"Teaching Thrift"

The Wall Street Journal has a brief essay on Teaching Thrift to kids. the essay itself is kinda blah, but check out the comments.

Seldom have I seen so many frugal soulmates gathered together! I spent a blissful 20 minutes or so reading through the comments. 121 at last count.

How to Upgrade: Decluttering Books

As usual, I am trying to get control of my books. Since many books come my way--owing to the biz I am in, not to mention my love of thrift stores--this is an ongoing process.

Adding to the problem: my recently self-diagnosed ADHD. I keep reading the books as I declutter! To wit: Nora Ephron's erstwhile best seller on her neck-hatred. I was planning to donate this, but I started reading and decided to keep it. (I know: BAD). In addition to an amusing essay on the cookbooks in her life, I loved a piece on books called "On Rapture." She says the most rapture-inducing book of her adult life is The Woman in White. Which I've been meaning to read for a zillion years. Which I knew I had somewhere. But WHERE?


I resumed my book clearing. As I looked at the decluttered shelves, I realized--yet once more--that the best way to UPGRADE is not by buying more stuff, but by getting rid of the lower-level stuff. My shelves were now filled with books I am likely to read.

It's not that the books in my DONATION/USED BOOKSTORE bags are bad: they are just in genres I tend not to read. So no, I will probably never read a tome called Life in Egypt under Roman Rule.

I'm sure you can see this coming. Guess what??? I found The Woman in White.

So, I now have 5 grocery bags of books-to-go, plus the book I wanted to read (thanks, Nora, for the recommendation), which, of course, saves me the time of getting it from the library, not that I would remember anyway.

Here's the problem. I discovered (via that Amazon link) that the Egypt book is a veritable CLASSIC. Reader, I retrieved it. And put it back on the shelf. I swear it's the only one.

Anyway, I am happy to report that my books are indeed upgraded. Getting rid of the lower-end stuff (whether because it is lower end or because you don't need it) does have the magical effect of leaving you with an upgraded collection.

Are you decluttering/upgrading? How's it going?

Paula's Sunscreen 60% Off (through Friday)

Just in time. Paula Begoun's wonderful sunscreens are 60% off. Miss Em and I are stocking up, you can be sure.

Check them out.

Hovering? or Helping? and the Frugal Family

So much has been written on the helicopter parents who oversee every aspect of their children's lives: from sports, to college applications, to the college experience. Being lazy and rebellious, I was pretty nonchalant in my parenting and so assumed I was not a helicopter, hovering over my children.

Every now and then, though, I wonder. For instance, I read a blog post (could not find it again, so if you know what the source is, let me know, so I can link) a little while ago by a mom who works at Drew university. Her daughter, a student at the same school, emailed or texted something along the lines of "I need tampax and shampoo!" To which Mom replied "I do too!" This exchange was lauded as a NON-HELICOPTER moment, since Mom did not rush out and buy daughter said items.

Am I a helicopter mom? I wonder this as a prepare to visit Miss Em this weekend. Last time, I brought her some toothpaste and oat groats. I did not make a special trip. I pick up items as I see them on sale. I got the toothpaste for under a dollar. If Miss Em had to rush out to get the stuff, it would take her a good bit of time, not to mention at least a few dollars. I'd rather she save her money where she can so she can use it where she wants.

On this visit, we will probably bring things back, as she approaches the end of the semester. Still, we plan to bring her a treat in freezer bags: some red beans and rice. Is that hovering?

Sometimes I think I am out of step with American culture because I subscribe to a more Asian (so says Frugal Son) idea of family. As I write I am wearing a new-to-me Eileen Fisher linen and cotton sweater. This was picked up by Miss Em on a thrifting jaunt. It was a sacrifice because Miss Em likes the sweater. She gave it to me because she knows I love Eileen Fisher and only buy a piece or two a year: even on sale, the prices are high.

Thanks Miss Em, my helicopter daughter. In the same spirit, instead of mom and daughter going off to buy their own toiletries--requiring two trips to the drugstore--I would like to see one say, "I'll pick up some for you." Maybe next time, the other one will do the same.

