Queercents

I’d like to add my own spin to Serena’s excellent Stretch Your Food Dollar series. One of the reasons I recently launched a mircroenterprise to feed my friends as well as my family is that I was getting into the habit of making high yield and healthy dishes to nibble on over the course of a few days rather than prepare each individual meal prior to eating it. Like most people, I want to maximize the value for the invested dollars and effort. I’ve learned that making twice as much is not twice as costly.

Of course there are twice as many raw ingredients but if you put a value on time spent in prep and clean up then you are far better off making a couple of large dishes at the same time. I’m surprised at how inexpensively I can make a large variety of healthy dishes. Often they are less than $1/serving. There is typically less waste as well. In the past, even with the best intentions, I’d frequently have to toss out the ½ onion, ½ bunch of cilantro or ½ other perishable good.

Even when I was working full time, I’d spent a few hours on a Sunday preparing meals that would provide lunches and dinners through the better part of the week. I know there are food purists out there cringing right now at the thought of 3 day old lentil salad but the secret is really in choosing those dishes that will keep, and usually improve, over time. A traditional salad, for example, without tomatoes or dressing will last a couple days in the refrigerator. Hearty greens such as kale or collards are great raw but dressed with the juice of a lemon, a combination of sesame and olive oil, salt and pepper. This easily provides a few days of nutritious side dishes for two. Read the rest of this entry »

I used to just be interested. Now I’m obsessed with financial independence. As Queercents readers probably know, financial independence does not equate with wealth. At least not wealth the way it is normally imagined. It simply means the personal economic state of equilibrium whereby your income from passive sources meets or exceeds your expenses. Or more simply put, financial independence = freedom.

This state of blissful equilibrium is unique to each individual or family but the broad strategies for attaining it are universal:

1.    Earn more money than you need right now and invest wisely
2.    Continually track and reduce expenses where possible
3.    Cultivate patience and persistence unless that lottery thing works out for you

I’m so obsessed in fact that I have three different budgets, which I regularly refine, that correspond with three lifestyles. The first, our current lifestyle, is the most desirable. Amassing sufficient passive income to live as we are now without the requirement of employment is my ultimate goal. The second reflects a scaled down version of our current standard of living that would be acceptable but would mean downsizing (from 900 square feet) to a studio or one bedroom and selling quite a few of our already modest possessions. Read the rest of this entry »

In times past, my answer to this question was always an unqualified “yes”, whether that vacation was a trip to Europe or a camping/hiking excursion in Michigan. According to a recent poll, fewer Americans are planning a summer getaway this year.

“Overall, the survey found only 42 percent of Americans plan a leisure trip this summer, down from the 49 percent who said they planned to take a summer trip in an AP-Ipsos poll conducted in May 2005.”

We just returned from a 5 day trip to the Caribbean. The only cost to us was airfare and incidentals (read expensive airport food) as the stay at the all-inclusive was a gift from a friend hosting a big birthday bash. It was fun but even given the relatively small cash outlay, I had to be convinced to go. I understand the rejuvenating value of vacations but it just feels unseemly to be spending money on a vacation with jobs and self-employment revenue streams so tenuous.

Overall we spent less than $800 on the trip. That does not include the opportunity cost of potential income had we been home. Neither of us are conventionally employed so we have no vacation days. We did make the most of our time away but I realize that I made the decision to go so as not to disappoint a really good friend and not because I needed or wanted to make the trip. Was it $800 well spent? Probably. I’m not one to harbor regrets but even though the vacation was a relative bargain, that’s still a few months worth of groceries and I might be a little harder to convince next time.

How about you? Are you vacationing? Staycationing? Buying groceries instead?

Photo credit: stock.xchng

A few weeks ago I wrote about an idea for a microenterprise I’m calling Lunch for Friends. In summary, I’m already making frugal and healthy meals for my little family of two and I reasoned that it would require only incrementally more time, money and effort to make a bit more for friends in exchange for a few dollars to offset some of our food budget. The positive feedback from Queercents commenters was just the extra boost I needed to launch.

