Showcase: Be Thrifty Like Us
Tell me a little about yourself: who are you?
We are a husband and wife blogging team who write at Be Thrifty Like Us. We are in our mid 20’s and are new parents to a baby girl. My husband is a CPA & I am a systems analyst. We love the outdoors and have a strong interest in finance – together, we make one heck of a money saving team!
When did you start blogging? Why do you blog?
We started blogging in January. As new parents – we found ourselves staying in more. We decided a blog would be a good hobby for us after our daughter goes to sleep at night. The blog is a great, cheap hobby! Our blog was recently featured in Newsweek magazine back in March – you can read the article here.
We decided that if we started a blog we could help others to be thrifty and save money.The blog is also a motivator for us. Since starting the blog four months ago, we’ve paid down $20,000 in student loans and automobile debt! We are on a quest to get rid of our student loans so that we can fund our daughter’s college education someday.
Lastly, the blog helps us get connected with other like minded people. We have learned so many ideas and money saving tips from the frugal and personal finance blogging community.
How important is frugality to you?
For us being frugal is both a game and a way of life. We continually try to live on less and send more to our student loans. We are used to being frugal and it’s the way our life is. We do view frugality as a game sometimes – when we try to see how to get the best deal when buying something.
How does the rest of your family feel about your frugal ideas?
Our parents couldn’t be prouder! Both our families are frugal people who worked really hard to raise their kids. They love to see us trying to spend our money wisely and do the best we can for our daughter. We’ve helped our families with budgeting, retirement planning and lowering their cable bills.
And did I mention I have gotten them all hooked on CVS? We have about five or six people in our extended family who are shopping the Extra Care Bucks program. My brother acts like we are crazy for clipping coupons – but I’ve noticed he is never one to pass up the freebies I offer him for his dorm room!
Thanks for your time. If you stop by Be Thrifty Like Us, we are sure you will find some interesting things to read. From our CVS weekly deal preview to our ideas on how to negotiate on purchases to our ideas on avoiding the dry cleaners – there is something for everyone!
Warm Weather Fun
It’s about that time again. School is almost out, summer is just around the corner and your kids are soon to start using the “b” word: bored. Phooey on them. Life can be so much fun if you have the right attitude. With just a little prompting, there are lots of frugally fun things to do.
I’ve already shared some of my thoughts on preventing boredom in kids, how to take advantage of your AAA membership for summer fun and where to find yearly passes to get into air conditioned museums for “free.” So I went Googling for some other cool ideas for the hot summer to come. (Sorry, couldn’t resist.) These are some my favorite finds…
Get discount tickets to amusement parks, vacation Bible school, Ariana’s new favorite thing: sidewalk chalk, summer reading programs at your local library, swimming lessons, afternoons at the beach or kiddie pools, doing messy science projects and activities outdoors where you are close to the hose, long bike rides, picnics in unusual places and lazy afternoons in the hammock making up outrageous stories of adventure and beauty. (Or something like that… I ad libbed a bit.)
I thought this was a terrific list of two dozen frugal summer activities. Suggestions include bird watching, putting on your own circus or Olympic games and having a stay at home vacation complete with tourist brochures. (Where do I sign up??)
I really liked the serial story idea that Frugal Fun offered. They have a list of rainy day activities too. Oh, and don’t forget to take good children’s literature with you on a picnic!
Frugal Dad talks about starting a family fun jar. Those ideas will be great for rainy summer days.
So Moms, are you stocking up on your top secret warm weather fun arsenal? What are some of your favorite (and cheap) warm weather activities?
