Many don't think that those living on a tight budget get to have a "philosophy". Seems awfully fancy for someone that is just getting by. But one really needs one to actually get by and make gardening work.
For me it boils down to What can I easily grow and what has value to grow?
For me I love squash varieties and love to make squash blossom fritters, but the squash bugs are so bad around here that it take too much effort for me to keep the plants healthy. But tomatoes, pepper, herbs and green beans are super easy and take very little time for me.
Beans I can get cheap too. My bush beans are just the same pinto beans I bought at the grocery store. No need to buy fancy seeds. And wow they produce a lot! My pole beans are a Blue Lake that cost me $1.79 at the local feed store and I have enough for my home plot, my community garden plot and to share with my fellow community gardeners.
Tomato and pepper plants cost a bit more as growing from seeds is not economical on time for me. But I am lucky that I can get most of my tomato plants for $2 each from another community garden that grows them as a fund raiser. They ran out of paste ones, so I got a roma this year for $4. Peppers I spent $4 each on, but I get a lot of peppers for that, especially the jalapeno plant. And the great thing about the peppers and tomatoes, is I can make salsa for Christmas gifts as well as home use.
The beans are a super cheap protein and very easy to grow. Harvest is harder for the bush beans as you spend the time hunting for them and bending over. So I am only planting a few of those this year.
Herbs are super easy and pack a nutritional punch. The best part is that they add such a wonderful flavor to food. They also are usually great companion plants for the veggies and the scent can confuse the bugs. Basil I love and if I am feeling particularly energetic near the end of the season, I will harvest my sees from my basil.
I also have perennials going that produce food. Those are investments that take a bit to pay off. I have a fig tree, a pomegranate, a plum and a peach. I used to have thornless blackberries and they are coming back after an ex decided they were a weed. I still hate her for that.
Last year was my first decent fig and plum harvest. There were only two pomegranates, and they were stolen.
During the winter I will grow lettuce because it's cheap and I can grow enough for me and anyone that will take it. It is practically free at the amount it will grow for the cost of the seeds. And it keeps the weeds at bay where I plant it.
Basically for those of us that are struggling to survive having a garden that is easy on time and money and still gives us edible results is the key.
Sunday, March 24, 2019
Saturday, March 23, 2019
Food Clean Out Challenge Week 2
Okay so keeping a daily log is next to impossible when life is as busy as mine trying to hustle to survive. I mostly stuck with the plan.
Since my last update I made what I call dump soup. It involves dumping semi-random selection of caned veggies into a pot for soup along with a few other things. I also made a peanut butter oatmeal bake that was Eh, but it made several breakfasts. But it did finish off a jar of peanut butter that just had a little bit in it. So I used up like 6 cans from the pantry and a jar of peanut butter. Although the week started to get a bit spotty when I ran out of my almond milk creamer. I went a couple days on Vanilla almond milk, but that ran out too. Fortunately I still have plain cashew milk for my cooking.
Today I did do my grocery shopping. I spent a total of $28.49 at Kroger, but $7.60 of that was on pepper plants and doesn't count.
I got
Red grapes (yummy on their own or in a chicken salad) 88 cents a pound
10 oz of baby spinach that was on sale
Brussel Sprouts (3.99 and the most expensive food purchased today)
Sweet potatoes
Malt-O-Meal Cinnamon cereal as a treat for the teen
Plain Gelatin because the teen wants to make her own marshmallows
Almond creamer was on sale and I had a digital coupon!!!
Spinach artichoke hummus on sale and I had a digital coupon
A bag of lemons off the 99 cent produce bin
2 pepper plants
So as part of my hustle this past week, I did end up pet sitting for 2 night and that meant that I was driving an hour after work to get to my pet sitting gig and grabbed burger that night. The girl child ate left overs or cooked from what was on hand.
