I am embarking on a No Spend Challenge this summer. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about frugality, it’s this: it is far, FAR easier to curb one’s spending if one has a strong, powerful goal. Frugality for its own sake isn’t sustainable for most. But it can become an exercise in creativity (which makes […]
This is where the posts about money and frugality appear. If this is a topic of interest to you, please check out my book:
Five Frugal Things
1 – I said “no” to fast food requests this week from kids. Although, I did cave and spent $5 on popsicles at the pool from the ice cream truck. Because summer! 2- The next week at ALDI, my 15-year-old son saw the same popsicles we bought from the ice cream truck (where they had […]
5 Frugal Things (and food waste fail)
1 – Took advantage of a Starbucks coffee deal (Target offered a $5 gift certificate if you spent $20), and I used two coupons, total around $4 a bag. 2 – I have been using only cold to wash my clothes after years of thinking it was warm or nothing. I can’t tell the difference! […]
How grocery shopping more often is saving me money
Grocery shopping more often isn’t a strategy I would have thought to employ in order to save money on food. Most people would advise you to stay out of the stores in order to save money, and I would have agreed. Until… It all started with a broken fridge. Last year, my refrigerator suddenly refused […]
Five Frugal Things & A Fail
1) I found two limp zucchini in my fridge but instead of tossing them, I pulverized them in the food processor and made (sugarless) chocolate cake with (sugarless) whipping cream frosting . I may or may not have eaten it all by myself over the next few days. For breakfast. And at 3 a.m. when […]
Five Frugal Things
I typically buy Starbucks coffee at around $7 for a 12 ounce package, but recently I’ve been working on lowering my grocery spending. I decided to buy ALDI’s Fair Trade certified coffee at half that price. I like it! I buy 2 packages of coffee each week, so that’s an easy way to save $28 […]
Frugal Summer Fun (with kids!)
Why (frugal) fun with the kids this summer? My family is working on a goal: we’re saving up a down payment for a home. So I’ve been flexing my old frugal muscles and trying to minimize expenses everywhere. Of course, that doesn’t mean I don’t plan on having fun this summer. Summers are made for […]
Five Frugal Things
Joining up with frugal and fabulous bloggers The Frugal Girl and The Non-Consumer Advocate to share Five Frugal Things I’ve done recently. 1) Instead of buying a new math book for my 13-year-old daughter for next year’s homeschool, I got one FREE from PaperBackSwap.com. It even has the answer key, which I was preparing to […]
Scam week at the Willard house
It’s an odd coincidence that after my last post about finances, the scammers decided to target our family. My husband called in the middle of a work day and asked me about a few unusual charges on his bank account. When I confirmed that I had not spent money at those businesses, he called the […]
shame of the middle class (and why teach kids about money)
By now you may have read either the original Atlantic article on The Secret Shame of Middle-Class Americans, or read a response to it. The article was fascinating to me, and so were the comments. It seems that most people fall squarely into two types: they lambasted the author for his stupid financial choices (he […]