Besides what I recall from a trip to Charleston as a child some 20 years ago, most everything I know about South Carolina I've learned from the state's native son, Stephen Colbert.

That is to say, I don't know too much.

But this article in the New York Times about Gov. Mark Sanford a couple of weeks ago caught my eye, and not because of his threatened refusal to accept federal money. Instead, I enjoyed reading how seriously this millionaire takes thriftiness.

"Former employees say he has been known to require his staff to use both sides of a Post-it note. When Mr. Sanford was a congressman, he slept on a futon in his office and returned his housing allowance. And when, after he moved into the Governor’s Mansion here, tax collectors declared his family’s home on Sullivan’s Island a secondary residence subject to a higher tax rate, he appealed and won."

Even I don't use both sides of a Post-it note (well, not always), and I'm far from a millionaire. Sounds like I have a ways to go before I can truly deem myself frugal.