My family was never ashamed of thrift. They knew how to live cheaply without feeling deprived. I often wish I had half the wisdom they did – but I have learned a few things about feeling rich on limited funds.

1. Garage Sales. I spend my childhood following my family to garage sales, fleamarkets, and auctions. Here I learned the ultimate lesson of garage sale-ing: you have the power. A person holds a garage sale because they want to get rid of stuff. You, as the person in a position to take that “stuff” off their hands, are valuable to them. You can thus enrich yourself while enriching the other person – what could make you feel richer?

Garage sale-ing is like treasure hunting, complete with its own ups and downs. But when you come away with something that you would have paid $50 for in a store for a dollar or less, you feel not only rich, but virtuous.

2. Libraries. I’ve always loved libraries – their bounty and their order and their rules. The public library is a shining example of your taxes at work; you have to pay them, so why not make full use of your dollar?

I think a lot of people have an assumption that libraries only have ten-year-old, dog-eared paperbacks, and that’s why they’re not as visited as they could be. The truth is libraries are better than they’ve ever been. The Internet has done wonders for the kind of resources they can provide to the public.

I’d gone for many years without a library card when I walked into the Lunenburg Public Library a month or so ago. I was immediately greeted by an ebullient librarian at the circulation desk, who was only too happy to issue me a card, for which there was no cost. With it I received a brochure listing all the library’s vital information and instructions on how to request or renew books online. Since then I’ve requested two books from local libraries, and they’ve all arrived within two days, with an email notifying me that they were ready for pickup. The library hosts numerous events, too. This week I may go to see Ostrov (The Island), a Russian film that they’re screening. They also have video gaming events for teens and babysitting for harried parents.

Check out what your library has to offer – you might be surprised at the wealth of resources it can provide.

3. An ice cream cone. An ice cream stand I frequent has a memorable sign: “Everything tastes better in a cone.”

An ice cream cone doesn’t cost much – $3-$4 at the most premium places. You can share it. Generally, you have to pay cash – it’s one world where credit cards haven’t taken over yet. It’s loved by almost everyone.

I like to make ice cream at home, too. Matt and I received an ice cream maker for our wedding, and it’s been one of our most useful gifts. We love to make Alton Brown’s banana ice cream. It’s a great way to use up browning bananas, and with chocolate syrup and walnuts it’s orgasmically good.

Ice cream’s strength is that a little goes a long way. Even just a few bites will make you feel richer.

4. Embroidery floss. A couple of years ago, I ventured out to a Michael’s with a friend of mine on our “craft night.” I picked up three skeins of embroidery floss for a project and checked out. The total was less than a dollar – each skein was only about 30 cents.

I turned to my friend and said, “It’s amazing that 30 cents can bring so much pleasure.”

Maybe you don’t do cross-stitch, but I’m sure most of you have at least ONE do-it-yourself (DIY) hobby. What’s more rewarding than making something with your own hands? Sure, DIY may not always be the most frugal strategy. It is, however, a good life strategy; building valuable skills and giving you an immeasurable level of satisfaction.

5. The Internet. It’s not free (unless you go to your public library – see #2). In fact, it’s probably the most expensive thing on this list.

But think about how hard it was to find information out before it existed. Think about how much information is at your fingertips with just a Google search. Think about how quickly you can reach out to millions of people – whether you like it or not!

My parents got AOL when I was about fourteen, and I still remember my awe upon finding out that email was free.

Nowadays, I’m an information junkie. I can’t imagine that once upon a time, if I wanted to find out about, say, varieties of seaweed found off the coast of England, I’d have to physically go some place and HOPE they had a book on the topic–usually the library. If they didn’t, I’d have to request it, or go through periodical searches, finding tons of abstracts for periodicals the library didn’t have subscriptions to. ILL in those days was slooooooow. I think they moved books on passenger pigeons. AND THE ABACUS WAS ONLY A TOY.

Ahem. Yes. So I’m a little enthusiastic about how empowering this wide availability of information has been for me. The Internet is the ultimate tool for the intellectually curious.

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