My wife is one of the most fascinatingly frugal people I have ever had the honor to know. I regarded her desire to live a thrifty, uncomplicated life when I met her 27 years ago as thankfully low-maintenance, for we were young and broke and she could stretch a dollar a country mile with no complaints.
As we grew together, the perspective began to change as I watched her raise our four children to, among so many other things, learn to live within a set budget, make soap and detergent, firestarters for the wood stove, garden and can, to cherish nature and renew it and always never let anything go to waste. What they call green today was not so highly regarded then and many thought she was a hippie, a thought that made her laugh and one she never discouraged. It only served to encourage her more.
It has always been fun to see what she will get into next and as I matured, I stopped seeing her as low-maintenance and someone who could pinch pennies and save me a dollar and instead as a unique woman who embraced the concept of frugality as a complete lifestyle. It is who she is and I am so blessed to have spent the past quarter century in her world.
At mid-life, we still do not have much money, but are enriched much more than that. Our children/young adults are all determined and independent like their mother, embracing the basic things in life and enjoying time with mom to see what will spring into her mind.
Recently recovering from knee and shoulder surgery, she had an opportunity to read even more articles regarding self-sufficiency and has come to the conclusion that the price of honey is too high and we need to have our own hive. My guess is that by next summer, we will. For me, I am not particularly fond of bees but am fond of my wife. The next 27 years of frugal living looks to indeed be promising.
By Marc from Richmond, VA
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What a wonderful testament to your wife's philosophy. I'm sure it does bring a wry smile to her face now her way of life is all the rage again! She should write a book titled:
Frugality, I thought of it first!
It is so wonderful to hear from a man's perspective, so very nice of you to speak so kindly about your wife like that.
In times like this, we all need to be as frugal as possible, money is so tight, but, if we are frugal, and very creative with everything, life, is happier, and more fruitful.
I love this story! We should all have husbands that show that they really do notice what we do in our daily lives, and appreciate it! Reading this made me cry. :)
I loved reading your article, and I think your wife is a very wise lady, and its awfully nice of you to appreciate her in this way. I must say that living such a lifestyle only makes you closer to nature. Good Luck & God Bless.
A lovely story and lovingly told. It's truly wonderful to hear a man appreciating his wife's good qualities. You are both lucky to have one another.
Pookarina
What a wonderful story and exceptional for a man to share his feelings.Thanks for caring and sharing.
What a wonderful story and tribute to your wife Marc! Thank you so much for sharing that touching story.
I agree with what everyone else said. I enjoyed reading this story! It was so very well written, should be in a magazine or newspaper!
I really like this, you are a lovely man to give such a glowing testimony to your wife, and her thriftiness and caring through out your years together.
That's a darned lucky lady! Her husband has set a good example for their children. I must add that he is lucky too.
All I can say about your story is, "Wow"! If I could give you two thumbs up I would but your testament is definitely receiving the one I can!
What a lovely written article. You two are truly blessed to have each other!
Had to laugh when I read the hippie comment. I was a hippie back then. It was wonderful to have the time to learn whatever I was interested in.
I am happy for your family and that you have the insight to see the qualities of your wife as a gift to the family.
Bees are a wonderful idea. You will have increased production in your garden, especially if you plant flowers amongst the veggies. Also I understand some honey, probably just store honey, is adulturated, and not produced in the USA, so it slips through. I wouldn't worry about any honey bought at a farmer's market. I currently live in a suburb of Denver, and along a walking path, I see one of the neighbors has two hives, with two tiers on each. Lucky them.
Good story. Very few men talk so proudly off their wives, glad that you appreciate your wife very much.
Congratulations to you and your wife Marc! I've been praying your essay would be a thumbs up winner and it most certainly is! :-) I've been a ThriftyFun family member for a long, long time but, not saying it has not happened before, I've never seen a 50 vote win! I hope you and your wife have a nice and frugal alone time celebration together! God Bless!
You are a very lucky man to have a wife who is so frugal. The divorce statistics are alive with men complaining that their wives just spent them into poverty. Count your blessings.
Really enjoyed your story, Marc. Your wife is blessed to be so appreciated!
Re: keeping bees, I inquired a few years ago about the possibility of having a hive placed on my property by a beekeeper who would pay me with honey once a year... I discovered that it is illegal in my city to have beehives within 100 feet of a dwelling. Since my lot is not that big, that ends the possibility for me.
That is pretty much how I grew up. We didnt make soap, but we stocked up on food when it was on sale. We canned fresh produce from the garden. I still do these things. And lots of veggie meals. Lots of beans or peas and potatoes. Oh and cornbread. Yumm. I still fix those meals and love them. We saved our bacon grease for seasoning. We had a lot of frugal meals.
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