I did make my lunches of jar salads with leftover chicken from Wednesday night with the teen made dinner of raspberry chipotle chicken and boxed mashed potatoes. Used up the boxed potatoes, that are usually just kept around to thicken my potato soup when I make it too thin.
So everything out of the pantry and freezer? 6 cans of veggies, a box of potatoes, a jar of peanut butter several frozen chicken breasts.
Tonight I am cooking a whole chicken, the brussle sprouts and baked sweet potatoes. I am also making another batch of good Southern sweet tea.
This morning was another omlette very similar to last weeks, more cherry tomatoes as I harvested 5 from the indoor plant this morning.
Since my last update I made what I call dump soup. It involves dumping semi-random selection of caned veggies into a pot for soup along with a few other things. I also made a peanut butter oatmeal bake that was Eh, but it made several breakfasts. But it did finish off a jar of peanut butter that just had a little bit in it. So I used up like 6 cans from the pantry and a jar of peanut butter. Although the week started to get a bit spotty when I ran out of my almond milk creamer. I went a couple days on Vanilla almond milk, but that ran out too. Fortunately I still have plain cashew milk for my cooking.
Today I did do my grocery shopping. I spent a total of $28.49 at Kroger, but $7.60 of that was on pepper plants and doesn't count.
I got
Red grapes (yummy on their own or in a chicken salad) 88 cents a pound
10 oz of baby spinach that was on sale
Brussel Sprouts (3.99 and the most expensive food purchased today)
Sweet potatoes
Malt-O-Meal Cinnamon cereal as a treat for the teen
Plain Gelatin because the teen wants to make her own marshmallows
Almond creamer was on sale and I had a digital coupon!!!
Spinach artichoke hummus on sale and I had a digital coupon
A bag of lemons off the 99 cent produce bin
2 pepper plants
So as part of my hustle this past week, I did end up pet sitting for 2 night and that meant that I was driving an hour after work to get to my pet sitting gig and grabbed burger that night. The girl child ate left overs or cooked from what was on hand.
I did make my lunches of jar salads with leftover chicken from Wednesday night with the teen made dinner of raspberry chipotle chicken and boxed mashed potatoes. Used up the boxed potatoes, that are usually just kept around to thicken my potato soup when I make it too thin.
So everything out of the pantry and freezer? 6 cans of veggies, a box of potatoes, a jar of peanut butter several frozen chicken breasts.
Tonight I am cooking a whole chicken, the brussle sprouts and baked sweet potatoes. I am also making another batch of good Southern sweet tea.
This morning was another omlette very similar to last weeks, more cherry tomatoes as I harvested 5 from the indoor plant this morning.
Sunday, March 17, 2019
Food Clear Out Challenge Day 2: Spinach Omelette, Mushroom Piroshki and Rice Pudding
So Today I decided to start my morning right with an Omelette. Yes, I made egg bites yesterday, but those are for the work days. Besides I had some work to do. I promised a friend that I would help clean out her master bedroom closet for her upcoming move.
Omelette Served 2
3 eggs
Salt Pepper
Penzey's Tuscan Sunset herb mix
Fresh Spinach chopped
green onion chopped
tiny bit of white onion chopped
fresh herbs shopped (basil, parsley and oregano)
Avocado
2 slices of turkey lunch meat cut into strips.
In a small bowl I wisked the eggs, salt, pepper and Tuscan Sunset together. I sprayed a small omelette pan with oil and once it was warm, I poured the egg mixture in. Then I layered the fillings in holding back the avocado and green onion chives. After it cooked a bit, I folded it and let it sit a bit more, then flipped it and let it continue cooking. I then cut it in half and served on small plates and topped with avocado and chives.
We also had some blueberries and biscuits that my daughter made last night.
