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31
Aug 2010

Meet Smalltopia Author Tammy Strobel

FrugalBabe

Tammy Strobel was featured recently in a NY Times article about how stuff doesn’t make us happy.  The article went on to explain that Tammy and her husband live very well (and are even able to contribute to family members’ college savings accounts) on $24,000/year.  I find that particularly inspiring.  There are lots of websites out there that talk about how the key to success and happiness is to increase your income in order to have more money available.  While that works for some people (and I can attest to the fact that we do enjoy our increased income now that we’re more than seven years into our self-employed journey), I believe that it’s a lot easier to cut your expenses than it is to grow your income.  And the end result is the same:  you have more money available for what really matters to you if you’re spending less on the stuff that doesn’t really matter.  For people who are interested in starting their own business, I would say that the absolute most important first step is to minimize your expenses (in both your life and your future business) as much as possible, so that your business has the best possible chance of being able to support you.

There are people who are perfectly content with their 9 – 5 jobs and find great fulfillment in them.  If that’s you – keep on doing what you’re doing!  But for people who long for more independence and flexibility, and would like to start working for themselves but don’t know where to begin, today Tammy released a new e-book called Smalltopia: A Practical Guide to Working for Yourself.  I just finished reading the book, and it’s an excellent resource for anyone trying to launch their own little business.  It includes lots of practical tips, ideas, and resources, along with personal stories and advice from numerous successful small business owners (I’m a big fan of real life stories, so I really appreciated that part of the book).  One of the overwhelmingly consistent ideas from just about all of them was that reducing your expenses is one of the keys to success.  Of course that really resonates with me, and it makes perfect sense:  if you set our to start your own little business and your lifestyle eats up $5000/month, your business is going to have to be pretty darn successful right out of the gate.  But if you only need to earn $1500/month to cover your expenses, you’re giving yourself a much greater chance of success, and reducing the chances that you’ll end up working 80 hours a week to make ends meet.

I’m a big fan of small business and self employment.  My husband and I started our little insurance agency in 2003, and it has supported us ever since.  We have used technology to our advantage, slowly making our business entirely an on-line entity by about 2007.  We do not ever have to leave the house for work anymore, and that means that we can work from anywhere we choose.  We would not have been able to pursue our dream of growing our own food if we had been tied to our former location by our jobs.  The fact that we can work from anywhere meant that we were able to find a home that met our needs without worrying about where that home was located.

Of course, not everyone is interested in growing their own food.  Some people have a dream of traveling the world, or volunteering full time, or starting a family, or living on a boat.  Your dream doesn’t have to be the same as anyone else’s, but it’s still worth pursuing.  And if you can lower your expenses, diversify your income, create flexibility in your schedule, avoid becoming a workaholic, and earn enough money to support yourself, you’ll be a lot closer to shaping your future around what you really want.

I could tell from reading Tammy’s blog, Rowdy Kittens, that she and I see a lot of things the same way.  I thought that my readers would be especially interested in knowing some of the details about Tammy’s happy, frugal life, and she agreed to an interview.

Tammy, thanks for being here with us today, and congratulations on the release of your new book, Smalltopia.

FB:  When you quit your job to become self employed, how much of a savings cushion did you have?

Tammy:  Before I left my job, we saved a year’s worth of our expenses (about $25,000). For anyone who is thinking of leaving a “traditional” day job, make sure you evaluate what your expenses are and what you really need. I also recommend reading, Your Money or Your Life and Unautomate Your Finances.

FB:  How long did it take for your own little business to be able to support you?

Tammy:  It took about a month for my little business to start making money. During the first month, I didn’t make a profit. But after I launched my first ebook, Simply Car-free, I was able to pay my bills. And slowly but surely I acquired more freelance writing and web design work.

FB:  People who are considering leaving their jobs to seek out something new are often very concerned about health insurance. Was that an issue for you, and what did you do about it?

Tammy:  Prior to leaving my day job, we thought a lot about health insurance.  I knew it would be risky to leave an organization that had such good benefits, but it was a risk I was willing to take. In my opinion, it’s just as risky to stay at a job you dislike.

Health insurance is a very complex topic and the type of plan you chose will depend upon your health and the risk you want to carry. I’m not an expert on this topic and strongly encourage folks to talk to a health care broker and examine a variety of health care plans before making any big decisions.

