for the goods in question. It is a lot harder to submit to instant gratification when you think in terms of time.

This reminds me of that story of you often see posted on the Internet of the Mexican fisherman who fishes just enough to feed and support his family so he can spend the majority of his time sleeping late, playing with his children, taking siestas with his wife, going to the village to see his friends, have a few drinks, play the guitar, and sing a few songs. To him that is a full life. Then he meets and American who tells him that he should invest in more boats, put in more hours, expand his business, incorporate, and rake in lots of money. When the fisherman asks why he would want to do all that, the response is so that he could have enough money to be able to retire and sleep late, play with his grandchildren, take siestas with his wife, go to the village to see his friends, have a few drinks, play the guitar, and sing a few songs. He already had everything he wanted but some people have to do things the hard way.

McBride encourages us to create a money map. It is basically a money plan that allows us to get away from random spending. She likens spending without a money map to choosing random articles of clothing without any consideration for color and style, resulting in a chaotic clash of colors and patterns. Random spending is chaotic and dysfunctional. No matter what budget you are working with you have to have a plan, or money map. She outlines how to do this in the book.

After some information on reducing debt she goes into simplifying your life…”eliminating material and intangible excess, conserving time, energy, money, and thoughts. It is using the resources you possess in a way that will take you toward your dreams, your goals – your desired future.” So again she emphasizes working with what you have to make a better life…not accumulating things to make it look like you have a better life.

Part of living simple and luxuriously on less is learning to value and appreciate simple things. People are what make an object valuable…things are not inherently valuable on their own and we CAN choose what things to value.

“One ought, every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, and, if it were possible, to speak a few reasonable words.” – Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

McBride shares with us ways in which we can start to value different things like friendship, memories, kindness, levity, learning, observing, wisdom, and family time. She makes a case for each as to why they will enrich our lives more than any physical item we think we need to own.

Other sections of the book discuss practical every day ideas we can apply to our lives like frugal and luxurious food… or humble cookery, frugal clothing, and making a home. The food section has lots of great tips for making meals into feasts and it has little to do with making more food or having expensive food. Her clothing tips were good reminders for me. I am drowing in laundry and I think it is time to downsize every one’s wardrobe. Statistically McBride says we only use 20% of the clothes we have on a regular basis. I also loved her tips on frugal decorating and the personal stories are priceless.

Frugal Luxuries continues to be a real gem with great wisdom and helpful tips and it is one I will likely be reading every year for a refresher on why simple and frugal are the way to go.

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Want to teach your children about simple, humble values and lives? Try reading them the Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder. The author or Frugal Luxuries refers to it often.

Yes, the conundrum that most families into natural health and wellness will face. On one hand we have the argument that organic, healthier foods cost more and therefore cannot be justified when we have a modest budget. There is some truth to this no doubt. Organic cow’s milk might cost you $4.99 for a half gallon at the grocery store. The non-organic milk sits right next to it at $2.79 per whole gallon. The raw organic almonds I buy at $12.99 a pound to make breakfast bars with seems extravagant when I could buy Pop Tarts for a couple dollars a box right? Why go buy $15 worth of ingredients at the store to make a good dinner when we can shop the $1 menu at McDonalds?

But then the counter argument is that unhealthy foods and non organic foods will cost us more in the long run. Why? Because food is our medicine. An unhealthy diet will eventually lead to health problems, doctor visits, unpaid sick days, hospitalizations, pharma prescriptions, etc. If you need proof, look at me. My bad choices turned around to bite me in the behind BIG time. I chose bad foods…REALLY bad foods for many years and got lovely colon cancer, $50,000 worth of surgeries, and chemo treatment at $7000 a week for 6 months. Don’t I wish I could go back and buy healthy foods and complain about how expensive it was. ;)

I see both sides of the coin but only one  really stands up to tough scrutiny. If we cut corners on a healthy diet due to expense…we may likely be paying the piper later…with interest. But like everything it seems there is no black and white here. Some things we may need to compromise on. How can we cut costs and allow access to better food? Let’s explore some of the ways.

