Our Frugal Journey

Many years ago, I had a friend who would look forward to her husband taking business trips so she could treat herself to a night or two off from cooking. She and the kids would break out the bowls and dine quickly and cheaply on their favorite cold cereals. It was quick and easy. Almost no [...]

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Last year, we drove to the Gulf Coast of Florida for vacation. We booked modest hotels after doing our usual Internet research, we brought a huge stash of snack and breakfast foods with us, including home-baked healthy muffins and fruits. And when we splurged on one meal out, we’d eat fast food or stop at a [...]

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Raised by a veteran garage sale shopper, I am a veteran garage sale shopper, raising the next generation of garage sale shoppers. Yet, I have always more or less winged it.
As a new young mom, I found a treasure trove of clothes, toys and baby equipment at a fraction of the price. Baby clothes for [...]

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I’ve always joked that things would have to get really bad before I gave up coloring my hair. At 49, I’m graying, and trust me, it’s not attractive. I may be old enough to be somebody’s grandma, but I’m not ready to look like one.
So every six weeks or so, I go to a salon [...]

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During our monthlong moratorium on spending, we obviously saved money. But the big bonus was the free time I suddenly had. After more than a decade of being a stay-at-home parent, I was actually staying home during the day.
It didn’t feel like a prison sentence, but rather a luxury. While I did squander my fair [...]

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We made it. It has been 28 days since my family and I set out to spend no money during the month of February. We never went hungry, we were never bored and we did not run out of toilet paper. In the end, we parted with a few dollars, but not many.
So how did we [...]

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Earlier this month I told you about the “coins in the couch” money I had rounded up during my clutter-busting rampage through my house. I had mixed feelings on the fate of that $4.22, especially since it was February, my month of no spending.
My two college boys suggested saving it until they got home and then buying [...]

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As promised, I am reporting in on how much money we spent — and how much we saved — at the grocery store and pharmacy during January. Click here to read the original post. 
Over the last few years, I’ve tried to stay within a $50 per week budget so I’ve always known — within a few bucks — [...]

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