Author: Mrs. Frugalwoods

Holidays and Special Occasions / Reader Suggestions / Smart Buys

8 Nov, 2019

Reader Suggestions Of A Frugal Holiday Gift Guide (aka Staying on Budget the Non-Grinchy Way)

There you are, frugaling through the year, with your money on your mind and your mind on your money when, BAM, it’s the holidays and all the cash you saved and scraped is siphoned off into an endless swirl of gift buying, wrapping paper, holiday party hosting, and Christmas tree be-decking. Ahh well, better luck next year, you think as you start January broke, deflated, and feeling ever-more Grinch-like. BUT NOT THIS YEAR! The Frugalwoods...

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Reader Case Studies

6 Nov, 2019

Reader Case Study: Should We Buy An Optometry Practice?

Sarah and Jonathan are thinking about buying and running an optometry practice together–she the optometrist, he the office manager. But can they make it work financially and for their two young kids? Case Studies are financial (and life) dilemmas that a reader of Frugalwoods sends to me requesting that Frugalwoods nation weigh in. Then, Frugalwoods nation (that’s you!), reads through their situation and provides advice, encouragement, insight, and feedback in the comments section. For an example, check...

This Month On The Homestead

1 Nov, 2019

This Month On The Homestead: Apple Cider, Tomato Sauce, and a Jack O’ Lantern

October 2019 October is the reason why I live in the New England countryside. I mean, I guess there are other reasons, but October ranks pretty high. It’s the most idyllic, most stereotypically “autumn,” most mythologized, most steeped-in-Americana of all the months. And I love it. Welcome to my recurring series in which I document life on our 66-acre Vermont homestead, which we moved to in May 2016 from urban Cambridge, MA. Wondering about the financial aspects...

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Frugalwoods Philosophy

30 Oct, 2019

How I (try to) Align My Time and Money With My Highest Priorities

I’m ruthless about how I use my time and money. They’re both limited resources and how I deploy them dictates the type of life I lead. That doesn’t mean I never waste money and time. In fact, it was two recent failures–an $87 shopping spree at the co-op grocery store and a dirty upstairs bathroom–that prompted today’s reflection. My Priorities = How I Use My Time and Money When I analyze how I spend my...

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Cars

25 Oct, 2019

Why Buying A Low Mileage Used Car Is The Worst Of Both Worlds

Low-mileage, relatively young used cars are often a bad deal. Today we’ll explore why and what you can do to save yourself and your money. The Frugalwoods Fleet-O-Vehicles Let me start with a quick rundown of what my husband and I drive our two kids around in: 2010 Toyota Prius: purchased in April 2016 for $8,995 at 96,854 miles For comparison, had we instead bought a brand new 2016 Toyota Prius, we would’ve paid circa...

Smart Buys

23 Oct, 2019

How Many Vacuums Should One Person Own? I Endeavor To Find Out

“You know you’ve made it when someone sends you a free vacuum.” -said no one ever. Until now. Now, I’m saying it, you guys. Because by this calculation, I’ve made it. I am someone in this world. I am someone who receives free vacuums (well, one free vacuum to be precise). The Dyson V7 Motorhead to be even more precise, which is a cordless, lightweight, super powerful stick vacuum. How This Free Vacuum Came To...

Holidays and Special Occasions / Reader Suggestions

18 Oct, 2019

Reader Suggestions for Celebrating Halloween and Thanksgiving On A Budget

September to December = my favorite time of year. I’m a holiday hound. A festivity fox. A Halloween hugger. What can I say? This trifecta: Halloween Thanksgiving Christmas IS MY JAM. People are sometimes surprised at how robustly I celebrate holidays because celebrating is not inherently frugal or minimalist or simple. It’d be cheaper, easier, and require less stuff if I let October 31st, some Thursday in November (I always forget which), and December 25th...

This Month On The Homestead

16 Oct, 2019

This Month On The Homestead: A Full Woodshed, Evolving as Gardeners, Plus a Pumpkin

September 2019 As you saw in our expense report, September turned us away from summer, pushed us into fall, and forced us to reckon with the inevitability of winter. We started the month with monochromatic green and ended in a riot of leaf colors. September makes us hustle. Dropping temperatures rob us of our languid summertime pace and Mr. Frugalwoods and I rushed from garden to kitchen to firewood, each task feeling immediate and necessary...

Monthly Expense Reports

9 Oct, 2019

A Chainsaw And Other September 2019 Expenditures

Winter is coming and every year, we spend a boatload (an actual, entire boat) of money in preparation. It might cost us less to just burn dollar bills to keep warm. This September was particularly expensive because quite a few non-annual expenses all hit at once. Expenses we incur every two years, every three years, every five years–somehow they all aligned in September 2019. So let’s get to it! Read my disclosures here. Winter Preparations = $$$$$$$ and...

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Reader Case Studies

7 Oct, 2019

Reader Case Study: Family of Four Plans a Move from Oregon to Japan

Helen and Earl want to move to Japan! They currently live in Portland, Oregon with their two daughters and are planning to make the leap overseas in the spring of 2021. Helen would like our help thinking through the process of moving and wants to check her financial projections with us. Read my disclosures here. Case Studies are financial (and life) dilemmas that a reader of Frugalwoods sends to me requesting that Frugalwoods nation weigh in. Then, Frugalwoods nation...