BOOK: Jane Austen's Guide to Thrift

This book, JANE AUSTEN'S GUIDE TO THRIFT, is on my night stand right now. I am a huge fan of the well crafted, entertaining non-fiction read and I have been delighted by this unique look into Jane Austen's famous novels.

Anyone who has read most of Austen's books (and really who hasn't) will know money plays an important role in the characters lives. Either the revenue abounds or there is a complete lack thereof. An independent female at a time in history when females were not valued or protected by law, Austen had her own small nest egg to handle and handle it she did. She did well to stay within her means and left a tidy sums for her family upon her passing.

Austen's opinions regarding prudent spending and careful penny pinching abound in her books. Men who gambled their money away were painted as rogues, the types of men who could not be trusted. The men and women who were careful with their expenses came across as wise and organized.

This book has a different take on thrift than others I have read (and believe me I have read many, many books on the subject) and that makes it entertaining, fascinating and fun. Halfway through the pages I have yet to stumble upon any nugget of information that I had not come across before but that is not where this book gets it's value. The value is in the comparison between what Austen's characters would do, how they would perceive a situation and how Austen imparted her own opinions on the subject through the deeds and misdeeds of her characters. Call it a wake up call from two centuries prior. Debt was still debt in the Regency era with the only major difference between then and now being society's willingness (dare I say eagerness) to take it out.

All in all, it's an interesting book for fans of Austen and anyone looking for a recharge to their financial health. But I would charge you not to buy it, rather check your local library first and Jane Austen would approve.

Book: On A Dollar A Day

I recently finished On A Dollar A Day, a book by Kerri Leonard and Christopher Greenslate, two teachers in California who embarked on a journey to live like the majority of people in the world. They decided for a month they would live on a $1 a day food budget per person. Their experiment was eye-opening and led the way to two other food related projects: one to sustain themselves on the monthly allowance for those receiving food stamp benefits in the U.S. and the other to eat healthfully while keeping their budget in check.

At first I thought I picked up a book on frugality, one of my favourite subjects and then I realized it was a book about another of my pet projects, studying the state of our current food system and all it's failures.



This book is packed with great insight and thought provoking conundrums. It asks questions pertaining to the poor, their ability to access good, wholesome food and how this relates to other food issues like obesity. As full time teachers, they struggle with making even simple meals from scratch but only because they are counting every penny.

I remember the days when the food dollars never seemed to stretch as far as they should and I remember the lethargic, hazy feeling that coincides with extended periods of hunger. In this book they talk about their minds not functioning optimally. Their tempers flare and the stress mounts. This is the reality for many in our world.

While moving into the Food Stamp experiment (they calculated the average amount of dollar value given in food stamps for a childless couple and used their own funds for this experiment) they thought going from $1 a day to nearly $4.13 was going to be fair bit better. However the increase in available funds did little to provide wholesome meals and they struggled with this experiment as well.

I don't believe there could be a better couple to have written this book. Alternating chapters, Christopher and Kerri reveal their experience with whit, wisdom and passion. It was an very enjoyable read and reminded me of the many people living in North America who still do not have enough to eat.

Now, I am reading The Moneyless Man, written by Marc Boyle who ventures to live a whole year without using money for ANYTHING. I think he's nuts but I'm only two chapters in so I will let you know once I am finished.

Making Do

Have you ever seen the television show "Till Debt Do Us Part." I enjoyed it while my husband and I were struggling to make end meet and I enjoy it now that we have some better fortune. It's a show about a married couple who are usually deep in debt because of consumer spending and bad financial habits. Gayle, the shows host and financial expert, assesses the situation, identified cracks in the couples budgets and shines a blaring spotlight on why these couples can't seem to make ends meet. These families usually have healthy incomes but for some reason their spending is out of control.

For the show it usually means the couple must do a few things. Write up a budget, learn to communicate and learn to live within their means. There's no fancy formula, no get rich quick scheme. It's just plain old work and reality.