Menu Planning – This is probably the best way to cut costs, good old fashioned planning. It gets really pricey when we shop piece meal and only pick up ingredients for a couple days worth of meals. You also might not know what you already have to work with and that can be costly. It just makes good sense to sit down every month or every two weeks and plan out every meal you will eat. Take an inventory of your frig and pantry to see what you have already and work with that. If you have a 5 pound bag of jasmine rice then plan 2-3 meals each week that incorporate rice. If you have lots of dried or canned beans then plan some meals with beans, etc. And when staples like beans and/or rice go on sale, make sure to take advantage.

Meal planning alleviates stress because you always know what you will be making and that lessens the chances that you will just call out for pizza. And eating raw takes planning cause if I want to use rice I have to allow four days for it to soak! But it is kind of fun to do. If it is not your thing you can also use online meal planners or services. Try Menu Planning Central or the Healthy Menu Mailer.

Also don’t be afraid to eat the same thing multiple times in a week if it saves money. There is no law that says dinner has to be totally unique each night.

Buy in Bulk – Sometimes bulk food werehouses can be a bad deal if we buy stuff we don’t need or want just because it is cheaper. But if you shop wisely they are wonderful. Personally I avoid paying the membership fee at Costco by shopping with my mom. I save money on the fee and my purchases count towards her cash back bonuses.

I like to buy frozen fruit at Costco. I can get a huge bag of frozen strawberries for $7.99. A bag ¼ that size can be found at my local grocery store for $6.99. That is a BIG savings since I can easily go through one bag a week and this is one of those areas where I opt not to go organic due to cost. If I had to pay triple for that amount of strawberries I would not buy them nearly as much and I would not make green smoothies nearly as much so the health benefit in that scenario favors the non-organic strawberries. Same goes with their bag of mixed fruit. But when strawberries are seasonal I buy organic and freeze my own. I just run out pretty quick. :(

Organic Baby Spinach is also a great price at Costco so I stock up on that. Fresh, seasonal fruit is better priced too. Costco it is one of the few places I can find wild caught salmon in our area. They have big bags of baking soda that I use to make my own green cleaners. They also add to their organic offerings all the time. Just don’t buy stuff for the sake of buying cheaper stuff.

You might also look into a food co-op where you join with other people to get bulk food at wholesale prices.

Shop Less – This ties in with meal planning. Frequent trips to the store end up costing us more than if we just plan for one or two shopping trips a month. Of course a diet rich in fresh fruits and veggies might mean more trips but the bulk of the shopping should only be done at certain times. The book America’s Cheapest Family discusses this.

Don’t Eat Out – Just stop it already, it is expensive. Make your own meals and save money. Presuming you don’t shop the dollar menu then value meals at fast food places will run around $25 for a family of 5 and it is crap food! That $25 could be dinner for 2-3 nights if you plan well. And don’t waste money on $4 coffees from coffee houses. Yes, it is easy for me to say since I don’t drink coffee but it seems like such a waste. I had to speak with my hubby about this recently and his iced coffee from Dunkin Doughnuts habit.

Make Your Own – Are you buying bottled salad dressing or salsa? Bags of bread? Think about making your own foods and condiments and save money.

Look for Deals – When staples go on sale like rice, beans, nuts, grains, etc, stock up and fill your pantry. Use coupons when you can but do not buy stuff you don’t need or want just because it is on sale. Wasting food is not cool.

If you find you regularly buy certain brand products then contact the distributor and see if they can send coupons. Join their online mailing list to get printable coupons. Pick up Mambo Sprouts coupon books in front of Whole Foods. Look at online sales flyers to see which stores are having sales and even if you have already shopped this week check them anyway, just in case. Don’t go to Whole Foods to buy your almonds when Trader Joe’s down the street has them on sale. If you use Agave Nectar a lot then stock up when they have a sale. I recently found my favorite brand of raw Agave Nectar for $1.99 a bottle! It was an unadvertised sale and needless to say I bought every bottle they had. Which leads me to a little tip: the little natural food sections of mainstream grocery stores often have unadvertised sales. I guess maybe they decide that no one is buying this stuff so they want to clear it out which is good news for me.

Also start keeping track of your purchase in a spreadsheet so you can get a feel for average pricing. This will help you figure out if something is a real deal or waste of time.

