Choosing Your Battles - When Frugality Becomes an Obsession
I am the first to admit to being obsessively frugal at times, but my frugal mania has become more tempered over time and I have settled myself into a steady pace that works for me and for those around me.
Example #1: Grow Your Own Food
I am the world’s biggest proponent for home gardening and prior to my recent relocation at the beginning of June I had a rather respectable home garden that included tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, zucchini, green beans and other delectable treats. When I moved though, my outdoor planting space was severely limited and I was faced with a heartbreaking dilemma. The compromise came when I found two heirloom tomato plants at a local nursery that were on the verge of death. When the nursery worker offered the two plants to me for free, I jumped at the opportunity. Now I have two healthy and happy plants that (I hope) will produce large delicious tomatoes late into the growing season.
While I couldn’t restart my garden, I was able to do something that should amount to a nice savings in a few more weeks, as I spend a lot of money on tomatoes when I don’t have them growing outside.
Example #2: The Leftover Wars
My partner and our roommate are both very picky eaters and neither of them will lower themselves to eating leftovers of any sort. This of course goes against everything I stand for and destroys my long standing routine of make ahead meals. The answer - at least for now - has been for me to simply cook less food, more often. It isn’t going to save me any money on energy costs, but I had to teach myself again to package and store foods in smaller portions so as to limit and as much as possible eliminate food waste.
What is your most challenging frugal battle and what have you done to win it?
August 24th, 2008 at 8:38 pm
[...] on over to Frugal Mania and read about battling frugality. Did You Enjoy this Post? Subscribe to Freebies For Us. It’s [...]
September 29th, 2008 at 1:44 pm
[...] you always look to save a buck? If so, check out frugal mania obsession. Did You Enjoy this Post? Subscribe to Bargain Styling. It’s Free! « Back Home Posted in [...]