A few days ago, somone tweeted about a “Frugal Vow” and asked if I was interested in participating. Seeing as to how I have lofty financial goals this year, a sister graduating high school and going off to college, a bunch of travel trips and an ever urgent need to plan for my immediate and long term future, I figured this was a wonderful idea.
The Frugalista Files wrote about this idea in her “Join Me for a No Buy Month” post. Also check out, Chinye’s post February 2011 Financial Goals.
What does the Frugal vow mean to me?
First, it means I want to be keenly aware of how I am spending every dollar that I make. To do this, I refer back to one of my favorite websites, MINT.COM. I’ve been using this website for years to track all of my accounts, how I spend my money and to create & manage my budgets.
My spending has changed in the last year. There are some things I no longer spend money on and other things that have been added. I take dance classes now but I no longer have a gym membership. I set aside money for my sister’s high school graduation. I have a few projects to sponsor. I donate more money now. I don’t buy a lot of my body products and so on and so forth.
This means, I need to track my spending again. I’ve spent the last few weeks going over my account on Mint and it is interesting to see where my money goes. I love that Mint has visually appealing and user friendly pages to show you just how you are spending every penny. You can even track your spending since the first day that you signed up for the account.
One of the beneficial things about tracking your money with an easy program like Mint is that you can literally see how much you spend on everything. When I first started using the website, I was shocked at how much I spent at certain stores or on a certain item. It made me rethink what I gave my dollar too.
Next, I’m redoing my budget. I could stand to be more strict with myself. I give myself a $50 book budget and a $50 starbucks budget. Really! Is that necessary? So this is what I’m working on. Fixing my budget to adjust for my current state of living and how I want to live.
Some people hear the word “budget” and freak out. Or they think only poor people budget. No. Smart people budget. Smart people know exactly how they are spending their money and they invest it towards the life they want to live. They live intentionally instead of sporadically and haphazardly.
I remember years ago when I made much less than I do now but I was able to live comfortably because I kept a budget that helped me track and plan for my expenses. At the same time I had a roommate who made about three times as much as me and she was ALWAYS broke. While I ate gelato, wonderful homemade pasta dishes and traveled extensively, she always brought home mcdonalds because that’s the only thing her money could buy. That and her shoes.
So I budget. Do as you will but I track and plan where my money goes. I’ve done this since I was 14 years old and it has always served me.
After tracking my money and formulating an aggressive budget that allows me to…
1. Invest in my retirement
2. Long term save – I want to have enough money saved so that I could live comfortably for 2 years if I ever needed to.
3. Short term save – Sister’s graduation, Brother’s birthday trip, Artist Retreat, Travelling, Sheena LaShay LLC….and so the list goes.
….I realize I definitely need this frugal vow! Instead of looking at this vow as some sort of scheme that limits how I spend my money, I view it as a way to reinvest my money.
I’VE DECIDED I WILL NOT EAT OUT as much.
1. I will cook more meals and bring my lunch to work. This is great anyway since I want to work on more vegan and raw dishes. Perfect opportunity to do so.
2. I also need to carry snacks.Just like my mother use to pack a little baggie of goodies for my younger siblings when we’d go out full of cheerios, juice boxes and string cheese, I need to do the same with myself. I need to keep a baggie of granola, almonds, sunflower seeds and reusable bottles of water.
3. I will cook dinner for friends. I used to do this in Chicago. Every two weeks I’d invite 2 to 3 friends over for dinner. Nothing fancy. Pasta. Salmon. Whatever was in the fridge. There was always dessert too. This kept my food waste down. I’ve learned its more challenging to cook for one person. Its also intentional time spent with close friends. Of course, Kia is invited to every single one of these dinners.
This readjustment to my food budget will also aide in my ability to eat better. Just the other day on my way home I wanted to buy some coffee and I told myself NO. Instead, I was going to wait until I got home and I’d make myself some tea. I saved myself a couple bucks, learned a little patience and realized I didn’t need it. Coffee isn’t that great for me anyway. Not only isn’t it great for my body but I doubt the store I was buying it from considered the sustainable issues for carrying that brand. Was it even local? Was it fair trade? Was it organic? Yea, eventually I need to purge coffee completely from my system. Besides I wasn’t saying no to coffee.
I was saying yes to my future and financial legacy, freedom and abundance….two dollars at a time. 
