Low Budget Glossary

no one can afford an indexer, so please scroll down for the site term you are looking for…

adventures

Truly, adventures are the impetus for this entire website. An adventure is defined here as any activity that takes one out of the mundane, and into fun, learning, new geography or insight. So, a dog walk can be an adventure if you are looking around for new flora and fauna, or accidentally slipping on a trail surprise. A trip to the library can also be an adventure. Obviously, so can climbing Mt. Everest. Here we’ll focus on everyday adventures, affordable by most people (because they are free or cheap– the adventures that is, not the people).

entertainment budget

This is how much cash you have on hand for non-work or non-survival expenses. In our family, meals out were not considered “food expenditures” but “entertainment expenditures” because you can always eat the same meal at home much cheaper… Entertainment food includes paying for atmosphere, originality, more salt and butter than you’d ever put on a meal at home and the pleasure of being waited on. (Come on, who doesn’t want to be catered to once in a while… it is worth a few bucks!).

value

that nebulous factor that makes an Around the World on a Concorde trip a bargain at $20,000  or a order of fries not worth $1.50. Value is how much pleasure, learning, experience, and life you squeeze out of something that costs money.  Some incredibly expensive things crap-out on the value scale, whereas a $2 homemade seafood burrito can make one feel like they robbed the value-bank. (Does it always have to come down to food? yup!)

low budget master

Let’s just get this straight right now, I am not one of these… I am a low budget intern at best (you know, the ones who work to gain valuable experience, but receive no pay.  You kind of have to already be ‘ok’ financially to afford the pure value dip of internship. See above for value).  So, a low budget master is someone who put themselves to the test, maybe willingly, maybe not, to live a good, rich and value-filled, adventurous life with very little money. My mom is cleary an LBM, raising 2 kids with nary a pot ( you know, make the “chicken walked through it” soup pot, we actually did have one of those). I hope to share some masterful tips here… as I apply them for perhaps the first time. (Did I mention a kid was coming to soak up any extra money floating ’round?)

Grand Frugali

This one gets special mention (and capitalization) because it is so rare. In fact, I can only name one GrandFrugali offhand, and that is my brother. Anyone who can work for 8 years, take 4 off and still enjoy steak, movies, lobster, car washes and travel is truly in this category. I suspect that any Grand Frugali has an unmistakable eye for value, spending money only when value far surpassses price. We’ll soon find out. I’m hoping he shares a few tips, or my eyes open wide enough to see how he does it.  As an aside, my brother showed this frugali tendency very young, and was shrewd (but helpful) in his offers to clean my room when I really needed it. Somehow, I always really needed it right after my grandparents palmed me a few bucks for a birthday or holiday….. exactly the price to have my room cleaned by a “pro.”