Frugality Needs to Get Real

I'm on my last weekend before I give official notice that I am jumping out of the race that my job has become.  Through all my financial calculation hoops, in the long run, the change will be net neutral.  In the here and now it means a nearly $1,000 a month cash flow change.  Time to scan the web and blogland for serious frugal advise.  My new frame of reference for 2015, and I must mean it this time, is living life well on a dime. I need to do this without setting aside long term, or even sooner plans to travel, spend time with family and enjoy hosting friends.  I recognize even with this change, financially we are better off than most, and through no shortage of help and support by others along the way, so having time and money in our budget for giving is a priority.

In my post back in September, I shared my aspiration to live in the UK some day.  That translated into subscribing and following  many bloggers from across the pond.  While I enjoy the frugal tips, and the stories of others that have successfully downsized, much of the advise can't apply to me in the US.  We have different health care systems, different ways utilities work, and very different community structures in terms of where you can source food, clothes, and other necessities.  I've been following a local blogger, and do enjoy her ideas, articles, and tips to all the best shopping and family entertainment deals. Twin Cities Frugal Mom  However, we are in different life stages-she with still young children, and me with partial empty nest, needing to get one more through college as we also near retirement.  Those of you with the young ones need to check her site out. Recommendations of where you get your frugal ideas are appreciated.

Twenty-something  years ago, I came across the Tightwad Gazette series of books.  Originally published in a newsletter form, the author Amy Dacyczan put together her collection of the best tips into three different books. Based on the ages her children were when the last book came out, and when the newsletter stopped in 1997, she very well might be a grandmother now, whose own children are raising their families with the skills she taught them. Copies of her book are still in print and used copies can be found on Amazon, Barnes and Nobel, and Alibris.com. Here is an interview I found with her from a year ago on the Simple Dollar. Interview with AmyDacyczyn, the author of the Tightwad Gazette

When I had young children, before DD#2, and before I had moved into the management ranks, money was even tighter than it will be now even with this income drop.  We had very little savings after having moved into a new house, not a large house, but with twice the mortgage of our tiny little 650 square foot starter home.  Neither of us was doing anything towards retirement yet.  While I honestly can say many of her ideas and thoughts made me a bit squeamish and I didn't have the patience or aptitude for others, the principles and discipline she instilled were admirable.  I used what I could of her ideas, but to admit to being frugal, or worse, be accused of being a tightwad, did not fit the go-go 90's and the dawn of the new millennium. We made some poor financial decisions on the spending front, and let money slip like vapor from our wallets when we got caught trying to keep up with the wants of others.  That changed in 2008/2009 and many families, ours included, are trying to recover.  I think there is more realization that money should just be a tool to life's goals, not the goal itself, and like me, are opting to get off the merry go round, in favor of a calming swing.  We are paying our retirement savings first, so I feel pretty confident that we will retire comfortably, where we want to, but need some belt tightening on our daily living. Frugality is now in fashion.

This weekend will be a financial house cleaning and a walk down memory lane. I'll do a good pantry and cupboard sort, and start some meal planning, making sure we don't waste anything in the house. The sorting will  include kitchen, bathrooms, and laundry room, all areas where money vapors seem to impact. I plan to dust off my Tightwad Gazette books, and while a bit antiquated since more than two decades have passed, I am sure I will find some regained inspiration. It will be like reminiscing with an old friend.