May 29, 2020
This Month On The Homestead: Stumps, Tractors, Cookies, and a Balance Beam
April is the month of anticipation. It’s not yet spring, there’s still snow, we can’t DO much, but it’s the month our faces turn to the nascent sun and realize our eight month Vermont winter will end. Someday. April is a liminal space at odds with my desire to Know Things. To know if I…
May 27, 2020
Reader Suggestions: What to Cook During a Pandemic
Cooking at home is not new for the frugal crew, but cooking at home during a pandemic is a slightly different proposal. Many of us aren’t going to the grocery store as often as we did in the Before Times, some ingredients can’t be found on the shelves, and many folks are looking to decrease…
May 22, 2020
Preowned Power Wheels And Other April 2020 Expenditures
Household Supplies Line Item Revealed If you’ve ever wanted to see our “household supplies” line item illuminated item by mundane item, then this is the month for you! Due to the pandemic, we’ve curtailed our in-store shopping and now buy everything we possibly can via cyber space. If you’ve ever thought to yourself, “wow, Mrs….
May 18, 2020
Reader Case Study: Single Mom By Choice Charts Her Future In Iowa
Em is a single mother by choice living in Iowa with her two-year-old daughter and 14-year-old basset hound. Em has crafted her ideal lifestyle and made excellent financial decisions to get to this point. Now, at age 38, she wants our help mapping out the next 40+ years to ensure she makes the best choices…
May 13, 2020
Uber Frugal Week Day 6: Figure Out Your Full Financial Picture and Set Money Goals
Today is all about getting your financial affairs in order. Doing proactive stuff with your money necessitates knowing everything about it: how much you have, how much you earn and spend, what your debts are, and where your assets are held. All this and more in Day 6 of the Uber Frugal Week series! I…
May 6, 2020
Uber Frugal Week Day 5: Get On The Same Financial Page With Your Partner ASAP
If you have a partner, you’re spending A LOT more time together in A LOT less space these days. You’re also worrying about A LOT more right now: the coronavirus, how long isolation will last, and–if I may project–your money. I can’t help with the first two, but I’ll do my best with the money…
April 30, 2020
This Month On The Homestead: Making Maple Syrup, Starting Vegetable Seeds, and Other Pandemic Pursuits
March 2020 March was weird. I’m not sure there’s a better way to put it. We did some homesteading stuff, but mostly I stress-ate homemade baked goods while listening to podcasts about the pandemic. Now that you know this about me, we can discuss how we made maple syrup, started some of our vegetable garden…
April 27, 2020
Reader Case Study: Becoming a Travel Nurse and Stay-at-Home Dad During a Pandemic
Emily and Chase live in suburban Kansas City with their two young boys. They’d planned to head out in July on a family adventure of Emily working as a travel nurse in different cities every three months, while Chase became a stay-at-home dad. But then, the pandemic happened. Today they’re looking for advice on how…
April 24, 2020
Grits And Other March 2020 Expenditures
March 2020 Ahh, March 2020. You will live forever in our minds as the month of both the Before Times and the After Times. We started the month celebrating my birthday with dinners out AT RESTAURANTS and ended March ensconced in our home, regarding restaurants as dangerous, forbidden places of the past. It was the…
April 22, 2020
Uber Frugal Week Day 4: Emergency Funds, High-Interest Savings Accounts, and Using Credit Cards to Your Advantage
Today is devoted to a holistic review of where your money is and how it’s working for (or against) you, including: The importance of having an emergency fund Using high-interest savings accounts to make your money work for you Using credit cards responsibly and to your advantage Accessing additional lines of credit Welcome to Day…
April 17, 2020
Reader Suggestions on How To Earn Money From Home During the Pandemic
Wondering how to earn money from home during the pandemic? Today we hear from Frugalwoods readers who are making it happen: from a circus act owner to a veterinarian, you all are working it from home. Join me to find out how. Earlier this week, I discussed strategies for saving more money in (almost) every…
April 15, 2020
Uber Frugal Week Day 3: Saving More Money In (almost) Every Category Of Your Budget
Welcome to Day 3 of my pandemic-inspired, 8-day, what-do-I-do with my money, Uber Frugal Week series. For more about the series, including an overview of what I’ll cover each day, check this out. I recommend you read the series in order; start with Day 1 here. Read disclaimers about me and the series here. While…