So, am I fooling myself? How much do you do for your kids. And how much do they do for you?

Rummage Sale! What to Do with Linen Panels?

Since I go to thrift stores all too much (though only on my regular errand route...usually), I have sworn off rummage and yard sales. The only exception is the Episcopal Church a few minutes away (on foot) whose members are the wealthy of my little town.

When there I see our children's pediatrician, who seems to be a frugal fellow and devotes a lot of time to medical missionary work. Lucky for me, because I bought 2 table lamps (they were on my "list") and 4 curtain panels that were too big to carry.

Mr FS and I got there about 5 minutes after opening and all the good stuff seemed gone. Mr FS bought a few CDs and left. I then spotted the lamps and panels. The panels (somewhat dirty and marked at 50 cents) were nice quality, I thought. When I got home, I discovered that I was right: they are Libeco linen from Restoration Hardware, 50 X 84.

The kind doctor dropped me at home. We gave him some greens from our garden (he doesn't seem too familiar with greens). We also arranged to buy some eggs from the chickens his children raise in their small backyard.

What do you think I should do? Have them cleaned and wait for the right set of windows? Or should I cut off the linen and use for something else? If I did that, could I wash them?

Do You Get What You Pay For? AND Alligator Belt Karma

Sort of a double post. Really, one post with two topics.

FIRST: The hackneyed sentence You get what you pay for! Many--even in the frugality corner of the blogosphere--believe in the truth of the statement. Sadly, I generally do not. If it were as simple as that, it would be easy to make purchasing decisions.

Recent Case in Point: a Colehaan Alligator belt. The night before Frugal Son went off for his year in France, he announced that he didn't have a belt. Ergh. He is so disorganized (inherited from me). Luckily, I have a small assortment of belts for such emergencies, so we didn't have to run to Walmart or worse in the middle of the night. There to buy a low quality belt.

No, I had not one but two Colehaan alligator belts that I had acquired for very cheap, as is my wont. They were in Mr FS's closet. Of course, they had never been worn (either by the first owner, or by Mr FS, who likes to age his clothing).

Naturally, Frugal Son picked an alligator over some plainer belts. He does have an eye for luxury. His favorite sweaters are cashmere.

A few weeks ago, he emailed and mentioned that the belt was falling apart! I don't know if CH makes these anymore, but alligator belts cost upwards of $200. Was the belt worth $200--no.

Second part of the tale: how I got the belts at Goodwill. A LONG time ago, Funny About Money pined for a Brighton belt in her blog. I spied one from afar at GW and rushed over. I thought it would be so neat if I could send a fave blogger a present. Alas, though it was a Brighton belt, it was in very poor shape.

But picking it up to inspect its condition uncovered the two unused alligator belts. Mr FS and Frugal Son are always having belt emergencies, so I acquire extras where I can.

Thanks, Funny for the beautiful belts!

So, have you experienced any karma lately?

Emergency Fund Decimation: At Least I Have(Had?) One

So, since January 1, we had to buy a set of tires. Since we were visiting my mother in another state, we did not have time to comparison shop. $500.00. And the people messed up--took our spare (which we retrieved) and did not attach hubcap (which we lost). Will seek out another mechanic in Florida.

Then, that car--our beloved 1998 Camry--needed an additional $1200 of work.

Then, my teeth problems continue apace. The oral surgeon took pity on me and recommended another dentist. So far, my poor mouth has taken around another $1200. Some time in the future, I will need an implant ($3000).

I was picking up a prescription when I got a call from Mr FS: "The refrigerator isn't working!" We looked up the expected lifespan of a fridge and discovered ours is right at the edge of not worth fixing: it's a 2004 of no great distinction (not a SubZero).

Anyway, Mr. FS found the manual (in the secret files that I do not know how to access) and solved the problem. AHHHHHHHHHH.

Think of all the fun things I could do with the almost $3000 we have spent so far.

As always, I try to look on the bright side and thank the universe for my frugal skills, which have given us our depleted emergency fund.

Have you had any emergencies of late?