When it comes to my finances, I ask myself two crucial questions. One, “what do I need (housing, food, healthcare) and how do I pay less for that?” and two, “what do I want (travel, fun, books) and how do I pay less for that?”. That’s my frugality philosophy in a nutshell. Even a frugalista […]
How I Stop Anxiety Attacks with Mindfulness
I’m happy to say that my anxiety has gone from an “8” to a manageable “2” intensity, in just a few months. Why? What changed? It wasn’t my life’s circumstances. I didn’t wrap myself in a cocoon and avoid all triggers. I learned how to stop anxiety attacks with mindfulness. I’ve had anxiety all my […]
Five Frugal Things, Self-Care Edition
One: I redeemed a $10 reward from ThredUp (that I’d earned through referrals) to get two summer shirts. ThredUp is a huge online consignment shop. I’ve been consistently pleased with my purchases from them. Their inventory is massive, and the search filters make it easy and fast to find what I need. One of the […]
The Incredible Book Eating Boy
Is it just me, or is this summer flying by? It feels like I blink, and another week has passed. I’ve learned that one way to make time slow down is by having new experiences. Travel is one way to do this. I also love exposing my kids to the arts. Last year, two of […]
Five Frugal Things, Travel Edition
For the first time in 14 years, I got a tax refund rather than a tax bill this year. I would not recommend giving the government interest-free use of my money, and will make adjustments this year so I don’t get a refund. But it was unexpected, so I decided to use it to treat […]
Summer Vacation with Kids (Like a Lazy Genius™)
Summer vacation with the kids feels like a lot this year, for a few reasons. One, I’m now working outside the home, so child care is a concern. Two, my kids have a wide age range, so it’s challenging to meet everyone’s needs. Three, I’m only one little person, with limitations of time, money and […]
Dumb Reasons I Spend Money (and how I plan to fix it)
If you’re like me, most of your purchases consist of necessities: housing, transportation, food. Those feel good because they mean I’m caring for my loved ones. Even the fun expenditures are meaningful because they’re intentional and create memories. But every month as I look over my spending, I notice silly purchases that add little or […]
Five Frugal Things
I love finding ways to save money. Not because I want to live an ascetic lifestyle, but so I can budget my money in alignment with my values. As an example, I bought tickets to an upcoming Liz Phair show for myself and my two oldest daughters. Experiences and making memories gives me more happiness […]
Thankful Thursday
Yesterday I cried when I heard that Heather Armstrong, the writer known as Dooce, died by suicide. She was 47, the same age as me. Dooce was the first mega-popular mom blogger I (and many other people) had ever known. Unbeknownst to her, she likely inspired thousands of other women to tell their stories online. […]
My solution (for now) to avoiding food waste
Recently I shared that we’ve been wasting far too much food around here. Groceries are my second-biggest monthly expense (after my mortgage). Therefore, avoiding food waste is one of the fastest ways a family can save money. I sat my two oldest still-at-home kiddos (19 and 17) down and asked them to help me brainstorm […]