We've had a great time living below the poverty line this month. If you joined me in this challenge, I'm sure you learned some unexpected things as well.
Here's what we learned:
1. Be prepared. It's not good to live at the very edge of your income whether you're rich or porr. You've got to have wiggle room to pay for those unexpected things. Even if you're making plenty of money, save some and keep it for a rainy day. If you're living below the poverty line, every dollar really does make a difference. Save what you can for emergencies.
2. Once the dollar is spent it can't be retrieved. While living under the poverty line I had to think about every little purchase. If I spent the money without thinking, the money was gone.
3. Solve the income crisis. Even after just one month of living under the poverty line, I was thinking of ways to save and earn more money. As Dave Ramsey says, "You have an income crisis." We could certainly feed our kids, buy clothes, and pay the mortgage--but we weren't getting anywhere financially. We would need to either gain more education or get a better job (or an additional job.)
4. Poverty in great for the environment. Our big green trash can was able to go three weeks on the garbage we produced. It was amazing--we spent less, consumed less and (wadyaknow?) we had less garbage. We also didn't go shopping for recreation, so we used less gas.
5. Get creative. I made homemade yogurt, bread, , snacks and presents. We saved a lot by making stuff that we normally would have purchased. We signed the kids up for group piano lessons at the library. We checked out movies and books. We ate out tons less. We got creative with our free time and played games that we bought at the thrift store for a couple dollars. I think I lost a little weight!
6. We have more that we thought. We budgeted money for clothes, fun, food, gas, car repairs, and other stuff. We were still able to live under the poverty line and money left over. Even the trip to ER yesterday will come out of our Health Savings Account, so we're not going to be burdened with massive hospital bills. We have money left over to maybe save or maybe spend next month. Americans are blessed to have truly abundant lives
So, now we make the transition from living well below the poverty line to living well above the poverty line.
What did you learn during your time living for one month under the poverty line?
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Dinner: Friday, January 30
Saline IV
Acetaminophen & Ibuprofen
Morphine
Total Cost: $100 copay
We spent the afternoon and evening in the hospital with Josh. He had severe abdominal pain starting around 2pm. After toughing out the pain (eight out of ten on the pain scale) he finally asked for a side dish of morphine. The dose was so small and the pain was so great that it had no effect. The pain went away on it's own an hour later at 6:30pm during the ultrasound.
While I was at the hospital with Josh, my dad went back home to pick up dinner that my mom had prepared for the kids. It was great. It's weird to eat in ER. It's kind of like eating in a public restroom. (I haven't tried that. I just have a good imagination.)
Then we went home. Today is the actual day of our anniversary. It was a wonderful day with an unexpected ending. We are so happy to be married...
Happy Anniversary!
Acetaminophen & Ibuprofen
Morphine
Total Cost: $100 copay
We spent the afternoon and evening in the hospital with Josh. He had severe abdominal pain starting around 2pm. After toughing out the pain (eight out of ten on the pain scale) he finally asked for a side dish of morphine. The dose was so small and the pain was so great that it had no effect. The pain went away on it's own an hour later at 6:30pm during the ultrasound.
While I was at the hospital with Josh, my dad went back home to pick up dinner that my mom had prepared for the kids. It was great. It's weird to eat in ER. It's kind of like eating in a public restroom. (I haven't tried that. I just have a good imagination.)
Then we went home. Today is the actual day of our anniversary. It was a wonderful day with an unexpected ending. We are so happy to be married...
Happy Anniversary!
Dinner: Thursday, January 29
Dining Out: Cedars of Lebanon
Total Cost: $26
We're celebrating our 10th anniversary this weekend, so we went out to eat. It was delicious, wonderful and may have given us food poisoning.
I had falafel, Josh had beef chawumba, and we both had lentil soup and salad.
Total Cost: $26
We're celebrating our 10th anniversary this weekend, so we went out to eat. It was delicious, wonderful and may have given us food poisoning.
I had falafel, Josh had beef chawumba, and we both had lentil soup and salad.
From Prosperity to Poverty...and Back Again
To go from living a comfortable life of prosperity to "living well below the poverty line" hasn't been easy. Anyone who has been doing this one-month poverty experiment with me knows that there are times you just want to scream.
Our family moved to New York in 2004 for my husband to go to grad school. It was a financially tight time for our family. First, we were doing grad school without the burden of student loans. Second, we had saved up the first year of tuition before we moved to New York and worked through school to pay for the second year of tuition. Third, we had three small children. We weren't quite living under the poverty line, but we were sure close. We lived tight so that we could live without consumer debt (or "mommy and daddy debt"--we didn't want the strings that are attached to money that comes from parents.)
