This Old Economist: “Good jobs are going up in smoke”

["Feed the pig before it sinks."]

[No matter how Canadian jobs stats are sliced and diced, our Conservative Federal Government has no sustainable plan to bring good jobs back to our country. Thanks to its short-sighted, unsustainable, “business as usual” free market economic plan that includes tax breaks for the wealthiest among us (aka “the job creators”) ...good jobs will not grow in good numbers. Jan. 30, G.Harrison]

As if in support of my recently espoused theory - i.e., reviving the job market will be more difficult than bringing a dead mackerel back to life - a well-written letter to the editor appeared on Jan. 28 in The London Free Press.

Tax breaks don’t create jobs

“Gerry Macartney (London Chamber of Commerce) says corporations should first get their tax reduction and then work with the government to find ways to create jobs. I don’t think so.

Why on earth would a corporation create more jobs and more goods just because it gets a tax break? Short answer: It wouldn’t and never has.

The real problem is 10 years of stagnated or declining wages for the workers, with the resulting decrease in demand for goods and services. The money is now tied up in the assets of rich corporations and individuals who literally do not know how to spend their mountains of money.” Gerry H. Grand Bend

You think we’re in trouble now, Canada, with a government that can serve up no sustainable, viable Plan A for jobs yet rewards corporations for being... corporations.

(Is pushing the toxic tars sands a viable job plan once unmanageable future costs to our natural ecosystems and personal health are considered? Is there any wonder Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has drafted a plan to limit future funding to the health care systems we’ll need in the future?)

Directly related to the letter, just wait ‘til more Canadians, now up to their eyeballs in debt, start paying it off regularly as if there is no tomorrow. What will happen to supply and demand of consumer goods then? Do the Conservatives have a sustainable Plan B for that day, decade, or Age, as in The Age of Austerity, with capital letters?

It’s almost as if the wealthy, in their desire to have it all, missed the lesson the tobacco industry learned years ago. That is, if you kill your customers, you’ll eventually run out of customers.

Don’t let your dreams go up in smoke.

Reduce spending, pay down debt, and save money for tough times ahead.

***

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100 Challenges Ahead: 2 “I won’t change”

["The cost of driving to work will rise. The price of going shopping for groceries and clothing will rise. The same can be said for going to the YMCA for exercise or movie theatre for entertainment." G.Harrison, Oct. 12, 2011]

Most people will have to face challenges associated with the rising price of gasoline, now and in the future, and some will respond by switching to a smaller car, others will call for more equitable sharing of limited, non-renewable resources, and others will respond with snippets from their personal philosophy of life, e.g., as follows:

“I don’t have to (change or share).”

“I don’t want to.”

“And I won’t.”

After six to seven decades of economic, financial and lifestyle growth, all of which was seemingly wrapped in the belief that it was without limits, there live among us a goodly percentage of people who feel or trust that life will go on and on as it ‘always has.’

I believe those who declare there is nothing much wrong with our current economic, financial and lifestyle models - and there is very little need for change - will make it more difficult than it already is to promote or actively seek change in the way families, homes, businesses and governments operate.

Please, don’t hold your breath waiting for a person with some degree of authority in a community, province, state or country to promote a retreat from the “growth without limits, culture of big” to a “live small and prosper” philosophy in order to conserve or equitably share natural resources.


And don’t expect an economic genius to come along anytime soon to figure out how to bring the price of fuel down or get everyone to adopt sound business or governmental policy. Americans Thomas Sargent and Christopher Sims, recent Nobel Prize winners in economics have no easy answers to a global crisis one called simply “this mess.” World-wide panics, crises “what’s going on in Europe... that’s all about expectations about what other people are going to do,” Sargent said in an interview. (Oct. 11, London Free Press)

What will you do? Change? Not change?


More challenges ahead.

***

Please click here to read 100 Challenges Ahead: “The high price of gasoline”

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Austerity Without Anxiety: “Cheap socks suit my cheap feet”

Sit down. Prepare to be shocked!


["Where did Gord get all these new socks?"]

Three years ago I survived - quite handily - a “Buy No New Clothing Year”. Back then I stared you right in the face, with my eyes all squinty-like, and said I wouldn’t even look at new clothes.

