Another “double rainbow”

Today I rushed out to my balcony to check out another beautiful, complete, double rainbow. I had to hold myself back from gushing, lest I get confused with double rainbow man.

It was so pretty, I had to share.  As I was watching, I noticed people walking to their cars or walking outside, their eyes focused on the pavement, completely missing the incredible things the sky was doing at that moment.  Truly, beauty is all around us, but it’s so easy to miss. It was just a reminder to awaken to what’s already here - to pay attention to the sky, the air, everything that surrounds us. We over-complicate our perfect world.  I don’t want to walk through this world asleep. I want to be awake, alert, and open to the miracles that every day life offers.

My top 10 “fun goals” for the year ahead

Last year at the start of September I wrote a post called, A New Season. Having just re-read it now, I remember once again how much has changed in the last year. Things are much easier now. That time of the year was so difficult for me, but I tried really hard to stay focused on what was good in my life and take advantage of everything around me that could bring me joy or nourishment.  I think that being creative helped me a lot - I was continually finding creative solutions to meet my needs on a ridiculously strict budget, but I was also applying creative thinking to my life, to identify different career paths and create different kinds of opportunities for myself.

I’ve worked hard this year and it has recently occurred to me that I have achieved pretty much everything I was working towards - I have a wonderful job, a cute and comfortable but affordable apartment, financial stability, and I feel that I have further integrated into my community. Rather than reaching towards the next big goal, I want to simply enjoy where I am at the moment, appreciate what I have worked for, and have fun. To me, having fun means to meet new people, try different things, laugh more often and simply enjoy life; I want to enjoy being single, healthy, and secure and take advantage of the opportunities that this affords me.  So I drafted some “fun goals” for the year. Many of them have to do with physical fitness as I am slightly fearful of winter and want to avoid the winter blahs by being active and taking advantage of fun winter sports, rather than hiding indoors.

So, here are my new goals for the year.  Because I believe goals need to be flexible (since circumstances and moods change,) any of these goals can be replaced by a similar goal if necessary.

1. Visit Hawaii
2. Go dog sledding
3. Go rockclimbing outdoors (currently I only climb indoors and my participation in this sport has been sporadic; come winter I want to climb more frequently and purchase the proper equipment so that next spring/summer I am confident and capable to do outdoor climbing.)
4. Investigate at least 5 bands that are new to me and see them perform live
5. Go snow-shoeing
6. Create a scavenger hunt with friends
7. Build a miniature wunderkammer (ideally I would love to build a cabinet of scientific curiosities but my budget isn’t built for it at the moment, so I might consider building a collection of curiosities documenting my travels and experiences.)
8. Go cross-country skiing
9. Explore a city that I’ve never been to before
10. Submit at least one proposal/article to a yoga magazine

On Friday a friend of mine joined me in spending the night gaming with people who were basically complete strangers. I’m not sure how to quantify that kind of random opportunity-taking, the kind of spirit that says, “why not?” and is whimsical enough to play games with people you don’t know, but I want to do even more of that kind of thing as well.

I’ve spent my life setting goals. Most of them have never materialized (if so I would already be married, have a phD, and be writing social policy in Ottawa or or New York City for the United Nations right now.) I’ve had ridiculously high standards for myself in the past and sometimes I’m skeptical of goal setting because it can overpower mindfulness, awareness and gratitude. But at the same time, I see how setting fun goals for me right now might be a great way to focus my attention on having more fun, and bringing adventure into my life again.

Do you have goals for the year ahead and do they involve having fun?

Saver Queen is two years old!

It’s my two year blogiversary!

Thank you to the kind readers who have supported me in my journey with your kind comments and your creative participation in these discussions on frugality, simplicity and sustainability.  I’ve appreciated so much the thoughtful words that you all have shared with me throughout the last two years.

My writing has taken me in a different place than originally anticipated. When I first started writing the blog, I thought I would be giving money saving tips to people struggling to live on a low income or trying to get out of debt. The blog morphed into so much more than that. It became a place for me to develop my own personal philosophy on what life is all about and on what makes me happy. It’s become much more personal.  It’s been a bit scary; my approach to life goes against the grain, or at least is in sharp contrast to the consumer-driven messages that proliferate in so many areas of our society, and I’ve at times been weary of what outsiders might think.  But I’ve slowly admitted to more and more friends and family members that I write this blog. For the first year or more I kept it a secret, not wanting to be stigmatized for my frugal practices.  As my writing has become more of who I am, and as I’ve seen an interest in the blog from people of various backgrounds, I’ve gradually developed more confidence in sharing my words with people beyond the niche frugal online subculture, the nest in which most of my readers reside.