It has been a few weeks now and I’m happy to report that the endeavor is a success on many fronts. I decided to start cooking 3 days/week so that I did not spend every minute in the kitchen. Also, I haven’t told all my friends yet but rather kept it to a few close ones who I thought would give me honest feedback. Three of them became regulars almost immediately and asked to be included in every offering. They are thrilled to be eating tasty and healthy meals prepared by someone they know and for significantly less than they would pay at our local Whole Foods deli or a restaurant.

Generally I prepare two complementary salads (grain, bean, pasta, potato, green) or a salad and a cold soup (I live in Florida) and I often include a little baked good made by my wife who loves to bake healthy treats. The meals are almost exclusively vegetarian. Everyone so far lives within walking distance so delivery has not been an issue. I send out a text message when lunch is ready the night before and make a plan to meet with the friends that work in the am. Another has his delivered in the late morning. I pick up the old tupperware when bringing that day’s lunch. Read the rest of this entry »

The CA Supreme Court voted 6-1 to uphold Proposal 8 while maintaining the legality of mine and 18,000 other couples’ marriages. Talk about mixed feelings. This was the only thing I was going to be able to write about today…regardless of the outcome.

As I spoke with people at various parties over the long weekend here in Florida, I was amazed at how few were even aware that there was a decision pending from the CA Supreme Court. They were unequivocally supportive once they were told of the case and the ruling expected today. One person asked “are there financial ramifications to your marital status and lack of recognition in Florida?”. Um. Yeah. And by the way, the financial and legal protections are what all the fuss is about! We don’t just like marching and carrying signs. We’re not seeking approval or recognition from yours or anyone else’s God. Its about the rights.

Kate Kendal says in her blog post today…

We must now use that strength to reverse Prop 8 at the ballot. As we band together to realize that goal, the more than 18,000 married same-sex couples must be our ambassadors. They must help others regain the equality that now only some of us enjoy. We must also call on fair-minded Californians to stand with us, come to know our families, and undo the damage caused by Prop 8.

This has to be about more than California now. If there is one positive outcome to Proposal 8 and similar initiatives around the country is that they are galvanizing us on a national level. Let’s all be ambassadors in the pursuit of equality. My experiences over the weekend tell me we have some work to do in Florida. Better get to it.

Is it my imagination or is this common social question getting harder and harder to answer? We all know this to be part of a polite exchange and that the attention span for the response is maybe 3-4 seconds. Expected replies include “I’m a teacher”, “I’m a student”, “I’m a doctor” or “I’m a happy homemaker”. Because what the questioner really is asking is “what do you do for a living so that I can place you in a category I understand”. What is not expected (or likely welcome) is the complicated and far more accurate response that details the many different ways I see fit to spend my time, whether or not they are income generating.

Why thank you for asking…I am a blogger, chief cook and bottle washer, micro-entrepreneur, family portfolio manager, radio show host, financial coach, exercise and nutrition enthusiast, wife, kitty playmate and caretaker and a darn loyal friend.

A quick online search tells me I’m not the only one challenged by this question. DJ Nelson, a Washington DC Telecommuting Examiner, says in a recent post:

It’s hard for people to understand that everyone doesn’t define themselves by a job. There’s much more to me than how I earn a living. I look forward to the day when I can meet someone new and have a conversation that doesn’t revolve around work; but until then, I’ll just settle for responding with my own creative answers. Read the rest of this entry »

Lately I’ve been thinking about ways I can leverage things that I am already doing for my family for the benefit of others. Specifically employed “others” who might be willing to exchange a few dollars for a beneficial service. Full time employment is an enormous commitment of time and energy and it does not leave a lot of time to prepare healthy meals from scratch. I know because I used to try to do both. Thankfully I gave up conventional employment but I continue to create high yield and healthy dishes. None of it is gourmet but I do receive positive feedback on dishes I bring to gatherings.

