In this country, a republic, I have been taught that my vote is important, that my health is up to me and my doctors and pharmacists pocket book, that I shouldn’t pay “high” taxes. That I deserve to have a house, 2.5 kids, a dog and two vehicles; one suv, one sedan. A summer house, a yearly vacation, and tax free luxuries. That I shouldn’t have to pay for criminals to stay in jail, or lazy women to go on welfare. That I should work a 40 hour work week to get by, an 80 hour work week to succeed. And that I should accept the GMO, pesticide sprayed food that the government provides me to keep me voting, paying low taxes and working my 80 hour work week so I can take an 80(?) hour vacation week while thinking about my 2.5 kids, house and the cost of gas for my suv and sedan. Did you follow that?

Me either. Here’s the thing. I used to feel strongly about voting. Especially in this last election. As a US expat who has returned to the states and been living here for almost ten years, I felt it was my patriotic duty and an honor to vote in every election that I have received a ballot for. Spending up to two or three days researching every candidate and issue that was to be voted on or for. But I must admit, I’m feeling very jaded.

Not that I am disappointed in our president. Or that G.W.’s office time suddenly turned me against government. My disenchantment with our political system has been a slow process starting with my father’s stories of being drafted to the current state that our socialistic, tea throwing, democtratic country has become.

And to be perfectly honest about it I’m the one to blame.

Now before I get to what I am going to do about it let me ask you one question? How often do you vote every year? For me the answer is about once or twice. That is 0.0054794 times a day. (If I am generous and go with the two times a year.) Okay, I lied. I have a second question. How many times do you go shopping every year? Not sure? How about every week? My week consists of at least one grocery store trip. Often two because I forgot something. How about clothing, movies, dinning out, gas, coffee… The list keeps going. So I’m going to say that I probably shop at least 4 times a week.

Ready to hear how that plays into my new way of thinking?

I may live in a country that is a republic, and it may go by the nick name of democracy, and some people are afraid that it is on the verge of being a transpolitical sociopublicrat. And, whatever this country may be to some, there is one thing that I know about it for sure. It is a capitalistic country. You know how we can tell? We stayed the same during republican and democratic president alike. We have withstood wars, and mother nature. But the one thing that scares us all, that really changes how we live, the identity that when ripped away causes us to forget who we are and have to figure it all out again is a RECESSION. Yup, we can fight about politics all we want, but the one thing that really gets our patriot hats, burnt bras and rubber band cause bracelets in a twist is money.

So what does that mean for me?

It means that instead of putting so much stock into my vote and so much worry into the aftermath I have moved on to something that makes a difference. Shopping.

I’m not talking about racking up debt or silly spree’s. I’m talking about my day to day spending of money. Who is it going to? Is it going to support a cause that I agree with? Is it going to further a company that lines up with my ideals? Is it going to support the local economy? Is is going to a product that is kind to the earth and animals? Each one of these decisions is a vote. Each dollar I (and you) spend is being marked on giant ballots somewhere behind the economies doors. And what I think about now is that I vote 0.569863 times a day. At least. That can make a difference. And that is what I want to do.

How do you decide where you shop? Does your social paradigm factor in? I’d love to hear your thoughts on your shopping habits.

As for me, I’m handing over my dollar bill and yes, I would like change.

In December, we talked about five simple ways to mitigate the recession, including lending/borrowing, making something out of trash, and finding a free hobby.

This generated a lot of discussion, and some great tips in the comments, including dumpster diving, and a reminder to take full advantage of your local library.

A few people who found our suggestions a bit too simple or obvious. So this post is for you. Five budget-friendly ways (and a bonus!) to keep your home warmer in winter months. These methods may take a bit of work, but can really pay off on your monthly budget for those of us in colder and seasonal climates.

1. Heat your home with wood.

Not possible for everyone, but well worth it if you have the option. We generate most of our heat from wood. The wood is free, because most of it comes from our property. But if you live anywhere near woods or farms, you probably know someone who wants to get rid of a tree. We have burned a farmer’s old apple trees, a fir tree that grew too near a neighbor’s house, and several alder trees cut down by the electric utility because they were threatening power lines. If you burn found/downed wood, don’t worry about pollution. This is basically carbon neutral heat, because the tree would probably have rotted or been pulped if you hadn’t burned it, returning its carbon to the atmosphere regardless.

Construction site trash piles have lots of scrap wood, but it may be more trouble than it’s worth. You don’t want to burn anything that has been treated, painted or glued, or is full of nails.

It’s a lot of work to split and chop wood and kindling, but the exercise is free, and therapeutic. As the old saying goes, heating with wood warms you twice: When you chop it, and when you burn it.

