Last week I appeared on a local television news magazine to discuss approaches to a frugal Christmas. I was able to make use of several reader suggestions — thank you! All of these recent public appearances have been challenging, but I’m getting better at them as time goes on. What does not kill me makes me stronger — right?
Meanwhile, I’ve been sitting on some good articles. I keep thinking I’ll have time to write about them, but I never do. Instead, I’ll share them as quick links:
First, Ben at Trees Full of Money sent me the story of his neighbor, a man who built his own 105mpg car. The vehicle took him 1000 hours and $2500 to construct. This “microcar” is street legal and, reportedly, fun to drive. To read more about it, check out the official website.
If you’re after a more traditional motor vehicle, Reader’s Digest has a quick list of tips on how to haggle when buying a car. None of these are new, but if you’re in the market for a new vehicle, it cannot hurt to refresh your memory. If I every get a chance to buy my Mini Cooper, I’ll be back to take a look at these.
Kristina sent me a link to a USA Today article about urban farming in San Francisco. Here’s how the innovative My Farm works: If you have an unused backyard, MyFarm installs and maintains a vegetable garden. As they harvest produce, they leave some of it with you, and sell the rest using a CSA-style system. It’s a neat idea.
Finally, Random sent me a piece from Australia’s The Age. Louisa Deasey wrote an article in praise of frugality, explaining why she just says no to credit cards. She wonders why people think it’s so crazy for her to live within her means!
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Links are great for when you simple don’t have the time to write about the article….great links I will check them out asap
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Did you see that they’re making 500 Mini Cooper electric cars? I have a regular Mini and LOVE it. I’d sooooo love to have an electric one… I have no idea what they’ll sell for…
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That car is great! It might be a little small to load up all the kids to head to grandmas, but the concept is great!
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Yay, I’m famous!
I have to say that Urban Farming idea sounds like a really good one. I like it.
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I lived for many years without a credit card and with strong resentment for owning one. I hated the idea of having debt introduced into my life. I have a credit card now and it’s an extremely valuable tool. I get rebates on my purchases. I can buy overseas relatives gifts from their neck of the woods. Most importantly, I can auto-pay my bills more easily with a credit card on time every time. I keep an account specifically for paying off the credit card that has a minimum balance of my credit limit. Each week, the amount of money I spend on the credit card goes into this account. Each month, I’ve earned interest on my credit card payments. Now if only it was free to have a credit card…
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For your Urban Farm, in Portland, there’s http://www.yourbackyardfarmer.com. If you have an old house (lead seepage) the ladies have contacts who can buid raised beds too.
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Cool Car:) he has imagination…it’s kind hard to go shopping, not to much space:)
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Interesting about the car. I decided to make myself a homemade ‘Moped.’
It really isn’t a moped so much as a power-assited street legal bicycle.
I never knew about them until I saw one in craigslist. You can get a 49cc or 80cc engine kit off eBay for $90 shipped. All you need is a bike to strap it on. It gets 105 miles to a gallon plus it looks pretty sweet.
- Neko
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Thanks for linking to the article!
It really is a neat little “car” that our friend built!
Its concept has sparked a lot of debate among my readers.
Call it what you want, but it is working out just fine as a daily driver for the builder here in Maine.
He even uses it during the cold winter months. Using a conventional “moped” or “scooter” for this would not really be feasible.
Regards,
Ben
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It looks as if you’ll be increasingly invited to do more speaking. If it hasn’t already been recommended, I heartily suggest joining Toastmasters–it’s really just the ticket for what you need.
http://www.toastmasters.org/websiteApps/
Really–you should look up a club. It’ll hone your speaking skills, and membership is actually pretty low priced ($27 every 6 months, $20 new member fee for materials, etc.) It can transform people’s reaction to speaking from fear into toleration, and toleration into enjoyment.
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I thought you did a good job on the interview, J.D. I’m sure you’ll get better over time, but for someone who’s never really done a lot of public speaking before I think you’re doing well.
Keep up the great work!
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The idea of urban farming is quite good. humm..
and i like the idea of cars too.
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I loved that interview – I thought you did a really good job! And for the record, the news lady echoed what I’ve always thought about your wife – she rocks!!
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Definitely a cool looking car. I’d love to see it’s crash test ratings though.
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