CSAs and Farmer’s Markets – Do the math and see if a CSA membership will be a good deal for you, it usually is. BUT if you end up with veggies you don’t like or use then perhaps not. Also check out Farmer’s Markets at the end of the day when the farmers mark down produce to get rid of it. Also be sure to look for local Amish for great deals on organic veggies and eggs.

Eat Less Meat – Meat is the budget killer so try to incorporate as many meatless meals as you can. If you see my sample rice meal plan above you will see only one of the three meals includes meat. That was deliberate. I have been amazed at how much food I have been able to bring home on the average shopping trip since we stopped buying so much meat. If anything we buy fish now instead for 1-2 fish meals a week. Ultimately I would like to see us move to buying sushi only… at our local Japanese grocer.

Eat in Season – Buy according to the seasons for cheaper prices. In the fall buy apples and persimmons and skip the pineapple and green grapes. In the summer load up on watermelon and strawberries. It might also be advantageous to buy a stand alone freezer and freeze some. You can also dehydrate to extend the life of seasonal foods.

Grow Your Own – Even if you have never gardened or think you don’t have the space I bet you can grow at least ONE thing. Pick one item you always buy and see if you can grow it yourself. Cherry tomatoes, strawberries, or herbs are a great place to start. They can be grown on a patio or at a sunny window. I love this post fro J.D. over at Get Rich Slowly about gardening. He found that for every dollar he spent on the garden, they harvested $1.91 worth of food and the expenses were often one time things like a wood chipper and young fruit trees. That is awesome. Wouldn’t you like to make every dollar go twice as far?

There are lots of ways to reduce costs that I can see. How about you? What tips or somments do you have?

I have wanted to talk about this ever since a discussion started on my dumpster diving interview post. Basically the post discusses how one woman used the concepts of Freeganism to harvest good food thrown away by grocery stores and turn around and give it to the hungry and homeless…to the tune of $30,000. Surprisingly, it was said that this was perhaps a bit selfish….that we should consume (buy) even if we don’t need to so that we are supporting farmers.

Well, I am all for supporting local farmers and supporting earth friendly, sustainable, conscious companies with our money. But I am not for consuming just for the sake of consuming and yes I do realize that this is exactly the trend that our current economy is based upon. Consumerism may make the economic world turn…but self sufficiency is what will preserve the planet…not consumerism.

This fact was clear when I read a new prediction from Gerald Celente. This is the man that accurately predicted 1987 stock market crash, the fall of the Soviet Union, the 1997 Asian Currency Crisis, the subprime mortgage collapse, and the massive devaluation of the U.S. dollar. The New York Post once said of him “If Nostradamus were alive today, he’d have a hard time keeping up with Gerald Celente.” Clearly this gentlemen and his partners have a their eye on the pulse of the economy but their latest prediction will not leave you with a warm and fuzzy feeling. He has said, “by 2012 America will become an undeveloped nation, that there will be a revolution marked by food riots, squatter rebellions, tax revolts and job marches, and that holidays will be more about obtaining food, not gifts. And there is going to be a lot of homeless, the likes of which we have never seen before. Tent cities are already sprouting up around the country and we’re going to see many more.”

Now I have no opinion on the accuracy of this prediction I can only say that for us it should show what is at the very least, a possibility. I am not about doom and gloom but I am not for sticking my head in the sand either. Can you imagine living in a country where people riot for food, protest any and all taxes, can’t find a job, or live in tent cities because they are homeless? As a spoiled American I can barely even fathom such a thing but the very idea that the current economic model of spend, spend, and spend more could crumble like that shows us that more self sufficiency is needed. And consumerism as it exists now will NEVER heal our planet. Maybe it is time I finally read that book I have meant to read for awhile: The Environmental Endgame: Mainstream Economics, Ecological Disaster, And Human Survival.

Just think about it. If you woke up tomorrow in the world Celente has predicted what would you do? Can you be self sufficient? Do you have economic survival skills? To me it seems that to rely on consumerism to drive the world forward will always be potentially risky. If I woke up in that world tomorrow I “hope” that I would have a home completely paid off, that I could grow all my own food, that I would have a nest egg saved, that I could make or sew anything I need, and that I could open my home to others and do co-housing. I would “hope” that my purchases in the years previous were smart so that I did not need much in the way of material things.