I’ve ventured more and more into the practice of mindfulness, and I appreciate that I have so many readers who also share my passion for living mindfully in the present.  Many financial blogs out there tend to focus on more utilitarian or practical subjects, but mine has meandered into more abstract territory.  I’ve written a lot about mindfulness. In fact, I’ve added a new category called Mindfulness, to make these posts easier to find.

I get the feeling that my consistent readers share in the belief that at the root of the discussion around frugality is a conversation about what is important in life, and how to cultivate and nurture those things that are so important to us.  My readers seem to reiterate time and time again, that it is their families, their animals, the natural world around them, and simple habits or pleasures, that make life a joy to live.

There have been many conversations about the benefits of living simply. I’ve always maintained that a simple life can be a joyous one.  I’ve never said that money is sinful, or that rich people are unhappy or evil, or that money is irrelevant, because I don’t believe any of that.  I believe that money can provide choices and opportunities and freedoms.  I want to have money in my life, like all of us do.  What I have attempted to show in this blog instead, is that no matter where we are in life - whether we are rich, poor, alone or in good company, sick, healthy, content or restless, there is always, always, goodness to be found.  This journey in the last two years has been about seeking that goodness out, despite hardship and heart-break.  To ask, what good is in my world today? What beauty can be discovered?  Is there mystery, joy, excitement, pleasure to be found in this very day, this very moment?  The answer is always yes.

We spend a lot of time wanting, hoping, wishing, planning, setting goals.  A lot of those wants and wishes and goals have to do with money. In the blog, I try not to dismiss goal setting or planning or even wanting, but rather I attempt to place the attention back on today, back on the opportunity that presents itself for a rich, full life, with whatever we have today, whatever life has thrown at us, whatever money is in our pockets.

I also believe, like my readers, that frugality and environmental sustainability go hand in hand. I believe that conscious attention, placed on one’s habits and routines, can initiate more gentle, less harmful, ways of living.  Frugality is a perspective that values the earth by discouraging waste and honouring all resources as though they are precious.

How does one create a sustainable, joyous, frugal life? I believe that community-building is part of the process. I believe being creative is part of that process. I believe that being resourceful, re-purposing, DIY, bartering, and engaging with community organizations is all part of that process. Equally, gratitude is part of that process. And so is love.

Thank you, my readers! I look forward to continuing this journey with you.

Making way for community engagement in an ownership society

I hate the phrase, “we live in a society,” but truly, most of us reading this blog live in a society that encourages ownership and discourages community engagement. We are told that ownership is a sign of success, and typically we compete with each other to see who is the most successful - who has the most stuff.  But those of us who can’t afford to own everything we want are actually blessed with a tremendous opportunity to become more engaged in our own communities.

My approach to life is to work hard at achievements that are important to me and to realize goals and dreams that are close to my heart.  But at a certain point, growing up means realizing that you can’t have everything that you want - at least not, as Gail Vaz-Oxlade says, at the same time.  And at that point, life becomes about learning how to be happy with exactly what you have.

A vibrant community offers opportunities to find happiness without owning everything you want. If you can’t afford a pet, you can volunteer at an animal shelter or offer to walk dogs or take care of the animals that belong to your friends, colleagues and nieghbours. If you can’t afford to buy new books, dvds, cds, the public library has an abundance to share. If you can’t afford to own a swimming pool, the YMCA and community recreation centres offers access to swimming pools for next to nothing. If you can’t afford to own your own car, then car shares are an easy way to gain temporary access to wheels.  If you can’t afford a house but long for a vegetable garden, you can pay as little as $30 a season for access to a huge vegetable plot at a nearby organic farm (Ignatius farm in Guelph offers this).  If, similarly, you wish for a flower garden, the Guelph Arboretum offers a space where you can sit quietly and enjoy flowers, birds and butterflies at no cost.  Parks, of course, also offer many BBQ areas and places for napping under trees or in the sun - easy and free substitutes for a patio, backyard lawn or cottage.  Most people would assume that you have to sacrifice privacy, but in my experience, these spaces are underused.

