February 2015 – Page 2

Frugartsy

What if?

It might be wise not to take for granted the things we see for their sole purpose of which they were made and intended for and it is up to our imagination to see what else they could be or used for.

There is a sense of pride in using conventional items in unconventional ways and to know money has been saved in not having to purchase, even though at times it is simply just required, a tool or item for every occasion. Need not to mention the carbon footprint we are reducing by not having to drive to the store on every occasion leave alone reducing energy and emissions in manufacturing and their demise after use.

Frugality can be seen as using only what is needed sensibly while saving all around, money and energy waste. It makes proud sense and it is a way to live green naturally.

Frugality takes time and effort but the outcome is one of self satisfaction in circumventing what is status quo.
Maria Ludwig Michael Mies Van Der Rohe would often say “less is more”.

Credit Cards: They Keep The Interest

Credit cards can be very convenient when paid promptly.
Living on credit cards not only is living on false riches but it contributes to impoverishing to deeper and deeper levels because purchases through credit cards if not paid promptly will cost ten fold.

Lured by incentives such as low rates one can easily be swayed into following the wrong direction. And once balances reach a certain amount the rates will change, administering a vicious long term blood siphoning grip.
In simple words, credit cards offer the ecstasy of a convenience to get us hooked and create the agony that later keep us financially strapped to their higher insatiable demand.

“You did it to yourself” one might say. The answer is true yet very questionable.
A proverb from the old country says:
Opportunity makes the thief.

The most depressing day of my neighbor’s life was when he finally realized that in his life time he would not have been able to repay his debt. Transferring continually to lower balances, calling the banks, consistently paying much more than the minimum payment and even not spending made no significant changes.
What quelled the problem was selling his house and he was lucky to have one to sell.

He has been credit cards free for fifteen years. Does not carry cash, keeps some change in the car for the parking meter and lives instead off the Debit Card.

Having cash on hand makes it easy to spend and makes us momentarily forget how hard it is to make.
The debit card gives the flexibility of the credit card and it can be frugally used only for needed expenses.
Keep the amount in the debit card low and if it cannot cover the purchase today, oh well, maybe another day.
Once used to it, it is really no pain at all.

It might be fair to say that credit card rates should match the feeble rates that banks offer for savings or CD accounts but this would not be sufficient to cover their waste nor their greed.

A Process Of Creation

This is a process in the stretching of the imagination
…and stretch …and stretch.

We need to evaluate what we need and what we have around us.
Does this work? Does that fit?
Can they interlock? Are they modular?
Where can we get that? How could it be done?
…and stretch …and stretch.

Sometimes we embark on a composition
with a vague idea of what we are after
just following our gut feeling.
Oh my goodness it is beginning to look like…
…and stretch … and stretch

Yes!
We think of a good name
and finally have a path to follow
to realize our composition.
At times the synergy of a multitude of compositions with their titles
will suggest a theme and therefore a directional goal.
Sort of like taking a shadow and then
composing what could cast it.

Like most things,
artistic compositions should always have a name
even if the painting is white on white.
Titles in fact can at times sprout luster and meaning from the banal
and it is just plain wonderful fun.…and stretch …and stretch
that
concept, solution and presentation.