Posted: December 27th, 2009 | Author: Kimberly McCaffery | Filed under: Money | 1 Comment »
Americans are saving more and consuming less. The Washington Post reports The savings rate in October reached 4.4 percent, up from 0.8 percent in April 2008. Since 1959, the personal savings rate has hovered around 7 or 8 percent, reaching its zenith in May of 1975 when we hit 14. 6 percent.
So the good news is, personal savings is increasing in spite of record low interest rates. The bad news is, personal debt has gone up precipitously making the recent bump in savings less meaningful. It’s not enough to save, we also have to decrease debt.
My personal goal for 2010 is to start paying down my mortgage debt, and saving 10 percent of my income. Anyone out there have a personal savings goal for 2010 they would like to share?
Posted: September 7th, 2009 | Author: Kimberly McCaffery | Filed under: Work | No Comments »
I like to keep things upbeat here at Frugaltopia, so I haven’t done much blogging about the recession. But today is Labor Day, and since it’s a truly crappy day for the millions of people who’ve been laid off, downsized, or fired, I feel like I have to say something — damn this recession! For everyone out there looking for a job, this post is dedicated to you.
Motivational Posters
Posted: July 26th, 2009 | Author: Kimberly McCaffery | Filed under: Dining, Home | Tags: cooking with fresh produce, gardening, herb garden, organic gardens, vegetable garden, victory garden | No Comments »
“To forget how to dig the earth and to tend the soil is to forget ourselves.” – Mohandas K. Gandhi
For mother’s day, my husband and son built a small garden for me. I’d seen videos like this one, about depression-era victory gardens and I wanted one of my own.
So Mike and Aidan built a small garden bed and I planted rosemary, thyme, basil, parsley, broccoli, swiss chard, lettuce, yellow squash, zuccinni, cucumbers, eggplant, and pumpkin. Yep, all that in a 5′ x 6′ plot. And yep, I don’t know what I’m doing.
In spite of my lack of skills, the garden grew beautifully.
Kim's Victory Garden
Pumpkin seeds
I’ve got three good reasons to be proud of my garden. First, the garden is economical. A packet of seeds costs about $2.50 and and I get about $10.00 worth of produce out of each packet.
Second, the garden is good for the planet. No fossil fuels were used to harvest, ship, or sell this produce. I simply walk out my back door with my kitchen scissors and “snip,” I’ve got veggies for dinner.
But the biggest bonus is the sheer pleasure of growing my own food. I had no idea it would be so much fun. The feeling of accomplishment when I harvested the garden’s first yellow squash defies description. I stir-fried it with garlic, butter, basil, and thyme and served it with angel hair pasta. Yum.
So, if you’ve got a backyard, plant a veggie garden. If you live in an apartment, put a pot of basil on your sunniest windowsill. It will be worth it. Trust me.
Basil
Yellow Squash
Red Leaf Lettuce (left), Basil (lower left), Broccoli (right), Eggplant (upper middle)
Cucumber
Posted: July 16th, 2009 | Author: Kimberly McCaffery | Filed under: Home, Philosophy | No Comments »
image by Rusty O.P.
image by Joe-ks
If you’ve ever fixed anything yourself, you are familiar with the unique thrill–the feeling of pure elation that washes over you when you outsmart the forces of entropy. Those of us who know that feeling will understand the heroic (and hilarious) beauty of this website:
thereifixedit.com
Posted: July 15th, 2009 | Author: Kimberly McCaffery | Filed under: Money | Tags: Goldman Sachs, greed, stimulus money | No Comments »
On a crowded number 4 train last night, I was smushed up next to two future masters of the universe. They were discussing the article by Matt Taibbi on how Goldman Sachs has engineered every major market manipulation since the Great Depression (that article inspired my Independence Day post). The conversation went something like this:
Friend of Goldman employee (hereafter referred to as FOG): “Did you see that story in Rolling Stone about Goldman?”
Clueless employee of Goldman (whom I shall call COG): “Yeah that was just a bunch of bullshit rambling. I read it and was just like, whatever man, you didn’t prove anything.”
FOG: Did you see, Goldman responded?
COG: Yeah, that was amazing part because they never respond to the media. They train us not to talk to journalists. You know, the press is evil.
blah blah blah… They go on to talk about how journalists make everything up and don’t understand how finance works and they talk about how Goldman gave back the stimulus money because they never really needed it. Then COG reasons:
COG: Look, they have make money, it’s their job. And it’s not like one guy gets it all. It’s distributed over all the shareholders, so it’s fair. If there is a way for them to make money, they have to do it. They have to make as much money as they can, that’s the whole point.
