Finding frugality. . .

My first post! Since this is numero uno, a little background and explanation may be necessary.

First, I started this blog as a means of exploring, developing and further inspiring my journey toward a reasonable level of frugality. I don't want to live in the woods, eating tree bark and wild mushrooms (I don't even like mushrooms). Not that there's anything wrong with living a 'Thoreau-esque' existence. To each his own, whatever floats your boat, you get the drift. I like my life in general, there are simply some financial habits I'd like to---actually, NEED to---change, as painful as that may be in the short term.

No, what I'm attempting to achieve is a better balance between how much I spend, what I spend it on, and how much I am able to save and invest for a more financially secure future. This journey started last summer, when I read (finally!) Your Money or Your Life (otherwise known as YMOYL), by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin. One of my New Year's resolutions for 2007 was to borrow more books from the library, rather than buying them new and then either letting them gather dust in my house, or passing them along to friends and family. When I sought YMOYL at my local library, there were about 40 holds on the ten or so copies available!! I waited, and waited, and waited and then waited some more for 'my' hold to come up in the queue, and when the library notified me some three months later that it was 'my turn' with the book, I had almost forgotten what the book was about and why I even wanted to read it in the first place!

I consider myself lucky that I did check the book out and read it in its entirety. I was so moved and inspired by the ideas presented by Joe and Vicki that I actually used a birthday gift card to purchase the book at our local Powell's Books (the best bookstore ever, by the way----please visit if you're ever in Portland). Although it was November, 2007 before I began tracking my spending in earnest (one of the first steps in the YMOYL 'plan'), I vowed to spend 2008 working on my new goals---to pay off debt (including, eventually, my mortgage), to be more conscious of the 'stuff' that I bring into my life, and to plan now for a comfortable, financially secure future.

So, in short, this blog will share my own personal story with you. Within these pages, I hope to find kindred spirits, to learn more about my own issues with money, and to connect with others who are trying to find a better balance between being a consumer and being financially independent.