Money Obedience

Late spring is my favorite part of the year. The weather is just perfect. It’s cool in the mornings and evenings, warm during the day. I have plenty of opportunity to spend time outside doing one sport or another or puttering around the garden. What could be better than that?

Finally, here in the Northeastern U.S. we have the perfect temperature to leave the windows open during the night. Not only do we get cool fresh air, it allows us to listen to the outside noises when we fall asleep. In the morning we hear the songs of all kinds of birds. (Suburban bliss!!) So, now is just about the perfect time of year for the body thermostats to be in sync. You see, when it gets too hot and humid, I need the windows closed and the air-conditioning turned on to feel comfortable, but we are about a month away from having to do this. (Then, wifey is bundled as if it’s winter, while I’m much happier.) When it is still too cold, the wife needs the windows closed even though I may proclaim that “spring is in the air!” (That happens as the temperature climbs to the upper 30s sometime in March, but I must admit that I have done it in February too. How would I love to open wide all the windows then! But, as we married people know all too well, we must compromise and we husbands must keep the wife happy. So, the windows didn’t get opened until about a week or two ago.)

But there is another benefit of spring that this frugal fellow enjoys. There is no need for heating and no need for air-conditioning during this time of the year. I am especially glad about not having to turn on the heat! It’s not that I am not willing to keep the wife warm – after all, I know she only enjoys balmy climate. But the price of oil and gas has increased considerably compared to the year before and our household has definitely felt the impact of higher energy prices. We cut back on other things like eating out so that the wife can still enjoy a warm house and so that we still stay within our budget limits. This is hardly a difficult choice to make, is it?

Anyway, here is to a few more “perfect” weeks of the year! You can rest assured that I will enjoy every day of this time even more than I enjoy the other days of the year.