Our Frugal Journey

Learning how to save more and spend less while living life to the fullest

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Entries Tagged as 'making do'

Updated with Photos: Shopping for new furniture in other rooms of your house

March 10th, 2010 · 5 Comments

Sweet Caroline is about to turn 12 and there’s no denying she’s growing up. But you’d never know it by looking at the desk in her room.
The little roll-top with matching swivel chair was just fine and dandy when she was five. Its cute little cubbie holes were a fun place to display her “snow [...]

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Tags: Simplicity · making do

Halloween hand-me-downs

October 8th, 2009 · No Comments

When my daughter’s thoughts turned to Halloween, I told her she could be whatever she wanted to be — as long as it didn’t cost anything.
Now that I’m reading that in print, it sounds more harsh than I intended it. Luckily, she didn’t take it that way. We immediately started discussing the possibilities.
I realize our zero-cost [...]

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Tags: Holidays · Simplicity · making do

Greatest hits: Fifty reasons to keep subscribing to the daily newspaper

August 5th, 2009 · 1 Comment

Another post that has generated a lot of interest from readers and remains a topic of interest is this one on 50 reasons to keep taking your local daily paper. In the interests of disclosure, not only am I a former newspaper journalist, my oldest son aspires to be one.  Andrew is a rising senior [...]

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Tags: Do-it-yourself · Make it yourself · Recycling · Saving green · going green · making do

Creating meals from my stockpile

June 16th, 2009 · 2 Comments

I served barbecue chicken pizza for dinner last night, using ingredients from my substantial pantry and freezer stockpiles.
Not only was it a frugal meal, but my family declared it an instant favorite.
My oldest son, Andrew, who was in town for the evening before heading back to his summer internship in Charlotte, wolfed it down and [...]

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Tags: Cooking · making do

Fifty reasons to keep subscribing to the daily newspaper

April 23rd, 2009 · 7 Comments

Many years ago, as a reporter at The Miami Herald, I would periodically tick somebody off when I wrote a story that didn’t portray him (or her) in the best light. More often than not, the angered party would let me know that my story would be on the bottom of  bird cages across South Florida [...]

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Tags: Cutting costs · Uncategorized · making do · saving money