Life on the cheap

For the better part of 15 years, Sherry Grant reveled in her success. She drove a Rolls Royce, splurged on exotic vacations and draped her body in fur coats.

Now she's living on welfare.

"I had to teach myself how to not spend so much money," said Grant, who once ran the former Grants Brew Pub in Yakima. "I had to learn the hard way."

Through time and practice, Grant mastered how to do without. She stopped using her dishwasher to lower her electricity bill. She only buys things on sale, and she runs her errands on foot.

Living frugally is becoming essential for Grant and other Yakima Valley residents. Here, half of the Valley's population receives some sort of state assistance, be it food stamps or Medicaid. Unemployment rates increased to 5.7 percent in September, compared with 4.4 percent a year ago.

"The economy has made me that way," said Marv Franklin about his spending habits. "I know it's tough to do, but with the economy the way it is, you have to start pinching pennies and making those sacrifices."

Franklin worked as a carpenter for Amtech Corp. in Wapato for three years. He lost his job last August because of "the rise in gas prices and the economy going down the tubes," he said.

Now the Yakima resident works at a second-hand store and is searching for a more permanent job. In the meantime, he's trying to be more frugal.

He walks whenever he can. He goes online to search for the cheapest gas prices, and he and his wife won't buy anything without first consulting one another.

"We don't make a decision without the other one's input," said the 57-year-old Franklin. "We try to stay in sync with each other, so we don't get caught behind the eight ball."

They scout out the best bargains when they go shopping, and they go online to print coupons. Franklin also sets aside money for upcoming bills.

"It's not always easy, but if you get caught with your pants down, you're thinking, 'Where will I get the money for this bill?'" he said. "We need to step back and say, 'We need to take care of No. 1 first.'"

As a single mother of three grown kids, Danielle Surkatty of Yakima never wavered in her priorities. She wanted her children to go to college, and she made that happen.

"My kids all went to Yakima Valley Community College. They all worked and saved their money, and they all rode public buses," said the 53-year-old Surkatty. "If the goal is college, you make lifestyle changes to achieve that goal."

Surkatty raised her children in Indonesia, where credit card fraud was prevalent. Because of that, she learned to buy things only with cash. She stuck to that principle when she moved back to Yakima six years ago.

"I have no credit card debt because I live on cash," said Surkatty, a self-employed Web site designer. "Growing up, I heard stories of the Great Depression and going without. ... I've chosen to live my life in a similar way."

To that end, she furnished her three children's apartments by shopping at garage sales and thrift stores. She got them everything they needed by spending a total of $900.

"I did buy a mattress for one son and a rice cooker for another," she admitted. "I couldn't find a rice cooker at yard sales in Yakima."

To Surkatty, thrift stores are gold mines. She may have to dig a little, but she usually finds great bargains. As an added bonus, she likes knowing the proceeds help local charities.

"You get a lot more for a lot less," she said. "It's like antiquing or treasure hunting. It's just fun and kind of entertaining, too."

In her work, Surkatty has bartered her services in exchange for luxuries like wine. She puts on a sweater instead of turning up the heat, and she only shops the perimeter of grocery stores -- thereby stocking up on healthy foods rather than pricey, packaged items.

With the money she saves, she treats herself to occasional meals out or coffee with friends, she said.

"It's about need versus want," she said. "It's about being happy to live with the lifestyle you can afford."

Sherry Grant thought she found her calling when she and her husband, Bert, opened Grant's Brew Pub in 1982.

The historic Front Street business was a companion to their Yakima Brewing and Malting Co. It was also credited with being the first establishment in the nation to brew and serve beer on the same site since the days of Prohibition.

While Bert made the beer, Sherry was charged with running the day-to-day operations. Everything was going well until they sold the company in 1995. What followed was a divorce that left Grant with next to nothing, she said.

"When I had a lot of money, I was always the one doing the giving. My life flip-flopped on me and I had to ask for help," said the 58-year-old Grant. "It was very difficult. But along the way I met a lot of wonderful people. I found you don't need to have money to be happy."

Life got hard for Grant before it got better. She had signed a sales agreement that barred her from working in the brewing industry. She lost her house. Then she began to go hungry.

"I couldn't work at what I could make money at," said Grant, who now lives in Selah. "I'm a self-made person, and I couldn't get a job anywhere. I didn't have a degree, and I was overqualified for other jobs."

But Grant tapped into her survival instincts and learned how to be thrifty. She uses fluorescent light bulbs throughout her two-bedroom apartment. She doesn't heat or cool rooms that aren't in use, and she shops at thrift stores and food banks.

She gets punch cards at local businesses, enabling her to receive free goods or discounts after she spends a certain amount of money. She buys foods like oats and peanuts in bulk, and she conserves gas by making numerous errands in one trip.

She even takes her four parrots and one peach-faced lovebird to the park in the summer. There, people will often give her a donation while they engage with the birds and take pictures. Those donations, she said, pay for the birds' food for much of the year.

"You have to learn to think thrifty and always be aware," she said. "If there's a way to save a cent, I'll figure it out."

Other habits have also paid off, Grant said. She freezes or swaps excess food with a neighbor to avoid waste. She uses rags instead of paper towels, and she unplugs everything from her television to small appliances when she's not using them.

Grant lives on $339 a month and $176 in food stamps. She stretches this money as far as it'll go, but she often gets help from her mom. Depending on her family and welfare is humiliating, Grant said. But for now, she's left with no other choice.

"I'm a survivor," she said. "I'm used to living on next to nothing. I don't think about it anymore."

* Erin Snelgrove can be reached at 577-7684 or esnelgrove@yakimaherald.com.

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