Simple Writings Bring Simple Pleasure
One of my dearest friends and I built our relationship up through daily email exchanges about our lives. We started emailing when my husband and I were just newlyweds and she was in a committed relationship. Our emails continued as we journeyed to Massachusetts and settled down in our first home, through my pregnancy, her engagement, her marriage, and her first baby, my second baby, her second baby… each email carefully documented our daily joys and struggles. When I became a mother my emails were full of joy, but a lot of whining about sleep, difficulty transitioning into motherhood, problems nursing, and general woes. Her emails were filled with encouragement and hope of a light at the end of the tunnel. When she wrote about motherhood though, she rarely complained but just reveled in the joy of being a mother. She was like that, she just enjoyed life.
Whatever she wrote about though, I seemed to want. It wasn’t belongings, but a sense of peace and of tranquility that she seemed to capture, that I had never had. I was always running, always going, always busy…I now realize that I didn’t take the time to enjoy the simple things, the simple life, and the simple goodness that could be created by being still for a moment.
I am trying to transition out of the busy bee world and into a more quiet time with my children. Perhaps it is melancholy because my firstborn will be attending kindergarten next year or perhaps it is just the realization that I don’t need to be running or constantly entertained to enjoy a quiet spell in my life.
Today was just one example of what a quiet day for us is like. The windows were cracked and I could feel the fresh air blowing into our house and the smell of freshly cut grass. I look down at my daughter as I feel her deliberate and persistent tapping on my leg. As I look down at her, I smile because she is wearing a pair of my shoes on her chubby little feet. Of all her toys, it is these shoes she loves and she calls them her “tap shoes” as she scoots the sandals across the floor. I look over at my son who is curled at one end of our sofa with a book. I can hear him as he sounds out each word very carefully and slowly, just as he has been taught in school. I revel in his growing vocabulary and how much he has learned this year- he has grown so much.
The smell of fresh muffins travels through the room as I wrap up my baking for the week ahead. This batch of muffins is stuffed to the brim with oatmeal and a little bit of chocolate, to balance out the heartiness and make them more appealing to my children. The muffins smell like freshly baked cookies and the kids begin to count down the minutes until they will be cool enough to handle.
I hum a little bit as I tidy up the kitchen, from the day spent baking, and fill the sink with the dirty dishes. The suds and warm water fill the sink and I dip my hands into the bubbles to finish the day’s dishes. As I scrub, I look out the window at our sweet little garden that we planted together. I recall the tender way my son wanted to help plant each and every plant, asking each time, “What can I do, mommy?” He was there for each step of the process and helped to water our finished product. He was just as proud and dirty as me that day.
I then sit at the other end of the sofa with my son and the sound of my knitting needles, Emily’s tap shoes, and my son’s quiet readings are all you hear. We enjoy the quiet of this day and look forward to our idyllic summer together. This stillness is what I need and I see our children growing from it. Not from the organized activities, the well-thought and well-executed organized crafts, the busy running. No, they thrive in the quiet and stillness…and so do I.
Do you see how the mundane can be made to sound lovely? Just as advertisers would have us believe that a new car will give us this amazing life we have always dreamed of, simple writing about simple pleasures may invoke that same enthusiasm. Suddenly baking muffins, knitting, quiet moments, a tiny garden, and doing dishes sound lovely…and you begin to want that. Imagine if the whole world returned to these simple pleasures- joy in the laundry hanging on the line, kids playing in sprinklers instead of with electronic gadgets, freshly baked goodies straight from your own oven, an appreciation for the beauty in nature instead of the beauty of our exterior selves…I would imagine that it would put a lot of companies out of business.
Today I challenge you to a day of simplicity and I look forward to hearing what special and simple things bring you the most joy in your life. Is it your children’s laughter? Is it a freshly cracked library book? Is it the quiet time you spend with your spouse after your children have went to bed? Is it that first cup of morning coffee with a dash of cream? What are some simple pleasures that bring you happiness? Revel in those things, bring those things into your life, focus on those simple and amazing pleasures and see if it doesn’t bring into perspective the beautiful life you are already leading.
Cheerful Frugality’s Clean Sweep
Hello, my name is Meredith, and I’m obsessed with floor cleaning tools.
