Search Results for: blog do you have a negative savings rate

What Not to Do in Front of Your Kids When It Comes to Money

Children learn what they see. It is a true statement for any kind of behavior including money management. Children’s attitudes toward money and whether or not they will be able to make it work for them as adults has much to do with their parents. If you are married, think about any differences that there might be between you and your spouse, regarding any issues having to do with money. Is one of you more a saver than a spender? Do you approach investing or debt the same way? Chances are that you may each have different ideas about handling … Continue reading →

What is Your Real Attitude toward Saving Money?

We’ve all been taught since we were knee-high to a nickel that we should be saving money. We should put aside 30%, our parents taught us. We know it’s wise, we know we should do it … but do we want to do it, or does it feel like one of those “have to” things, like taking our medicine? Do we ignore the advice because we don’t want to follow it? I would wager that many of us who do save only do it because we know it’s the right thing to do. We know it logically, and yet, we … Continue reading →

Perception is Reality

I am the world’s biggest complainer. Just kidding. Sort of. Ok, not really. Well, maybe… but at least I am not in denial. Actually, I willingly admit to my fault and actively work to eliminate complaints from my conversations. But, it hasn’t always been this way. I’ve been a complainer since I was a teenager, but interestingly, I didn’t realize the extent of my bad habit until I became a parent. How many times have you done this: You and the rest of your clan gear up for a weekend getaway to the beach? Overall, the trip is pretty darn … Continue reading →

Waterpik Ecoflow Showerhead

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know that I like to advocate changing out your standard shower head for a low flow version. The problem is, that it isn’t always easy finding a model that works well and is attractive. The “works well” issue is especially important for me. We live in an older home where the water pressure can sometimes be iffy and maintaining a consistent hot water temperature at the furnace level is sometimes difficult. Still, shortly after we moved in, we installed a low flow shower head right away and lived with it … Continue reading →

When You Have to or Want to Work After Baby

In this blog, the issue of whether or not you can afford to stay home with your baby was discussed. If after you have worked out your budget or tried living on just one salary for part of the pregnancy, and learned you really do need more than one pay check to make it, you may decide the best thing for your family is for you to work. For a completely different scenario, maybe you figured out that you could, in theory, make it on one salary, but would have to live at the bare bones minimum in terms of … Continue reading →

Frugal Living Month in Review: June 2008

What a happy month is June, filled with the renewal of spring and the promise of summer. In the last month, we have shared so many ideas for frugal living and saving money. This past month has seen some pretty big increases in food, gas and other items (look for an upcoming post about strawberries increasing more than 100 percent). Now more than ever, it is important to save money where we can. This is why I decided to do a month in review. June 2nd Frugal Living Review: May 26th Through June 1st Garage sale shopping has got to … Continue reading →

Frugal Living Review: June 16th Through June 22nd

From grocery shopping to Goodwill, and from ice cream to value, there is certainly a lot of stuff to know about living frugally. Have a look at all of the good stuff posted last week. June 16th Frugal Living Review: June 9th Through June 15th Have you been finding that your budget is exploding these days? We actually haven’t been doing too badly, but we have changed our lifestyle just a little bit to accommodate some of the increases in prices. Later this week, I’ll be sharing some of the changes I have made in grocery shopping, for example. Meanwhile, … Continue reading →

Frugal Living Week in Review: March 31st Through April 6th

Have you been stocking up on ham and bacon this week? And what about the other great food bargains? If you don’t know what I am talking about, check out last week’s frugal articles. March 31st Goodwill Offers and Finds Do you shop at the Goodwill? Here are some of the finds that were available Saturday at my local Goodwill. Planning Your Frugal Summer Travel I know that we just reached spring, but summer won’t be far behind. And now is a perfect time to start planning your summer vacation. With the economy the way it is, many people will … Continue reading →

Cold Weather Comfort

Just because you are following a frugal lifestyle doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the cooler weather. And of course, the holidays are coming up. The frugal living blog has had some great ideas for enjoying this time of year. From keeping warm to having fun, here are some of the best articles for cold weather comfort. Frugal Food: Make Your Own Hot Chocolate Mix Last week the weather hit an unexpected cold spell and we all had the chills. it was just one of those cold dreary days. The kids were whiny and the adults were grumpy. I thought that … Continue reading →

Going Broke?

Are you slowly but surely going broke? Does it seem that each month your paycheck doesn’t seem to stretch quite as far as it used to? In reality prices have risen over the last few years drastically and your paycheck may not be covering everything that it used to. You may need to consider making lifestyle changes, so that you can continue to work towards your financial goals. Here are five areas to consider making changes in. 1) Gasoline prices have risen quite a bit over the past few years. You may want to look at ways you can reduce … Continue reading →