Hmmmmm. The story of my life, kind of like Liberté, égalité, fraternité, only not as uplifting.
Another good tip from Susan Pinsky's book. For paperwork, if you CAN'T JUST DISCARD, have a Paper Box next to your trashcan. Under your desk. Just throw in all those papers you may need. If you do need one, they will be filed by date!
For the truly disorganized (me?), you can do that all year with things you will need--or probably won't need--for taxes. Then, at tax time, you have all your credit card statements and so forth. In chronological order!
Why is this on my mind? Because (so embarrassing), dear readers, I filed a tax extension. I have no excuse. My taxes are easy: I don't itemize. I do have to keep track of educational expenses for my children. And we have a teeny bit (and I do mean teeny) of self-employment income for when the public library asks us to lead a book discussion or the like.
Even though I LOVE doing grade school arithmetic, I always make dumb mistakes. Like last year: I took the Standard Deduction of $11,000 or so and instead of subtracting $11,000, I subtracted $1100! The IRS caught that one and sent me back the correct amount. I'm sure my return goes into a special section for humor.
So, I will finish today after my root canal. My refund should pay for the procedure. Even though I should have done this a few months ago, my refund will be a nice surprise.
Once I get the return off, I can throw everything in a box and put it away. That's the decluttering I like.
Another plug for Susan Pinsky!
And I have this other book on hold at the library.
Do you engage in any embarrassing forms of procrastination?
Tuesday, 14 June 2011
Monday, 13 June 2011
Another Organizing Tip: Don't Shred?
Even though I am not too optimistic about completing my declutter/re-organize project (having failed many times in the past), I have made more progress this time than ever before. Perhaps it is because we have no kids at home at the moment and we are working against a deadline--our trip to Nantes. Boundaries--temporal or spatial--are, of course, the key to organizing, and that goes for finances too.
Every time I get dispirited with my project, I turn to a LIBRARY book for some adrenaline: yes, that Susan Pinsky book once more. SP is anti-stockpiling, however. I don't let that area of disagreement keep me from getting what is good from her book.
Here, though, is a somewhat controversial recommendation: DON'T BOTHER SHREDDING. SP says that most identity theft occurs electronically. And a lot is perpetrated by someone you know. SP notes that shredding takes time, electricity, and so on. It also creates a "SHRED" pile next to the shredder.
OK. SP says: If you are worried, tear your bank statements and the like through the name and account number. Put each half in different places: one in a waste basket and one in another garbage can.
She also says the only thing you must be careful with is your social security number, which appears on very few documents, mostly tax-related. She recommends a black permanent marker for that.
Our problems with stolen credit card numbers have all (only two instances,actually, and easily resolved) been electronic: at a gas station and a restaurant.
So what do you think? Do we dare give up shredding?
Every time I get dispirited with my project, I turn to a LIBRARY book for some adrenaline: yes, that Susan Pinsky book once more. SP is anti-stockpiling, however. I don't let that area of disagreement keep me from getting what is good from her book.
Here, though, is a somewhat controversial recommendation: DON'T BOTHER SHREDDING. SP says that most identity theft occurs electronically. And a lot is perpetrated by someone you know. SP notes that shredding takes time, electricity, and so on. It also creates a "SHRED" pile next to the shredder.
OK. SP says: If you are worried, tear your bank statements and the like through the name and account number. Put each half in different places: one in a waste basket and one in another garbage can.
She also says the only thing you must be careful with is your social security number, which appears on very few documents, mostly tax-related. She recommends a black permanent marker for that.
Our problems with stolen credit card numbers have all (only two instances,actually, and easily resolved) been electronic: at a gas station and a restaurant.
So what do you think? Do we dare give up shredding?
Sunday, 12 June 2011
How Much Is Too Much?
Oh, that question! Once you get beyond subsistence living, life is full of choices. The most recent query comes from Miss Em, blissing out in Florence.
I have a monetary question. Frugal goddess, please answer my queries.
How much is too much?
At first glance, it seems like the answer to that question here in
Italy is: EVERYTHING. Everything is too much. Coffee is too much.
Gelato is too much. Everything is expensive.But then again, one can't think like that. I spent a lot of money toget the plane ticket over here; what's the use of scrimping and saving and wasting energy thinking about how much things cost? That would only waste my valuable time here.
Summary follows of what other kids are doing: lots of bar-hopping, pub crawls (yuk?!!), side trips to Pompeii and even Switzerland, lots of souvenir shopping. Miss Em was horrified by the girl buying a daily 4-6 euro coca-cola!
Miss Em is nosing around Florence, exploring museums and neighborhoods. It should be noted that she will be traveling around Europe with her friend Maggie for SIX WEEKS after her program ends.
Ughhhh I guess that what I'm trying to say is, I see pretty things I
want, and some pretty things I've already bought! My purchases are WONDERFUL (will give account of them later) but they seem like such anexpense. How much should I budget for these material things for myself?
But the question remains: how much is too much? Or, how much should I budget for this month for food, so I can take the difference and buy myself something?
