Frugal Living Today

The more I read the news the more upset I become over the economic state our country has allowed itself to get into.I don’t care if you are a Democrat, Republican, Independent, Green, Libertarian or what your party affiliation is and I don’t care to sit here and play the blame game that seems to be the in-vogue thing to do these days.  The bottom line is that America has become drunk on power while we were getting fat on a nationwide diet of excess and now that our wallets have run dry, multi-millionaire CEOs are flooding Capitol Hill shaking their tin cups under the noses of our elected representatives in the hopes of getting their share of the next big bailout.When I was younger I played a card game called Bullsh*t and I was pretty darned good at it.  The object of the game was to be able to bluff - or to call someone’s bluff accurately.  I can’t seem to turn on the news or read the newspaper now without subconsciously playing the game all over again except in this version there are no winners.  I therefore offer Michael’s Frugal Living Bailout Plan to all who care to read it:1.  If you don’t have it, don’t spend it. Credit is a trap, pure and simple.  It is an excuse for people to live outside their means.  Pay cash or use a debit card.2.  Pay on time, every time. If you see that you will be late on a payment for any reason at all, contact the creditor and talk to them.  You may be able to avoid late fees and negative marks on your credit score.3.  Get to know your neighbors. Once upon a time, we knew our neighbors.  When someone was sick, the people who lived in the surrounding areas brought food, took care of their yards, even cleaned their houses for them.  What happened to those days?  Why not arrange a monthly pot luck supper with your neighbors and get to know them better?  It won’t cost much more than you’d pay for cooking a meal for your family anyway and you’ll get an evening’s worth of entertainment and kinship out of it.4.  Talk to the Angels.I’ve written here about AngelFood Ministries  before.  It is the opportunity to save a ton of money and get a ton of great quality food every month for less than half of what it would cost at the supermarket - even if you use coupons.  Spend $30 and feed a family of four for a week?  Done deal.5.  Do It Yourself. You probably sit on your lazy rump all weekend watching those DIY shows on television thinking ‘I could do that’, right?  Well prove it.  Check a book out at the library and learn to manage the basic plumbing at home.  You can teach yourself to re-wire a lamp, too.  In fact, most of the things you’d otherwise need to call a repairman to do can be done with just a bit of know-how and the cost of the supplies.While I’m on the DIY subject, learn to thread a needle and fix your own buttons.  Stop throwing away clothes or giving them to charity because you’re too lazy to make minor repairs that would take you five minutes, tops.Here is some food for thought: During the Great Depression there were thousands of people who didn’t even notice much of a difference.  Those people were already what most of us consider ‘poor’.  They grew and raised what they ate, they made what they wore and many of them built their own homes and furniture out of necessity.  I don’t consider that poor in any sense of the word.  I consider it self-sufficient.   And finally, a word of advice for Washington D.C.:   When I was growing up, my grandparents used to say “Give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day.  Teach a man to fish and he’ll eat for a lifetime.”  Do with that what you will.