very-small-stipend-and-no-roommate survival guide

A friend encouraged me to blog on the adventure of living well below the poverty line. And, so I will. Disclaimer: I'm crazy, and do not reccommend or advocate my quality of life. Welcome to the way I think. Don't stay too long, you might go crazy.

Marilee's Guide to Surviving on a Very Small TA Stipend
1) heat is overrated. but if it gets too cold, just cook something and leave the oven door open afterwards - no need to waste all that valuable heat that's trapped inside the oven. but you'll be defeating the purpose if you forget to turn the oven off before doing so...so don't try to actually heat your apartment with your oven. that's probably highly inefficient. in any case, there's nothing that several layers and many blankets can't fix. :)
2) never EVER eat out, unless it's free. History department pizza parties=required attendance (not really, but for me, it's a free meal.) Rock the coupons, and skip desert and snacking. Also, no juice allowed. It's far too expensive. Turkey bacon rather than actual bacon. Off brands whenever possible. Tea bags without the tab things. Quality is lower, but price is as well. ;) Goal=never eat more than $3 of food in any given day. Month's food budget = $75, so it's actually more like $2.50 a day.
3) lights out whenever a room is not occupied. be freakish about it. every second counts. :P
4) spend as much time AWAY from the apartment as possible. that way you can use the university's electricity and heat, not your own.
5) take the bus or walk or ride your bike whenever possible. car=parked.
6) doing laundry=overrated. thus, it's probably better to own a TON of socks than to have to wash the 6 pairs you have all the time. same thing goes for any sort of clothes. i have a ton of pairs of jeans - that way they a) don't wear out as fast and b) laundry doesn't need to happen as often
7) Yes, Walmart is most likely evil. However, you can't argue with low prices.
8) If it isn't absolutely necessary for survival, it isn't necessary. Procrastination is key, especially when it comes to purchasing things. And you won't hear me say that about much else.
9) use all the water you want (especially in my case: I don't pay for water). Washing dishes=cheaper than running the dishwasher, because the dishwasher involves electricity [although I must confess I don't follow this rule, but as soon as the dishwasher soap I have is gone, it's back to the basics for me...I'm not spending money on something like dishwasher soap.]
10) enjoy your newfound financial limitations. it's actually kind of fun to see how cheaply you can live. I didn't use more than $5 of my miscellaneous budget in October. That's savings right there. :)

Yep. I'm insane. But at least I'm having fun, right?