As a bonus, you can use shredded junk mail for fire starter.

If you haven’t got a wood stove, don’t despair, there are plenty of ways to generate “free” heat:

2. Cook in your kitchen.

Bake potatoes, stew soup, make waffles. Home cooked food is cheaper than packaged or restaurant food, and generates “waste” heat that is anything but a waste in the winter. Run a crock pot during the day, and turn on the oven when you get home. Bake extra, and freeze it in casserole dishes for the nights you don’t feel like cooking from scratch.

3. Drain the heat, not the tub

Wait — don’t drain a hot bath or a hot washer, not yet! 20 to 50 gallons of hot water can significantly raise the temperature in a room. So if you’ve taken a bath, let the water sit until it’s room temperature. And if you’re washing a load of whites, let the washer sit, or put it on soak mode, before the drain and cold rinse cycle.

The same goes for cooking — keep your pasta water, or your dish water in the room until it’s room temperature.

4. Recapture heat from your dryer.

Dryers put out a tremendous amount of heat. Most people vent that heat directly outside. If you have a crawl space, consider routing it under your house, where you can recapture that heat as it rises into your floorboards. If you don’t have a crawl space, extend the length of the tube so that it can radiate some of that heat back into the room before it exits the building.

Note of Caution: The longer the tube, the more likely you are to get a ball of lint blocking it. If you do extend the tube, make sure there are no obstructions, and that you religiously clean your lint catcher. You don’t want a clogged tube to become a fire hazard.

5. Weatherize your Home

Yeah, this one is obvious and possibly expensive. But there are cheap and or free ways to make a good start.

Assuming you have a decently insulated roof, the next thing to check is cracks around windows and doors.

We (and by “we” I mean my spouse) sewed three loops in an old duvet cover, and hung it over a glass door. This provides the trifecta of insulation, privacy and light control, without any expense, and with much better insulating capability than most curtains or blinds.

Some sneaky leaks you may not think of checking: Electrical outlets, holes for internet or TV cables, the gap around your bathroom ceiling fan, or anywhere else someone might have cut a hole in your home.

If you don’t mind spending a few bucks to recoup a bundle, here’s a great excuse to buy that $50 laser sighting infrared thermometer you had hoped was in your xmas stocking. Split the cost with some friends and go on a heat leak scavenger hunt.

And the bonus: Snuggle! Preferably with flannel pajamas, a hot beverage and another warm body or two.

So what did I miss? Any better ways to generate or recapture free heat for your home?

I have been trying to ignore the recession.  But my bank account never goes along with my tactics.  The news isn’t helping.  I subscribe to NPR, BBC, and Al Jazeera English on google reader and all of their pieces on the economy just give me the willies.  Yet today I found something different.

Marc and Sara of Wooster Collective, my favorite street art site, have started to sell books:  small editions, self-published works, and books that “have not received the attention they deserved.”  They’ve made this move because many of the types of bookstores that carry such works are going under or commercial in order to survive the recession.  In Marc’s own words:

So this year, knowing that times are tough not just in the United States but in cities around the world, Sara and I are more committed than ever to use the Wooster site and the audience we have to showcase less expensive works that we (and the people who made them) are sincerely passionate about. Things that are truly special.

This is the type of story that gives me the chutzpah to face the recession in my own little corner.  Not because it necessarily helps increase the numbers in my bank account, but because it embodies some of the local principles I think we will need as we move forward:  sharing resources and DIY (Do It Yourself).  In fact, Public Phenomena, the first book sold on Wooster appropriately showcases “modifications and inventions that people create in public space.”

I am glad I stumbled on this bit of inspiration today.  Have you found anything that inspires you as we recess?

P.S.  For a great list of DIY projects check out these blogs at lifehacker.

I met a theory in a class my senior year of college that I wish I had known before I got out of high school. And in this situation, the early beginning of an economic downturn, I would like to take some time to reacquaint myself with it. And you, if you want. Although from the state of things right now, some of you may never have met this theory.

It’s official name is Personal Finance. I sometimes like to refer to it as “not so common sense”. It also goes by “You don’t really need that”, “Say no sometimes”, and “Put the credit card down sir. Nice and slow”.

This class taught me so many useful things (one of the only classes to do so) that I could fill several blogs with all of the info. But the theory that still sticks out in my mind today is a principle or building block equivalent to 1+1=2. Or really I should say 1-1=0. And that theory is….Budgeting.

I could have walked away learning nothing else from that class and been good to go. The formula I’m going to give you below is a pretty standardly agreed upon skeleton for making your own budget. You may find it referenced other places with slight changes, but they all work.

I’ve gone through and shown how it would apply with a $2000/month income. That is, after taxes have been taken out. (These percentages are not my own making. These are a generalization of what is considered safe and sensible standards for anyone’s budget.)

