Frugal Math
As a high school student, I often dismissed topics I didn't like with, "When am I ever gonna have to know this stuff!" As an adult, I cringe when I hear anybody use that question to dismiss just about any topic of study. We never know when we are 'gonna have to know this stuff,' and it just may be that God presented you or your child with that very opportunity to study something you think is esoteric or impractical because He knows more about what's in store for you than you do. Knowledge is an important part of life's little toolkit, and generally speaking, I don't think it's ever wasted.
So I wish I had paid more attention to math in school, because since I didn't learn how to do the harder stuff very well, I have to take three times longer to figure out certain math problems than my better mathed friends. Math is an important 'what's in my hand' tool for the frugal.
Besides the obvious cost comparison uses, I also used it, during a particularly belt tightening budget period of our lives, to figure out jus thow much we could afford to spend on meals. I came up with 1.50 per person, per day as being the most I could afford. That averaged out to .50 a meal, and of course, we spent far less for breakfast (at the time, two eggs, which make a filling omelette, though not a filling serving of scrambled eggs) cost .24 cents- oatmeal or cornmeal mush, of course, were far less). I would spread the savings over breakfast over the other two meals. We lived on the west coast at the time, for those who think that seems an awfully generous amount).
Another way to use math in your frugal journey is to figure out exactly how much your family's 'take-home' income is per hour- making sure you deduct all work related costs- transportation, work clothes, and so forth. Then when you or the children are wanting some particular treat- or these days just wanting to travel somewhere in a gas guzzling vehicle, figure out how many hours of work somebody has to put in to buy that item. It will help give the children a realistic idea of what they are asking for and could be an important lesson for them in frugality.
More more specific ideas about how to budget down your kitchen spending drastically during a state of financial emergency, see here.
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2 Responses to “Frugal Math”
March 14th, 2008 at 9:11 pm
Great post.
I like to estimate the cost of my groceries as I’m shopping. That way I know if I can afford to stock up on something, or grab an extra treat. It’s also a fun little game, to see how close my estimate is!
March 17th, 2008 at 10:00 am
I remembering doing a cost comparison on whether or not to purchase a yearly sticker to drop my trash at a local dump, or to have curbside pick-up. Once I factored in the cost of gas to the dump (using the exact mileage and my standard city fuel efficiency), and the minimum number of trips I felt our family could take in a month, the cost came out to be the same. After that I felt better about the costs of curbside pick-up.
I also like to do like Amy Dacyzyn and figure out what the cost/hour of any job (even baking cookies) is. I don’t always go for the cheapest option, but it often helps me to decide what is most important in any given case – my time, or my money.
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