New! – Simple Times Ezine Archives

When my email newsletter, Simple Times, was switched to a new server last year, I lost all the back issues and the online archives.  Trying to make sure I have a back-up archive in place this time, I just finished uploading  the past year’s worth of Simple Times’ issues to a new online archive.

Check out this issue from last year that has a very helpful 12 Week Holiday Countdown.  Yes, I know it’s a little scary but it’s already time to start thinking ahead to the upcoming December celebrations. 

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/thesimpletimes/message/2

(The holiday countdown article starts about halfway through the newsletter so keep scrolling if you don’t see it right away.)

What is Frugal Living?

If I want to know what a word means, I usually run to my dictionary or do a quick search online.  Keeping true to my normal mode of operation, here’s what I found in my first search for the meaning of “frugality.”
 
According to Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), frugality is “the quality of being frugal; prudent economy; that careful management of anything valuable which expends nothing unnecessarily, and applies what is used to a profitable purpose; thrift; — opposed to extravagance.”
 
If I sat down to choose a catch phrase to define frugal living in today’s world, I’d probably say frugal living equals “living within your means.”
 
The reality is all riches have limits.   Some of us live with more limitations in the riches department of life than others, but even the largest fortune can still run dry if no restrictions are set on spending.   After all, how many mansions, yachts and private jets does one billionaire really need?
 
By cutting back on basic expenses, it can enable you to live out your dreams, get out of debt, and find yourself on the road to enjoying a financially stress-free life.

Why Live Frugally?

I’ve found over the years that people choose to live frugally for one of the following reasons:

1) Limited income

Whether someone’s just starting out in an entry level job, or perhaps a young family choosing to have one parent home full-time, there are a variety of situations that make it necessary, either temporarily or long term, to live on a small paycheck.

2) Emergencies

Unemployment and medical emergencies are two common and usually unexpected difficulties that can throw even a financially well-off family into the “we-have-to-reduce-our-expenses” mode of living.

3) Debt reduction

With consumer debt rising each year, many find themselves juggling debt, maybe even borrowing money from one credit account to pay the monthly fees on another.  Reducing debt can seem like an overwhelming prospect, but for people who are serious about getting out from under the heavy weight of monthly installment payments, frugal living can be the perfect solution.

4) Stages of life

College students, young married couples, single moms, and retirees can all be in stages of life when there’s a lot more month left at the end of the money and it becomes needful to examine the budget to look for ways to pinch a few pennies here and there.

5) Philosophical

Many people look for ways to reduce their spending as they voluntarily choose to simplify their lives, maybe to allow more time to connect with their families, community, and hobbies.

The Benefits of Frugality

Reducing spending can have far-reaching benefits beyond just today’s grocery bill.

1) Achieving dreams

By cutting back on monthly expenses, many people are able to fulfill dreams they may have decided were out of reach:  Going back to college, being home full-time with their children, working from home, buying a home, starting their own business, pursuing a favorite hobby, or acquiring acreage in the country.

2) Becoming debt-free

The first step for getting out debt is to stop going further into debt. Choosing to live within your means is the beginning of debt reduction.

3) Easing stress

Pinching pennies in daily life can allow you to re-prioritize your expenditures and have more available for things like vacations and hobbies, and if you don’t have to work as much just to meet basic expenses, you’ll have more time to spend with your friends and family.   If you’re in over your head financially, a huge stress
reliever is putting an end to phone calls and letters from bill collectors.

4) Reducing ecological footprint

One way that frugal living helps the environment is when someone chooses to use more homemade food items, it cuts down on relying on over-packaged convenience items.  Those items may make life a little simpler in some ways, but the packaging adds a huge amount to local landfills.

So whether you’re a single mom trying to make ends meet, a middle-income family deeply in debt, or you have life dreams you’d like to accomplish but think you can’t afford, frugal living could be just the ticket to get you on your way to accomplishing your goals.

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For more information on frugality and saving money on your regular family expenses, read Frugal Living For Dummies® by Deborah Taylor-Hough (aka “The Simple Mom“).

Easy Autumn Craft Ideas

Here are a couple of ultra-easy Autumn craft ideas.

Leaf Prints:

Make your own cards or gift wrap by using nature’s bounty of freshly fallen leaves. Use poster paint for printing on paper (for cards, gift wrap, etc.), or use acrylic paint if you decide to decorate an item that needs a waterproof finish (glassware, clay pots, etc.). Brush a small amount of paint onto the underside of the leaf where the veins are more pronounced. Carefully place the leaf where you want the design printed and cover with a layer of paper towel. Gently roll a rolling pin over the top (or you can use the side of an empty bottle). Remove the paper towel and lift the leaf.

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Wheat Weaving:

Soak wheat on the stalk (from craft stores or local farmers) in a tub of water for an hour or so. Holding three seed heads together, braid the stems of the wheat stalks. Curve the ends around to make an oval loop, a circle wreath, or even bend it a bit to make a heart shape. Tie with brightly colored ribbon. As the stalks dry, they’ll hold their shape. Add to your autumn decorations.