Lunch was provided by my friend who I was working with today. I had a lovely curry with chicken and veggies. Dinner on the other hand was provided by my beautiful daughter. I am so going to miss her when she goes off to college. She decided to make Mushroom Piroshki and Rice Pudding with Mango Topping
Mushroom Piroshki. She got the recipe from The Dumpling Cookbook by Maria Polushkin. The only adaption my daughter made was to use plain goat yogurt instead of sour cream as we both are allergic to cow milk products. (Please don't try to school me on this. It is different from lactose intolerance, I was diagnosed as an infant and my daughter at the age of 8. Bloodwork was involved as one of my best friend is a doctor, I have an innate trust in the education that doctors receive.)
Dessert was a rice pudding using some of the rice leftover from a meal earlier in the week.
Rice Pudding
1 1/2 c cooked rice
2 c almond milk
1/4t salt
1 egg beaten
1/3 c sugar
1T margarine
1/2 t vanilla
Combine rice, 1 1/2 c milk and salt in a sauce pan and cook over meadium heat, stirring until thickened. Stir in the rest of the milk, the beaten egg and sugar and continue to stir and cook until the egg is set. Remove from eat and add margarine and vanilla.
Each serving was then topped with diced mango.
Saturday, March 16, 2019
Food Clear Out Challenge Day 1 Rosemary baked Chicken, Jar Salad and Egg Bites
So my current situation is that I am inadequately employed and a single mom. I work temp jobs and drive for ride share companies and walk dogs in between. I have truly had to put by skills of frugality to use in the last year to survive. I don't care what the current government propaganda is saying about the employment situation. As someone that had been a stay at home mom for 20 years, getting back into the work force has been a bitch. Before the idiot I married talked me into quitting, I was an executive assistant to a vice president of an internet company. But the skills I learn to budget and manage were used to manage a home and family and even my own part time business for 20 years.
Now that I have gotten the bitching out of the way Let's talk about the good and the bad of the current situation and how to fix it.
I have a tendency to stock pile food when times are difficult. This time has been no different. Except now I have taken on a room mate to help make sure the bills are getting paid. Somehow she wants to have space in the pantry and fridge for herself. I need to learn to share it seems. So I am challenging myself to economically reduce without waste.
The rules that I have given myself for the challenge is to try to limit my grocery spending to $25 a month, plants and seeds purchased a the grocery store do not count. I have a garden at home and in a community garden that can not be neglected. I am also needing to eat healthier, as people with inadequate funds can not afford to be ill. I will allow myself one meal out a week.
So there are 3 goals in this challenge: Reduce, Budget and Health.
Today was grocery day this week. I spent $31.48 at Trader Joes. $6 of that was on herb plants for the garden: Thyme, Mint and Dill. So I am 48 cents over budget.
The food that was purchased is:
Dill (the girl child wanted it for a recipe to use right away)
Broccoli Slaw
2 bags of avocados (one ripe now, one that will be ripe in a few days)
Baby Lettuce Mix
Mayonaise
Mango
Blueberries
Strawberries
So today was a strange day and we worked at a church event and lunch was provided, breakfast was skipped by me as I got up early to harvest for the community garden.
Dinner was baked rosemary chicken with potatoes and carrots and a minted sweet tea. This fed 3 people with leftovers for lunch.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
3 chicken breast
most of a 1 lb bag of carrots
half of a 3lb bag of yellow potatoes
olive oil
salt and pepper
3 springs of rosemary from the garden
I peeled and cut the carrots into sticks and tossed with olive oil and salt and pepper in a small bowl and then put on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper. (I really hate clean up and since I spend so much time trying to survive, I have less time). I then cut the potatoes in quarters and tossed the in olive oil and salt and pepper. and laid them out next to the carrots. Then I laid out the 3 chicken breasts and used the extra oil in the bowl and brushed it on the chicken. Hey! I am not about to waste some good olive oil!
I popped the whole thing in the oven for 40 minutes.
While that cooked I went to work on 2 jarred salads for my lunches this week.
I shredded 2 of the carrots, chopped a little bit of onion, chopped some sun dried tomato
Each jar was slightly different, but you all probably know the basic concept of the jar salad, right?
