Articles on Frugal Living

Choosing Between Apples and Oranges

My family lives a fairly simple lifestyle. We live in a rural area, drive older cars, and rarely go out for dinner. But we also like to enjoy life. Given that we know approximat

9 Ways to Beat a Killer Headache

I can usually tell when it's going to rain because, as the barometric pressure builds, my face feels more and more like it's going to burst off the rest of my head. Over the ye

Buy Baby Bunting... But don't pay full price!

Registering for all the newest baby gadgets can be a blast, but it also can be a financial strain on you and those that you have on your wishlist. While it may seem that “baby pos

Live Like There's No Tomorrow

Two weeks after my husband had gotten a glowing performance review and his manager sent care packages for all our of our kids, he was told over the phone at a client meeting that h

Renting is cheaper

Everybody has seen a rent-versus-buy analysis. Here's a different way to look at it.

How low interest rates might save the world

Low interest rates generally lead to inflation, which is bad for everybody. But if inflation were really low, then low interest rates would tend to follow, and in that situation,

A Guaranteed Way To Avoid Impulse Credit Card Purchases

This tip is so easy and simple you'll wonder why you didn't think of it already. All you need is a plastic bag and some water, and your impulse credit card purchases will be a thin

Save your Lunchmeat: Insurance for your Fridge

We often protect our computers, TV’s, and sound systems with special power strips to protect against power surges. Most families I know go the extra mile to stain-protect their li

Critical Illness Insurance For Wise Patients

There are many people who believe in insurance, and just as many who are vehemently against it. Personally I'm a believer, but I also know that there is no blanket solution for

The Millionaire Next Door: Riches De-mystified

You've seen them driving by you but you didn't even notice. They were in the checkout line at the grocery store but you didn't give them a second glance. They're ev

Is Paypal making impulse buyers of us all?

Over the past few months I’ve noticed that more and more places accept Paypal and I began to wonder…is this going to create a generation of impulse buyers?

On the importance of having capital

One of the most frugal things you can do is have capital. Whether it's money in the bank or a nice chunk of reasonably liquid investments, having capital not only makes money (thr

Let ‘The Sun’ In

I used to subscribe to a bunch of magazines, almost all being about a specific topic. When I moved, I cancelled each subscription… except one. ‘The Sun’ is a unique publication

Frugality: a tactic, but also a goal

I was going to write a piece on how frugality was a tactic, not a goal. The point I wanted to make was that the goal is living the life you want to live, and that frugality is a ta

Dump Cake and Other Sweet, Easy Treats

Yellow cake mix goes on sale all the time where I live. For under $10, you can usually score 15 or more boxes! This is great if you’re making cakes, but what if you just don’t have

How To Turn A Video Game System Into A Gym Membership

Never thought you could actually get in shape with that PS2 or Xbox, huh? Believe it or not, I justified buying a PS2 because it's cheaper than hiring a personal trainer and ge

Local Flavor

It was time again to stock up on some things, and so this past weekend I went to my usual places: the fish market in Pyrmont (where one employee asked me how work was going since t

Debt repayment is not an expense

Over and over again, in budgeting articles and even books on personal finance, I see sample budgets that include debt repayment as if it were an expense. This shows a fundamental

The Great Whitening Hype

The home teeth whitening market is expected to grow 30% in the next decade. While this isn’t surprising in itself, I am shocked at the number o

How To Get A Discount Every Time

Discounts. Wouldn't they be great to get every single time you purchase something? Big or small, from new hats to furniture sets? It is more possible than you may think.