Monday, October 13, 2008

Learning from history

This sounds very strange but in some ways I am enjoying the financial crisis. Not in the way I like going to Disneyland of course, but in a 'watching-history-being-made' way. I've read in a lot of different blogs and papers that because of this crisis, we may switch to a cash-based economy. I am all for that. I'm just glad I've not too much damage to my credit score and that I'm becoming more responsible.
One of my favorite PF bloggers 'Brunette on a Budget' did a long post about the upside of the 'whatever we are in', some of my favorites are;

Climate change. According to a government study, carbon dioxide emissions fall whenever energy consumption declines. Our freezing will be the planet's salvation.

Foreign policy. In the good old days, the United States got in lots of trouble by invading first and asking questions later. Now we couldn't afford to invade Grenada if we had to.

I for one and trying to relearn some of the more old fashioned feminine skills except they mostly cost money. I want to learn to sew, because I have quite a few items of clothing that have holes or which need hemming, and I'm to lazy and frugal to take them to an alteration shop. Come on guys, $15 for a hem that takes them like 5 minutes, jeepers. I know the extreme basics, but the only sewing kit I have is one of those dinky travel ones, and I've already lost 80% of the items in it. So I need to buy a sewing kit.

Maybe this situation our country is in can teach my generation and the ones afterward about the joys of not having thousands of dollars in debt. Maybe we can grow up to be savers instead of spenders.


I also want to grow a garden, but as I live in a small apartment with no yard I'm not sure how that would work. I've thought about a window box sort of thing, but realistically, what can I hope to ream from a small window sill garden, not exactly a grand harvest.


Now onto my financial issues:

So far I have been doing very well on my financial goals. Compared to last week, I have been a very good PF blogger. Thus far I have had four no spend days, and the rest of the days have been very much in budget. I am still one with my Martha Stewart streak, in fact I really want to learn to make bread. I have not spent anything online since the last time I posted except for a couple songs for my Ipod.
I received my gloves, coat and DVDs in the mail. I am currently in love with my gloves, they are soft and pretty and furry. I also got the Buffy the Vampire Slayer series (I'm a nerd, sue me) which I am currently plowing through. I love getting DVD sets, they last forever and provide me with hours of entertainment. The only bad from the bunch was my J Crew jacket. I was really disappointed but it really was too big so I sold it to Buffalo Exchange. Sigh

Well I am going to dicth you I can work on my resume, my school is having an internship tomorrow that I'm going to crash. I am going to hand out my resume and a pitch for a financial column I'm hoping someone will jump on.

Wish me luck!

6 comments:

Kelly said...

Good luck!!

Actually, you don't need a sewing kit. You just need a plastic box or other container, large enough to fit a pair of scissors. Then add one spool each of white, black, beige and medium gray thread, some safety pins, needles of course and any buttons that you come across. It will cost you under $10, probably a lot less.

wizkid said...

I also want to grow a garden, but as I live in a small apartment with no yard I'm not sure how that would work. I've thought about a window box sort of thing, but realistically, what can I hope to ream from a small window sill garden, not exactly a grand harvest.

hello! have you seen this?

Community Gardens of Tucson

FB @ FabulouslyBroke.com said...

Bonne chance!

Hemming pants = dead easy. It doesn't look SUPER PRO but no one notices

Samantha S. Easter said...

Thank you guys for commenting!!!

Kelly: that's a great idea. I'm thinking a shoebox.

Wizkid: Thanks, I have never heard of the community gardens before. Unfortunately the closest site is about 5 miles from my house, which is really far for the bike bound. But it was really interesting to read about. Are you a Tucsonan?

Fabulously broke: I shall try my best, have you ever tried the iron on liquid hem?

Crystal said...

Thanks for the shout out! Sewing is a skill that will save you tons of money. Kelly's comment was right on -- all you need are the basic thread colors and a needle. I hem/take in all my skirts/pants/shirts; I'm sure I'd be out hundreds of dollars if I had a tailor do all that.

Have you tried designing your own clothes? It's one of my hobbies, and I highly recommend it. You can get great deals on fabric and make replicas of most of what you see on designer runways. I just made a dark brown snakeskin high waisted pencil skirt for a friend recently and it came out better than all the store-bought ones she has. The best part is you get to personalize all the details and tailor it impeccably to your shape!

p.s. sorry to hear about your J.Crew jacket. I know you were really looking forward to it. :(

FruGal said...

I'm with you on the sewing - I have discovered these little iron-on hem strips that save the hassle of neeidng to sew a hem. They're great, you just iron them on. You can get them from all haberdashery stores :)