This Tight House

Save Money While Saving the Planet

Fire Your Gym - Get Outside

» about me, fitness, health, money

Hamsters on a Wheel

In my quest for health and fitness, I’ve added walking to my routine. I normally walk on my morning break, over lunch, and again during my afternoon break. My lunch route consists of a loop downtown, right past a fitness center. The front of the building is glass, and the treadmills and stationary bikes are situated in front of that glass, giving the operators of the equipment a nice view out. As I walk by every day, breathing the fresh air, enjoying the warm sun on my skin, I observe them (as they are observing me) running in place. Cycling in place. Breathing in the stink of their neighbors sweat. Listening to their iPods, or watching one of the TV’s that’s on around them. And I think to myself “Poor hamsters. Running on your wheels”.

WAKE UP PEOPLE! Why are you paying good money to a gym / fitness center, when you could get outside and enjoy the world? Be a part of what’s going on outside, rather than watching through a window. It is so absurd that I can’t even believe that I have to write about it.

Sweet Freedom

You can save a ton of money by cancelling your gym membership, jumping off your hamster wheel, and hitting the sidewalk. I’m talking anywhere from $35 to $90 per month. But there’s even more money to be saved by applying the walking or cycling to something practical. What God intended you to use your legs for. Wait for it... It’s so brilliantly simple you might pass out.... GETTING PLACES!!!! It doesn’t take that long to walk 2 or 3 miles. It takes even less time to bike. Imagine how much money you’d save on gas if you started walking to work, or the grocery store.

If you live far enough away from your work that you can’t commute, you should seriously consider moving. When you put pencil to paper, it will blow your mind how much you spend on commuting in your car. For those of us who can't just up and move, there are still a lot of activities that you can do to get exercise that don’t involve spending money or entering a smelly gym. Here are just a few ideas. These barely scratch the surface: walking, jogging, running, biking, rollerblading, hiking, swimming, canoeing, kayaking, surfing, disc golf, frisbee, rock climbing, caving. Or any number of organized sports like tag football, soccer, baseball or basketball.

Those of you out there with kids - get them involved. The only thing kids want is attention from their parents. They don’t need a fancy game console, or expensive toys. Go out and ride your bike with them, or take a walk, or play tag. Those are the things they’ll remember when they grow up. Not that you gave them a PS3 for their birthday.

The Plan

I know a lot of people use the fact that they are paying expensive gym fees as motivation to go. Here’s my answer to that. Isn’t there something else that you’d rather spend that money on? Maybe a family vacation, or a new bicycle. Figure out how long it would take to make that purchase using money that you save by not going to the gym. Then get outside and exercise. Every. Single. Day. When you’ve reached the point where you’ve saved enough to make that purchase - do it. Reward yourself. You’ve earned it. All with money that you didn’t spend at the gym. And you will be just as fit as you would have been had you gone. That’s what I call a win, win situation.

Listen, I’m not the most fit person around. But I guarantee I’m just as fit as a lot of the people that are working those stationary bikes at the gym. And I didn’t pay a dime to get there. I just got outside and started moving. Simple as that. You should too.

-Brian

~ This Tight House ~

Fire Your Gym - Get Outside

» about me, fitness, health, money

Hamsters on a Wheel

In my quest for health and fitness, I’ve added walking to my routine. I normally walk on my morning break, over lunch, and again during my afternoon break. My lunch route consists of a loop downtown, right past a fitness center. The front of the building is glass, and the treadmills and stationary bikes are situated in front of that glass, giving the operators of the equipment a nice view out. As I walk by every day, breathing the fresh air, enjoying the warm sun on my skin, I observe them (as they are observing me) running in place. Cycling in place. Breathing in the stink of their neighbors sweat. Listening to their iPods, or watching one of the TV’s that’s on around them. And I think to myself “Poor hamsters. Running on your wheels”.

WAKE UP PEOPLE! Why are you paying good money to a gym / fitness center, when you could get outside and enjoy the world? Be a part of what’s going on outside, rather than watching through a window. It is so absurd that I can’t even believe that I have to write about it.

Sweet Freedom

You can save a ton of money by cancelling your gym membership, jumping off your hamster wheel, and hitting the sidewalk. I’m talking anywhere from $35 to $90 per month. But there’s even more money to be saved by applying the walking or cycling to something practical. What God intended you to use your legs for. Wait for it... It’s so brilliantly simple you might pass out.... GETTING PLACES!!!! It doesn’t take that long to walk 2 or 3 miles. It takes even less time to bike. Imagine how much money you’d save on gas if you started walking to work, or the grocery store.

