One Family's Journey to Debt-Free Living
We have now completed our Fabulously Frugal February (FFF) and the 2nd month where we are sharing some of the ways we saved money that month, so here we go!
1. We still have no dryer. Yes, we could have used the money Mr. SF earned by selling stuff he didn’t want any more to buy one, but we decided to continue to tough it out and put that money toward our emergency fund.
Every month this year I will be sharing some of the ways we saved money that month. This will not be an exhaustive list as it would take me too long to compose but it will be some highlights! 🙂
So, without any further ado, here is a list of how we kept a few more pennies in our pockets last month:
I cut up clothing that could not be donated into various size rags to be used in place of paper towels
I mended family clothing that had small tears and holes
Continue reading “Ways We Saved Money in January”
Throughout our years together, Mr. SF and I have lived a rather frugal life. But once we were blessed with children we had to learn how to make our money stretch even further.
We had all the regular bills, housing, utilities, food, transportation and on top of all of that lots of medical bills, so when it came to Christmas, I had to be creative. I wanted to make sure we focused on the true meaning of the season in a very budget friendly way.
Now that my kids are older, Christmas looks a bit different, but we still enjoy many of the ways that I wrote about in my book, Frugal Seeds Christmas Edition, 101 Ways to Celebrate the Holiday Season on a Budget.
You can buy it on Amazon or read it FREE with Kindle Unlimited.
I started writing this blog post way before covid19 became a household word. Why did I start writing it? Because this is a subject near and dear to my heart. I truly believe that having what we call a “deep pantry” is one of the things that helped us win with money. Just like having an emergency fund set aside in case of a true need, a pantry helps provide stability and peace of mind in case of an emergency.
First, let me start out by listing the top 10 reasons we believe that having a pantry is so darn important.
Continue reading “10 Reasons You Need to Set-up a Pantry”We did it, we completed the low-spend February and now that we are on the other side of it, I wanted to reflect upon what we learned as a family through this experience.
We saved a total of $285.00. That’s it. Why? Because we figured out this month that we truly are Seriously Frugal. If you look at this recent post, you’ll see that we are pretty hard core about saving money in all aspects of our lives. There is only one area of our spending where we could cut back, and that would be groceries. But, we eat at home almost almost 100 percent of the time and, with 4 teens, food goes fast. Plus, living with chronic illnesses, many of the less expensive foods, like grains or packaged foods with lots of additives or preservatives, I simply cannot eat.
Continue reading “Reflection on our low-spend February”This month is our Frugal February and we are on a mission to spend as little money as possible this month. This got me thinking of free things we could do and reading was one of my first thoughts. Since we are trying to spend so little, I didn’t want to even drive to the library to search for some good reads. This encouraged me to search for finance and success focused books that are free to read on the internet. I was shocked at all of the great reading I found and wanted to share it all with you!
If there is a book that you have read that encouraged you in your financial walk and is free to read on the internet, please leave a comment below, we would LOVE to share it.
Continue reading “February’s FREE Financial Reading”
We all want to save money. We are working hard at our jobs and taking care of our families, and most of us are stressed out with a whole lot of stuff on our plate. Many of us, especially those of us who read (and write) blogs like this one have turned to budgets to help us reign in spending and give our money a purpose. While most line items have little room for negotiation, we often have some flexibility in our grocery budget.
If you are reading this post, you are probably already doing lots of things to save money on your groceries: coupons, sales, bulk when able, and shopping multiple stores. We do all of that, but one easy thing to do that saves a lot of money is simply not letting what you buy go to waste.
Continue reading “You Gonna Eat That?”What is it that, at least here in the U.S., you are already paying for and, in my opinion, is one of the most underutlilized resources for saving money?
Your local library!
I worked for a large library system for two years and now live in a small mid-western town where I use our library frequently. Even after all that experience, it still surprises me what can be found at a library. What amazes me even more is that most people don’t have any idea just how much is available at no cost, beyond any taxes you’ve already paid, of course.
By merely walking into a library, you probably wouldn’t be aware of even half the possibilities. It can take some time to truly learn what all they have through exploration, research, and talking to the library staff. To help you save time and, hopefully, some money, I wanted to share what is available to my family and neighbors at our local branch so you’ll have an idea what you may be missing.
Continue reading “You are already paying for it – use it!”
Budget. That is not a word that most people like to use when they discuss their holiday plans. Our society constantly shows us that the holidays are meant for excess in every single way; gifts, meals, celebrations, excursions, decorations, desserts and adult beverages just to name a few.
We have come to a point in our society that we need to step back and take a good look at why we are taking a religious holiday and turning into a circus. The holy days are such a beautiful time in the year and can be enjoyed while creating wonderful memories, even on a budget.
While raising our kids, we have always been on a budget, trying to dig ourselves out of medical debt and now our mortgage. So, over the years, I’ve needed to be creative and come up with ways to enjoy the season without breaking the bank.
I have shared many of the ways that we celebrated the Christmas season with our family in our new book, “Frugal Seeds Christmas Edition: 101 Ways to Celebrate the Holiday Season on a Budget”. It is available on Amazon in both paperback and ebook and can be read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited.
Wishing you a happy and budget friendly holiday season.
Autumn is my favorite time of year, and if you spend any time on social media, it seems many feel the same way. The sights, sounds, and smells of the season are a delight to the senses and the weather is perfection in my book.
This is the time of year when I feel at my best, and I appreciate being able to spend more time outside. I love having the windows open and being able to cook without worrying about running up the electric bill while the AC beats back the heat from the kitchen.
Without further ado, here are some of my favorite low cost fall activities:
Continue reading “Low-cost Fall Activities”