Frugal Gems: My Foot, My Tutor*

I put out a call a while back for some new-to-me frugality blogs. I was afraid my blogroll was getting kind of unbalanced: all the stylistas are still blogging, but many of the frugalistas (or frugalistos) have ceased, sadly. Thanks to all who came through with suggestions: I will report back soon.

Interestingly, I have discovered frugal gems in other sorts of blogs. Frugality is all around us, it seems.

First up, let's look at Mary of SimplyForties. Mary writes about frugality all the time, in fact, but she somehow fell off my radar. Anyway, in the way of the blogworld, she kindly commented on MY blog, so I took a look at hers.

What a (re)find. There she had a great post on plantar fasciitis , an afflcition that seems to, well, afflict everyone, including women who have never worn high heels or pointy toes. (Not fair.)

Here Mary articulates a basic law of frugality: in her discussion of orthotics, she notes: According to a study done by the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine custom orthotics are no more effective than off-the shelf orthotics so you might want to try the $50 Dr. Scholl's variety before investing in pricier models.

Frugal Maxim: Try the low cost version before the high cost. This applies to things besides orthotics. Try the over-the-counter mouthguard ($30) before the custom one your dentist offers to have made for you ($$$$????). Try the low-cost state university before NYU (you can transfer later).

Sometimes, the low cost version isn't satisfactory, but at least you KNOW FOR SURE.

Thank you, Mary. I shall return.

*Do you recognize the quotation: "My foot, my tutor"? Two possible answers.