I am an incredibly fortunate person: my frugality is elective, not a requirement for my survival. While I enjoy frugality and the tremendous benefits it yields, I’m also aware that part of this enjoyment stems from the fact that it’s an optional lifestyle for me and my family. Much of what I write about, and reflect on, are the ways in which frugality has simplified and improved our lives–not the least of which is that it frees...
Most of the time, my life looks like this. I’m on the homestead, frugaling it up with Mr. Frugalwoods, cleaning up greyhound barf (thanks, Frugal Hound… ), weeding the garden, not wearing make-up, baking bread, and letting Babywoods eat my toes while I write (at least they’re clean?). But these past two weeks, I’ve deviated. I’ve been on the road, in the air, spending money, and otherwise indisposed. To that end, this post has relatively...
We begin today with a satirical rant, which will, I promise, eventually wend its way around to some possibly useful advice. Used stuff is gross. I mean think about it, someone else sat on my couch before I owned it. Someone else petted my dog before I adopted her. Someone else WORE my clothes. My cars were driven by another. Even my cloth napkin was pre-dabbed. Therein lurks a very real threat to many a would-be frugal person: the...
Much of what I own was previously owned by someone else. This is not news to you frugal acolytes and I’d wager your stuff is probably of a similarly second-hand strain. Plus, we recently established that used stuff is decidedly not gross. But did you know that buying used improves your health? And makes your hair grow back? And makes you a more interesting, mysterious individual? Ok maybe not the hair thing, but I posit the other two...
If you’re just tuning in, this is a recurring series in which I document each month of our lives out here on our 66-acre Vermont homestead. After leaving urban Cambridge, MA in May 2016 to chart this wholly different life, we’re experiencing a constant learning curve of exploration (and plenty of stupid novice moments). Check out last month’s installment here. Although I was mostly homesteading-in-absentia in September thanks to my travels, we were still able to squeeze in...
Brace yourselves for an expense onslaught: September was our priciest month on record. By far. Yes indeed, we’ve royally outdone ourselves this time. Fueled by travel, a dishwasher, and our property tax bill–among other things–we spent a gigantic amount of money this month. But, it was (mostly) all for good. And, I am (mostly) unconcerned. As frugal adherents, we don’t strive to never spend money, rather, we strive to spend only on things that matter. And...
I sort of forgot that sometimes we do Reader Case Studies here on Frugalwoods, but I love them! And fortunately, a loyal reader–we’ll call her Julie for this exercise–hadn’t forgotten. She contacted me last week to ask if I’d be willing to publish her story and I’m delighted to do so. A bit of background: Reader Case Studies are posts whereby a real person, who is a reader of Frugalwoods, contacts me with a financial dilemma that...
If you’re just tuning in, this is a new series in which I plan to document each month of our lives out here on our 66-acre Vermont homestead. After leaving urban Cambridge, MA in May to chart this wholly different life, we’re experiencing a constant learning curve of exploration (and plenty of stupid novice moments). Check out last month’s installment here. August flew by in a flourish of ripening crops, visiting friends, and a much more mobile Babywoods. From our...
August was a fairly reasonable month with a few aberrational annual expenses that bumped our spending up above my ideal $1,000 (non-mortgage) level. As we settle into rural life and the tumult of moving across state lines (with a baby and a dog… ) recedes, our expenses drop a bit closer to our pre-move level with each passing month. A Medley Of Money In advance of the wintry chill, and in light of our plan to heat via...
My fabulous, and fairly frugal, parents visited us here on the homestead last month and, while they were here, I put them to work brainstorming ideas to share on Frugalwoods. A few topics that did not make the cut: Why you should/should not water down your hand-soap. Very polarizing. Possibly marriage-ending. People have wildly divergent views about whether or not this leads to more soap use/more water use. For the sake of family unity, best to leave this...
Frugality is not a hardship. It also doesn’t take a ton of time. And actually? It makes life easier. Frugality Is Not Deferred Spending I’ve had quite a few readers ask me lately how they should stay motivated to stick with frugality until they reach their longterm goals, which might be decades away. And my answer is that you don’t. You can’t. Because effective frugality doesn’t have an end date. If it did, then all of...
If you’re just tuning in, this is a new series in which I plan to document each month of our lives out here on our 66-acre Vermont homestead. After leaving urban Cambridge, MA to chart this wholly different life, we’re experiencing a constant learning curve of exploration! Check out last month’s iteration of the series here. We reveled in summertime bounty during the month of July! Now several months into our tenure here on the homestead, Mr. Frugalwoods...
It was a relief to see our expenses dip back down into the territory of normal this month. I find there’s invariably an expense burst surrounding a move–and especially a move to a completely different way of life! Our sojourn from urban to rural continues to unfold, but it seems our relocation spending has started to abate. Quotidian categories such as groceries, household supplies, and gasoline all wended their way down, down, down in a...