I think it's the reality part that most people struggle with. We see commercials and magazine articles with glossy pictures that give the impression that most people live like this or should aspire to live like this. The reality is most people don't live with all the bells and whistles but nor should we be made to think we have to. We can have a fulfilling life without a brand new kitchen or professionally designed home.

In reality making do and living within our means often translates into waiting to purchase something, even if we think we need to have it now. I was a professional photographer for a few years doing weddings and family portraits. The equipment is expensive so I concentrated on using available light and natural landscapes. When I became a homeschooler I kind of phased that activity out of my life at about the same time digital cameras were becoming more and more advanced.

I was still using film until two years ago when my Single Lens Reflex camera batteries were becoming harder and harder to find. I shifted to digital but at the time, with my husband in college, I could only afford a rudimentary point and shoot. It was a hard adjustment. I knew I could create better shots with a real camera but also knew in reality a digital SLR was out of reach. I had to make do. I have known other professionals who have said "once you go SLR, you can never go back." Had I subscribed to this I would have amassed more debt than I was willing to be responsible for. I would have paid twice as much for the camera by the time I paid off my credit card only now the camera would be old and I would still be on the debt treadmill. Sometimes you have to live within your means and make do so you can reap the benefits later.

I bought a new digital SLR a few weeks ago and I am falling in love with photography all over again. A little patience paid off because now I have exactly what I want and didn't have to pay extra in interest to get it.

It takes work and perseverance to stay within your means. But the rewards are far greater than simply buying on a whim. This applies to so many other areas of life; dieting, education and many others. A little work now will mean a big difference later.

Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Clutter, Stuff and Hoarding

It's resolution time and I bet along with loosing weight, exercising more and quitting smoking that organizing is one of the top five resolutions people make at this time of year.

New Years signifies the end of something, and beginning again with a clean slate. A clear calendar with no mistakes. January 1st can be a great starting line, a start date for things you have always wanted to do.

An organized home is not something taught in school. Organizing and the ability to discern clutter from usable goods is a life skill usually passed down from parents or other mentors in your life. If you had neither of these and from infancy you have always managed to keep everything well organize and shiny clean then you are a freak of nature and probably anything I say will be of little use to you. But read on if you wish.

...for me to claim ownership of something I simply must love it or love it's usefulness

Organizing is finding a place for everything and putting everything in it's place. Easier said than done but do-able. When I was younger I certainly was not the best housekeeper. Over time I have amassed tips and techniques that have slowly but surely transformed my home.

The main thing I needed to master was defining clutter. Is clutter something superfluous or something usable? Could I have clutter and still have organization. I believe the answer is yes and no. Clutter is a group of items gathered with no or little purpose. Clutter neither brings me usefulness nor enjoyment. That is not to say that anything without a purpose is clutter. Certainly not but for me to claim ownership of something I simply must love it or love it's usefulness.

Using the above definition we can classify clutter as just stuff. Our modern society loves stuff. Big stuff. Little stuff. Expensive stuff. Cheap stuff. In fact we love our stuff so much our economy is kept afloat by our continued desire to amass stuff.

When our desire to claim ownership grossly exceeds our need we call it hoarding. Hoarding is a growing phenomenon, something that happens behind closed doors, away from prying eyes. It is something I think everyone suffers from to a certain extent. We buy and buy and buy, getting rid of things we bought a year ago to make room for the stuff we bought today. The only difference between us and diagnosed hoarders is that hoarders never get rid of anything and just continue to add to the pile.

When I hear stories of compulsive hoarders I am struck by the poignancy of their plight. These people are just doing what the last century of marketing told us to do. Their homes with floor to ceiling piles of clothes never worn and gifts never given away is really a reflection of each and every one of us. We are a society of hoarders, collectors, and stuff savers.

Somehow we think this makes us affluent. Somewhere along the line we told ourselves this makes us the envy of the world.

One of the biggest lessons I have learned on this road to simplicity is that these things, these materials make us no better at our jobs or our relationships. They provide us with no more comfort than a rock. In fact these things only further our sheltering from those around us. Like protective padding, this stuff is really just cluttering up our heads even more than they do our homes.

Give you one guess what I am doing Jan 1st...