Category: Frugality
-
Take a trip to your local Farmer’s Market
Not to be confused with my earlier post about the Really Really Free Market… A Farmer’s Market usually involves monetary transactions. Sorry, no free food here folks. BUT, you can find better deals than the chain grocery stores that pop up on every busy intersection. My friends live and work on a farm and needed…
Written by
-
The lose-weight, get-rich, save-the-world machine!
I’m talking about my bicycle. It’s a simple technology that deserves much more attention than it gets in North America. Anywhere else in the world, bicycles are a major form of transportation. Our cities were built at the height of the car manufacturers’ political power, however, and so are car-dependent in many ways. Still, there…
Written by
-
Is the economy having a different effect on queers?
Last month, Crack Magazine in the UK, included a column by Gareth Longstaff explaining why frugality in the current financial meltdown is a very straight and family bound thing and having a different effect on queers: If we turn on any news channel or open any newspaper we see somewhere this implicit sense of gloom…
Written by
-
Make your own tinctures
It’s actually really easy. I recently invited my herbalist friend over to teach me and my girlfriend how to make our own tinctures. She delved a bit into some calculations which will help figure out the potency of your potion, but it’s not completely necessary to do all of that unless you plan on selling…
Written by
-
Useless is worthless
Money has no value unless you spend it. You can spend it now, or save it now and spend it later. But at the end of the day, you still have to spend it, use it, donate it or bequest it in order for it to do anything for you. If you need further reminding…
Written by
-
Creating a really, really free community based economy
Really Really Free Markets (RRFM) are a great way to meet and share material items, resources, and skills with members of your community. Best of all, everything is 100% absolutely free! RRFM’s are based on the “gift economy“, meaning people bring things they no longer want and anyone who attends can take anything they need.…
Written by
-
How many are the things I can do without
I read my news online, of course, and since I’m a technological, work-from-home kind of person who can browse websites with indiscretion, I often go to geek sites like wired.com. Sadly, I recently encountered an ad for a child’s computer and immediately went into ‘˜I want this and now!!’ mode. The fact that two toddlers…
Written by
-
What’s it worth to you?
I want to talk about some bigger issues before getting down to the nitty gritty; so I’m going to start my blogging life here with some of my thoughts about the value of money. Just as Canadians have a thousand words for winter, we also have a thousand words for money. Leveraged assets, mortgage debt,…
Written by
-
The shifting views of household luxuries vs. household necessities.
Yesterday on NPR, there was a short segment (less than five minutes) about what household items are now considered to be luxuries vs. necessities (to start, think televisions, landlines and mobile phones). They also talk about the so-called convenience appliances like microwaves and dishwashers. Views and perspectives are changing. What’s the reason for the shift?…
Written by
-
4 ways to save money by buying generic / store brands
I can remember growing up and opening up cupboards to a wonderful display of color, as long as it was black and white only (there was the occasional blue or green as I recall also, but mostly black). There would be the occasion issue come up where quality was lacking, so she would just move…
Written by