Random Public Thoughts #9: Low-cost living
At age 53 I am very lucky and have a comfortable life. My hubby got a decent job after graduating with a M.S. in ChemE. His starting salary was $18,000/year which seemed like a princely sum because we'd been living on my fellowship stipend of $350/month (tuition free).
The amazing thing is that we SAVED on the $350/month. We had friends over for dinner frequently, and we took driving trips all over the place. We had a wonderful rich life.
Of course, this was back in the mid-70's and things were cheaper then. Not Depression-era cheap, but cheap enough for frugal people (and my hubby and I were both frugal, and very disciplined). We stayed in one of the "best" apartments in town - we chose it because it was the closest to campus (we met in graduate school at UC Davis) and because its layout resulted in low utility bills. This cost us $210 a month, with another $15-20 for utilities (no cell phones in those days, and we NEVER made long-distance phone calls!). We spent $1/day on food. This was possible because UC Davis is an agricultural school. I was in Plant Pathology and we had a very good friend in Post-Harvest, which meant that we had access to all kinds of free fruits and veggies from various research projects. We ate very little meat and our meals typically were rice and a stir-fry dish with a few ounces of meat stir-friend with our free veggies. We rode our bicycles to class, to the supermarket, etc. Thus, we spent $210 + $20 + $30 = $260. Another $20/month accrual for my books, and we still had $50-$70/month "extra"! We saved most of it, and used part of it for travel and entertainment: $1 movies, $5 operas (the SF opera would perform at UC Davis), and camping trips almost every weekend during the summer. I worked about 20 hours/week during the summer so this gave us additional funding for our camping trips. It was truly a rich and rewarding life!!!
I learned about frugality from my soujourn in Scotland. My Scottish friends lived very simply, and their idea of a good time was a good walk. One chap presented me with a delicious stew that he'd made from road kill - a rabbit that was hit by a car. He cooked it over his wood fire (which heated the room, boiled water, made toast, and myriad other useful things) with mushrooms that he'd collected in the woods near his cottage. I was in the far northwest of Scotland for much of the time. There was no entertainment except for the outdoors and our conversation. Somehow, that was more that enough and my days always felt rich, contented, and full.
To this day, my idea of a good time is simple and usually free or low-cost. In fact, when something is very expensive, it detracts from my enjoyment. Thus, while I truly relish staying at a ***** hotel using hotel points from my hubby's frequent business travel, I don't think I could stomach paying full price for the same hotel room. I'm pleased that we have plenty of $ now and can thus go to museums or climb the Eiffel Tower (and we climbed rather than paying extra for an elevator) without hesitation, but we don't eat at expensive restaurants, nor do we go to expensive shows. Our idea of a really good time is hiking somewhere beautiful. Our visits to U.S. National Parks were most memorable to me, because of the varied and gorgeous hikes. We do some car sightseeing, and occasionally I will spring for something special such as a raft trip, but we have our best times on hikes, or by water.
My one indulgence is food. I used to buy a whole chicken because it was cheaper, and then cut it up and get 4-5 meals (for 2 people) out of it: 2 out of the breast, 1 each from the thighs and drumsticks, and a soup from the bones and scraps. Now I buy boneless skinless chicken tenders instead. I like to shop at Trader Joe's and although I avoid pricey wines, I don't hesitate to buy any food that strikes my fancy.
And writing this blog is no-cost entertainment for me, too!
The amazing thing is that we SAVED on the $350/month. We had friends over for dinner frequently, and we took driving trips all over the place. We had a wonderful rich life.
Of course, this was back in the mid-70's and things were cheaper then. Not Depression-era cheap, but cheap enough for frugal people (and my hubby and I were both frugal, and very disciplined). We stayed in one of the "best" apartments in town - we chose it because it was the closest to campus (we met in graduate school at UC Davis) and because its layout resulted in low utility bills. This cost us $210 a month, with another $15-20 for utilities (no cell phones in those days, and we NEVER made long-distance phone calls!). We spent $1/day on food. This was possible because UC Davis is an agricultural school. I was in Plant Pathology and we had a very good friend in Post-Harvest, which meant that we had access to all kinds of free fruits and veggies from various research projects. We ate very little meat and our meals typically were rice and a stir-fry dish with a few ounces of meat stir-friend with our free veggies. We rode our bicycles to class, to the supermarket, etc. Thus, we spent $210 + $20 + $30 = $260. Another $20/month accrual for my books, and we still had $50-$70/month "extra"! We saved most of it, and used part of it for travel and entertainment: $1 movies, $5 operas (the SF opera would perform at UC Davis), and camping trips almost every weekend during the summer. I worked about 20 hours/week during the summer so this gave us additional funding for our camping trips. It was truly a rich and rewarding life!!!
I learned about frugality from my soujourn in Scotland. My Scottish friends lived very simply, and their idea of a good time was a good walk. One chap presented me with a delicious stew that he'd made from road kill - a rabbit that was hit by a car. He cooked it over his wood fire (which heated the room, boiled water, made toast, and myriad other useful things) with mushrooms that he'd collected in the woods near his cottage. I was in the far northwest of Scotland for much of the time. There was no entertainment except for the outdoors and our conversation. Somehow, that was more that enough and my days always felt rich, contented, and full.
To this day, my idea of a good time is simple and usually free or low-cost. In fact, when something is very expensive, it detracts from my enjoyment. Thus, while I truly relish staying at a ***** hotel using hotel points from my hubby's frequent business travel, I don't think I could stomach paying full price for the same hotel room. I'm pleased that we have plenty of $ now and can thus go to museums or climb the Eiffel Tower (and we climbed rather than paying extra for an elevator) without hesitation, but we don't eat at expensive restaurants, nor do we go to expensive shows. Our idea of a really good time is hiking somewhere beautiful. Our visits to U.S. National Parks were most memorable to me, because of the varied and gorgeous hikes. We do some car sightseeing, and occasionally I will spring for something special such as a raft trip, but we have our best times on hikes, or by water.
My one indulgence is food. I used to buy a whole chicken because it was cheaper, and then cut it up and get 4-5 meals (for 2 people) out of it: 2 out of the breast, 1 each from the thighs and drumsticks, and a soup from the bones and scraps. Now I buy boneless skinless chicken tenders instead. I like to shop at Trader Joe's and although I avoid pricey wines, I don't hesitate to buy any food that strikes my fancy.
And writing this blog is no-cost entertainment for me, too!
posted by Gaye Marasaki | 5:54 PM
|
0 comments
