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Nature
Wednesday, January 14, 2009 | By pamphyila

I agree - communing with whatever sort of nature environment is around you is my favorite form of relaxation. We walked on the beach at Carpinteria, just below Santa Barbara, on the coast - and I like it BETTER in the winter. We love the water - and the Channel Islands area is so very beautiful - I see pix of Capri, etc. & realize that could be where we are. They do call it the American Riviera!

I envy you all your travels - I know people who have really worked the points system - but I have only managed to get one ticket out of it all these years -

A colleague just took an almost FREE trip to Hawaii because he had both airline and hotel points!

If I had extra $ it would go to more travel, too - but I tell myself we spend our travel budget on our boat - and we DO use it A LOT.

Thank you for your posts! Sometimes I beat myself up for indulging. And I suppose with all the hard work we do saving, we can reward ourselves as long as it doesn't throw the budget out of whack right? :) I wish I could get shoes at Payless but I have terrible arthritis on one of my feet and need shoes like Clarks & Hush Puppies for style and comfort. When I wore cheaper shoes I'd be in a lot of pain. Sadly one are in my life I am forced to spend more :(

like the pic - but you are a fish outta water here - no?

I really enjoy reading about your frugal ways. I have tried a few of your recipes. You do a good job at balancing things. Everyone deserves a splurge once in a while. Whether it's a nice, well-made article of clothing or comfortable footwear or something you like for your home. If it's within reason (and it IS with those of us here!) just enjoy the occassional "spendy" purchase.

Having lived most of my ladult life with a very slim purse - I did find myself saving on some things (while single it was eating out) so I could get others (add to my wardrobe, etc.) Some of my thrift has really been a way of living life as nicely as I could on what I had - So my good shoes came from the thrift shop - No, I didn't save much, if anything - but I did have a set of collectibles I considered my savings and I did have a coup of selling an etching I had bought years before for $40 for $1500! So I wasn't that off the mark.
It's all a big GAME -now the variations are similar - like boardgames or cardgames - but you have to figure out which one you want to play. I think just enjoying being able to pinch a penny is great. And if the washer you had was damaging your clothes, maybe a new one was in the cards - But we have to watch those items marked down from $300! I window shop in those places and then get knockoffs or things from thrift shops or consignment stores! Payless has great knock off designer shoes - & they go in & out of fashion too quickly for me! Those stores are lovely - but go for the sale rack! Occasionally there will be a steal & that's for you. I like to window shop in stores where I can't afford to get anything - it reduces the risk - even tho if I see something that's really good, I do go for it. If occasional sushi makes you happy & you can afford - indulge. Just don't be dependent on it for any reason! Splurges are much more fun.

Great tips! I have been stocking up on non perishable items and household goods too just in case! I scan the flyers on a weekly basis, make lists and go into the stores just to purchase the loss leader items at the store. It will save me LOTS of money in the long run. Can't wait for the yard sales again in the spring :)

We live near the beach (Gulf Shores on the Alabama Gulf Coast), so we spend a lot of time there, even in the winter. It's a great, inexpensive form of entertainment. And this time of year is nice because we meet a lot of people from up North who have come down to escape frigid temperatures!

You are right, i should keep my detergent but I am loving the soapnuts. I tried them on my sheets and they are so soft! I have a front loader so the 3 containers of 65 loads detergent i have will surely give me 100 because i only need to use a tiny bit. I won't have to buy detergent for at least a year! YAY!

if you got enough laundry detergent to last you a year i would keep it..i take my laundry detergent and use half of scoop to stretch it...i went to a yard sale last summer and got 250 of those hotel soaps for 50 cents a church rummage sale and i grate them down and use them for laundry detergent

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