Except for one errant purchase I succeeded in my quest.

(My goof: I bought a $12 straw garden hat which I didn’t return when I caught my mistake; I put it in my closet, and haven’t worn it since because I found a used one to take its place. That’s not the shocking part. Sorry, I digress).

A second year went buy. I made but a few purchases of used clothing.

This year has been the same... until Saturday.


Hold onto your hats. I bought six pairs of new socks for $7.00 at Winners, prompted by the fact that socks I had once repaired were showing holes again.

Then I bought a new pair of shoes at The Bay ($91) to replace my old loafers. (One shoe has been leaking through the cracked sole for 2 - 3 years but both uppers still look good. I’ll polish them and just wear them now on dry days).

Why, if that’s not enough to knock you over... the last two weeks have been a very big time for me as far as “new” purchases are concerned.

Because I’m selling my motorcycle in the spring I bought a new bicycle ($399) from Herms Sports one week ago. And I’ll likely buy a new or used bike trailer - to hold my camping gear - sometime before next June. (Wee camping vacations to Paris, Zurich and Brussels are in my future. You’ll be the first to hear about them).

Gasp. I also bought new lumber ($70) from Home Depot about two weeks ago. I have a birdhouse sale in mid-October and my supply of rescued lumber is running low for the first time in 3 - 4 years.

Maybe I’m on an “excessive consumption” roll. Maybe the flood gates are now open and there’s no turning back!!


["Relax. Gord's feet are now sitting pretty": photos by GH]

Stay tuned.

***

Please click here for more Austerity Without Anxiety.

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Austerity Without Anxiety: “Oh yeah. Used jeans look hot.”

I suggest to you there are people in the world who would take one long look at me and ask themselves, “Should I do what Harrison does and buy used jeans that are actually better looking on him than I imagined?”

Really. How could they not?

I mean, I do. I look down at my pretty feet that hang out of the bottoms of my pretty jeans (hot, hot, hot) and look forward to my next trip to Value Village.


["Pretty feet. How can you think otherwise?": photo by G. Harrison]

Right now I’m thinking, maybe by next June I’ll need another pair at about $6.99.

What do you think about when you see my pretty feet and used jeans?

Hey, be nice! (Remember, the blog is entitled It Strikes Me Funny, so you’ve got to expect quirky every once in awhile).

***

Please click here to read more Austerity Without Anxiety.

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Austerity without Anxiety: Le jus du feves (and it’s free)

Excuse my Gr. 9 French. I’m very rusty. Plus, I didn’t always pay attention to M. Duvellieux, if that really was his name.

However, when I opened the fridge door this morning to look for something cold to sip (perhaps even to splash in my face while coffee brewed), I spied a drink so outside the box I felt it needed a unique name.


["Such a fine cold drink": photo GH]

Le jus du feves cannot be purchased in a store. It is found - free of charge - in one’s steamer after steaming vegetables for supper.

In my case, while I enjoyed steamed yellow and green beans for last evening’s meal, le jus was chillin’ in the fridge.

And a few moments ago, I - still in my jammies - watched shards of gray cloud fly across the sky above my back deck whilst sipping a cold, refreshing glass (did I mention it’s free?) of la jus du feves avec real vitamins.

***

I only know one other person who drinks steamer water.

Raise your hand if you do too. Or comment about a free drink you enjoy.

Please click here for more Austerity without Anxiety about Apricot Jam.

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Austerity Without Anxiety (most of the time): Two people live in this one house

Granted, men are from Mars and women are from Venus. Sometimes, they’re from farther away than that.

Daily I’m reminded that two very different people live in my house. Sorry, our house.

He gets up in the morning, showers, dresses, makes coffee and then hunts and gathers for breakfast before sitting down to think or write.


["He leaves items on the counter to share with her": photos GH]

She rises a bit later, showers, dresses, dries her hair, puts on makeup while listening to CBC Radio news, then thinks about breakfast, often one that includes his leftover coffee (“Drat!”) followed by a toasted bagel from the nearby Little Red Roaster.

Coffee, refills and toast or bagel don’t cost much on a daily basis but over the course of a month or year can top out at a surprisingly high number.