It certainly has given me a lot to think about. Even if none of it comes to pass I think I would be infinitely better off being more self sufficient. It will help me save money that is for sure.

So what do you think about Celente’s prediction? Could it happen and what would you do? Is self sufficieny selfish and is consumerism the way to keep everyone’s head above water?

Photo Credit

Acme Bags Earh Tote for $4.98 (50% off)

A 27 oz Klean Kanteen Bottle for $12.57!! (30& off)

A Klean Kanteen Sippy Cup for $13.97!! (30% off)

If you have been wanting to try any of these great products now would be a great time to buy!

Thanks to Amy for tipping me off to this great sale. ;)

I met Ginger on Twitter and was amazed by her Squidoo page where she shows, with pictures, what she has been able to accomplish utilizing the totally legal (in most cases) practice of dumpster diving or Freeganism. She has some great stories to tell about what she finds and who she helps. And dare I say she has inspired me to possibly take up her cause after I move to the city this spring. I am just blown away buy the completely fresh, sometimes organic, fruits and veggies she finds thrown in the garbage every week to make room for new stock. Not only has she done some amazing things for the hungry in her hometown but she has made a serious dent in her own food budget.

Ginger also shares tips and advice if you want to get started as well. Just take a look at the picture below to see what you might be missing! Listen in or read the transcripts.

That said….I LOVED this book. I think all money conscious families need to read it…now. ;) It is written by a husband and wife who were dubbed the Cheapest Family in America several years ago by the talk show circuit. Their names are Steve and Annette Economides. Their last name ironically means “son of the steward” in Greek. The book shares all of the secrets to their success that allowed them to raise and homeschool 5 kids, pay off their first home in 9 years, buy cars with cash, pay for vacations in advance, save money for all possible emergencies, and feed their family for $350 a month all on a one income salary of less than 35,000 a year. They have an amazing story to tell and the advice is wonderful. The book is organized in categories like groceries, clothing, utilities, etc so that you can read it straight through or skip to sections where you need help.

The first chapter I loved was about groceries. $350 a month for a large family is incredible and one big part of their success is that they shop ONCE a month. I think we all know how expensive it is to make lots of small, frequent trips to the store to get ingredients for one or two meals or one or two missing things. Shopping like that almost always means spending more than you have to and it is basically a result of poor planning. The Economides family saved on average $1,702 per year over the average family. That is equal to a nice week long vacation for many or a slush fund for car/house repairs. Their tips on grocery savings amounts to a long chapter but basically it involves shopping once a month, doing menu planning, stocking up, shopping for sales and using coupons when they can, cooking extra portions for leftovers, and freezing quite a bit.

The advice was very good but I did find a few things that would not work for our family including the buying of lots of processed foods, the lack of more expensive whole foods being bought, and the idea of doing without FRESH fruits and veggies for the last 2 weeks or so of the month. I think families that eat lots of fresh, raw, whole foods would have a lot of adapting to do but the basic plan is a good one. I would probably feel more comfortable doing bi-monthly shopping expeditions with weekly trips to farmer’s markets for fruits and veggies. 

There is a big chapter on budgets next, which is a good read. I liked the tip they had about buying gas cards to make sure you always have your gas expenditures covered. Then there is a chapter about cars…which I loved. It has lots of great tips for buying used cars and making sure you get a good car and a good deal. The section on insurance was great too. The Economides do not believe in skimping on insurance. One tip I liked was to cancel the towing benefit on your insurance and join AAA instead. That money goes a lot further with AAA.

The housing chapter had some alarming statistics about interest rates and how they would have paid $100,000 interest on their $50,000 home over a 30 year period. Their advice is to pay off the mortgage in less than 10 years if you can but ouch that is still over $25,000 you pay in interest. Sheesh, I think it might just be better to rent and then save that interest money to buy land and a nice Yurt with cash, LOL. This chapter also has advice for saving on repairs and renovations too.

