Changes!!!

So I'm really gung-ho about making some positive changes in my life right now. First step: I've changed my "About Me" from "Broke ass wino trying to get out of debt" to "Broke ass wino trying to improve my life in every way without the use of money". After my life semi-depressing entry I started to really think about what I wanted and how I could get it. My whole life I've been poor and it's never really bothered me because I'm (usually) a happy, healthy, and thankful person. But there's this idea in modern American culture that the ONLY way to improve ANY part of your life is by spending money. Want to get fit? Better dole out lots of cash on expensive gyms and organic foods. Want to be happy? You need all of the latest gadgets and gizmos and a big fancy house. IT'S CRAZY.

Just because I'm broke (and I mean seriously broke, I have less than a $1 in my bank until payday this Friday) doesn't mean that I can't live the best possible life. I can get fit, I can have happy relationships, I can have a beautiful home. Yes, it would probably be much, much easier if I had money but it's not impossible!

So! What's my plan?
1. Get Fit: I mentioned in my last post that I wanted to lose weight/get fit. How can I do this without money?? The two main parts of fitness are diet and exercise. I joined a gym years ago and the $30 bucks it costs me a month completely works in my budget. BUT it's also possible to workout with out a gym. The internet is amazing. Go to Youtube and find exercise clips, go to a free park and do lunges and situps. Run around the local high school football field. Honestly, the only reason I even joined a gym is because running outside in the Texas heat can cause some serious damage to a girl as pale as I am.

There's this idea that eating healthy has to cost a pretty penny. You know what makes grocery shopping cost  a lot?? Poor meal planning. Right now it's summer and fruits are incredible cheap. Last time I went grocery shopping I got a whole seedless watermelon, nectarines, beans, quinoa, and a few other items for less then $20 bucks. Shop the bulk food and whole food sections. A bag of beans costs $1 and makes 4 times as much as 1 can of pre made black beans. It also has less sodium. Right now I'm chowing down on 1 cup cooked quinoa and 1 cup cooked black beans all for about 442 calories.

Now, the hard part about dieting and getting fit is you have to find what works for YOU. I've mentioned before I really love The Token Fat Girl and she posted today about how, for her, counting calories is a waste and leads to counter productive eating. For me, I need to count calories because I can become SO consumed by my competitive nature and try to eat less and less that I end up GAINING weight because my body isn't getting what it needs. It seems odd that in order to lose weight you have to eat more sometimes but it's true. If you're body is working out too much and not getting the right nutrition your metabolism is going to shut down. I have a handy (and FREE!) app on my iPhone that helps me keep tabs. It's insane that I can snack all day and then when I check my calories I'm still a few hundred away from my goal.

2. Get out of Debt: This one is hardy and will take the longest. Right now I'm in a rough spot. Life has been doling out the usual stuff (dead car battery, dentist, bad tire, etc) and, like I said above, I have $1 left in my account. I'm just really thankful that my apartment is taking their sweet time to cash my rent check so hopefully I can make it until Friday. But by the end of this year I'm hoping that I'll be in a much better spot: paying less in rent and paying more towards my loan. This loan isn't going to go away over night and with the interest rates the first few years are going to be the hardest but I know that I can pay it off.

3. Be Happy: This one is pretty ridiculous but I don't see any reason why I can's live an awesome and fun life  just because I'm broke. My situation is a little different because my boyfriend has money so I still get to do fun things because he can pay but even if he wasn't around I think it's entirely possible to be poor and happy. I'm lucky that I live in Austin that has so many fun and free things. Free movies in the park, gorgeous rivers and green belts open to the public, opportunities to volunteer to help others, the list goes on and on. Yes, I'd probably be REALLY happy if I had millions of dollars and could pay off all of my debts and travel the world but I don't NEED money to be happy.

ALSO:
I just finished two really amazing books that I want to recommend. I mentioned that I joined a library a few months ago and they've started to offer eBooks to rent. Afterwards by Rosamund Lupton and Never Look Away by Linwood Barclay. Plus this helps me reach my goal of two books a month! I figure, those two books can take care of June and sometime tonight I'll see about downloading two new books for July. 

