Further Frugal Reading

I’m back!  My freelance work took longer than I expected, but I’m finally finished and back to being full-time frugal.  The work has put me 1/4 of the way to my savings goal, so I am very happy right now.
I was perusing the New York Times book reviews today and I stumbled upon a review [...]

October 13, 2009  Tags: , , , , , , , ,   Posted in: Frugal or Cheap?, My Progress  No Comments

It’s Officially Holiday Season

You heard me right.  I walked into a store today and saw my first Christmas tree of the year, and you know what that means.  Happy holidays!  With Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Xmas coming up soon, how are you going to save money through the holidays?  So far my ideas include turning off the lights and [...]

September 27, 2009  Tags: , , , , ,   Posted in: Cheap Thrills, Frugal or Cheap?, Spending Zero Dollars, holidays  No Comments

This is What Frugal Looks Like: New Series at Almost Frugal

Check it out!  Kelly at Almost Frugal has launched a new series called “This is What Frugal Looks Like”.  This week’s article in the series features yours truly.  Kelly has interviewed different folks to get their opinion about frugality and how it pertains to their everyday lives.  Here are the questions I was asked:
1. What [...]

August 13, 2009  Tags: , , , , , ,   Posted in: Frugal or Cheap?, Money News, Spending Zero Dollars  No Comments

Frugal or Cheap?

I ran across this article yesterday and couldn’t help but think that the author is being cheap.  The article discusses various reasons why the author is not paying for her kids to go to college.  Tricky topic.  On one hand, she’s already sacrificed so much to her kids: time, money, energy, her career, the list [...]

August 6, 2009  Tags: , , , ,   Posted in: Banking Accounts, Frugal or Cheap?  No Comments

Could You Save $1,000 in 30 Days?

I read this post over at I Will Teach You to Be Rich.  I’m already trying to save about this much money each month, but could you?  If you needed to, could you completely give up luxuries like cable, internet, and an air conditioned house?
It’s an interesting challenge because it pits our love of saving [...]

August 5, 2009  Tags: , , , , , , , ,   Posted in: Banking Accounts, Money News, Spending Zero Dollars, Want vs. Need  2 Comments

It’s STILL Wedding Season

Like I’ve said before, wedding season is on and it is hitting my wallet especially hard this year.  Another friend of mine is getting married this summer, and not only am I invited to the wedding, but I’m also invited to the bridal shower.  This means twice the gifts for one event.  Ugh.
But I refuse [...]

July 12, 2009  Tags: , , , , , ,   Posted in: Frugal or Cheap?, New Spending Habits, Spending Zero Dollars  No Comments

Being Frugal at Dinner Parties

You know you’re getting old when the music is too loud and you prefer to host dinner parties rather than go out on the town.  My friends and I have been playing hostess for about a year now, and I have to admit that it is fun to hang out at home with friends, eat [...]

July 10, 2009  Tags: , , , , ,   Posted in: A Night Out, Cheap Thrills, Frugal or Cheap?, New Spending Habits, Spending Zero Dollars  No Comments

Survival Strategies

Here are some money-saving survival strategies that I want to use:

Bring lunch from home.  Boring?  Yes.  Cheap?  Hell yes.
Avoid lots of city driving by running all errands in one day.  Do the speed limit on the highway.  I have definitely noticed my gas mileage and my wallet benefit from this so far!
Learn to cook.  More [...]

July 7, 2009  Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,   Posted in: Cheap Thrills, DIY, Food, Frugal or Cheap?, New Spending Habits, Spending Zero Dollars  No Comments