If you’ve been following StretchyDollar.com over the summer you know we’ve had some issues with our garden. Someone besides us had been munching on our produce. At first we thought it was birds and got some ‘bird tape’ to scare them off, but everything was still being eaten. This past week we decided to try some slug/snail killer. We’d thought we wouldn’t need it since we live in hot and dry location, but we put some down before we went to be a couple of days ago and woke up to this:
They’re hard to see because they’re the same color as the dirt, but there are over 30 snails in this picture. The little rascals had been sliming their way through our garden, munching on our spinach, peas, beans and everything else. This morning there was only 1, so I guess we’ve cut down on their numbers. Our vegetables have finally been liberated and are growing!! We’re pretty excited. Here’s what I’m reading today - lots of impressive posts and sites - I hope you take the time to check them out, I really think they’re worth it. Quotes are from the posts, not me. Enjoy!
Bargaineering - What Would You Tell Yourself Ten Years Ago?
“Hindsight is 20/20, we all know that, but imagine if you not only had hindsight but also a time machine. What fun that would be! If you could go back in time ten, twenty, thirty years… what would you tell your earlier self?”
U.S. Debt Clock.org (No quote - but this is a very informative and depressingly interesting site)
FrugalDad.com - Do You Suffer From Financial Inferiority Complex?
“FIC is a range of symptoms involving the central common sense system, traveling from the security gland to the heart. Fortunately, the brain is unaffected as those with FIC are typically not using it. If left untreated FIC can cause serious damage to one’s pride and sense of self-worth. Fortunately, there are a host of home remedies for FIC, which if utilized properly, can head off the need more invasive procedures later in life.”
Wisebread.com - When To Use Savings to Pay Off Debt
“The analysis has to come down to your best guess on what the future might look like. My take is that getting the debt paid off sooner rather than later improves your situation so much that it’s worth taking a small risk. After all, even a large emergency fund will go pretty quickly if it has to cover large debt service payments.”
ConsumerismCommentary.com - 10 Purchases That Will Harm Your Credit
“Do you live your life as if everything you do could be made public? I once heard a suggestion that you should judge every decision you make based on whether you would like to see this decision on the front page of the New York Times. That is a good theory, but I can’t say I fully live by this philosophy.”
ArtofManliness.org - Lessons in Manliness from Winston Churchill
“As an ardent Anglophile, I have a lot of respect and admiration for Winston Churchill – Britain’s leader during the crucial World War II years. While he was not a perfect man by any stretch – he was a great man whose life has much to teach us about manliness.”
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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
I love the Winston Churchill link. A nice change of pace for financial reading.
My favorite Churchill quote:
Lady Nancy Astor: “Winston, if you were my husband, I’d put arsenic in your morning coffee.”
Churchill: “Madam, if you were my wife, I’d drink it.”
Hi
David - I have to agree with you, that is one of my favorite quotes of all time!
As for the snail problem, could I suggest getting a family of French people to live with you for a while. They will clear out your snail problem in no time (especially if you lay on a supply of butter and garlic)
Only joking, I love France and the French and take my vacations there most years.
Another way to rid your garden of snails is the use of nematodes. I’ve used them on my garden before and like that option because I don’t have to worry about chemicals.
The Debt Clock makes my eyes cross but the FIC quote made me giggle, “If left untreated FIC can cause serious damage to one’s pride and sense of self-worth”. That’s only the beginning of the problems you will have if it’s left untreated!
Your article on this blog is fantastic. Well done! I’m a big fan of your blog and be sure to keep up the great work.
I plan on returning and linking to your site.
Sincerely,
Author
The Alan Haft Blog,
My dad used to use a product called “Deadline” You basically draw a line around your plants and if a slug or snail crosses it, their slime orifice would intake the deadline and kill them so you’d have a circle of dead slugs around your plants. It’s probably banned now, I know he recently went to Canada to get some pesticide that they don’t sell here anymore. Environmentally friendly he is not.
Poor snails, all they want to do is exist. But I’m with you–snails in the garden is bad news, and they’ve got to go. Entertaining post.
Robert´s last blog ..Is Being a Germophobe Really Such a Bad Thing?