The utilities chapter has lots of great advice although not too much for cold weather climates as the family lives in Arizona. Although having lived in both areas I think the utilities expenditures are pretty much the same…we just pay high energy prices at different times of the year. In AZ I had high air conditioning bills and in OH I have high heating bills. The cell phone advice was a little dated and the book was written in 2007, LOL. I am guessing that this older couple likes their land line and the kids are the ones that use cell phones. Hubby and I pretty much only use cell phones or Skype. We do have a land line but only because we couldn’t get DSL without it…I can’t even remember the number though, that is how little we use it. We hope to move soon and get cable Internet so we can get rid of our land line altogether.

There is also a big chapter about debt. Honestly I just skimmed this chapter as we don’t have debt and we don’t have credit cards but I am sure this chapter is equally good. Their chapter on medical just kind of pissed me off…not because it wasn’t good advice but because of the way our health care and insurance is in this country. I am having a hard time not being really pissy with Republican friends right now because the biggest issue we are voting on in a couple weeks for me is health care. I think only one candidate wants to fix health care and the other has plans so stupid I am getting hot just thinking about it. Better change the subject…anyway I have had insurance my whole adult life and I still racked up over $100,000 in EXTRA charges in a ten year period, so while this book’s advice is good in theory I see some problems because the insurance people are criminals and no amount of “personal responsibility” (inert GOP talking head) will change that. If taking personal responsibility means paying 4-500 hundred dollars a month for coverage and then having to pay 100 grand out of pocket and then calling it health care…well what more can I say? The advice on staying healthy was good though and personally I think that is the only/best option for many these days.

The chapter on clothing was fabulous with lots of great ideas for clothing your whole family for cheap as was the chapter on FREE entertainment. Entertainment is a BIG expenditure here so I need that advice. The vacation info was really practical and kind of amazed me that some families do go into debt to have vacations. I am not smart with money I totally admit that, but even I would never do that. The last chapters were about raising money conscious kids and about emergencies….lots of great info. I HIGHLY recommend this book! AND you can get it new for only $10.36 on Amazon or used for around $7.

As if that isn’t enough to deal with my hubby has sprung on me that all this economic strife has made him want to go back to his old job possibly. For newbies to this blog this means that he would go back to traveling all but 4-5 days a month….so yeah…we would never see him. We did that for 5 years and finally he came home in late winter of this year…now he wants to leave again, which has me so upset I can’t even tell you. I was basically a single mom and would be again if he does this. But he hates job insecurity and feeling helpless like this and it is making him want to do drastic things.

But sorry for vomiting all my problems on you…the point of this post was that I think it is important during tough times like these to come together and help each other. Corporations don’t need our money, people do. It is even more important to shop consciously. Here are a few of the ways you can do that.

Garage Sales and Craigslist – Stop buying new and check out garage sales and your local Craigslist. Not only are you buying second hand which is way better for the environment, you are directly helping local families too and they will be greatly appreciative I am sure. When my hubby needed a motorcycle helmet recently we turned to Craigslist and I already have several Christmas gifts bought that I got from garage sales.

Buy new from families too – Small family, indy businesses are are all over the web. They have their own web sites and you can find them on Etsy. When I needed a backpack for my daughter recently I knew I could buy one for $10 at Wal-Mart but I wanted my money to go further so I checked into Etsy and found the perfect backpack hand-sewn by another mom. When you start purchasing for Christmas think about how many items you can buy direct from other families.

Freecycle before you donate to Goodwill – Now I realize that some families can not ignore the tax savings you can get by donating to an organization but for families that just take the standard deduction (like mine) you do more good by Freecycling. Goodwill is a great company but they do charge for the items and if you Freecycle them you end up putting much needed items into the hands of another family for free.

Barter – Do you have a skill or a service you can barter for goods? Perhaps you can trade web design, carpentry work, knitting or tailor work, babysitting, food from your garden…anything you can think of…use your skills to trade with other like minded families. Look for local bartering groups or start one on Yahoo Groups if there aren’t any.

Swap – Local groups and online groups designed to help moms swap clothes and household goods are getting more popular. You can even host a swap party for friends and neighbors. Have everyone bring a couple bags or bins of clothes their kids have outgrown and let everyone start swapping.

Support your bloggers – My friend Carrie wrote a great post a few weeks back about supporting your favorite bloggers and she highlighted a common practice among mom bloggers…buying through each others affiliate links. Many bloggers use affiliate links when they link to products or stores and they get a commission whenever people purchase. When I need to buy an item from Amazon I will always try to buy from the link of a fellow blogger so they get a little something from my purchase.

