Musings.

Posted on February 1, 2011 | Comments Off on Musings.

I knew this would happen. Despite my (approximately) best efforts to confine this series to January, I’ve bled over into February. No matter, let us wrap it up with a few musings.

At the beginning of the month, as I mapped out the schedule of postings, certain trends jumped out at me.

“Aha!” said I (not out loud [I hope]). “Frugal things have value beyond the fiscal savings!”

I suppose that brings us right back to the quote that started it all:

Here are the trends that snatched my attention…

• Frugal activities (see here and here) seem to naturally require more human interaction, building more quality time into our relationships.
• Those same activities often require more physical activity than others, improving health.
• Due to the increased level of interaction in this lifestyle, there is less leisure time, therefore less boredom, and (one more “therefore”) less temptation to do something spendy.
• Many frugal activities require little technology… again, increasing face-to-face interaction, and decreasing power bills!
• Frugal habits make indulging in special, saved-for outings that much more special and memorable.
• Frugal grocery lists often eliminate unhealthy extras (soda, that impulse-buy package of cookies, etc.)
• The word “Frugal,” after typing it this many times, sounds a little too much like cave-dwelling creatures with boisterous hair-do’s from my childhood…. (and I quote) “… humanoid creatures about 18 inches tall [which] come in a wide variety of colors and have tails that bear a tuft of fur on the end.” Give up? Here.

…and most importantly… budgets and grocery lists and calculations aside, we have these words of wisdom and hope to ground it all in purpose:

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