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What's
a frugal grasshopper?
The idea of a frugal grasshopper comes from the
old fable about The Ant and the Grasshopper.
You know -- the one where the ant works hard all
summer to save up food for winter, while the
grasshopper plays all summer and then starves to
death that winter.
The message is clear: work hard and prepare for
tough times to come or the consequences will be
dire.
What that fable leaves out is that the ant might
get crushed by a passing pedestrian while
crossing a sidewalk, killed by insecticide or
fried by a kid with a magnifying glass (and
don't forget anteaters) long before she ever
gets to enjoy the future benefits of her long,
hard labor. Equally, the grasshopper might well
be eaten by a hungry bird or find himself
impaled on a fishhook long before the cold winds
of winter become an issue.
What's your point?
Simple: You might live 100+ years, in which case
the ant's approach to life would make the most
sense. On the other hand, you might get run
over by a beer truck next week while out on your
healthful five mile run, which would make
full-bore chirping and dancing like the
grasshopper (figuratively speaking), or just
sitting in the shade watching the grass grow, as
good a way to live as any.
Since most of us don't know how long we'll be on
this Earth, it makes sense to play it both ways.
That is, to try to balance self-indulgently
enjoying our here-and-now while also keeping our
expenses to a minimum and making reasonable
preparations for emergencies and/or longevity
as a hedge against the possibility of
a long cold winter sometime in the future.
Why the web site?
Like most Frugal Grasshopper activities, it's
aimed at synthesizing and balancing of various
objectives. Primarily, it's a way to share some
experiments in F.G. living with like-minded
folks. To start, we'll focus on some cheap fun
projects, time-saving approaches to boring
chores (so you have more free time to do what
you want, of course!), and whatever else comes
up in the course of these explorations.
Also, I'll include some of my more instructive
learning experiences -- a.k.a. "foul-ups" -- so
that you can avoid repeating my mistakes.
In that spirit of exploration, hope you enjoy
this site!
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