Don’t discount Amazon – Amazon is a big corporation but many of the products on Amazon are sold by third parties which may be small family businesses. I buy lots of used books from small sellers on Amazon. eBay is another good place to buy to support small sellers.

Get cooperative with your community – Starting or participating in a community garden is a great way to help feed your family and get community support. You can also volunteer to work for local CSAs who will then give you a discount on fresh produce and this can be very helpful if food is taking a big bite out of your budget. Look into herd sharing agreements as well for cheaper meats and raw milk. And whenever you can buy from your local farmers and farmer’s markets. Patronize your local Amish community if you have one.

As I said…during tough times we really need to come together and support each other and one of the ways we can do that is by eliminating the middleman and going directly to other families with our business.

Got any tips to share?

On a political board I frequent someone asked how we were preparing for a recession or at the very least for a financial future that is up in the air at best. I didn’t know how to answer in a general sense because I feel that green folks (myself included) will be much better equipped to deal with a recession. Green folks already have many of the answers I think. Just yesterday I was talking to an older mom who said that she was green before it was popular….back then it was called CHEAP. :) Just think about all the ways you have already gone green and saved your budget and all the ways you still can.

Reducing Your Expenditures on Energy – Even if you don’t have programmable thermostats, motion sensing lights, or LED light bulbs you can save energy and money by wrapping/insulating your hot water heater, using blankets and quilts to insulate windows, using draft stoppers to plug drafts, hanging your clothes to dry indoors and out, turning your thermostat down a couple degrees in winter and up a few in summer, turning off all power strips at night, etc.

Check out this awesome list of 21 Ways to Save Money on Home Heating Bills.

Reducing Your Expenditures on Food – Healthier and greener choices are more expensive but I truly feel that in a times of recession local foods would come down in price. Your local growers can’t survive if they don’t have customers. Now would be a great time to get to know the local food growers in your area. You can also grow your own. Each and every item you grow yourself is one more thing you don’t have to rely on other people for. Bartering is also very green…check with your local Amish (if you have any) or other food growers and see if you can reach trade agreements. I know my local farmer’s market organization was willing to barter food for web design and marketing help. Your local growers might also be willing to take on help with labor in exchange for free or discounted food. Cutting out or reducing meat consumption would also be a big boon for the budget.

Reducing Your Expenditures on ”Stuff” – You just don’t need much of the stuff that corporate America says you do. Living with the principles of voluntary simplicity might be useful right about now. We don’t need paper plates, plastic baggies, dryer sheets, techno gadgets, new books, the latest music tracks, etc. Reusable items are a green person’s best friend already and they help us save so much money.

Reducing Your Expenditures Gas and Travel - There are no easy answers for this one other than to drive less by walking, biking, using mass transit or staying home. My family has recently come to a decision that we can’t live in our small city and be frugal on gas and travel because my hubby works so far away in a larger city. Yes, we love the corn fields all around us and the clean country air but we can’t justify the waste of gas and resources that commuting presents. We hope to move into the city in late spring/early summer and eventually settle into an area where we can walk or take the bus most of the time.

So what do you think? Are you worried about a recession? Do you feel good about being able to handle it if comes? My take is that even if this all works out okay we need to learn a valuable lesson here…as a country. Times like these should help us to prioritize and get our own economics in order. Now more than ever personal accountability and responsibility should be paramount.

1.  Buy what you need when you need it.  Making a shopping list is very important, especially when buying green.  Since some green items cost more than their less eco-friendly counterparts, it can be tempting to forego the green items to save money.  Remember that increasing demand for greener, more sustainable goods helps to eventually bring prices down.  Try eliminating impulse buying to bring your shopping bills down. 

2.  Join a co-op.  Co-ops are a great way to support local growers and merchants and can help you to save money at the point of sale.  Most co-ops require a little bit of volunteer time each month to maintain membership, but this is time well spent where you can connect with other like-minded individuals who are also trying to maintain a better way of life for themselves as well.