Ways to keep it cheap/save money while grocery shopping

Ever since rough money times hit I've been searching for the best ways to save money. I've found some great tips which led me to easy life changes and I've honestly seen real savings. I've also found some awful tips that, while I'm sure save money, seem like such a pain in the ass that it's just not worth it. So, because I care deeply for you my dear internet peeps I've compiled my top 8 ways to save money while grocery shopping that are easy and require basically zero effort.

Saving money on food

This chick knows what's up

1. Buy bulk meat and freeze: Due to the fact that I have a history of not playing well with others I live alone. I know I could save tons of money by having a roommate but honestly, living alone rocks. BUT that isn't the point of this tip. The point is that even though I live alone I can still save money by buying certain items in bulk. At H.E.B. (my grocery store of choice, apparently they're only in Texas? I feel sorry for non-Texans because H.E.B. rocks) they have family packs of chicken which contain around 12 thighs for around $5-$6 dollars. I buy one of these packs around twice a month and I'm set for meat. As soon as I get home I open up the giant pack and separate the pieces into different Tupperware containers (I used to use zip lock baggies but I hated wasting them, with Tupperware I don't hurt the environment AND I save on having to re-buy zip lock bags). I store everything in the freezer until I'm ready to eat. I've done this with ground hamburger, ground turkey, and sausage. It’s incredibly easy and I always have something to cook with (which means no extra trips to the store which I HATE).



2. Only buy vegetables that you will use that week: I used to have a really bad habit of just buying way too much stuff and not shopping smart. In one trip I’d buy 3 tomatoes, a package of mushrooms, fresh green beans, lettuce, onions, squash, etc. While this kind of shopping makes for a healthy diet it also makes for a trashcan full of rotten vegetables. Again, because I live alone, there’s just no reasonable way I can eat all of those vegetables before they go bad. Now I try to plan out what I want and buy accordingly; by buying only for what I know I’m going to eat I’m saving so much money AND guilt because I’m not tossing away un-used food.


3. Frozen and canned goods: Frozen and canned goods seem to have a bad rap but if you shop smart they can be tasty and save-y (don’t judge me on my lame rhyming skills). I love a diet full of veggies but a diet full of veggies can get pretty expensive. Things like canned corn and canned tomatoes last forever and honestly taste good. Sometime s when a large quantity of berries is about to go bad H.E.B. has insane sales (raspberries and blueberries for $0.98 a package!!!!!). When that happens I buy around 4 packages and either take them to Girls Night for a healthy snack or throw them in my freezer to later add to protein shakes or homemade ice cream. I’ll also buy sugar free fruit cups or cans. I always have fruit in my place but I don’t have to worry about it rotting. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had some store bought frozen broccoli that tasted like death but there are lovely canned and frozen products out there that taste just as good as fresh.


4. Buy bulk rice, beans, and pasta: A can of black beans is around $1.29 while a bag of black beans in $0.99. A can of black beans has around two servings (or one if you’re a fatty like me) while a bag of beans can make MANY, MANY, MANY servings. Yes, a can of black beans is much easier to cook but it’s honestly not that big of a hassle to remember to soak a pot of beans overnight. I have two bags of black beans, one bag of rice ,and one insanely big bag of noodles from my Mom’s place and I can live off of this stuff for the next month or maybe two EASILY.

5. Compare price per ounce: Most store labels have a small section where they list how much the item costs per ounce. What looks like a deal honestly may not be. I recently purchased some conditioner and while I spent around 10 minutes in the hair care area I ended up finding a conditioner that’s good for my hair but was a good deal per ounce. Let me give you an example: one conditioner is $4.99 while the other is $6.99. Taken at face value the first conditioner looks like the better deal, right? However, on closer inspection the first bottle contains 5.5 ounces of conditioner while the second bottle contains 10 ounces. For only $2 more you get nearly DOUBLE the amount of product. This can be applied to almost any product in the store (cheese, sauces, dips, etc).