There are so many opportunities, when living in a community, to find what you need, no matter how much money you’ve got. The added bonus, though, is that when you become involved in the sharing of land and objects, you begin to feel a part of a community. You build relationships with other people. At Ignatius farm, for instance, they offer support to their gardeners and have pot-lucks and social events. The library has many free events happening, including movie showings, book clubs and craft workshops. You meet other people in your community and you support those who are working hard to bring people together.

Sharing, borrowing and renting are underrated. There is an unwritten assumption that your stuff has value, that what you own can be considered an investment. The truth is that most things we own are environmental and economic liabilities, not assets, and they add less to our lives than we  have imagined.

But regardless if we have money or we don’t, at a certain point we need to find ways of making ourselves happy in the moment. And if you don’t have everything you want, there are always ways to compromise, and to find satisfaction in the art of community engagement.

Update: If you want to read more on this subject, check out “A Transumer Manifesto” on Shareable, an interesting post discussing some similar concepts. I just discovered this thanks to World Changing Canada .

The mini-staycation

For the civic holiday, I was lucky enough to have my sister come to Guelph for an extended stay.  Originally we had planned to go to Prince Edward County, but then changed our minds and decided to have kind of a “staycation” instead. Yes, this is in addition to my real vacation-staycation which is commencing this Friday.

This weekend was, I think, what real long weekends should be.  Sometimes, lengthy conversations on a balcony with a bottle of wine, or staying in your pajamas all day can be perfect staycation activities, and we did a little of this. But we also did some exploring.

Noteworthy discoveries included The Arboretum.

I could not believe that this remarkable source of beauty has existed right under my nose - a 5 minute drive away - without me knowing about it. There are luscious gardens of every type and beautiful nature trails. The collection of dwarf trees made me feel like I was in Alice in Wonderland. The Japanese garden would be a perfect place for meditating, and the butterfly garden and natural bird bathing area would be an ideal spot for sitting and simply taking in nature. It was stunning and practically deserted!

Other fun trips included St. Jacobs - the market as well as the antiques warehouse. I was well acquainted with the market but never knew the antiques market was so good.  Hundreds of booths, each with their own style, and the items were always well laid-out and displayed.  My kind of antiquing!

We ate really, really well.  Amongst the delicious dishes we prepared included a feast of local produce and meats - steaks, corn, mushrooms, amazing cheeses. My favourites included my sister’s caramelized onion dip, and a ratatouille made with all sorts of fresh, local vegetables. Oh yes, and plenty of local beers and wines.

One thing we did to enhance the free, relaxed feeling of being on vacation was pool our money into a single “vacation fund” so we could freely spend without worrying about who bought what. As a result, we were able to just draw money out of the vacation fund without worrying or thinking about it , and that made it even more fun. It’s a tip I’d strongly recommend.

Staying at home meant that we didn’t have to spend time driving, and we eat and drink as much as we wanted!

There is so much amazing food, natural beauty and fun discoveries to be made right in our own cities and towns.  What did you get up to this long weekend?

Dealing with Gastronomic Gaffs

Like most people, I can give myself a hard time when I don’t live up to my own high standards.  But I’m not a perfectionist. I aim for excellence instead; excellence, I think, can encompass high standards for professionalism, quality, dedication and sincerity, without finding oneself completely derailed by the idea of perfection. Perfectionism makes us lose focus, abandon deadlines, and fail to accomplish the main point or goal of any given task. Excellence, on the other hand, provides a guide to a high quality or caliber of work, but allows the person to know when to say  ”it’s good enough” and move on.

In the kitchen, I let myself fail. In this blog, I post my kitchen successes.  But there are many other kitchen failures.  A few nights ago I made Aloo Ghobi. It smelled delicious, and I thought it was going to taste really good. But it was bland. I don’t know why, because I’d used more spice than what the recipe called for, and my spices are more powerful than most, because they are fresh and whole ground. Perhaps the cauliflower I used wasn’t flavourful enough because it wasn’t fresh enough - it had been sitting in my fridge for a while. Regardless, I thought I might be able to turn the leftovers into a curried cauliflower and potato soup.  I used some leftover corn water as stock.  I’m not sure where my fist mistake was made - either the vegetables cooked way too long and released too much starch - or the corn water was too starchy and I should have just used plain water - but the end result was disgusting. I pureed it and it came out way too thick and unsalvageable. It was a disappointment, because the aroma from all the spices was incredible.

