Articles on Frugal Living

"Can you spare a square?" 5 quick tips on toilet paper usage.

That classic scene from Seinfeld got me thinking over the weekend. Is there a strategy for using toilet paper? Is it worth our time? But when I spend money to literally flush the p

Are You an Ant or a Grasshopper?

This classic fable illustrates the fundamental difference in savers and spenders. Spenders live for the moment, frittering away their earnings on things like technology gadgets, e

4 Sensible Ways to Raise Cash for a Wedding

Weddings are expensive; there's no getting around it. But you can raise enough cash to make your dream wedding a reality without going deep into debt.

Cheap and Simple Sunburn Remedies That Really Work

what do you do when you return home from an outing and you resemble a well-done lobster bake? Try one of these time-tested home remedies for sunburns.

A One Touch Approach To Managing Household Finances

Over the years I've implemented elaborate tickler systems, email reminders and various other ways to remind myself not to forget to pay a few paper bills. At some point they all f

Refactor Your Budget Categories

Use the budget categories put out by the Bureau of Labor Statistics to help you better understand your spending.

The Art of the Trade

Money or not, things around the house need fixing, painting and up keep that goes beyond DIY. It might be a good time to look around your neighborhood for someone who'll trade his

Make Grocery Budgeting A Game, The Price Is Right Style

Growing up, I stayed with my grandparents during the day on summer breaks from school. Our mid-mornings were usually spent casually watching The Price is Right. Maybe those Showca

Welcome to Container City - How Shipping Containers Are Recycled into Green Dwellings

At any port you can probably see hundreds to thousands of empty shipping containers just sitting around waiting to be loaded. In recent times these containers have not only transp

Self-sufficiency, self-reliance, and freedom

Self-sufficiency is producing the actual stuff you use--your own food, your own clothes, etc. It's not a common lifestyle. Most people chose instead to follow the path of self-re

There are Cheaper Ways to Return to a Greener Earth

The web is full of ways to live green, but have you ever thought about being Earth-friendly in your death? While it’s not always pleasant to think about, maybe we should. If you

Sometimes I wish I had beautiful long blonde hair and ample cleavage.

Not on my body of course; that would be freakish. And if you’re visualizing it right now, I’m really sorry…especially if you’re eating. No, I’m basically reacting to several incide

Does living frugally hurt the economy?

When I advocate for frugal living, people sometimes ask, "What if everybody lived like that?  Wouldn't it hurt the economy?"  My natural inclination toward frugal liv

What if energy costs keep rising?

Recession or not, I think the medium-term trend in energy costs is up.  Just in case I'm right, you ought to have plan for that.

Get Free Hotel Stays with Wyndham's Best Rate Guarantee

Yesterday my super cheap ex-boyfriend told me that I would be proud of him.

How Big of a House Do You Really Need?

For my entire life, I have never lived in a place bigger than 1400 square feet. The smallest dwelling I had was a studio less than 400 square feet which I shared with my parents.

The ethics of hoarding

In the Philippines, they're threatening life sentences for people hoarding rice.   In the United States, grocers need to put limits on rice purchases just to keep their shelves

Score Free Comics For One Day Only!

You don’t have to be a die-hard comic geek to enjoy Free Comic Book Day on Saturday, May 3rd. Check out the list of participating re

Have you ever seen such amazing junk?

My recent post about reusing old plastic bottles inspired me to look around at other ways to use, well, garbage. And I found a site that really made me think twice about the con

Are You a Yawn?

I am familiar with the meaning of hippies and yuppies, but today I heard a funny new word for a demographic of people - yawns. YAWN stands for Young and Wealthy but Normal. It i