We did not give her a budget at all, relying on her good sense to know when to say yes and when to say no. It's easier to have a flat amount, of course: you can't spend more than xxx euros. OR, which may be true for some students, no budget because we have tons of money.
How we crave boundaries. Any ideas of a basic budget for students in Florence? Her lodging, a few meals, and several side trips are all v=covered. So far, even one gelato was covered!
I have a monetary question. Frugal goddess, please answer my queries.
How much is too much?
At first glance, it seems like the answer to that question here in
Italy is: EVERYTHING. Everything is too much. Coffee is too much.
Gelato is too much. Everything is expensive.But then again, one can't think like that. I spent a lot of money toget the plane ticket over here; what's the use of scrimping and saving and wasting energy thinking about how much things cost? That would only waste my valuable time here.
Summary follows of what other kids are doing: lots of bar-hopping, pub crawls (yuk?!!), side trips to Pompeii and even Switzerland, lots of souvenir shopping. Miss Em was horrified by the girl buying a daily 4-6 euro coca-cola!
Miss Em is nosing around Florence, exploring museums and neighborhoods. It should be noted that she will be traveling around Europe with her friend Maggie for SIX WEEKS after her program ends.
Ughhhh I guess that what I'm trying to say is, I see pretty things I
want, and some pretty things I've already bought! My purchases are WONDERFUL (will give account of them later) but they seem like such anexpense. How much should I budget for these material things for myself?
But the question remains: how much is too much? Or, how much should I budget for this month for food, so I can take the difference and buy myself something?
We did not give her a budget at all, relying on her good sense to know when to say yes and when to say no. It's easier to have a flat amount, of course: you can't spend more than xxx euros. OR, which may be true for some students, no budget because we have tons of money.
How we crave boundaries. Any ideas of a basic budget for students in Florence? Her lodging, a few meals, and several side trips are all v=covered. So far, even one gelato was covered!
Saturday, 11 June 2011
Inspiration: Frugality and Aesthetics
As I pore through books and magazines thinking about my various house projects, I realize how seldom one sees a middle-class house done with a middle-class budget.
My dream bathroom would be an original from the 1930s or 40s rescued from a house about to undergo renovation. I have two friends with original bathrooms and I am so jealous. The funny thing is that they are indifferent and I think at least one would renovate extensively if money were no object.
One source of inspiration for me is Mary Cooper, a New Orleans chair caner who now is a color consultant. Check out her beautiful house. Anyone can paint a room turquoise.
Her dining room is even featured in a fancy coffee table book. There it sits, a humble space amid many rooms decorated by the eminent for the rich and famous.
My mother-in-law had a small, beautiful, and eccentric garden in Pasadena. It was so beautiful that it was featured in a book. Like Mary Cooper's dining room, Virginia's garden is humble in origin: it is the only one created and maintained by a homeowner. All others were designed--or at least maintained--by a squadron of gardeners. Some, of course, are public gardens.
Do you have any humble spots of beauty?
My dream bathroom would be an original from the 1930s or 40s rescued from a house about to undergo renovation. I have two friends with original bathrooms and I am so jealous. The funny thing is that they are indifferent and I think at least one would renovate extensively if money were no object.
One source of inspiration for me is Mary Cooper, a New Orleans chair caner who now is a color consultant. Check out her beautiful house. Anyone can paint a room turquoise.
Her dining room is even featured in a fancy coffee table book. There it sits, a humble space amid many rooms decorated by the eminent for the rich and famous.
My mother-in-law had a small, beautiful, and eccentric garden in Pasadena. It was so beautiful that it was featured in a book. Like Mary Cooper's dining room, Virginia's garden is humble in origin: it is the only one created and maintained by a homeowner. All others were designed--or at least maintained--by a squadron of gardeners. Some, of course, are public gardens.
Do you have any humble spots of beauty?
Friday, 10 June 2011
Reframing and Frugality: Root Canal
Ergh. I DO need a root canal. Of course I need it before July 1, when my medical savings account gets replenished.
A long while ago, Shelley wrote a post on reframing and happiness: the gist was that you need to reframe bad, challenging events as opportunities, or something along those lines. Her specific example had to do with taxes. I totally agree: when I was a starving student, I couldn't wait to pay income tax.
Let's try reframing the root canal: I am so lucky that I have enough in my emergency fund to pay for this thing without compromising my trip to Nantes.
I glanced up from my screen and saw this book: Frame Analysis.
Aren't I lucky that I already have this book because it's kind of expensive?
Not sure if this is working. Have you reframed anything lately?
A long while ago, Shelley wrote a post on reframing and happiness: the gist was that you need to reframe bad, challenging events as opportunities, or something along those lines. Her specific example had to do with taxes. I totally agree: when I was a starving student, I couldn't wait to pay income tax.
Let's try reframing the root canal: I am so lucky that I have enough in my emergency fund to pay for this thing without compromising my trip to Nantes.
I glanced up from my screen and saw this book: Frame Analysis.
Aren't I lucky that I already have this book because it's kind of expensive?
