Diet and debtI was reading through the 10 Diets You Probably Want to Avoid and beyond the odd ones where a danish author was forced to eat his book and an automobile maker ate weed sandwiches’¦ there were a few that got me thinking.

‘œWhen Ernest Hemingway was writing his works of literary genius, he certainly wasn’t dining on filet mignon and caviar. Nope, most of his books were written on a diet of peanut butter sandwiches.’

‘œBritish wrestler Sir Athol Oakley maintained his physique by drinking 11 pints of milk every single day for three years. That’s 12,012 pints of milk. When asked how he had arrived at that particular amount, he said it was because a wrestler he admired, Georg Hackenschmidt, gave an interview once in which he had professed to drinking exactly that amount. Hackenschmidt met Oakley and informed him that the 11 pints had been a typo – he actually drank just one pint of milk a day.’

After reading these I thought that it was interesting how far they would go to the extreme or cut back in order to attain the goal that they desired. So many people want a pill or a secret answer to making the debt go away or to become a millionaire, but it takes time, hard word and SACRIFICES. Some sacrifices that may seem extreme.

Take a pause and reconsider just how out-there someone might be when you hear that they re-use the same tea bag all week, water down their bottles of condiment or pick up pennies.

It is good to see that some people are seeing that the need to sacrifice or even just cut back is starting to sink in for some outside of the ‘˜frugal living’ community. In CNN’s article ‘œAmericans tightening their belts‘ it appears the CFL bulb is flickering to life and they are understanding that changes have to made.

Across America, there are growing signs that consumers are worried about the weakening economy, which could slip into recession. While some say Americans are not famed for their belt-tightening tactics, there are signs that people are trying to improve their personal balance sheets so they’re ready for tougher times.

But Americans are much better spenders than savers, said Greg McBride, senior financial analyst with Bankrate.com, an online financial information service.

‘œConsumer spending isn’t something that gets turned on and off like a light switch,’ he said. ‘œPeople will say they need to cut back, but they often lack the willpower to do it.’

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Dawn C. is site owner of Frugalforlife.com where this is a repost from: A Diet to Something Better. Dawn is residing in Colorado with her spouse, Teri, of 11 years.