FB:  You’ve made a lot of downsizing steps over the last few years.  What changes would you say had the most impact on your ability to live so well on a reduced income?

Tammy:  By selling both my cars, I save about $12,000 per year. By going car-free we were able to pay off our debt and save a lot of extra money. And that gave me the freedom to leave my day job and pursue an unconventional career path. If I still owned a car, I would be saddled with debt, and stress.

FB:  If your income were to double overnight, would you make any major changes to the way you live now?

Tammy:  First, I would donate more of my income to charity. Second, I’d build a tiny house. Other than that, nothing would change.

FB:  What’s your favorite form of low-cost entertainment?

Tammy:  Having fun doesn’t require spending a lot of money or heading to the mall. Instead, I focus on doing things that make me incredibly happy. For instance, I love taking long walks in the park, going for bike rides, and doing yoga at home.

A few years ago I would have spent the day at the mall shopping, searching for happiness. Buying extra stuff didn’t make me happy and consuming more hasn’t done much for the planet or overall state of “happiness” in the U.S. Thanks to the ideas promoted by simple living movement I’m able to take advantage of beauty in everyday life. I’m satisfied with my possessions and I feel like I have enough.

FB:  What does an average day’s menu look like at your house?

Tammy:  Most of the time, we eat a lot of fruit, vegetables, grains, and bread. Lately, we’ve been making a lot of quinoa. It’s my new obsession. :)

FB:  Do you have any expenses that you consider splurges or luxuries, or do you focus entirely on the basics?

Tammy:  Sure. I think everyone loves to splurge once in a while. I love drinking coffee and eating out occasionally. We don’t eat out often, but I do spend a lot of time in coffee shops. So my monthly coffee budget is fairly large and I’m okay with that. :)

Thanks Tammy!  We definitely see eye to eye on a lot of things.  I’ve found that simple pleasures make me happier than any material possession ever has, and I can’t remember the last time I went to a mall.  You’re an inspiration, and I wish you all the best with your little business!

Category: Debt, other bloggers  3 Comments
30
Jul 2010

Inside-Out Simplicity

FrugalBabe

inside-out-simplicity-125X125It’s very rare for me to purchase a book, but I was inspired to buy Joshua Becker’s new e-book, Inside-Out Simplicity, and I just finished reading it this morning.  In so many ways, it echoes my sentiments exactly.

Minimalism and simplicity have become quite trendy lately, but quite often the people who are attracted to simple, minimalist lifestyles are young, single, and don’t have children.  Joshua Becker – married with two children – is an excellent resource for people looking for ideas on how to life a simple life, without a lot of stuff, even if they have children.  Since we have a child, his words tend to ring especially true for me, and a lot of the life lessons from children that he discusses in his new book are things I’ve witnessed myself over the last two years since we became parents.

Not only is simplicity possible when you have children, but I believe that it’s even more important when we have children.  As parents, we are responsible not just for feeding, clothing, and sheltering our kids, but we are also responsible for shaping and teaching a new person.  And the things we do are far more important than the things we say.  So focusing on what really matters in life (rather than material possessions, status, power, etc.) is even more important if you’re trying to teach your values to a new little person.

There are many ways to view minimalism and simplicity, and I believe they can enhance your life regardless of your goals or values.  I have no desire to live out of a backpack or count how many possessions I have.  I currently have very little desire to travel, and am very content on our little mini farm that we’re creating.  Maybe that’s because my husband and I traveled quite a bit throughout our 20s.  I was also a Peace Corps Volunteer in Africa, which entails heading out on a two year journey with only what you can fit in two suitcases (the return trip had the same two suitcase limit, which meant that nearly everything I acquired while I was in Africa was given away before I left).  I have had lots of travel adventures (which I thoroughly enjoyed) although currently the adventure that appeals most to me is creating a happy, nurturing home for my husband and son.  And I’m finding that the adventure is enhanced by minimizing our possessions and focusing on our inter-personal relationships rather than our stuff.

Many books have been written on the subject of minimalism as it relates to physical possessions.  How to get rid of things, how to stop shopping, how to downsize… all are valuable tools (including Joshua’s first book, Simplify.  7 Guiding Principles To Help Anyone Declutter Their Home And Life – a great read if you want practical tips and solutions).  Joshua’s new book, Inside-Out Simplicity, gets to the root of it all, and forces us to really look at what truly matters and peel away all the stuff that doesn’t. 