If anyone has a clearer idea about where I went wrong, please let me know, because I’d like to learn from my mistakes. But I don’t obsess about my kitchen errors, no matter how I many ingredients I waste. It’s sad, yes, but I look at my kitchen experimentations as an investment. I haven’t taken cooking lessons, so the only way I’m going to learn is by trial-by-error and making mistakes.

I think a lot of people are afraid to learn how to cook, or simply just write the entire idea off by saying, “I can’t cook.” The reality is, if we give ourselves permission to fail, we can learn to do just about anything.

Good culinary skills are something that will last you your entire life and, from a financial perspective, it’s something that will save you a lot of money in the long run.  Sure, if you have to throw out a failed meal, you might think, “it would have been cheaper to go out to eat.” For that instance, maybe. But you wouldn’t have learned a valuable lesson from your Big Mac, and stopping at McDonald’s won’t make you a better chef.

So, when I tasted that soup and realized it had the texture of glue, I shrugged my shoulders and moved on. Like I said, cooking is an investment and mistakes are just part of the game.

What’s been your biggest kitchen mishap and how did you deal?

Update: potluck picnic in the park

Just wanted to say a special thank you to Gail Vaz-Oxlade and blog reader friends who attended the potluck picnic in the park last Sunday! It was a beautiful day, and just as the rain disappeared last year in time for our gathering, this year the rain held off until everyone was ready to leave. I really appreciate that people drove from out of town in order to meet and catch up.

Thank you, Gail, for your sound, practical advice, your warm and open heart, your generous spirit and you infectious laughter! We love it!

DIY power generation

I normally don’t post about local events, because I have readers from all the country - and the globe - but this event is too cool not to mention. This weekend in Toronto, Subtle Technologies is having a workshop on how to build your own power generator out of, well, trash.  The amount of power generated will not be enough to power your entire home, but it will be sufficient to power a small gadget like an ipod or cell phone.  Personally, I’ve wanted to create something like this for a while but didn’t know how to start. This little workshop is uber practical, because you walk out the door with your own little power generator, not to mention the skills to build on and share this craft with others. Here are the details of this cool project:

Extreme frugality, classism & sustainability

I was quoted in the Globe in Mail a week ago in an article on Extreme Frugality.  And while I most certainly did not appreciate the journalist using the words “obsessive” and “compulsion” to describe some previous experiments with couponing and bargain-hunting (words I never would have used to describe myself) I thought I would put aside my complaints for now and focus on my thoughts about “extreme” frugality.

It’s a classist discussion

Whenever I hear talk of extreme frugality in the media, what bugs me is that there is always an assumption that everyone has the same means, the same financial resources, that everyone has enough - more than enough.  These articles always start from a certain vantage point, assuming that the people who use so-called extreme frugal measures do so in the context of a certain degree of wealth.  And I feel like this element needs to be considered when exploring extreme measures of frugality, because we don’t all have access to the same means. Many Canadians live in poverty. Many Canadians are faced with difficult financial choices. Many Canadians suffer from other complex issues that affect their choices, such as addiction and mental health issues. So when journalists and bloggers make fun of people who take “extreme” measures to meet their needs, it kind of bothers me, because certain realities - and certain people - are being ignored.

Arguments about extremism assume that debt is normal

Most people would consent that extreme measures are okay if it’s a matter of life and death, but what if it’s a matter of life and debt? If someone is using “extreme” frugal measures to live within their means, but does not technically have to, because they have access to credit, is that being responsible, or is it pathological? It’s a thought worth pondering. In the media, giving up luxuries for the sake of living within ones means is portrayed as extreme. But Gail Vaz-Oxlade argues that debt is not normal.

How I define extremism

However, I have my own limits. For me, I define frugality as being “too extreme” for my own lifestyle when it falls into one of the following categories:

- jeopardizing my health

- being unethical or taking advantage of others

- reducing my quality of life

- causing the decline of self-respect

- harming personal or professional relationships

During tough financial times, I aim to find ways of cutting back so that I don’t have to jeopardize the above. For the most part, it can be done, it just requires a lot of planning, a lot of creativity, a lot of hard work and a positive attitude.

