Sunday, December 28, 2008

Prepping

I noticed I was running low on shampoo and conditioner, so I made sure to buy some this afternoon. My toothpaste is getting a little empty, and my deodorant stick is getting light, so I think perhaps a refill on the essentials is necessary in the next three days.

My house is out of ketchup (and I smother it all over everything) and I have no more vegan margarine to speak of. Again, more stocking is necessary? We'll see. I leave town for Reno on Wednesday, so this'll all have to happen in the next two days.

I did my laundry, and figured that it's about $3.25 a load.

I've started noticing how the little things add up. What if I get a run in my hose at work? What if I'm forced to take the bus (instead of bike) because it rains? What if one of my knitting needles snaps in half? What if I'm baking a cake for a friend and I run out of flour?

I got an organizer (by Slingshot; purchased at Bound Together in Upper Haight) on Saturday. I'll be using it to track my spending.

So, the days are winding down...

Monday, December 15, 2008

"Rules" & Stipulations

I figured I would lay down the law/explain my reasoning before this all begins.

I'm doing this for various reasons. The main reason is to put away a large chunk of money in savings over the course of January. (I've been a little careless with spending, but I haven't dipped into my savings. I do feel, however, that more of my paychecks should be saved and I can't think of a better way to "train" myself.) Another reason involves this bad economy business. I figure that none of us knows what might happen and even though my company says everything is going to be a-ok, I want to be safe and have a little nest egg saved up in case something goes wrong and I find myself without a stream of cash.

My other reason (and the reason I am keeping this in a blog that everyone can read) is to prove just how possible this is and just how careless most of us can be with money. By documenting what I eat and how I spend, I might be able to teach someone how to keep hold of their cash moreso than they are now. I live in San Francisco, which is considered one of the most expensive cities in the country. Unless you want to eat a burrito (easily cut in half and saved for two meals) every day, you have to be a little more creative in how you spend and survive here. I'm also vegan, which means I do not eat meat, dairy, or any other animal byproduct. Many people claim this is more expensive than a normal diet, but I believe that's only true if you try to eat the same way as you did when you ate everything (fake meat IS expensive).

I've thought a considerable amount about how I'm going to do all of this. The "rules:"

-I am allowed ten dollars a day. If I only spend five dollars one day, that means I can transfer the amount to the next day, thereby having fifteen dollars to spend.

-I will be paid on the last day of December and the 15th of January. On these paydays, I will figure out how many days I have until next payday and multiply the amount by ten. Anything leftover between my paycheck and that amount will be put directly into my savings account.

-My debit card will be left at home during this experiment. I will take out my cash in two or four day increments. I will only have this cash on me, so I won't be able to over-spend. (I will, however, hold onto my credit card when I go out-of-town. This is in case of an emergency. I rarely use my credit card even now.)

-Rent, utilities, Netflix, and my cell phone bill are not a part of this. They are re-occurring charges that I pay every month at the same time, so they are not a part of "random spending." I am also undecided on how I want to treat the two trips to Reno over the course of the month. My boyfriend lives there and it's also a re-occurring expense, but it's not a bill I pay on the same day every month. I may purchase the tickets prior to January or make this the one exception, as it is $39 roundtrip. I will know by the start of the project.

I hope to update every day, but a busy life may hamper this. We'll see how everything happens.

This all begins in sixteen days.

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Coming Next Month

I am Danyell, and I am going to live on $10 or less a day, food and all.

This will happen during the month of January 2009.

Stay tuned.