Chris Farrell’s “New Frugality”

I would like to share that I use an Iphone app to scan an item and it tells me the cost of it at other retailers. I still vacation every month but instead of picking a destination i go wherever the deal is and use discount sites. I also stay at hostels but have been able to stay at 4 star resorts for 60 bucks a night. Through the web i have found $15 flights to Vancouver, $250 roundtrip to spain and cruises for $100. I travel more than I ever have, deal hunting.

No TV, no cable, no land line, two kids with nearly all hand-me-downs... My husband and I bought $300 Patagonia raincoats in 1995 and I thought we were crazy, but we are still using them... It takes a drastic change of thinking..

Almost 3 years ago, I bought a $3,000 cargo bike from Amsterdam - since then it has only cost me $90 in maintenance, and has saved me thousands in gasoline, insurance, registration, and has kept me fit and happy.

I run a specialty bike shop, and we've seen sales of our high-end European city bikes pick up markedly since the economic downturn.

what was the name of the website she just said???

I am someone who has always been frugal and detests waste and the encouragement of over-consumption as a substitute for doing interesting work and having an active min...but I also detest 'sour grapes' thinking.

I agree that it is good that we make a virtue of not being wasteful, but I am concerned that America's Puritanical streak is always waiting to grab some more power...

This is an Enlightenment country, or was at its roots until religious revivalism supervened during the Great Awakening. If the Enlightenment stands for anything, it is the proposition that when people's native abilities to observe dispassionately and think reasonably are encouraged, we are all generally better off when people get what they want than when they can't---this is the essence of liberty and of the pursuit of happiness.

I also believe that tough times can be bad for the spirit---enforced starvation is the _opposite_ of a fast.

Finally, in this 'loser'-hating society and racist society whose dominant ideology prevents our having decent welfare system, poorer and more scared people will be more easily led by autocratic bosses, politicians, and preachers.

My gas dryer died but it still would turn. Rather than buy new I plumbed the air outlet into a box connected to a dehumidifier whose outlet led back into the dryer's air inlet. The Germans sell a dryer that does the same thing in other countries but it cannot be found here. That unit costs over $2000 and is advertised to be more efficient than even their gas model. I paid about $200 for the dehumidifier and of course my sweat equity. My outfit uses more space in the laundry but it works just as fast as the German product. The clothes come out very soft and supple without any additives, and while I used an outdoor clothesline during the construction, those clothes were stiff and occasionally suffered from neighbors' use of leaf blowers.

Yes, I was brought up in N.H. with an old-timers' saying:
"Make do, wear it out, Use it up, or do without." Puritanical perhaps, or the strategy New Englanders fall back on. Communities survived during the major crises of the twentieth century.
My family survived a frigid January morning housefire in the mid-90's. The community, a small village in the mountains, shared their goods, money and love to help us return to normalcy enabling our three children to later succeed, unscarred by the traumatic incident.
Frugality works as a new modality, if, and your guest spoke about, a person/family gives to causes, church or nonprofits, and regional fundraising, and incorporates critical thinking while exploring the complexities of a happy life..

I was the caller who mentioned the website, www.wisebread.com, a frugal living and personal finance site that has gotten a lot of mainstream media attention because of the rising popularity in being frugal, getting more bang for your buck, and managing personal finance.

Flying Pigeon Bikes are definitely cool town bikes. If we ALL start riding town bikes cars will have to watch out got us.