James Denver: I don't think you're odd at all. Those are great ideas for managing contact with society while keeping it from intruding.
Before paying the cards off and cutting them up, I had large amounts of AirMiles/SkyMiles, whatever each of them called their rewards points.
If I redeemed points for air travel, I still ended up paying sales tax, airport tax, fuel surcharges and any other fee they saw fit to charge. A short, 60 minute flight between here and where my grandmother lives would have cost about $100 in "fees" even with points.
If I took the TRAIN instead, I'd have a 5 hour trip BUT little or no fees if I used the accumulated reward points. I guess I'm just saying, while these reward programs can be useful, big-money (CC companies, banks, utilities, big-oil etc) will do EVERYTHING in their power to keep taking money from your pocket - such as those "fees" when you want to redeem points.
To me, frugality means being ruthless with your money when other people want it so you still have some when YOU want to spend it.
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Cabana 4 Life: thanks for the info! I'm feeling even more inspired knowing about your location and also hearing about the fellow in Alaska with the straw-bale house living off the grid.