Everybody wants to save money ...
February 21, 2007 at 4:55 PM
by Ashleigh
Topical because that logo belongs to our bank!
Money money money, it's so funny, in a rich man's world....
Who wants to save money? Raise your hands now? Hmm, all of you? That's what I expected.
I've been on a drive to live a more frugal life, despite opposition from the tech-hungry husband, and in my efforts to do so I've found some great links on the internet. I've listed those at the end of the article. But now, for some of the things we've done in the last few months to simplify our lives.
I sold my bakfiets. I've had this stupid ankle injury for months. As a result, my bike was standing, abandoned, in the bike shed. Add to the situation that Sebastian is really too big for it now and suddenly, selling it seemed the only reasonable option. My bike was a 995 from the Fietsfabriek. I bought it 18 months ago for 1095 euros and sold it for 950. Pretty good return I think. I placed the ad on Marktplaats, received a call the same day and had someone come and buy and take the bike away immediately. Definitely my most painless sale on marktplaats so far. I can't say the same for the purchaser, whose little girl, after they completed the transaction, dislocated her elbow. There was a trip to the emergency room (after which she hit a cyclist with her car), but it came right in the end.
Organic vegetable bag scheme. I know I keep going on about this (you could almost say ... harping), but the vegetable bags that I get from Vitatas have really changed the way we eat. We eat vegetables with a little meat on the side. Like Michael Pollan said in the NYT magazine 'eat food. not too much. mostly plants.' Here's a synopsis via epicurious editor's blog if you don't want to read the whole article. Last night's dinner was carrots, new potatoes with spinach and bacon and a Valess vegetarian schnitzel.
The volkstuin. Jane asked some questions about the volkstuin and how it works some time ago. Probably a good idea to answer her!
Won't you give some more details about it please? How far is it from your home? Can you go anytime? Who has access to it? Is it and honour system (i.e. you don't mess with/take my stuff and vice versa)? How much does it cost to get the land? How long do you keep it for? Is there any control over what pesticides are used etc?
Distance from home: Having an allotment is something I wanted to do for a really long time, but not having a car limited me. The volkstuinen are always on the outskirts of town so it takes some driving to get to them, unless you're lucky enough to live close by. The volkstuin association that I joined is about 7 kilometres from my house, so it would be doable on the bike, but much more accessible with the car.
Time and facilities: I can go there anytime and I have a key which gives me access. The key is numbered and cannot be copied. There is a shed on the premises with tea and coffee facilities and a toilet.
Don't pick other people's veggies!: There is definitely an honour system - things like that are very entrenched in Dutch society. Let's just say - it isn't even mentioned in the association rules because you're supposed to just know that you can't do that!
Costs and obligations: The land costs 40 euros a year and then there is a membership fee of 30 euros a year. The paths and general surrounds are worked on a roster system, so I have to give my time to do that too.
Pesticides: People are allowed to use the pesticides and fertilisers they want on their own soil, but most people go for more or less organic gardening.
Membership: Now that I have it it's mine until I decide I don't want it anymore or until I die! It works on the premise of an association which is only open to membership from people living in and registered in the local municipality.
On Saturday we went to the volkstuin and started laying out the bedding structure. I dug some of the pathways and laid woodchips down, with Brad's help, to make them less muddy (and save my car from the mudbath from everyone's boots when we get back into it!). More paths to dig, and wooden surrounds for the beds and we'll be ready to plant. I've ordered some seeds which I'll be starting off inside to give them a headstart before the frost. I'm most excited about my plum tree and my blackberry canes which just started shooting new growth. Can't wait to eat that first blackberry!
Lights off: energy saving bulbs and lights off! Computer off at night. Chargers unplugged. Nothing on standby unless it absolutely has to be on standby. I investigated switching our electricity and gas to a different provider after hearing tv ads promising huge savings, but alas, we are already with the cheapest provider for our area. I checked our usage against the past few years and our gas usage has dropped considerably, and the electricity usage is more or less static. The prices have increased.
Part of the reason for the lowered gas costs are that I now have a dishwasher which I run once a day. It uses electricity instead of gas, which is what heats our water for washing dishes by hand. I run the washing machine and dryer on two consecutive days of the week. We do around 5 loads of laundry a week. Can't wait for sunlight and warmer weather so I can hang my washing out to dry again.
Don't go to the shops!: This one seems to be a no-brainer but if you don't go to the shops you can't spend money. Same with internet sites. So, I only go when I absolutely have to. Shopping shouldn't need to be a competitive sport. There are downsides, like when the fridge is empty and everyone is looking for something 'nice' to eat!
Decluttering: We try to find a balance between giving stuff away and ebaying it. Ebay is doing great for us so far - over 1000 euros regained from selling unwanted stuff. There's still more stuff waiting to be ebayed. The kids are starting to get a little nervous of their stuff though. A common refrain in our house is 'careful with that, if you are naughty mom will sell it!'
Two great links to get you started:
Get rich slowly
Frugal for Life
Recipes coming tomorrow ...
Comments
Well done. Apart from growing stuff like you, I am trying to do the same - it became necessity when we moved to one salary. I am not the world's most frugal person, but have completely cut down on my "shopping for entertainment". Also reading blogs means I don't have to buy magazines anymore, which is great. I must, must get organised and get onto the organic veggie box. I have been saying I'll do for ages and must procrastinate no longer ...
Ash: I agree about reading blogs! Magazines seem a little bit 'yesterday's news'. At the same time I have to resist the urge to buy them! If you get an organic veg box you might get kohlrabi too ;)
I loved this!
As you may have noticed from some of my recent posts I have been leaning in this direction too, and I am glad more people are becoming aware of living less wasteful and toxic lives. Baby steps.
I had a chuckle at the 'careful with that, if you are naughty mom will sell it!'.
Thanks also for the info on the volkstuin - pity it is not walking distance to your home, that would have been perfect.
(aside - perhaps not the best day to link to my blog though, with my rather gruesome latest post ;P)
February 22, 2007 10:07 AM