The Swiffer, the steamer, the professional grade dust mop…I have spared no expense in my quest for a clean floor.
We all have our weak spots when it comes to marketing. I wrestle with contentment.
If I only had better carpet…
If I only had a darker stain on these hardwoods…
If only everyone would remember to take off their shoes…
I want ease, not effort, and I’m sometimes willing to pay for a product which promises it.
You know what I’ve finally decided? A rag + my hands and knees works best of all.
I know, I know. My knees can’t take it for long, either. But it’s a great reminder that the most expensive tools aren’t always the most effective.
Here are my basic frugal floor tools:
- A vacuum that can be used on hard surface floors. The pros I know recommend Oreck, and I’ve bought 3 at yard sales for under $20 each.
- An angled broom for food and paper scraps. Works much better when I remember to wash its synthetic bristles. Cut the handle down so that kids can use it efficiently.
- A floor mop with a washable pad is a good substitute for hands-and-knees. I use old terry washcloths for pads.
- Washable mats at each door keep grit from ruining your floors. My favorite kind of cleaning–passive!
I do the best I can with what I have. But if I ever build a kitchen from scratch, you can bet I’ll be installing a floor drain in the middle!
Have you discovered a frugal trick for cleaning your floors–or splurged on a tool which didn’t pass muster? Let me know!
Showcase: Remodeling This Life
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Emily blogs at Remodeling This Life. She took time out of her busy life to answer a few questions for Frugal Hacks readers.
Tell me a little about yourself: who are you?
I’m Emily, a wife and mother of two - my daughter will be 4 in July and my son turned one in February. I enjoy running, decorating, thrift shopping, being outdoors, traveling and spending time with my family.
When did you start blogging? Why do you blog?
I started my blog in November of 2007. I was inspired by a couple of friends who had started personal finance and frugal blogs. I wanted a way to document the journey we’ve been through on remodeling our home and a way to keep myself accountable for my frugality and life choices.
How did you come up with your blog title?
I chose my blog name because I wanted my blog to be in part about remodeling our home. But at the time I started it, I was also venturing down a path of discovering myself and making positive changes in who I am, how I see the world and how I treat others around me. So I chose Remodeling This Life to express that. I feel like life and self are constantly changing and by focusing on who I am and what I want to be, I can remodel myself and my life into exactly what I want it to be and who I want to be. It’s was very empowering once I took that step and realized that only I can control my happiness and actions. The title helps keep me focused on my goals of self-improvement along with home improvement.
What does “frugal” mean to you?
For me, being frugal has gone from living within my means (which I’ve done for years but at least for my current frame of mind wasn’t always frugal) to really putting time and effort and a lot more thought into what I spend my money on. I have started to question things that I used to just take as necessities in spending and found ways to reduce
in all areas of my life. To me, just living within ones means doesn’t equal frugal. It’s taking that a step further and reducing even more even when you don’t necessarily *have* to, but it’s for the better of your life situation and for the world around you.
Do you think there is a downside to being frugal?
Yes, definitely. I constantly have to remind myself to live too - to enjoy the everyday and not make everything about how much something costs.
Do you feel your blog has a special niche of its own? Did it happen by design or by accident?
I do think my blog has a niche of its own. As I stated above, I talk about frugal remodeling and self-improvement along with frugality and personal finance. Somedays I think my blog has an identity crisis but it is what it is and I talk about what means a lot to me so it’s evolved into what I think is a pretty unique well-rounded blog mostly by accident.
Did it take you a while to “find your voice,” or do you feel you’ve always been the same as a blogger?
It definitely took some time to find my voice and gain confidence in my blogging. I think it took gaining some readers and discovering why they visited my site and what they were looking for. Once I knew what my audience was, it became easier to follow that voice in me, to open up and make my blog more personal than informational.
Thank you so much for this opportunity! I’ve really enjoyed it!
