Let's get our economy back on track: Work harder, live frugally

Sometimes on the slope leading to the top of the quarry, when [Boxer] braced his muscles against the weight of some vast boulder, it seemed that nothing kept him on his feet except the will to continue. At such times his lips were seen to form the words, "I will work harder"; he had no voice left.
Animal Farm, by George Orwell (1944)

I will work harder. . . 
But the luxuries of which Snowball had once taught the animals to dream, the stalls with electric light and hot and cold water, and the three-day week, were no longer talked about. Napoleon had denounced such ideas as contrary to the spirit of Animalism. The truest happiness, he said, lay in working hard and living frugally.
Somehow it seemed as though the farm had grown richer without making the animals themselves any richer-except, of course, for the pigs and the dogs. Perhaps this was partly because there were so many pigs and so many dogs. It was not that these creatures did not work, after their fashion.
There was, as Squealer was never tired of explaining, endless work in the supervision and organisation of the farm. Much of this work was of a kind that the other animals were too ignorant to understand . . . This was of the highest importance for the welfare of the farm, Squealer said. But still, neither pigs nor dogs produced any food by their own labour; and there were very many of them, and their appetites were always good. . . .
And yet the animals never gave up hope. More, they never lost, even for an instant, their sense of honour and privilege in being members of Animal Farm. . . . None of the old dreams had been abandoned. The Republic of the Animals which Major had foretold, when the green fields of England should be untrodden by human feet, was still believed in. Some day it was coming . . .
Animal Farm, by George Orwell (1944)




I will live frugally. . . 
A Frugal United States President: What better way to start out the new year, but with the swearing in of a frugal United States President!  President Elect Barack Obama has only one car for his family: a Ford Escape Hybrid. Rumor has it that he dislikes shopping and waits until he wears holes in his shoes before replacing them. His wife, Michelle, enjoys shopping for clothing at a discount, including at The Gap. She proudly boasts of her $30 dresses. Designer dresses are a rarity.  Setting a good frugal example for the world is an excellent way to start this new administration on a smart note. We all look forward to Obama’s wise and thrifty changes that will help get our economy back on track.

Michelle Obama is So Fab and So Frugal!  . . . what won the hearts of most Americans was her wearing more affordable fashions. A while back she was sported rocking this ultra cute frock from Talbot's that is $38.99.  Talbot's isn't always on my shopping list but once I saw this stunner along with the budget friendly price I screamed.  To top it off, the dress also comes in summer sexy turquoise. You have to love a woman who looks great on a dime.