I’ve Finally Found the Line

What line, you ask?

My frugality line. The line that I will not cross to save money, or the environment, or whatever.

There’s lots of things I will do to save money. I’ll clip coupons. I’ll shop the sale racks. I’ll lather and rinse without repeating.

I’ll re-gift, I’ll make dinner by the ambient light from another room, I’ll let my roots get too long before a touch-up.

I’ll wait to call until after 9pm, re-use gift bows and the occasional ziplock bag.

I’ll even take perfectly good, usable things other people leave for the garbage truck. Once a neighbor left two very expensive baby play yards for the garbage man. I sold them on Craigslist and made $120.

What I will not do, under any circumstances, is take food someone else has thrown away and eat it. Blech.

I don’t care if it’s something as innocuous as cereal, in a still-sealed box. If food has been deemed garbage by someone else I will defer to their expertise. I will leave that to Seinfeld’s George (remember the eclair sitting on top of his host’s garbage?) and to the Freegans, whose penchant for dumpster cuisine I discovered by reading Savvy Frugality‘s post Extreme Frugality: Freegans.

Husband, who has often wondered where the line stood, is much relieved.

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