It’s over. We did it. We made it through No Spend Month, where we had only $400 to spend on gas, groceries, and entertainment, with money to spare. We spent $339.54.
The last week was both challenging and liberating.
We hosted Thanksgiving for the family, and we managed to buy the turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberries, [...]

I can see it. The end. It’s almost here. We only have one week left of no-spend month, where we vowed to only spend $400 for all of November on everything we need, including groceries, entertainment, and gas.
But it’s a big week, with Thanksgiving and all of the usually-oh-so-tempting Black Friday deals that I have [...]

Last week, I outlined our plan to make November a spending crash diet. We have only $400 to pay for gas, groceries, entertainment, etc. — everything that isn’t a monthly recurring bill — for the entire month.
By day four, hubby began pouting.
“This sucks. Everything costs money. It’s so depressing,” he said, as he unloaded [...]

Be careful what you read in blogs. You just may end up with a hair-brained idea like this one.
My husband and I have declared November a no-spend month. Okay, so it’s not really a no spend month. It’s more like a month-long crash diet.
We have budgeted $400 for the month of November. That’s all [...]

When I was in college, my roommates and I didn’t think twice about picking sofas, coffee tables, and housewares out of other people’s trash. Don’t get grossed out. We always gave them a good scrubbing and disinfecting when we got home. We were definitely tried and true dumpster divers, mostly because we were too broke [...]

My mom likes to show my friends an embarrassing picture of me. I’m 3 years old, hanging on to my favorite blanket as it’s drying on the line.
Laundry hanging on the line, drying in the breeze, was a frequent part of my childhood, and probably yours too. I didn’t even think about it. It [...]

Here’s something marketers don’t want you to know: Stuff cannot and will not ever make you happy. In fact, stuff can make your life more complicated and miserable than you can possibly imagine.
I learned this lesson a really hard way. I nearly lost everything in Hurricane Katrina.
I say nearly because we didn’t know [...]

A friend of mine recently told me her money secret. She has a modest job, yet always has the latest gadgets: flat screen TVs, home theater system, the works. She also recently had new carpet put in her basement and bought an air-hockey table for her rec room.
I finally asked her how on [...]

My family has long had a love hate relationship with zucchini. My grandparents, mom and I have planted one plant each and every year for as long as I can remember. Until about mid-August every loaf of fresh-baked zucchini bread tastes like it came straight from heaven. But then it happens. At the end [...]

My home improvement project list never seems to get any shorter. Unfortunately, my budget doesn’t get any bigger. I’ve had to be pretty creative and really look for ways to save money while personalizing and renovating my house. Fortunately there are a lot of resources available to renovators with grand plans but tiny budgets. [...]