Yard sale money leads to shopping — but some good buys

Sunday, May 4th, 2008

There’s something about yard sale money… all that cash seems to disappear so quickly.
Yesterday we had a very successful yard sale with a friend. My husband Charles and I raked in just over $400 and still have so much stuff that it looks like we’re going to have another one next weekend […]

Introducing… FruWiki.com!

Monday, April 7th, 2008

Drum roll, please!
I’ve been working on a project that I hope you will enjoy. As regular readers know, I’ve been trying to live more frugally — and having some success despite my love of fashion, food, and gadgets. I believe that being frugal is not about self-deprivation, but rather about prioritizing […]

Are you really saving time by not doing it yourself?

Friday, April 4th, 2008

I read a lot of blogs on saving money and therefore come across a lot of DIY projects, from how to darn socks to how to refill a brita filter. Regardless of what the project is, there seems to always be at least one naysayer who insists that the time they would lose doing […]

Playing in the dirt

Tuesday, March 25th, 2008

Maybe it’s just that time of year, maybe it’s the urge to recession-proof our food supply, but my husband and I have gardening on the brain right now. We recently started a compost pile and have started clearing a corner of our lot for a veggie garden. And while I certainly wasn’t embarrassed […]

Thank you, coupon fairy

Wednesday, March 5th, 2008

Thank you to whoever out there left that $2 off coupon on top of the steel cut oatmeal container at the grocery store. I can never seem to find coupons for stuff I actually buy, so I was thrilled to come across one just sitting on top of a container from my favorite brand. […]

My new grocery shopping strategy

Friday, February 15th, 2008

I don’t do diets.
However, that doesn’t mean that I don’t care what I eat. I’m trying to save money, loose weight, and eat healthy all at the same time. The result has been that I have been trying to eat out a lot less and pay a lot more attention to […]

Back to the scale

Wednesday, February 13th, 2008

I finally went to the grocery store today, which meant that it was time to weigh myself on the scale there. I wasn’t looking forward to it since the last time I went I was at my highest weight in years. Plus, I haven’t been to the gym and I’ve eaten a lot […]

Re: Our high, high standard of living

Friday, February 8th, 2008

Last year, Philip Brewer wrote a really interesting article on Wise Bread called Our high, high standard of living. I want to share it with you because I’m still thinking about it months later.
Here’s the first paragraph:

In the 1950s and 1960s, a working man could support a family at a middle-class standard of […]

Trying to be frugal: Drinking cheaper

Wednesday, February 6th, 2008

This post is part of a series on the frugal things that my husband and I do — as well as some things we’re still working on. For more background information, please check out the introduction to the series. Other posts in the series will appear as links in the comments section.
The money […]

Loosing weight isn’t all about appearances — or willpower

Friday, February 1st, 2008

Long, sappy story alert. Don’t read if you’re wearing mascara that isn’t water-proof.
I haven’t talked much here about loosing weight. Obviously, weight is definitely an issue when it comes to appearance, not just in terms of beauty but also when it comes to how people see you. I don’t want to repeat […]

Oh, the horror!

Tuesday, January 29th, 2008

After a few unplanned weekend purchases, like this gorgeous fuchsia trench coat, I decided that I had better start curbing my spending one day at a time. So, today I made it a point not to buy a darn thing.
So far so good, except I know what I’m going to be […]

Spending to save, or why I’m a bit kitchen obsessed right now

Tuesday, January 15th, 2008

As a self-described microwave queen, I have to laugh a bit at how many food and kitchen-related posts I’ve been writing. Don’t worry, I still plan on writing plenty of fashion/style related posts here, even though I’m writing a lot on that topic over at The Bargain Queens. However, I’m really excited to […]

Finally found our perfect canisters, sort of

Tuesday, January 15th, 2008

Last Saturday I wrote about how our search for a nice set of canisters ended up with us buying $400 worth of furniture, but no canisters. Well, we’re enjoying the furniture, and we finally found the perfect canisters, sort of.
I had looked and looked online for some nice canisters so that I could store […]

Sushi in

Monday, January 14th, 2008

Last Saturday my husband and I were supposed to eat lunch out with a couple friends. I was really looking forward to it, but unfortunately our plans fell through because two of us forgot that we had a last minute rehearsal to go to Saturday, right around lunch time. I was disappointed that […]

Quotes from my husband: Regarding our recent blender purchase

Sunday, January 6th, 2008

Last Halloween, our Cuisinart blender burnt up while trying to make hummus — pretty pathetic if you ask me. We wanted to wait and find the perfect replacement, which I hope we did since it’s now on its way (if it works out, I’ll tell you about it later).
Now, my husband […]

The teapot that changed my drinking habits

Friday, January 4th, 2008

I’ve seen several bloggers recommend tea makers as a frugal kitchen appliance, but I always thought it was a silly idea. After all, it doesn’t take much to boil some water and steep some tea bags, whether you’re making a single serving or a batch of sweet tea for your family.
Yet despite […]

Dinner in with friends

Thursday, January 3rd, 2008

Yesterday, my husband and I were invited to a home-cooked dinner by a couple of our friends. While we’ve eaten out with friends many times, I can’t remember the last time we had dinner at a friend’s place.
Well, it was delicious! More than that though, we really enjoyed the company. […]

Why eating healthy for cheap is a complex, and often heated issue

Monday, December 31st, 2007

I read a lot of blogs on saving money, and sometimes I even follow their advice. While I usually don’t comment much on those blogs, I often read the discussions and it amazes how heated the discussions can get. There is plenty of judgement to go around and a lot of people think […]

My favorite holiday

Tuesday, October 23rd, 2007

The other day I went outside and I detected just a hint of crispness in the humid Florida air. Finally, a sign that cooler weather is on its way — and with it, the anticipation of the holiday season! My favorite holiday? It’s the first big one of the season. There’s […]