Monday, August 8, 2022

Money Monday-Manage Don't Panic Part 2

     


     Last week I started a post on how I'm trying to shift my mindset of the current economic state from fear and gloom, to management and perhaps a sense of control, at Manage Don't Panic Part One. These are my thoughts and actions for me and my family, so not trying to be pushy if these have no interest to you. If it does though, maybe we can learn from each other. Part one was social life, food, and staying local. The next ones follow the same theme of being mindful but not deprived. I'll add, I intended no criticsm to those with a nice food and product storage, rotate their supply, and buy quantities to get them to the next sale. These aren't who I mean creating panic as they generally managed their stocks this way as just regular household management prior to the latest economic downturn. Kudos to those who share with family and friends, food banks, and aren't throwing stuff away because they're good resource managers.  

 Little Economies to Stay on Course

     Managing the small things may seem insignificant, but can add up. I'm oversimplifying some of my math, but I think you'll get my intent. Cutting back on fuel and utilities, whether that's turning the AC up 2-3°, or the heat down once we hit the cold, walking one errand, or between errands if having to drive are small economies that should hardly be felt as a hardship for most healthy people. I'm much more mindful about driving. For example, I routed the most economical route home from the airport to hit a Target, Trader Joe's, and Aldi without going out of my way. Even a few months ago, I'd make extra trips. Hanging one more load of clothes rather than the dryer, double batch cooking, and shorter showers save resources without hardship. 

     Based on our bills for example, if we reduce our shower time by  just 25%, and showering is 1/2 our water use we might reduce our quarterly bill by $18, or as costs go up, the increased fuel and water charges can be absorbed through conservation. This next one doesn't help us, because bin sizes and charge is the same, but if you're generating less trash and recycling because of buying less convenience foods and more items in general in bulk, maybe you can get a lower service volume. A community my daughter is looking moving to has 3 rates based on needs. She generates so little waste, she could go 1/2 the smallest option. 

     Stretching eating out, both in frequency, and how we order is another small economy I'm focusing on in August. We know restaurant portions are too large, too many calories, too much salt. Sharing or intentionally planning take home helps our overall budget without decreasing enjoyment of a nice meal out. Picking less expensive times of day or week is helpful too. 

DIY or Hire Out 

     Knowing when it's practical to do something yourself and when it's still better to hire out is essential. I don't even want to start a list of the botched projects or DIY things we've done that cost us money in the short or long run. I think in times of financial stress, DIY activity can run amuck. I recall a neighbor changing their own oil, something I know many people do easily and successfully, but he ended up with an oil spill on his concrete driveway. Later he had to rent a power sprayer to get the oil cleaned up, but it never fully went away. It was a mess. In that example, researching a fair price to get the job done by someone else would have been better.

     Compare prices, hire it out if the skills aren't there. Panic makes people feel they have to do it all themselves when their time is likely better spent elsewhere. DH still needs to repaint the wall, but he repaired the cut out hole for plumbing. This saved us $600, so the inconvenience, while annoying as..., was worth the effort. ( It's the doing a mud coat, dry, sand, procrastinate that's the problem). He's still, we're all still, questioning the tree removal though and should have hired it out last summer.

     But this said, we have the capacity to learn. There's resources free through the library and on line, or a kind soul willing to work with you first time. My daughter's chair refurbish while not perfect, went well. She has $23 invested in total, and saved loads of money getting a key furniture piece to her design plan. Think of canning or dehydrating surplus vegetables if you've never done before. Learn to repair an item of clothing rather than dispose of it ( what I need to do more of.) Maybe me or the girls will develop a new hobby. 

Vacations, Staycations, Day trips 

     Everything doesn't need to be cut out when the economic outlook feels dire. We all need to get away from work, family or home stress, and just let the world pause. This month and fall, I need to remember what vacations and days off are supposed to be for, rest, relaxation, and rejuvenation. Perhaps unsuccessfully too often, but I'm going to try. These options will look different depending on interests, location, and amenity access, but the thing that doesn't change is giving ourselves a break. 

     I plan to opt for more vacations that cost the least to get there and stay, but are not just adding stress. Ignoring the casino part, I'm looking at a fall long weekend to one of our many Minnesota Tribally run resort and casinos in northern Minnesota that have great packages for stay and meals. I was at a training a few years ago at one that had stunning rooms with views, exercise room, pool, and hot tub, beautiful walking trails, and was just about a three hour drive. Often there's live entertainment in the hotel lounge too. DH is supposed to plan, but I guess I might have to anyway.

     Picking local things I haven't experienced makes a nice day trip, or grouped over several days, a terrific staycation. There's a sculpture garden I've still not gone to that isn't too far off path to the cabin. Home, with the right mindset can be glorious too. My daughter grabs a book or two and when the outdoors isn't burning hot or chucking rain, she's happy as a clam in the hammock. Isn't that what vacation resorts often advertise, the hammock life? We're fortunate to be within an hour of a family lake cabin. Some of you have pools, others backyards, patios, or nearby parks. Can you visit or host relatives, perhaps alternating so both get the opportunity to go somewhere different? How we think about these settings and take advantage of them for the R's is important in managing often limited free time. 

