Luxolive.
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Blah blah blah frugal blah and cactus picture.
Ohhhhkay. So, I've been spending too much money lately (See: Trip to Europe, see also: Target) and so today I decided that I would spend no money. Except, so far, I've dropped $56. Whoops? I forgot that the hot water heater was being replaced this morning (free!) and that = tip, plus I had to renew my diaryland membership (late, whoops -- it was POINT 99 days, not 99 days. I missed that bit.) and I got the delivery guys coffee since I couldn't make them any since they shut off the water. So, it's 10:30 and I've spent Fifty-six dollars. Sweet! I did fall asleep reading the Tightwad Gazette, though. Let's talk about the Tightwad Gazette. Some of it = really interesting and useful. Some of it, well, scares me. I don't know. I think that a lot of the ways she saves money take more time than they'd be worth to me. Like, she makes her own version of things that sometimes cost not that much less, but that take a lot of time to make. I get that it seems to be a game to them (how much they can save, how little they can waste) and I respect that, but I'm having a hard time drawing the line between time saving and money saving. And, honestly, powdered milk mixed with water will not fly in this household. Another thing holding me back is that we have nearly zero storage space here and I hate saving things I don't see an immediate use for for this reason. I give everything that's not nailed down away if someone will take it. Anyway, the book is interesting and worth reading. I'm trying to glean what I can from it to increase our savings (kind of as an exchange for not currently having a job) and not feel too guilty about the parts that just won't go here. For example, if I go shopping with my husband, I can check the weight price for all the cheese in the world, figure out which is cheapest, and then turn around and find seven kinds of cheese already in the cart. Hah. He likesa the cheese. One last bit before I shut up about this, but the thing about this book that makes me shudder the most is the kids. My parents were pretty frugal (they had to be, as they were social workers, and we know how well social workers are rewarded in this society) when I was growing up, and I always had supremely out of fashion hand-me-downs. Always. I never had the fun food. (Wah, I know. Boo hoo for me and my lack of overpriced lunchables when kids are starving, but look at this from the perspective of a gawky 10 year old who just wants to be 1987 cool for 5 seconds.) I know that this stuff isn't important, and I didn't even want it all. I just wanted a small piece of it, and I never had it. Anyway, with the uberpatched jeans and the clothing filing system that has these kids wearing stuff that was made 10 years before they were born, I wonder if they don't feel shabby and sad and won't run up 10K in credit card debt the second they leave for college. But that's just me. I'm sure that they're happy and learning fabulous values and are eating far more nutritiously than I do when left to my own devices. I applaud their commitment to their lifestyle, I really do, these are just the things I fear that would go wrong if I were to go at it with the same intensity. I need some shiny and some fancy sometimes. Okay, I'm boring myself. Anyway. So it looks like this is my one year diaryland anniversary. Shout out to Amblus for sucking me in. Ha. That sounds dirrty. I have to go contest my ticket now. Here's a picture from the park that's just down the road.
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