article about "a year of penury"

[all_adream]

Frankly, this person made as much as anyone I know in Vermont who isn't a doctor or lawyer, but calls it "penury". Regardless, the simply-listed points are helpful, I think.

http://funny-about-money.com/2011/01/22/what-i-learned-during-the-year-of-penury/

Additionally, I made this blog into a feed, which you can find on my page, if you wish to follow it here.

Comments

[karel]

One thing that blogs like that never fail to bring up is that one should be growing a garden. I wish that they would consider those of us who just plain don't have that opportunity...

[kuangning]

Even if you live in a tiny basement apartment, you can probably rig things to grow at least a couple of plants. You couldn't manage corn or most fruit plants, but you can probably do pots of herbs and maybe a tomato plant or peppers. I even managed a window planter with bok choi -- I kept pulling leaves, it kept growing back.

[holyschist]

I've tried this before, but most of the places I've lived just don't have enough sun for most plants on the porches or in the windows (we also have a pretty short growing season and a very dry climate). Also, I am really bad at growing things (and when they do grow, if they're outside, the squirrels/birds/neighbor children often get them before me). The only thing I've ever been reasonably successful with is herbs, and I grew them for fun, not to save money (between the potting soil, the containers, the fertilizer, and the time investment, they did not save money over buying fresh herbs occasionally).

I'm inclined to think that the investment for growing a few plants, unless you are a very good container gardener in the right climate, is greater than the savings. The real reason to do it is because it's fun and what you get tastes good. Growing in volume in an efficient garden is a whole different matter (although you have to have the time to invest in it).

I feel like this kind of like I do about being a locavore. Awesome if you live in California or have storage space and enjoy preserving foods, but if I tried it around here, I'd live on onions, beans, and meat for 60% of the year since I don't have the space or time for canning and preserving.

[all_adream]

I know there are tons of articles about container gardens for balconies or hallways or windows or whatever that might be of help. I can find them if you'd like.

[holyschist]

Can't actually apply any of the bullet points, since I have the gall to have debt, no savings I can touch, and neither a paid-off car nor a house (paid off or not). And I'm not in penury, or truly poor, or extremely frugal. I'm actually really offended by calling that kind of living situation "penury."

[karel]

For real. This basically applies to me... not at all. How dare I rent, though my car was my 16th birthday present. That tells you how old it is, though, since my parents weren't super rich when they bought it. I mean, I'm trying to manage putting some money into savings, but unless this second job comes through, that's going to have to wait.

[all_adream]

I think the person is silly and presumably spoiled completely if they think $28,000.000 (which is frankly more than my five-day-a-week job brings in after fifteen years at the same responsible position), is "penury", but I think it's some type of bogus marketing or use of sensationalist language on purpose. If people go to the site and write stuff in reaction to use of the term, at least that site got visitors, which may be the point of the reckless use of the term. For me, "penury" might be something like living on disability or a tiny pension and yet having substantial bills. Then again, to me with "penury" there is actually an undertone of "making it but in a dirtpoor fashion", a sort of genteel poverty, as opposed to "not making it due to serious debt and regular expenses far beyond income". It seems to come from a time when there WAS no real way to get farfar over your head in debt unless the house got gambled away by the parent or something, as opposed to the credit card availability these days. Does that make sense?

[holyschist]

See, I know in some parts of the country, $28K is not a lot to live on, even for one person. It's not much to live on in NYC or San Francisco, for example (and someone making that amount there would definitely be renting, and quite likely sharing that apartment and using public transportation). But. Well, someone who can afford to not shop in thrift stores or compromise on food quality (and I don't think she drained the pool to save on utilities) despite dramatically reduced income--having to use savings is not penury. At least she had savings.

Anyway, I'm not sure she's aware enough to stir up drama to create hits, but I don't think she really thought about what "penury" actually meant before posting, and then was unwilling to backpedal.

Then again, to me with "penury" there is actually an undertone of "making it but in a dirtpoor fashion", a sort of genteel poverty, as opposed to "not making it due to serious debt and regular expenses far beyond income". It seems to come from a time when there WAS no real way to get farfar over your head in debt unless the house got gambled away by the parent or something, as opposed to the credit card availability these days. Does that make sense?

Yeah, I think that's about right. And the concept comes from a time when debt was much, much more frowned upon than it is now.

IDK, I get frustrated about a lot of budget advice, because it's either advice for relatively rich people, whose "cut-backs" take them to a level that's far above mine, or advice for people who really love saving pennies by making their own laundry detergent (and have the time to do so). I have less money than the first category, and the time involved in making my own laundry detergent would be counterproductive for me, so I'm not in the second category. And I freaking hate being guilted about my student/car loans and (relatively small, education-related) credit card debt. They're there. I need to pay them off. I don't need to feel bad about them.

[all_adream]

Yeah, I have no car or car loan, no cellphone, no tv or cable service, no credit card or even credit card debt, and I wouldn't drink that foul starbucks if it were free, so that cuts out most of the usual 'helpful tips'. I do not buy clothing really except maybe at the secondhand shop if it's a good bargain like Dior for five bucks, only go out to dinner when someone else is paying, and I buy some secondhand books and maybe good fabric on 50% off sale now and again, not on credit, walk to work, and am lucky enough to have a partner who lives here half the week who makes more than I do who buys the groceries and herbal medicines that I take. An aunt pays for insurance, or else there would be none. I am not the ideal candidate for "be less wasteful with those little extras like blackberry or special tv stations etc., or take a couple of ten-thousands out of savings to get by on". I have a school loan that they give me a bunch of grief about, and rent, and other than that have only combined phone and internet which is reasonable, and electric. A friend lives in New York City, and his horrible exwife wanted "ten thousand dollars a month taxfree" at their divorce. Crap, wouldn't we all??????!!!!!!? That's five-six times my annual income for five days' work a week! Still, the stoopid woman believed that since the guy has a job (but isn't Bill Gates) that *of course* he could come up with that. Actually, no, he can't. Get a job yourself, lady! But I digressed...!

[holyschist]

Yeah, my biggest problems are student loans (currently in the process of paperwork to get them adjusted to manageable payments) and unemployment (soon to be solved for the next 12 months, and then start the horrible job search again). I could pinch the hell out of my life and never have any fun and I still would not be able to manage my student loan payments on the standard 10-year plan. Dental care would still be tough. And...I like sometimes having fun.

[jamethiel]

Thank you for this.

[all_adream]

You're welcome. I actually made a few dozen feeds on financial matters (and a bunch of others like British celebrity news and fashion and international magazines and all) that you can find on my page. I find that it really benefits me to have the headlines and news and advice available to me in this format, as opposed to wandering vaguely around different pages every day. I hope that somebody else benefits from them too!