Thoughts from my garden

One of the many exciting finds in our garden area.

I was planting onions today when I had a thought- frugality and personal finance is a lot like my garden.

We were thrilled with the garden space already set up when we bought our house. Fenced off with a cute gate- I could already see the vegetables we'd grow there in my mind. Yet whoever owned our home before we did used that space as a general dumping area.

The first year we "gardened," it took many man hours of hoeing and digging and hauling away. We found the contents of several fish tanks (tiny castle, gravel, and all), garbage, a rotted welcome mat, and piles and piles of branches and leaves. It was overwhelming and exhausting to haul all of that stuff out. It took three of us several weekends of solid work to even get to the "floor" of the garden, which was covered in grass and weeds.

We cleared out the weeds as best we could, and optimistically planted a few tomatoes and a zucchini plant. It was not the best, and we had to fight the weeds and pull up grass constantly, but we would not give up on on our vision of tall rows of vegetables. We knew it would not come to pass that year, but we started with something.

Last year, we went further. We really tore up the soil and put down one of those weed mat things to help kill all the grass and weeds that we were still fighting with. We were also able to buy some mulch, which helped quite a bit. I added some jalapenos, eggplant, and yellow squash to the tomatoes and zucchini. It was a bit easier to take care of, and we were not pulling weeds as much.

This year, our prepared garden was almost weed and grass free. Today I sat out in the beautiful weather and planted spinach, lettuce, and onions. It was pleasant work, and there was almost no pulling of weeds. There was certainly no back breaking labor like the first year.

When you first start to wade through your finances, it can be daunting! If you have a lot of debt or a very small income, it can be a lot like hacking through the weeds and hauling away bags and bags of garbage. Many people throw in the towel and give up, thinking that the task is too hard! I encourage you not to give up, no matter how daunting the task may seem. In a few years, the work will no longer be as daunting, and you'll be able to start enjoying the fruits of your labor.

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