Sincerely,
Don Li
>In light of some of the recent job layoffs and personal pitfalls we've
>been commiserating about, I wanted to share a book I recently borrowed
>from Adam Churvis' wife ...
>
>The Tightwad Gazette.
>
>It's gotten me up at 4:00 am this morning, because I was tossing and
>turning at the number of ideas the book was giving me. (Adam, can you
>please tell Lisa I might be another month or two with this book?! :D)
>
>If you've never heard of it, there's this lady named Amy that decided a
>long time ago to manage her budding family on her husband's $30,000
>salary alone. Now BEFORE you scoff, I suggest you find a used copy of
>this book or go take it out at the library. It will have you feeling
>guilty in a matter of hours.
>
>Now I can be thrifty when I want to be, and over the past several years
>(after being in a relationship where the ex was not into saving AT ALL)
>I have become very uncomfortable when there is not at least 3 months of
>bills in the bank. And don't even talk to me about credit cards. Between
>the two of us (Phil and I) we have 5. That is it. No more. No less. I
>keep mine at $0 and use for small purchases, then pay it back off (all
>online) We use his for the larger purchases and pay off as quickly as we
>can (take advantage of the no interest 30 day period!)
>
>When I was living on the farm, I was well used to recycling things and
>using them for other purposes, and I try to do that today because those
>tricks have followed me over the years ... But I've been more than
>guilty of impuls behavior and buying, though I always try to root out
>the best deal. And there's some areas of my life I will not compromise.
>(New computer equipment, decent vehicle, good shoes.) But in reading
>this book, there's so many SMALL areas of our life that I bet a lot of
>us could improve our financial situations with very little effort.
>
>For instance, (and this may sound silly, but priorities are priorities),
>one thing we've done, is made sure we have plenty of entertainment right
>here at home. When we first moved to GA, we knew we'd be holed up
>working non-stop for many, many months. Well, all work and no play makes
>Jack and Jill dull people. So we bought a really cheap pool table, a
>dart board on sale, a clearance Basketball hoop and a cheap
>indoor/outdoor area rug and turned half our garage into an entertainment
>area. We buy discount liter bottles of my favorite liquor (remember,
>priorities are priorities and everyone priorities are definitely not
>mine :D) and now, instead of spending oodles and oodles of money going
>out to the pool hall or our local haunt, we can turn up the boom box,
>play darts or pool and I can have my cocktails at a mere fraction of the
>price. I cannot begin to tell you the hundreds of dollars doing this has
>saved. Especially between 3 people! (we've had a friend staying with us
>for the past three months)
>
>Yes, nothing beats sitting at a smokey bar and having a long leisurely
>cocktail whilst chatting to the bartender. This is one of my favorite
>things to do to unwind. Favorite non-physical activities. Lest you think
>I'm lush. There's tons of other ACTIVE activities I like to do and
>enjoy, and there's the reason for the basketball hoop. Cheap, active,
>cardiovascular activity.
>
>So, I'm an amatuer in training for the frugality title, but I know, and
>I'm confident, that continuing this field of study will get us just that
>much closer to owning our lake house that we are looking for next year,
>with money to spare. And it's a really, really good feeling.
>
>I think that a decent look at this book will have you thinking the same
>way.
>
>Just please understand, her methods are not for everyone, and there's
>LOTS of little things I'd never do that she does, but the other stuff I
>can take advantage of, will be saving Phil and I tons of cash.
>
>
>Cheers,
>Erika
>
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