1T of olive oil
1T of rasperry vinegar in one 1T of balsamic vinegar in the other.
a bit of onion
a bit of shredded carrot
a bit of broccoli slaw
one had a cherry tomato from the plant I am growing in my Aerogarden, the other sun dried tomatoes
1/4 of a chicken breast chopped (that was cooked for dinner)
some of the baby salad mix I purchased
slivered almonds
After dinner I made some egg bites for lunches for me and girl child. I made 6, because my muffin tin only makes 6 muffins.
Preheat over to 350 degrees
5 eggs
cashew milk unsweetened
Spinach
fresh herbs (basil, oregano and parsley that I am growing)
sun dried tomatoes chopped
bit of onion finely chopped
fresh herbs (parlsey, oregano, and basil)
shredded carrot
salt and pepper
spray oil
So with this I just sprayed the muffin tin then added the veggies and herbs everything finely chopped. Then in a small bowl I added the eggs, a bit of cashew milk and salt and pepper and whisked with a spoon then evenly divided between the tins. I baked for 25 min.
Although as I type this my daughter is making biscuits. Seems she thinks the egg bites would make good breakfast sandwiches. I plan on having mine with some slices of avocado and a side of fruit. But then teens can eat a little more than a middle age mom.
So I got one dinner for 3, two lunches for 1 and 3 breakfasts for 2 taken care of. Not too bad for a single mom with limited resources.
Now that I have gotten the bitching out of the way Let's talk about the good and the bad of the current situation and how to fix it.
I have a tendency to stock pile food when times are difficult. This time has been no different. Except now I have taken on a room mate to help make sure the bills are getting paid. Somehow she wants to have space in the pantry and fridge for herself. I need to learn to share it seems. So I am challenging myself to economically reduce without waste.
The rules that I have given myself for the challenge is to try to limit my grocery spending to $25 a month, plants and seeds purchased a the grocery store do not count. I have a garden at home and in a community garden that can not be neglected. I am also needing to eat healthier, as people with inadequate funds can not afford to be ill. I will allow myself one meal out a week.
So there are 3 goals in this challenge: Reduce, Budget and Health.
Today was grocery day this week. I spent $31.48 at Trader Joes. $6 of that was on herb plants for the garden: Thyme, Mint and Dill. So I am 48 cents over budget.
The food that was purchased is:
Dill (the girl child wanted it for a recipe to use right away)
Broccoli Slaw
2 bags of avocados (one ripe now, one that will be ripe in a few days)
Baby Lettuce Mix
Mayonaise
Mango
Blueberries
Strawberries
So today was a strange day and we worked at a church event and lunch was provided, breakfast was skipped by me as I got up early to harvest for the community garden.
Dinner was baked rosemary chicken with potatoes and carrots and a minted sweet tea. This fed 3 people with leftovers for lunch.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
3 chicken breast
most of a 1 lb bag of carrots
half of a 3lb bag of yellow potatoes
olive oil
salt and pepper
3 springs of rosemary from the garden
I peeled and cut the carrots into sticks and tossed with olive oil and salt and pepper in a small bowl and then put on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper. (I really hate clean up and since I spend so much time trying to survive, I have less time). I then cut the potatoes in quarters and tossed the in olive oil and salt and pepper. and laid them out next to the carrots. Then I laid out the 3 chicken breasts and used the extra oil in the bowl and brushed it on the chicken. Hey! I am not about to waste some good olive oil!
I popped the whole thing in the oven for 40 minutes.
While that cooked I went to work on 2 jarred salads for my lunches this week.
I shredded 2 of the carrots, chopped a little bit of onion, chopped some sun dried tomato
Each jar was slightly different, but you all probably know the basic concept of the jar salad, right?
