by Beth Hermes

Created on: October 26, 2008

During my college days, there were times when the small paycheck I earned as a department editor for the school paper and the slightly larger check I received from my father for living expenses didn't quite stretch to the end of the month. My husband (who was then my boyfriend) was in the same boat, so we'd combine whatever we had in our pantries for our meals, take walks around the campus for entertainment, and get together with friends who were also flat broke.

It never occurred to us at that time to panic or be depressed about not having money. We were doing exactly what we had to to get to the next day. In our ignorance or naivete, we figured it would all work out - and it did!

Gas in those days was about seventy-five cents per gallon, but even that was out of reach sometimes. I'd go weeks without driving my car, relying instead on my well-worn shoes or my bicycle. No gym membership was needed, as my meals were "just enough" and my exercise was plentiful.

In June of my junior year, I had just started the summer semester and funds ran out more quickly than I or my husband expected. We were down to the last of the pantry supplies and wanted something sweet, so we combined what little flour I had in my apartment with a few packets of fast-food restaurant sugar and salt packets and a bowl full of blackberries picked from behind my apartment building, and had one of the most delicious cobblers I've ever tasted!

Years passed and we bought our first home, had our two children, bought and sold a few cars and pursued our careers. Having grown accustomed to the frugal life in college, we made a conscious decision not to go overboard in our daily lives - although the definition of "frugal" changes when you have a successful career. Even so, some of the best times with our children include playing a board game or reading a story, planting a garden or listening to music.

That being said, when times were good financially, we sold our starter home and purchased a slightly larger home in a neighborhood that was a bit more rural. There's a small lake in the front of the subdivision with a gazebo, and the children and I frequently walk to the lake and read or toss a football while my husband casts a line for the bass with which the lake is stocked.

With the recent economic situation the country and the world have been facing, it's easy to get caught up in the emotional turmoil and buy into the notion that the sky is truly falling. For a time, my husband's level of anxiety had

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