I’m in between grad school and finding a real job. While in school I saved loans because I knew a time such as this would come.
Yesterday I was paying bills and looking over my finances. If I continue living in the same fashion that I’ve become custom to – I will only have enough money for 4-5 more months. This is very scary.
Today I decided to set some new ground rules for personal expenditures:
1. Gas is far too expensive so I will walk or ride my bike anywhere less than 10 miles.
2. No eating out unless it’s less than $5 and only once a week.
3. No Starbucks or Jamba Juice runs (well, none after I spend the $ on my Starbucks gift card that has been recently loaded : )
4. Meals must be < $3 a day. (That’s roughly $90 a month)
5. No clothing shopping.
6. Practice only free hobbies – I’ll develop new skills (blogging, podcasts, painting using canvases and acrylics that I already own) But no purchasing of new materials.
7. Enjoy the simplicity of life!
Stay tuned for meals under $1 coming soon.
Veg Out 
We finally decided to stop buying breakfast bars and cereal. Now we eat oatmeal! So cheap! We also never buy bread anymore. I have a bread machine though, and I just throw the ingredients in and let it go. I buy a big box of macaroni, and add things like tomato sauce or cream of chicken for a quick and inexpensive meal. I also eat homemade burritos for lunch pretty often. I keep wanting to try making my own laundry soap; I just haven’t gotten around to it yet. I read a breakdown the other day, and apparently, homemade laundry soap is only a penny per load. Good luck with your budgeting!
I just noticed you were vegetarian, so I guess cream of chicken wouldn’t work very well! š Cream of mushroom might do nicely though!
Thanks for the tips, Amy! These are great ideas!
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