1T of olive oil
1T of rasperry vinegar in one 1T of balsamic vinegar in the other.
a bit of onion
a bit of shredded carrot
a bit of broccoli slaw
one had a cherry tomato from the plant I am growing in my Aerogarden, the other sun dried tomatoes
1/4 of a chicken breast chopped (that was cooked for dinner)
some of the baby salad mix I purchased
slivered almonds
After dinner I made some egg bites for lunches for me and girl child. I made 6, because my muffin tin only makes 6 muffins.
Preheat over to 350 degrees
5 eggs
cashew milk unsweetened
Spinach
fresh herbs (basil, oregano and parsley that I am growing)
sun dried tomatoes chopped
bit of onion finely chopped
fresh herbs (parlsey, oregano, and basil)
shredded carrot
salt and pepper
spray oil
So with this I just sprayed the muffin tin then added the veggies and herbs everything finely chopped. Then in a small bowl I added the eggs, a bit of cashew milk and salt and pepper and whisked with a spoon then evenly divided between the tins. I baked for 25 min.
Although as I type this my daughter is making biscuits. Seems she thinks the egg bites would make good breakfast sandwiches. I plan on having mine with some slices of avocado and a side of fruit. But then teens can eat a little more than a middle age mom.
So I got one dinner for 3, two lunches for 1 and 3 breakfasts for 2 taken care of. Not too bad for a single mom with limited resources.
Wednesday, February 3, 2016
Leftover Magic - Chicken Tortilla Soup
This is one of the few recipes I do that uses convenience foods. It is also easily adapted to be a vegan recipe, just use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth and black beans instead of chicken. This particular recipe is dairy free because we do not eat much dairy in our home due to my daughter and myself being allergic to cow milk and my husband being lactose intolerant. Yes these are very different things. Basically we can have goat cheese products and he can't. But he is fine with yogurt made with cow milk most of the time and we are not. So on with the recipe.
This is something I made that uses leftovers - hence a leftover magic recipe. Homemade chicken broth, which I make from the bones from a chicken I cooked previously as well as veg scraps I kept in the freezer for just such an occasion. I will discuss my broth making in another post soon, I promise. You are getting this post today, because this is dinner today.
The other leftovers that are featured in this are the bits of chicken meat that were left from that chicken I mentioned cooking earlier as well as tortilla chips that had gone stale and no one was going to eat any other way.
I don't measure these things. It is based on personal taste and what you have on hand.
I love this recipe not just because it uses up leftovers and is cheap, but because it is super easy for busy days.
Chicken or Vegetable Broth - enough to make this a very brothy soup
olive oil 2-3T
Garlic 1-2 cloves
Onion 1-2 depending on how big a pot you are making
peppers - Pablano and/ or Bell, but any mild pepper works how much depends on how big a pot you need to make
leftover chicken meat (or a can of drained and rinsed black beans)
Salsa - I use a half cup for a typical sauce pan size pot and a half jar when making a big pot of soup
Corn - canned or frozen
fresh oregano - optional
salt and pepper as needed to taste.
Tortilla chips
Chop the onion, pepper and garlic and saute in olive oil until tender then add everything but the tortillas and bring to a boil and allow to simmer for about 10-15 min. Break the tortilla chips up and put them in the bottom of the bowls (you can add shredded cheese if you really have to). Ladle soup over the chips. And you have soup.
Tuesday, February 2, 2016
The Big Bad Budget Basics
Okay it really isn't bad, and certainly isn't scary, but it can seem that way in the beginning. Budgeting is an important part of everyone's life if you are living off food stamps or running a multi million dollar corporation. This should be one of those basic skills that everyone learns. But it is personal money and no one likes to talk about their personal money habits. It is one of the last taboo subject left. It is easier to discuss our sex lives with our friends than our money habits or what our budgets are like.
