The Tortoise Always Beats the Hare

A lot of people are talking about money these days, with a looming recession (fine, it's looming) and gas, food, and prices for just about everything else going up, up, up.

Slow down. Breathe. Don't panic.

If you're dealing with cutbacks, then cut back. Drop the cable, lower the cell phone bill, get rid of the extra bells and whistles on your cell and your home line, heck, drop the home phone line if you have to, sell anything that isn't nailed down on Amazon.com (my family sells their DVD collections when they're done and they make good money) and then you don't have to store it.

Quit going into the middle of your grocery store. Just shop the outskirts (and the canned food aisle) and you wouldn't believe how much money you save. I did this and forgot to buy a whole lot of processed food. I missed it, sure, but my checkbook enjoyed the reprieve.

Stop shopping for fun. Don't go to Amazon.com (if you have my problem with books) and ignore the GAP sale emails. Shop in your own home if you're bored. Dig out a closet and see what fun things you can find. If there's nothing fun in there, sell it.

And above all, remember, a slow, methodical purging of waste from your life is better than multiple overhauls of closet, pantry, or offices that cost money, time, and energy.

The tortoise always beats the hare.

In news today:

A great piece on Heather Armstrong, THE parenting blogger from the WSJ.

And more WSJ, with news that Katie Couric might leave?

And a funny piece by the Guardian on falling in love with Wikipedia.

Not much today. Things to do, places to go.

Currently reading: Making of Story (LaPlante)
Currently listening to: Rihanna