I’ve always regarded my frugality as a means to afford the things I truly value. Being mindful of spending that doesn’t serve my priorities has been a critical part of enabling my life of passionate pursuit – specifically, my career as a professional actor. But what if what you value in and of itself isn’t very frugal? While Mr. Frugalwoods and I enjoy/attempt to survive our first few months as parents to our daughter, Babywoods,...
Want to guess how much time Mr. Frugalwoods and I spend “managing our money” every month? A whopping 30 minutes. Yes, we are quintessential frugal weirdos and yes, we save over 70% of our income, and yes, we plan to quit our jobs at 33, and yes, we write this “personal finance” blog. But no, we don’t obsess over our finances. Why? There’s nothing to gain by micromanaging our money. Money is happiest as a loner....
My post today is part of the The Road to Financial Wellness Blog Tour. Over a period of 30 days, the Phroogal team will go to 30 locations to raise awareness about financial empowerment. Today they will be in the Boston area! Our goal is to help people learn about money by starting the conversation. We understand that local conversations can help bring about national awareness. I used to be afraid of money. Not in the...
Last March, Mr. Frugalwoods and I got serious about frugality. You could even say we become hardcore frugal weirdos. To prove it, we launched our Uber Frugal Month experiment. We slashed our already meager spending and started saving more money than we’d ever thought possible while still, you know, eating and bathing (even we have limits, people). We’d hatched our wild early retirement homestead plan and wanted to see just how far we could push...
Mr. Frugalwoods and I finally did the arithmetic on our 2014 savings and expenditures (as I’m sure you’re all relieved to know). While in any given month of 2014 we vacillated between saving 65%-82%, our average savings rate for all of 2014 is 71.4%. Woot! How did we determine this savings percentage for the year? I’m so glad you asked! Turns out, that simple number is pretty complicated behind the scenes. There’s no “right way” to calculate your savings, but here’s the Frugalwoods methodology: Calculate our annual...
The Frugalwoods home is primarily outfitted with discount Craigslist deals, garage sale goodies, and of course, great trash finds. If you’re a regular reader, please sit down before continuing to read. Brace yourself: there are a few things Mr. Frugalwoods and I have purchased brand new and, in some instances, not even on sale. GASP. Everyone still breathing? Ok, let’s continue. I thought it would be a revealing exercise to itemize our not so frugal fixtures and...
Have you turned your heat on yet? After I divulged that Mr. Frugalwoods and I haven’t–and likely won’t until November–I received a number of comments and emails from readers asking that I share our methods for thermostat abstention. We adore the shoulder months of fall and spring when we live totally sans climate control. Heating and air conditioning are money drains and we save a bundle by flat out not turning ours on. Summers are rather mild here in Cambridge, MA...
We don’t have a budget. For anything. Ever. When I first shared this, folks were mildly shocked. After all, Mr. Frugalwoods and I are all about saving money, so how on earth do we skip this most basic of financial conventions? Through habitual frugality. Mr. FW and I have been living frugally for so many years that it has become our modus operandi. We’ve programmed ourselves to see the world through a frugal lens such that it’s...
I know you all spent the weekend just hoping I would publish a post this morning about how Mr. Frugalwoods and I manage our money. Right? Right?!? I know I did. I’ve received a number of comments and emails lately asking for greater illumination of our financial mechanics and so today, I will oblige. I’d especially like to thank Emily from Evolving Personal Finance for her excellent questions after my August 2014 Expenditures post as well as a...
‘Cause I’ve stopped wearing them. JOKE! Quite simply, I don’t need more clothes. But that’s never stopped me before. So why am I stopping now? I’m a thrift store maven and I have a bag of tricks on how to get a good deal at goodwill, but, still. Truth is, I love clothes. Can’t help it. Not going to lie. I love finding thrift store steals and pairing them up with garage sale belts, hand-me...