He thinks about the cost everyday and eats the expensive PC Meusli she buys topped with the cheaper, crappier Cheerios on occasion (in his mind and wallet, closely linked, this makes the cost per bowl cheaper than straight PC Meusli). He often hopes she will do the same.

She has been cooking meals for 41 years and more often that not prefers to pay for someone else to toast and butter her bagel even though she buys two or three kinds of cereal just to have something on hand and (possibly) irritate her husband.

He often leaves leftovers out on the kitchen counter near the coffee pot to tempt her to the eat at home and save money. She knows this and thinks he’s a goof (though still quite the catch) and that nothing has really changed since they married in 1970.


He tries not to worry that the two of them aren’t always on the same page. Life is a journey and she recently made great homemade soup and muffins so nutritious and inexpensive lunches would be on hand.

And how much can fresh blueberries cost? (He doesn’t really want to know).

***

To keep the peace - and keep from blowing a gasket - I remind myself often of the things I buy primarily for me, e.g., gas and insurance for the motorcycle, tools for the workshop, bargain books, used T-shirts...

That reminds me, I need a good used, sweatshirt for fall.

Please click here for more Austerity Without Anxiety.

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Austerity Without Anxiety: A cheap apple and lemon drink

If I keep this up for another 25 years (or so), I’ll be as healthy as a horse and rolling in the money I save.


["Professional-type photo by GH"]

To a tall glass of tap water I add a titch of apple juice (they say it’s 100% juice and low in acid right on the bottle - how healthy is that!) and a few drops of pure lemon juice (squeezed in an economical fashion from 21 lemons).

The apple-lemon combination is tasty and bound to be good for me. Plus, the bottles last for a long time, saving me countless trips to the corner market.

My wife thinks I’m a cheap old cuss, and she’s right, as usual.

***

Some will say I could save more money if I didn't buy juice in plastic bottles but two people live at my house. Sorry, "our" house.

Please click here for another round of Austerity Without Anxiety.

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Austerity Without Anxiety: “No soap for you!”

The habit of practicing austerity doesn’t come easy. Some weeks I have to beat down my consumptive ways with a large stick - mentally, that is. (I don’t condone hitting myself with a real, gnarly, pointed stick).

But this week I’ve been staying close to home, working on back yard projects using rescued lumber and only stepping out to meet friends or family for coffee and play the odd hockey game. (Talk about ‘odd.’ My team beat the opposition for the first time in about 6 or 7 weeks!)

However, just because I’m close to home doesn’t mean I don’t try to look my best. I shower and change my T-shirt regularly and shave every other day using the latest in shaving technology, i.e., an antique brush, mug of soap bits and a razor.


["Next week I may smell like lilacs": photo GH]

The only part of the kit that will ever cost me money will be the razor - because I must purchase new blades once in awhile, but not often, thanks to my bearded ways.

The antique brush (purchased for $8 at an antique barn in Fenelon Falls; it's the best one I've ever had) should last my lifetime, since after a shower I often apply a bit of soap to my neck by hand. And the mug of soap bits is always filled to the top because my wife tosses leftovers into it regularly.

I think I stopped buying round soaps for the mug about ten years ago after seeing the bill for three bars to fill it.

“No soap for you! There has to be a cheaper way!” I said to myself then.

And thanks to a highly-efficient system of using cast-offs from the tub, my neck smells like spicy coffee this week, my wife’s favourite choice. (Dove is number two).

***

Please click here for more Austerity Without Anxiety.

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“Look at that cheap, sexy little number”

[Costs of car ownership in Canada per year: $6,972 - Victoria; $7,408 - Vancouver; $5,138 - Winnipeg; $5,411 - Kitchener-Waterloo; $7,625 - Montreal; $5,442 - Halifax. Totals include gasoline, parking costs, license renewal, plate registration, insurance premiums. July 23, London Free Press]

Two weeks ago I placed a few birdhouses on the front lawn to tempt passersby to stop and give me money.

A former student dropped by (many years have passed since I last saw Bonnie; she told me her age, and that made me feel considerably older, so I charged her double), as well as a fellow on a 1930s bicycle.