One of my favorite lines from Inside-Out Simplicity is “…in our consumerist culture, where discontent is promoted and material gratification is encourages, learning to be content can be very difficult”.  The book is over 100 pages of tips and insights for how you can achieve contentment, and it’s well worth reading.

Joshua starts the book by noting that he doesn’t expect everyone to agree with all that he’s written, and that he knows it may generate some controversy.  The only part of the whole book that I didn’t agree with was the section on spirituality, as it’s different from my own views.  I believe that generosity, simplicity, gratitude, selflessness, and equality are terribly important, but I have come to this conclusion without any sort of spiritual beliefs… I just think that those things are what it means to be a good person, and I am content with simply striving to be a good person, without an external spiritual or religious code to guide me.  Obviously everyone is going to have a different view on this sort of thing, and I can whole-heartedly recommend Joshua’s book as I agree with the other 98% of it.  If you read it, please leave a comment and let me know what you think.

EDIT:  I forgot to mention that although Inside-Out Simplicity is much deeper than a how-to manual for de-cluttering, it still inspired me in that regard.  I’ve written quite a bit over the last few months about how I’ve kicked my thrift store shopping habit and donated several car-loads of stuff.  I hadn’t been donating as much lately, simply because most of the extraneous stuff has already been donated.  But after reading Joshua’s book, I filled the trunk of my car with stuff to donate today, and it feels great.

Category: just my life, kids, lessons learned, other bloggers  6 Comments
08
Jul 2010

The Luxury Of Frugal Thinking

FrugalBabe

I don’t know the exact demographics of our town, but it’s definitely a lower-income area than the city where we used to live.  There is only one grocery store in town, and it’s not stocked with organic produce and ten dollar jars of coconut butter.  Houses here are lot less expensive than they were in the city (which is the reason we were able to afford our 3/4 acre lot here, and for that we’re grateful).  We love the down-to-earth nature of the town, but we’re also aware that there are probably quite a few people here who are struggling financially.

We’ve moved beyond the days when frugality was absolutely necessary because of our low income.  But we continue to keep our expenses at pretty much the same level they were at when we were poor, because that allows us to move as quickly as possible towards our goals.  We want to add a window in our dining room, and even though I suppose we could technically afford to just have a window company put in a new one for us, we’re going to head over to the Habitat for Humanity thrift store and poke around in their enormous used window stash and see what we can find.  Frugality is so ingrained in us that we just prefer it that way.

But I wonder if it’s a luxury to be able to make decision like that?  Well, I know it’s a luxury to be able to ponder how to go about adding a window to a room… what I mean is whether it’s a luxury to be able to think in terms of buying things used, minimizing our ecological footprint, growing our own food, etc.?  The things we do are things that people a few generations ago did without even thinking about it.  But these days, it seems that people who are talking about things like environmental preservation, reusable shopping bags, thrift stores, and organic gardens are all relatively well educated and well off.

50 years ago, having a backyard garden was commonplace.  Now, it’s not as common, and I notice when I walk through town that the poorer neighborhoods don’t seem to have gardens at all.  A garden is a very frugal way to provide food for a family, but it does require a time investment, and people who are working two and three jobs probably don’t have the time.

It seems completely counter-intuitive, but I feel like frugality is more popular among people who don’t have to be frugal, but rather choose to be frugal.

Why is this?  Is it because middle class people have more time to ponder their choices?  Is it because we’re exposed to more choices in the first place?  I know that not having a TV is a very good influence on my family in terms of avoiding commercialism and advertising.  And I know other families have made the same choice.  But I wonder what the average income and education level is for TV-free households?

There are definitely people who are living below the poverty line and absolutely thinking outside the box in order to make ends meet without going into debt.  But I feel like many of us (at least those of us who are blogging about it) are living frugal lives in order to be able to save money for retirement, our children’s education, and various other goals, rather than to stretch a small paycheck to cover the bare necessities.

This has been bouncing around in my head for a few days now, and I’m still not sure if I’m doing a good job of explaining my thoughts.  Basically, I feel like more needs to be done to help people who could truly benefit the most from frugality gain a good understanding of the options that are available.  What do you think?  How can we make high quality organic food available to people who aren’t making a ton of money?  How can we encourage the dual benefits of avoiding consumerism and protecting the planet, when people are struggling just to make ends meet?