I wish I’d had John Stewart with me, so that he could give them his WTF look, and say something about how making as much money as you possibly can dragged the whole world into financial ruin. Or maybe he’d say something clever about COG’s notion that the “whole point” is to take make money. Is that the point? I thought the point of banks, brokerage houses, investment firms, and other institutions that manage the flow of money, was to manage that money, not to take it. I thought they were part of system that kept businesses healthy and people employed. And I foolishly imagined that the people in charge of this flowing money, took that responsibility seriously. But now they are starting to look like greedy Augustus Gloop, guzzling the chocolate river in Willy Wonka’s factory.
Goldman, Citibank, AIG, the whole lot of ‘em remind me of a deadbeat relative with a gambling addiction. He comes around asking you for a “loan,” and gives you a sob story about how he’s on the brink of utter collapse, so you hand him $20 (sucker). When he hits the jackpot with your money, he keeps the prize for himself, and only hands back your twenty when you threaten to sue. Sound familiar? (Hint stimulus money returned, Goldman earmarking huge bonuses after posting the highest profit in its 140 year history.)
So all of this makes me think of my grandmother. When I was a kid, she would go on about how she didn’t trust banks. She would lecture me about how the stock market was a hustle, and the only thing worth investing in is real estate because it’s “real.” I always thought this was depression-era paranoia. I thought things were different and the people in charged fixed it so the depression wouldn’t happen again. I figured grandma wasn’t keeping up with the times. But now I see how naive I was, and her financial advice is starting to look solid.
So I’m ditching the 401K, and putting the money into my house (I’ll pay down the mortgage and fix the place up). Even though its value has declined slightly, the house itself still exists (unlike Bear Sterns or Lehman Brothers). And I enjoy its benefits every day (I get to live in it!). Grandma was right. I’m going to try to put my money where I can see it.
Trust FOG and COG with my hard-earned twenties…I think not.
Posted: July 4th, 2009 | Author: Kimberly McCaffery | Filed under: Money, Philosophy | Tags: banks, economic independence, economic tyranny, July 4th, recession | No Comments »
Aidan's Independence Day Decorations
What does the recession (ephemistically referred to as “the current financial crisis”) have to do with Independence Day? First read this:
The Great American Bubble Machine then come back here so we can discuss.
As Matt Taibbi’s article points out, the problems in our banking system aren’t anything new. In fact, the system has been corrupt since…the beginning. Andrew Jackson said this about it: “If the people only understood the rank injustice of our Money and Banking system, there would be a revolution before morning.”
Now consider the origins of our July 4th holiday. One of the biggest problems the colonists had with the King was that he taxed them excessively and didn’t give them any say in how that tax money was spent. In 1773 they dressed up in disguises and dumped over-taxed imported goods (tea) into Boston harbor. That touched off the Revolutionary War which ended in the birth of our nation. Of course, the war was about more than just money, but my point is that Boston Tea Party was to the Revolutionary War what Rosa Parks was to the Civil Rights movement. Someone finally did what everyone else had been afraid to do, and that ignited the courage and resolve of the less bold.
So this 4th of July I’m looking for, hoping for, a hero who confronts the economic tyranny we are under. But I don’t see any heros on the horizon. The new government hasn’t done anything to hold banks accountable for their monumental swindle mistake. The previous administration did even less. Maybe we need a grass roots movement? But short of pulling our money out of the banks and stuffing it in our mattresses, what can we do? I’ve been writing this blog thinking that the little things would be enough. That if we could learn to consume less, then our greed would atrophy and our culture would shift its focus. But when I think about the enormity of the problem and the powerlessness of “ordinary people” like me, I get overwhelmed and discouraged.
The Declaration of Independence
I know this sounds boring and kind of depressing, but that’s what I’m thinking about on this July 4th – economic freedom – how do we get it? I’ll take heart by reminding myself that against the odds the founders of our country declared their independence from tyranny, won that independence, and started a new kind of nation.
We need a new declaration of economic independence. Anyone have ideas?
Posted: June 28th, 2009 | Author: Kimberly McCaffery | Filed under: Friendship, Frugal Resources, Time Management | Tags: birthdays, e-cards, greeting cards, Hallmark, holidays, remembering birthdays | No Comments »
click to watch the adorable e-card Kim sent to her sister
I have a difficult time remembering important events like birthdays, weddings, and anniversaries. It’s a failing that bothers me greatly and probably bothers the people who are important to me even more. And it’s not just carelessness. I’m convinced that in this one area I have a yet-to-be diagnosed dyslexia–a simple failing of normal brain function, nothing personal.