I WILL RE-ACESS MY MONTHLY BILLS
Long term readers, know that there isn’t much I can do about my utility bills. They are as low as they are going to get unless I go completely off the grid. Check out my video –> Sustainable Living: Energy Usage and Utility Bills. You can also check out how my sustainable habits help my friends save money too. Check that out –> Sustainble Living Pays You Back. I would encourage those taking a Frugal Vow to consider a sustainable approach to living, just saying. If you need tips, check out my blog Granola Tendencies.
1. I will re-evaluate my phone bill. As of right now I’m unclear as to whether or not I’m using all the features I pay for EVERY month. I’m actually scared to see. Who knows, I probably could have saved thousands over the years. Do I really need unlimited texting and an unlimited voice plan? Maybe. Maybe not. I’m going to shop around and make sure my plan is efficient and worth every penny. I plan on doing this with my internet bill and rent as well. Am I getting the best bang for my buck?
2. I need to re-evaluate my lifestyle spending. I pay two monthly bills for my two websites. I have a netflix account. I take two different dance classes. I pay for laundry pick up/drop off. There’s groceries. There’s Granola’s organic food and litter. I’m sure I can find ways to save money in some of those categories or find better deals!
I WILL SAY NO TO GROUPON for the most part.
This will be challenging. Groupon is my crack. But because of Groupon I’ve formed lifestyle habits. Rather than go to the gym, I go to dance classes twice a week. Shoot, if it wasn’t for groupon, I wouldn’t have been offered a sweet deal for my NY readers to take a FREE INTRO SHEILA KELLEY S FACTOR CLASS. So groupon gets credit. But I know I go over board. Did I really need to buy a SECOND offer for a professional organizer to come into my home when I already have one offer sitting in my list. And why do I have three photobook offers that I have yet to use. Really, Sheena.
1. I will only buy groupons if it was something planned for in my budget. For example, I’m planning a detox and this includes a colon cleanse. How wonderful was it that groupon offered a sweet half off deal for a colon cleanse just last week! That was ok to purchase. Purchasing another dance class, spa day or clothing offer, is NOT OK.
2. I will use the rest of my groupons. My list of unredeemed groupons keeps growing. I’ve been buying them at an extreme rate. The site is crack. (If you are wondering what Groupon is, check out this video –> Groupon Review) Anyways, I’m going to make it a point over the next few months to use ALL of my groupons.
I WILL NOT SHOP unless its a budgeted need.
This applies to everything from my personal needs & desires to my business to my gifts and donations. I’m usually good about this anyway. If I want a book or some hand crafted jewelry, I’ll save the item for at least a month, if not longer to determine if I really want it. If months have gone by and I still want that exact thing, then I’m purchase it.
1. I will INCREASE the wait time of items I want to buy. Whenever I want a new tattoo to feed my ink addiction, I give myself a year before adding one. This is only after finalizing EVERY detail of the design. If anything changes, I force myself to wait another year. This systems serves me well. I think I need to create some sort of system like that for everything I buy no matter what its for.
My goals for this frugal month will continue to articulate themselves as I spend more time on this. Kia and I are looking up events throughout the city that don’t require our debit cards. We’re re-thinking how we spend and what we spend it on. We’re getting very creative and innovative. These types of things make me happy!
I find that doing this frugal vow allows for you to live an intentional life. It forces you to slow down, consider your options and to really think things through. These kinds of traits are great to possess.
One of the things I enjoyed while looking at the spending trends over the years on Mint.com is the drastic decrease in my toiletries budget. I am now down to an average of $30 a month on toiletries. This is probably in regards to the perfume, shampoo/conditioner and toothpaste that I buy. Most other toiletries are created homemade in my kitchen. Or I’ve found better ways to invest my money. Instead of buying tampons every month, I use Instead Soft Cup. This requires only needing 12 for the entire year. How freaking awesome is that! I NEVER thought I’d be the girl to use a freaking soft cup but that’s a story for another day. Its a post I’ve been wanting to write for months now but its still in draft form.
I want to say that even if I made a million dollars a year, I would still track my spending and keep a budget. This is how millionaires stay millionaires. This is how successful people remain in their abundance. They don’t give it all away for STUFF. The reinvest their resources towards their future and they use their resources towards intentional efforts. Think smart. Think creatively. Think innovation. Think about tomorrow.
Live in abundance, one penny at a time.
I will be posting updates to my journey often. Stay tuned. I might even let you see my budget.
Things to Check out
The Cheapskate Guide: 50 Frugal Tips – Zen Habits
Frugal Living: Living a Better Life
Suzie Orman – no other words are needed
[photo credit]