Budgets are the foundation of how we plan our lives. How we plan our vacations, our education, our home decorating, our wardrobes ect. We need to get a handle on these things. They are just a part of life and not something to be ashamed of. I know some people want to a life so wealthy that they don't have to worry about budgets. Well the reason the wealthy are wealthy is that they budget. So if you really want to be like the rich - have a budget. The wealthy that don't have a budget are not wealthy very long.
If you read Crisis Day 1 you will note that I had you go through every single expense and categorize them into 3 areas - Need, Want and Frivolous.
Need is those things that you just can not survive without or are obligated to do by a promise or to keep working. This would be things like:
First thing is to record how much money is coming in each month. Then subtract everything you spend in a month from the need category.
Step 2 is to start building your savings. If you have debt that is something other than a primary mortgage and a single car payment, save up enough to cover 1 full month of expenses (that is everything in that need category). So you will assign the bulk of the money left towards the savings section at this point.
Step 3 is debt repayment. Now is time to tackle the excess debt. Start putting extra money towards paying down your debts. Even before you have finished step 2, put an extra $10 a month beyond the minimum payment towards the smallest debt just so you can see it go down faster. Then when you have the minimum savings built up, the money from that had been going towards savings will go towards debt tackling the smallest debt first. The only exception to this rule is if you have one that is 0% interest, it can be put further down the list.
Step 4 is assign allowances. Some will probably think I am a bad person for putting this before long term savings but few people can stick to a fairly strict budget long term without some sort of treats from time to time. Everyone in the family gets an allowance, even if you don't hand it over to the kids, this is a budgeting thing. When we first implemented this system it was $20 to my husband who sometimes needed to each lunches with coworkers and $10 for me and $5 for each of the kids. Now days we have a bit more of an income and one child still at home who is a teen and more active in things so it is $40 for each of us and $15 for our daughter.
This covers clothes, trips to movies, makeup, ect. Fun things we want to do. This is where a a great deal of the things from the frivolous category spending happens and some of the want. You know I am a bit of an environmentalist so yes even frivolous spending can be done responsibly and we will discuss that later.
Step 5 is retirement and education savings. Even if you don't have much left to your budget at this point you should be putting something back every month. Even if it is just $10 for each person. The only exception to this being step 5 is if you have a retirement program through work a traditional pension plan or 401k plan that matches, then it becomes STEP 1.
Even if your kids are 17 today and you can only put back $10 a month, it will be something and it will pay for a text book. and it is better than doing nothing and they will be happy to have one less text book to pay for.
The earlier you start on retirement the better.
Once you have paid down all of your debt except your mortgage start focusing on step 2 and step 5. I would recommend equal amounts to both accounts until you either have 3-6 months of expenses saved or you have maxed out your annual contributions to your retirement and education savings accounts. Then focus heavily on the account the other account. You can also give yourself a modest increase to your allowance if there isn't anything that you need to save up for, such as a new car or a down payment on a house.
If a new car or house is in your future saving up for those would be Step 6.
Budgets are the foundation of how we plan our lives. How we plan our vacations, our education, our home decorating, our wardrobes ect. We need to get a handle on these things. They are just a part of life and not something to be ashamed of. I know some people want to a life so wealthy that they don't have to worry about budgets. Well the reason the wealthy are wealthy is that they budget. So if you really want to be like the rich - have a budget. The wealthy that don't have a budget are not wealthy very long.
If you read Crisis Day 1 you will note that I had you go through every single expense and categorize them into 3 areas - Need, Want and Frivolous.
Need is those things that you just can not survive without or are obligated to do by a promise or to keep working. This would be things like:
- food
- shelter
- travel to and from work
- minimum payments on debts
- dry cleaning for work clothes
- school expenses
- school supplies
- Date night with your partner
- special activities with the kids
- new clothes
- new car
Frivolous is those things that don't really enrich your life but you seem to spend money on anyway. This might be:
- eating out often
- shopping to feel better
- junk food
First thing is to record how much money is coming in each month. Then subtract everything you spend in a month from the need category.
