Saving Money

  • Exercise, Saving Money

    The Only Good Travel Ban(d)

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    After speed grading my student’s final papers and submitting the first iteration of my qualifying exam bibliography, I took off for a week-long trip to Cuba to arrange things for fieldwork next year. This was a work trip (but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t avail myself of many a mojito).  When I travel for work, whether it be research or conferences, I’m often challenged with trying to find ways to stay in shape when I can’t follow my normal routine.  This is especially true because I often can’t afford to stay in hotels where they have a gym and continental breakfast.  This low-budget student life requires some creativity….

    My number one essential while on the road is circular resistance bands.  They are light and therefore easy to pack.  They are really versatile which means that you can do lots of different workouts without getting bored.  Finally, they come in various resistance levels (light, medium and heavy), so you have options while you are working out.  If you already have regular resistance bands, you can just tie the ends together to make them circular.

    IMG-3560I purchased a set last year at Target for about $10, and I’ve definitely gotten my money’s worth.  While I don’t use them that often, I find that they really hold their shape.

    Since I usually have my computer with me on these trips, I created a ‘workout’ digital file over the years that’s saved to my hard drive.  In this file, I have of all of my favorite exercise videos, many of which are from people linked on my resource page. This keeps me occupied and also reminds me of home when I’m feeling a little disoriented being in a different setting.  The videos are pretty short, so doing two or three reps usually does the trick.  I included my favorite resistance band video below.

    If you already have resistance bands, how do you incorporate them into your routine?  Do you have any other tried and true tips for staying in shape while traveling?

  • Saving Money

    Grocery Haul: April 2018

    During this month’s trip to Trader Joe’s, I spent a grand total of $84.85

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    While this was slightly more than I usually spend, I got most of the things that will help me get through the month.  I loaded up on my usuals: beans, grains, nuts, dried fruit, frozen vegetables and a few frozen Indian meals. I had to stop by a grocery store closer to my house to re-up on my heavy necessities like apple cider vinegar and olive oil.  I’ll explain  my approach to grocery shopping in a later post. (more…)

  • Nutrition, Saving Money

    Struggle Meals

    It’s fall.  Which means it’s grant writing season, and in my attempts to manage a full course load, two research assistant jobs, a personal life and writing proposals that will stand out against my peers across the country–my meal prep game aint always on point. Especially in NYC, it’s really tempting not to order food from the Thai restaurant down the street, but knowing that I could spend that same $13 and feed myself for part of the week forces me to reserve eating out for dire situations.  Thus, I invented my struggle meals.  I was never the Ramen Noodles type, but I think of this as the graduate equivalent of cost effective and relatively healthy meal ideas to get you through those hard times.

        1. Trader Joes’ frozen Channa Masala or Palak Paneer   

    I like to make a cup of couscous, also super fast and easy, which I use as a base.  This way, I can at least get two meals out of one package.

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       2. Dole Salad Kit

    Sometimes I just don’t have time to make my own salad dressing AND wash the dishes….Sometimes I even add extra lettuce, but be prepared that you will likely run out of dressing.

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         3. Breakfast for Dinner

    No need to reinvent the wheel.  If you already had to think about it once today, don’t spend anymore precious energy.  I usually have a big canister of oatmeal on hand, so that is always helpful in my times of need.

      4. Rotisserie Chicken 

    They’re usually always the same price because you know mass produced meat products, animal exploitation, Steve Striffler 2007 etc. but it can definitely get you through the week.  Also, the deli person might be the only person you talk to all day because you’ve been holed up in your room studying.

    In sum, I know it may be hard to properly feed ourselves when we have so much on our plates, but I hope that this helps us make smart(er) choices when we’re feeling especially stressed and healthy eating isn’t very high on our priority list.  (I wish I could end this post by saying, “here’s a free coupon or discount code” but……yeah)

     

     

  • Saving Money

    Ask your Parents…

    Asking-Parents-for-Money

    *If you have parents or other financially available people in your life, this is for you.

    This time last year, after having a very typical NYC apartment horror story (rodents, absentee landlord and roommate who shall not be remembered), I  found a relatively cheap room in what I would come to understand was an extremely affluent neighborhood.  The discount, no-frills gym that I was previously a member of only cost $20/month, and I got a free guest pass for my gym wife/cohort bestie.  Needless to say, that gym didn’t exist in my new neighborhood. So, I found myself at the YMCA with its fitness classes, saunas, clean towels, the list goes on…but even with the financial assistance that was offered to me on a student discount, the monthly payment was a little over $40/month.

    I was always told not to bite my nose to spite my face, so instead of trying to pay for it myself and offsetting the costs by shirking on healthy eating (supremely counter productive to my health goals) I just asked my parents to collectively pay 75% of the annual cost, and I agreed to pay the remainder.

    Being in graduate school can be a very humbling experience because you work for very little pay while your friends are doing “adult things” like buying houses, having kids, traveling the world when there isn’t a conference involved, etc.  On top of that, asking your parents for money, when you thought you’d be far more financially stable at this point in life is tough.  I try not to ask my parents for anything, so they actually seemed eager to help when approached.  Swallowing my pride on this was honestly really worth it, and the peace of mind I get from having a regular place to workout offsets the temporary discomfort of a somewhat difficult conversation.

    In sum: Close mouths don’t get fed. Ask your parents for some bread.