frugality

Tony writes in: I was recently diagnosed with Type II diabetes. My doctor gave me multiple prescriptions and gave me a dietary plan that seems very difficult to follow. I don’t make a whole lot of money and I’m struggling to make ends meet as it is. […]

After mentioning the idea of a post about seasoning mixes in the mailbag yesterday, a surprising number of readers contacted me and requested a longer post. I wasn’t quite sure it would stand completely on its own, so instead here’s an article about what you might call “DIY foodstuffs” – various mixes and things that you can make at home pretty inexpensively and easily. […]

“Oh good,” Kim said when I rolled out of bed yesterday morning. “I’m glad you’re up.” She gets up at 5:30 for work most days, but I tend to sleep in. Especially during allergy season. “Huh?” I grunted. It was 6:10 and I was very groggy. My evening allergy meds kick my butt. Plus, I hadn't had my coffee yet. “Something’s wrong with the bathroom sink,” she said. “Look. It’s leaking. […]

Even after all these years, I still enjoy reading (and still enjoy writing) frugality tip articles. You’ve all seen them, either here on The Simple Dollar or elsewhere. They’re simply a list of tips on how to spend a little less money while still getting a quality result. […]

A topic that has come up (in somewhat different forms) independently in several different areas of my life recently is that of trying to balance the idea of simple and frugal living with living an ambitious life. Let’s say, for example, that you have enormous career ambitions. You want to be CEO of a company, or maybe you want to design the next product that literally everyone’s using. […]

This week, my wife is visiting her sisters and my children are visiting their grandparents, which leaves me at home alone. […]

This past weekend, I hosted a full game day for more than a dozen people at my home (it literally was just me this time, as my wife was visiting her sisters and my children were visiting the grandparents). […]

If you've spent any amount of time reading money blogs over the past fifteen years, you've heard of the latte factor. […]

Amanda writes in with one of those good mailbag questions that ends up being its own post because it deserves a longer answer: How do you handle those days when you just feel bad about yourself and just need a perk or a treat? Like your boss yells at you a bunch and you feel stressed out and burned out and you just go do something that makes you feel good for a little bit? […]

The core of the personal finance philosophy I offer here at The Simple Dollar is really simple. Spend less than you earn, make that gap as big as you can, and bank the difference. That’s pretty much my entire personal finance philosophy in a nutshell, but it naturally leads to lots of other ideas and strategies. […]

The other day, I had a long conversation with a younger relative about the decision making process that Sarah and I went through to decide where we currently live (on the edge of a town in rural Iowa). Why did we end up choosing to live here? […]

My wife and I plant a vegetable and herb garden every single year behind our house. We have several slightly raised boxes, one of which is devoted to perennials (meaning things grow every year, so there’s almost no maintenance there). Over the years, we’ve come to really appreciate vegetables and herbs that are what you might call low effort and big savings. […]

It’s kind of a Friday night tradition for our family to have pizza and watch a movie together. For our family, the regular plan is to make or order two large pizzas so that we have plenty of leftovers for weekend lunches. This typically costs somewhere around $30 if we buy it at the store. However, if we make it at home, the price drops to somewhere around $10 for both pizzas combined. […]

One fairly common question I see from readers is whether or not making something on your own is cheaper than buying it in the store. First of all, most of the things you make at home actually compare in terms of quality with a fairly high end version of that item in the store. Homemade bread is going to be far better than the cheapest store bread. […]

My usual approach to any spending decision – any time that money leaves my checking account – is to make sure I’m getting the most value for the dollar. Almost every time, I’m happy with the overall outcome. I got the result I desired with close to minimal expense. There are times, though, when things don’t go quite as planned. […]

This past weekend, I was cleaning out the closet in my office when I came across some of my old journals from the late 1990s and early 2000s. In that timeframe, I barely had any money at all. I had a minimum wage part-time job and was trying to work my way through college. […]

This is the second entry in an eight part series exploring the connections between your finances and other areas of your life. Last week, I started a series exploring the connections between personal finance and the other “spheres” of my life. […]

The winter blues strike me hard each year. When the Iowa winter reaches a point where it’s fairly miserable to go outside and the days are short to boot, I wind up spending far too much time inside. […]

Cutting spending is an essential part of everyone’s financial toolbox, especially if they’re just getting started on their own financial turnaround or they’re hoping to accelerate their financial journey. The usual personal finance advice pushes people to look at the big expenses first. If you can cut out a sizable monthly bill, that’s great! […]

Over the last few weeks, I’ve heard from a few readers who have asked me whether or not I’ve watched Tidying Up with Marie Kondo, a Netflix series that debuted early this year. […]