If you live far enough away from your work that you can’t commute, you should seriously consider moving. When you put pencil to paper, it will blow your mind how much you spend on commuting in your car. For those of us who can't just up and move, there are still a lot of activities that you can do to get exercise that don’t involve spending money or entering a smelly gym. Here are just a few ideas. These barely scratch the surface: walking, jogging, running, biking, rollerblading, hiking, swimming, canoeing, kayaking, surfing, disc golf, frisbee, rock climbing, caving. Or any number of organized sports like tag football, soccer, baseball or basketball.

Those of you out there with kids - get them involved. The only thing kids want is attention from their parents. They don’t need a fancy game console, or expensive toys. Go out and ride your bike with them, or take a walk, or play tag. Those are the things they’ll remember when they grow up. Not that you gave them a PS3 for their birthday.

The Plan

I know a lot of people use the fact that they are paying expensive gym fees as motivation to go. Here’s my answer to that. Isn’t there something else that you’d rather spend that money on? Maybe a family vacation, or a new bicycle. Figure out how long it would take to make that purchase using money that you save by not going to the gym. Then get outside and exercise. Every. Single. Day. When you’ve reached the point where you’ve saved enough to make that purchase - do it. Reward yourself. You’ve earned it. All with money that you didn’t spend at the gym. And you will be just as fit as you would have been had you gone. That’s what I call a win, win situation.

Listen, I’m not the most fit person around. But I guarantee I’m just as fit as a lot of the people that are working those stationary bikes at the gym. And I didn’t pay a dime to get there. I just got outside and started moving. You should too. Simple as that.

-Brian

~ This Tight House ~

Take to the Garden

» about me, gardening, health, money

A new Era - Gardening With a Purpose

My Wife and I have been growing a garden (or attempting to, at least) since we moved into our house 12 years ago. What we plant has always been very random, normally based on what we’d see when we were standing at the Home Store looking at plants and seeds. It is almost like walking through a grocery store when you are hungry. You just want to get something and get out of there. That being said, we’ve always planted tomatoes, bell peppers, jalapenos and sweet corn. Plus other random stuff. Normally we plant way too much, and a large amount goes to waste.

Working on becoming vegan has really given me a new perspective on gardening. When most of your meal is meat, the stuff that comes from the garden is just garnish. Now, our entire meal is based on fruits and vegetables, and we’ve found a lot of incredible recipes that we’ve grown to love. Most families, ourselves included have half a dozen favorite recipes that they rotate through. For us, this is an incredible opportunity to improve the way we garden. We are able to look at the recipes that we cook the most, and grow the ingredients in our garden! The thought of this is so incredibly empowering. This summer, we’ll be able to grow a large portion of what we eat. This should lower our grocery bills by a good amount. But there is also a huge sense of pride and empowerment knowing that you’ve grown your own food.

Benefits of Gardening

One of the obvious benefits of gardening is saving money by not buying as much produce from the store. But there are many other benefits. I’ve pulled a few off the top of my head, but there are many, many others that I’m sure I’ve missed.

Therapist

It can be great emotional therapy. Any anger or frustration that you’ve accumulated throughout the week, take it out on the garden. Whack the hell out of those weeds. They deserve it. Plants are also great listeners. Talk to them. Tell them what’s on your mind. They never argue with you, and they like the attention.

Gym

Gardening is also great physical exercise. It takes a lot of work to turn over the soil by hand, or hoe the weeds. There is lots of bending and stretching and squatting involved in planting. If you haven’t worked up a sweat by the time you are leaving your garden, you aren’t doing it right.

Chemical Free

Your food is not treated with pesticides. I know that spraying your plants to keep the bugs off seems like a good idea but it’s not. Shortcuts hardly ever work out. Pesticides can get into the plant and into the food you are eating. By avoiding pesticides you improve the flavor of the food, and keep those chemicals out of your body, which is already being pulverized by other chemicals from a multitude of other places. Another huge problem with chemicals is that they can leech into the ground and into our water supply. So please find organic ways to deal with pests, your body thanks you.

You Are the Supply Chain

Since you grew the food, you know the entire supply chain. You know where it came from and how it was handled. There is a lot to be said for that in this day and age, where you are constantly reading about salmonella in spinach, and what not.

