There she is. What’s not to love? Actually, when I think of the two years I spent as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Africa with no electricity or running water, cooking with charcoal, or – as a special treat – kerosene, this stove seems like a Bentley. But that’s not why I love this stove. I… Continue Reading
Three Steps To Improve Your Finances in 2013
A new year is almost here. If you’re already frugal and making good progress towards your long- and short-term goals, congratulations! If not, maybe you can make 2013 the year you start to get your finances under control. I’m not really a resolutions type of gal, at least not as far as new years resolutions… Continue Reading
My Simple Cleaning Schedule
I love getting rid of clutter. I love the look of flat surfaces with nothing on them. I even sort of enjoy cleaning. I’ve never enjoyed cleaning bathrooms, but the rest of it isn’t bad at all. I love the productive feeling I get when things are nice and clean – even though it lasts… Continue Reading
Progress On Our Projects And Some Good Links
I hope you all had a great weekend! Our was spent working on the rough wiring in our basement, with a lot of help from my parents. I have a circuit map that I’ve been drawing onto a blank floor plan, adding x’s and o’s for all the outlets and lights. The whole basement map… Continue Reading
$10 For You To Spend At My New Favorite Online Grocery Store
I have no idea how I’m just now discovering Vitacost, but I’m pretty darn excited about it. Keep reading and I’ll tell you all about it – including how you can get $10 to spend there on your own groceries! I’ve been focusing on our grocery bill this year, working to reduce the amount we… Continue Reading
Saying No – So That You Can Say Yes To What Matters
I’m a people pleaser. Always have been, probably always will be. I want to make people around me happy, and that means that saying no is not my strong suit. If people ask me to do something or go somewhere or help them with something, I usually say yes. That’s fine most of the time,… Continue Reading
Small Steps To Create A Great Year
Happy New Year! I hope that 2012 got off to a good start for you. I’ve never been one for New Year’s Resolutions, simply because the date seems so arbitrary. I prefer to make changes throughout the year as I think of them, and January 1 is no different from any other day in that… Continue Reading
Changing Our Mortgage Payoff Strategy
Ever since we bought our first house in 2003, we’ve always paid extra on our mortgage. Even in the early days of being self employed when we had barely any money, we always tried to put at least a little extra money towards the mortgage principal each month – even if it was only ten… Continue Reading
Why I Don’t Make New Year’s Resolutions
Happy 2011! I hope you all had a nice, relaxing holiday season. Right now, we’re really enjoying the fact that our holiday decorations were limited to a little Christmas bear hanging on our wall clock, an evergreen bough on top of our kitchen cabinets, and a homemade reindeer ornament that our son’s cousin made for… Continue Reading
Our No-Spending Week
We made our final contribution to my IRA for 2010 last week, and it feels great. Still another month and a half left in the year, and we’ve finished contributing to our HSA and both of our IRAs. In order to fork over the final lump of cash to my account, we focused on spending… Continue Reading