Fresh blackberries are amazing.

I think the last time that I had actual blackberries was when I was in
the fifth grade. And keep in mind, these are the real thing, not some
frozen month-old test-tube grown mutations that were bought from the
store. Real blackberries, picked from the vine, and then washed to
remove the blood, because blackberry plants draw more blood from me in
an afternoon than an entire platoon of vampire nurses could in a week.

Blackberries. Such a simple thing, really, and yet such a source of
incredible joy.

Simplicity itself is likewise amazing. My present life-simplification project,
at which I've been plodding away for a month, has been incredibly rewarding.
Even over such a short period of time, the benefits have been just...
incredible. As part of this, I've been throwing away things that I've kept 'just
in case', but in reality will never use, and a shocking number of these things
are crap that I paid perfectly good money for, used once or twice, and then
tossed in a box.

The amount of money I've wasted over the years is truly shocking. Given
compound interest, I've probably blown enough cash to buy a reasonably
nice, small house. Some of this has been on very worthwhile things,
like my first trip to Japan, but most of it has been an utter waste,
like a Handspring PDA (remember those)?, a bluetooth headset that I
never use, and a ridiculous amount of dining out.

Getting rid of all this junk has been in many ways very theraputic, and
inspiring in my goal to lead a more frugal life. As a side benefit,
I've almost stopped eating out entirely, and because of that alone, I've
managed to drop five pounds of bodyfat. It really is amazing how
utterly bad even the 'healthy' options at restaurants are for you.

The biggest hurdle is in adding a mental block to the process of 'see -
want - spend'. Making it a point to add a 'stop' between the 'want' and
'spend' has been incredibly difficult, but I find that if I take the
time to reason out the purchase, I more often than not don't make it.
Taking the time to think has also given me a greater awareness of where
my money was going, which is good, because I've paid my cashflow very
little attention over the past few years.

Additionally, when I do need to buy something, I hunt around for the
cheapest price for an appropriate item. That isn't to say I only buy
the shoddiest stuff in existence; rather, I think sensibly about what my
needs are, which is how I managed to save $100 on my car cover, $300 on
a carport, nearly $500 on a new server, and so on.

So, in short, stopping before spending, and hunting for bargains, has
not only been fun, but I like how my bank balance isn't rocketing
downward like the housing market. Because less crap is purchased,
there's less crap to deal with, and thus less resultant stress.

As always, life is good.