Mary Beth Writes

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The Choosing Season
December 12, 2018
Posted by Mary Beth

“Decision fatigue helps explain why ordinarily sensible people get angry at colleagues and families, splurge on clothes, buy junk food at the supermarket and can’t resist the dealer’s offer to rustproof their new car.

The Arrows of Yore
December 3, 2018
Posted by Mary Beth

I have a weird dark closet in the back of my soul. In it are critical things people have said to me in my life. I rarely consciously think about those old cuts and criticisms, but they are tucked in back there and sometimes I remember them uneasily.

Bowl of Persimmons
Make Persimmon Cookies; Don’t make a Persimmon Life.
November 29, 2018
Posted by Mary Beth

We are new subscribers to “Imperfect Produce” which is a service that delivers imperfect (duh) but safe and flavorful veggies and fruit to your house. This helps to keep “imperfect” produce from being wasted. (https://www.imperfectproduce.com/  I don’t get kickbacks from them.)

Buy Angry
November 17, 2018
Posted by Mary Beth

Frugality is a tool and a weapon. You can use it to be powerful.

What?

Frugality and Privacy
November 4, 2018
Posted by Mary Beth

 “If you aren’t paying for the product, you are the product.”

When one of our kids was 8-years old, Len thought it would be fun to let that kid drive his car. I swear - though I doubt you will believe me - no drinking was involved. Len just really believes in our kids and sometimes this turns into bigger adventures than one would expect.

"Must-Haves" 1/10/2018
January 10, 2018
Posted by Mary Beth

A friend (Thanks, Carol) tweeted this.  

“The term “must-haves” is profoundly unsettling to me.”

For those of us trying to live both frugally and thoughtfully – Yup!

I looked into the website she was responding to; it was coupons for:

Not Buying Presents for Christmas? What Fresh Hell is this?
December 21, 2017
Posted by Mary Beth

We spent a lot of money on our kids this past year and they spent a lot of their own money arranging and getting to all the stuff this family did. (Wedding events and more….). It was my opinion we didn’t need to spend more cash on each other. When I mentioned this to my daughters and sister-in-law, they agreed - so we decided to just do food gifts.

Bike path along the Fox River
10 Things I Learned By 65
October 17, 2017
Posted by Mary Beth

Yesterday I turned 65. My birthday weekend was great; we saw all the kids and our grandbaby. The baby smiles slowly at us now. When she feels brave that we will be nice to her, she lifts her hand and waves. My socks melted.