Each month we tally up how much we spent and discuss where we spent it. We hope it provides an answer to the question “what do the Frugalwoods spend money on?”
I write to you from the depths of an epic heatwave here in Vermont. With temperatures cresting 90 most days, we are officially on swelter alert, which is highly aberrational for us–our summers are usually much more temperate with only sporadic forays into the 80s or, at worst, 90s. Given this sustained heat, our two very small children (not to mention our own hatred of hot), and our absence of central air, we bought two...
We bought blueberry bushes! And cherry and currant and Saskatoon and honeyberry bushes! Lots and lots of perennial berry bushes found a home on our homestead this month, as you’ll see in the below expense report. Garden fencing, fertilizer, the notorious flame weeder, and soil test kits rounded out our garden-palooza of spending. I’m going to give the full rundown on how all of these berry beasts were planted in my next installment of This...
Well, if you’ve ever wanted to feel good about your spending vis-a-vis my spending, then THIS is your month!!! April was absurdly expensive around here. ABSURD, I tell you. As I shared the other week, Mr. Frugalwoods and I finally broke down and bought a used truck in April, and since we paid cash for the full amount of the truck, that accounts for the vast majority of our spending. I have several posts detailing why...
March makes very clear that we had a baby! Our co-payment for Littlewoods’ birth as well as a few doctor’s appointments and her birth certificates are all reflected in March’s spending. While we frugalize nearly every aspect of child-rearing–from sourcing all used clothing, furniture, and baby accoutrements to creating simple, inexpensive holiday celebrations–there are some immutable costs of having a baby (such as buying copies of their birth certificates!). I love that most of Littlewoods’...
All other events in February were truly dwarfed by the fact that our second daughter, Littlewoods, was born this month! I’m sure other things happened, but it feels like that was about it. Our spending certainly reflects her imminent arrival, most notably in the area of… Restaurants! Whoa, Mrs. Frugalwoods, you’re probably thinking, what is with that line item for restaurants?!? All for a good cause, I assure you. My fabulous mother-in-law came to help...
Remember a few months ago when Mr. Frugalwoods, Babywoods, our friends, and I harvested all of our apples, pressed them into cider, and popped the cider into glass carboys to ferment? Well, the time has arrived to keg this cider up! These past few months our relatively massive quantity of cider has been fermenting away down in our (now clutter-free) basement and we posit it’s just about time to begin imbibing. This month we purchased...
December was a rather regular month of spending for us, which might come as a surprise since Christmas happens in December after all. But here in Frugalwoods-land, Christmas and other such events are not an excuse to spend tons of money. We prefer to celebrate in a simplified, non-consumer-focused style that emphasizes time spent together as a family–not money spent at a mall. I’ve detailed our frugal approach to the holidays (including birthdays and anniversaries)...
November epitomized large unexpected expenses and semi-annual (or simply annual) expenses lining up and hitting us all at once. It was, as they say, one of those months. But we don’t sweat it because our overarching approach is to live frugally every month so that unexpected or infrequent expenses aren’t a burden. By not spending our money frivolously or out of alignment with our goals, we can always rest assured that pricier months aren’t a...
In October we went on what was our last airplane trip ever. For the rest of our lives. Ok I jest, but the mere thought of traveling with both a toddler and an infant sends me into near-paralytic spasms of stress. So I think it’s safe to say we won’t be traveling for awhile after Babywoods #2 makes her debut this February ;). We’ve traveled quite a bit with Babywoods #1 and she’s an excellent...
September 2017 just might go down in Frugalwoods history as our most expensive month. Ever. As fate would have it, a ton of one-time and annual expenses all lined up this month and tallied to an astronomical total. But you know what? It doesn’t matter and we didn’t sweat it. Not for a moment. Here’s why: Mr. Frugalwoods and I are frugal every single day of the year. We don’t ever let up on our lifelong...
