My Current Position

Ok, so I figured at this point I should outline the current state of my finances. Prior to starting this amazing adventure of frugal living I thought that saving money on my salary was impossible. I would overspend on silly things, like pharmacy items or lunch at work, or beers after work, and then I would come up short at the end of the month and have to rely on my credit card. I racked up about $2,000 worth of credit card debt before I pulled my head out of my ass and woke the hell up. I began paying off my debt, and now I'm pretty much at a fresh start. I am $0 in debt, I don't owe anything to anyone, which is a great feeling. Also, I have saved $1, 759.37 since I started living frugally last month. Here's the breakdown of my new budget, and how I'm adjusting.

Twice a month I get a direct deposit of $1300. This usually happens on the 15th and on the last day of the month. My goal is to save 50% of my income, which means I'm only living on half of my take home pay. My rent is $648.75 a month (I have three roommates, this rent number may actually go down because were are discussing working out a different division of rent since Fella and I share a room), utilities are usually around $60 or so. I'd just like to point out that I live in Brooklyn, in a super hip, safe area (no, not Williamsburg), so for naysayers who like to gripe that New York is unaffordable, I say poo poo. I paid more in rent in both Boston and Austin, you can find a deal if you look for it. I know several friends who pay even less than I do.

Anyway, each pay period I split up my paycheck like this:

PAYCHECK:  $1,300

SAVINGS:  $650 (I am currently just putting this in a savings account, I will eventually use the built up savings to max out my Roth IRA)

RENT & UTILITIES (1st half): $350

EVERYTHING ELSE FOR TWO WEEKS: $300

That leaves $300 for two weeks. This $300 includes food, metro card, entertainment/going out, pharmacy expenses, clothes, basically EVERYTHING else. I do not parcel out this $300, I basically just budget it as it is in my wallet based on what I know I will need to purchase. I do this because I find itemized budgets tiresome and difficult to stick with, and also because I'm constantly modifying what I do to save more here and there. I don't want to feel like each change I make affects this whole grid of numbers, I also enjoy the flexibility, and honestly, it's not that hard to manage $300, because it's such a small amount. However, I do have some tricks up my sleeve about stretching $300 as far as you can, and they all start at the grocery store.

I have read many frugal living websites, and early retirement websites that talk about cutting your grocery bill to $400 a month and other nonsense like that. I love food, I've done cookbook testing for various authors, and I'm regularly paid and published for writing about food. You do not need to spend that much money on food, and you will eat better than most people, all you have to do is learn to plan your trips (saving money at the store is 98% planning), and become a fearless cook.

Stay tuned for all of my grocery store magic, as well as how to plan a successful shopping trip.

Discovering Extreme Saving

In many ways Fella Frugal and I are already more spartan that the average American couple, although admittedly I am the bigger spender out of the two of us. I enjoy clothes shopping, eating out, convenience items like coffee to go, lunch out at work, and delivery if I don't feel like making dinner. Nothing crazy in that list, it's not as if I've been spending thousands of dollars on designer handbags or something, and besides, these small tokens for myself are what make working worthwhile, right? That's what I thought too, until I found a group of radical thinkers who are counter-cultural, in the truest sense of the word.

I ran into the blog http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/ while trying to find information on investing in index funds. While I may not agree with every single opinion MMM holds, I do agree with most of it, and I highly recommend his website as a resource to anyone who is interested in saving money. I found, within the site, a group of people who proselytize saving* between 50-80 percent of your take home pay. My immediate thought was that I would have to stop eating if I did that, my second thought was, why not try? 

It always seems like the moment someone does something amazing, a bunch of naysayers come out of the woodwork and start shouting that it's impossible! I make much less money than Mr. Money Mustache, and so I was worried that saving half would be impossible, but it's not. I'll just lay it all out for you, I make $45,000 a year before taxes. That means that twice a month I get a check from $1,300, which means, to save half, I need to live on $1,300 a month, or $15,600 a year, which according to most people is impossible, especially in New York City. 