After saying good-bye to Bonnie, Derrick (the cyclist) and I had a long chat too about his old bike and a few others he owned. Because he lived nearby he left and returned within 5 minutes riding a 1940s model bearing a ‘Watson, Made in London Ontario’ emblem.

Derrick struck me as quirky and I like quirky. I invited him to inspect my old Raleigh (circa 1964, so I’ve been told) hanging in The Annex in my backyard. I listed a few problems with the bike and he said he could fix them.


[“Look at that cheap, sexy little number”: photos GH]

“I can tighten the brakes for you and get the gear shifter working. I’ll have it back by mid-afternoon,” he said.

He was true to his word, spotted, repaired and cleaned other items, presented a reasonable bill for service ($45) and I’ve been using the bike regularly ever since.

Now, I haven’t saved $45 worth of gasoline yet, but I’ll get my money back easily by the end of the riding season. I saved $20 last Sunday alone by leaving my motorcycle in the driveway and pedalling through Springbank Park instead.


[“Under the shady arms of a baobab tree. Might be a maple in Springbank Park.”]

I’ve been so happy to have use of a solid road-worthy bicycle that I’m now toying with the idea of selling my 1994 1100cc Yamaha Virago (within two years) and using some of the proceeds to buy a newer bicycle and child carrier (to haul camping gear).

The idea of camping trips within a 100 km radius of London interests me a great deal. Already, the London-Paris-Stratford loop has come to mind. I’d like to pedal the London-Zurich-Brussels loop as well.

Possibilities for adventure - all on a cheap and sexy bicycle - are endless, and affordable too. I might even save enough gas money to buy a new tent.

***

Please click here for another exciting and austere adventure to the Village of Values.

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Austerity without Anxiety: “$21 later, I’m set for summer”

Socks. I’ve got lots of socks, I said to myself recently. But I could use a couple more T-shirts.

Frequent readers of this blog know I don’t rush off to buy new clothes very often. (I’m in my third year of “no new clothes.”) But I will buy used clothing on occasion.

And, yesterday, it was that time again.

Several of my old T-shirts were ready for the workshop, i.e., as stain rags. My “shop” shorts were ripped in several places. I felt I needed one more button-down shirt for fancy dress parties.

Frequent readers know where I usually head to renew supplies. The Village of Values is right, with 20 bucks in my pocket.

Years ago, after I showed off a new ‘used’ sweater during a meal with a dozen fellow hikers at a nice restaurant in Waterloo, a friend said - somewhat in shock - “You don’t wear other people’s clothing, do you?”


["Gord's all set for this summer, next year too": photos GH]

I was embarrassed for several seconds.

Then I realized, I like saving money. I don’t mind ‘hand-me-downs’ because I grew up in the 1950s wearing them and so did a lot of my friends at the time.


["Do the math. I had to borrow a buck from my wife."]

Guess what? So did a few of my friends around that dinner table in Waterloo. It was a good lesson for me. No need to feel like I’d broken some kind of immutable law, or feel shame. I wasn’t alone. Never will be. Some of the finest people I know grew up wearing their older brother’s pants.

Today I shop for new ‘used’ without a second’s thought. (Sorry, I lied. I do wonder if I’m just the second person to wear my new ‘used’ summer shorts!) Just about everything we touch and wear ends up at the dump. By the time I’m through with things, e.g., as a paint rag, they’re good and ready.

Admittedly, no one will ever call me a fashion plate.

***

Do you buy second-hand clothes? New ‘used’? Hand-me-downs? Feel any shame? (You shouldn’t.)

Please click here to read more Austerity without Anxiety.

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Austerity without Anxiety: “I cut the glass in half and - voila!”

[“Skim milk is a type of diary product that generally contains less than 0.5% milk fat. It is made by removing much of the fat from whole milk and is often preferred for its nutritional value. There are many benefits to drinking skim milk, which can range from reducing body weight to building muscles and staying fit.” www.wisegeek.com]

I’ve heard that skim milk is good for you.

Years ago my dad said, “Drink skim milk. It’s better for you.”

