For us, the Waste-Not Plan is a blueprint to arrive at our ultimate goal of total independence in terms of food (for us and our animals), energy (at least in terms of heat and cooking, and using the grid only for luxuries that can easily be dispensed with) and money (we want to be able to have both me and Ben at home or at least working very minimally, so what land we have needs to at least pay for its own taxes and hopefully a bit extra). For others it might just be a matter of becoming progressively more self reliant: having enough food to know that a couple weeks without buying groceries won't reduce you to eating expired spaghetti-Os from the back of the cupboard, being able to pay down debt and add to a nest egg, reducing your carbon footprint and plugging your particular holes in the waste stream. That's why I call these "levels" instead of "steps," because even if you never get past "level one" or "level two," you're here. You're improving your financial wellbeing, you're improving the environment, and you're doing your best to be a good steward of what you have. And the upper levels build on the lower ones: People with some land to use might grow some vegetables and keep some chickens but still buy rice-a-roni and stop at Dunkin on the regular. In that case, they aren't on level two or level one, they haven't even walked in the door, despite the seeming "self reliance" of taking eggs out of a nest box a couple of times a day. If this describes you, keep reading--you can join the Waste Not Plan from wherever you are, whatever your self reliance, and I'm excited to show you how.
Seems simple, right? You want to save more money so you obviously spend less. Except, of course, most of us want to save more money and don't spend less, because spending is fun and every time we don't buy that hot cocoa at McDonald's we feel like we just achieved a major feat of self-denial and deserve a nice reward. Before we know it, bam, we still spent our paycheck and it's only Tuesday and by Friday the electric bill and the student loan payment are both due so there goes next week's check, too, while we're at it.
The reason a fuzzy "I need to spend less money" plan never works is that it's never really a plan. There's no real goal other than "spend less money." It's nothing more than a pang of conscience when you're about to buy that giant cookie at the gas station, a little cringe as the cash register rings up $76.35 for groceries that won't even get you through the whole week, a vague feeling every time you look at the bank account figures that there should be more in there... but there never is. "I need to spend less money" isn't a strategy; it's a misgiving, a reproach, and to be honest a stressor. And do you know what stress does? It raises your cortisol. And do you know what cortisol does? It makes you want to eat more sweet stuff, and (I kid you not) spend more money.
So if "I need to spend less money" isn't a plan, what is the alternative?
There are people who make a living answering that question. Dave Ramsey is a famous one who's very popular right now, and testimonials show that he has guided many grateful sufferers out of their financial woe and into a responsible, debt-free lifestyle. Purchasing his materials and enrolling in his program, Financial Peace University, is an investment that has paid off amazingly well for many people.
We, as a family, have not utilized his resources, but we have appropriated his methods--knowingly or not, and to varying degrees. For example, his "debt snowball" method works well for a lot of people to pay down their debt in a way that puts as little strain as possible on their monthly budget. But in our family, we've found that it can also work for a "grocery snowball"! Out of our weekly grocery budget, I'll try to spend a bit less than is allowed. This might mean going without cheese for a couple of weeks, for example, or choosing not to eat breakfast cereal (pancakes from scratch are more work but also waaaay less expensive, and from some of the things I've read, much healthier). Then, once I've put aside my grocery savings for a few weeks and accumulated, say, $15, I'll make a large purchase that takes advantage of economy of scale. 20 pounds of rice at WalMart is under $10, and rice is an excellent tummy filler in our house. (It can even makes a delicious breakfast cereal--no denatured proteins or hydrogenated oils!) Once you're working from that 20 pound bag of rice, you have an extra dollar or so each week to add to your grocery snowball fund. Maybe you should buy a jar of active dry yeast and two bags of flour and work on your bread making skills until you get it just right. (Early failures can always become flat bread--trust me. Always.) And while you're at it, start working on your homemade pasta technique. An utter failure a time or two will be worthwhile when you never have to buy pasta again. A giant 5 pound bag of grated cheese could be a great investment as long as you also invest in the sandwich bags needed to freeze most of it. And each major bulk purchase leads to more savings that can be rolled toward the next major bulk purchase, until you have enough set aside to be able to engage in serious money saving ventures like buying dry beans in bulk online or keeping chickens (Alright, yes, that's level 2 stuff, but dreams are life).