Take my sister’s birthday for example–it’s today, and it’s not like I forgot about it. Not exactly. Back at the beginning of June I thought, “Oh, it’s June. Lesley’s birthday is at the end of the month.” Then later in the month I thought about it again. “Hmm, I should get a card.” I looked over the paper cards at CVS. Dismayed at the cheesiness of all of them, I decided to look again at a different store, which I never remembered to do. Anyway, today I woke up and thought, “Yikes, it’s the 28th and I never sent a card.” So I decided to look for an e-card (what else could I do?)
The last time I sent an e-card was for my mother’s birthday (which I forgot about entirely. Yes, I know, very bad daughter.) Anyway, it took me a long time to find a decent e-card because I had this idea that e-cards should be free. After a long search, I found a good one, but it wasn’t entirely free. Sending that “free” e-card signed me up for a relentless and impossible to get rid of mailing list that still plagues me twice a week.
So this morning I relented and took a look at the premium Hallmark e-cards. I was surprised and excited to find tons of stuff that I liked. Unlike the dismal sentiments paper cards proffer (they range from mildly offensive humor to sickly sweet poetry), the e-cards offered something more contemporary and relevant. They are funny yet tasteful, and they are extremely entertaining. After browsing their offerings, I concluded that e-cards had gotten better, much better, than paper cards. So I signed up for a one-year subscription. For only $9.99 I can send as many e-cards as I want. This is an amazing savings since nowadays, a nice paper card costs about $4.00, and a really nice card can cost as much at $7.00.
But the biggest benefit for me isn’t the cost savings, it’s this little gem:
Hallmark's e-card organizer
The Hallmark online organizer REMINDS me when birthdays occur. Never again will I have to suffer the embarrassment, the guilt, the shame caused by improper brain function (which I’ve been calling “important-day dyslexia”). Hallmark e-cards are going to do more than just provide me with fun, affordable, convenient cards–they are going to save me from myself!
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Posted: June 20th, 2009 | Author: Kimberly McCaffery | Filed under: Parenting | Tags: family time, father's day, fatherhood, frugal family, happiness | 1 Comment »
As a commercial holiday, Father’s Day runs a distant second to Mother’s Day. Americans spend much less on dad, and this year spending is down even more. So what does that mean? Do we spend less because we appreciate dad’s contributions less? Does mom get more because we think that she gives more? In my Rethinking Mother’s Day post, I tried to take a hard look at how we get motherhood, and Mother’s Day, wrong. It seems only fair to do the same for dad.
So what do we, as a society, expect from dad? The media tends to portray fathers as bumbling incompetents in the domestic sphere (Ray Romano), or as sexist buffoons declaring domestic chores to be “woman’s work,” (Archie Bunker), or as hyper-successful patriarchs, too busy with “important stuff” to do much around the house (JR Ewing, Tony Soprano). Except for grilling meat on the barbecue, men seem doomed by our collective expectations, to feel conflicted about participating in day-to-day home life. This is bad for everyone, especially kids. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: June 12th, 2009 | Author: Kimberly McCaffery | Filed under: Home, Parenting, Time Management | Tags: frugal family, frugal living, frugal living tips, give up tv, no cable tv, television-free | No Comments »
When I ditched TV ten years ago, it wasn’t for moral reasons. It wasn’t because I was worried that TV was rotting my brain, and it wasn’t because I couldn’t afford the cable bills. It was, purely and simply, a time-management decision. I never would have gotten through grad school if I had continued wasting spending 3 or 4 hours a day in front of the tube. But it took me awhile to pull the plug because I honestly believed that I loved TV. As a latchkey kid, I’d grown up with television, logging 25+ hours a week. The television was a pseudo parent and friend. Even after ten years of living television-free, I still can’t ignore it. If a TV is turned on anywhere near me, I am helplessly drawn to it.
So, when I canceled our cable account, I braced myself for a long painful withdrawl process. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: May 25th, 2009 | Author: Kimberly McCaffery | Filed under: Philosophy | Tags: cost of war, heros, Memorial day, war | No Comments »
photograph by Tami Silicio
This is just a short post to remind you that today isn’t just an extra day off to relax, picnic, and barbecue; it’s a day for thinking about and remembering how real people (not abstract monuments) have spent themselves in our nation’s wars. The point of today is not to glorify war, but to become more mindful us of its costs–lives cut short, families devastated, and in some cases whole generations disrupted.
I’m taking some time today to meditate on the sorrow and the sacrifice, to think about members of my community who have died in recent wars, and to hope for an end to our current conflicts.
Nothing is more frugal (and utopian) than peace.
