I hope I'm not preaching here, my intention is to share what we're working on personally. On that note, here are a few more thoughts on how not to spend:

Don't buy things because they're cheap. If you need something, but can't afford a well- designed lasting version, can you buy it used? Otherwise, you're throwing money into something that will be thrown away rather quickly in the bigger scheme of things. $30 bookcases come to mind...cheap bookcases rarely last.

Also mull over whether what you're buying can be fixed if it breaks. Is that $50 microwave a "disposable" product? Yes, $150 shoes may be a good investment if they can be repaired for $5.

DIY Wednesday at Design*Sponge; and while I'm not so keen on last weeks embroidered curtains (I think the font needs to be a bit more dynamic, otherwise it looks unfinished) Purl Soho's blog Purl Be e has more advanced tips on embroidery that could really take the project to the next level.

One of my favorite things to do is trade. Most often that happens with my oldest brother, who leads a similar lifestyle to my own. That means we have project materials laying around that get traded back and forth. But because we have different talents we can also trade those, helping each other out with skills that might otherwise require hiring someone or buying something.

As I've said before, a lot of these choices are also very ecological; but have you noticed they are also considered "luxury items"? I grow food without pesticides and chemical fertilizers--organic. I make dinner from scratch, with fresh noodles and no preservatives--all natural.
Even words like "recycled" and "handmade" have a certain expensive status behind them.

Today's giveaway is an easy one: What is something you make or do that is frugal and useful, but would otherwise be luxurious if you were to buy it?

Comment on today's post and I'll have 3 winners--2 will get a set of urchin prints (archival inks on watercolor paper, sealed with gel medium for extra richness of color and depth) and 1 commenter will get a super beachy gastropods poster!