Our throw-away culture: an environmental hazard

However, many of the “extreme” frugal measures listed in the Globe article may not necessarily compromise any of the above categories. The re-using of dental floss in particular strikes me as interesting, because the blogger who refused to post this tip recognized it as a safety concern.  Although I’ve never re-used dental floss (and don’t intend to) I don’t like the automatic repulsion to the idea of reusing things in our throw-away culture. We’re so used to buying and throwing away disposable items that we don’t stop to ask, “can this be reused?” Or, “is there an alternative to this product that doesn’t have to be thrown away?”  Recently I realized that I could, for example, reuse my aluminum foil.  I only discovered that it was reusable when I ran out of tinfoil and urgently required some, and decided to wash my last piece instead. It was like a lightbulb went off - “why am I not reusing this?”  Granted that this is hardly a life-changing realization, but it’s a simple of example of how we get used to throwing things away thoughtlessly, because “there’s always more where that came from”. We usually only question these habits when we’re in a position of scarcity - but sometimes that’s when we realize that we can actually make-do with less and do quite well. Maybe we need to start imagining scarcity in order to be a little more creative and a little more environmentally responsible.

So if someone finds a way to reduce their environmental impact by reducing or reusing, and it does not cause harm in any of the ways I listed above, are we right to call this extreme, or are we right to call this responsible?

An enviable life

I found myself telling the reporter that I live an “enviable” life. After all, I have a job that is well aligned with my values and that is meaningful to me, I am surrounded by natural beauty, and my home only contains posessions that reflect my personality, my loves, my passions. It is a simple, uncomplicated lifestyle that truly reflects my values.  Some of my practices would be considered extreme - not watching television, for example, or not having junk food in the house. These habits could be considered extreme by others, but to me, they just make sense - they enhance the quality of my life and my health.

Indeed, it’s taken me a while to find this balance. Partly, I think it’s about experimenting and discovering what’s important to you and what fits within your goals. Sometimes frugality and simplicity can complement each other but sometimes they are antagonistic to each other, and finding a way to align them has been my goal.  After a few years of experimentation, I can finally see them aligning into a nice balance.

What do you consider to be “too extreme” frugal behaviour?

For the love of thrifting

One of my favourite things about thrifting is that you can stumble upon completely original and unexpected treasures, and you can splurge on fun items all you want, because they are so affordable.

This week I walked in to St. Vincent de Paul for the first time, and very pleasantly discovered two baking sheets, (a cookie sheet and a jelly roll pan) both new-looking, for 50¢ a piece.  Ever since I lit my good, un-godly expensive jelly roll pan on fire (a long, but hilarious story for another time) I’ve been in need of baking sheets. I’m glad I didn’t buy new when this practically new set cost only $1.

I also found these fantastic vintage faux-snakeskin bracelets for 50¢ each. I have a love affair with faux-snakeskin.

I also made a trip to the local Salvation Army, and found this cute and cuddly vintage sweater with 1% angora rabbit hair, for 99¢. I love everything about it - the bright colour, the pattern, the cut (love those slouchy, 3/4 length sleeves.) It fits perfectly and it is in impeccable condition; the owner must have taken great care of it. In fact, the only reason I know it is vintage is due to the Eaton’s tag. (Remember Eaton’s?)

Last week I had good luck as well.  Findings included a Mexican blanket for $5.  Mexican blankets are great.  In addition to their funky patterns and colours, they are extremely warm and durable - and transferable from snuggling on the couch to lying on the grass during a summer fireworks display or picnic. (Apparently cats are rather fond of them as well.)

I also found this vintage clock for $1.99. I love stylish vintage stuff like this; it makes a great addition to my kitchen.

Something I love about thrift store shopping is that you need to have a creative eye in order to do it successfully.  Maybe something that was dismissed as tacky or out of style by its previous owner, can be re-interpreted as hip and vintage, or kitchsy-chic.  You get to have fun, exploring new ideas about what fashion and interior design mean to you, and come up with a style that is all your own.

So, have you made any great thrift store discoveries lately that you are just itching to share?