Author Archive
A Little Sunshine
Have you ever walked into a room or out onto the sidewalk and been suddenly struck with how different things look in the bright sunshine? Well, maybe it was because we've had such cloudy weather here for days and days and days. A little snow, but mostly clouds.
It gets tiresome and it makes our minds dull after awhile.
I started
into the kitchen when a bright ray of sunshine appeared and changed my
whole perspective. My kitchen isn't fancy by any means, but it suits me.
I don't think too much about it, but suddenly, I was proud of the homey
look. The sunshine coming through the window set it off just right.
You're saying, "What's frugal about that?" Come on.. what isn't frugal about it? Sunshine is free and it's a mood lifter in these wintry months. Who couldn't use a mood lifter now and then?
Cabin Fever
Frugal Ways to Beat the Winter Blahs
Emergency Funds for Things That Won’t Happen to You
Not gonna happen to you, huh? It wasn't gonna happen to me, either.
But it did.
Major health problems hit early last spring. Surgery and treatments afterward cost money. A lot of money. Thank heavens for health insurance, but even at that, I was responsible for thousands of dollars out of pocket. Then my car broke down.
What was I thankful for? An emergency fund and extra savings that were easy to get to. I had resisted putting money into funds that would take weeks to access, not because I'm so smart, but because I'm hard headed. Lucky, some call it.
I know it won't happen to you…. but just in case, you might want to take another look at your financial backup plans. Make sure you can get to the money immediately. Emergency savings can be critical to your survival when you really need them. It may not be as drastic a situation as I had last year, but a refrigerator that quits working needs to be replaced now, not next week.
Don't depend on credit cards to fill in the time gap because they have a way of getting away from you. Even if you determine that you'll pay them off as soon as your money comes in, things happen.
Do depend on your emergency savings. That's why you're putting money in there, to use when you need it.
Believe me, you'll be glad you took the easy, direct way of handling a financial emergency.
Financial Emergencies
Emergency Funds
Creating an Emergency Fund
Gardening fever
Got the gardening fever yet? You know, when you start staring out the window or walking around the back yard or garden, silently willing things to start turning green? When the seed catalogs stay on the table days on end and the seed stash is sorted and resorted…
Not everyone does, I know, but I get gardening fever along this time of year every year. Every garden is going to be better than the garden last year.
It's almost time to start seeds indoors in much of the nation and time to start seeds outdoors in other areas. I can hardly wait! It has something to do with being frugal and something to do with being self sufficient and something to do with being a country girl at heart.
I love to dig into the soil in the spring and see it turn over, rich and moist and just waiting to give life to sleeping seeds. It's a miracle, no matter what science says about it.
Want to plan a garden?
Methods, money savers, food preservation and more
Farmer's markets
LIttle Houses and Other Things
Have you ever read the "Little House on the Prairie" books? I read the whole series now and then. Families used to live in houses that were in today's standards, very, very small. The Ingalls family of five lived in one room at times, hanging sheets to separate the bedroom from the living area, which included everything else. I don't know the dimensions of these homes but there are little houses being built and marketed today that are not much bigger.The only difference is that they're built with modern conveniences in mind. That means that the kitchen sink takes up more room than a dishpan that hangs on the wall and it means that there needs to be room for an "entertainment center" of sorts, even if it's only a TV. You can't put that under the bed like you can a fiddle, or in a trunk like a book.
All right. Here's what I'm getting at. The simplest, smallest house of today is much more complicated and takes up more space for things.. No doubt it's more comfortable and much more suited to our lifestyles. The fact is that the more convenient things are and the more technology we use, the more it costs us, in time, in space and in money. Think about that the next time you begin to crave a new… whatever.
You may not want to live in a dugout or a shanty, but living in a house that's too large or having two cars when one would do, might not be the smartest way to use your money and your space on this earth.
Interested in smaller living?
Nontraditional Housing
What is Simple Living?
Costly Clutter
Start on Christmas 2012??
No, no, no….I love Christmas. I soak it all in, from the glitzy decorations to the solemn carols and from the eggnog to the fudge. The lights, the sounds, the smells… but I don't want to think about it ALL the time. When it's over, it's over. Okay, so I draw it out - I just took down the tree today. I might even listen to Christmas music in the heat of the summer and I often pick up a good deal or two 'way ahead of time for next Christmas.
But do I start planning for next Christmas already? No way. For me, it would be stressful, like a never ending chore. Christmas is over and while I enoy it, I'm glad to move on. We're in recovery now. The sun shines a little longer each day and I'm dreaming over seed catalogs and wondering if it would be smart to plant okra in the new raised bed this year.
For those of you who are thinking farther ahead than I am, there's a thread on the forums called "Christmas 2012." Okay, they're talking about the great after Christmas deals and how you can buy now and forget about it until next year. Not a bad idea, even if the seed catalogs are calling my name.
To each his/her own and I guess if you like good deals… 
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