The other day I mentioned that this paycheck we had $10 to spread over two weeks and I was going to get survival mode cheap. Of course that made me look up Amy Dacyczyn. I had the pleasure of interviewing her over the phone years ago and my admiration for the woman runs deep.
She deserves a Nobel Peace prize for promoting environmental salvation and economic independence. If Amy Dacyczyn were elected president the US budget would be balanced and we’d have a surplus. Fiscal responsibility and frugality would be praised. Every house would have a garden. This is my fantasy.
I found this excellent video interview of Amy discussing her house and and successes. Something she said hit me to the core and made me realize how unfrugal I really am. We are short this paycheck, but last paycheck I decided my youngest son needed a new bike so I bought him a brand new one. Then I watched this video and Amy said;
Granted, I shopped around and got a great deal. His last bike needed new tires and a complete brake overhaul but I never even looked to see how much that would cost. I had the money at the moment so I bought brand new. This month I’m thinking frugal thoughts and while I don’t regret my decision I do wish I’d explored more options. I think I’m very frugal and that’s how we get by on just my small paycheck. In reality I could go much further.
Our financial strategy has been to save money where it doesn’t matter so that we can afford to spend where we’ll get the biggest bang for our buck. That’s why we could even afford his bike… because we eat a lot of Showboat Chili Trio, ride our bikes instead of drive and hang our laundry out instead of using an electric dryer. (We have decided to get a car for rainy days and emergencies…)
There’s a lot of places we can all cut that we wouldn’t notice so that we can comfortably spend where we do. Let me share this inspiring video on Amy Dacyczyn and then I think I’ll curl up with my battered old copy of The Complete Tightwad Gazette
and relax.
