Have you changed spending habits yet? (Bangor: store, bill, food)

[mainebrokerman]

Originally Posted by Zymer

Yeah, I did the living in the car thing once in my 20's too...until it got repossesed. Actually, it was a little Ford Ranger pick'em up. I learned how to wash up in gas station bathrooms when I was running with a carnival. Worst part was trying to sleep- I'm over 6' tall, ain't no way to get comfy in that little Ranger cab.

The current problem isn't that I don't have a place to live...it's that I have too many places. The expenses on two houses are killing me...and I'm just not willing to sell the one I don't need in this market. It's a choice really. If I can hang in until the RE market comes back I'll be in good shape.

zymer, just a thought, but we've all seen many many folks come to maine to check it out,, research the job market and also look at houses,,,you could target one of your houses to rent out for a few days, just for this target market,,,,i believe there are hundreds a week/month that come up here to look around, see if they like maine,,,,now these folks have to stay at motels/hotels, at high prices per night,,,im sure theyd love the idea of renting a house for just a few nights.... and you could print out all kinds of facts about maine, maps, area activities, job websites/carreer centers, etc school system ratings etc.
and who knows, if this takes off, maybe a real estate company will buy your house,,, just for this purpose and to (hopefully) pick up much business,,as buyers brokers

come up with a snappy name,,,and advertise... something like.....

Maine, the way life should be" official home for rent, daily or weekly,
if you are planning a trip to maine to research jobs, or look at houses, then this house is for you!! (much cheaper than hotels) and we are pet-friendly

[starwalker]

Originally Posted by Zymer

I'll give you an example, but word of warning...*my* menu may not be palatable for everyone. I have a limited variety and may eat the same stuff multiple times during the week, and again the next week, etc.
<snip>
No snacky crap. I was brought up to eat relatively healthy, and as the other forum members who have seen me can attest, I haven't got a single pound of excess weight on this bod at 48 yrs old.

Ya know, Z, one could eat a LOT worse than your menus... Now, I'm all for whole grains and fresh stuff... but for quick and easy "bachelor fare" you surely have the right idea. I, too, eat with much less variety when I am batching it...

Compared to the typical American diet (according to my anecdotal and totally unscientific "study" of the contents of fellow shoppers' carts) yours is head and shoulders above.

Heck, I see whole carts of stuff that I would only consider "snacky type stuff", if that... and nary even a hot dog or ramen noodle in sight!

[MeganAK]

Originally Posted by mainebrokerman

zymer, just a thought, but we've all seen many many folks come to maine to check it out,, research the job market and also look at houses,,,you could target one of your houses to rent out for a few days, just for this target market,,,,i believe there are hundreds a week/month that come up here to look around, see if they like maine,,,,now these folks have to stay at motels/hotels, at high prices per night,,,im sure theyd love the idea of renting a house for just a few nights.... and you could print out all kinds of facts about maine, maps, area activities, job websites/carreer centers, etc school system ratings etc.
and who knows, if this takes off, maybe a real estate company will buy your house,,, just for this purpose and to (hopefully) pick up much business,,as buyers brokers

come up with a snappy name,,,and advertise... something like.....

Maine, the way life should be" official home for rent, daily or weekly,
if you are planning a trip to maine to research jobs, or look at houses, then this house is for you!! (much cheaper than hotels) and we are pet-friendly

We stayed at a 'vacation rental' in Patten. It had some nice brochures, things to do, etc. I think we paid $90/night with a discount for multiple nights. It was great! Way better than a hotel or B & B 'cause we could do our own thing. Good idea!!

[Maineah]

Originally Posted by MeganAK

We stayed at a 'vacation rental' in Patten. It had some nice brochures, things to do, etc. I think we paid $90/night with a discount for multiple nights. It was great! Way better than a hotel or B & B 'cause we could do our own thing. Good idea!!

Good bear hunting there, did you see any?

[ProdigalLobster]

I recently came across a blog & message board about eating on $3/day. It was very inspiring, & reading through the various messages there was very informative!

Here's the link to the thread (at the top of the thread is a link to the overview, where the idea is discussed in more detail): Eating like a Chowhound on $3 a day – Week 1 menu and recipes - Home Cooking - Chowhound

[MeganAK]

Maineah- I did not see any bears! That's okay, though. I got my fill up here this year.