3.  Buy in bulk.  Another piece of advice when it comes to living green and ultimately saving money is to buy in bulk.  You can save a lot of money per unit if you buy more.  Recycled paper goods, such as toilet paper and napkins, are cheaper when purchased in large amounts.  The same goes for many packaged organic foods and snacks. 

4.  Shop around online.  There are many excellent websites where you can purchase green goods for far less money than you would pay in stores.  Shopping around online is especially convenient, as you don’t have to leave home or travel far across town to get the things that you need to live green.  Online shopping for green goods gives people who live in areas without green alternatives the ability to procure the items they want at an affordable price.  Buying directly from the company also cuts out the middleman, thus saving you more money.

5.  Buy used items.  Nothing says green like reusing and recycling, and this goes for many things, such as furniture and clothing.  By purchasing used and vintage products, you are breathing new life into something that someone else decided they did not want.  Rather than encouraging excessive production by purchasing clothing from a large retailer, buying used from companies like Goodwill also puts your money toward a good cause and you can feel good knowing your money is helping others while saving at the same time.

This post was contributed by Heather Johnson, who writes on the subject of green shopping .  She invites your feedback at heatherjohnson2323 at gmail dot com.

According to Pierce, the inspiration to write this book originated with her experiences living in a remote African village while in her twenties. The village had 400 people, no electricity, no running water, no convenience foods, no plumbing, and no cars save one the whole village shared. They lived in mud huts and they were often malnourished and suffering from skin ailments and ulcers. Pierce held dying babies in her arms. While most Americans might think this sounds like hell on earth, these villagers were the happiest, most joyous, most fulfilled people Pierce ever met.

According to Pierce it was difficult to distinguish work from play. They were always laughing, dancing, and singing. Huge belly laughs abounded all day long as they worked. They danced late into the night. They were happy.

Yet, even having seen this first hand Pierce made her way back to America and became a part of the fast paced, rat race. Many years later she read an article in Worth Magazine called Downshifters and it was all about simple living. She loved the article and quickly devoured other articles and books about the same subject but there was something missing. She didn’t want tips and advice for how-to live simply she wanted stories and experiences from people who were actually putting these concepts into practice. Could they sustain this lifestyle for a long time? Did they feel like they were missing out on things? Did they have regrets?

It was because Pierce was interested in finding these answers that she was inspired to start a study on simplicity and interview people who had accomplished a little of bit what those African villagers had. Was it possible? What did simple living actually look like within the lives of modern people? Frankly I find it kinda crazy that we have to wonder what simplicity looks like….that is how often we DON’T see it I guess.

This book has some amazing stories. It has the experiences of people from all over the world who have chosen simplicity. More than that actually, in my mind this is a collection of people of who have really evolved past and matured beyond the consumerism that most of us have grown up with. They have found a way to step past the smoke and mirrors and really see that the pipe dream being sold isn’t a recipe for happiness. These people are role models.

The first chapters explore some of the reasons why people evolve into a life of simplicity. Perhaps they became ill, they lost their job unexpectedly, they started a family, they were extraordinarily stressed, they lost someone they loved, etc. The in delves into personal stories of people living this life. The most surprising thing to me was that voluntary simplicity wasn’t all about being frugal or doing with less. Sometimes it might mean just getting a job closer to home so you have more free time. Perhaps it means selling a large house that sucks up your time with house cleaning and maintenance to buy a smaller one. Maybe it means that you stop spending your money on things and you are start spending it on experiences. It is really more about finding out what you want in life, drawing a straight line to your goal, and then finding out how you can resolve the zig-zaggy, going in circles path you inadvertently chose to get to the same place. It could mean living more frugally and learning to overcome materialism but it could also mean letting go of a fast paced, multi-tasking, way of life too.

It had stories of high powered corporate attorneys doing a 180. One dad decided to quit his job and simplify after his daughter drew a family picture with the back of daddy’s head showing because that is all she ever saw as he worked every night on his computer. A socialite and divorcee sold her McMansion to buy a tiny condo on the beach. Another couple moved into a commune to learn homesteading skills and then they bought their own 40 acre ranch where they could grow their own food and unschool their kids. There are many inspirational stories in this book. I really enjoyed it because this is an area that I struggle with. ;)

Available at Amazon.com