My theory is that the time, effort and cost to make a few extra servings of these dishes is incremental. So I’m in the early stages of a micro-enterprise I’ll call Lunch for Friends. Lunch seems to be the meal that many struggle with as time is limited, sandwiches get boring and eating out is expensive and not usually as healthy as you’d like. I’ll structure it as a private club and invite a few friends to “buy in” the cost of 2 reusable, sectioned food storage containers, one to return each time and one for me to fill with lunch.

I really want this to be a winning scenario all around so I’ll do some beta testing with a few close (honest!) friends who can give feedback as to taste, portion size and a price that would feel like a good deal to them and will cover additional food costs plus a little for effort. The target price in my mind is around $5. It’s hard to get a healthy meal for that amount and they’ll know the source of the food and the care that went into making it. Read the rest of this entry »

This past weekend I sponsored a booth at our local Wellness Festival for my financial coaching business. It was interesting to see that while some were surprised to find me there, most thought it perfectly natural. The connection between healthy finances and healthy human is growing clearer by the day.

Saving is Good For Your Health!

I’ve long known intuitively that there was a connection between financial fitness and overall well being. Now studies are starting to prove this out. The good news is that it doesn’t take much savings to reap the benefits. And the connection appears to be independent of income.

Just as striking though, were the psychological impacts of having at least $500 in the bank.Those who had less than $500 were more than twice as likely to worry frequently about money — and much more likely to report they’d lost sleep, suffered health problems or been less productive at work.

So if you needed any extra incentive to get that first $500 in the bank you know now that your health depends on it! Read the full article here.

Of course the connection is true in reverse as well. Living healthy is good for your wallet! People who “invest” in their health take fewer prescription and over-the-counter drugs, visit doctors less frequently, have fewer down days (particularly important for the self-employed) and generally spend less on food since it is the prepackaged/processed foods that tend to cost more. See Lucy’s Be Your Own Trainer series for guidance on the exercise part of the health equation.

Photo credit: stock.xchng

I’m a big fan of the budget, which Planners euphemistically call a “cash flow plan”. I’m not rigid about it but I like to have a reasonable, conscious target to meet in all the various categories. Last October, a beautiful cat dropped into our lives and blessed us with her presence until we lost her by way of a hit and run driver in March. She had been abandoned and she was an Abyssinian, a rare and expensive breed. When she decided that she would make her home with us, we made some guesstimates as to care and feeding of a cat (neither of us had ever had one) and added a line item to the budget. What else do you do when fate sends a gift?

Just before Easter, we started to think about bringing cat energy back into our home. We had felt our family (originally just the two of us) expand to include this creature and we missed that sharing and loving exchange. So we made our first visit to the local no-kill cat shelter. That itself is an experience for a completely different post!

This time around, we were making a decision and not simply accepting lucky fate. I found myself thinking about the budget and began considering the monthly number multiplied by 12 multiplied by how many years do cats live? I had to stop. I knew if I took the calculation too far I might never adopt a cat. Good thing too because after bringing home our Easter Lilly (her real name) and listening to her cry all night for a week, we decided that the thing she needed was a kitten. Back to the shelter we went and home came Lola. I did revisit the budget and upped the monthly number but I was wise to stop there. Probably best not to know. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s been four weeks now so it can’t be a fluke! A little inspiration and some mindfulness has saved us $250/month on our food budget. Recently I read about a woman who successfully lived on a $1/day food budget. She lost some weight and didn’t achieve optimal nutrition but, all things considered she did it successfully!  I have since learned that there are others taking on similar challenges.

I don’t want, and thankfully do not have to, live on $1/day food allowance. But the enormous gulf between this budget and ours further cemented what I already suspected: our grocery budget was out of whack. So I decided we should aim for $5/day for each of us or, to make the math easy, $75 total weekly grocery budget. We have a separate, small, eating out budget for the month. My wife was skeptical due to our commitment to healthy eating but thankfully game to try it. Shared money goals=happy partnership!

Now I know that there are millions of families in the world that eat on less than our revised budget for two but I wanted to set an initial goal we could meet to gain confidence to make further cuts. We are both very active and extremely health conscious so we choose organic still for the most important items (dirty dozen) but have switched to inorganic oats and pasta and other items where it is not so critical. Read the rest of this entry »