A few weeks ago I was interviewed by ABC News regarding our frugal lifestyle. The article was published today, as part of The New Normal series. The series is actually pretty good, so I would encourage you all to read it when you have some time.
A super big thank you to all my Twitter friends who tweeted and retweeted about the article this morning! Thanks!
Great article! Congratulations, and good job living frugally!!
What a great article – we just finished reading it. Wow, I had no idea your site gets hit 3,000 times a day! And I’m still so impressed that ya’ll are able to save half of your income!
Wendy
That is awesome! What a great article!
you are welcome dear friend
That is so great! So I’m assuming you don’t count your BAH in the half of your income that you live on? Only asking b/c we are close to the same pay and we were trying to figure out how to do it. We also live on base so we never actually “see” the BAH anyway. Another question–how do you budget all of your homeschooling stuff? You seem to use a lot of current, nice curriculum. I feel like I’m paying a lot for just 2 kids! Can I just say that I think you are awesome!
Blessings,
Shannon C
Hey,
I just wanted to let you know, I read the first page and it got me thinking.
My husband and I have a couple of people from different companies coming out to look at a leak in our basement (we have a crack) and it’s going to cost us about $500. Or $250 in materials if my husband did it himself, and after watching some “how to” videos, he says it’s fairly simple and he’s confident he could do it.
I’m just curious…do you think it’s something we should get done or wait on? The leak can be bad enough to soak our carpet (and it has).
At this point, we are both leaning toward the “do it yourself” method. I just thought getting some outside input would be helpful as well.
Thank you!!
Nice article! Too bad they spelled “Fort Meade” wrong. It sounds like your family does great at saving and living below your means. Question for you: does it feel funny having people know you and your income and how much you save? In other words, do people you know in real life read your blog? I write my blog fairly anonymously other than to write my first name and the general area because I would feel funny about people I know in real life knowing our personal finances. Just curious.
Well done, my friend. I am so proud of you! Loved the photo too Who’s your photographer?
Someone out of California, really she is the best!
Great article (aside from the glaring typo!)!
Christin-
I am not a contractor, nor do I have any knowledge in that area. It is my opinion that it would be in your best interest financially to repair the problem before it gets any worse. Some times when people put off repairs it can end up costing them more money in the end because of collateral damage.
We try to do basic repairs ourselves, or ask a friend with more knowledge for assistance. If your husband thinks he can fix the problem, I say go for it! I realize $250 or $500 is a lot of money, but waiting might end up costing you more; replacing carpet, drywall, or more serious issues.
Just my $0.02.
Toni
I just read your interview…love it! I’m particularly interested in your homemade breakfasts. Right now we live on cereal most days, but we go through it SO FAST. I don’t want to do it anymore. I just recently began following you so I don’t know if you’ve posted on this particular subject in the past. But if you have, could you direct me to that post!?
I did a hot breakfast challenge in February. If you search for “Hot Breakfast Challenge” in the search bar on my site you will find all the posts. I think there are five posts total- they all include recipes and breakfast ideas.
Hope that helps.
Toni
You are famous!!! Congrats!!
You so totally rock dude!
I am not sure what suggestions in the article won’t work. Cutting the grocery bill, thrift store shopping, and no credit cards are not income based choices. When my husband made less than 30K a year we did all those things and more to help make ends meet. Obviously we were not able to save as much, but we were also paying off his debt from before we were married. Many times he took a second job to help pay for unexpected expenses before we had any savings.
There was a blog series published a while back from a family who started out in a similar situation as you describe. Perhaps you would be interested in checking it out.
Awesome article! I read them all, but I liked yours the best. I think I’m biased, though. It’s true not all the suggestions will work for everyone, but at least some of them should. Saving money with coupons is the easiest. I just checked out the book you suggested a few posts back and I hope it will help me too!
Loved the interview! Woohoo on all the publicity!
Thank you Toni for responding!
My husband and I both agree with you as well.
And I will look up those hot breakfasts now! Thanks!!
A huge congrats on that awesome accomplishment.
Nell