Transport Free

  • There is no pollution or fuel consumption
  • Your food, especially your tomatoes, are not picked green, driven hundreds or thousands of miles, sprayed with ethylene gas, and then shelved at the grocery store. If you’ve ever had a ripe tomato, straight off the vine, you know exactly what I’m talking about. Fresh ripened tomatoes have more exposure to the sun, which gives the fruit a higher level of sugars and acids than those picked early and transported long distances. More Information
  • It just tastes better. The shorter the time between picking a fruit or vegetable, and eating it, the better it tastes. I’m sure a lot of this is the psychology of eating what you grow, but I’m sure there is some chemical stuff happening there too.

Family and Friends

  • Our kids love to help out in the garden. It almost seems like I spend more time breaking up fights about who gets to use the tools, than I spend tending to the garden.
  • Community gardens are a great way to bring people together. You can share tips and plants with your neighbors. You get a bigger variety of plants if you choose to share. And it’s nice to share a few cold beers when the work is done.
  • Any excess harvest can be shared with your neighbors, or given to a local food bank or shelter.

Tools of the Trade

Hopefully the many benefits that I’ve described above have given you the itch to grow your own garden. At this point you’re probably wondering what you need to get started. Fortunately not much.

  • Some land - It doesn’t have to be much, depending on how much you want to grow. And something is better than nothing. If I had to pick one plant, it would probably be a tomato plant. Just because fresh tomatoes taste so much better than store bought. For those of you who rent, or just don’t have any space for a garden, I plan on following up with some posts on urban gardening. You should also look for a community garden and see if you can be a part of that. If none exist in your area, find out what it would take to start one.
  • Spade shovel - You’ll need this for turning the ground, digging holes for plants, and whacking moles (just kidding).
  • Small Hand Shovel - These are handy for digging holes to drop your plants in, digging up weeds, harvesting carrots, or a variety of other things. I’ve used one as a hammer in a pinch.
  • Garden Hoe - Good at breaking up dirt clods and making trenches to drop your seed in. Equally great at digging out weeds.

Optional Tools include:

  • Roto Tiller - This can be a huge time saver in preparing your garden in the spring. I would strongly urge you to buy used if possible. Great places to look for used tillers are estate auctions. You can also check craigslist.org or your local classifieds.
  • Hard Rake - This comes in handy when trying to level out your freshly tilled or turned ground.
  • Potato Fork - You’ll probably want one if you plant potatoes.

Resources

To help you with your gardening needs, whether you are beginner or advanced, is your friendly University extension office. They should have all kinds of useful information from what types of plants grow good in your area, to what type of sun and soil conditions are required for specific plants.

Another great resource is other gardeners. Especially ones who’ve been at it for a half century. They have all kinds of great tips. For instance, just the other day I got some advice to plant bell peppers with half a book of matches at the roots. Sounds crazy, but it just might work. I plan on giving it a try.

Life is a Dance... Or was it a box of Chocolates?

If your first season is a bust, try again next year. Ultimately farming at any scale is out of our control. We put the seed in the ground and tend to it the best we can, but in the end Mother Nature decides the outcome. So don’t get frustrated. The same guy that gave me the matches with the pepper plant trick told me, “The best we gardeners can do is try.” That’s the truth. The fun is in the trying. Of course, a red, juicy tomato fresh from the garden doesn’t hurt either.

-Brian

~ This Tight House ~

The Cost of Clothing and Why Goodwill Rocks

» energy, environment, money

Wouldn’t it be cheaper to go naked?

It would absolutely be cheaper to go naked. And my kids would love it if they could leave the house without putting on those pesky clothes. Unfortunately, (or fortunately depending on how you look at it) our laws prohibit us from exposing ourselves in public. So we are forced to buy clothes.

For some, shopping is like big game hunting. It’s a sport to see how much of their paycheck they can spend on clothing. TV makes it look sexy. $700 on a pair of thigh-high boots was the theme of a recent “Are You There, Chelsea?”. Gabby of “Desperate Housewives” is always off spending inordinate amounts of money on clothing. It seems a glamorous life wearing expensive clothes that are so new and so expensive few others will be seen in them.

For others, clothes are an expensive necessity ordained by their employer. We all have to look ‘professional’ now don’t we. The motto is ‘Dress for the job you want, not the job you have’. Too bad we don’t get paid for the job we want so we can afford the clothes to go along with it.