Better than what, I thought. Than a kick in the pants? I didn’t bother to ask. I took a quick drink, it was cold, then ran out the back door to the ball park to play third base for the local Juvenile fastball team. I hit a few singles and stole third base twice that night. Coincidence? You decide.

Today I drink skim milk because I still want milk in my diet, it is a great drink when really cold, and it costs less money than homogenized.


["Add cubes. Freeze your mouth off!": photo GH]

I add ice cubes on occasion to make it colder than when it comes out of the fridge. And I sometimes add half a glass of water to save on the milk content and stretch a one week’s supply to two.

I do the same (or add even more water) to most bottled juices and ice teas. I like the reduced sweetness and flavour and enjoy seeing my dollars last longer.

Some will say, “You got the money. Live it up, man!”

I say, “I actually think cutting some of my drinks in half with water is a healthy choice. Saves money too, for other, more important choices in life.”

Austerity. No anxiety. I’ll drink to that.

***

I’ve heard the North American diet, including a plethora of sugar- or corn syrup-sweetened fruit drinks, is not fully healthy. That it can kill you even.

I’m liking my cut-in-half habit more every day.

What else could we cut in half for our own good?

Please click here for more Austerity without Anxiety.

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Austerity Without Anxiety: A ‘poor boy’ lunch

A local organization used to invite members of the public to a ‘Poor Boy’s Lunch’ as a fundraising venture.

Donors would pay a fee and receive a hot dog, a spoonful of beans and a drink in return, if I recall correctly.

That’s ‘gourmet’ compared to my poor boy lunch today.


["Four spuds - perfect": photo GH]

Four small spuds with butter, bit of banana and a small glass of skim milk is all I feel I need to tide me over ‘til 5 p.m. (I’ll pack an apple when I leave for a bike ride later this afternoon).

Some will think I carry austerity measures a bit far, that because I have the means to eat more for lunch that I should eat more, that we live in a land of plenty so I should have plenty.

Some, if faced with the same lunch might say, “I don’t want to, I don’t have to, and I won’t (eat it).”

Others will think I live like a king in a free land.

Whatever the case, I feel it’s all I need and believe if I practice living under my means when opportunities arise I one day be good at it.

And if tough times come our way, I’ll be ready to live on less. Practice makes perfect, as they say, and four small spuds are perfect for today.

***

Please click here to read more Austerity Without Anxiety.

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Austerity without Anxiety: Maybe it’s because I’m retired

Two clotheslines stretch across my back deck and if you ever come to visit, remember to duck. Especially if my hockey shin pads are on the line. You’ll get quite the whack on the forehead!


Even in the winter, I hang up my clothes to dry. (I have three lines in the basement for rainy day or cold weather). I don’t ever think about using the electric dryer. Maybe it’s because I’m retired and have the extra 10 minutes it takes to hang up my clothes.

Maybe it’s because ‘hanging up’ is in my genes. My mother’s line stretched from the back door of the house to the barn and, as a teen, I got used to retrieving and thawing out my jeans before school started during winter months.


["Clean, and not frozen.": photo and cartoon by GH]

Whatever the case, using lines is a healthy habit, saves me more than pennies a day (the electric dryer is one of North America’s greediest home hydro users, and one of the easiest to avoid) and by the time my clothes are dry most of the wrinkles are gone.

Iron? What’s an iron?

***

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Austerity without Anxiety: Practice does make perfect, eh

The more I practice my wrist shot (once a thing of beauty) the more fear will grow in the hearts of goalies in the 50-plus league. Perhaps everywhere.

And the more I practice austere measures today the more prepared I’ll be for tougher, thinner, pricier times ahead on Planet Earth.

Already I have a few austere habits. (Please follow the ‘Please click here’ links below.) They’re in my genes, eh. I cook my own oatmeal, brew my own coffee, make a Frontier Stew that costs less and tastes better than canned.

Why, I even cut my own hair. I’ve been doing so for almost 20 years, and am on my second set of electric clippers and attachments.


* [“Q: What are the ear plugs for?”: photos by GH]

Total cost in 20 years - about $80 ($35 - $40 per set).

Total savings - 10 - 12 haircuts per year x 20 bucks (incl. tip) = $4,000 - $4,800.


[“I don’t care if Bob thinks I’m square.”]

