This morning I stopped by my local library to pick up some books I’d ordered. In the library foyer they have a good selection of local publications, everything from magazines aimed at families with young children to seniors. Best of all, they’re free and some of them make for great reading. I picked up a food related one and was skimming through it while I ate my lunch. A writer called Barb Parisien had written an essay about how her parents and grandparents had lived through the Great Depression and World War II and lived the frugal life and how she believes she carries the frugal gene. Her essay was called Frugalist: 2008 Word of the Year? I have to agree that maybe this year the trend in food magazines and cooking is finding ways to make your food budget stretch further. A trend I seeing continuing in 2009. And yes, maybe she’s right that Frugalist, should be the catchphrase of the year. Or better yet, Budget Smart Girls.
Something else of value in this essay was that Parisien mentioned a blog written by Jonathan Bloom called Wasted Food. I checked it out and will definitely be reading this blog at least once a week. Here’s the link if you’re interested www.wastedfood.com
And speaking of magazines, I often pick up a copy of Woman’s Day while I’m standing at the supermarket checkout. Why do I always weaken for this one magazine? It’s often full of articles about ways to save money. Next month they’re launching WD Saves! A year long program of easy tips and strategies to help all of us reach our financial goals. Sounds like something for Budget Smart Girls. www.womansday.com. While you’re on the site, be sure to check out their section on making your own cleaning products. One idea is to make your own washing detergent and the article has a link to a company called Soaps Gone Buy www.soapsgonebuy.com. They sell complete kits of everything you’ll need and claim that you can wash one load of laundry for about 2 cents. When my current package of washing powder runs out, I think I might give it a try. It doesn’t look that hard to make, the cost seems reasonable and it looks like fun. I’ll report back here in the blog with my findings.