Category: food, garden, goals, organic living, other bloggers  Tags: , ,  36 Comments
04
Jul 2010

Avoiding Nestle Without Even Trying

FrugalBabe

I was aware from a very young age that my parents didn’t buy any Nestle products.  They explained the reasons for the boycott, and it made perfect sense to me.  After spending two years in Africa with the Peace Corps, those reasons made even more sense.  I don’t knowingly buy Nestle products, but the boycott is rarely something I think about.  It’s sort of like brushing my teeth – just something I do.

Recently there has been quite a bit of chatter in the blog world about the fact that BlogHer 10 is being sponsored in part by a couple of Nestle subsidiaries.  Several bloggers have decided to opt out of the conference, and others have been quite torn by the decision.  Attending conferences isn’t very high on my list of things I like to do, so this isn’t an issue for me.  But I know that it’s been painful for several bloggers who are actively involved in promoting breastfeeding.  (I’ve had BlogHer ads running on my site for a few years now, although I’ve manually opted out of having any ads for baby formula/bottles/nipples, etc.)

Boycotting Nestle takes more than just avoiding candybars and cocoa with their logo on it.  They own a tremendous number of other companies, and produce everything from bottled water and pet food to Lean Cuisine and Hot Pockets.  Actively boycotting them might require taking a list of the brands with you to the grocery store.

Unless you’re into frugal homemade food, and simple, whole, organic foods.

I will admit that even though I never knowingly purchase Nestle products, I hadn’t seen an updated list of their companies in years.  When I sat down to write this post, I checked out the list that I linked to above, and was happy to see that I’ve been avoiding Nestle without even trying.

I do my grocery shopping at the local co-op and at a small, regional chain health food store.  95% of what I buy is organic.  I do not buy prepared meals or processed food, which eliminates most of the companies owned by Nestle (and helps to keep my grocery bill down).  I make our own desserts, often inspired by something from Kristen’s Raw (I tend to make things that aren’t particularly fancy and take very little time to prepare).  We drink mostly water, but we don’t buy bottled water.  I don’t wear make-up, and we don’t buy candy or ice cream.  When I grocery shop, the cart is filled mostly with produce (not as much anymore since our garden is producing more – yay!) and stuff from the bulk bins like nuts, seeds, flour, coconut, etc.

Shopping at farmer’s markets, co-ops, and small health food stores has a lot of hidden benefits.  If I have to spend money on food, I like knowing that I’m supporting small local businesses as well as farms and companies that have similar values to my own.  Nestle is pretty bad, but let’s face it, so are a lot of other big corporations.  Buying food from small local companies makes it easier to have at least a bit of an idea where your money is going.

Going to thrift stores for non-food items is another great way to direct our dollars somewhere besides the pockets of big companies.  The thrift stores where I shop are non-profits devoted to helping the needy, the homeless, people with epilepsy, and people with developmental disabilities.  I know that there are some for-profit thrift stores out there, but most of the others are set up to raise money for various charitable causes, which is one more reason to shop there.

Shopping the way we do, for both food and everything else, makes our money go further and keeps us healthy and happy.  It works for us, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.  And it has the added benefit of not contributing profits to companies that I find reprehensible.

Category: food, health, just my life, organic living, other bloggers  Tags: , , , ,  19 Comments
24
Jun 2010

Avoiding Lifestyle Inflation Helped Us Buy Our New Furnace

FrugalBabe

Well the new furnace is now installed, and I’ve submitted all of the rebate forms for processing.  I’ll have to wait until next year when we file our taxes to get the federal tax credit, but everything else should be coming by check over the next month or two.  It feels good to have such an efficient system in place, and we’re both glad we made the decision to upgrade.

I wanted to share a post that Far Beyond The Stars author Everett Bogue wrote this morning about avoiding lifestyle inflation.  Everett has been very successful at increasing his income over the last several months, but he’s aware of how quickly an increased income can be eaten up if we allow our lifestyles to inflate with our income.  My husband and I have been fortunate to have a successful business ourselves, and our income has increased quite a bit over the last several years.  By avoiding lifestyle inflation, we’re able to pay a substantial amount of additional principal on our mortgage each month (with the goal of owning our little farm and house outright within the next five years), and we’re also able to save a good portion of our income for retirement, emergencies, etc.  The only reason we were able to afford to upgrade our furnace to a high efficiency model is because we’ve kept our expenses at about the same level over the years as our income has increased.  That means we have more money available when there’s something we really want to do.

