The Year of Less...

As I've been engaged in an online group examining frugality, my beliefs and messages around money and the choices I am making in terms of spending this month, I've been asking several questions:

Does what I spend align with my values?
Is there a clear line between "Want" and "Need" for me?
Do I spend any amount without really thinking about it?
Do I think I need more than I actually do?
How often do I think of re-purposing something rather than making a purchase?
Of my possessions, is there anything I no longer need or use?
What am I willing to stop purchasing in order to save?
Do I look at frugality as a method of saving temporarily or as a long term way of living?

What did I actually spend in January?

Groceries $44  per week (176)
Transportation $60/month
Pet Food and supplies for new pet $200
Cards $15.00
Internet $72.00
Mobile Phone $35.00
Netflix $24.00
Acorn  $5.00
Dentist $124.00
Miscellaneous $49
Two gifts $20
One lunch out $20.00
Microchip for pet and tags $45
Target-household $45
Electric                 $60
Two memorial donations $40

My monthly condominium fees were paid in December through the end of August, 2018 and are not included here. Additionally, my Homeowners policy and property taxes were paid then as well. The dentist is a quarterly expense, Microchip, memorial donations, cards and household are all infrequent, and pet expenses will be less as basic supplies have all been purchased. I'm going to investigate pet insurance. I've gotten rid of Starbucks except for a gift card and had no take-out or delivery meals. As we do not have much choice in Internet providers here and I do not have a television or want to bundle TV and phone with cable, I'm stuck. The modem, router and wiring in the wall at my home all needed to be replaced and I've had a few outages. Had my phone been bundled, I'd have had no way to call and report them, nor any way to reach someone in an emergency. Much of my household expense has been spent on canned or dried items to build back pantry reserves and I am now also keeping extra supplies of bottled water since both Lukas and I drink it. Whatever doesn't get used up before June will be put in hurricane supplies. While I tend to order a lot online since I do not drive, I'm happy to report that Amazon will not be seeing many orders this year. Hopefully, the results will be seen in my savings account.

While it is possible now to stream movies, music and audiobooks from the library, I've had some problems with access and the variety among films isn't that great if one watches foreign fare but it is an alternative to Netflix. I may just listen to audiobooks rather than watch films. Having been a subscriber to Netflix since 2004, I've seen their content change and their prices rise, neither for the better.

I'm currently streaming Cait Flanders' book, The Year of Less, via Hoopla from the library. It is the story of how the author, in her thirties and a young professional, climbed out of #30,000 or so of consumer debt, made the connection between stuff and stress, streamlined her possessions along the way, faced the adversity that came with work and family changes and re-made her life according to her own priorities. She instituted a year-long ban on certain items only to discover she neither missed nor needed most of them and that some of them had more to do with her so-called uniform and who she was to others or who she thought she should be rather than who she is. Her year ban stretched into two as Flanders shifted the focus of her life.

This is not by any stretch the bog standard, "De-clutter, live simply and be happy" book that there are so many of today. Many of the changes were hard-won, life-altering and came about as the result of circumstances no-one would choose.

Lukas...

Have I confessed a weakness for cute red heads?

Originally named for another dazzling red head, Lucille Ball, when it was discovered that this little boy was a neutered male, his name became Luke. He is now Lukas, age 7, and enjoying his first explorations of our home.

Though I miss Jacob terribly, this gentle, sweet boy who loves to play and purrs every time I pet him, is very lucky. Lost or abandoned to the streets, he found his way to a kindhearted man who fed and sheltered him and saw to his veterinary care. Though intending to keep the cat, when it became obvious that the other felines in the house would not accept him and that he was at risk of injury, the man let his vet know Lukas needed a new abode. The vet called me, and though still tentative about adoption, I called the man to arrange a meet and greet.

This lovely ginger-haired boy came to stay on Wednesday evening, and has taken over the chair and living room sofa. His accoutrements included toys, treats and food and water dishes, a favorite towel and a small rug. He is busily marking walls, furniture, possessions and me with the side of his face, something cats do that signifies their belongings or territory. I have officially been adopted yet again. The man who had the kindness to find Lukas a new home is forever in my good books.