Boy, oh boy, I can't WAIT until we could survive on $3 a day. I would be happy with even $5 a day. One of the many reasons we are ready to leave ALaska, and in particular, Nome, is because we spend about $20/day on food. And we eat very basic- yogurt/oatmeal for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch, some snacks for hiking, and homemade dinners- no boxed foods, no extravagances like ice cream or anything. We get fresh fruit and vegetables shipped up from Seattle because we can't really get any here. I guess it is good, though, because it is living this way that has really made it a reality for us to get out of here and have something better. I want to grow our food, have chickens, bees, etc. I get what I can here- we have moose meat and musk-ox, and I pick berries, and fish, but that is the extent of nature's bounty in Nome. ANyway, off on a tangent, but you are all inspiring us to keep our dreams alive and focus on Spring, when the melting snow and coming green will signal our next chapter of adventures on our way to Maine.

On the topic of spending habits- we have not really changed them drastically. I buy everything on sale, and only if on sale, and we have begun to buy less 'extra' stuff that we don't really need (like pickled peppers ($8/jar), pickles ($7 jar), or eating out ($40 for two). If something can be patched, I patch it, but we did those things anyway. We are trying to sell stuff that we don't use or need, and get an older car that is cheaper to insure and maintain. I sold my 4-wheeler to help pay off some debt. Boohoo. I guess our tactics have focused more on getting completely and entirely out of debt. Spending habits have stayed basically the same, but we are putting more money towards leftover bills, student loans, etc. Don't get me started on that topic, but it makes us kind of grumpy that we work so hard to get out of debt while other companies will get rewarded by our own government for having debt. Grrr. I know, I know, can of worms.......

[Submariner]

Simpler foods with less chemical processing tends to be cheaper.

[AliceT]

Originally Posted by shadowfax1997

$50/week for 4 people? Not unless you are raising your own food.

It is not about raising your own food, it is about knowing how to budget your money and make a lot of things from scratch. A person can feed a family and eat very well with just $50/week for the grocery budget. Nobody said they are eating Filet Mignon for supper every night or with eggs every morning. I have been living on just over $10,000 annually since 2005 and there are people who make more than twice what I make that ask me to help them live on a budget.

Check out the hillbilly housewife site at Frugal Recipes and Low Cost Meals | Hillbilly Housewife and budget 101 at Budget101.com - complete resource for digging yourself out of debt. Aside from groceries, don't buy anything new. Check the want ads in the newspaper and the bargain shoppers that most gas stations have near the register.

If you need something, let everyone know that you have this need. The more people that know you are looking for something, the more likely you'll find it because you want people to keep their ears to the ground for you. For example, if someone needs a sofa and I then hear about someone who is trying to get rid of a sofa, I'll get a phone number for the person that I know is looking for one. It works for just about everything.

I know I can keep myself fed just spending $100/month on groceries. And if there were two people here or even two adults and a child, I could still do it. It's not hard. You just have to rethink the way you view your food budget. Look at the sites above. There are lots of ideas there.

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by AliceT

It is not about raising your own food, it is about knowing how to budget your money and make a lot of things from scratch. A person can feed a family and eat very well with just $50/week for the grocery budget. Nobody said they are eating Filet Mignon for supper every night or with eggs every morning.

Actually in our case, we do eat eggs every day.

Most meals include eggs, and we keep 2 big jars now with pickled eggs that we snack on. Hot and Ow Ow Ow!

We feed eggs to our dog and to our cats.

I am baking hog-bread this evening, so our hogs will be getting more eggs too.

... I have been living on just over $10,000 annually since 2005 and there are people who make more than twice what I make that ask me to help them live on a budget.

Check out the hillbilly housewife site at Frugal Recipes and Low Cost Meals | Hillbilly Housewife and budget 101 at Budget101.com - complete resource for digging yourself out of debt. Aside from groceries, don't buy anything new. Check the want ads in the newspaper and the bargain shoppers that most gas stations have near the register.

If you need something, let everyone know that you have this need. The more people that know you are looking for something, the more likely you'll find it because you want people to keep their ears to the ground for you. For example, if someone needs a sofa and I then hear about someone who is trying to get rid of a sofa, I'll get a phone number for the person that I know is looking for one. It works for just about everything.

I know I can keep myself fed just spending $100/month on groceries. And if there were two people here or even two adults and a child, I could still do it. It's not hard. You just have to rethink the way you view your food budget. Look at the sites above. There are lots of ideas there.

B is on a few frugal websites, and we both do a lot on Freecycle too.

[AliceT]

Originally Posted by forest beekeeper

Actually in our case, we do eat eggs every day.

The point I was making was that you wouldn't be eating filet mignon every day.