For some other good reading, check out this week’s Festival of Frugality (my article about reducing our dependence on cars was included).  And another great little bonus that I discovered this morning is a free (!) e-cookbook from Jules at Stone Soup, a minimalist home cooking site.  The recipes all have five ingredients and take ten minutes or less to make, and there are great photographs of the food.  There are lots of vegan and vegetarian recipes included, so it’s got something for everyone.  It’s free, and it’s an e-book, so it won’t take up any room on your kitchen shelves.  What’s not to love?!

Category: other bloggers  Tags: ,  4 Comments
21
Jun 2010

Can You Make Money With A Blog?

FrugalBabe

Well, yes, you can… there are lots of bloggers who do just that, and some who have even been able to quit their day jobs to focus on blogging full time (or part time!).  But there are many more bloggers who make very little or no money from blogging.  Some prefer it that way, and have no desire to turn their blogs into money-makers.  I’m sure there are many more who want to make money, write some posts, put some AdSense code on their sidebar, and then make 3 cents a month.

I am definitely not an authority on making money from a blog.  I have pretty much focused only on content for my blog, and haven’t done much with marketing or anything else to drive traffic to my site.  I’m on Twitter, but that’s about all I’ve done in terms of social networking for my blog. I do make some money from advertising and affiliate links, but I’ve been blogging for nearly four years, and I usually make between $200 and $300 a month from my blog.  It’s not a lot of money, but I also don’t devote nearly as much time or effort to my blog as the people who turn theirs into a primary income source.  Leo Babauta of Zen Habits is one such blogger, and has a massive readership and several successful e-books (Zen To Done, The Simple Guide To A Minimalist Life, and Zen Habits Handbook for Life).  He also has a great print book, The Power Of Less, that is even carried by our tiny small-town library.

Leo and fellow blogger Mary Jaksch are offering Instant Blog Magic for free until the end of the month (EDIT: the program is actually only being offered for free until midnight on Thursday, June 24th.  Sorry for any confusion, I think I misread the initial offer).  They’re giving free blog set-up and $20 off the first year’s hosting fee, along with several other goodies.  If you’ve been wanting to set up a blog and don’t know where to begin, you might want to check out their program.

For those who are curious about the specifics of my own blog income, here’s a rough breakdown of where it comes from:

  • BlogHer Ads… usually between $25 and $50/month.  BlogHer Ad revenue is based on the amount of traffic to your site rather than on how many people click on the ads.
  • Linkworth… usually about $75/month.  Linkworth ads are paid on a set fee-per-link basis, and the amount of traffic or number of clicks doesn’t impact how much you earn (although the more traffic you get, the more likely advertisers are to request a link on your site)
  • Private ads… I currently make $100/month from text link ads that were set up via direct contact from the advertiser.  I get to keep 100% of the revenue (unlike BlogHer and Linkworth, where they take half the revenue in trade for sending the business my way).  I charge $30/month for ads, but advertisers get a discount for buying multiple months up front.
  • Affiliate sales of e-books.  I just started learning about this recently, and have only begun to test it out.  I had some good success last week with Everett Bogue’s Minimalist Business, but as with any sort of blog revenue, being an affiliate will only make money if you have a relatively large readership.  Of all the ways to generate revenue on a blog, this is one of my favorites, although I’m still pretty new at it.  It’s nice to be able to promote e-books that have been written by other bloggers I really admire.

I have also tried AdSense and Chitika, but made very little money from them and eventually took them down.  We’ve had quite a bit of success with AdSense on our work website, but most of the visitors who come to that site do so with the intention of researching and shopping, whereas most of my readers here at Frugal Babe are looking for ideas, entertainment, and (hopefully!) a little inspiration.  Programs like AdSense and Chitika generate revenue for a blogger when readers click on the ads, as opposed to the types of programs I mentioned above that pay based on the amount of traffic to the blog or on a flat fee per month.  My personal preference is for the ones I mentioned above, but this varies quite a bit from one blogger to another.

I have had plenty of questions over the years from readers interested in how blogging can make money.  As I said, I’m definitely not an expert at that, and I don’t make a whole lot of money from it (my blog still falls pretty squarely in the “just for fun” category).  But I thought maybe sharing my own experiences would be useful to some of you, and perhaps you can also benefit from Leo and Mary’s Instant Blog Magic program.  Even though my blog only makes a couple hundred dollars a month, that’s enough to fund our son’s 529 plan ($100/month) and our car replacement fund ($100/month) and pay taxes on the earnings.  It might not be a lot of money, but something is better than nothing, and diversified income is a good thing, even if it’s just a trickle.