I remember going to ALDI, our favorite discount grocery store, and getting exactly what was on the grocery list. I scoured thrift stores to find darling clothes and house decor. We even drove the streets of Syracuse looking for fun and funky discarded furniture. (We still have one of the treasures that we found on the streets of the village of Camillus.) It was both empowering and exciting to know that our future freedom from debt was in my hands. My ability to control my spending, to be creative and to live well despite our lower income was a challenge and a blessing.
We were able to graduate without debt, without mommy and daddy strings attached and with a tremendous amount of dignity. Within a year of graduating we bought our first home and have been amazed at how much living with less has taught us.
Our family moved to New York in 2004 for my husband to go to grad school. It was a financially tight time for our family. First, we were doing grad school without the burden of student loans. Second, we had saved up the first year of tuition before we moved to New York and worked through school to pay for the second year of tuition. Third, we had three small children. We weren't quite living under the poverty line, but we were sure close. We lived tight so that we could live without consumer debt (or "mommy and daddy debt"--we didn't want the strings that are attached to money that comes from parents.)
I remember going to ALDI, our favorite discount grocery store, and getting exactly what was on the grocery list. I scoured thrift stores to find darling clothes and house decor. We even drove the streets of Syracuse looking for fun and funky discarded furniture. (We still have one of the treasures that we found on the streets of the village of Camillus.) It was both empowering and exciting to know that our future freedom from debt was in my hands. My ability to control my spending, to be creative and to live well despite our lower income was a challenge and a blessing.
We were able to graduate without debt, without mommy and daddy strings attached and with a tremendous amount of dignity. Within a year of graduating we bought our first home and have been amazed at how much living with less has taught us.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Ten Item Challenge
If you could only put ten items in your grocery cart this week and spend less than $50, what would they be? Could you make enough meals with those items to keep your family fed throughout the week? You may use what you have on hand (ketchup, mayo, oil, sugar, butter) to supplement the items on your list.
Here's what I would buy:
What ten foods would you put on your list?
Here's what I would buy:
- Cabbage
- Eggs
- Oats
- Milk
- Onions
- Carrots
- Bananas
- Chicken or Lobster (whichever is cheapest)
- Rice
- Beans
What ten foods would you put on your list?
Dinner: Wednesday, January 28
Herbed Chicken with Garlic
Potatoes
Steamed Italian Vegetables
Sliced Whole Wheat Bread
Total Cost: $6.80
My husband loves vegetables. He also loves meat. He loves my homemade wheat bread. This was a meal for him. Our aniversario numero diez is this week, so I made a meal I knew he'd like. And I promised the kids that if they ate 90% of the vegetables on their plate that I would make a batch of Supernatural Brownies.
They ate their veggies and we made the best chewy brownies ever. And my husband loves chewy brownies, too.
Potatoes
Steamed Italian Vegetables
Sliced Whole Wheat Bread
Total Cost: $6.80
My husband loves vegetables. He also loves meat. He loves my homemade wheat bread. This was a meal for him. Our aniversario numero diez is this week, so I made a meal I knew he'd like. And I promised the kids that if they ate 90% of the vegetables on their plate that I would make a batch of Supernatural Brownies.
They ate their veggies and we made the best chewy brownies ever. And my husband loves chewy brownies, too.
Dinner: Tuesday, January 27
Super Nachos
Total Cost: $3.50
When you make Super Nachos, you must remember the most important thing: The Rule of Three. Super Nachos need at least three different toppings in order for the nachos to be super. This can be cheddar cheese, refried beans, and tomatoes. Or mozzarella cheese, shredded chicken, and green chiles. You can also try pepper jack, olives, and chili con carne.
So, remember the Rule of Three, and serve your Super Nachos with the Rule of Two: sour cream and salsa.
Hint to the menfolk: This dinner is wicked easy. Just pour chips on a cookie sheet cover them with shredded cheese and two other nacho-y type toppings. Bake at 350 till the cheese is melted...about 15 minutes.
Total Cost: $3.50
When you make Super Nachos, you must remember the most important thing: The Rule of Three. Super Nachos need at least three different toppings in order for the nachos to be super. This can be cheddar cheese, refried beans, and tomatoes. Or mozzarella cheese, shredded chicken, and green chiles. You can also try pepper jack, olives, and chili con carne.
So, remember the Rule of Three, and serve your Super Nachos with the Rule of Two: sour cream and salsa.
Hint to the menfolk: This dinner is wicked easy. Just pour chips on a cookie sheet cover them with shredded cheese and two other nacho-y type toppings. Bake at 350 till the cheese is melted...about 15 minutes.
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