Cooking at home is not new for the frugal crew, but cooking at home during a pandemic is a slightly different proposal. Many of us aren’t going to the grocery store as often as we did in the Before Times, some ingredients can’t be found on the shelves, and many folks are looking to decrease their grocery expenses as we watch the economy do a weird and unpredictable downward spiral (check out my Uber Frugal Week:...
Household Supplies Line Item Revealed If you’ve ever wanted to see our “household supplies” line item illuminated item by mundane item, then this is the month for you! Due to the pandemic, we’ve curtailed our in-store shopping and now buy everything we possibly can via cyber space. If you’ve ever thought to yourself, “wow, Mrs. Frugalwoods lives a life of glamour,” this month’s expenses back that up. 100%. Thanks to the specificity of online shopping,...
Em is a single mother by choice living in Iowa with her two-year-old daughter and 14-year-old basset hound. Em has crafted her ideal lifestyle and made excellent financial decisions to get to this point. Now, at age 38, she wants our help mapping out the next 40+ years to ensure she makes the best choices for her future and her daughter’s future. What’s a Reader Case Study? Case Studies address financial and life dilemmas that...
Today is all about getting your financial affairs in order. Doing proactive stuff with your money necessitates knowing everything about it: how much you have, how much you earn and spend, what your debts are, and where your assets are held. All this and more in Day 6 of the Uber Frugal Week series! I know you’re trembling with excitement. Who doesn’t love a good missive on organizing exciting things like NUMBERS!!!!! Spoiler alert: there...
If you have a partner, you’re spending A LOT more time together in A LOT less space these days. You’re also worrying about A LOT more right now: the coronavirus, how long isolation will last, and–if I may project–your money. I can’t help with the first two, but I’ll do my best with the money thing. It’s always good to be on the same financial page as your partner/spouse, but WOW is it crucial right...
March 2020 March was weird. I’m not sure there’s a better way to put it. We did some homesteading stuff, but mostly I stress-ate homemade baked goods while listening to podcasts about the pandemic. Now that you know this about me, we can discuss how we made maple syrup, started some of our vegetable garden seeds, and kept our children (and selves) alive. I begin with an update to let you know that Glamour Shed...
Emily and Chase live in suburban Kansas City with their two young boys. They’d planned to head out in July on a family adventure of Emily working as a travel nurse in different cities every three months, while Chase became a stay-at-home dad. But then, the pandemic happened. Today they’re looking for advice on how to proceed and whether or not their plan is still viable in light of the coronavirus. What’s a Reader Case...
March 2020 Ahh, March 2020. You will live forever in our minds as the month of both the Before Times and the After Times. We started the month celebrating my birthday with dinners out AT RESTAURANTS and ended March ensconced in our home, regarding restaurants as dangerous, forbidden places of the past. It was the longest month on record–proven by data–and combing through our expenses felt akin to the excavation of a past civilization. Advertiser...
Today is devoted to a holistic review of where your money is and how it’s working for (or against) you, including: The importance of having an emergency fund Using high-interest savings accounts to make your money work for you Using credit cards responsibly and to your advantage Accessing additional lines of credit Welcome to Day 4 of my pandemic-inspired, what-do-I-do-with-my-money Uber Frugal Week series. For more about the series, including an overview of what I’ll...
Wondering how to earn money from home during the pandemic? Today we hear from Frugalwoods readers who are making it happen: from a circus act owner to a veterinarian, you all are working it from home. Join me to find out how. Earlier this week, I discussed strategies for saving more money in (almost) every category of your budget. Today, I want to tackle the other end of the equation: earning more money. As we...
