Earn, Save, and Live Joyfully.
This year was not a stellar rental season for us. We received five bookings rather than the ten to twelve we’ve come to expect each summer. The rental company provided a bunch of excuses for the lack of bookings. Among which were “school let out late due to snow” and the “fourth of July fell … Read more
At my previous job I was offered a gift after five years of employment. What was five years worth? $200 seemed the going rate as each gift in the selected catalog was roughly equivalent to that amount. At the time I waffled between two options: a very girly, pink bike and an ornate Waterford vase. … Read more
I cannot believe my little baby is just shy of five months. Time seems to move so much faster this time around. The adjustment from one to two took a little longer than I expected, but as the nap schedule begins to normalize things are definitely getting easier. So far adding another baby has made … Read more
I recently carved out a small space in the corner of my closet where I can stack three plastic boxes. The baby is growing like crazy so every time I find he’s outgrown another article of clothing I assess its ability to sell. If it has any value I throw it in the sale bin … Read more
Things have gotten a little off track since the arrival of child #2. Somewhere in the middle of my third trimester I lost the desire to cook a decent meal and as any new mother knows things didn’t exactly get easier after birth. Last week I set a very small goal to get back in … Read more
I’m crouching in the consignment store staring at two bikes. I probably look a little bit crazy. I lift one and contemplate it’s weight. I turn the handlebars, left and right, right and left. Does it move too easily? It definitely feels loose. It feels flimsy in my hands. I inspect the first one again. … Read more
Before my first son was born (sometime around the beginning of my third trimester), I read a blog post about stockpiling diapers. It sounded like such a great idea. Of course, I wanted to save money on diapers, and what better way to save than by taking advantage of promotional sales? I was already making … Read more
I prefer to buy organic or all natural chicken for my family, but it’s so much more expensive than the other stuff our grocery store sells. Every once in a blue moon our grocery store offers buy-one-get-one offers and from time to time the price is dropped to $3.59, but the full retail price is … Read more
Do you complain after receiving poor service or unsatisfactory goods? I don’t make it a habit to point out bad service, but this past week I sent letters to two separate companies asking for a refund of my purchases. One night my family and I ate dinner at a local restaurant and ordered a few … Read more
I used to wonder how someone could get rid of 50, 60 or 70% of their possessions. Now I know. I didn’t calculate the exact number of items we’ve removed over the past six months, but I would bet it’s a minimum of 40 or 50% of our stuff. Removing clutter can feel quite overwhelming. … Read more