Step 2 is to start building your savings. If you have debt that is something other than a primary mortgage and a single car payment, save up enough to cover 1 full month of expenses (that is everything in that need category). So you will assign the bulk of the money left towards the savings section at this point.
Step 3 is debt repayment. Now is time to tackle the excess debt. Start putting extra money towards paying down your debts. Even before you have finished step 2, put an extra $10 a month beyond the minimum payment towards the smallest debt just so you can see it go down faster. Then when you have the minimum savings built up, the money from that had been going towards savings will go towards debt tackling the smallest debt first. The only exception to this rule is if you have one that is 0% interest, it can be put further down the list.
Step 4 is assign allowances. Some will probably think I am a bad person for putting this before long term savings but few people can stick to a fairly strict budget long term without some sort of treats from time to time. Everyone in the family gets an allowance, even if you don't hand it over to the kids, this is a budgeting thing. When we first implemented this system it was $20 to my husband who sometimes needed to each lunches with coworkers and $10 for me and $5 for each of the kids. Now days we have a bit more of an income and one child still at home who is a teen and more active in things so it is $40 for each of us and $15 for our daughter.
This covers clothes, trips to movies, makeup, ect. Fun things we want to do. This is where a a great deal of the things from the frivolous category spending happens and some of the want. You know I am a bit of an environmentalist so yes even frivolous spending can be done responsibly and we will discuss that later.
Step 5 is retirement and education savings. Even if you don't have much left to your budget at this point you should be putting something back every month. Even if it is just $10 for each person. The only exception to this being step 5 is if you have a retirement program through work a traditional pension plan or 401k plan that matches, then it becomes STEP 1.
Even if your kids are 17 today and you can only put back $10 a month, it will be something and it will pay for a text book. and it is better than doing nothing and they will be happy to have one less text book to pay for.
The earlier you start on retirement the better.
Once you have paid down all of your debt except your mortgage start focusing on step 2 and step 5. I would recommend equal amounts to both accounts until you either have 3-6 months of expenses saved or you have maxed out your annual contributions to your retirement and education savings accounts. Then focus heavily on the account the other account. You can also give yourself a modest increase to your allowance if there isn't anything that you need to save up for, such as a new car or a down payment on a house.
If a new car or house is in your future saving up for those would be Step 6.
Friday, January 15, 2016
Crisis Day 3
Sell Stuff
Okay, this is actually a multi day project in many cases.
Start going through your things. Clothes that no longer fit, things that you have put away in storage and don't use. Clean them and price them.
There are many options for selling. You can sell things a bit at a time with online garage sales on facebook groups dedicated to that for your local area or use ebay or etsy if you have some particularly nice stuff. Or you can look to the old fashioned yard sale. They each have their advantages and drawbacks. You know what fits your life and neighborhood the best. You might surprised at what you find. Clothes the kids can't fit anymore, toys they don't play with anymore, those earrings your mom bought you that you didn't know how to tell her that you can't wear pierced earrings anymore or those shoes you love but pinch your toes so much that you never wear them.
Trust me you can find lots of stuff to purge and sell. This isn't near as profitable as day one and two activities, but you get to declutter as well. And if you are paying for a storage unit to house any of this stuff, just the savings in storage fees will be worth it. Your life will be chaos until you get it sold, but it will be worth it.
Another bonus to this step is that your things will be getting a second life and be put to use again. This should make you feel good for environmental reasons.
Depending on the stuff you need to part with, how much you have and how you choose to sell it this can make you anywhere from $50 to $1000. Be realistic in your expectations. This isn't going to make you rich. But it might pay your grocery bill this week or get you to work for the month. Not worth doing if it means missing work, but if you have the time, so very worth doing. If you are doing online sales, you can do one item or one lot at a time.
