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Category Archives: Frugal
Dull Razor Blades: Day 27
One of the risks which comes along with traveling from house to house to house is that sometimes I forget things. I have plenty of razors (TIP: I get them for free from drug stores — every time a razor … Continue reading
What Do You Need?
If you want to get ahead financially, one of the most important questions you can ask yourself is, “What do I need?” It seems like such a simple question, one where the answers should be immediately obvious. You need food, … Continue reading
Posted in Budgeting, Frugal, Personal Finance, Saving Money, Shopping
Tagged advertising, basic needs, media noise, needs, purchase decision, simple question, wants, wants vs needs
2 Comments
Is Brand Loyalty Costing You Money?
Most of us have brands and products that we prefer over others. Maybe we prefer the taste or we’ve found that Product A works better than Product B. Sometimes our loyalty is rooted in the prestige a brand confers upon … Continue reading
Posted in Budgeting, Food / Groceries, Frugal, Personal Finance, Saving Money, Shopping
Tagged brand loyalty, brand names, brand products, cheaper, compromise, less expensive, store brand
6 Comments
10 No Spend Challenges Everyone Should Try
If you’re looking for a way to get a new perspective on how you spend money, one of the best ways to do this is to do some type of “no spend” challenge. While there are a number of things … Continue reading
The Difference Between Budget Living and Being Cheap
When many people think about becoming budget-conscious, they cringe because they associate living on a budget with being cheap. They don’t want to be known as, “That cheap SOB.”What they don’t understand is that the two terms are very different. … Continue reading
Posted in Budgeting, Frugal, Personal Finance, Saving Money
Tagged budget, budget conscious, cheap, cheating, Frugal, save money, stingy
6 Comments
Failing To Think Creatively: Day 11
View from current house sitting job I made a big mistake yesterday by not challenging my automatic assumptions. I consider myself pretty decent at doing this, yet I’m finding through this minimum wage challenge that I don’t do it nearly … Continue reading
Reevaluating Habits: Day 8
We all have habits that we really need to take a hard look at to make sure the habit is helping us reach our financial goals. I know from personal experience that one of the most difficult aspects of personal … Continue reading
Posted in Budgeting, Frugal, Minimum Wage Challenge, Saving Money, Work
Tagged coffee shop, habits, hawk photo, minimum wage, productivity, Ranch San Antonio, reevaluation, Santa Clara, work schedule
1 Comment
10 Ways to Save Money at McDonald’s
There are many ways to save money on food, but it gets a little harder to do so when you go to a restaurant. Many people enjoy fast food restaurants because the service is quick and the food is relatively … Continue reading
Posted in Food / Groceries, Frugal, Personal Finance, Saving Money
Tagged fast food, free coupons, McDonalds, McDonalds coupons, save money, senior coffee, value meals
7 Comments
What Would “Bare Bones” Living Mean to You?
A friend and I were discussing New Year’s plans the other day. She is resolving to get her debt under control and start saving more for retirement and her kids’ college funds. “I’m cutting life down to the bare bones … Continue reading
Posted in Budgeting, Frugal, Personal Finance, Saving Money
Tagged bare bones, bare bones living, frugal lifestyle, giving up things, living on less, no spending
9 Comments
11 Benefits of Staying Home
My desk in my home office looks out over the road in front of my house. It always amazes me how much traffic goes by my window on any given day, especially since I live on a cul-de-sac. People in … Continue reading
Posted in Frugal, Personal Finance, Saving Money
Tagged at home day, bored, frugality, going out, no spending, save money, stay home, stay inside
10 Comments
Love and Hate at CVS: Minimum Wage Challenge
I have a love-hate relationship with CVS. I love that I can get things there for free / nearly free (one of my goals for this minimum wage challenge is to try to get all of my personal care products … Continue reading
Posted in Frugal, Minimum Wage Challenge, Personal Finance, Saving Money, Shopping
Tagged CVS, freebies, grug store, humor, love-hate, personal care products, Rite-Aid, save money, Walgreens
10 Comments
Is Your Frugality Making Other People Crazy?
I don’t like to spend money. There, I’ve admitted it. Even when it’s for something that I know I’ll love and can easily afford, something inside me clenches up and I don’t want to spend. (I blame genetics. My father … Continue reading
Posted in Frugal, Personal Finance, Relationships, Saving Money
Tagged compromise, driving crazy, Frugal, frugal friends, frugal way, frugality, hurting others, improve relationships, Scrooge
8 Comments
Making Things Isn’t Always Cheaper
Making your own things, sewing your own clothes, or making gifts are often touted as ways to save money. After all, the thought goes, you can make something for less than it would cost to buy the item. Unfortunately, while … Continue reading
Posted in Frugal, Personal Finance, Saving Money
Tagged diy, Do-It-Yourself, handmade, save money, self made, store bought, time is money
7 Comments
Save Time and Money Next Christmas
So we’re in the thick of the holiday season right now. You’re busy and harried, so it’s too early to think about next Christmas, right? Wrong. Some common advice to prepare for next year is to hit the after-Christmas sales … Continue reading
I Have No Money
It’s one of the worst feelings you can ever have. That moment when you see there is still a week left until you get you next paycheck and you have no money, little food and you have no idea how … Continue reading
10 Inexpensive Winter Activities
With winter now upon us, many people are planning their weekend getaways or fun winter activities. There are so many different activities to partake in during the winter, but fortunately, not all of them are as expensive as skiing. If … Continue reading
Posted in Frugal, Personal Finance, Saving Money
Tagged hiking, skating, sledding, sleigh ride, snow play, snowshoeing, winter activities, winter fun
4 Comments
Renting or Homeless? Minimum Wage Challenge
One of the biggest decisions I need to make that will determine whether this living well on minimum wage challenge will be successful or not is my living conditions. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about this and there … Continue reading
Posted in Frugal, Housing, Minimum Wage Challenge, Personal Finance, Saving Money, Travel
Tagged homeless, housesit, Housing, housing budget, living budget, minimum wage, renting
18 Comments
Preliminary Basic Budget Minimum Wage Challenge
I hate budgeting. I simply don’t like taking the time out of my day to run through the numbers when I could be doing so many more interesting things. One of the reasons that I think that I am relatively … Continue reading
Posted in Budgeting, Frugal, Minimum Wage Challenge, Personal Finance
Tagged budget, budget help, Budgeting, Frugal, limited budget, minimum wage, preliminary budget
6 Comments
Not Every Problem Needs A Store Bought Solution
The retail sector and the media love to sell us “stuff” to solve our every problem. They even try to manufacture “problems” just so they can sell us stuff. (I tend to think the no-touch hand wash system falls into … Continue reading
Posted in Frugal, Relationships, Saving Money, Shopping
Tagged barter, borrow, diy, do without, Do-It-Yourself, fix it, rent, repurpose, substitute
3 Comments
10 Tips For Building A Christmas Decor Collection On A Budget
When we were first married and broke, I remember one of my mothers’ friends gave us Christmas ornaments for a wedding present. She said, “It’s the one thing no one thinks to give you when you’re just starting out, but … Continue reading