One Facebook friend shopped for eight hours on Black Friday. Another took three friends and filled one shopping cart a piece. I looked at photo after photo as they flooded social media. There were a lot–and I mean A LOT–of shopping hashtags and not a single #OptOutside on my Facebook feed. The Black Friday critics … [Read more…]
There’s a chill in the air and a battle over when Christmas music can be played. The start of the holiday season is unmistakable. With all the promise of glitter and gifts, there’s also plenty of advice that gets floated around. Only spend X dollars. Purchase precisely Y things. Make sure you have Z experiences. … [Read more…]
I hate my mortgage. If you’ve read my blog at all, you’re probably acutely aware of how much it eats away at me on psychological and emotional levels. You also probably know that I can be the queen of frugal, even if it makes things downright awkward. So why in the world would this frugalista … [Read more…]
There’s a scene in the movie Clueless where Alicia Silverstone’s character is accused of being aimless. She insists that she has direction, and is promptly chided, “Towards the mall!” That, friends, was me in a nutshell for years. Decades really. I didn’t have any concrete financial ambitions or direction. And I shopped like it was … [Read more…]
In what can only be described as a Herculean effort fool’s errand, I announced to my family that I wanted to finish Christmas shopping this year by the end of November. The fallout was mighty. However, the most unexpected consequence of my hubris came from my mom. Namely, she met my request with one of … [Read more…]
Summer might be winding down, but money wins are still going strong. As far as us personally, we are celebrating a huge debt payoff milestone, but the personal money win that I want to celebrate today is actually a lot less flashy. My husband and I sat down and brainstormed some of the different things … [Read more…]
“I don’t buy my kid toys.” I remember hearing that sentence like it was yesterday. But it wasn’t. It was 12 years ago, and it was at my parents’ house. My cousins were visiting for the holidays with their 1-year-old baby, and that comment was part of their very grateful acceptance of the gift we … [Read more…]
It’s true. I decluttered exactly zero things in May. None. Zilch. Zero. Nada. After months of detailed recaps outlining everything I decluttered, I simply walked away from it all. And like most things in life, the reasons are complicated. In May, the school year was winding down. Except it wasn’t. Instead of the usual decrescendo … [Read more…]
A rose by any other name would still smell as sweet. A minimalist by any other name would still have less stuff. Right? I try to not get caught up in labels on this blog. In fact, it’s probably one of the many fundamental flaws in my overall blogging strategy. It flies in the face … [Read more…]
“When did I decide I was actually never going to work out?” I said that to my husband today. I looked him square in the eye because I was hoping he knew the answer. I didn’t when I asked him. I still don’t. Of course, I could give the standard troupe about parenthood. But here’s … [Read more…]