My wife and I went to a farmer’s market yesterday and bought some fresh vegetables. We bought a half dozen ears of corn, a green and golden zucchini, some tomatoes, and some snap peas. For dinner last night we each had an ear of corn, some grilled zucchini, sliced tomatoes, snap peas, and naan bread with several types of hummus. It was a very delicious meal!
Not only were the locally grown vegetables more delicious than most produce in our regular grocery store, most of it is organically grown and was fresher than what we get from the store. Buying local has many other benefits as well, such as improving your local economy and reducing the amount of fuel used to ship produce across the country. I encourage everyone to check out their local farmer’s market if you get a chance. You won’t regret it!
For more information about buying locally, check out Local Harvest. There is a lot of great info about why buying local is beneficial and where to find local farmer’s markets.
WWII – rationing and the POW economy. I love reading and learning about history, either from first hand accounts or in historical texts and novels. WWII is a topic I love to read and learn about because it was one of recent history’s most defining moments and there are still enough people around whose lives were affected by it that it remains as part of our collective conscious.
This week there were a couple articles in the personal finance world that caught my attention. Broke-Ass Grad Student shared an interesting article about WWI rationing. This is something that most people in the US and the UK had to deal with on a regular basis. People in other countries affected by the war were often less fortunate and had no rationing – they simply got what they could when they could.I wonder how Americans would deal with rationing now. My guess is not well.
JD shared a post about the economics of a POW camp. He gave a brief synopsis of an article he found online, and if you think you might even be remotely interested in it, I encourage you to read the article - POW economy. I found it fascinating. Thanks for sharing, JD. 
Articles from my reader:
- David has good friends – Friends Encourage Friends To Be Frugal.
- Mrs Micah introduces her Meta Blog and three posts on blogging.
- Plonkee recommends not faking your death if faced with bankruptcy.
- Single Guy Money has tips for stretching your heathcare dollar.
- Dough Roller shares his thoughts on credit card fees and that fine print you probably didn’t read when you signed up for the card.
- Ron shares 21 Sure Signs Your Bank Is About To Fail. Humorous in light of recent bank failures.
- Madison decided to quit her day job to spend more time with her family. I wish her the best!
- Frugal Dad writes that Online College Degree Programs Offer Maximum Flexibility.
- lazy Man takes A Look at 2008 Goal Progress.
- Rich Credit Debt Loan tells us How to Stop Living Paycheck to Paycheck.
- Flexo says Baseball Cards Aren’t Fun Anymore. They ceased being as much fun for me long ago, but I still buy a couple packs per year out of nostalgia.
- Jarhead Online has some great info on the Post 9/11 GI Bill.
This Week’s Carnivals:
- The Festival of Frugality #135 – The Frugal All Over Edition was hosted at Antishay Ventenne. My article, Get Paid to Try Blockbuster Total Access!, was included.
- The 7th Edition Of The Carnival Of Careers was hosted at Erik Folgate. The Remarkable Approach To Your Finances, a guest article from The Shark Investor, was included. Do Military Members Get Paid Enough?, which was published at Military Finance Network, was also included.
- The 69th Carnival of Money Stories was hosted at Almost Frugal. My article, Don’t Underestimate the Little Things, was included.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
I know that they had rationing in Germany and occupied Europe as well in WW2. But as the bombing got worse later on in the war, the ability to move food supplies reduced as the allies bombed the railways.
The Netherlands nearly starved to death and British (and possibly other allied countries) dropped food parcels. I think this was with the permission of the Germans, but I’m not sure. The airmen involved have been feted by the Dutch ever since.
We have a rather large Amish population where I live. Growing up we always bought produce in the summer from the Amish stands along the road. We looked forward to the time when the corn was ready. Tasty and far cheaper than the grocery store!
Yo Patrick thanks for the mention. The new GI Bill might be the best thing to happen to troops, but might also be very bad to the services. It will definately be interesting to see if retention decrease now.
The Jarhead
Good point about the world war and rationing.
Lately every time we go out to visit the wife’s grand mother I can’t help but notice how well off they are now considering the poor times they lived through. If you want to find out how to live on the cheap, talk to someone who lived through the dirty 30’s. Now they had it rough. It’s amazing to me to hear the stories of how little they had and yet they got by.
As for the farmers market, we have one in the park down the street, talk about good fresh veggies. Can’t beat it!