I love my car. It's a 2002 Hyundai Accent Hatchback that I bought in 2004 with 4,000 miles on it. I did have to take out a loan to pay for it, but I paid the loan off in 2 years, and it's been all mine since 2006. My little car was very inexpensive (around $7500). It gets great gas mileage -...

This year, I have gotten rid of a lot of junk. I look around my house now, and I see fewer things, but the things I see, I enjoy and value. I'm trying these days not to let anymore junk into my life. What's some of the junk that has left my life in 2009? Damp, empty boxes that had sat in my basement...

I just read an AP article in my local newspaper about "Transumers" -- people who are transient consumers. They don't purchase and consume things, they rent or lease consumer items that are then passed on to the next transumer. Sounds sort of green and sustainable, right? It was billed as...

Sometimes we wonder if this frugal lifestyle of homesteading has been worth all the hard work. It isn't easy and it isn't typical. However, the fruits of our labor may not always be measured in income vs. expense, but in lessons learned as we watch our own children coming into adulthood. . Yesterday...

It was in February of 2008 that I decided to change my relationship with money. I was sick of living week to week, always being scrambling to pay bills, being in debt and being generally stressed over money. I bartered with a life coach for a couple of sessions, but quickly realized I didn't need...

I've been slowly transitioning from store-bought to home-made for my personal and house cleaning needs. When one thing runs out (shampoo, laundry soap, etc.), I find a recipe and make it myself. I have pretty good supplies in store of most things, so it really is a slow process. I noticed a benefit...

As I was doing some baking for my annual New Year's Day brunch, I managed to finish up a jar of ground nutmeg. I have a tin of whole nutmegs, and I was glad to finish off the ground stuff so I could switch over to the less-processed variety. A friend of mine was hanging out in the kitchen with me...

Straight up and sideways. You could almost reach out and grab the financial stress these days. The GDP took a .3% hit last quarter, the Feds cut prime to 1% (seriously?! 1%?), and most folks feel like tightrope walkers in a hurricane. It's hard not to feel one misstep from disaster when you're...

It was 2002 when I first heard about the Dave Ramsey method, but it just confirmed what I knew to be true about money, debt, and freedom from my upbringing. Somehow along the way, though, I went astray and bought in to the whole consumer culture with quick credit and no savings. I had let myself believe...

There I was, watching the Antiques Roadshow on my 10+ year old televsion (tuned in through rabbit ears, as I cancelled cable this summer), and when some boring sports item came on, I flipped to one of the other three channels I get. And thre I saw two ads in a row for food items that were being marketed...