I’m trying to figure out new ways to live that are a bit more sustainable and useful in the failing economy. A lot of this requires some creativity, which isn’t such a bad thing. I’m figuring out lots of yummy meals to cook that waste less, use more leftovers, and don’t take expensive or hard to find ingredient. I’m experimenting with my own food preservation and, hopefully soon, with growing my own. I’m having fun playing with my wardrobe trying to figure out comfy and stylish outfits to wear on my new, free trash-picked bike (yay, biking in skirts!) or through the winters so I can keep the heat down. And, happily, spending more time thinking about and working on these things at home means that I don’t notice less trips out as much since I’m enjoying myself at home. Next, I need to learn how to sew better than I already do, and get some more use out of my two machines. I also need to figure out more ways to purchase what few things I actually need locally – there isn’t a lot of choice where I live, but with a bit of hunting, I’m really hoping I can get the things I need in a way that supports local business.

re: fuel/food prices, this is actually part of how I convinced my boyfriend that we should move our timetable up for our move this summer. We are moving at the end of June instead of the end of July because, as I pointed out, “wouldn’t you rather spend that time off [that we'll have together] back home in a metropolis where there’s loads to do and we don’t have to pay gas OR drive to get to them?” We’re big bus/bike/walk folks, so getting back to the city is going to be great for our budget AND good for us – I miss the long evening walks we used to take! We’re on an unlit highway with no sidewalks here – and skunks. Not exactly conducive to evening constitutionals.

And I’m not a cosmetic girl, but I do like food (and fancy foods), so here’s how I translate the lipstick theory. I cut the fancy cheeses – or cut them way down. It’s healthier anyway. I cut the meat portions and I watch for sales or close-dated meats, snapping up a roast here or some steaks there and freezing them. The texture’s altered somewhat, but for stewmeat, what’s the diff, really. So yes, a lot of the luxuries disappear, but I try to make up for them by more creative experimentation with cheaper things.

We already don’t eat boxed food, but I even started cutting canned legumes for dry, and we get things like cereal and flour in bulk. When I was unemployed in 2005, I made sure that at least 3 or 4 of our weekly meals centered around a dry grain or a legume. It takes extra time to soak and cook, but with a little advance planning, I shaved some significant dollars off our grocery bill over time. I also tried to make some kind of soup once a week. Another thing I did while unemployed was grow my own vegetables – also rewarding for a gal who like gardening and food! Our new place has a vegetable plot and you can bet your sweet bippy I’ll be gardening again. Even easy plants like peas, green beans and a little cherry tomato plant can make a huge difference. Low on cash? What’s for dinner? Just pick some beans and sautee and toss with a couple basil leaves and some halved cherry tomatoes and voila! Dinner for almost no money. Of course, with gardening, there’s always the initial investment, but I found that the garden had paid for itself after about a year and a half.

I’ve also found – like Erica – that if I can make more trips to the grocery store (or market) during the week, and buy fewer things, that less goes to waste. I also only plan 4-5 meals a week, reserving the others for creative consumption of leftovers. Seasonal eating is also intelligent – if you know what’s plentiful in your area at what time, you can anticipate what will be cheap at farmer’s markets in terms of produce, and plan your eating around that. It’s a really healthy way to live, too. Always pack your own lunch – again, often healthier than eating out, and you save a TON, make your coffee drink at home and pack tea with you (a cup of hot water is generally free) if you need another pick-me-up during the day.

I also try to bake bread and make soup stocks on Sunday mornings in the autumn, winter, and early spring. It might sound crazy, but check this out: stock uses up scraps and veggies-on-the-verge. It really gives extra oomph to soups and pilafs and other economical meals. You don’t really need to watch it – I use the time to get my studying for the day done. The damp heat as the stock simmers makes homemade bread dough (with whole grain flours and brans, which are cheap in bulk and very nutritive) rise brilliantly. I bake the bread, and by 11am I have stock, two nice warm loaves, AND I’ve heated the house (and made it smell very yummy) without touching the thermostat. A lot of my friends tend to come by on Sunday mornings and take advantage of the warm bread feast, so it’s become a very social thing, too.

Okay, enough, enough! I’m sorry for going on so long, I just love finding ways to make a budget work when it comes to eats! My only other real expenses are clothing and art supplies, so I just focus on using what I have when times are tight. I’ll say to myself, “You can’t buy any new or used clothes until you’ve made x number of garments from fabric in your stash,” and that works pretty well. I get so busy making that I forget all about the buying, and I use blogs like yours for inspiration and ideas rather than buying magazines anymore.

First, fuel and food prices–I’m not a driver and I’m an urban dweller, so thankfully fuel prices don’t impact me as much. In this regard I have a measure of sympathy for suburbanites; a suburban lifestyle is pretty much dependent on automobile transportation. However, I do eat food and so I’m feeling the impact of those price hikes like everyone else. When I can I shop local and shop farmer’s markets; I find that fresh foods are generally more cost-effective than processed and packaged foods. Recently I started visiting the local grocery more often for fewer items, that way less food goes to waste.

Second, the dearth of black models (sigh)–well, I see that I will have to get my hands on a July issue of Vogue Italia, if only because it sounds like an historic move on their part. I’m not sure what is meant by “black models are ‘not aspirational’”…sounds like just a lame excuse to me. If black models are never given any exposure to begin with, of course they’ll never “sell”. And if it’s true that black models “don’t sell in Asia,” I would imagine that is because fashion consumers there aren’t as used to images of black women, which again points the finger back at the fashion industry.

The fact is that the high-fashion industry spins fantasies and tries to manipulate women through advertising into feeling inadequate; they create highly specific, rapidly evolving images that 99% of women cannot emulate, while persuading them that they must try to emulate the image if they hope to live the fantasy ( is this what’s meant by”aspiration”? ) One easy way to construct such images is to exclude women of color outright (who incidentally are the majority of women worldwide…) A strong-minded woman can view this game for what it is and take high-fashion in her own direction if she so chooses, but any other woman, after seeing the ten thousandth magazine page featuring yet another young, thin, white, photoshopped model may finally cave in and surrender her self-esteem to self-appointed culture mavens.

It really is a shame that the fantasy has gotten so out of hand that one has to mentally defend one’s sense of self from constant onslaught. But black women have had to do this decade after decade. As I have said before, this is one reason why I do what I do on flickr.

I *rarely* wear make up so if I end up foregoing unnecessary purchases, it would probably be foregoing *entirely*.

And I’ve never looked to fashion magazines to represent me. They just…never have so I guess I’ve never hoped that they would start? And when they do, 9 times out of 10 the black model is portrayed in leopard prints in some jungle setting and it’s completely insulting. I mean, yes, it would be fantastic if people were equally portrayed but I guess I’m too cynical to think they would be any time soon.

i adore that i heart blog. i need to go to nyc immediately.

i think i am, absolutely, one who would rather buy $50 worth of lipstick than $200 of something more substantial (like, something i need, like new wheels on my bike).

i notice a strange trend with me – i spend more more when i actually have less. for example, if i’m already into my overdraft, i will make more, subsequent, frivolous purchases. it’s like a snowball effect. however, the confusing part is that i don’t know how such a pattern starts if i had to start with some money in the first place.

oh! and how gorgeous is jourdan dunn!