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I lived in the southwest for a while and I missed autumn and winter so much -- including raking leaves and shoveling snow!
Now I live in the upper Midwest and - well, I get plenty of winter.

I...

My position is on a union contract. Very poor negotiating was completed for the last round and I calculated, using the reported inflation numbers and what we had received for wage increases, how...

Always lived frugally, so there wasn't much to cut.

I do change the groceries that I buy week to week based on prices; I always shopped sales, store brands, and Aldi, but it's different now, in...

When covid hit and there was a lot of uncertainty, and bodies were piling up in various cities, I (primary finance person in the household) updated my password keeping application, printed everything...

I second the suggestion to check the thrift stores - just make sure it has all the pieces (the mixing paddle is the most likely piece to be missing).

I've gone through periods of using a...

Welcome!

My summer project finally ends tomorrow: we will close on my mother-in-law's house and that will save us what we've been paying for taxes/insurance/utilities, as well as the worries about everything...

For people who need assistance around the house but can't afford it: look into services from the county. The financial limit in the county in which my MIL lived was a LOT higher than the limit for...

It's been a pretty frugal month for us. My big project this summer is getting MIL's house ready for sale, and it's taken most of my time. Sorting through 90 years of accumulated stuff from...

Oh those three kittens are adorable! And the kitty mama knows she's in a good place now! Keep the cat photos coming!



Cat caretakers know this to be true.

I have plenty of daylilies and other easy plants to fill in the landscape and add different colors. I planted crocus right into my front lawn, and they bloom and are done long before the grass...

Sadly, my Montmorency cherry, as well as my Harelson and Paula Red apple trees, all succombed to fire blight.
The birds and I used to race for the cherries!

They're not siblings... but we love tuxedo cats! The one in back is about 5 years old and is large, an American bobtail mix. He is just FULL of personality (his nickname is "Troublemaker")! The...

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Here are two of my three kitties. They make me smile every day!

My gardening is a little of everything... I have a vegetable/fruit garden that is at the moment overrun by kale, milkweed, and mosquitoes... I was out of town for a couple of weeks at the worst time,...

Thanks, everyone. I think I am getting the almost-FI jitters.

YMOYL was also pivotal for me, and really changed how I thought about money. Before reading it, I was saving the max in my 401K,...

As DH and I near the possible years of retirement (we span the mid-50s), the idea of actually retiring - given the upheavals in the market a few years ago (and always possibly happening again at any...

Toaster oven: Yes! I never use it for toast, but I bake in mine all the time... especially when it's hot in summer, when I plug it in outside. I bake all kinds of things in it... far more efficient...

To the above books I'll add:
Gift From the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh
The Simple Life: Plain Living and High Thinking in American Culture by David Shi
Gene Logsdon's books (e.g., The Contrary...

Hello,
I have been lurking for a while and finally decided to introduce myself.

I live in the upper Midwest and have been seeking a simple, meaningful life for decades. I think it began about...