This is actually my least favorite step. I much prefer long term saving methods over short term gain methods. This really only makes my list because sometimes you really do need an influx of cash really really quickly and who doesn't need to declutter at some point anyway. And ending a storage unit bill is a way bigger deal than the bit of money you make selling off the stuff you are paying to store.
The money you get from this should be going only towards the NEED category of things on your list. Which should be basic needs, food, shelter, and obligations for which your world would come crashing down on you if they are not paid. You know debts and gas to get to and from work sort of obligations This is not a time to go out and buy more stuff.
Also books left over at the end of the sale can go to the used book store. You won't get much out of it, but there have been times that as paid for gas to get to work or the week's grocery bill.
I know it is only Day three, but you should be feeling some of the pressure easing off. Don't forget to call someone today.
Hopefully you have turned to this point long before you needed to look into things like bankruptcy, but if things are that bad, don't be afraid to call the specialists that you need to help you. Asking for help isn't a bad thing. There is reason it is step two in my plan. But borrowing money from friends and family is very bad. If it is more than $10 because you left your wallet at home and it is going to take more than 24 hours for you to pay them back, don't do it. It ruins relationships. Your friends will be there to help you in more profound ways during this time that won't require worrying about paying them back. Don't let a debt ruin a friendship, because they might not be there for you when you need them for something more important.
Okay, this is actually a multi day project in many cases.
Start going through your things. Clothes that no longer fit, things that you have put away in storage and don't use. Clean them and price them.
There are many options for selling. You can sell things a bit at a time with online garage sales on facebook groups dedicated to that for your local area or use ebay or etsy if you have some particularly nice stuff. Or you can look to the old fashioned yard sale. They each have their advantages and drawbacks. You know what fits your life and neighborhood the best. You might surprised at what you find. Clothes the kids can't fit anymore, toys they don't play with anymore, those earrings your mom bought you that you didn't know how to tell her that you can't wear pierced earrings anymore or those shoes you love but pinch your toes so much that you never wear them.
Trust me you can find lots of stuff to purge and sell. This isn't near as profitable as day one and two activities, but you get to declutter as well. And if you are paying for a storage unit to house any of this stuff, just the savings in storage fees will be worth it. Your life will be chaos until you get it sold, but it will be worth it.
Another bonus to this step is that your things will be getting a second life and be put to use again. This should make you feel good for environmental reasons.
Depending on the stuff you need to part with, how much you have and how you choose to sell it this can make you anywhere from $50 to $1000. Be realistic in your expectations. This isn't going to make you rich. But it might pay your grocery bill this week or get you to work for the month. Not worth doing if it means missing work, but if you have the time, so very worth doing. If you are doing online sales, you can do one item or one lot at a time.
This is actually my least favorite step. I much prefer long term saving methods over short term gain methods. This really only makes my list because sometimes you really do need an influx of cash really really quickly and who doesn't need to declutter at some point anyway. And ending a storage unit bill is a way bigger deal than the bit of money you make selling off the stuff you are paying to store.
The money you get from this should be going only towards the NEED category of things on your list. Which should be basic needs, food, shelter, and obligations for which your world would come crashing down on you if they are not paid. You know debts and gas to get to and from work sort of obligations This is not a time to go out and buy more stuff.
Also books left over at the end of the sale can go to the used book store. You won't get much out of it, but there have been times that as paid for gas to get to work or the week's grocery bill.
I know it is only Day three, but you should be feeling some of the pressure easing off. Don't forget to call someone today.
Hopefully you have turned to this point long before you needed to look into things like bankruptcy, but if things are that bad, don't be afraid to call the specialists that you need to help you. Asking for help isn't a bad thing. There is reason it is step two in my plan. But borrowing money from friends and family is very bad. If it is more than $10 because you left your wallet at home and it is going to take more than 24 hours for you to pay them back, don't do it. It ruins relationships. Your friends will be there to help you in more profound ways during this time that won't require worrying about paying them back. Don't let a debt ruin a friendship, because they might not be there for you when you need them for something more important.
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