And then there are those of us who have to dress ourselves for the jobs we want, and our kids for daycare or school. That’s where it gets really expensive. Kids have the grow switch in the full on position. They outgrow clothes faster than we can wash them.

You paid what for that polo?

No matter what your situation in life, clothes are expensive. I was perusing the Kohls online store while doing research for this article. To make my point, I decided to put together a week’s worth of outfits that would be appropriate for my job as a mid-level IT employee. This would consist of Khaki type pants, and either a polo or button up shirt. Were I in management, the expectations would be even higher. The pants ranged anywhere from $30 to $70. The shirts were a little cheaper at $15 to $40. Those are sale prices. Regular prices are $15 to $20 above that. I found a Bugatchi polo shirt on zappos.com for $95. Can you imagine? $95 for a single shirt! Incredible. That shirt had better launder itself at that price. So to get a weeks worth of outfits, let's take the mean price for the pants at $50, and the mean of the shirts at $28. That gives us a daily cost of $78 per day. Multiplied by 5 for a work week’s worth of clothing. That gives us a grand total of $390. If you are like me, and you have a set of Winter shirts and a set of Summer shirts, you’ll need to tack on another $140 to cover that cost. I haven’t even included shoes or ties. And that’s just the cost of clothing for me. That doesn’t even begin to cover my wife or two growing boys.

The Environmental Costs

I’ve covered the obvious monetary cost of clothing, but let’s crawl under the covers and look at the hidden environmental costs. You won’t find these on the price tag at JC Penny. It’s hard to put a price tag on something like hunger, or pollution. This is a call to all of us to look at every single purchase that we make and realize there is a dirty, hidden cost.

Starving People in Asia

According to worldhunger.org, there are 925 million undernourished people in the world. 578 million of those are in Asia and the Pacific. And cotton.org says that China is a leading grower of cotton. Since most of the clothing that we buy comes from China and is made of cotton, it would stand to reason that if we bought less clothes, China would produce less clothes. The demand for cotton would go down, and that would free up some land in China for growing food. That food could then be distributed to the hungry people of the region.

Keep on Trucking

At the time of writing, the US national average for a gallon of gasoline is $3.94. Diesel is much higher at $4.15/gallon. I couldn’t even begin to calculate the fuel costs to get a single shirt from China to your favorite department store. I’ll leave that to the logistics companies. Cargo boats use a massive amount of fuel, but they transport a massive amount of goods. The same can be said for trains and trucks. Although trucks are much less efficient at moving goods than ships and trains. An interesting article that I stumbled across, suggests that a large container ship emits as much pollution as 50 million cars. That number is astounding. But pollution is not the only concern. Oil is a finite resource, and I don’t think we’ll see oil free transportation for many, many years.

Daddy? Do Pants go to Heaven?

No, son. They go to a landfill, where they sit and rot. Hopefully the landfill is harvesting some methane, but that’s a story for another day. The people that pay the biggest price are the those that live next to the dumps. Trucks go in and out all day long, spewing diesel particulates. Causing asthma, and all sorts of other respiratory diseases. These landfills are taking up precious acreage that could be used for growing food to help our own starving people. They could be parks, or any number of beautiful things. Instead they are dirty, smelly, heaps of trash. Things we’ve discarded. Things we probably should have never purchased in the first place.

People Change

I think that our society has actually devolved from Ancient Greek and Roman times. Not only were the robes and togas fashionable, they were also very practical. People were free to gain or lose weight at will without having to go out and buy a whole new wardrobe! Just loosen the cinch a little, and they were good to go. Seriously though. People change. We gain weight and lose weight. Our favorite bands break up invalidating our favorite T-Shirts. We get married to people who think tie dye is stupid. We get divorced and buy tie dye again. The point is, not every purchase can be avoided.

The Answer, and why Goodwill Rocks

As you’ve probably guessed from the title, I’m a huge fan of Goodwill. They are a great organization with a great mission. They build stores based around donated items. Giving employment opportunities, training, and development services to millions of people. If that’s not enough, they are even eco conscious.