     We've seen roller coaster periods before. Likely consumer prices won't fall, or not as much or as fast as they rose. It stinks, but here we are. Managing what we have is harder, but better than living life in a panic. I hope to keep living a good life, help others where I can, and have a bit of faith things improve for us all. 

21 comments:

  1. We do Sunday as no work, sit on the porch or deck, eat foods that can be fixed ahead (like Amish do) or are quick. Limit computer and tv time also. More of a day of silence from the world.

    When we bought this house we decided it would be our nursing home also. It's cheaper to hire someone in than go to a nursing home (average around here is $96,000/ yr for 1). We have made the choices based on that.

    A little panic over cost of health insurance and coverage since I take Humira. But figure if we keep the utilities down, grow most of our food or buy from Amish and not walk through the extra (I see you Amazon LOL) and save . We can handle it. It's always something it seems.

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    1. So far, neither of us are on expensive meds, but that is a future worry. We'll need to get on a single level but I too hope we stay in our own home forever. I figure belt tightening now, but still enjoying life, will make that doable.

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  2. Great ideas, and something to think about. When I lived in CA, I would minimize my trips to the grocery stores. I usually had to go into the office once a week, and so I would go then. Here, it will be a bit different, but I can designate one day to do all my shopping.

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    1. I'm sure on rent alone you might be able to save a bit more. Driving though adds up so if you can plan, that's great.

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  3. It's smart not to panic or worry about things that are not in our control. The only thing we can control is how we handle things. You're doing great Sam!!

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    1. Control is an illusion anyway. We all just make decisions that we hope are best with the circumstances given.

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  4. I think most people do what they can with their resources. We are very fortunate that we do not have to make the choice, food or gas, like some people I am hearing about.
    Panic and worry does no one any good, but if you saw my food storage you might think I was prepped for the worst.
    If you talked with my kids you would find this is how I have been all of their lives. When our children were toddlers, TheHub had his own practice and money was feast or famine. During feast time I would stock up with enough food to last us through the lean months, because they always happened.
    Now I just rotate stock, but I am certain if 300 people showed up at my house today demanding food I could accommodate them. It would not be what they wanted, but still. . .

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    1. Anne I am prepped for 2 yrs. in case the kids need us to share. When the pandemic hit I ended up with half the kids and 2 grandkids taking my stock down to 6 months. We were a little on the panic side for paper supplies.

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    2. I too want to feel like no one in my circles would do without. I am trying to strike the balance between prepped and too much. I remember the stock up on pay day periods of life too.

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  5. Good for you (again!) for taking control of the things you can and not focusing on the things you cannot.

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    1. Less control more management I think. I just don't want to wring my hands at all.

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  6. I am looking forward to the day the house is paid for (again) and I am not trying to pay something off. It will add to my feeling of peace.

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    1. That'll be a good and happy day for you!

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  7. I think you're so right about finding your entertainment locally. My dad was 65 when I got married and we decided to take my husband's US family to visit Warwick Castle for the day. Dad couldn't believe he had grown up just 30 minutes from it and had never been there! But then, isn't that always the way!

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    1. There's not great castles here but terrific parks and landmarks under explored by me. I'm glad you got your dad on a new adventure.

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  8. The grease spill and repairing things led me to a memory. A guy frind ruined a heavy cloth coat by climbing out of a tractor-trailer. He ripped the zipper partially from the coat and got some nasty grease on it, too. While I did not do it myself, the coat was made new. The heavy zipper in a heavy coat was not something I was willing to tackle. I took it to the dry cleaners for zipper replacement. Then, I worked on the thick grease stain myself. The zipper replacement cost was something like $15 thirty years ago. He was astounded that the coat had been saved and more than happy to pay for the zipper replacement. Some days, knowing what can be salvaged is half the battle. The other half is knowing what you can do yourself or hire out.

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    1. Now I'd have to hire out a zipper but worth it on an expensive coat.

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  9. So many good ideas here! I've been exploring the parks around our town, as you know!

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    1. You're part of my inspiration. I love reading about days out.

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  10. Very sensible advice, Sam! We've cut back on fuel usage, been relying on Lidl £1.50 Waste Not boxes for our food (and growing a bit) and wearing more layers when it's cold rather than turn on the heating (A/C isn't a thing here). We always attempt fix things ourselves - YouTube is brilliant for that. I'm researching winter escapes as it'll be cheaper to spend the coldest months abroad rather than in the UK. xxx

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    1. You and Jon manage your life in so many ways I admire. You really enjoy the good and make best when needed. Your vegetable meals look so tasty too. No sacrifice there.

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