Halloween Tradition

Our family’s annual Halloween tradition is to pop a bunch of popcorn, brew some spiced apple cider, turn down the lights, and watch Frank Capra’s classic movie, Arsenic and Old Lace, starring Cary Grant as Mortimer Brewster.

It’s absolutely hilarious!  Dark comedy at it’s best.

Plus the movie takes place on Halloween, so it’s seasonally appropriate.   Spooky, morbid and dark … without being too spooky, morbid or dark.  Tongue in cheek, laugh out loud, almost scary fun. 

“Insanity runs in our family … it practically gallops!”  ~Mortimer Brewster in Arsenic and Old Lace

Frightfully Frugal Costume Ideas

‘Tis the season … to dress in costumes, that is.

Whether your family celebrates Halloween or not, it seems like costume parties are all the rage this time of year.  From harvest parties to office parties, it always seems I have to come up with some sort of costuming option for at least one person in our family each October.  If you’re faced with the never-ending question, “What should I be this year?”, perhaps some of the ideas in this post will help the costumed ones in your life stay within a frugal budget.

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Costumes don’t have to scare the living daylights out of your budget.  Even a simple homemade gypsy or hobo costume can be loads of frightening fun, especially if the children design it themselves.  Be sure to check thrift stores — and even your own garage, attic and closets — for supplies.  You don’t need to buy expensive costumes. Part of the fun of the holiday can be seeing what creative ideas you and your kids can come up with from things around the house.

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One year, my youngest daughter wore her old bathrobe, pajamas, slippers, ratted her hair, applied dark circles under her eyes, carried an empty coffee mug, and wore a sign around her neck which read, “I’m not a morning person.” It was the hit of the party that year!  And best of all, didn’t cost a dime. 

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Frugal Costume Ideas

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The following inexpensive costume ideas can be made from things found around the house or at thrift stores:

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Tacky Tourist:  Hawaiian shirt, sunglasses, hat, camera, layer of white sunblock on the nose (just use white face paint), large bag or purse, and maps or tourist brochures peeking out of a few pockets.

Soldier or Hunter:  Camouflage clothing, green and brown face paint splashed on randomly, a canteen, backpack, compass, or whatever you have around that can complete the look.

Ladybug:  Dress your child in a pair of black leggings or tights and a plain long sleeved black shirt.  Remove the arms from a large red sweatshirt (bought at a thrift store or garage sale or found in the attic), and pin, glue or draw large black dots all over with a stripe down the middle of the sweatshirt.  You can also fashion antennae with black pipe cleaners.

Dalmation:  Begin with a white sweat suit, then pin on black spots made from either felt or construction paper.  Make black floppy ears from construction paper or black felt and attach to a headband or a white baseball cap.

Rock Star:  Throw on anything glittery or wild; things don’t have to match.  Spike or over-tease their hair, maybe spray on a little temporary hair paint, add some over-sized jewelry, a pair of dark glasses, and you’re all set!

Ghost:  This is an old standby, but still a hit with the younger set. Use a permanent marker to draw some details on a sheet, like spider webs or fake blood stains. For a costume with a literary twist, add an old chain or two to drag on the ground and tie a large white handkerchief around the top of the child’s head and under his jaw, and suddenly you’ve created Jacob Marley from Dickens’ classic book, A Christmas Carol.
 
 
Birthday Gift:  Take an old box big enough for your child  to “wear” and cut a hole in the top of the box for her head and two holes in each side for her arms. Wrap the box with gift wrap, attach a ribbon, and tie curled ribbon or a big bow in her hair.  Cute, simple, and very cheap!

Tooth Fairy:  If your child has an old pair of fairy or angel wings from a previous costume or Christmas pageant, add a fluffy cute skirt and blouse, and then tie old toothbrushes all over her clothes with dental floss.  You don’t have to use real toothbrushes, though. To save money, cut toothbrush and large tooth shapes out of paper and decorate with markers.  You can also make the fairy wings out of aluminum foil; fashioned over wire coat hangers that you’ve shaped into wings.

Professional “Whatever”:  If you or someone you know wears a uniform at work, let your child dress up as that person (maybe even borrow their work “uniform” for the day).  Possible ideas include a doctor, a nurse, a baker, a cook, a waitress, a lumberjack, an athlete, or a junior executive.

Scarecrow:  Use an old flannel shirt with holes in it, old ragged jeans, and a straw hat, and then tie or stitch a bit of decorative straw-colored raffia to the shirt and pants openings.

Mummy:  Attach ragged strips of cloth ripped from an old white sheet to a white T-shirt and pants.  Or wrap the child lightly in surgical gauze if you find some on sale or at the dollar store.

Animals:  You can adapt different colored sweat suits to become almost any type of animal you can imagine:  A pig, cow, unicorn, or kitten.  Just attach any extra finishing pieces, spots, stripes, arms, tails) to the sweat suit, add any required head gear (horns, antennae), and your little goblin’s good to go!

If you’re due to buy your child new pajamas, purchase ones that double as costumes like super heroes, animals, race car drivers, cartoon characters, or princesses.