My love for Goodwill is arguably much more selfish. It is a great place to buy quality, used clothing at a fraction of the price that you’d pay for the same item if purchased new. The clothes are clean, and in the best possible shape. Most of the time we pay no more than three or four dollars for an item of clothing. Sometimes we’ll even find the original tag on an article of clothing. It hasn’t even been worn! We are not talking about leisure suits from the 70’s (they have those too, if that’s your thing). We are talking about contemporary clothing. My guess is that they are donated by people that have gained or lost weight. Or maybe they got something that didn’t fit for Christmas, and rather than bothering to exchange it, they just donated it. To make things even more unbelievable, Goodwill has a discount card! If you have a Goodwill or similar store in your area, there is really no excuse to not buy your clothes there.

Every item of clothing donated and purchased at Goodwill extends the life of that item. That means that the cotton doesn’t have to be grown to make that shirt or pair of pants, because it’s already made. It doesn’t have to be freighted from China or India or Taiwan, or wherever. It’s already here. And because it was donated rather than thrown out, someone else (maybe you) can get some use out of it, rather than it rotting in a landfill.

The Abbreviated Version

In summary. Clothes are insanely expensive. The price is paid not only by your wallet, but by the environment. The good news is, you can do something about it. Buy used clothes. If you refuse to buy used, even though the benefits are obvious, at least consider buying clothes that were produced in the country in which you live. This will save on oil consumption used in transporting the items across the ocean and provide people with much needed work. Finally, if you have some clothes that you want to get rid of, please donate them to Goodwill, the Salvation Army, or some other charitable organization, rather than throwing them out. This simple act will help in ways that you can not imagine.

-Brian

~ This Tight House ~

For Those who Love to Save

» about me, energy, health, money, this blog

Seriously? Another blog?

Yep! Seriously! I need a place to brain dump. If I can help someone else in the process, all the better. I've got a long list of things that I keep saying I want to do. Finish the basement, become a 'Space Cowboy', do a century ride on my bicycle, start a blog... Well, I'm starting the blog. If you are reading this you are either part of my family, or here because I've written something you want to read about. Thanks for stopping by!

What is all this talk about saving?

Save. Such an ambiguous word isn't it? "Saved by Zero", "Jesus Saves", "Save Money on Car Insurance". I'm mainly focused on three areas when I talk about saving: Money, Health, and Home (Our Environment).

Save Money

Let's start with money. Who wouldn't like to save some of their ever harder to earn money? Hopefully I've got some good tips on how to do that. For some context, when my first son was born in 2004, my wife and I made the decision that she would stay home with him. Now we've got two beautiful boys, and she is still home. At first it was hard without her income, but we've managed to cut back our spending to the point that we don't have to worry about money at all. And no, I'm not some high paid executive on Wall Street. I have a state job that pays well below the national average for my profession.

Save Your Life

What about your health? Are you as healthy as you can be? Neither am I. It's been a long road filled with Diet Soda and Candy Bars. But I'm getting there. I've kicked soda and most other junk. I'm well on my way to being vegan, as outlined by The Engine 2 Diet. As you age, taking care of your health is a HUGE way to save. You can gain years of life and tons of money by making small changes in the way you live. The earlier you start making those changes, the bigger the win. Less pills to pay for; fewer doctor visits... I'm sure you've heard it before. "Health is Wealth".

Save the Environment

Finally, and definitely the most important. Let's save the freakin' planet! Oh, and let's save some cash while we do it. My take on saving the planet is much more pragmatic than most:

  1. Keep it local. When most people talk about environment, they are talking about global warming, or pollution, or any other number of global issues. That can be extremely overwhelming. I tend to think much smaller. I think about our home, neighborhood, and commumity. If everyone would do their part locally, then we wouldn't have to worry about the rest of the world.
  2. Focus on energy savings. We can't do it all. I'm not focused on saving the polar ice caps. For those who are, great! I applaud you, it's just not my thing. I care about conserving energy and saving money in the process.
  3. To quote DJ Quik, Master P, and a half dozen other rappers: "If it Don't Make Dollars, it Don't Make Sense". Do what you can, but don't break the bank in the process. Anything you do to save energy is probably going to cost you money. You need to make sure that it's going to pay itself back in the long run. For instance, solar panels are great. There is surely something empowering about making your own electricity. Unfortunately I live in an area where there are no subsidies, less than ideal sunlight, and cheap power. For me, solar panels are not currently a good long term investment.

Wrap it up. I'm hungry!

I look forward to sharing many of my thoughts on money, health, and home. If you are reading this, I've surely been posting for a while, and you are getting caught up. I couldn't be happier. Thanks for stopping by.

Live long and prosper!

-Brian

~ This Tight House ~