I feel bad for other states that aren't fortunate enough to have Combo Locos

6. Combo loco: So H.E.B. has this promotional deal called Combo Loco where they have insane savings. It’s usually something like: buy one package of H.E.B. brand sausage and get a free pack of tortillas, salsa, and chips!!!! Sometimes the combinations that are promoted don’t apply to my lifestyle (I try not to have soda in the house….unless it’s coke zero for boozey time) but all I have to do is check the front of the store for the listed deals. Getting free food rocks and it only takes around 5 seconds of my life to check out the deals. I’m not sure if other states/stores offer this kind of buy one get one free deal but I hope they do because it’s pretty neat.


7. Coupons: I get exhausted watching coupon shows. It just seems like so much work for not a big pay off. The idea of spending my time clipping away seems like Hell. However, there are ways that coupons can help out without ruining/wasting your life. Again, at H.E.B. (has my love for this store been expressed enough????) they have an area at the front of the store which is just a wall of coupons. All I have to do is stop by before I start shopping and check out if there’s a coupon for anything I want. Sometimes there is and sometimes there’s not but it’s not out of my way at all. Also, a good portion of the times they have coupons posted throughout the store near the sale items. Just the other day I was able to get Silk brand soy milk with a coupon and it made it cheaper than the store brand. While checking out most stores have promotions where coupons will print out with your receipt based on the products you’ve already purchased. It’s easy to just tuck those away in your purse and store them for the next time you have to go grocery shopping.

So freakin' amazing

8. CROCK POT/cook in bulk: If you don’t have a crock pot GO OUT AND BUY ONE!!!!! It has been the best investment of my life. I purchased a fairly large crock pot for $29.99 and it has truly changed the way I eat (my Lord, I sound like an infomercial). Let’s talk about why crock pots rock everything: 1) they cook food for you while you sleep 2) big, hearty, healthy recipes 3) easy as shit. Best recipe: turn the crock pot on, put in some chicken, black beans, can of Mexican style tomatoes, some onions, and some broth or water. Let it cook over night. In the morning scope out the chicken bones, add more liquid and add rice. In 30 minutes you have an awesome stew like thing or taco filling thing. When I’m eating at home I just scoop it into corn tortillas and when I take it for work I just fill up a Tupperware container and it’s perfectly delicious on its own.

Grocery Store

So I broke down and went grocery shopping. Ugh, I know but it was sort of necessary. I was basically out of soy milk, which I use for creamer in my morning coffee, and trust me, the world is a better place when I have my morning coffee. I've been having a daily cup of joe since I was 13 and the caffeine headache I get when I don't feed my 12 year habit is insane. Also, I had no fresh veggies or fruit. I was a vegan for 4 years and before that a vegetarian for 2 and even though I now eat everything I still need a pretty hefty serving of fruit and vegetables.

I wanted to be a frugal as possible and honestly I think I did pretty well because I only spent $15!! I can't remember the last time I have spent that little for food (besides take out). Even on a quick run in to pick up snacks for Girl's Night I spend around $20. So, for 15 bucks I got a pretty good selection: head of lettuce, 3 peaches, 3 bananas, 2 large cucumbers, 1 large tomato, yogurt, 1 large can of tuna, box of mac n cheese, 2 cartons of soy milk, 3 packages of ramen noodles, and a store brand sprite. I needed (or craved) the ramen and sprite because I have a pretty gnarly hangover from too much whiskey and the mac and cheese was free with the purchase of the can of tuna.

If I can manage to shop like this more often (only buying small amounts, buying store brands, and using coupons) I think I can definitely get my spending under control.

Also, my boyfriend decided to be an absolute sweet heart and buy me lunch meat and cheese (which is why I wanted the lettuce and tomato) which will taste delicious on the fresh bread that I'm in the middle of making.

EDIT:

Look at this delicious, fresh, homemade bread. As soon as I was done snapping this photo I cut a slice, slathered it in butter, and ate it up. Amazing!
I used this recipe but modified the time. My oven cooks very quickly so I baked the bread at 375 degrees for 15 minutes and then at 250 degrees for 10 minutes.