Gone Shoppin'! (December 1, 2011)

Today I experienced one of those moments in life where you know that things just got a whole lot better.

In this phase of the project I've been living on the limited budget that someone working for minimum wage has after covering housing and insurance costs BUT receiving that budget in bits everyday like one  in the developing world who earns money daily in the marketplace.  For the last month, therefore, I've had to try and meet my needs with this small money at a time, and eventually had to resort to a moneylender who charges through the nose.  However, for this next month of this phase, I have access to a loan akin to the micro-finance loans given in the developing world to help people break out of the poverty cycle. What a difference it has made already!!

Rather than buying bits and pieces from the grocery store that would last me a day or two, or maybe a week, I was able to think in terms of the entire month.  Further, because the loan was sufficient to cover my needs for an extended period, I am not at all living at the mercy of the daily ebbs and flows of the small dollar amounts coming in . . . provided I manage my money well and nothing big unexpected happens.  In my Daily Report below, you will see the haul of things that I was able to buy.  If I wasn't already a huge proponent of micro-finance loans and how they can literally lift someone out of poverty, then after today I certainly would be.

Now I don't want to leave the impression that there wasn't any difficulties or disappointments today.  Even though I felt like I was rolling in cash since I had $70 - $80 to spend, I still had to make a lot of hard decisions.  My meals will be fairly similar to what I have been eating . . . porridge and an apple for breakfast, noodle soup and a banana for lunch, some meat with a potato and a small salad for dinner.  And, like before I will change things up a bit and have eggs on toast from time to time, and the occasional pasta and spaghetti sauce.  However, as I went up and down the aisles it was reinforced over and over again that there was still way more that I could not afford than what I could.  While my options are still limited, thankfully I won't have to shop near as much nor be as stressed by worrying about how my cash flow will affect my food flow.

Before signing off for the day, there are a few things of note that I want to highlight:

• Treats.  I was able to afford a few special things . . . some of which I have not bought before and others which I have enjoyed before but not able to buy all at the same time.  For the first time I have tea!  And not just one kind of tea, but two!! (I love buy one, get one free.)  Further, I have peanuts and cheese slices for snacking, and a few Ju Jubes for a small after dinner sweet.  Is that culture or what?!?
  
• Growing green onions.  I'm going to take the advice I received from one of you that suggested I buy green onions and put them in water.  The idea being that I can snip off the green portions as I need them, and then they will grow back.  Just call me That Farmer Poverty Guy.
  
• Holy Christmas Basket Batman!  I was gifted with a basket containing the makings of a Christmas dinner.  While it was always planned that my family would have dinner on Christmas like one would if receiving a hamper, I had expected that we would have to purchase it so as to not deprive another family in need.  As it turns out, this wonderful gift nicely fills that need and no one is deprived of it.  Perfect!

Yup . . . things are looking up!

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Phase II - Struggles of the Working Poor Daily Report
Day 31 (December 1^st)

Weight at Beginning of Project:  233 lbs
Weight at End of Phase One:  216 lbs
Weight at Start of Phase Two: 221 lbs
Weight at Start of Today:  216 lbs

Available Funds:   $135.00 (New Microfinance Loan) + $6.50 (Dec 1) = $141.50
Funds Spent Today:  $102.21 (Purchases & Old Loan Payment)
Remaining Funds:   $39.29

New Loan:  $135.00
Loan Due Today: $15.56 (Old Loan)
Loan Payment:   $15.56 (retired Old Loan in full)
Outstanding Loan: $135.00 @ 2% per month (non-compounding) . . . payments due as follows:  $34.38 due Dec 8^th; $34.22 due Dec 15^th; $34.07 due Dec 22^nd; $33.91 due Dec 29^th.

Items Purchased:   $6 Gas, 900g Bag of Rotini, 5 lb Bag of Potatoes, Lettuce, Ranch Dressing, 1 kg Bag of Quick Oats, 24 Noodle Soups, 630 mL Jar of Spaghetti Sauce, 2 Boxes of Tea (buy one, get one free!!), Dozen Eggs, Cheese Slices – 48 Thin, Loaf of Bread, 12-Pack of Hotdogs, 4 Hotdog Buns, 12-Pack of Breakfast Sausages (i.e. meat for 3 Dinners), Pork Loin Chops (discount bin . . . meat for 2 Dinners), 2 Warehouse Packs of Chicken Backs & Legs (buy one, get one free!! . . . meat for 10 Dinners), 5 Bananas, 5 Apples, Green Onions, 7 Sm. Roma Tomatoes, 260 g Bulk Red Skin Peanuts (for snacking), 175 g Ju Jubes (little after dinner treats)

Free Stuff:  Sm. Hot Chocolate (bought by friend whom I met for “coffee”); Poutine (being served at a birthday celebration I encountered); Christmas Hamper (containing fixings for a Christmas dinner!!!!)

Gas Purchased* & Remaining:  $6.00 (i.e. 5.51 litres @ $1.089 per litre . . . 55.1 km @ 10 km/litre) + 1.73 litres (gas remaining) = 7.24 litres (72.4 km)
Driving Today:  18.3 km (i.e. 1.83 litres)
Gas Remaining:  5.41 litres (i.e. 54.1 km)

*Will not include any fuel or driving related to work that is paid for by work.

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