I recently read that the average American saves approximately 6% of their income. Six PERCENT. That's nothing! And you know what? Credit companies like it that way. They don't want you to save, they don't want you to become financially independent or self-sufficient, because if everybody did that, the entire industry would shrink, and the top 1% would be a little less wealthy than they are right now. For me, frugal living is activism. Frugal living is eventual freedom from the rat race, it means free time with the person I love, it means finding more meaning in life than acquiring, it means living for each moment, instead of each financial goal. 

I have been extreme saving for a little over a month now, and the most amazing things have started to happen. I'm genuinely happier and more at peace, I appreciate my life more, and I feel as if a huge weight has been lifted. I no longer agonize between purchases, because the only purchases I make are necessary. I feel no envy about material possessions, because doing this for even a short time has shown me how irrational I was before, happiness comes from a whole different place now. 

I think that most people think that being frugal is something you have to suffer through until you reach the goal of having money. I thought that way too. But now, after one short month, I can't imagine not living this way. I truly believe that consumerism is an addiction, but one that is broken very quickly and fairly easily (at least it was for me). I heard this in a documentary once (paraphrasing here), "if you put someone in a mansion, within two weeks they'll think they deserve it". Even though I was never an insane spender, or in possession of massive wealth, I was still so much more addicted to consumerism than I ever realized. I grew accustom to luxuries so quickly that I no longer considered them luxuries, they became standard. That's how it works, things that were once a treat become standard, and your personal standards for luxury continue to rise. But when you cut your budget so drastically, you begin to see what's truly important, and I'm looking forward to sharing all of that, with all of you! 

*Please note that when I use the word "saving", I don't mean in a savings account or under your mattress, I mean saving by using IRA's, index funds, 401(k)s, or whatever you use to get the best bang for your eventual buck, but more on these details later. 

(Preemptive Note: I am not a communist. I actually have no problem with capitalism. I have a massive problem with the type of capitalism we are currently using, and the way in which we are using it.) 

Hello World, Nice to Meet You!

I am starting this blog because of some research I began not very long ago. At first my research goal was to learn more about investing, and how to save money. My fella and I currently live in the big apple, and someday we'd like to stop paying rent and own the place we live, wherever that may be, so it seemed smart to learn more about how the world works.

In addition to a better understanding of economic theory, I came away with a better understanding of economics in practice, which it turns out are two very different things. I readily admit now that prior to my research I didn't truly understand the breadth of the credit industry, and how beholden we all are to it. Through a combination of books, documentaries, and reputable online resources, I learned several things that have completely changed the way I see the world. I am not an economist, and would strongly recommend anyone who has a sense of curiosity about the world to look into these matters for themselves, although I am happy to provide sources that I myself have consulted. 

In addition to the reality of economics, I have been thinking a great deal about the reality of human nature in a consumerist society. I think in some way I've always felt that things don't seem quite right. The whole regimen of school-college-job-marriage-house-children-retire at 65 if you are lucky, has always seemed awfully depressing. It's not that I feel entitled, or think I shouldn't have to work, it's just that I don't think anyone should have to spend essentially their entire lives working. I suppose it's because, in the back of my mind, I always think, "what's it all for?" 

I've never minded being someone who questions what the majority accepts, and so it is natural to me to ask questions, both of myself and others. I've known since I was about five years old that I did not want to be a parent, and today at 26 I am only more certain of that fact about myself. I was lucky enough to meet my fella about five years ago, he doesn't want children either, and he's also someone who live his life with real intention, he questions why most people make the decisions that they make, and he is always seeking a better or different way. 

I want this blog to be a resource for frugal living, and a community link to other people who are not only living frugally, but all those who choose paths that differ from the status quo, and actively question why things are the way that they are. There are sadly few people who ever think to question why the world is the way it is. I believe that in this day and age, it is imperative that those of us who do ask questions, and who are not afraid of going against the grain, to have a community of our own.