Not sure if this is working. Have you reframed anything lately?
Thursday, 9 June 2011
How Do You Know Which Cookbooks are Good?
No surprise that I think learning to cook is the key (or at least A key) to frugality. But if you didn't learn in your youth (I did not, but my children did), you need to learn through cookbooks. And the sad thing is that many cookbooks are bad,with untested recipes. Even famous ones. There is nothing more dispiriting than spending time and money on mediocre-or worse-food.
I still remember trying to make macaroni and cheese from the recipe in an older Joy of Cooking. YUK! Nowhere near as good as Stouffers.
I know exactly how I began my cookbook collection. I was reading--purely by happenstance--an article on good cookbooks. It was written by Anne Mendelson, who has written books on food history and lore. Surprisingly, the article was in New York Magazine, which I was reading in the public library in Bloomington, Indiana. (I probably should have been in the big academic library.)
What a thrill the article was. Even though I haven't seen it in more than 30 years, I remember well some of the cookbooks I bought, one by one, based on the recommendatons. In those days, the huge cookbook industry was just gearing up and I had to buy the books at full price. The used bookstores in town had pathetic cookbook sections. And I have to say, Anne Mendelson knew whereof she spoke: these are keepers.
Here are a few I bought and still use. Everything comes out well. You can trust the directions.
The Roden is in a new edition, much altered, but I love my old one and even upgraded to hardcover. The Kuo is heavy on the Cantonese of my childhood and enabled me to evoke the flavors I craved.
And let's put in a plug for Anne Mendelson!
I would love to read that article again.
I still remember trying to make macaroni and cheese from the recipe in an older Joy of Cooking. YUK! Nowhere near as good as Stouffers.
I know exactly how I began my cookbook collection. I was reading--purely by happenstance--an article on good cookbooks. It was written by Anne Mendelson, who has written books on food history and lore. Surprisingly, the article was in New York Magazine, which I was reading in the public library in Bloomington, Indiana. (I probably should have been in the big academic library.)
What a thrill the article was. Even though I haven't seen it in more than 30 years, I remember well some of the cookbooks I bought, one by one, based on the recommendatons. In those days, the huge cookbook industry was just gearing up and I had to buy the books at full price. The used bookstores in town had pathetic cookbook sections. And I have to say, Anne Mendelson knew whereof she spoke: these are keepers.
Here are a few I bought and still use. Everything comes out well. You can trust the directions.
The Roden is in a new edition, much altered, but I love my old one and even upgraded to hardcover. The Kuo is heavy on the Cantonese of my childhood and enabled me to evoke the flavors I craved.
And let's put in a plug for Anne Mendelson!
I would love to read that article again.
Wednesday, 8 June 2011
Things I Will Never Need to Buy Again
Mr. FS and I are in the midst of reorganizing. This is a problem area for us both, so we are doing a mediocre job. Still, we are doing the best job we have ever done and anything is an improvement.
What is my problem area? Down comforters and pillows. Even though my newest organizing guidebook urges donation of excess, there is no way I'm getting rid of high quality down comforters brought from Europe by my fleeing forebears. Sorry Ms. Pinsky.
However, many can be stored in pillowcases (another problem area) in the attic.
As we've been doing this, I have made some discoveries: things I will never need to buy again or at least not for a long time.
10 years or more (?): down comforters, pillows, sheets, towels.
1 year or thereabouts: canned tomatoes, shampoo, toothpaste, soap.
6 months: coffee, powdered milk, peanut butter, sunscreen.
Even though Susan Pinsky is against stockpiling--heaping scorn upon it--I love knowing that I can make a meal, take a walk in the sun, and have a cup of coffee. And brush my teeth, of course.
As I look over the list above, I see that this is saving me tons of money. And I remember that after Katrina, a few people stopped by my house every day for cold water coffee.
Except for the stockpiling, I LOVE Pinsky's book. It is really keeping me motivated.
Do you have any problem areas that cause clutter? How do you cope?
What is my problem area? Down comforters and pillows. Even though my newest organizing guidebook urges donation of excess, there is no way I'm getting rid of high quality down comforters brought from Europe by my fleeing forebears. Sorry Ms. Pinsky.
However, many can be stored in pillowcases (another problem area) in the attic.
As we've been doing this, I have made some discoveries: things I will never need to buy again or at least not for a long time.
10 years or more (?): down comforters, pillows, sheets, towels.
1 year or thereabouts: canned tomatoes, shampoo, toothpaste, soap.
6 months: coffee, powdered milk, peanut butter, sunscreen.
Even though Susan Pinsky is against stockpiling--heaping scorn upon it--I love knowing that I can make a meal, take a walk in the sun, and have a cup of coffee. And brush my teeth, of course.
As I look over the list above, I see that this is saving me tons of money. And I remember that after Katrina, a few people stopped by my house every day for cold water coffee.
Except for the stockpiling, I LOVE Pinsky's book. It is really keeping me motivated.
Do you have any problem areas that cause clutter? How do you cope?
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