I have spent most of this year emphasizing controlling costs than relying on the appreciation of investments. With the stock market the way that it is, I best to pay more attention to something which I can control than that which I cannot. I do a budget on fixed costs but I have been worried lately about cost containment. I believe inflation is a growing issue caused by the increasing amount of currency the central banks are printing in order to avoid a mild recession (solve a small problem but creating a bigger one- yep, sounds like politics at its best). I have been focusing recently on these budget items:
TRAVEL
I have to drive to work- public transit is not an option. On Friday, I went to the gas station to fill up my car and the person before me had a $75 bill! Of course, I proceed to put $55 of gas into my car. The only saving grace is that I do a lot of highway driving which has better fuel economy. This may be one budget item which is, unfortunately, unsolvable on the week days. On the weekends, I am trying to take more public transit. At least, I know what the costs are for a subway token.
FOOD
I throw away too much food every week. North American shopping habits encourage us to buy in massive bulk (“oh look honey, a 2L tub of mustard for $7.99! It will last us for 3 years!”) when we may save more money in the long run shopping like the Europeans- buy on the day of for the meal which is to be prepared. At the very least, the wastage factor would be reduced considerably.
I started shopping the European way; I have nothing in my fridge for dinner. I walk over the grocery store and buy only what I need.
CELL PHONE
I hate the Blackberry- it makes me accessible all the time, reinforces our increasing indifference to detail and it sucks up so much money in some many different ways (data plans, roaming charges, long-distance, text-messages). If not for work, I would chuck the thing into the lake (other than doctors and other life or death service providers, why do we need this machine? Is the world going to fall apart if someone doesn’t have the opportunity to email me on a Saturday night about a business deal?). Some of it is covered by work but it can be a black hole expense sucking away dollars.
My choice is either to change my plan to cover charges not covered in my current plan or simply go low tech and get a plain old cell phone that does nothing but, shock and horror, act like a phone. I am afraid technology is being produced not to help our lives but to increase shareholder value.
What are you doing to budget better?
February 26th, 2008 at 1:43 pm
Can’t wait to hear your readers’ comments here, as it’s one thing we cannot seem to get under control. Next year, I’m pushing for an all-inclusive vacation so we know at the outset what we’re paying. I’m also going to look into our phone/long distance/cable/internet suppliers and try to get better rates. I don’t have time to shop every day but the weeks where I take the time to make a meal plan, then shop, turn out very well in a lot of ways. We noticed a huge (positive) price difference in the grocery bill when we started shopping at No Frills. I’ve also almost entirely cut out coffee and eating lunch out.
February 26th, 2008 at 3:59 pm
I like the only buying what you need for the day. That is what I do on the weekends. Unfortunately, during the week, I get home to late to do that. Cereal in my desk and a coffee maker in my office helps minimize the trips to Starbucks (I have a small addiction) and cuts out the scone for breakfast(@ $3.00). Use Vonage for my home office (about 60% cheaper than Bell – Still not willing to risk an emergency to VOIP so the main home line is still Bell). I use a Treo instead of a BB and GMAIL so I choose when and where I check e-mail. Allows me to minimize the data charges and use wi-fi where possible. We have spent a lot of time buying clothes online. Often, with a little work, we can save 70-80% for brand name items (I bought an $800 blazer for $120 last week…A $250 shirt for $90). My work requires me to dress-up so this is a great way to do so without breaking the bank.
February 27th, 2008 at 3:44 pm
Every year I call Rogers to renegotiate my cell bill. I use it as my primary line, so this is important.
I always ask for customer retention right away, and each time I have successfully gained a new service for free, without extending my contract length.
To date I’m paying about $30/month (not including those pesky service charges) for 200 anytime minutes, free incoming calls, free voicemail and free call display. I’d say that’s a pretty fair deal. I have people call ME, then I don’t have to use my minutes!
I also abstain from using my cell for long distance. I can usually plan these calls, so I paid Skype about $30 for a year’s worth of long-distance-to-landline calling, so I can stay in touch with my extended family.
I look for lots of ways to save some cash, but those are just some of my telecommunications efforts!
February 28th, 2008 at 3:28 pm
Check out Oprah’s show from yesterday. Freeganism. Now there’s a way to save on groceries, with a free helping of social stigma to go with it.
http://www2.oprah.com/tows/pastshows/200802/tows_past_20080227.jhtml?promocode=HP21
March 1st, 2008 at 7:29 pm
I’m intrigued by TMW’s comment that the Blackberry “reinforces our increasing indifference to detail”. Please elaborate. There’s certainly no need to check messages outside of work hours, though this is tougher if you use the BB as your only cell phone.
The main problem with portable email is the size of the screen, which makes reading long messages difficult. So they get deferred to later. When you’re at your computer, since you’ve already seen the message before and didn’t read it then, it’s more difficult to find the motivation to read it now. Maybe that’s what was meant?
March 2nd, 2008 at 3:36 pm
Riscario- you hit the nail on the head. A lot of emails I get from BB are in short-hand which leads to a lot of confusion because the email is not focusing on clarity which a longer message would convey.