Truth be told, I also save time by cutting my own hair, and by keeping it so short I’ve stopped using shampoo (more savings). I just give my hair a quick swipe with my face cloth and ordinary soap while nabbing a shower. My wife says she has not noticed any dandruff for 20 years... on me!

Of course, she can’t run her fingers through what’s left of my hair anymore but that’s another story.

***

Do you cut your own hair? How much have you saved? I bet it’s substantial.

Please click here for more Austerity without Anxiety.

* [“A: My wife uses the ear plugs. She checks the back of my head when I’m done and once nicked my ear when she zipped a spot I’d missed. I screamed like a baby.”]

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Austerity Without Anxiety: Experience helps when times are thin

As pretty typical Canadian 13- and 14-year olds in the early 1960s, Gary and Tom and I had the following playthings:

bicycles

ball gloves

hockey equipment

several other toys hiding under our beds or stored in wooden toy boxes.

So, it’s not like we grew up poor, or did without all the time, with no toys or shiny dimes to call our own.

We also had, as young teens growing up in Norwich, a small village in Oxford County (16 miles south of Woodstock on The King’s Highway 59), quick access to beautiful natural surroundings and endless entertaining activities.

Thanks to a 90-minute school (elementary) lunch hour, the three of us could bike to the Little Otter Creek (usually called ‘the crick’) after gulping down bologna or chicken loaf sandwiches and cold milk and have an hour or more to kill before afternoon classes began.


["Boys on bikes": photo link]

Noon hours at the crick are some of my fondest memories. We caught crayfish, skipped stones and tossed 3-inch fire crackers by the truck load into the water - at just the perfect moment - to create depth-charge-like explosions to scare the rock bass. (Norwich’s rock bass feared fire cracker holidays more than any other, even pan-fry Friday, aka Fryday).

I must have been feeling particularly confident in myself one noon hour because I willingly shared with my two tall alpha male friends (I was more of a short, wiry beta boy) that I had a favourite game at the crick, I’d invented it myself, and asked if they like to try it.

One said, “Sure, you short, wiry beta boy. Have at it.” (Perhaps not Gary or Tom’s exact words, but close enough for now).

I led them to a short, narrow, newly-constructed wooden bridge a ways from our parked bikes and near a bend in the crick. I picked up a 6-foot long branch and two or three short sticks I’d stashed nearby and walked them to the center of the bridge.

“Watch this,” I said.

I threw the sticks upstream and as they returned to me - one, two, three - I used the branch to flip them upstream again. I got all three airborne and back up the crick before they passed under the bridge. The sticks returned to me. I flicked them upstream again.

“Try it,” I said. “It’s tricky.”

Soon Tom and Gary had their own sticks and branches and were trying to knock me off the throne as World Champion Stick Flicker. They realized it was harder than it looked (90% of the time the sticks ended up along the banks of the crick and we had to run fetch them) and didn’t take to the game with as much youthful enthusiasm as I did. But we did return to the bridge at another time to see who could win the battle for the throne. (I believe I am still reigning champ).


["How about a bicycle holiday in Port Bruce, Ontario?": photo GH]

When thin times roll our way in the future (e.g., due to higher fuel prices) and our million and one entertainments, recreations and car-trip holidays get pared back a bit, or a heck of a lot, many will not know what to do with their time. Some will say it’s the government's fault, of course, push the default button and call for lower taxes. (How imaginative is that?)

My recommendation: Practice living under your means as soon as possible.

Me? I’ll be down by the river.

***

Please click here to read more Austerity Without Anxiety.

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Austerity Without Anxiety: Declutter box 4 - ready

In my case, ‘austerity without anxiety’ can also mean ‘I’m cheap and calm about it at the same time’ and ‘I’m frugal and proud of it.’

Though I’m still happy to pay a reasonably high price for a quality product (I don’t have anything in mind!), some of my best purchases are the ones I never made.

Though I’m content to do without many material goods (E.g.: “Why buy an e-reader when I have access to millions of free books at the library?”), I’m embarrassed to say I recently sent 3 boxes of used goods to a second-hand store and now can’t remember much that I sent away.