This system entails a major advantage in that there are defined goals for your weekly savings on groceries. If I'm saving toward something that I want, that the family needs (face it--for us, the 48 oz. tub of sour cream from Wegmans is a need), and that is actually achievable, it's a lot easier to drive past Dunkin Donuts without stopping despite the knowledge that I still have $2.78 in the week's grocery budget. Spend that money now, no sour cream next week. No ham and corn chowder, no sour cream with our nachos, no unctuous richness in the chicken paprikesh. Unacceptable. So long, Dunkin, I'm sure someone else will stop in before long.
Eventually the grocery snowball grows, especially as you trim unnecessary spending from your budget (why buy boneless skinless chicken breasts and chicken stock when you can buy bone in chicken breasts and then boil the bones? why buy canned kidney beans when you could cook them yourself from dried for a fraction of the cost--and make them taste better too?) You'll find that you can spend still less on groceries and not all of it is needed for food, and that you can then invest your food savings in other areas--twin or triple packs of toothpaste, a bulk purchase of baking soda to replace most of your household cleaning chemicals, or just a stockpile of grocery money against major clearances when you can save a ton on staples. (Wegmans and Aldi have all purpose flour for $.99 throughout the holidays--stock up for the winter!) And when you revisit the budget, you might find that you can do as I've done and reduce your grocery allocation. three seasons of the year I spend about $60/ week on groceries for our family of six, and yes, that includes most cleaning supplies. (And often socks.) In the winter I spend $10/week, mostly for fresh veggies and fruits. Your life circumstances may dictate that you need to buy more than we do, but there's always fat to be pared away, and as your grocery habits change you may well find that you can put $10 of your grocery dollars each week into the "student loan" budget instead, and start that debt snowball rolling.
For some families there might be even more extreme solutions that could work equally well or even better. Consider having "Sparta days" once or twice a week, wherein you eat very inexpensive, wholesome foods (rice and beans, flatbread and curry, vegetarian chickpea tagine with pan-fried potatoes). This can be treated both as a money saver and as a habit changer over time, proving to yourself that if you had to live on rice, pulses, and even the simplest of flat breads, you could do it--and be happy about it!
So there we have it. Find those gaps in your spending habits and shut them down. Look over your receipts, see the patterns of things that cost the most and get purchased the most frequently, and see if you can reduce the frequency or eliminate them altogether. Skip expensive and unhealthy processed foods and learn to nourish and satisfy with your own cooking. This will also mean less plastic in your garbage can, less sugar and sodium in your diet, and less undirected stress in your life. Take control of the little things and you'll soon find that the big things are also bending to your will.
Level 1: Spend Less.
Seems simple, right? You want to save more money so you obviously spend less. Except, of course, most of us want to save more money and don't spend less, because spending is fun and every time we don't buy that hot cocoa at McDonald's we feel like we just achieved a major feat of self-denial and deserve a nice reward. Before we know it, bam, we still spent our paycheck and it's only Tuesday and by Friday the electric bill and the student loan payment are both due so there goes next week's check, too, while we're at it.
The reason a fuzzy "I need to spend less money" plan never works is that it's never really a plan. There's no real goal other than "spend less money." It's nothing more than a pang of conscience when you're about to buy that giant cookie at the gas station, a little cringe as the cash register rings up $76.35 for groceries that won't even get you through the whole week, a vague feeling every time you look at the bank account figures that there should be more in there... but there never is. "I need to spend less money" isn't a strategy; it's a misgiving, a reproach, and to be honest a stressor. And do you know what stress does? It raises your cortisol. And do you know what cortisol does? It makes you want to eat more sweet stuff, and (I kid you not) spend more money.
So if "I need to spend less money" isn't a plan, what is the alternative?
There are people who make a living answering that question. Dave Ramsey is a famous one who's very popular right now, and testimonials show that he has guided many grateful sufferers out of their financial woe and into a responsible, debt-free lifestyle. Purchasing his materials and enrolling in his program, Financial Peace University, is an investment that has paid off amazingly well for many people.
