A Penny Pinching State Employee

As some of you may have heard, the infamous "Furlough Fridays" are back. I, and every other non-exempt state worker have to take three unpaid days off per month till the California Assembly (and there is no mistake that the word "ASS" is the first part of their name) and Herr Gubenator can come to an agreement about California's state budget. This is the equivalent of a 15% pay cut. Yikes!

Neither side seems willing to give an inch. The republicans want to cut spending. The democrats want to raise taxes. It just doesn't seem to occur, or if it does they don't want to do it, that if you've got a $20billion deficit, why not cut spending $10billion and raise taxes $10billion. That way, neither side is happy.

So, until they can come to some sort of arrangement, I, and my fellow state workers, have to live with this 15% pay cut, and as you can guess, this kind of reduction makes it VERY hard to make ends meet.

I have, however, found a few ways to cut corners and stretch my money even more than I have been, and now I'm going to share some of those ways with all of you.

1. Toss 1/2 cup of dry oatmeal to a 12 oz can of water packed tuna, cover and refrigerate for 15 minutes. The oats soak up the water the tuna was packed in, and when you add your mayo and pickle relish, you'll have more tuna salad for sandwiches than you had before. It's like adding breadcrumbs to hamburger to make meatloaf, and the oats add extra fiber and nutrition.
2. If you're cooking something and the recipe says "cover with aluminum foil", don't. Instead, invert a cookie sheet over the item and save the foil for something else, or not even buy it anymore (or at least not as much).
3. A spool of thread and a needle can be your best friend. Sew up that whole in your sock, your shirt, your whatever can be sewn up and mended.
4. Give generic a chance. It really doesn't taste all that different, or clean that much more thoroughly (Even I draw the line however at generic toilette paper. It's Sharmin (r) or nothing).
5. Get up earlier so you don't have to rush through your morning routine and then drive at breakneck speed to get to work. Studies show that, on average, you save the equivalent of $0.10/mile for every mile below 65 MPH you drive. Oh, and don't forget to take your foot off the gas entirely when driving downhill. Let nature do the work and spare your gas for the rest of your trip.
6. During the heat of summer, at night open a window and run an electric fan, and keep your blinds closed during the heat of the day. It's a lot cheaper than running the air-conditioner and your electric bill will be a lot lower.
7. During the fall and winter months, open your blinds to let in all the free, warming sunlight you can. That and an extra blanket or sweater will help you to keep your thermostat at about 65*F.
8. Take part in a "Cable Club". Instead of getting Showtime, HBO, Cinemax, or whatever all on your cable bill, have one member each of your club get a different premium channel and just go to each other's homes to watch the programs you enjoy.

I know these things may seem extreme to some, and I'm sure a few of you are probably thinking I'm a penny pinching tightwad, but when it's a choice between paying my bills and not paying my bills, it's really no choice at all. Nothing means more to me than my reputation, and what would it do to my reputation if I didn't (or couldn't) pay my bills.

Well, that's all I have for now. If I think up any more ways to save money and help you stretch your dollars, I'll keep you informed.