I feel as though I've always been cautious with cash. The only time in my life I ever borrowed money was to go to college and, fortunately, student loans have very reasonable interest rates. Of course, working abroad when right out of college did not force me to live a normal lifestyle. I mean I paid off those college loans quickly with cash from my work in Saudi Arabia. In addition, my current, eleven year old, pickup truck, although purchased new, was paid for with traveller's cheques. Even the apartment from which I'm typing this blog was 'cash on the barrel head'. I just shake my head in amazement at just how much most people have paid for the privilege of borrowing money! I don't need to make much considering how much I've saved.Even with the small things, I tend to scrimp. This whole new global warming paranoia has at least shined a spotlight on society's excessive consumption. Let's face it most people buy way too much crap. It's nice that my choices can now be discussed as being green ones.
Today, though I went to buy new batteries for our cordless house phone. The price ranged from $16 to $21 for those wrapped, three-battery packs. Then I saw that the entire new Sanyo cordless telephone was just $19. So, of course, I'm throwing away the old but perfectly usable one. I remember doing the exact same thing about three years ago. Sometimes, it just ain't easy being green. Wait, didn't Kermit, the frog, already say that?