Our dominant culture is geared almost entirely towards creating a life centered on spending money. Advertisers have engineered their reach such that we’re endlessly inundated with ads prompting us to buy. And many of those ads are intended to play upon our most base human emotions: fear, survival, and pleasure. We’re Read more…
By the time we combined forces and got engaged in 2007 and married in 2008, we were already in a rare position for our age group: we had no debt, we didn’t live paycheck-to-paycheck, and we earnestly wanted to buy a house. And so, we started saving even more. With the objective of Read more…
Secret #1: I am not defined by what I own (or wear, eat, live in or drive). Money is often spent, unnecessarily, on building an image. Whether it is clothing, cars, gadgets or even food, maintaining an image can be extremely expensive. Looking closely at how we spend money on Read more…
More important than our practical applications of frugality (say through our $0.39 rice-and-beans lunches) is our shared financial outlook, which guides how we’ve decided to structure our lives. Mr. Frugalwoods and I feel incredibly fortunate that we found each other and evolved together into the frugal weirdos we are today. Read more…
So, here we go – a hundred fun ways to spend a money-free weekend. The list below includes the first 45 (with duplicates removed), plus about 60 new ones. If you’re inspired to try your own money-free weekend, hopefully this guide can act as a master list of things to do to make it more Read more…
It’s been nearly a year-and-a-half since that moment. Much has changed. I sold my car. I bought a bike. I sold furniture. I sold my TV. I sold books. I donated clothing. I retooled my diet. I packed more lunches. I ran and biked to work. I got up earlier. Read more…
We love our little neighborhood. One of the things we enjoy most are little get-togethers with neighbors on our street. Almost every week, we’ll have a planned or spontaneous gathering were we’ll sit around and chat for a while. The kids ride bikes or draw pictures with chalk on the driveway. In Read more…
The way in which Mr. FW and I structure our lives is unusual, but remarkably rewarding. Finding a purpose deeper than simply spending money and consuming pop culture has made us happier, more peace-filled people and has strengthened our marriage in unexpected ways. Sharing these experiences with all of you is one Read more…
Perhaps you’re thinking “just don’t buy any more clothes!” Clothing, unfortunately, quickly gets worn out or outdated, and work and other special occasions will require us to invest in our wardrobes. Gaining weight, losing weight, and/or trying to clothe children who grow like weeds are also challenges. We can, however, Read more…
Be discerning in the trash that you collect. After all, it is stuff and no one wants to be ruled by their stuff–which is almost guaranteed to happen if you have too much of it. With furniture in particular, think twice before grabbing that Ikea coffee table. Does it look Read more…