The Fellowship of the Register

Obviously, I’m trying to find ways to save money.

If that comes as a surprise to you, I can only assume two things – either 1). you’re new here, or 2). you’re just reading along to see how many spelling mistakes I can make on a daily basis. I’ll make it easy for you – a LOT.

Of course, it’s sort of trendy to be frugal these days. Everyone is cutting back, looking for good deals, hoping to put some more money in the savings account.

Frugal is the new Black. It’s snazzy.

Unfortunately, this puts me in a little bit of a predicament.

You see, I’m not used to being trendy. It’s just not in my nature. I’m so not trendy. All my girlfriends will attest to this. If I’m trendy, it’s only by accident. Like a freak, 100-year-flood kind of accident, that’s how trendy I’m not. For goodness sake, I own five seasons of the Waltons on DVD. Isn’t that proof enough?

However, despite my seriously non-trendy streak, it is actually really nice that frugal is so hip these days. You know why? Because it’s encouraging to have folks cheering me on.

Don’t get me wrong, my family is certainly very supportive (although I think my Mom is worried that we might be malnourished, ’cause every time I visit her house she sends me home with LOTS of LEFTOVERS. Of course, I gladly take it, ’cause Hey, Free Food!). My sister leaves funny blogging comments under fake names (thanks again Jolanda Vega) just to let me know she’s reading. And of course, my husband has been known to brag about my efforts on the phone with his mom. Did I mention that he also helps with the dishes? He’s a total stud muffin.

But beyond that, it really helps to keep me going when a friend comes up to me saying “I saved $68 at the grocery store! Wahoo!” and shares their satisfaction over a job well done. Or when a blogging friend leaves a comment on how they learned something new that is helping their family save. Or when the grocery store cashier cheers ’cause I hit my goal to save more then I spend – it makes it just a little easier to go home and eat a peanut butter sandwich instead of stopping at my favorite cafe to celebrate. That energy pulls me along and we’re a team; like Frodo and Sam in their quest to save the world in the Lord of the Rings (and Gandalf, and Aragorn, and Gimli, and Orlando Bloom… oops, I digress).

So, thanks friends. Thanks for helping out this lil ol’, non-trendy, stay-at-home me. Thanks for sharing your successes. And thanks for joining me on this quest to learn how to live abundantly. It’s a really fun ride.

And who knows, perhaps I’ll like this trendy thing so much I’ll start reading Cosmo, or Town & Country, and I’ll be seen strutting around Manhattan wearing the cutting edge of fashion, with makeup and boots, and a big puffy purse…

…just don’t hold your breath.

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Photo by BaoBao Ou