September 18, 2020
Educational Posters And Other August 2020 Expenditures
I dub August “leaning into the pandemic.” No longer in denial, no longer hoping for a swift conclusion, no longer deluding myself that school and daycare will resume anytime soon, I am leaning in baby. Leaning In Actually Looks Really Boring. Sorry About That. Me leaning in primarily manifests as really, really boring expenses, but…
September 11, 2020
Reader Case Study: Making It Work on a Small Salary in a High Cost of Living City
Zaria lives in Seattle, WA where she advises students and leads a graduate program at a local university. She’s done tremendous work over the years to pay off her debt, build up her savings and retirement investments, and create a frugal, sustainable, outdoorsy lifestyle. Now, at 52, she’s looking to the future and would like…
August 21, 2020
This Month On The Homestead: In The Garden, Picking Berries, Preserving Beans
July 2020 July is the month we settle into our summer routine. July is when we think the warmth and abundance will stretch into an infinite calendar. We forget about things like cars stuck in snowdrifts. July is intoxicating with its allure of an endless supply of cucumbers. So intoxicating that I almost give away…
August 14, 2020
Reader Case Study: Operation Financial and Location Independence!
Tara and Squash live on the West Coast and are about five years away from reaching financial independence. They would like our help crafting a contingency plan in case one (or both) of them loses their job in light of the pandemic and recession. What’s a Reader Case Study? Case Studies address financial and life…
August 7, 2020
Washable Markers And Other July 2020 Expenditures
Buying Household Supplies In The Time Of A Pandemic We’ve started ordering all of our household supplies online to limit our exposure to stores. Unfortunately, this seems to be more expensive due to the lack of generic options online. In non-pandemic times, we buy the generic Walmart brand of almost all household supplies, but the…
July 29, 2020
This Month On The Homestead: Who Wore It Best? Plus a Fire Pit and Some Radishes
June 2020 The first of the first comes ripe in June and oh how we feast. Or rather, oh how the kids feast. If anything actually makes it inside, it’s a summer miracle. Here’s what the girls ate straight from the garden in June: Snap peas!!! Ya’ll, I am on fire with this garden. I…
July 24, 2020
Binoculars And Other June 2020 Expenditures
I can feel the pandemic vibes coming through in last month’s spending. Notable is the line item “Beer, marshmallows, graham crackers, and Cheetos.” I regret nothing. The Truck This month’s “more expensive than our mortgage” award goes to our 2010 Toyota Tundra truck. A dubious honor, to be sure. The truck needed a lot of…
July 17, 2020
Reader Case Study: Canadian Family Plans For The Future (and yes, hockey is involved)
Beth and Brad live north of Toronto, Ontario with their young daughter and old cat. With retirement 15 years away for Brad, the family wants to better prepare and get a handle on their approach to money. Brad and Beth were a money mismatch from the start, but after 14 years of marriage, they’ve been…
July 6, 2020
Want To Move To The Country? 15 Things To Consider
Moving to the sticks is all the rage right now. At least, that’s what I gather from the number of questions I’m getting about septic systems. Or, you all are just really interested in becoming rural waste management engineers. Assuming it’s the former, let’s talk about what it’s really like to live rurally. I’m no…
June 24, 2020
This Month On The Homestead: The Full Garden Rundown Including Building Raised Beds
May = Plants-In-The-Ground The vegetables we started from seed back in February were booted from the warmth of the kitchen into the wilds of the garden. For weeks, we took our plant starts outside for field trips to feel the breeze and learn about the sun. Finally, in mid-May, we nestled each nascent veggie into…
June 18, 2020
Dirt And Other May 2020 Expenditures
Boatloads of Dirt May was the month of the raised bed. Mr. Frugalwoods designed, built, and installed four enormous raised beds to serve as our kitchen garden. I’ll give the full rundown in my next This Month On The Homestead installment, but for today’s purposes, know that these beds required dirt. A lot of dirt….
June 15, 2020
Reader Case Study: From South Africa to Tennessee, Now Planning a Move to Europe!
Brenda, who works at a non-profit, and her husband Kyle, a firefighter and nurse, live in Tennessee with their two daughters and one dog. Brenda is from South Africa and their dream is to move abroad after Kyle’s retirement (in six years) from the fire department. Today, they’d like our help figuring out the financial…