Category: other bloggers, work  7 Comments
14
Jun 2010

Do You Want Your Own Business?

FrugalBabe

Because of the little business that we started when we first got married, my husband and I have been able to move to a better location where we can pursue our dream of growing our own food, without having to be tied to a particular location for work.  We’ve kept up with advances in technology over the years in order to make our business nearly paperless, very automated, location-independent, and with multiple streams of revenue.  We have worked hard, but we’ve also been very lucky.

I know that I have lots of readers who want something similar but aren’t sure where to start.  There are lots of people who are looking for information and ideas about starting their own business… without going broke in the process.  Blogging has exploded in popularity over the last several years, with lots of people trying to start a blog, put some ads on the sidebar, and then kick back and watch the money roll in.  It doesn’t really work that way for most of us though, and I think that a lot of people get discouraged when they don’t see big traffic numbers or ad revenue after the first few months.

I’ve been reading Everett Bogue’s site, Far Beyond The Stars, for several weeks now, and I’ve been really impressed with everything he writes.  If we didn’t already have our own successful, flexible business, I absolutely believe that I’d be motivated by Everett to start something.  He’s a walking-the-walk expert on minimalism (which is something that I’m finding more and more appealing), and he’s also figured out how to create a business that can support him, and allow him to work and live anywhere, all while still having lots of free time for things other than work.  He’s re-releasing his e-book Minimalist Business tomorrow morning (Tuesday, June 15th) at 10am PST, and I wanted to spread the word to my readers and fellow bloggers who have an interest in creating or growing their own little business.  A blog is a great platform to spread your message to the world, and it can also generate income… but it doesn’t just happen.

If you’re interested in Everett’s other e-book, The Art Of Being Minimalist, he lets you read the first 30 pages for free before you buy the e-book, so check it out and see what you think.

My husband and I are very lucky to have a business that we own and run ourselves.  We work from home, we set our own schedules, and we make a good living.  We work a lot, but it’s work we enjoy, and we’re able to fit our job around our life.  My husband’s office is in the basement, but he just came up and spent the last hour playing in the backyard with our son.  Even though it’s a busy Monday, he was able to take a break in the middle of the day and have some great family time.  As an aside, right before our son was born, we hired Spectrum Communications to answer our phone if we couldn’t get to it.  Most of our business is done online, and most of our communication is by email.  But plenty of clients choose to call, and we feel that it’s better to have a live person answer the phone (even if they just have to take a message) than a voice mail system.  In the two years we’ve been using Spectrum, our monthly bill has never been above $250 (it’s usually below $200), and they have always done a really good job.  Having them there to answer the phone allows us to be even more flexible in our schedules.  During the time that my husband just spent playing with our son, two clients called, and both times the Spectrum folks took messages and emailed them to us.  I can definitely recommend a service like this if you’re self employed and need a little help juggling the phones.  (no, they aren’t paying me to recommend them – I just think that they’ve provided a really good service for our family, and it’s been very affordable).

I’m feeling very fortunate right now to have the little business we’ve created, and I hope some of you are inspired to start diversifying your income a bit.  You don’t have to (and probably shouldn’t!) quit your day job and dive right into supporting yourself with your own business.  But a little extra money can’t hurt, and who knows what it might turn into down the road?

Category: just my life, other bloggers  Tags: , ,  4 Comments
21
May 2010

Inspiration From Another Frugal Mama

FrugalBabe

I had a post in the Festival of Frugality this week, and found the hosting blog (Penniless Parenting) to be a very interesting read.  The author is a young (I think maybe 21 or 22?) mother whose frugal habits and wisdom are even more impressive given her young age.  I particularly liked her babies with little expense section, and a lot of her ideas are very similar to my own experience.  Our son is two now, and our expenses for him are still about the same as ever: $100/month into the college fund, about $100/month for his health insurance, and that’s about it.  His food costs are still pretty negligible.  All of his clothing is second hand (or gifts – he did get several outfits from his grandmother for his birthday), and entertainment is all free (library, the park, and just playing with him in the house and yard).

Anyway, check out Penniless Parenting if you haven’t already.  There are all sorts of frugal ideas over there, including homemade lasagna using homemade pasta and dumpster-dived materials used to build a dehydrator.  Enjoy!

