Can frugality be a "necessary evil"?

If you are among the 70,000 or so subscribers to the uber-successful "Get Rich Slowly" blog, you may recognize my title: it was the title of a post a few days back. I read the post, which quoted approvingly some other writer who opined that "frugality and education" were "necessary evils" for the early part of life. Eventually, I suppose, you move beyond the need for either frugality or education.

Even now, typing these words provokes a physical response: I feel like I'm having a heart attack! I kept returning to the post, meaning to write a response, but remained so upset that I could only produce a single sentence. While a fair number of people disagreed with the premise of the statement, a surprising number of people persist in thinking that frugality has to do with deprivation.

Au contraire. Frugality give you more of whatever you're after. It can be time, of course. But it can also be stuff.

Here is a real life example. A while ago, my daughter, at 18 in the frivolous accumulation stage of life, asked me to keep an eye out for her fave mascara. So I did. Here is a copy of the email I sent her, using the language of the crazed couponers: Wags has Maybelline on bogo. Do you want that mascara? To which: YESSSSSS. Brown and black.

So today I went to Walgreens (Wags) and got her two mascaras for the price of one (Buy One Get One). I spent around $7.00 for the two. For those who want two mascaras, here are the possibilities.

Profligate Person: Buy both for $14.00 on credit card. Pay minimum. Pay interest on mascara till paid off.

Normal Person: Buy both for $14.00. Whatever.

Frugal Person: Go to WAGS when they have a BOGO. Spend $7.00. Now you have $7.00 more.

Now, we can look at the options a Frugal Person has with the extra $7.00.

SAVER: Save the $7.00.
CRAZED MASCARA ACCUMULATOR: Buy another BOGO set, for a total of 4 mascaras.
CHARITABLE FRUGAL PERSON: Give the $7.00 to Habitat for Humanity.
FRIENDLY FRUGAL PERSON: Treat a pal to some coffee and a muffin.
SOCIABLE FRUGAL PERSON: Go out to lunch with a friend, Dutch treat.
NICE MAMA FRUGAL PERSON: Buy some cashews, also on sale, to give Miss Em as a treat.

Note that in all cases, the frugalista has MORE. So when people opine that frugality and education are necessary evils, to be endured when young, I must disagree. I think you'd be crazy NOT to be frugal.

So, what would you do with the $7.00???

Gifts I Think Are Good for Teachers

It's easy enough to give a great gift if you are willing to spend a bunch. Those snowman mugs with candy that I wrote about disparagingly come in at about $1.50 each. Are there any better gifts for the cheapwad parent?



How about a bunch of pencils, sharpened and tied with a ribbon?

How about some tea?

Sadly, I can't think of anything else. Gift giving is not my strong area. I still think a nice note is best.

Any other suggestions?

Pumpkin Sausage Pasta Sauce: GOOD

I'm not sure if there is still a canned pumpkin shortage. If so, read no further. I still have loads of pumpkin from pre-shortage days. Yesterday I bought a bit of breakfast sausage and remembered the above recipe, which I've always wanted to try.

I first saw this in a Rachael Ray cookbook, which I'd checked out from the library. Easy enough to do a google search. I didn't follow the recipe, really.

First, I used about 1/4 of the required sausage (my usual sausage practice). Then I added some chopped onion and leek. After a bit, I added a can of pumpkin, some chicken broth, and some whole milk (no half and half in my fridge). I cooked for a bit and added some red pepper flakes.

Served on pasta with grated parmesan. Surprisingly delicious. And pumpkin is a superfood, so lots of vitamin A.

Try this if you see some marked-down post-Thanksgiving pumpkin languishing in your grocery.

Teacher Gifts Encore: Just Say No

A few days ago, I was waiting to check out at Dollar Tree. In front of me was a woman with, among other things, 8 snowman mugs. The woman in front of her commented on how cute the mugs were. And then the teacher gift conversation started.

Mug lady said that her kids had--between them--8 teachers. Each teacher would get a mug filled with candy. Admirer exclaimed over the idea--so cheap!--and said she would do the same.

Don't get me wrong. I think snowmen are cute. I do. But please don't give teachers mugs. First stop: Dollar Tree for a dollar. Next stop: Goodwill for whatever. At that point, another parent will probably buy the mug for a teacher gift, starting the whole process again. I guess this is recycling. But really, teachers have enough to do.

I don't receive many teacher gifts. So far this year, I have received an apple (we were doing Paradise Lost) and half a Hershey bar. These were much appreciated and will live forever in my memory. I know a lot of K-12 teachers and, trust me, all would appreciate a heartfelt note more than a mug.

Trust me on this.

Frugal Habit: Food Rescues

Our department party was canceled because bad weather is in the air. Yes, possible snow. Or sleet. Needless to say, I am disappointed because it's always fun to have a big potluck feast in the land of competitive cooking, Louisiana style. One colleague said, "Oh, I'll have to bring the crawfish dish I made to my church." Noooooooooooooooooo.

Next problem. What to do with the cream cheese laden wraps I made. I rolled up a cream cheese, feta, roasted pepper filling in a basil wrap. Then, you slice these on the diagonal and make these snazzy little pinwheels. I used to make these all the time, to great acclaim, but then forgot about them. They returned to consciousness when I noticed the frozen wraps and numerous rectangles of cream cheese in my fridge.

I am of the frugal genre that does not like to waste things. That is why I retrieved several soda cans out of the trash at work today and brought them to the recycling bin. That is why I once brought a big box of nice men's shoes that were awaiting trash pick-up down the street to Goodwill, where they were snapped up. Cream cheese doesn't freeze well, plus two people can't consume that much rich food without a crise de foie.

OK. Here's the brainstorm: cut them up and put them in soup where they will turn to cream cheese dumplings! I tried a few in some leftover soup and they were good! So I'll put them in soup today and tomorrow. I figure the richness is canceled out by the vegetables in the soup.

Then I'll make some more for the rescheduled party. Monday at school.

A cell phone and a bunch of cream cheese wraps. Two rescues in 3 days. Not too shabby.

What food rescues have you performed?

Cell Phone and Rice: Further Instructions for the Frugal Cure

Mr. FS has some additions to my ecstatic rescued cell phone post.

It's not quite as simple as dumping the cell phone in a bag of rice--but it's still plenty simple. First, be sure not to turn the phone on, because you don't want to short out the circuits. Second, remove the battery. It doesn't hurt to put the battery in the rice with the phone. And that's about it. The little screen on our phone was full of water, but the rice got rid of it all, so this really works.

You can Google some variation of "rice dry cell phone" for more elaborate directions and discussions.

P.S. As per Shelley's query: I would wash the rice (as in the Asian tradition) and cook it!

Wet Cell Phones and Rice: Cured!

Our trip to what we call the "dreaded WM" was prompted by washing our cell phone. Mr. FS found a tip on line: stick the phone in rice, which will absorb all the moisture. It was worth a try: it worked!!!!