Posted by Tim Stobbs on July 9, 2010
It’s been another week into my $25 challenge of eating on the cheap and you can tell we are going to have to start facing the hard decisions next week because this is what our spending looks like to date:
- Margarine $4
- 8 L of Milk $8
- 1lb Coffee $1.98
- Fruit (5 nectarines, 4 plums, 3 apples, 5 peaches) $5.82
- TOTAL $19.80 (79% of budget)
If the fruit numbers look weird there is a story behind that. We had done our camping trip and have a lot of left over fruit which I was planning on buying anyways. So rather than cheat I just transferred what was left from the trip to the challenge budget. The coffee I will admit was a purely luxury item. I don’t need it, but I REALLY like having a cup in the morning and we had run out. I might regret this choice, but only time will tell.
Overall the diet has been very similar to how we normally eat, we have just been forced to consider how we organize our meals to avoid waste. For example, last night supper was roast chicken, potato salad and carrot sticks. The leftover chicken will now be used for supper tonight in some rice paper wraps and then in some sandwiches for lunch on the weekend. Also we have had our meals planned out a full week in advance to ensure we are only buying what we need.
The other odd thing I’ve noticed is we are very careful not to overeat on our ‘treats’ that we have in the house. Anything like chips, nuts, candy or ice cream we are taking care to string out over the challenge so we don’t run out of all of that. Of course the backup plan can be to do some baking (cookies or a cake) but I tend to avoid doing that when it is hot out. I absolutely hate heating up the house on hot days when I don’t have to.
That last five dollars will likely be spent early this next week on some veggies. I’ve noticed we are approaching a lack of choice on those in the house (we have run out of frozen). So I’ll have to carefully shop for some more choices next week which don’t break the $25 dollar mark which likely means sticking to fresh veggies.
I think the easy part of the challenge is rapidly coming to a close and I’m going to have to start getting a bit more creative on what we are eating based on what I have in the house. It’s not like eating is actually hard, but rather its adjusting my thinking to eating around what you have rather than what you feel like.
So any shopping advice on what vegetables I should buy? I’ve still have some garlic, onions, carrots, potatoes from the pantry and then green onion, radish and lettuce from my farmer.
Posted by Tim Stobbs on July 8, 2010
Perhaps one of the more under estimated decisions related to your retirement is knowing when you should quit working. People often just assume that once you have the money you will just instantly leave work the next day. Often this isn’t the case as money is only one part of your retirement.
Other equally valid factors to consider include:
- Health: Are you in good health when you retire? Or is poor health causing your problems at work? Do you have a condition that makes your work benefits especially useful? Or in the US, do you have affordable health insurance?
- Friends: Do you have any retired friends? Would you be the first to leave work? Are you ready to make new friends if need be?
- Family: Is your spouse ready to retire as well? Do your children or grandchildren really need your help right now?
- Career: Are you ready to leave work? Are you happy with where you will leave things? Or is there a project you want to see get finished?
- Hobbies: Are you starting a new hobby or just doing more of the old ones? Do you have all the equipment for your hobby? Do you want to try a few more hobbies before you have a reduced cash flow?
Yet despite all the factors in the world there will be just one question that will matter most: do you feel ready to retire? Notice I didn’t ask what you think, but rather what you feel. What is your gut telling you about this? If you feel a little nervous but still excited, it likely is a good choice. Yet on the other hand if you feel very nervous about it, you might want to wait a little while longer or perhaps cut back on working a slip into retirement more slowly.
Leaving work is a big decision so cut yourself some slack over worrying a bit about things. You are allowed that as long as you keep it reasonable. For example, worrying about investment returns for the next 20 years is worthless, but worrying about your asset allocation might be worth a second opinion. Focus on what you can control and plan for and let go of the rest.
Then one day you will wake up and realize with a fair amount of certainty: it is time to quit. That is when you know you are making the right choice as the doubt and the guilt vanish and you push into retirement with a big smile on your face.
So how do you think you will know when it is time to quit? Will you just follow the plan or perhaps just make it up as you go?
Posted by Tim Stobbs on July 7, 2010
I’ve noticed that some people like to compare the two concepts of losing weight to saving money. In some sense it is a good comparison as it does take some effort to change your habits and there is that satisfaction when you finally reach your goal. Where the comparison often goes wrong is when people compare using a diet to savings.
A diet is often involves looking at what you are not eating. You don’t eat junk food, you don’t have dessert, and you don’t buy that square for snack. There becomes a almost excessive focus on what you are not eating. So often people then start to feel deprived and by the time their are done their diet they load up on all those missing things only to put back on the very weight they lost. This causes another round of dieting and the cycle continues.
The very same cycle often occurs for people around debt and savings. We often create these overly restrictive budgets with little to now room for extras so your life becomes one large exercise in what you are not buying. We focus on not buying that coffee each day or not buying that new shirt or DVD. Yet the reality is to be a good long term saver you need to focus on what you are working towards, not about what you are missing.
Life doesn’t mean you have to never have any fun or never eat anything that tastes great. It’s about being moderate in those choices that do cost a lot of money or calories. I still buy things I really don’t need, but I do want them. I know that I don’t need them, but I occasionally will buy a new DVD that I really enjoy watching or I go out for supper and only eat appetizers and dessert. Strictly speaking neither is particularly required, but I do enjoy doing it once in a while. It only becomes a problem if you are doing it every week or daily.
So I choose to enjoy those things I do buy and sleep well at night knowing I’m still working towards my long term goals. Life is often a balance of things. It’s just a lot of work to find your own sweet spot where you are happy with both your long term savings and your short term spending. Yet getting there can be worth it because you never feel like your on a diet.
So do you diet or do very restrictive budgets? Does it work for you? If so, how? If not, what was your downfall?