["Declutter box 4 - ready for action": photo by GH]

Stuff. Gone. That’s it.

And why did I buy the stuff in the first place? Habit? Because I had the money at the time? Misdirected desire?

Declutter box 4 - it’s a big one - is ready to receive more stuff. Soon to be gone. And I have no desire to replace anything that leaves, except for the cardboard box.

Are you decluttering?

A week after you remove something from the house, do you miss it? Even think about it?

***

Please click here for more Austerity Without Anxiety.

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Austerity Without Anxiety: Baby in the house

[Due to Avon company's reliance on its direct-selling business model, earning potential and satisfaction of its Representatives and maintaining its business model are essential for the company's success in global markets. Net revenue increased 6.4% to $10.8 billion in 2010]

I haven’t spent a dime on Avon products in a long time. It seems they can easily do without my money.

And I can do without the smell of musk behind my ears.


["The musk goes back a long way!": photo by GH]

How did I get the bottle of aftershave lotion? Not Sure. My wife likely bought it for me 15 - 20 years ago as a Christmas gift. Since I don't use it anymore, I still have a lifetime supply of musk perfume left in the bottle.

Now I use only soap in the shower, dry off, then slap on some baby powder for the day.

My wife says I smell great. And that’s good enough for me.

Have you dropped essences or other cosmetics from your shopping cart? Let me know.

***

Please click here for more Austerity Without Anxiety.

PS a recent visitor loved my new “old” duckies.

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Austerity Without Anxiety: New duckies - almost

People with a frugal streak will be proud of me. My old duckies recently sprung a leak and I tried to cover the holes with duct tape.

To no avail, unfortunately. After 10 years of wear the rubber was cracked and weak and didn’t offer up a surface capable of repair. Stink. They were starting to get comfortable.




["The socks ran Boston in 2005. Now they'll walk to the coffee shop": photos GH]


But I resisted the temptation to buy new ones. I have old rubber boots that haven’t seen much service over the years - because of the rubber duckies - and not only have they passed muster during this week’s wet weather but I look pretty darn stylish when I wear the shortened rubber boots with my proud Canadian Ironman socks.

Rain is in the forecast everyday this week. I’ll wear shorts, cutoff boots and Ironman socks to the local coffee shop a few times and show them off. I bet they'll last for 10 years.

My wife and siblings will likely say I’m turning into my dad. I don’t mind. Why worry? His wallet was always full of paper money. More than coffee money too.

BTW. How much did I save by not buying new high-end duckies? (Ten years ago I think I paid over $70.)

***

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Austerity without Anxiety: By the ounce

My parents grew accustomed to thin times over the course of their lifetimes.

Some of their frugal habits rubbed off on me.


For example, I like to dilute juice from the supermarket. 10% juice, 90% water. Saves money. Tastes fine. If I turn into my parents by diluting juice, that's fine by me.

When more thin times come, maybe such habits will come in handy.

***

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It Strikes Me Funny: New iPad2 doesn’t compare with myPad

[“When Best Buy opened their doors this morning, only one person was waiting to enter in order to buy the new Blackberry. One person.” April 19, CBC Radio]

I haven’t been this well-organized since high school.

This morning I reached for myPad* and happily realized all I needed was at my fingertips. The two minutes I’d spent yesterday putting myPad together feels so well worth it now.


["The all new myPad - at my fingertips": photos GH]

I opened it, read a note to myself (no download time), took out an accessory (one second elapsed) and wrote my first brilliant thot for the day: Assemble two more birdhouses for The Roaster.


The Apple iPad declares “it's not a tablet, it's iPad 2. Starts at $499.”


["myPad comes with its own sturdy storage folder."]

MyPad isn’t a tablet either. It’s myPad** and didn’t cost me one thin dime.

About iPad. Battery life varies by use and configuration; features include Wi-Fi and 3G.


About myPad. No costly batteries required; features include stereo if I work at myDesk*** and 3P (two pens and a pencil) and zip area for notes or memos (zip files).


["myPad stores easily beside my dictionary on my shelf"]

You could knock me over with a feather.


* Copyright pending. Don’t touch this.

** I had all necessary materials in myDesk.

*** Copyright pending. Don’t touch this.

***

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