The other day as I was melting down my lipstick, I thought, “If someone saw me doing this, they might assume I’m very poor and can’t afford a new lipstick.” I do a lot of black-belt tightwad stuff like that. But I’m not poor. I’m quite privileged among the inhabitants of the world, in fact, […]
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Hacking my lipstick
Every mom of small children has had the experience of opening a lipstick tube, only to find that its contents have been smashed into the hastily slammed-on cap. A certain 4-year-old has ruined two of mine recently. One I found in my bathroom, the other (empty) tube somewhere in the van, its contents missing. But don’t worry. […]
June’s budget meeting, savings update, and announcement!
Point one: Frugality seems to be catching, like an infectious disease. First hubby told me he was being more careful with items he uses everyday in his line of work, trying to make things last longer and carefully re-using things. It showed, because he spent $586 less in June than in May on work-related expenses, […]
Stress = spendy, broken arm edition
Ruby, my 6-year-old, fell out of a tree. Again. And broke her left arm. Again. Hubby spent a fun night in the ER Wednesday. Thankfully, this break wasn’t as bad as the last one and didn’t require surgery. Don’t let the cute little picture fool you. She’s been pretty miserable. The worst of it is […]
Frugality and investments: calculating payback time
This is update #7 in my series on the No Spend Summer Challenge. Hubby and I are saving up this season for a down payment for our first home, so we’ve enacted a fiscal freeze. Monday I went to a consignment shop to get my teenage daughter, who insists on getting an inch taller […]
No-Spend Summer: update #6
This is update #6 of my No Spend Challenge we’re doing this summer. Hubby cleaned out his work shop and found a ton of tools he didn’t need, so we hosted a Manly Man yard sale. I consider it a success since we got rid of most of the stuff and pocketed a couple hundred bucks […]
What I spent, what I saved
Updating on the No Spend Challenge progress. What I spent the last couple of days: – $2 at the dollar store for nail polish remover. When you have 5 girls in a house, this is a necessity if you want peace. My fingernails are bare, but my girls are always painting theirs and their younger sisters’ […]
My favorite books on radical frugality
Since I’m doing a No Spend Challenge, I’ve been reaching for some of my favorite books on radical frugality to inspire and motivate me. I believe that wise money management is 40% head knowledge and 60% getting the emotions right. If you can get excited about frugality, if you can view it as a fun, […]
No Spend Summer: Update #3
Short backstory: We launched a No-Spend Summer to boost our efforts to save for a down payment on a home. The first post in this series is here: No Spend Challenge. This is an update of my super-frugal efforts. My beloved carton of OxyClean ran out. Instead of buying a new one right away, I […]
No Spend Summer: What I’ve Already Done
As I wrote here, I’m embarking on a No Spend Challenge. I promised to share the strategies I’m using to avoid spending, and when it’s necessary, to spend as little as possible. A few things I’ve been doing so far for No Spend Summer: 1) I warmed up my coupon game muscles today. Two […]