The other day, I heard a story on the radio about a man in Southern California who just received approval to build a big plant that will turn garbage into fuel for automobiles. That sure does bring new meaning to the idea of compost. The on-air conversation was fascinating and made me want to invest in this new venture. It also made me wonder whether this business would be put on the fast track because of our current high gasoline costs.

That got me thinking about other good things that are happening as a result of high food and fuel costs and the rising national unemployment rate. Take libraries, for example. A recent Associated Press story reported that a record number of people are visiting their libraries and finding the best deal in town: Books, CDs, DVDs, even video game sessions are free.

According to the AP story, the American Library Association reported usage nationwide was 10 percent higher in the past year than during the 2001 economic downturn, when it tracked a similar spike in visits and circulation. Libraries recorded 1.3 billion visits, and patrons checked out more than 2 billion items from April 2007 to April 2008. Clearly, when the economy goes down, public library use goes up.

And how could we forget the housing crisis? Or perhaps we should call it the housing opportunity. I have been thinking for some time now that plunging home values could be just the thing to let a new generation of homebuyers into a market that otherwise might have locked them out. Just as I was thinking about that, a letter came in the mail from a reader named Bev:

"I've been reading your daily column and just wanted to let you know how the recession is affecting me. For years, I've lived just on the upper edge of poverty, not because I don't have a decent job or work hard but because of medical and economic factors working against me. Now, with the economy so tight and the housing price slump, I'm finally able to seriously consider buying a home. After years of hard work to get my credit in decent shape and putting away as much as I could (some paychecks, only $20 went to savings, but every $20 counts!), I qualify for an FHA loan and am very close to fulfilling the dream of owning my own home."

Isn't that fabulous? Good for you, Bev! You practiced and confirmed two important principles of debt-proof living. The first is that it's not so much how much you save, but that you do it consistently, always and without fail. The other principle is simple: Have patience. Be willing to wait. Bev is living proof that those two principles, when practiced together, truly will pay off in time.

Mary Hunt is the founder of DebtProofLiving.com and author of 17 books, including "Debt-Proof Living." You can e-mail her at mary@everydaycheapskate.com, or write to Everyday Cheapskate, P.O. Box 2135, Paramount, CA 90723. To find out more about Mary Hunt and read her past columns, please visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.
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