Emily at Remodeling This Life
www.remodelingthislife.com
Peeking in the Clothing Box
I’ve been to at least six different places (from Goodwill to Payless to Dexter) looking for summer sandals. Because my tailbone injury won’t tolerate some styles and my feet are shoebox width, I was hoping that shopping early would get me something wearable. Silly me. At present, I’m 0-7 with no sandals on the horizon. (I’m hesitant to buy shoes online because my feet are so hard to fit.)
During my errand run early this morning, I decided to stop at Sears Essentials. Although I came up with zero for sandals, their winter clearance sale was an incredible find! Most of their remaining winter clothing is 75% off the already discounted price of 60% off. That’s my kind of sale: picking up good quality new pieces for about 10-12% of the original price.
Until the cashier noted that the winter coat I nabbed for my daughter at $8.50 was normally “rather expensive,” I didn’t think anything of the original prices. I had been doing the math with the pink sticker price. The original price for the coat? $70. Do people really pay that much for little girl’s winter coats? I thought I was being extravagant when I spent $22 at Target to buy her a coat that she’s worn for 3 winters.
Like everything else, you need to know your prices and understand quality. Sometimes buying new is cheaper for numerous reasons. The new shirts and sweaters I picked up for myself this morning were each less than the local Goodwill price for used. Because they came from Sears, they are on the side of better quality and will likely last longer.
Learning to get the best deals on clothing is a balance between good gossip, experience and drawing lines. A girlfriend swears that L.L. Bean jeans for little boys at $20 a pair are nearly indestructible and worth every penny. She doesn’t have to deal with holey knees like I do. A decent pair of everyday shoes that I might pay $40 for, will determine if I’m still moving without pain at 7pm. On the other hand, I generally only buy dress shoes from the thrift store for $2 or $3 a pair. No matter the savings, I won’t buy thrift store underwear…
So where have you consistently found the best deals? What do you think is worth spending extra on and what’s worth grabbing where ever? Any frugal tips specifically for kids or adult clothing?
Entertaining in Smaller Spaces
My home is not what I would consider “small,” but my house is a split-level which makes entertaining on one level very difficult to do. I have discovered that it takes a lot of thought and preparation, when we are hosting large groups, to make my house flow in the way that it should for our guests.
Every month I play in a Bunco league with some really fabulous women and we do a theme each month for our game. We have done everything from Chinese New Year, to Here Comes the Bride, and everything in between. The host for each event gets to pick our theme and provides the food for the occasion.
April was my month to host and I had been thinking a lot about how I was going to execute our night on a budget and in my smaller home. Since I am a frugal gal, I picked a Retro Housewife theme because it fit so well with my personality and the things that I already had. Retro food is much cheaper to make then the fancy stuff and I kept it simple with cheap eats that we all could enjoy. This little endeavor also gave me the opportunity to break out my great apron collection, which is something I just love to do.
One of the most important ways, I have found, to make the most of your space is to clear the clutter as much as you can. Shoes, coats, purses, and bags were all removed to clear the entryway for our guests. I also removed anything that would take up any counter space or anything that would occupy valuable space we might need. Some of these items were just put away, others were stored in a basket until the event was over. Anything that could be an obstacle (like soda sitting next to the fridge, for example) had to be removed so that people could maneuver the space a little easier.
Extra seating was created with narrow benches, that would not occupy as much space as large chairs, and they were easy to move to wherever we might need them.
I saved fridge space and skipped the cooler in favor of filling our sink with ice. I even attached the bottle opener around the sink so that our guests could find it. I have found that the easier I make things for everyone else, the easier it is on the host!
These steps might seem small, but when you add up all of the little things, it frees up a lot of space in a small space. My evening came together beautifully and I was so happy to have everyone there. I learned that with careful planning and thoughtful execution, I can pull off hosting a bigger group in my smaller space.
Sound Off: Do you struggle with the space issue when you are entertaining? Have you come up with any tips or tricks for making your space feel bigger or how to make the most of what you have? Please share!