Category: other bloggers  3 Comments
10
May 2010

My Six Favorite Ways To Keep Expenses To A Minimum

FrugalBabe

I believe that for most people, cutting expenses is the most important key to reaching financial goals as quickly as possible.  Basically, the idea is to make the difference between what you earn and what you spend as large as possible in order to put the difference towards your goals (paying off debt, buying a house, saving for retirement, whatever floats your boat…)  There are two ways to do that:  you can either increase the amount you earn, or you can decrease the amount you spend.  Both will have the same effect in terms of increasing the amount you have to put towards your goals.  But I believe that decreasing expenses is easier and can be done faster (immediate gratification is always nice).

If you’re looking to cut expenses, here are my favorite ideas – things that have worked for us:

  • Drive an old car. (or take this a step further and ride a bike instead of having a car)  My car is 19 years old, my husband’s is 20.  They are both going strong.  We bought my car from the original owner in 2003, and paid $2300.  We have only had to do a couple of minor repairs on it over the years.  BONUS:  driving an old car means that you can just purchase liability auto insurance.  The savings we get from not having comp/collision on our cars allows us to purchase far more than the state minimums in terms of liability insurance.  I’d rather be well covered in that regard.
  • Find the least expensive housing that meets your needs, rather than the best/most expensive house that will fit into your budget.  If your house payment is 40 or 50% of your income, it doesn’t leave a lot of wiggle room for other things.
  • Don’t shop as a form of entertainment.  Anytime that spending money is involved, make sure it’s with a clear purpose.
  • Cook from scratch.  There are millions of recipes out there in cyberspace.  Anyone can cook, it just takes a little faith in yourself and a few google searches.
  • Challenge yourself to find everything you need secondhand.  The list of things that we buy new is extremely short (underwear, socks, consumables… that’s pretty much it)  Thrift stores, yard sales, and Craigs List are great resources.  Use them!  But only if you actually need something.  The rule about shopping as a form of entertainment applies here too.
  • If you have kids, don’t believe all the hype about everything that you “must have” for them.  They really don’t need much.  Provide food, health insurance, shelter, discipline, exercise, and love, and things will work out just fine.

I’ve been reading several websites lately that are devoted to the idea of living with as little “stuff” as possible, and focusing on experiences rather than things.  Obviously I have no desire to live with only what will fit in a backpack, since we’re focused right now on our goal of growing most of our own food (shovels don’t fit in backpacks).  But I have found myself very inspired to get rid of stuff, not purchase anything else (which helps to keep expenses down), and generally lead a clutter-free, simple life.  Check out these sites and see if you find any inspiration:

Far Beyond The Stars (and I love the name of his site!)

Becoming Minimalist

The Simpler Life

I have always been a pretty frugal person.  But I’m finding myself drawn towards the ideal of having only what we need and the things that truly bring us joy.  I find that the tenets of minimalism go along nicely with my own efforts at keeping our expenses as low as possible in order to reach our financial goals as quickly as possible.  Hopefully you’ll find some inspiration here too.

Category: just my life, other bloggers, the simple life, thrift stores  21 Comments
02
May 2010

Inspiration For Living With Less

FrugalBabe

For nearly a month now, I’ve been news-free.  The only thing I regret is not doing this years ago.  My life is so much better without the negative influence of news media, and I have more time for other things.  Recently, I’ve been very inspired to de-clutter our house, and have started a major spring cleaning/purge around here.  I’ve done this before, but never on this scale.  I took a car-load of stuff to Goodwill last week, and didn’t go inside the store after I dropped off my donations.  That pretty much never happens.  Usually, my car sees the Goodwill sign in the distance, and it steers itself right into the parking lot.  But there’s nothing I need.  So I just drove away.

Today I’ve been gathering up more things, and have nearly filled my car again.  I’m feeling lighter with every item that leaves the house, and it’s a wonderful feeling.

I have found that websites about minimalism are very inspiring to me.  I read an article about minimalism, and then I have to go clean out the laundry room cupboards or the key/wallet/junk area on our counter by the back door (both done today!)  Rowdy Kittens has published a great list of 95 blog posts that deal with simple living and minimalism in all of its forms, and there is sure to be something there that will inspire you to tackle something… maybe even the kitchen junk drawer?

Category: other bloggers  11 Comments
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