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 […]
No Spend Challenge: This summer it’s ON
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 […]
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 […]