Radical Thrift (continued)

OK, so now you have an income of some sort. Do NOT spend any of it, except in reimbursing someone you're staying with for food or gas to get to interviews. The first thing you need is enough money to get back in a place of your own, that means deposits on a rental and for utilities. At this point, virtually everything you don't HAVE to have for survival is a luxury. If you're making even minimum wage for at least 30 hours a week, you should be bringing home at least $500 a month now. You should be able to save almost all of that. Talk to the charities that have been helping you for assistance in locating a place to live and assistance with deposits. Forget your own apartment, consider efficiencies, a camper, a room in someone else's home, etc. It has to be something you can afford and have enough money left to pay other bills. If you're working less than 40 hours a week, start looking for additional work, even if it's mowing a couple of yards a week. When you do get moved in, if your income is still really low, start applying for low-income programs for utilities. Unless you're still job hunting, settle for only the most basic phone service (and make sure you get one of the lines for low-income people).

When you get a place, your next step is furnishing it. Forget furniture stores, even if you've just landed a good job. You aren't any where near out of that hole yet. Scrounge furniture. Look for people who are throwing damaged but usable furniture out and ask if you can have it. A bed can temporarily be a mattress or even an air mattress. Try yard sales and thrift shops (oh, and if a charity's been helping you, wouldn't it be nice to repay them by looking first at their thrift stores so they can help more people?) You need something to sleep on, if only a couple of worn comforters for padding. I see these (sanitized) in the thrift stores for less than $10 all the time, and decent blankets for a dollar or two. You can outfit an emergency bed, even for the cold north, for less than $25.

You'll need something to sit on, if you don't have a refrigerator, consider a cooler as a temporary chair, it can serve a double purpose. You'll probably need some surface for eating on, but initially, that can be a plastic storage tub (which can do double duty). You'll need at least a couple of bowls and cups and flatware - you can outfit this need for less than $5 at a thrift shop. A couple of towels and washcloths, dishsoap, soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, a comb or brush, toilet paper. If you have access to some kind of stove, even a hot plate, you'll need at least a pot of some sort. Just enough work clothes to get you from wash day to wash day, and a decent second-hand coat if you live in a cold climate. Just about anything else is a luxury for a while longer. A TV, even free, is absolutely a no-no at this point, you need to make your time productive for now. A second hand radio is OK, you can do things at the same time you listen. Every penny you can, for now, should be saved. You need at least a month's expenses in reserve before you think about luxuries.

If you possibly can, manage some access to a stove or hot plate (unless barred by your lease). There are lots of food banks and most of them will be able to continue helping you during this period. Cooking your own food, especially from scratch, is infinitely cheaper than almost any other option. If you've never cooked, it's time to learn. Anyone can make a sandwich or warm up a can of soup. (BTW, if it's against your religion for a man to cook, then as far as I'm concerned, you deserve to starve.) If you get fruits and vegetables from the food banks, many of those can be washed, cut up and eaten raw. Remember, right now, you can't afford to pay for convenience, you're getting ahead by spending your time. If you know how to cook, consider breakfast foods for supper (French toast, pancakes, scrambled eggs, etc). Those are some of the cheapest and yummiest foods, and generally pretty cheap. Take food with you to work, do NOT buy fast food or anything like that. For now, no sodas or anything like that. If you're getting food from a food bank, you may be getting milk or fruit juices, drink those! If you're buying your food, especially with food stamps, stick to milk and fruit juice. Avoid convenience foods, especially things like small juice boxes. Buy a quart of fruit juice and pour it into a thermos to take to work. If you must have caffeine, buy the cheapest instant or bagged teas you can find (and if your job offers a coffee service as a courtesy, have your coffee there).

Aim for maximum nutrition. Whole grains, lots of fruits and vegetables. You can feed one person with reasonable nutrition for $20 a week, even if you have marginal cooking skills. If your access to a stove is limited, but you can get a really cheap used microwave, you can still do a lot without resorting to convenience foods. Some grains and cereals can be cooked in a thermos by pouring in boiling water, stirring, and sealing for a couple of hours. There are some ethnic foods that most Americans aren't familiar with that are great in this situation. Couscous is basically a tiny pasta that cooks very quickly and can be used in place of rice for many things. Bulghar wheat can be soaked and used to make tabouleh without any cooking (it's basically pre-cooked).

When you aren't working, sleeping, cleaning, cooking, or searching for an additional part time job if needed, make your time productive. On days off, if you have no other work possibilities, find pleasant ways to make your time productive. It'll probably be at least a couple of months before you have an emergency fund saved, spend that time finding creative solutions to furnishing your new "home", however humble. Learn to sew (a package of needles and two or three spools of thread can be bought for under $5), and convert usable fabric from damaged clothes into useful items - anything from a pot holder to a quilt. Before you sneer at this, remember that you're working toward being independent of assistance. And by the way, you may be able to sell that handmade quilt later, and every penny you can bring in right now helps.

For entertainment, develop productive hobbies - cooking, quilting, knitting, woodworking, etc. DON'T spend a lot of money starting these things, however. You can start knitting with a $3 pair of needles and $.50 of yarn from a thrift store. Use the library for books on how to do these things, to self-educate yourself in work skills, and for entertainment. Free libraries are one of the most fantastic gifts we have in this country, use them! They also have computers that you can use to research on the internet.

If you took a job that pays a lot less than you have reason to expect and need, continue looking for a better one. If it doesn't pay benefits, and your field generally offers them, look for one with benefits. If you're really only qualified for the job you're in, but really need a better income, start educating yourself so you can get that better job. If you can get funging into a technical school or community college, do it! If you just need to build your emergency fund up quickly, look for temporary and short-term extra work, even things like doing repairs and yardwork for neighbors.

Save, save, save! After 2 to 6 months, if you're really avoiding luxuries, and taking extra work when you can get it, you should have at least a month's expenses saved. If you're OK with your living quarters for now, and your job pays enough, set up a budget. First, figure out your necessities, and subtract from your take-home pay. If the remaining amount is less that $150 a month, then you should continue saving all of it, and look for extra work or a better job. If the remaining amount is $150 - $250 a month, set aside $150 a month to put in to your emergency fund FIRST, and divide the remainder between furnishing your quarters, and a few luxuries (be very careful with these). If the remainder is over $250, allow yourself $50 a month for furnishing your quarters, and $10 a week for luxuries, and save the rest. If the difference is over $500 a month, allow yourself $75 for furnishing, and $15 a week, and save the rest. Slowly buy second-hand CHEAP furniture - bed, table, chairs, kitchen ware and clothes. Keep this up until you have three months of living expenses saved.

At this point, you can be considered completely back on your feet, but use the lessons you learned to keep your expenses down, so you can continue to save and get yourself ahead. As soon as you realistically can, stop taking assistance from charities and government agencies (the exception to this may be low cost state health insurance if your job has none).