Conserve, conservative!

Over the years, I have learned through reading, listening to others, and a little soul searching, that I qualify to be referred to as a Conservative, politically speaking. Mostly, I am a fiscal conservative, believing in the free-market system and Trickle-down economics. But I also think I qualify to be referred to as a conservationist, and that spreads throughout my life, including things like recycling, reusing, working to be sure I am not wasting where I can be using things wisely. This past couple of years, I had a rain barrel installed to capture some of the summer rains we get and use it to water the garden; bought and began using a compost bin to reuse kitchen scraps, yard trimmings, shredded newspaper, etc. Now we have a separate waste can to deposit recyclable items to keep them from adding to the landfill. I believe in all of these things as prudent ways to be good shephards of our resources.

Economically speaking, I also believe in using something until it is no longer usable. My car is a 1995 model, and recently turned over 150k on the odometer. I plan to continue using it until it is no longer economically feasible to do so. I try to keep my debt load under control, not borrowing more than I need to, not spending more than I need to either. This means wearing clothes that I have had for awhile instead of stocking up on newer ones; not going out to eat a lot, limiting travels, basically trying to live within our means. This is no great sacrifice, from where I stand! I love being able to put my head on the pillow at night and not spend hours worrying and fretting about how I will be able to meet our monthly financial obligations. Somehow, though, I feel like the 'powers that be' are not happy if the American public isn't spending to the max, therefore not supporting the economy! I fail to see how overspending and getting into debt, having our homes foreclosed, our cars reposessed, because we were not economically prudent, is supporting our economy, can you?

So, on the off chance that we do get one of those much-touted economic stimulus package checks in the mail any time in the foreseeable future, the chances are I will use it to reduce my debt, or to save for future expenses. Right now, we are in the midst of a giant mud puddle here in Flagstaff, since we live on a dirt road and don't have a paved driveway. My hope is that I can take some of that mystical money, or more likely, some of my income tax refund, and have a load of cinder rock put down in our driveway and out into the roadway, so future snows and rainstorms will be a little easier on our 'mud' footprint! But I'm not going to hold my breath, either way....