Dear Consciously Frugal,
I’m a stay at home mom. Me and my husband decided it would be best for our family if I stayed home with the kids. Things are much better for me and my kids now that I’m home but we have a very small budget. I want to do the “consciously” frugal stuff but when you’re on a really tight budget it’s hard to spend the extra money to buy organic foods and other natural stuff and I feel guilty. What are people on very limited budgets supposed to do?
Thanks,
SAHM of two growing boys
Dear Mommy in Da House:
I’m glad to hear that you and your growing boys are enjoying having mom at home. So many parents think they can’t afford to stay at home when often a second income is really just paying for a harried lifestyle.
I’m not sure what level of frugal ninja-hood you’ve reached, so some of these ideas will probably be old news to you. Bear with me and hopefully something useful will jump out!
1. Track your spending. We often think we spend less than we do, particularly when we’re on a tight budget. Writing each penny down will help you figure out exactly where the money is going, which will help you…2. Cut out convenience products. I know so many people who complain about how broke they are as they pour a bowl of sugary cereal, light up a cigarette and turn on the cable. Switching out expensive convenience items for their cheaper alternatives can save hundreds of dollars that you can use toward savings and/or purchasing items you feel good about supporting. Jazz up oatmeal with homemade granola. Chew a licorice root and cut back on the cancer sticks. Get rid of the cable in favor of renting videos from the public library.
3. Use frugal tools mentioned previously—use less, stretch it out, find multiple uses for items instead of buying a new gadget, shop at thrift stores, cook from scratch, etc.
4. Focus on progress, not perfection. You don’t have to go all out right away. Small steps are not only the key to lasting changes but a requirement of small budgets. Try buying just one pound of produce from the farmer’s market this week. If you find that you cut back a couple of dollars from using other tools, spend one of those freed-up extra dollars on an environmentally friendly product. Do what you can and refuse to feel guilty.
Being mindful of spending and celebrating your successes is a far happier path than feeling guilty and squeezed by a budget. If we each make just a few small changes, we can profoundly improve our lives and help Mama Earth. So, feel proud of yourself. If guilt tries to rear its ugly head, tell it to kiss off. You’re taking good care of your kids, your finances and your global community!
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Dear Consciously Frugal:
You talk a lot about supporting local economies, but what about people in poor countries that rely on the jobs we provide? Won’t we be hurting them if we stopped buying goods made in other countries?
Concerned for the poor abroad,
Mary S.
Dear St. Mary the Concerned:
Thank you so much for this question and for your concern about our global human family. This is a tricky subject that would benefit from a PhD in economics that I do not possess. Were I getting paid to do this, I would probably call and write some important, well-informed PhD folk. Instead, I will have to use my limited knowledge from literature and hippy activism.
America’s consumer habits are a double edged sword. Our insatiable need for useless crap combined with our wealth (how a country so much in debt can be considered wealthy baffles me) has turned third world and emerging economies into a giant labor pool. Unfortunately, other countries don’t offer the same protections we do to workers. For instance, the documentary The High Cost of Low Price highlighted that Chinese and Latin American factory workers are required to work six days per week in horrid conditions for paltry pay. Many are physically abused and forced to pay rent for substandard housing regardless of whether or not they actually live in the compound.
The United States’ policy of outsourcing manufacturing labor while undercutting small farmers with our heavily subsidized crops has resulted in entire cultures shifting in some very unhealthy ways. Families are split apart as rural children move to cities to work in factories. (Food distribution systems are so screwed up that they hurt us and others, but that’s another tale.) Traditional ways of life have been altered to provide small wages that help people to survive, not thrive. Basically, the same abhorrent conditions we find our undocumented laborers suffering in the States have been deliberately created abroad so that the heads of multinational corporations can get rich off the backs of the poor and our ignorance of the impact of our habits.
So, yes. We are supplying jobs to remedy the splintering globalization has created, but who is really winning? Americans are going deeper into debt by greedily buying unnecessary consumer goods, and citizens of emerging economies are receiving too little to feed our insatiable appetites. All the while, only the richest of the rich see their wallets thicken.
But this is not to say that globalization is a bad thing. It’s not. There are several companies that support healthy, sustainable globalization by providing markets for small businesses. Fair trade products are a fine example of this. Slow Food hosts annual events to showcase artisan food producers. Africans are working together to encourage fellow countrymen not to buy our clothing castoffs but to return to traditional methods of manufacturing and purchasing handmade clothes. We can certainly choose to support these types of endeavors so that the business owners, farmers and craftspeople receive our support instead of corporate billionaires.
Every time we lay a dollar down, we’re casting a vote. When I vote, I want my money to buoy strong local economies. To do so, I support the little guy when I can and do my best not to engage in harmful consumer habits. As long as we demand the world’s poor supply our mindless consumption, they will be hard pressed to build sound, sustainable economies for themselves. We can support the little guy both here and abroad if we choose our votes carefully.
Here’s to a happy, healthy globe,
Consciously Frugal
2 comments:
Some more advice for the SAHM who wants to go green on a budget.
First, never feel guilty about feeding your family food that isn't poisoned. It's wholly unjust that safe food costs more. But since it does, it really should be a budget priority.
Second, make organic food a priority. Certain must-haves come first, and like CF said, make your compromises in other places.
Third, join a CSA and/or buy your organic food direct from the farm. CSA's have the added advantage allowing you to budget. Most are paid seasonally upfront, and often can work out to be as much as 50% less than organic produce purchased at your local supermarket. Of course you have less say over what's in your bag. CSA directors usually also have contacts for purchasing products that they don't include, such as meat and dairy.
Many people believe they can't afford to eat healthy. But if you're willing to do a little extra digging organic food can be quite affordable. Good luck!
You could also try growing your own non-fumigated produce. Start out with some salad greens or tomatoes in pots. Get your children involved. Mine loved digging up the potatoes when they were little. Raspberries are easy to plant and produce fresh berries for years. The best jams are homemade. Plant fruit trees. Plant rhubarb.
Join a community gardening association or go visit with someone nearby who gardens, they're happy to give tips to beginners!
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