Budget  (with a $2000 monthly income)

Percentage of Budget spent on…                          $amount

Housing  30%                                                            $600.00

Transportation   18%                                                 $360.00

Food   14%                                                                $280.00

Debt   10%                                                                $200.00

Household   7%                                                        $140.00

Savings   10%                                                           $200.00

Everything Else   11%                                               $220.00

That doesn’t look so tight. Lots of breathing room right. Well, yes and no. Lets look at some of the possible items that fall under each of these categories.

Housing – Mortgage/rent, property tax, electric, water & garbage, home/renters insurance

Transportation – Car payment, gas, car insurance, oil changes & maintanence

Food – Groceries AND dining out

Debt – Student loans, credit card loans, personal loans

Household – Light bulbs, cleaners, yard maintenance, repairs, phone bill, cable bill, internet bill

Everything Else – entertainment, shopping, going out for coffee, dentist and doctor appointments, vet appointments, charitable donations etc……

Now obviously not everybody’s budget is going to fit into this nice and neatly. For example, financially it’s not wise to spend more than 30% of your budget on housing. But, if you live in a large city, you may have no other choice. And then what? Well, you need to readjust the pie chart. If you decide to pay $800 a month on housing, then what category(ies) are you going to take 10% away from? I’m guessing most of you will say savings. Please don’t. Try and split it between a few areas.

Being in charge of the finances for my family, I’m just as guilty as the next person of over extending my means. Needs that go into and beyond wants. But I’m determined to keep examining it. Tighten up any loose ends. Again. And readjust my ideas of needs.

I may or may not “deserve” more than I have. (That’s a discussion for a different time). But I certainly deserve and am worthy of not feeling stressed about trying to pay off or not being able to pay off my stuff/indulgences. And the current economy has reminded me (and hopefully the country) just how silly it is to try and maintain such an unbalanced position.

So here’s to a balanced budget and a balanced life. Now to make sure I don’t go to Nordstrom and charge those beautiful shoes I’ve been eyeing for the last few months.

]]> http://happymortal.com/2009/01/hello-pf-whats-up-long-time-no-see/feed/ 3 http://happymortal.com/2008/12/recession-hacking-five-tips-for-beginners/ http://happymortal.com/2008/12/recession-hacking-five-tips-for-beginners/#comments Thu, 04 Dec 2008 04:19:33 +0000 stonyhill http://happymortal.com/?p=366 [read the sequel post, More Recession Hacking: Five Free Ways to Heat Your Home.]

For those of us under 40, a serious economic downturn is a bit of a novelty. We’re used to discretionary cash, guilt-free shoe shopping, and a global economy geared toward producing goods for American consumers. While there are any number of guide to tell you how to spend less and save more, here are five quirky tips for hacking the recession that you may not find elsewhere.

1. Skimp on “the man,” splurge on the waitress.

I’m used to ordering a $4 coffee drink, and paying a $1 tip. Lately, I’ve been skipping the espresso drink and ordering drip coffee for $2, and leaving a $2 tip. Net result? I save a buck, the barista gets an extra buck, and together we gain a bit of solidarity against “the evil faceless corporation.”

2. Lend something/Borrow something

Because seriously, how many chain saws does one family need? This week my dad borrowed my chain saw to go to my aunt’s house to cut up a fallen tree for firewood. It was a little extra work to clean it up, box it up, and take it to my dad, but he saved $150, and my aunt will save at least that much in heating costs by burning some wood instead of gas this winter. Also, my dad sharpened the chain for me, and so my saw is actually now in better shape than it was before. Net result? $300+ in savings for the extended family, and a sharper saw for me.

3. Make something out of trash

Keep it simple to start. A plastic grocery bag can replace a trash bag. Junk mail can be folded into origami ornaments, or envelopes, or cut into snowflake decorations.

Once you get the hang of it, move up to a trivet out of old wine corks. Or a wind sculpture out of old CD-Rs.

4. Fix something you used to throw away

Invest a couple of bucks in needles and thread. Sew a button on that shirt — and if the button doesn’t match, all the better! It’s now a designer item.

If you’re more electronically inclined, add RAM or a larger hard drive to your laptop instead of buying a new one.

5. Find a free hobby

Examples? Board games. Jam sessions. Scavenger hunts. Yes, these hobbies require friends. But you can also do them online with virtual or remote friends. Solitary hobbies can include gardening or knitting, which can double up your recession hacking (see #3 and #4).

So what did we miss? How are you hacking, or planning to hack, your way through the recession?
[read the sequel post, More Recession Hacking: Five Free Ways to Heat Your Home.]