rachelteodoro
If you are new to frugal living, it can start to feel like everything involves either living cheap or feeling cheap. While living frugally can be a little restrictive at first, it doesn’t have to feel cheap! There are so many ways you can save money, reduce your expenses, and live frugally without feeling cheap! Here are five ways you can live cheap without feeling cheap.
rachelteodoro
One of my goals with the no spend challenge month was to cut my grocery bill to only $100 for the month for our family of four and use items in the pantry and freezer. I often forget what I have on hand and then buy more, or stock up on a good deal, but then never use up what I have. {If you are curious about the details of a no spend challenge, start here.} The interesting thing about a no-spend challenge is that there really are no rules. Every family is different in how they go about tackling the challenge.
Want to know our family rules for the no spend challenge? Check out this post.
For me, I knew I had a stocked pantry and freezer that rarely get used up. I knew taking the pantry challenge would help me focus on using what I already had. Regardless if you are joining me on a no-spend challenge journey or not, you may want to try a pantry challenge. Here are some tips on how you can save money with a pantry challenge.
rachelteodoro
I can't think about the library without remembering the song my kids' favorite little aardvark on PBS used to sing. It went something like this "having fun isn't hard when you've got a library card." And boy, ain't that the truth! I am a huge reader, and lately, I've been loving audiobooks {though sometimes I show my age and call them books on tape, who else is with me?} and never once have I strayed from my love of the library. But after talking to some of my local friends, I know they have forgotten to use the library as a resource because when I got on a little tangent about the surprising benefits and the offerings of the library, most people sat mouth agape saying "I didn't know that!".
We are in the thick of a no-spend challenge {click the link to read more}, and I can't think of a better way to help encourage you to save money than at the library! Come check out the surprising library benefits that will save you money! Let me just tell you now, the library is more than just books!
rachelteodoro
We are in the thick of the no spend February challenge, hands up if you are with me! It has made me start thinking about how I spend money during the month. For me, I spend the most each month at the grocery store. We all need food and we all need to eat, so it's easy for me to think that what I purchase at the grocery store is a necessity. But it's not. I know I'm not alone because a recent survey I read said that more than 70% of people said that food was their biggest impulse purchase.
Regardless of what your weakness is or how you justify it, we all have unplanned purchases so how can we cut back on those purchases and use that money on things we have planned for {a new car without a car payment} or something that brings us joy {a bucket list vacation}.
rachelteodoro
I have loved reality TV since the early days of COPS and MTV's The Real World. I easily got sucked into season after season of The Biggest Loser, and I must confess, I was kind of surprised when I noticed that the show, after running for 17 seasons slowly disappeared from the television lineup. While there is no shortage of reality TV out there, it was a show my husband and I enjoyed watching together. After taking a four-year break, the show is back, this time on a new network with a reboot. I had the chance to sit down with season 2's runner up Suzy Hoover recently to ask her what she thought of the new show. Let's just say, she's not hopeful.