We, as a family, have not utilized his resources, but we have appropriated his methods--knowingly or not, and to varying degrees. For example, his "debt snowball" method works well for a lot of people to pay down their debt in a way that puts as little strain as possible on their monthly budget. But in our family, we've found that it can also work for a "grocery snowball"! Out of our weekly grocery budget, I'll try to spend a bit less than is allowed. This might mean going without cheese for a couple of weeks, for example, or choosing not to eat breakfast cereal (pancakes from scratch are more work but also waaaay less expensive, and from some of the things I've read, much healthier). Then, once I've put aside my grocery savings for a few weeks and accumulated, say, $15, I'll make a large purchase that takes advantage of economy of scale. 20 pounds of rice at WalMart is under $10, and rice is an excellent tummy filler in our house. (It can even makes a delicious breakfast cereal--no denatured proteins or hydrogenated oils!) Once you're working from that 20 pound bag of rice, you have an extra dollar or so each week to add to your grocery snowball fund. Maybe you should buy a jar of active dry yeast and two bags of flour and work on your bread making skills until you get it just right. (Early failures can always become flat bread--trust me. Always.) And while you're at it, start working on your homemade pasta technique. An utter failure a time or two will be worthwhile when you never have to buy pasta again. A giant 5 pound bag of grated cheese could be a great investment as long as you also invest in the sandwich bags needed to freeze most of it. And each major bulk purchase leads to more savings that can be rolled toward the next major bulk purchase, until you have enough set aside to be able to engage in serious money saving ventures like buying dry beans in bulk online or keeping chickens (Alright, yes, that's level 2 stuff, but dreams are life).
This system entails a major advantage in that there are defined goals for your weekly savings on groceries. If I'm saving toward something that I want, that the family needs (face it--for us, the 48 oz. tub of sour cream from Wegmans is a need), and that is actually achievable, it's a lot easier to drive past Dunkin Donuts without stopping despite the knowledge that I still have $2.78 in the week's grocery budget. Spend that money now, no sour cream next week. No ham and corn chowder, no sour cream with our nachos, no unctuous richness in the chicken paprikesh. Unacceptable. So long, Dunkin, I'm sure someone else will stop in before long.
Eventually the grocery snowball grows, especially as you trim unnecessary spending from your budget (why buy boneless skinless chicken breasts and chicken stock when you can buy bone in chicken breasts and then boil the bones? why buy canned kidney beans when you could cook them yourself from dried for a fraction of the cost--and make them taste better too?) You'll find that you can spend still less on groceries and not all of it is needed for food, and that you can then invest your food savings in other areas--twin or triple packs of toothpaste, a bulk purchase of baking soda to replace most of your household cleaning chemicals, or just a stockpile of grocery money against major clearances when you can save a ton on staples. (Wegmans and Aldi have all purpose flour for $.99 throughout the holidays--stock up for the winter!) And when you revisit the budget, you might find that you can do as I've done and reduce your grocery allocation. three seasons of the year I spend about $60/ week on groceries for our family of six, and yes, that includes most cleaning supplies. (And often socks.) In the winter I spend $10/week, mostly for fresh veggies and fruits. Your life circumstances may dictate that you need to buy more than we do, but there's always fat to be pared away, and as your grocery habits change you may well find that you can put $10 of your grocery dollars each week into the "student loan" budget instead, and start that debt snowball rolling.
For some families there might be even more extreme solutions that could work equally well or even better. Consider having "Sparta days" once or twice a week, wherein you eat very inexpensive, wholesome foods (rice and beans, flatbread and curry, vegetarian chickpea tagine with pan-fried potatoes). This can be treated both as a money saver and as a habit changer over time, proving to yourself that if you had to live on rice, pulses, and even the simplest of flat breads, you could do it--and be happy about it!
So there we have it. Find those gaps in your spending habits and shut them down. Look over your receipts, see the patterns of things that cost the most and get purchased the most frequently, and see if you can reduce the frequency or eliminate them altogether. Skip expensive and unhealthy processed foods and learn to nourish and satisfy with your own cooking. This will also mean less plastic in your garbage can, less sugar and sodium in your diet, and less undirected stress in your life. Take control of the little things and you'll soon find that the big things are also bending to your will.
Comments
Post a Comment