How it all began...

My frugal life that is. A series of events led me to seek out ways to cut my budget a little bit. One of which was, after being married and working for five years, my husband and I had our first child. We both really desired for me to be able to stay at home with the baby. Knowing that our income whould be cut almost in half (yikes!) and we would no longer have medical insurance (double yikes!!) We had to take drastic measures to make this work. Everything possible was cut out of our budget. No more cable, no more eating out spontaneously, and scaling down the grocery bill were just SOME of the changes. It really became a complete mindset of trying to do everything as inexpensively as possible. And you know- it really wasn't that bad! I look back now, and can't believe some of the things I used to buy at the grocery store!

Another thing that really motivated me was a great book called "The Complete Tightwad Gazette" by Amy Dacyczyn. I was so cheap that I checked it out at the library!! But I would definitely recommend buying it. It is a great reference tool with frugal recipes, alternate uses for everyday items, great frugal ideas, etc. Some of the ideas in this book are a little over the top (like making a hammock out of plastic six-pack rings!) BUT, it really made me think twice before I threw something away! Hmm...the foil seal from the top of my yogurt cup- I think I'll wrap up some leftovers with it! Dacyczyn would not recommend you buying yogurt from the store though. You can make it for pennies at home!

So, three children later, and hopefully, a little bit wiser, we have made it on one income. It's really amazing the THINGS in life that really do not matter. I would much rather be able to hold my children when they fall down, or watch them take their first steps, or hear them read for the first time, than to have all the stuff that the world tells me I can't live without. I can.