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Live on $10 a day
Due to a silly ? yet costly ? financial miscalculation, I'm running into a bit of a jam with my budgets this month. After paying all of my 'must have' expenses -- rent, utilities, credit card/student loan payments -- I'm essentially going to be really tight on cash for the entire month of July.
I've essentially got to make due on $10 a day for everything (food, any transportation that isn't covered by the $50 public transit subsidy my company provides, any sort of recreational/fun activities though I'm thinking those will be limited). I'm not married, so I'm mostly budgeting for myself, though my boyfriend and I usually try to do a 'date night' once every week. Usually at work I can get away with two meals for ~$12 in our cafeteria -- I don't have access to a refrigerator so I often don't bring my own meals.
Any tips for surviving ? and staying sane ? on a super tight budget?
Re: Live on $10 a day
Free activities: check out local museums, many have a free day or a free night so that could be good for date night with your boyfriend.
Lunches at work: If you have access to a microwave, use ice packs to keep your lunch cold and bring left overs from home. If you don't have access to a microwave, keep it very simple like a salad, sandwich, cold pizza.
Tip for staying sane- if it's only a month, you can completely do this, there is a light at the end of the tunnel and it's only 31 days away. If it's going to be like this for a while examine your must have expenses- do you really need that cable package, or gym membership or whatever it is that may not be worth the expense right now.
Keep us posted on how you are doing. The ladies on this board generally have great advice. A lot of us have been there before, so we completely understand.
Thanks for the tips! Before I got this job I used to be super-good about bringing food from home but having no fridge or microwave kind of kills my ability to do so. Hoping to reacquaint myself with the grocery store tomorrow morning. I honestly haven't done much shopping in the last year (I know, I know, not the best for my wallet, but I'm working on it!)
After I handle my financial situation ? and it looks like I should have it under control by the end of August at the latest ? the boyfriend and I are planning on sitting down and having a very detailed finances talk. We're planning on moving in together at the end of the calendar year (!) and want to get married (!!!), but we also want to make sure we're checking in with each other regularly and taking all of these major steps in a financially smart manner.
You do not need a fridge or microwave to bring your lunch, that is silly. We as kids did not have that when we would take our lunch to school. Use an ice pack! Or an insulated lunch pail. That's what I do. Most sandwiches don't need to be kept in a fridge if you make it in the morning and eat at noon. Fruit, granola bars, cheese, yogurt.. all are fine with just an ice pack. And you can get those for $1 at the dollar store! Definitely do this- it's a waste to spend your money on eating out if you are tight with money this month!
Also - as for date nights, skip them this month if you can't do it for free. Or do meal free date nights- like a walk together, a museum that is free, a park, free concert- it's summer and most cities have a lot of free things going on. And the Redbox is good for a date night in, combined with dollar store snacks to make it a good movie night!
You can do it!